More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. – David, King of Israel

Every other minute, I doubt my sanity. Have I fallen into a coma and lie in a hospital bed and all of these occurrences are the dreams of a damaged mind? Am I under the influence of mind-altering drugs, sitting catatonic in an asylum? These things don’t happen in real life. Unless, of course, the life I led before was the delusion. If that were true, I guess I would finally be waking up. – Felicity, March 25

Felicity knew her mouth had dropped open, but she couldn't help herself. Where else would he have taken her? Considering that she had, somewhere in the back of her mind, always planned to go back to Canmore, she really shouldn't have reacted so negatively. Still, she had known that her plan was insane which was why she hadn't ever voiced it; therefore, she had assumed that Jase would prove more logical than she. She had some vague idea about watching the goings on of all the ProtoComm people, looking for evidence as they went about their convention. Knowing that if anyone saw her, she would end up somewhere worse than in the bed of a truck. While hiding out and not letting anyone see her…it was a pipe dream. It required that she be some superspy with the power of invisibility and the ability to walk through unlocked doors and break into filing systems. Yeah, Canmore had been insanity.

Of course, Jase wanted to go there. Because it was also insane for her to trust Jase.

“Nice plan to gain my trust, taking me back to my kidnappers.”

A look of surprise spread across Jase's face. “Well, I had kind of assumed that you were going there anyway.”

“But...” she stuttered. “I wasn't actually going back to Banff, just kind of aimlessly wandering towards it. I didn't know what I was doing; I'm irrational right now. Traumatized.”

Jase laughed. “Actually, I'm surprised at how rationally you've acted, considering what has happened to you in the past two days.”

Felicity bit her lip. Quit trying to soften me up with compliments, she commanded silently.

On seeing her expression, Jase's mouth donned a conspiratorial smile. “So, since you don't 'rationally' want to go to Banff, and you agreed to let me come to you, where will we go? I can think of a lot of places more fun than Canmore or Banff. Tahiti? Bali? Just name it. I'm in.”

Felicity started. True, she had agreed to stay with him, but if they didn't go to Banff, where else would make sense? “No, I...” Embarrassment overwhelmed her, and she grasped for some escape. “I have to get back to my children. And I just thought you might know some other course we could take besides direct confrontation. I mean, I don't really want to be under Bill's eye at the moment.” She covered her blush with an irate glare. “Assuming you’re not working for him.”

Jase didn't deny it fast enough, and Felicity felt her pulse racing, both from embarrassment and nervousness.

“My relationship with Bill is... complicated.”

Once again, his honesty disarmed her. A smooth response would have cemented her suspicion, but his uncertainty oddly recommended him to her.

“What the heck does 'complicated' mean?” Felicity couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her tone, and Jase smirked at her in response.

“Look, as far as Bill is concerned, you're in Mexico.” Jase paused to let his words sink in. “I have enough pull with the guys who were taking you across the border that I convinced them to tell their bosses they had delivered you to the trade.”

“’Delivered me to the trade’,” Felicity harumphed. “Nice way of putting it.”

“Yes,” he continued undaunted. “I convinced them to keep your disappearance a secret. I told them that Bill would be particularly disturbed if he found out that you had escaped, and that he might consider terminating our business relationship with them. And a relationship with Bill Henry is a very lucrative relationship.”

“Is it?” Felicity leveled resentfully. “How lucrative is it for you? Yet you expect me to believe that you’re putting it in jeopardy for me?”

The words seemed to reach deep within Jase, and the look he leveled at her gripped her heart with its sincerity. “Felicity, I have enough money, most of it gained honestly. The work I do for Bill is as a liaison on some deals; I just carry messages from one party to the other.”

“From one party to the other. I'm sure the results were a 'party' for your victims.”

“My victims?”

“You think those people wanted to go into slavery?”

He balked, his shock genuine. “Felicity, I've never involved myself in something like this before you; I've made sure to work only on non-criminal contracts – I’m not a mercenary, though I don't broadcast that fact to Bill. I'm extremely intentional about looking like an insider, but I carefully avoid actual participation in crimes.”

“How noble of you!” Felicity laughed. Did he really think his conscientiousness exculpated him? Hardly. He was still in bed with criminals.

