Simon

"He's waking up!" a voice began to fade in.

I didn't realize where I was until I actually began to open my eyes and waited for my brain to start perceiving every detail around me.

As I faintly heard the sounds of my surroundings come back to me and my vision started to focus, I recognized the helicopter I was on. It was one of our own helicopters...

Thank goodness...

"Sir, are you okay?" Rebecca asked, holding the oxygen mask up to my face.

I nodded weakly.

She smiled, "Don't worry, we'll get you to the hospital in no time."

I narrowed my eyes at her then moved my eyes to search the rest of the 4 team members on board.

When did I get here?

Where's Sylvia? She better not have gone anywhere near Nicole.

Nicole!

I quickly sat up with my eyes wide, "Where's Nicole?" I asked her.

She looked back at D.T and bit her lip, "Sir, she's... Been arrested. But don't worry, she'll be fine." she added quickly.

What?!

"I'm sorry, did you just say... Arrested? For what?"

She pursed her lips, "I don't have all of the details but I do know that she was being chased down by some cops. It's cool though, she can survive in prison for a while. We'll bail her out later but we need to get you to safety first."

I shook my head and pulled the oxygen mask off, "No... No, we have to go get her now. We can't just leave her behind! She's just as important as any other one of our members!"

She frowned, "We can handle it, sir. But right now we have to make sure that all of that sleeping gas is out of your system. You just need some rest at a nearby-"

"Rebecca... I know you're not telling me, your boss, what to do." I gritted my teeth.

"N- no, sir... It was just a suggestion... Sir."

I nodded, "Take me to the state prison so I could get her out, now."

She nodded and made her way over to the pilot. She requested for him to do what I wanted and he gave her a thumbs up in response.

That's what I thought.

D.T handed me a water bottle, "We'll be there shortly... How are you feeling?"

I took the bottle, giving him an appreciative nod, "Better... Better now that I am away from Sylvia, I mean. I'm not too happy about you all coming out here. I have a feeling someone has invaded my privacy a little bit while I was away."

Rebecca cleared her throat, "I did see Nicole in your office a few times."

Of course...

I nodded, "I had a feeling it was her... I would have to take care of that when we get her... Out of jail."

Dani rolled her eyes, "Damn. Ungrateful much."

I raised an eyebrow at her as D.T told me, "Agreed. You should be at least a little glad we came to get you out of that mess."

I sighed, "I am glad for that... But now Sylvia is still out there somewhere. Who knows what her next step is. Who knows where she'll even be."

"In hell," Dani answered in a chuckle.

"What?"

She smirked, "Let's just say, she won't be walking around and causing trouble anytime soon... The S.W.A.T team found her body in the factory. They say it's not clear who did it but I have a really good idea on who might be responsible."

So she's dead?

I let out a breath of relief, "There's some good news there."

* * * * *

The helicopter soon landed and a few of the agents began to stand to exit the copter. They let me walk out first and I kept walking with nothing on my mind but Nicole. It's been so long since I last saw her and even though I was slightly disappointed that she ignored my note, I still wanted to squeeze her in my arms.

As soon as I walked into the building, I headed straight to the woman at the front desk. She was working on some paperwork when she asked, "Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?"

I nodded, "I believe you have Sasha Nicole Greene held in one of your cells. Is that correct?"

She put her pen down, "Let me check."

I watched as she adjusted her glasses and began to go through her computer. After a moment, she nodded, "Yup. Sasha Nicole Greene, right here... Did you want to visit her?"

"Yes, I do but I want to bail her out first."

She pursed her lips, "Ooh... I'm afraid I can't do that. She's being held without bond. The crimes she has committed are much too serious to let her go so easily. Even here, she misbehaves."

"What? How?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well... For one, she disrespects authority and there was a recent report of a physical altercation involving her and another inmate during lunch break which will only keep her here longer."

Why can't she just keep her hands to herself! Forget it. That doesn't even matter right now.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "What do you mean I can't bail her out though? That's my daughter! Do you even know who I am?"

"Sir, I understand you're upset but if you want, you could still go see her from her cell-"

"No! We need her back with us. She's our most important agent of the USSCI, I can't afford to have her arrested and not have her back on duty. Besides, none of what happened out there was her fault!"

