Rated "PG" for mildly strong language

As he crouched behind some bushes staring up at the tall building, he grimaced. WSB intelligence hadn’t updated their map of the palace since Jax had quit, and he wasn’t sure exactly which room had been assigned to Brenda as the Crown Princess-to-be. A room across the courtyard had been lit since he entered the grounds, but he knew that the Prince’s offices were located on that floor. With the current state of unrest, he wasn’t surprised that the Prince and his advisors were burning the midnight oil.

When he saw a flood of lights go on in a room on the third floor, his spirits rose. Only bedroom suites were located on that floor. As he unwound the rope and prepared to fling the grappling hook, he heard a scream that sent shivers down his spine. At the sound of the second scream, he let go of the hook and cursed happily when it caught the rim of the wrought-iron balcony.

He scaled the rope hand over hand, taking some consolation in the fact that the screaming had stopped. As he pulled himself up to the edge of the balcony, he peered over cautiously. The bad news was that the sheer curtains of the window were drawn so that he couldn’t see what was going on. The good news was that the occupants of the room couldn’t see him vault over the railing.

He crept slowly up to the window and peered through the curtains. All he could see was a group of veiled women surrounding a large bed. One of the women seemed to be wrestling with someone on the bed. Jax inhaled sharply when the women parted and he saw Brenda on the bed. She looked thinner than he remembered, and his breath caught in his throat when she tried to rise from the bed and appeared to be very dizzy.

As the women moved back in, Jax watched in despair as they removed Brenda’s clothing. He had to remind himself that he was on a mission when he caught sight of her perfect nude body. As they lifted her and took her to the bathroom, Jax swore softly. He realized what they were doing, and he thanked God that his plane hadn’t been delayed. With any luck, he would get Brenda out of the room before Rashid arrived for the evening’s festivities.

Jax moved to a different part of the balcony and was finally rewarded with a partial view of the bathroom. He could hear noises of splashing water and the women conversing in rapid Drakarian, but he didn’t hear Brenda’s voice until he heard her laughter. {They drugged her -- she never laughs that way when she’s sober.}

As he watched them bring her back into the bedroom, he crept back to his viewing point at the window. Jax’s mouth grew dry at the sight of her perfumed, agitated body. He could tell from the way she was moving on the sheets that the drug must have contained some kind of mild aphrodisiac, and he mentally called Rashid a whole new set of vile names for subjecting Brenda to this treatment.

Jax heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the last of the women leave the room, turning down the lights as they left. He gently opened the window and eased his body through. Brenda was still moaning and moving restlessly on the bed when he crept up to it. When he touched her arm, the softness of her skin brought back a flood of memories. But before he could say anything to her, Brenda reached up and hooked her hand around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him.

Jax felt himself drowning when his lips touched hers. {Don’t think about the kiss, man. She’s stoned out of her mind. Think about the mission and get her the h*ll out of here.} But it had been such a long time, and feeling her soft and willing and warm in his arms was too much of a temptation. When her arms wound around his neck, Jax deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue past her lips into her sweet mouth.

When Jax heard Brenda moan in delight, he knew things were getting out of hand. Fighting to remain objective, Jax broke the kiss and whispered to her. "Brenda! Wake up! Snap out of it!"

Brenda opened her eyes wide and reached up to gently caress the side of his face "Jax? Is it really you?"

"None other, duchess." Jax stroked her cheek gently, but then reminded himself that speed was essential. "Now can we get the bloody h*ll out of here?"

Brenda just gave him a vacant stare. Jax waved his hand in front of her face, but she didn’t respond in the least. He sighed aloud. "The lights are on but no one’s home, are they, Bren?" He had dreaded the prospect of trying to convince Brenda that Rashid wasn’t what he seemed, knowing full well how stubborn she could be sometimes. But now, seeing her wide-eyed and incoherent, he almost would have preferred her obstinate side.

Jax pulled away from her and rose to his feet, running his hand through his hair and trying to think. Brenda sat straight up in the bed, totally oblivious to the fact that she was nude. "Jax, what’cha doin’?"

Jax shook his head at Brenda, sitting there as calmly as could be, her dusty rose nipples standing firmly at attention thanks to the drug she had been given. {Gee, duh, Jax……What to do first? GET SOME CLOTHES ON THE WOMAN!!} He went back to her and pulled the sheet up to cover her, pushing her back down to rest her head on the pillow. "In case you haven’t noticed, duchess, you don’t have anything on." He straightened and put his hands on his hips, looking around the room. "Now, where do you keep your clothes?"