“Most of Bill's business is legitimate, and even what isn't stays far away from corporate headquarters. He likes to keep his hands clean, remove himself from the ugly side of ProtoComm's operations. Your abduction was a rare exception because he allowed himself to be personally involved. And it's an absolute exception for me. Once Bill finds out what I've done, my relationship with him will be over. He was counting on your abduction to keep Brendon stable.”

“Yes, my abduction.” The words effaced all of her questions about Jase's guilt, bringing her own plight back to the forefront. “And this was all just because Brendon wanted to leave me?”

“Well,” Jase looked at his hands. “It’s probably better for you if you don't ask that question right now. You won't like the answer, and you’ve been through enough.”

“You're right, Jase. I have been through hell the past couple of days. I've been kidnapped and sent into slavery. I've been through so much, in fact, that I don't think what you could say could hurt me much more.”

Jase pondered for several seconds, as if searching for words. “Well, Brendon…” Jase offered hesitantly. He seemed to collect himself, though Felicity couldn't tell for what purpose. Because he didn't want to hurt her? Or to prepare himself for a lie? “If I had to guess, I would say he wanted to protect two things: his image and his money.”

“His money?” Felicity wavered between fury and devastation. “Is he really that shallow”

“Are your parents married?” Jase asked inexplicably.

“My parents?”

“Are they married?”

“Yes…”

“You don’t have a lot of exposure to divorce, but there are a lot of ugly things that happen in divorces. Brendon has no high ground for this. You’re a great person. He can’t claim any abuse or neglect or mistreatment from you.”

“But I can’t prove any mistreatment either. No one cares that he screwed his assistant. It’s literally the most cliched affair on the planet.”

“But usually the guy can claim something. I imagine that’s why he put in the cameras – to get something on you. But there was nothing. You didn’t yell at your kids. You didn’t have a secret drinking or drug problem. You didn’t have a guy on the side – nothing.”

“Okay, I call BS. Most women don’t do those things. That’s like a myth.”

“Try proving that in court; there’s a preconception that makes sense that there’s always more to a story, some justification for an affair. If he could have proven that you had a weakness or that you were a neglectful mom, it would have saved him lots of time and money. He works in a high-profile job, and a good chunk of his wealth is posted on SEC reports. If he can’t prove you’re crazy and he goes through a public divorce, not only does he look like an absolute loser; you get a huge chunk of his money.”

“Does he think I care about his money?” The thought made Felicity sick.

“You should care,” Jase insisted. “Do you have some big stockpile of personal savings you can tap into to take care of your kids? Because if not, and if he figures out how to hide what he has, you will be going from that nice upper-middle-class neighborhood in Phoenix to government housing. Even if you got a fulltime job. And maybe his high-dollar lawyers will get him custody of the kids since you can’t afford them.”

Felicity shivered. “You sound like you’ve been through this. You know so much about it.”

Jase shrugged. “Not me personally. My best childhood friend. She ended up an alcoholic, in and out of rehab. Injustice sucks. Watching her ex screw up the kids was worse.”

It made Felicity’s head spin, but she couldn’t even think about it while her life hung in the balance. “That does sound horrible, but that’s a battle for another day. Maybe Brendon wanted to avoid court and risk his money. But kidnapping? Lots of people go through awful divorces; they don’t send their spouses into slavery. That’s not realistic.”

“Most people are not favored VPs in a multinational corporation with access to several Central American trafficking centers…”

Felicity closed her eyes, slowing her breath. Was she just in a really stubborn state of denial?

“Do you have any idea what he does at work all day?” Jase glanced at her. “I can see that you don't. Well, I can tell you that he is intimately involved in all aspects of Bill's business. Specifically, Jenna Whitfield's division.”

Felicity felt a fist punch into her gut. Jenna Whitfield?

“Jenna and Jack have been managing Bill's Mexico division, which is a clearinghouse for all of ProtoComm's criminal activities. In the past year, Brendon has taken over thirty percent of that division.

“Calvario…” Felicity realized.

After a sympathetic pause, Jase confirmed her suspicions. “Calvario. Haven't you noticed how much money Brendon has spent lately?”