She raised her eyebrow, "USSCI...? Are you Simon Ortez?"

I nodded, "Yes, I am."

She only shrugged, "I believe the investigators are working on the case right now. I remember hearing something important about your team... Unfortunately, I still can't let her or her partner out at the moment. Not until we get this case figured out."

I groaned, "Well, how long do you suppose that will take?"

"I want to say about 3 weeks if you're lucky. It just depends."

I rubbed my eyes in frustration, "Okay... Just let me go see her before we leave here."

"No problem." she filled out my visitor's information and printed out a sticker for me to use to get in.

I thanked her and followed one of the officers to the jail cells.

As we walked, he told me, "That girl of yours had to be moved to a more isolated cell. Away from other inmates."

I nodded, "I understand." I said quietly as I toured the place with my eyes. It was dirty and had a musty aroma in the air, nothing about it was pleasant and it surely wasn't a place meant for someone like Nicole to be held captive.

Of course she'll get angry in a place like this. She's no criminal, she's just uncomfortable and homesick.

As we entered the hall, we walked down towards the back. I noticed a few crazed and unstable looking criminals staring us down as we came through. They were intimidating but I did my best to not pay any mind to them.

The officer stopped in front of the cell.

I looked over his shoulder, seeing Nicole with chains cuffed around her wrists and ankles. She was sitting on her prison bed rubbing her belly with a clearly miserable frown.

The officer loudly banged his baton on the bars of her cell, "Hey, puppet! You have a visitor."

"Don't call her that..." I whispered sternly.

She glared at him, "I don't want to see anyone right now."

He looked back at me then turned to Nicole, "I think you do. This one's important."

"Really? Well, tell 'em to fuck off and choke on a dick. I said I don't want to see anyone."

I walked in front of the officer, "It's me, Soldier..."

Her eyes widened slightly and her posture straightened a bit at the sight of me, "Simon? You're okay..."

I nodded, "Thanks to you."

Her small smile faded away, "What are you doing here? They're not letting me out."

"I know..." I said, feeling my heart ache, "I just wanted to see you."

She stood up and walked over to me, letting the chains ring as they dragged behind her. As she got closer, I noticed small bruises near her lip area, most likely caused by that fight the woman at the front desk informed me of. Nicole grabbed the bars with hurt in her eyes as she told me, "I wanted to see you too... I want to know what this was all about. Why did you leave headquarters for Fire Catcher?"

I gently took her hands in mine, "It's a long story. Now that it's all over, I promise to explain it all to you later."

Once I figure out how to tell her.

She shook her head, "There won't be a later. This is where I live now. Didn't they tell you? I'm being held without bond."

I squeezed her hands and whispered, "I promise I'll find a way to get you out of there. Just give me some time."

She nodded with a small humorless chuckle, "I hate it here..."

"I know..." I kissed her hand. "I know."

She looked away from me shyly, "If you get me out, you have to get Jaden out too."

I furrowed my brows, "I don't know... I guess I'll try-"

"No, Simon. Promise me you will. He's my partner, I'm not leaving without him."

I nodded, "Okay, Soldier... I'll do that."

It'll be a little tougher, but I'll do it.

She gave me a small smile, "Thank you."

"No problem... I love you."

She frowned, "I love you too..."

"Anything else before I go?"

She shook her head, "No, I feel a lot better knowing that you're okay. I do have a ton of questions but they can wait until we meet again." She pointed a finger to me, "You promised."

I smiled, "I did." I then stretched my pinky finger out to her where she gladly hooked hers with mine as I added, "You can count on it."

She nodded, "I can always count on you... Thank you for coming."

I smiled, "I'll see you in a little bit, Nicole..."

"See you later Simon," she whispered.

I kissed her forehead and gently pinched her chin before turning to leave. The officer escorted me back out and I met with the rest of the team who were waiting outside of the building.

D.T put his hand on my shoulder, "No luck?"

I shook my head, "But we're still going to get her out... None of this is her fault. Right?"

He nodded, "Of course not... I'll contact the investigation team while we get you home. I could give them some information they hadn't figured out yet. I'm sure that will help."

"I appreciate that, D.T."

"It's the least I could do, sir." he nodded.