Brenda popped up again like a jack-in-the-box. "My clothes are WAYYYYY down the hall in my room," she said, leaning forward and pointing to a distant place with her right hand. At least this time she clutched the sheet to her bare bosom with her left hand. "This isn’t my room," she continued, sticking her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. "This is Rashid’s room."

"What a surprise," Jax said cynically, and then he moved to one of the chests of drawers. He pulled the drawer open and began going through the contents, finally exclaiming in victory. "Bingo."

"What’re those for?" Brenda asked with the same confusion as if she were trying to explain quantum mechanics. "Those belong to Rashid."

Jax came back to the bed with a pair of sweat pants and a large T-shirt. "That’s OK. He’s a puny wimp, so they won’t be *too* big on you." Jax threw the clothes down on the bed and gestured towards them, but Brenda just continued to smile at him and blow kisses. Jax got a stricken look and waved his hand in front of Brenda’s face again. "Brenda – clothes?…..put on?" After about a 15 second delay, she gave him an even goofier smile. Jax groaned. "Ahh, duchess.....you aren’t going to make this easy for me, are you?"

When he pulled back the sheet and sat down next to her on the bed, Brenda cupped Jax’s face in her hands and tried to plant a wet kiss on his lips. But before she could land the kiss, Jax whipped the T-shirt over her head and she got a mouthful of cotton. He heard her muffled shriek from inside the shirt. "Jax! Help me! Somebody turned out the lights!" But when he pulled it down all the way over her head, she blinked in wonder and smiled again. "Jax -- I’m so happy to see you!"

Jax shook his head, smiling grimly. "I’m happy to see you too, Brenda." {You are gonna have one h*ll of a hangover tomorrow.}

He had to carefully control his male urges when he pulled back the cover sheet and found her totally nude from the waist down. Brenda leaned over and put her face upside-down under his chin. "What’sa matter, Jax? Did you lose something?"

"Uh…no, Brenda. You did." He re-covered her and held up one finger, signaling that she should sit tight for a minute. He quickly went to the large bathroom and after a few seconds, Brenda heard his low exclamation of success. As he came back to the bed, he was twirling her panties on his index finger happily. "Look what I found!" he said, sitting back down on the bed.

"My undies!" Brenda said happily, grabbing for them, missing them twice as her depth perception was still impaired. When she finally snagged them from his hand, she wiggled from beneath the sheet to sit next to him. Jax took a deep breath as she lay back flat on her back, extending her legs high in the air next to him as she pulled the panties on. Having completed that task, she let her legs collapse in satisfaction. "That feels *so* much better," she sighed.

"Well, let’s see if we can move this along a little, OK, Brenda?" Jax asked gently. He took the sweat pants and picked up one of her legs, beginning to thread it on. Suddenly he had a new appreciation of the hard work his mother had done, dressing him as a baby. He just about had one pants leg pulled all the way on when Brenda grabbed his arm.

"Jax…..how did you know…..why….." Brenda’s lower lip began to quiver.

"Those drugs are starting to wear off, aren’t they, duchess? Jax reached down and gently brushed away a tear. "We’ll talk about it all later, OK? Right now, we just need to get these pants on you….." He had the right leg all the way on her and was working on the left one, trying to get her foot to pop out at the bottom, when he heard her gasp.

"Jax! Oh, my God! Look what that animal Rashid did!" She pointed at her left leg, her finger shaking. "Look! Jax…..he cut off my foot!"

Jax shook his head. "I guess you’re still not *that* sober, are you?" He finally gave the pants a yank, and her foot popped out.

Brenda’s eyes widened and she wiggled her toes. "Jaaaxxxx, you found it! You found my foot!" He shook his head and pulled her to a sitting position as she continued her celebrating. "How will I *ever* thank you for finding my foot, Jaaaaxxxx?" she crooned, the drug still making her very amorous.

Jax carefully pulled her arms from around his neck and rose from the bed. "Why don’t we figure that out later, OK Brenda?" He ran back to the balcony and looked down briefly before returning to where she still sat. "OK, the guards appear to be on break right now, so it’s as good a time as any for us to get out of here." He put his hand out to her. "Can you stand up?"

Brenda snorted disdainfully. "Can I stand up? *Can I stand up?!!!*" She rose to her feet with bravado, but then began to weave. "Uh……can I……" She sank back to the bed. "……Can I sit down for a little longer?"

Jax ran both hands through his hair and then rested his hands on his hips. "I thought so." He chewed on his lower lip, glancing back over his shoulder at the balcony, and then returning his gaze to Brenda, who was still weaving a little as she sat on the bed.