Thinking about the necklace, she considered the other expenses that had seemed unusual. The new sports car, Briel's salary, even the expense of the trip to Canmore. A private jet? Had he really gotten the use from a friend, or had he paid for it with his newfound wealth? And he had probably spent a similar amount or more on Amy.

“That asshole!” Felicity hissed, her voice breaking from pain. “Painting his worst offense as a virtue! I knew he was feigning something about that place, but I thought it was just an exaggeration of his accomplishments; he’s always done that, Lapping up the offered attention. He was actually committing horrible crimes there – or at least overseeing them.”

“To his credit, he balked at the idea of killing you-”

“Oh, of course,” she cut him off. “He couldn’t have that – it wouldn’t give him plausible deniability. Though it would have effected the same thing since I’m sure I would live to a ripe old age in the slave trade.”

“Sorry. Your sarcasm radar is probably not at its best right now.”

She managed a weak smile, then sat up straighter. “But wait, what about John Mitchell?”

Jase paused, unsure. “Who?”

“John Mitchell, little number cruncher in Jack's division who found discrepancies in the bookkeeping. Brendon helped him.”

“Mitchell, yeah. I remember him. You think Brendon helped him?”

“He did!” Felicity insisted. “Brendon took John’s information and cleared up some pretty serious ongoing embezzlement by upper-level employees.”

“How do you know that?” Jase deadpanned.

Felicity bit her lip. “Well, Brendon told me, but-”

“Did he mention where John Mitchell is now?”

Nervous, Felicity said nothing.

“John Mitchell disappeared over a year ago. The only reason I knew who he was is because my job partly entails monitoring the computers for suspicious activity – the ones for the legitimate part of the company. I saw what he saw, saw his name on the documents. I asked around – discreetly. I’ve actually been keeping his work going, keeping it in a private database in case I need it.”

“You monitor suspicious activities at ProtoComm? You must be bored.” Felicity scoffed.

“Ah, there’s your sarcasm,” he smirked. “I monitor suspicious activity, meaning dangerous to ProtoComm's commercial interest. If what I have gathered is correct, John Mitchell had flagged too many of the key entries that had hidden the criminal activity.”

Felicity stood up from the little wooden chair that served for a cheap hotel's living space. “So, they did to him what they wanted to do to me.” She shivered. “Except I doubt they sent him into slavery, and I doubt anyone rescued him.” Her voice broke, and she couldn’t speak for a minute. Finally, she turned back to Jase. “Maybe this is a little premature, but thank you,” she offered awkwardly. “For coming to help me.”

Surprise flashed briefly across his face, but he suppressed any real response. Instead, he just smiled and took a deep breath. When he didn't continue, Felicity pressed for more information.

“So, what you're saying is that Brendon helped catch John Mitchell?” She almost couldn't believe it, even with everything that had happened to her. “And then came home and lied to me to impress me? Does that make sense?”

“I don't know,” Jase shrugged. “Why do people do anything? I mean, it was probably before he decided to send you away. He knew that you appreciated things like that.”

Moving to the window, Felicity peered out through the slit in the curtain. The sun stood over halfway to its zenith above the vast, flat expanse outside of the minuscule town. She wished she could at least have seen the mountains that she knew lay beyond the horizon, but those were blocked by the never-ending plain. She was hemmed in and hindered by a lack of boundaries. A good analogy for my life right now, she scoffed bitterly. She could go anywhere, do anything, but she needed to know why, and she needed to know what would work. Apparently, Brendon knew how to make his decisions.

“That was before Brendon decided his money was more important than I am,” she pressed in a small voice.

“I mean, for one thing, he needed his money to impress other people after he wrote you off, and you might take that away from him. But I think probably more compelling to him, he knew how strong you are, and how principled you are. If you ever figured out the source of his money, you would have no qualms about turning him in to the police – even if it left you broke. You couldn’t be reasoned with.” He finished sardonically.

“Damn right I couldn't!” Felicity actually would not have made such a black and white statement, but she needed to vent some of her anger. “Cause by ‘reasoned with’ you mean ‘bought out’!”

“Exactly. Bill had the mechanism in place to get rid of you; he only needed Brendon's help to get you to Banff and to that party. I was surprised that Bill would agree personally to sully his hands, but you have no idea how valuable Brendon is to the company's dealings.”

