ZACK

I knew disguises were part of the job but I didn't expect to be aping Thorne. All I can say is, I hope they get her ass out of there quick. I can pull this off from a distance but if anyone talks to me I'll be made. Hopefully they just have some kind of visual surveillance and none of them will approach. I fucking hope I get a phone call from Dino before I get on the plane, flying isn't one of my favorite activities If not I'll end up in Kuwait with Thorne's passport.

We left the feds out of this for a reason, I know how much their red tape and shit can fuck up a rescue, seen it firsthand. Bridgid would be dead and dust before they got off their bureaucratic asses to get her out and Terry would have a lot of explaining to do. It would compromise the entire business.

Jesus, I'm not sure I'll get through customs but I can't be nervous because it'll give me away. I am Terry Thorne, I have to believe it myself. I can see signs for the airport now, damn it. This had better work.

BRIDGID

I don't think I'm going to live through this. He seemed to take too much pleasure in threatening me with the knife and I think he's biding his time. Two more men showed up and I'm guessing Terry gave in; he's going to do what they've asked. I can't blame him and all I can do is pray he survives.

I hope he finds someone else. I don't want him to be alone. My heart hurts knowing I'll never see him again. I'll never see John or Riley or the baby. I won't get a chance to talk to Nat and Jack, fuck this. Am I going to sit here and let them kill me or am I going to try to get myself out of here? What have I got to lose? At least I'll go down fighting.

What are they saying? Something about Terry arriving at JFK. I knew it, I knew he'd have no choice. I guess it means no one is coming for me. If I could only get these ropes off my wrists then maybe I could figure something out. I'll take the pup, I won't leave him here. He's better off dead then having that meatball eating towel head as a master.

They seem to be pretty much ignoring me right now and that's a good thing. I have to clear my head, I have to think about something other than what is going down, redirect my thoughts to escaping. I need to relax, be quiet, and not draw attention to myself right now. I've been here long enough to know their routine. The only difference is the two new men. They are both Arabic and they are not speaking English. The young one seems to be so preoccupied with the pup that I think he's an easy target for me. I have to bide my time now. The ropes are getting loser and if I can avoid going to the bathroom for a little while so they don't have to take them off and put them back on, I may be able to get them loose.

DINO

I got a call from a source notifying me that Bridgid's cell phone pinged once a few hours ago. They must have turned it on to get Terry's number from it and it was just long enough for us to get some coordinates from a tower. It wasn't an exact location but it was close enough for us to know we were right about the Pocono's.

"We're going to roll but not you, Terry. You're too personally involved."

"Like you're not?" If the tone in his voice was any indication of things to come, I'd be fighting a losing battle in trying to keep him at home. I can't blame Terry for wanting to go on the rescue. Bridgid is his wife but he should know that it's the thing that will fuck up his judgment. Look at him, he's a wreck.

"Terry, listen to me. If you are not thinking straight you could fuck up."

"I'm not taking no for an answer, mate. I'm going. We don't have time to waste arguing."

"I'm not arguing with you, Terry. You know better. Stay here."

"No."

He's right. The more we argue the more time is wasted and time is of the essence right now. Once Zack gets to JFK and he's spotted as Terry it's hard to tell what they'll do to Bridgid. I feel they won't let her go.

"Alright. But you're the third man behind me and Max."

His face took on an all business appearance and maybe I did underestimate him. If he can detach then he'll be an asset. He didn't wait for me to say anything else. He had his kit together damn fast.

Maximus was pretty quiet though all of this but I could tell his mind was working. He listened close while we devised the plan. We were going to pose as hunters, that way we wouldn't stand out in the Poconos. Varmint hunters up there look like vigilantes and they're a common sight on the streets, it's probably why the suspects chose the area. They could blend in as well.

MAXIMUS

I am hard pressed to wonder how I would react in the same situation and I prayed for all the perfection of control and attentiveness I have to serve Terry as he most needed. For I was too late once. I was alone and desperate and too late. Watching Terry struggle to manage his heart wrenching concern had me even more committed to making sure he would not find himself burying his wife as I did mine.

I would watch him closely, protect him and do everything in my power to see the mission through to its success, thanks to Dino's fine leadership. I had chosen to leave this work, but never chosen to leave a comrade to face such danger and difficulty alone. I may be a farmer…but I will forever be a warrior at Terry's side.