"OK. It’s not gonna be pretty, but this is the only way." As Brenda gave him another goofy smile, Jax took her by the hands. "Let’s try that standing up thing again, OK, duchess?" As he pulled her to her feet, he continued the motion and put his right shoulder to her waistline. Before she could object, he had her over his shoulder, her head dangling down over his back and her legs sticking out awkwardly in the front. He stood motionless for a minute, and then wrapped his right arm around her waist, patting her backside gently with his left hand. "You OK back there, Brenda?" There was no cursing of his name and he let out a sigh of relief. {Maybe she just passed out. That would probably be the easiest way.} "OK, then. I think it’s time to blow this popsicle stand!"

He was making his way back to the balcony when he heard her voice. "Jaaaaxxxxx?"

He froze. "Yeah, Brenda?"

There was another 30 second pause. He wasn’t sure if she was going to throw up or scream bloody murder. It was neither one. "Do you know what I always loved *most* about you?"

He sighed in relief and relaxed a little. "No, what?"

He certainly wasn’t prepared for her answer. Jax was standing at the railing on the balcony when he felt Brenda grasp both sides of his derriere firmly in her hands. "I always *really* loved your butt, did you know that, honey?"

Jax stiffened in surprise. He looked back over his shoulder and realized that with her head dangling over his back and her arms hanging down, his butt was about the only thing she could see. For now. He tried to stifle a giggle. "No – I don’t think you ever told me that, sweetie." He shook his head as she continued to talk, oblivious to what was going on around her.

"Well, it’s true," Brenda said as seriously as though she were swearing on a stack of Bibles. "You have the most *awesome* butt I have ever seen in my life." She gave the objects of her admiration another squeeze for emphasis. Then she began to laugh raucously again. "Not that I’ve seen that many butts, that is!!"

Jax threw one leg over the railing of the balcony, preparing to climb back down the rope. "Ssshhhh, Brenda!" he quieted her. He peeked around at her and she still seemed fascinated by that portion of his anatomy. "Why don’t you just concentrate on my butt and try not to talk now for a while, OK?"

"Okey-dokie," she said happily. Jax shook his head. {If I only had a video-camera, I wouldn’t have to worry about my retirement. Brenda would pay *big* money to make sure nobody ever saw her groping my behind.} As he began to carefully climb down the rope, he could still hear her, making soft kissing noises and then patting his derriere gently.

They were about 50 feet from the ground when her heard her again. "Jax?"

{Uh-oh. Something tells me my butt just lost its appeal.} "Yeah, Bren?"

"You didn’t tell me we were so high up in the air. You know I don’t like it high up in the air."

{D*mn. Of all the bloody awful times for her to sober up….} "I know, sweetie. But we don’t have far to go. Just close your eyes and hang onto my belt and don’t think about where we are."

"Jax…." The voice definitely sounded sober now. "I think I hafta throw up."

"NO!" Jax’s whisper was frantic. "Brenda, try not to look down and breathe through your nose. As soon as we’re on the ground you can throw up, OK?" Jax made the rest of the descent in record time and set Brenda back on her feet as soon as he had touched ground himself. As he bent her over and guided her head between her knees, he could hear her shaky breathing.

Jax smiled at her as he wound the rope around his arm again. "You feel like you’re up to moving again?"

Brenda looked up at him, her hands still braced on her knees. "Not really, but I don’t imagine that’s the answer you wanted."

Jax took her hand. "Come on. Once we’re out of the palace compound you can take a nap. Right now, I just want to get away from here before Rashid discovers his little playmate for the evening has run away from the sandbox."

Brenda nodded and Jax was pulling her into the shadows almost before she could straighten up. They slipped close to the wall and inched their way to the section where Jax had first come over. Brenda looked up at the wall. "I suppose going through the main gate is too tame for you?"

He gave her a grim look as he unwound the rope and swung the hook again. "I would *love* to go through the main gate, Brenda, but I think the guards might have different plans for us." He let go of the hook and it went over the wall, hooking on the far side. As he pulled on the rope, testing its tension, he looked back at her. "Besides, I don’t know why *you’re* complaining. *You’re* not the one who has to haul *me* around, you know."

Brenda looked up at the wall again. "I could climb that wall if I wanted to," she said in a small but determined voice.

Jax rose an eyebrow at her. "You just don’t want to, right?"

"That’s right." Brenda crossed her arms and rocked back and forth from heels to toes as Jax pulled on the rope again to make sure it would hold. When he turned to put her over his shoulder again, she backed away.