“I understand Bill, but Brendon? I'm his wife. We were kids together...” Felicity choked.

At her pain, Jase seemed to war with himself. Whatever won him over, his decision didn't ease the ache in Felicity's gut. “And you're a constant reminder of how far he's fallen, a constant prick on his conscience. Having you around meant that he would lose the money, lose Aimée, lose his ability to live with himself.”

Felicity had been wrong. Jase's words could hurt her. A wave of nausea swept through her again as she was reminded of the other betrayal. Brendon and Amy. Why did it hurt more to her that Brendon had cheated on her than that he had sold her into slavery? Maybe because Brendon's crimes only reflected on his own lack of character. His rejection of her reflected her value. In the end, his criminality was a statement about himself. His affair felt like a statement about her.

Collecting herself, Felicity looked back at Jase, her voice strained. “What does he plan to do with my children?”

Jase tapped his finger on the blue formica tabletop. “The same thing he has always done, I imagine. However he treated them before, he’ll treat them the same now. Maybe a little better because he will have to make sure no one suspects him.” The words seemed trapped by his reticence. “A man who could send you into the slave trade? He justifies that behavior somehow. No one can live with the belief in their own evil. They maintain vestiges of good behavior so they can justify their existence. Brendon can send you into slavery and still raise his kids like a ‘good’ dad. He'll hire out childcare and housekeeping, go to ball games and parent socials.”

Felicity shivered, remembering Brendon’s words. It's not so hard to hire someone to take over most of your responsibilities. He had made it sound like he wanted to help her. Instead, he wanted to replace her.

“And I'm sure he'll question himself at first. But when his plans work out, he'll put it behind him. You would disappear, he would wait the requisite time for the appearance of respectable mourning, then he would “fall into” the comforting arms of Aimée. If your kids are lucky, he won't spiral down and turn into a Bill. And he won't grow increasingly more callous, focused on power and money to the exclusion of all else. I think he has let himself pretend like this wasn't so bad by handing the responsibility off to Bill. In his mind, it's like he didn't really do it. He can wash his hands. So maybe he hasn't given in to full-on depravity, just delusion. I mean, not to cause you more pain, but Aimée is actually kind of nice. She's certainly doesn’t seem involved in ProtoComm's dark dealings. I would guess Brendon pictures some sort of domestic future with her.”

Wave after wave of disgust and pain rolled through Felicity. She doubted his words, but not enough to fully dismiss them. She started to associate stories she had read, betrayals she had seen from afar as merely interesting, in a much more personal and painful light. How could a pastor minister to the sick with one hand while stealing money from his church with the other? How could a philanthropist donate millions of dollars to charity then go home and beat his wife for a minor offense? How could a doctor dedicate her life to protecting the health and well-being of people and yet make extra money by writing prescriptions to feed the illegal habits of her patients? Only a fool would deny the possibility that Brendon could feign benevolence but act unscrupulously, and no one had ever accused Felicity of being a fool. She could believe it, even if she wanted to deny it.

The situation went so far above and beyond her own betrayal.

Of course, that hurt her the most, but if what Jase suspected were true, Brendon was responsible for hurting so many more people than Felicity. And what had she fought against her entire life? Bullies. People who took advantage of others. Callous jerks who ignored the pain they caused to gain for themselves. In an instant, her misery transformed into fury. Brendon planned to escape with her children to raise them as his legacy. What kind of legacy was that? A man so unscrupulous could only pass on infamy to his children, and when Felicity thought of Noah or Nicholas or Alex? She had envisioned such ambitious futures for them. Part of her wanted to give up and walk away because the battle was too difficult, but how could she abandon her children to the future Jase had described?

“I get it,” she huffed. “I really think I do. So, what is our plan?” she demanded, her voice surprisingly steady.

With a subtle smile, Jase peered up into Felicity's eyes. He finally reached to take Felicity's hand, and though she started to draw her hand away, she quickly changed her mind. In a time when her feelings vacillated between agony and deadness, his touch sizzled, warm and alive. It nearly overwhelmed her. Would it hurt if she let herself believe him sincere – as long as she used caution? Though she wouldn’t let herself run down the romantic line of thought, she decided to interpret the gesture as one of kindness, and she didn't draw back when he stood to peer into her eyes. He seemed hesitant enough, and with the sheer euphoria of his skin on her skin, she let the contact stand. Even managed a smile for him as she wrapped her hand around his.