My own concerns were best placed aside and I was comforted that Sophia was with family at the Inn. Grateful that Grant was posing as Terry for the perfect distraction and ruse. Satisfied that we could move fast enough to bring about the conquest we needed. My only true worry was my brother Terry's state of mind. I will be diligent. We all must be.

TERRY

How could Dino expect me to stay here, waiting? I could have just gone to JFK instead of Zack if that be the case. We didn't give much thought to them trying to call again so we decided that we wouldn't take any more phone calls. We were just going to move in. Before another quarter hour passed we were on the road. Zack must be pretty close to JFK now and he'll be in the terminal before we get to Big Bass Lake.

I felt the same way when Riley was in trouble at the Inn and if not for Bridgid I may have lost it. Now I'm going to have to rely on Dino and Max. They're good men, I trust them with my life and I trust them with Bridgid's. If anyone can get her out of there we can.

We discussed our plan while we were en route and it was decided that once we located the hideout, we'd set up a perimeter. Since we didn't know which house on the lake they were in we didn't have any chance to obtain a blueprint. This would require some surveillance and I knew I had to keep my head during it. I could become impatient knowing she was in there with THEM.

The drive seemed to take forever but once we got off of the thruway I knew it wouldn't be long. I couldn't let Dino see my anxiety but it was there. Detach, detach, detach. It's a struggle but I can do it just like I did with Riley.

We stopped in Stroudsburg and found out that Big Bass was a gated community. Bloody hell, how the hell did they manage to get her in there unnoticed? They must have had a base of operations there for quite some time and I'll make it a point to tip the feds off when this is all over. Grant can handle it.

From this point on we decided to park in the state game lands and move in on foot. We checked our comms and got ready to hump. It would be a difficult hike through some of this foundation forest but we were going in for B. We could deal with it. Dino and Max were fit and strong but it would limit the weapons we could carry. We each took a rifle, sidearm, knives, a few flash bangs and our night vision gear just in case. Everything else would have to be left behind. This place was big but we knew what we were looking for, the Ryder van with Jersey plates. The cell phone ping gave us a rough idea of where to start so we moved toward the back of the community.

I can't tell you how long it took for us to find the van but we did and there it was still morning and there was lots of daylight left. It was in a newly built log type home and there were no others around it that were occupied, thank God. The thick woods and angled slopes provided perfect cover. Dino was Red, Maximus was Blue and I was Green for the sake of comms. We set up a triangular perimeter without saying a word to each other.

"Red, how many?" I asked as soon as we were all set.

"I make four, maybe five. Blue can you see the package?"

"Negative. Relocating. Brothers, be advised, a herd of deer moving north, do not startle them."

Dino and I both answered with a ten four. I saw the deer ambling through the woods and I held my breath as they passed hoping they wouldn't catch my scent. Maximus must have moved like one of them to get closer to the house. He didn't make a sound.

"I see her. The package is wrapped and appears to be pretty. It looks as though it is addressed north." Maximus was saying Bridgid was alive but they had her tied up and she was at the north corner of the building.

We watched them for a short period of time but the activity was minimal. Zack should be through check in by now and I reckon he's got to be worried he'll end up in Kuwait. Bloody hell we're going to have to move soon if this is going to work. Maybe they're making the decision for us. One of them just came out of the front door and he seems to be carrying something. A pup? One of the bulldog pups? He set it down on the lawn and stood watching.

"Red, can you take him?"

"That's a ten four. Quiet as a church mouse. Blue can you get the mutt?"

"I can."

I stood my ground and watched the two men work in concert. Right there in broad daylight Dino took the man out of commission without making a sound and Maximus swept the pup up with equal stealth. This ought to bring the hornets out of the nest one at a time. Beautiful!

JOHN

My fucking life has been insane for years, one thing after another and usually everything turns out just fine…but not until it looks like it'll all come down on my head first.

There were priorities, God sakes. My wife had just given birth. Yes, she was fine, baby was fine, but she deserved a little TLC, right? After all, not only her body needed to heal, so did our marriage. I was kinda hoping for some peace and quiet to focus on that. But there was no time for it now and I was starting to wonder how long this particular situation would go on. From what I understand, hostage situations of this caliber can drag on for months. How the fuck could I handle this for months?

The Inn is like a flame and moths just keep diving in. Riley was extremely worried about Terry and Bridgid. She had this thing in her head that they were both not going to survive it all. Man, I wasn't about to let that get into my psyche…I couldn't! My own guilt aside (after all, B was abducted right under my fucking nose, right in my own house!), I wasn't ready to face losing one of them, much less both.

