The wind danced lightly across Fuchsia’s face as she warmed herself in the sun. Her skin and clothing were bathed in an ornate pattern as the sunlight billowed through the lattice that surrounded the porch. The purrs of her little friend made her smile as she stroked his back. Nix was feeling quite content with his human as he lazily sprawled across her lap. His little paws kneaded rhythmically and drew her attention. She raised her eyebrow and said, “you better keep those little nails to yourself mister.” Nix purred loudly as if it were insulted by her insinuation. She laughed at the cat as she looked out towards the ocean. The water lapped against the shore and the little birds scuttled across the sand. If things were different she would love to be here, she had never been on a vacation and seldom took time for herself.

The last couple of days had been uneventful and her mother had begged her to take some time to rest. Fuchsia had argued with her about the silly request but she eventually lost when Sina joined in. She couldn’t help but get frustrated with them, she felt guilty resting when she knew Jax was suffering. She was tired, they all were. The whole ordeal had been mentally and physically draining and as much as she was opposed to rest, she knew she needed it. What good was she if she was burnt out. 

Fuchsia’s phone rang and it startled both her and Nix. Fuchsia stopped moving her hand and it lay heavily on the cat’s body. Nix turned his head around, his one eye stared at Fuchsia in disapproval. Her heart fluttered nervously as she pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket. She recognized the number as Dr. Nemeroff. He was contacting them faster than she had anticipated. She stood up quickly, opened the door and gently tossed the angry cat into the cottage. The door slammed behind her as she entered behind him. She held the phone up to her ear and said, “hello.”

There was a pause before she heard the Doctor's voice.

“Hello Fuchsia, it is Dr. Nemeroff. I have the information that you requested,” he said.

Sina heard the door and came out to check on Fuchsia. Fuchsia grabbed a piece of paper and scratched out Nemeroff. Sina read the word and took off running to get Bren so they all could hear the call.

They returned quickly and Keri eventually showed up when she heard the commotion. They silently sat in the living room carefully listening to the phone call that was now on speaker phone.

Dr. Nemeroff seemed to have all the information they had requested and more. With the information he had provided them with they would have the upper hand and things should go smoothly in retrieving Jax. 

Fuchsia thought it almost seemed too good to be true. She rubbed her nails into the leather couch nervously and said, “how has Jax’s implant been functioning?”

There was a pause before he answered, “everything seems to be functioning well.”

Fuchsia said, “I wish I knew more about the implant but it was Dr. Collins’s and Dr. Sanders’s research.”

Dr. Nemeroff responded back with, “it’s not your fault. You have done as much as you can to help the young man.”

Fuchsia dug her nails into the couch and said, “thank you Dr. Nemeroff. That means a lot to me.”

Dr. Nemeroff said, “I think we have a good plan. I will see you all at the facility tomorrow night at 9:00.”

Fuchsia responded, “yes, hopefully everything will go smoothly. We will see you then. Bye”

Fuchsia sat the phone in her lap after ending the call with Dr. Nemeroff. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her furrowed brows evidence of her worry. Keri reached out and patted Fuchsia on her back, trying to offer some comfort to her distraught daughter. Fuchsia shook her head, opened her eyes and looked at Bren. “They know,” she said.

 

Keri pulled her arm away from Fuchsia. Her voice trembled as she spoke, “but how?”

Fuchsia said, “there is no Dr. Sanders, and Jax’s implant was Dr. Collins’s and my project. Dr. Nemeroff knew this, he would not have made a mistake like that.”

Keri said, “what are we going to do now?” 

There was a long pause as they all seemed to be thinking. 

Bren smiled as he looked at the others, “we save Jax!” 

Keri said in a panicked voice, “you’re not still planning on going in there. They will kill you all.”

Bren laughed and said, “this is going to be fun! I want to see Creso’s face when things don’t go as he has planned.”

Sina said, “paybacks gonna be a bitch! I can’t wait!”

Keri grabbed Fuchsia’s arm and said, “you can’t be serious! Are any of you actually thinking?”

Fuchsia looked up at Keri, and her stare held a transparency as she ignored her mother’s concern.  

Fuchsia leaned back and sighed, “I’m going to have to make some calls. We are going to need help if we are actually going to pull this off.”

Fuchsia stood up and without another word she walked to the bedroom and shut the door. 

Sina looked over at Keri. The poor woman looked so confused and on the verge of tears. She stood and walked over to her and said, “things will be different this time. Fuchsia is going to make sure we succeed. I have some stuff I need to work on. If you need me just come just knock on my door.”

Sina looked over at Bren who was now standing. She walked over to him and squeezed his arm and whispered, “I know you have been worrying non-stop about Jax but you need to get some sleep. I will come and get you if anything happens.” 

Bren nodded and walked off to his bedroom and shut the door. He sat down on the bed and took his boots off. His bag was lying open beside the bed and he could see the corner of his sketchbook poking out. He leaned over and pulled it onto the bed with him. The sketchbook was old, it had been gifted to him by his grandmother when he was young. He squeezed it in his hands as a flood of memories began to seep into his mind. He turned to the page where he had sketched Jax. The sketch had been made before he had realized his feelings for Jax. He ran his fingers along the edge of the page, he wanted to get Jax back and away from Creso forever. Anger filled him, if it wasn’t for that bastard none of this would be happening. He shut the book and laid it down beside him. He fell back onto the bed and closed his eyes, too exhausted to fight sleep anymore, he laid there thinking about Jax. As sleep began to engulf him, so did a dream.

***

Sina panned in and out of the images on her computer screen. She had obtained the blueprints for the building that Jax was being held in. She hoped that if they familiarize themselves with the layout of the building it would prove useful to their mission. She heard a strange scratching noise and got up to investigate. She opened her door and stepped out into the hallway. She turned to look towards Fuchsia’s room and there was the source of the noise. A disgruntled Nix scratched at Fuchsia’s door. Irritated by the persistent scratching, Sina walked down the hall and scooped the cat up. Nix purred and vibrated happily in Sina’s arms. Sina whispered to the cat, “you have become quite spoiled.”

Sina heard a loud noise come out of Fuchsia’ room and leaned closer. Fuchsia was talking with someone, “no, that won’t work! I told you it has to happen then…No, you don’t understand. If we don’t show up, they will be suspicious and they might do something to Jax or Dr. Nemeroff…” The longer the conversation went on the more agitated she became. Sina could hear Fuchsia moving around the room and it sounded like she was heading towards the door. She turned around quickly and realized that Keri was still sitting on the couch and had been watching her the whole time. 

She walked quickly to the couch and joined Keri before the door opened. 

Fuchsia opened the door and suspiciously eyed the two sitting on the couch and said, “what are you two doing just sitting there?”

Keri spoke first, “Sina was keeping me company and we were having a nice talk.”

Fuchsia squinted her eyes, “Mom! You always taught me not to lie. Were you both eavesdropping on my call? ”

Sina dropped Nix gently onto the floor and sat up and said, “no, it was just me Fuchsia! Nix was causing a lot of noise and scratching at your door. I could hear you through the door and was worried.”

Fuchsia sighed and sat down in one of the chairs and said, “I tried to contact the men from the government. They don’t trust me because I disappeared for years. They don’t believe my story about Jax either. They said they needed to investigate more and then they would send people to help. I got upset and told them we couldn’t wait and hung up.” 

Sina said, “I am surprised you contacted them.” 

“It seemed like the best option and I really thought I could convince them. But, I have other ideas and I know we can still do this!”