Things just didn't seem to be going my way. Right after things would seem to be getting to normal something unexpectedly bad would happen. Like now. The pilot had sent someone to tell us that we would be landing soon. I mentally jumped for joy. In my current state jumping was not an option.

Being on this plane was making me feel more sick than I already did. The pain pills I had been given were making my stomach toss and turn uneasily. Where had the pills come from anyways? Who stitched the bullet hole closed? Of course I hadn't thought to ask any of these questions.

"Joseph!" I shook him awake. His eyes opened and then closed again. I rolled my eyes. It was practically pitch black in here. The only thing lighting the place up was a couple of flash lights. "C'mon it's not even bright." I mocked slightly when he stuffed his face into his elbow. "I sighed and propped myself up on my forearms. "We're about to land."

He groaned and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "That was the shortest flight I've ever had." He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're descending now" a man came in from the cockpit and informed us. I knew. I could feel my stomach lurching in the most uncomfortable way. I groaned and flopped back down on the hard wooden board that I was laying on. Bad idea. My back, and shoulders throbbed in protest.

"Oh I hate planes." Now it was my turn to bury my head in my hands in discomfort. Held perfectly still until the wheels touched the runway below us. My body was projected upwards, then slammed back down on the rough wood. I should've grabbed onto something, after all there were no seat belts holding me in place like there normally would have been "Ahh." I hissed and gripped at the skin above my injured leg. I was on pain killers, but that didn't stop the sharp pain from shooting down to the tips of my toes.

No one noticed my discomfort as they were busy putting all of their belongings they had brought away. Joseph had disappeared, I assumed to the cockpit.

"It looks like we might have some company boys. I want everyone ready when that door opens." He strode over to a box and pulled 2 dangerous looking handguns from it.

What? Company? By the way everyone was behaving all of the sudden I was guessing that way not good news.

I kept my eyes on Joseph. He quickly tucked the guns into his pants. For the first time he actually looked like a mob boss to me. He turned and quickly made his way over to me.

"Jessica, when those doors open I want you to stay right here OK? I don't know what's going to be on the other side and I need you to be safe. It might not even be a big deal, but if it is I want you out of the way." I nodded and kept my face calm.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." I wanted to be strong but my sleeping habits were taking their toll.

"Honey, it's not that I don't believe in you, but you just had surgery on your leg, were kidnapped by psychos that seem to have some weird obsession with keeping you in their possession. I won't let anything be left to chance. Stay here and I'm going to have some guys stay and protect you as well. Just in case something goes wrong. Like I said, I'm not even sure that the guys outside are looking for trouble." His genuine concern about the situation made me a little nervous. I knew that he was just trying to make me feel better by saying that there might not be trouble. He wouldn't be this caught up on it if he didn't believe there was something serious going on.

"OK. I'll stay here."

"Thank you." He brushed my cheek bone with his thumb and stood up. "Trevor, Balthosar, I want the 2 of you to stay back and make sure that nothing happens to her. If it does, it's going to be the 2 of you that pay for it." I knew he was being deadly serious, but his dramatic way of getting things done made me roll my eyes.

"Yes boss." Trevor said while gulping. The two of them walked over to me immediately after that and stood in front of me.

"Looks to me like you're becoming my body guard." I said guilty and pulled myself up so I was sitting against a big box that was resting behind me. "Ruben would be so upset." I frowned. Ruben. I hadn't seen him in what seemed like ages.

"Ruben? What was he your old body guard." I think he thought I was joking. I don't think that he actually thought that I had a legit bodyguard.

"Yes." I said staring him in the eye. He raised his eyebrow and looked at me strangely.

"You my friend must get yourself into a lot of trouble." He smirked.

"You have no idea." I mumbled to myself.

I was snapped out of my overpowering thoughts by the sound of the back of the plane slowly opening up to reveal 4 very important people. The first, was the president of the United States. , and the second, third, and fourth just happened to be the 3 people that haunted my dreams almost every time I had the misfortune of falling asleep. Cameron, Stefan, and Romano. Behind those 5 stood approximately 20 guys all armed with guns a lot bigger than ours.

I sucked in a large breath of air. I could already tell this was not going to be good for anybody.