“Really, Felicity…” His own countenance reflected much more sobriety than she would have expected at her allowance. “I don't like the idea of taking you back to Banff either, but if you want to go back to some semblance of life, I have to find something on Brendon that will convince him to leave you alone. It’s the kind of thing Bill keeps close to the vest, but he has things on everyone he needs it on. There’s some on-premise storage at a couple of his non-corporate locations. Private servers, no internet connection. There’s one in Banff.”

“So, where would we find those? Wouldn’t he keep that at his corporate headquarters or something?”

Jase shook his head. “Isn’t that the first place you would look?”

“Fair point,” Felicity smiled.

“Plus, it’s hard to limit the number of visitors to corporate. Out in the middle of nowhere? Anyone who shows up is suspect. He has blackout locations in Banff, a small town in France, and in southeast Asia. Probably he won’t have all the information at each location, but all I need is one or two things to get Brendon off your back. Unless you’re really up for travel -”

“Which is irrelevant because I’m not dragging my children all over the world.

“…which is actually irrelevant because of your kids; Banff is our best bet.”

“So…that means that he’ll have even more reason to kill me?”

“If you’re the one threatening him, maybe. But you won’t be. It will be me and your brother.”

“Not my brother!” Felicity insisted.

“You’re far too worried about your brother – he can take care of himself - but I didn’t actually mean that Brendon would know about your brother. I just mean we can use Nick’s computer knowledge to make my threat have legs.”

Nodding slowly, Felicity began to see the plan. “And you can only access the information from this ‘blackout’ location?”

“Exactly,” Jase agreed. “So we go back to my place near Banff and figure out how to find what we need.”

Felicity acquiesced weakly, pulling her hand back as she crossed her arms across her chest. Her two minds warred, the one that wanted relief with the one that wanted solutions. Rubbing her palms up and down to warm herself, she tried to breathe normally. Brendon had taken her to a cabin in the woods – she didn’t really want to return to similar circumstances.

“Are they monitoring my phone?” she changed the subject.

“They weren’t when I left. They expect that your phone was sold to someone in Mexico, and with the account transferred to ProtoComm's name, they assume you wouldn't be able to gain access.” He smiled. “Of course, you're smarter than they think.”

“Thanks,” she offered reluctantly.

A boyish smile of pleasure lit up Jase's face, and Felicity remembered how thoroughly attractive she had found him. “Glad I could help. Really. So, if I go back to Bill,” he picked up the conversation, “it will accomplish two things. First, I can watch him and see what he knows. Secondly, I can divert suspicion from myself while I move around some resources. Once I have things in place, you and I can settle somewhere more secure.”

“Settle?” The word sent Felicity's stomach into flips.

“I mean, figure out how to get you into a more permanent situation, somewhere you can move your kids. It will need to be out of the country, I imagine, but first, I would like to convince Bill that you are really gone. Then we can get you settled and supported so you can handle children. I guess you were thinking if I did this, you would just stay in your house and live in Phoenix?”

“I hadn’t really gotten that far…” Not that she wanted to create any kind of permanent situation with Jase, but she couldn't deny the appeal of having his resourcefulness close by. She certainly couldn't figure it out alone. And once she had reminded him, he had quickly accounted for her kids. Tears sprang to her eyes. Glancing around her empty hotel room, she assessed her own resources. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She didn't even have anything to pack.

“I agree with you in principle,” she acceded, “but I am not really willing to make commitments that far down the road. I do think that for the time being, you're my best option.” She forced her hands to her sides, striding to the bedside to pick up her phone. She wiped the moisture off her cheeks. Whatever she decided, she did not want to waste time hanging out in a hotel room with Jase. “Let's get out of here,” she commanded, striding to the door, “and you can tell me the rest of your plan while we're on the road.”

“Wait,” he reached his hand out to restrain her. “Just hold on a sec. I brought you a change of clothes. Do you want to clean up and get more comfortable for the long drive?”