"Oh, noo....not that way," she objected. "You had to carry me that way last time cause I was stoned but I’m better now and I refuse to be carried like a sack of potatoes."

{You’ll never learn, will you Jax? You didn’t appreciate it when she was agreeable, although drunk as a skunk. Now she’s back to her old, stubborn self again.} "All right," Jax sighed in desperation. He turned around and crouched down to the ground. "Put your arms around my neck and hang on."

Brenda smiled in victory and followed his directions immediately. As Jax straightened, they both couldn’t help but notice the fact that the V of her legs was nestled intimately against his back. He could feel her softness as he moved, and when she tightened the grip of her legs around his waist, he flashed back to other times when she had gripped his waist with her legs. When Brenda cleared her throat softly, he knew she was remembering it, too.

"OK, here we go," he finally said, grasping the rope and beginning to pull his way up. When they finally had reached the top of the wall, Jax was winded. Brenda had her head buried in his shoulder and he had to tap her on the arm. "It’s OK to look now. We’re at the top. We made it," he said, taking deep breaths, "even though I nearly got a hernia from carrying you."

Brenda got down off his back and crouched precariously on the brick wall. "Well, just consider it payback for all those times you made me drink those disgusting health shakes in the morning!"

"They weren’t disgusting -- they were good for you!" Jax returned angrily as he re-wound the rope. Before either one of them could continue their argument, a puff of plaster went up next to Brenda’s foot as they heard a high-pitched whine.

"Is someone shooting at us?" she shrieked.

"I don’t think they’re throwing us a welcome home party, duchess!" Jax shouted, and he pulled her by the hand to a darker part of the wall. "I think your intended just found out that he’s not going to get the party favor of his choice tonight!"

Brenda looked down at the ground below them. They were on the opposite side of the compound from the main gate. Heavy shrubbery covered the ground below them. "So -- what are you waiting for? Throw the d*mn rope down and let me get on your back before they use me for target practice!"

Jax shook his head. "Nope. No rope this time, Brenda. No time." He pointed to a large, leafy bush. "See that bush over there?"

Brenda looked at him, looked at the bush, and then looked back at Jax. "You mean jump? You’ve *got* to be kidding!"

At that moment, another puff of smoke rose next to Jax’s feet. He took Brenda in his arms. "I never kid about anything that involves my body being next to yours, Brenda. Hold on!" With that, he threw himself off the wall towards the bush, holding her to him so that they both fell together.

They landed with a loud thump in the bushes, Brenda on top of Jax. When she opened her eyes, Jax was trying to catch his breath. "Are you OK?" she asked softly.

"Just got the wind knocked out of me," he croaked. Then he jumped to his feet and pulled her up with him. "Come on." They began running through some darkened alleys until they came to a military jeep.

"Hop in," Jax commanded, and he jumped into the driver’s seat.

Brenda recognized the military insignia. "Is this yours?"

Jax reached under the seat for the keys. "It is since I stole it." He gunned the motor to life. "Hold on and stay low," he growled, and they roared out of the alley into the deserted streets of Muwai.

Brenda couldn’t see much from below the dashboard, but she could hear the whine of sirens in the distance as Jax maneuvered the jeep on mostly empty streets. She was brave enough to stick her head up once, and Jax pushed her back down again with his right hand as he steered with his left. "Didn’t I tell you to stay down?" he asked angrily.

"I just wanted to see where we were going," Brenda answered with equal anger. "If you would have made a left turn at that last intersection we could have driven to the Canadian embassy." She bit her lower lip. "I take it you’re headed for the English embassy instead?"

"I’m afraid not, Brenda," Jax answered through grit teeth. "There’s nobody at those embassies anymore. All western citizens were evacuated from Drakar days ago. Doesn’t his lowness, your fiancé, let you watch the news?"

"The rebels cut the power lines a few days ago," Brenda replied quietly. "The palace was running on generator power, but we still couldn’t pick up the cable feed. The phone lines were cut too." She chewed her lip again, and Jax remembered she did that when she was frightened. "What about the employees at the Barrett plant?"

"Your father issued a statement that they had all gotten out of Muwai. He neglected to mention the fact that he left his daughter there to marry a madman."

"Jax...."

He held up a hand. "Don’t go there right now, duchess." He looked in the rear-view mirror. "Right now, all I want to do is get us out of Muwai in one piece." The words were just about out of his mouth when something exploded about three blocks from their jeep and the vibrations sent the jeep skidding. Brenda screamed and hid lower in the well beneath the front seat.

When she finally put her head up again, Jax gave her a grim smile. "Welcome to the last days of Drakar, Brenda."

To be continued.....