"Joseph." Our president stalked forward onto the plane. Immediately all the guns on our side came up. Instantly ready to protect our own commander and chief. "You and I have been friends for a rather long time. You've scratched my back, I've scratched yours, but I think it's time that we made a change." I narrowed my eyes at the bald little man. I'd never liked the guy. He reminded me of a weasel. Come to think of it, I don't know I'd ever met anyone who did like the guy.

"What kind of change Jefferson?" Joseph growled. I'd heard that voice before. It reminded me of when he stuck me in that rat room of his. I cringed at the memory.

"Welll, Romano here has made me a very good offer to begin doing business with him. I'm sorry Joseph, but I just don't think it would be a very good idea for me to keep doing business with the both of you. I'm going to need you to get you're men out of the white house effectively immediately."

"Trust me Jefferson, you don't want to do this." I could tell just by his tone of voice that Joseph was beyond irritated.

" I believe I do. Unfortunately I'm also going to have to arrest you for your illegal business endeavors also. However, if you hand Miss Jessica over to me and my new friends I may be willing to look the other way. "



"Good lord Jefferson do you honestly think that I would agree to that?" I looked through Trevor and Balthosar's legs at the scene going down. Joseph looked past the president and at the men that were really responsible for this whole thing. "Romano you know that I will never give her up."

He stepped forward leisurely. "Well it was worth a try. You know we started an experiment on her." Joseph visibly tensed. Romano smiled seeing it. "Yes her brain holds some very valuable information to us. I simply can't let you have her." Romano shrugged nonchalantly.

I gulped this was all coming down to me. If people died today, it would be on me. Romano and his son were her because they wanted me. I felt like the most selfish guilty person in the world, but the thought of giving myself to them right when I'd just begun to feel safe again was too much to handle. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it.

I stared down at my hands. I didn't think that anyone outside the plane could see me as it was too dark, but I could feel them all looking for me. All 24 of them.

"What did you do to her Romano!? You sick bastard!" Joseph yelled, after all that he was only just now loosing his cool.

Before another word could be said there were a bunch of loud screeching. I looked up curiously from my hands. They were car tires squealing on the airport runway as the black Escalades came to an abrupt halt. Men jumped out of the cars and pointed their guns forward. At first I thought that they were pointed at us, but when I saw Matthias hop out of the front seat of one of the vehicles I knew that they were ours. Matthias was holding a pretty hefty weapon himself. We now outnumbered them 2 to 1.

"Here comes the Calvary princess." Trevor turned slightly and whispered to me. "Don't worry we'll have you back in your castle in no time." Normally I would have laughed at his joke, but I wasn't in the best of moods.

"Sorry I'm late Joseph. You wouldn't believe the traffic." I had never considered Matthias to be the joking type apparently looks were deceiving.

"Yes uncle I don't think I would believe it." I could practically hear the smirk in Josephs voice. Romano looked angry. More angry than I'd ever seen him. Stefan looked pissed as well. He obviously didn't have as much self control as his father did. The president looked scared shitless. Cameron was staring straight at me. I gasped and shrunk back against the box. I didn't think that anyone could see me. He kept his eyes looking straight at me.

"Trevor." I whispered. His head turned slightly to the left, indicating that he was listening but still keeping his attention on the situation in front of him. "Could you move a little to the left." He immediately stepped over blocking me from Cameron's prying eyes.

"Well gentleman, as lovely as this little meeting has been we really should be going. We have important business to attend to." I could tell that Joseph was relieved that we now had the upper hand.

He glanced back at me and then back ahead. I tried to hurry to my feet, but i just couldn't seem to push myself up.

"Let us help Jessica." Trevor and Balthosar each grabbed my under the arms and hauled me to my feet. I blushed. I knew that everyone was aware of my presence now. Awesome. I went to take a step forward but the pain in my leg from putting pressure on it was too much. I fell to one knee with a cry. All the blood drained from my face as I bit my lip and tried not to think about the pain. The hands went to my arms again and this time they stayed there helping me forward.

I kept my head cast to the floor. I hated that everyone in the damn place was looking at me. Once I was to the front Joseph wrapped an arm around my waist and basically carried me to the car with his one arm. I glanced at the terrible trio of three and they all stared at me. Soon they were blocked from my view as Josephs men wrapped around us like a blanket, shielding us from any potential danger.

"This isn't over Joseph." Romano cried. " We will take her back."

"Over my dead body you son of a bitch." Joseph growled loud enough for him to hear and pulled me tighter against his body.

"It can be arranged." I rolled my eyes. What an original line.

"Good luck trying."