The breath of her Dark Queen was tainted with blood and sulfur as it brushed across Maura's cheek. "I do not demand a mountain of bodies to hold my throne, namesake. But enough to get the job done." The talon painfully cut under Maura's chin, forcing her to stare into the midnight blackness of Morrighan's gaze. "You hesitate, and your King is dead. And you sit alone in the tower of lies and excuses. There is no moral high ground to cling to,daor m'inion.Make your choice and hold it.Dhéanamh chaithfear a dhéanamh."
"How?" begged Maura desperately, "How do I save him?"
She was rising from the rabbit hole, the Dark Queen fading away. Morrighan’s final advice:"Dúisigh..."
Maura blinked irritably as she felt Nicholas trying to slap her awake. "Wake up... wake up... Wake UP, MacLaren! I can't do this alone! You have to wake up!"
"Doan'... don't hit me, arsehole," she groaned. "I'm awake. Where are we?"
Her eyes painfully opened to see the relieved ones of Nicholas above her. "Oh, thank god. I've been trying to wake you up for the last hour!"
"What time is it?" Her nails clenched into her palms, the pain trying to jolt herself into awareness.
"It's been two hours-"
"Oh, GOD!" Maura gasped, "James could be dead by now!"
"NO! No!" he tried to soothe her, "He's not. Fassell's obsessed with raping you in front of Mr. Pine, so-"
Biting her lips viciously against the sudden bout of nausea, she nodded. "All right. Wait- why did you betray us? Why, you fucker!"
"Look, I’m- I'm not a traitor!" he gasped, holding his hands in front of him appeasingly. "Mr. Pine told me your safety was the first priority, no matter what. When I saw Fassell and his men, I knew I couldn't get you out in time, so I played along-"
"Played along?" she hissed incredulously. "O'Connell is dead, you bastard!"
Nicholas shook his head. "I don't know what to do, MacLaren! I don't, but I have to get you out of here somehow. Do you think you can walk?"
"Is there anything here- any drugs to reverse the roofie? An upper or something?"
Nicholas shook his head. "There's nothing here but your things Fassell brought from the hotel."
Maura groaned, trying to think. “Coffee. There has to be that strong, dark coffee onboard that some of the Saudis like, right? Get one. An entire pot. The staff knows you’re with the Corporation, they’ll give it to you.”
Waiting for him to return was agonizing, the minutes ticking by as Maura wondered if James was alive. If Fassell would come through that door first. If Nicholas was the chicken-livered bastard she suspected he was.
There was only a moment to feel guilty when he burst back into the room, a tall, slim, ornate coffee pot in hand. “Thank you! How much time do you think we have?"
He groaned miserably. "I don't know. Fassell was really excited with the idea of your... uh... immobility."
It took a minute to force herself not to vomit, but Maura did it. “Can you help me sit up? I’ll drink it straight from the pot.”
They were silent for a while, she forcing the bitter brew down her throat and he trying to rub the circulation back into her legs and arms. Finally forcing herself out of bed, Maura walked up and down the cabin, trying not to fall.
Nicholas stared at her, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked like he'd been in turmoil for weeks. "I'm so-"
"Don't say it." Maura shook her head. "You thought I betrayed you, too. Do we have any allies besides... besides O'Connell? What about James's private security detail?"
He shook his head bleakly. "I think they're all dead. Mr. Pine was alone when they brought him on board."
Painfully trying out some Aikido warm-up exercises, Maura tried to think. "Can we get word to Mr.- to President Maaziz? The man certainly owes us after giving him the country on a silver platter."
"I'll try," nodded Nicholas.
"What about Mr. Sahnoun and the men at the mining camp? They're certainly loyal."
"Maura," it looked like he was trying desperately not to cry. "That's a good twenty-four-hour turnaround. We will all be dead within twelve. If we're lucky."
She nodded resolutely, "Then it will have to be us. Okay, um… put in an anonymous call to the hotel and say you've found an injured man in our suite. Maybe O'Connell is still alive. Can you find me any weapons? Even a knife from the kitchen?" Maura looked down at herself. "Why am I in this lingerie?"