Felicity's eyes widened in surprise, and the tears threatened again.

Jase seemed to reach his hand toward her in comfort but thought better of it, shrugging into nonchalance. “Size 6 long, right?” He grinned at her shock, apparently attributing it to his unexpected knowledge. “Credit card records. Online shopping. One of my specialties is security exploitation.”

“So, you're a computer hacker?” she asked incredulously; he hardly seemed the type.

“Just small time,” he shrugged, though he seemed to take her question as an invitation to explain himself to her. “Nothing compared to your brother. I serve in most aspects of security: surveillance, computers, security systems. My specialty, though, is communications, all aspects. I deal with formulating correspondences in the way most advantageous for my employers; I liaise in person to broker strategic agreements...” He stopped short, turning to meet Felicity's eyes. “You don't care about all that,” he asserted, and Felicity got the distinct feeling that he had forgotten himself, that he might not be casting himself in the most favorable light. Suddenly, his eyes appraised the tight fit jeans. “I can see you couldn't find the right size wherever you bought those.” Though his words held no insinuations and his tone had spoken disinterested observation, Felicity got the distinct impression that he approved of what he saw. Her cheeks glowed red.

“Uh, right,” Felicity responded, dazed. Everything about him confused her! Did he really want to help her, or did he just plan to exploit her in some way? “You do realize that you come across just a tad like a creeper…”

Jase’s mouth burst out in a laugh. “That is the first time anyone has ever accused me of that. Usually, I’m the one being stalked.”

“Humble, aren’t we?”

“I think the problem is this situation. I have literally had to spy on you, and I’m never sure how much to tell you, so there’s the whole ‘he’s lurking’ vibe. I don’t know…” He paused for several seconds. “I honestly don’t know how to make sure I don’t deceive you while I protect you from all the stuff I know, and how I can make sure you know I’m on your side without stepping over boundaries.”

Felicity blew out a breath. “Wow,” she acknowledged. “That was a lot of ambiguous candor.” At his puzzled expression, she explained. “You want to tell me stuff, but not too much, and you want to make a connection, but since you know me so much better than I know you, it’s like there’s a weird discrepancy between us that shouldn’t be there.”

As she spoke, Jase started shaking his head. “I know everybody thinks Brendon is really smart – “

“Because he is…”

“Because he is, but I think you give him a run for his money.”

Felicity smirked. “You know, Brendon couldn’t buy me with money, and you can’t buy me with compliments.”

“Just being honest,” he shrugged, and Felicity rolled her eyes. “Let me go get your stuff,” he offered casually. “It’s in the car. Be right back.”

Her stuff? As Jase left the room, Felicity seated herself, statue still, on the edge of the bed, gnawing nervously at her cuticles again. She dared not allow herself to think. After about a minute, Jase returned with a small duffel bag and handed it to her. He then seated himself in the chair by the front door. “I got these for you.”

Suspicious, Felicity tentatively reached for the bag, pulling open the zipper and glancing inside at a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

“Thank you.” She looked up at him gratefully.

“Don’t give me too much credit. One nice act doesn’t make a nice person. Get changed and we’ll get out of here.”

“I think I'd feel more comfortable if you went outside,” she hedged, trying not to sound too prudish.

To his credit, he seemed to judge his own lack of consideration. “Oh, of course. Sorry,” he grinned sheepishly. He stood back up and walked toward the door. “I'll be waiting right outside.”

Despite the thick privacy curtain over the window, Felicity would change in the bathroom even with its the cramped size. Would she describe the way he looked at her as leering? No, she knew, that sounded too creepy, but there was some definite “checking her out” behind his eyes. After many years of being purposely oblivious to any male attention, her new sensitivity disoriented her.

In the bathroom, she seated herself on the edge of the tub and began sifting through the contents of the bag. Jase had included everything she could need: shirt, jeans, jacket, toiletries, personal effects. He had thought of everything.

After quickly trading outfits, she placed her outfit from Quido in the bag, stepping out of the bathroom, crossed the room to open the door.

Though Jase appraised her casually, she sensed heat behind his eyes. Oh, God. Please don't look at me that way, she pleaded on several levels. “Okay,” she offered aloud, hoping to distance herself from him by her indifference. “Let's go.”