Then, our first surprise guest arrived. Max had brought Sophia and placed her in our care. From the moment he rushed out to meet with Dino, the poor woman was beside herself, spouting Italian because she was so upset and the best I could do was pat her shoulder and try to look consoling. All she knew was that Maximus had just put himself into the line of fire. I'm sure she'd understand it a little better if she had the slightest clue about the dynamics of our strange family. But even with that awareness, she'd still be agonizing. Women are like that…and women in love? Damn, I don't even wanna think about it.

Dino had told us to keep this all under our hats, but that wasn't working out. Colin and Carrie showed up, all smiles with a ton of baby gifts. Like they weren't gonna read our expressions? Col was almost worse than me, charging out to his rental to catch up with Dino and the team and offer assistance. I didn't want to tell him that this wasn't a Melbourne bar brawl…but he had to understand that it was a situation best left to the experts. Yeah, that ate at my guts, but I had to accept it too. It was time to keep the home fires burning and protect those here in Vermont. It almost came to blows, but he finally conceded. What he did next really fucking pissed me off…he called Hando. Just what I needed.

Now I had two irate Aussies, three worried women (at least until Monica turned on her own female intuition and popped in, demanding details), two crying babies (and little Ruthie is mobile, God sakes), an Inn to run and oh yeah, a mourning dog too…all in our apartment.

What the hell was I gonna do? It was taking everything inside of me to keep everyone calm. I did what any red blooded American man would do. I tucked my cell phone in my pocket, tied on my jogging shoes and headed for a few laps around the pond. What the hell. It always worked before.

BRIDGID

The young one has been out with the dog for a long time. No one seems to have noticed. My heart is beating so fast, I know it. I know Terry is here. What else could have happened to him? Uh oh, one of the other men is going out to check. He's got a gun. Fuck! I need to get free now. I have a gut feeling the shit is going to hit the fan at any moment. At least I don't feel the rope burns anymore.

I can hear him calling for his buddy. Now the other two are getting concerned. Fuck they are going for their guns. I've got to do something.

"Hey. What's going on? I need to go to the bathroom again." For a split second they stopped to look at me and that was all it took. I could hear the man outside shouting and one of the men went out to help but the tall one, the one who spoke good English stood pointing his gun at me.

"Ma as-salaamah," he said and I closed my eyes.

TERRY

I knew it was too good to be true. We couldn't possibly have got though this without going loud. Two of them came out wielding guns and they spotted Dino trying to cover the first one up. Maximus took care of him and I moved fast. I jumped over the two struggling, knowing Dino would help. The moment I got through the door I saw him aiming his gun at her. He told her 'goodbye' in Arabic and it's a good thing too, because he wouldn't have the chance to draw another breath after that. I shot twice, once to take the gun from his hand and the second time to end his useless life. I stood for a moment until the smoke cleared. My God was she hurt? She wasn't moving, did he fucking shoot her?

"Bridgid..." I scrambled over to her and the moment my hands were on her she opened her eyes. I kissed her face and she started to cry. Thank Christ. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head and she was not just crying, she was sobbing.

"It's okay now, B. We got you, we got you." I think I was crying myself and the feel of her arms going around me confirmed it. I lifted her up to her feet but her knees buckled a little. "Easy, love. Never gonna let you go again."

Dino was behind me now and I could hear him on the phone. I reckon he managed to get to Zack before he boarded the plane. It means we got all this done before noon. Bloody hell, this day was only half over.

"Mate, call John as soon as you're done."

"Will do, I need to get a cleanup team in here too. She okay?"

"Yeah, thanks mate." What more could I say to him and to Maximus? What a fucking team.

BRIDGID

I wanted to kick the body on the floor but I didn't have the strength. Terry seemed to want to shield my eyes from the mess but I had to look at the scumbag. I wanted to remember him this way, dead. It only took a moment for me to do that. I turned to see Dino on the cell and I wanted to run up to him and hug him. It was hard to break away from Terry but I knew I'd have him for the rest of my life. Dino kind of grunted when I grabbed on to him and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you," I told him just as I caught Maximus come through the door. He was holding the pup with such tenderness I could feel it. I moved to him and hugged him tight.

"Thank you, Maximus."

"You are unharmed, thank the gods," he rumbled in that stoic voice of his but he did smile at me. I held my hands out to him. "Can...I hold him. We've been through some shit together, you know?"

He put the pup in my arms and I thanked him again. Terry put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me close.

"I was so scared. I never thought I'd see you again. Can we go home?"

"Yeah, love. I reckon you got choice of the litter there too. Looks like we're going to have a dog around the house."

"I think we should name him Maximus." How could I resist? "Or Dino, or both."

JOHN

Lap seven and I was finally feeling the rush. My legs pumped, I was sweating like a pig, but at least I could sense the tension moving out of my body. Another lap or two and I'd have a clear head, be able to deal with everything. I didn't even want to think about who else had arrived since I'd come outside for the run. Needless to say, none of us are all that good at keeping secrets. At least I was sure no one was letting Jack and Nat in on this. Not just yet. They'd be making landfall soon and call. What are the chances it would all be done and over with by then?

As I cooled down, walking toward the Inn and holding my side, I noticed Kevin's truck. Okay, he probably brought LizBeth. I shook my head. Too bad Max hadn't brought Pullo along. At least I'd have had a bouncer, ay?

My cell rang and I stopped dead. Looking at it, I could see it was Dino and I gotta admit, I was fucking terrified to answer it. Took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Biebe."

"Got her. She's a bit bruised but fine."

"Terry?"

"What can I say, man. He's Terry. Not ready to let her out of his sight just yet. Getting them both home soon."

I thumped my ass down on the ground and groaned. "Jesus, Dino."

"It's all over, buddy. You can breathe now," he chuckled. "Planning to check in and see the little one when I get there. Got room at the Inn for me?"

I just laughed.

ZACK

I thought this was it. I thought I was going to have to board the god damned plane but then I felt the phone vibrate. It was Dino, thank Christ.

"Thorne." What else was I supposed to say? I had no idea if anyone was close enough.

"Not Thorne anymore buddy. We're all done and cleaning up. Success. Come on in."

What a fucking relief. "Got it. See you later."

I pocketed the phone, picked up my carryon and slid out of the line with a smile. Happy fucking days are here again. Terry's wife was safe and I figure she's no worse for the wear or Dino would have said something. He probably wanted to keep the phone call to a minimum anyway. Besides that, the last place I wanted to have dinner tonight was in Kuwait. Baby, I was getting a home cooked meal at the Inn if it killed me. Then I'd get myself home to Debbie. I sure hope she doesn't mind me shaving the beard off. It'll grow back. Let her fantasize about fucking the boss for a while. Ha!

I could have sworn someone was following me out to the long term parking lot but maybe I was wrong. I mean it's a big frigging airport, there's bound to be a lot of people headed in the same direction. I couldn't wait to get my ass in the car and headed north to Vermont but my intuition told me there may be a little fly in the ointment. When I pulled out of the lot, a rental followed me. I couldn't make out the driver but something didn't feel right about it so I gave him a little dance step to see if he was letting me lead. I banged a u-turn and went back into the parking lot. It was going to cost me another couple of bucks but the ploy worked. The mother fucker followed me as if I was towing him. Not very inconspicuous. I got right back on the horn to Dino.

"Come on, pick up."

"Yeah."

"Dino, Grant, I got myself a little problem here. I've got a tail and he's not hiding the fact that he's following me. I figure it's the asshole who was supposed to be watching Terry."

"You got that right, pal. One of the kidnapper's phones rang a little while ago and it was probably him checking in. Which way you headed?"

"I was going north, back to Vermont."

"Change course, Grant. Get on 78 and start heading west toward us. We'll cover you. There's a rest stop past Phillipsburg. We'll get there before you do."

"Got it."

Great. So much for my home cooked meal and happy family reunion.

DINO

It looks like we're not through yet. I didn't want to tear Terry away from his moment of happiness but we had to back Grant up. He's part of the team.

"Sorry to do this to you kemo sabe but we've gotta saddle up again. Grant's got himself a tail and it don't look too pretty."

Terry's face changed in a split second. "What's up, mate?"

"He's got someone following him from JFK. I turned him in our direction. We've got to get to the rest stop this side of Phillipsburg and clear it out. I told him to lead the fucker there."

He turned to Bridgid and I guess he wasn't sure what to say to her but she took care of it.

"I'm going with you. You don't have a choice. We've got to move now so there's no time to argue."

I watched her tuck the pup into one hand and she went over to the dead guy's body. She didn't even wince when she kicked him over. I guess she knew he had a sidearm under his jacket and she just made it hers.

"She's right, Ter. The four of us have to go now. Max, you ready?

He nodded and Terry did the same though I know he wasn't too happy about it. Looked like we were headed for a showdown at the Pennsylvania, Jersey line."