Prologue

 

Benjamin Keats followed his wife and four children to the limo he and his family had come to the funeral in.  He scanned the expanse and his blue eyes stopped at the sight of the frail girl that stood alone by her father’s grave.  “Daddy is she going to be alright?” the more independent of his four children stood by her father looking at the same young girl with a curious gaze. 

Leah hadn’t taken her eyes off the girl that had lost her daddy, she saw that the little girl didn’t cry.  She knew that if it were her dad being buried she wouldn’t be nearly as calm as the young girl who couldn’t be anymore than a couple of years younger than her.  “I don’t know sweetheart,” he said running his hair through her jet black hair. 

Matthew Forester was a man above all men his death considered an accident but Benjamin and a selected few knew otherwise.  He was survived by his only daughter Theresa Forester, lowering his tall frame he spoke to the driver and met the eyes of his confused wife.  He nodded in the direction of the girl, with her jaw set she knew that this was not the time or place to argue instead she ushered their middle child in the back and got in with her. 

It wasn’t lost on Benjamin his wife’s dislike of what he did for a living behind closed doors.  Occasions like these were where he could see why Nina hated his job there was so much at stake especially with so much to lose. 

The fall wind blew the black overcoat that swallowed the body of the once bright child.  The only vibrant thing about her now was the golden locks of hair that ran over her shoulders.   

Of all the people he had consoled about death Benjamin found himself at a loss with words on how to tell a six year old girl her father was never coming back.  Her silence worried him, he expected her to be hysterical angry anything outrageous that might make Theresa act her age.  Yet, she reacted better than most people who'd lost a dear member of their family. 

His shined shoes broke the dried leaves underfoot, the sound caught Theresa's attention she turned her head slightly in his direction and just as slowly she turned it back to stare at the casket that had yet to be covered by dirt.  She supposed they would do it later when she left, try to spare her.  Her daddy told her about death, he didn't want to but she remembered the recent conversation about where his mother was and where he was now.  She had spent the day being touched by strangers that looked down on her with sad eyes.  She heard the whispers of how this terrible thing should never happen to a child and at such a 'delicate' age.  She was expected to cry, but she made a promise to her daddy she wouldn't--she had to be strong--if not then who would be strong for her? 

Nightmares prepared her for her daddy's death, and the day he walked out of their little house on the hill she knew that she would never see him again.  She'd seen children on TV crying and carrying on to get their parents to do things for them.  She couldn't do that to her daddy he loved his job he seemed to brighten even more when he came home from a long period of time.  Sometimes she thought it was the sight of her that brought that smile and the twinkle in his eyes.  It was accomplishment, a word she had a time pronouncing when it was first brought to her attention. 

"My father isn't coming back," with a bittersweet smile it broke his heart to see the once happy child look so defeated.  Life was cruel even to the best and the youngest the Banner family could attest to that.  Mary Forester died during childbirth, one of the most beautiful women one would ever meet inside and out.  Michael Banner an unselfish and fearless man and their daughter a healthy combination of the two staggering personalities.   The product of their beauty stood only a few feet away from him and he could see the masterpiece of a person they built steadily becoming a shell of what she once was. 

Tragedy has the power to kill the best of us making no exceptions, there was only one guarantee in the end that life would never be the same.  It's an unspoken law sadly children couldn't be excluded from tragedy's Herculean wave of sorrow and unrepentant anguish.  If he could take this young girl's pain away he would, but what made him human also made him that much unable to help. 

"Yes," it hurt to speak, uncomfortable in the presence of the small child he felt helpless, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his little girl coming up behind him.  She spared a look at her father before she stood by Theresa.  She held her hand he watched them standing there for a long time he didn't speak he tried to breath as little as possible.  Whatever his daughter was trying to do Theresa smiled at the clasped hands and met the compassionate stare of the other girl. 

During the barbecues that their fathers and their friends hosted the girls saw each other, but never really played together. 

“It’s ok to cry,” Leah tried to help but the child still didn’t speak.  She only tightened her grip. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Theresa,” after a long pause, “what’s yours?”

 

Chapter 1

 

“Leah.” Those eyes…. those lips….. that voice 

Startled by her screeching alarm clock she grabbed her gun from under her pillow pointing it at an invisible assailant.  Get it together Dawson, lowering her firearm she looked around the empty room making sure that’s all it was, and empty room.  Throwing the alarm across the room she lay on her back in her bed still gripping the gun.  She hated mornings the stench of the morning air and the morning birds chirping all too cheerily for Dawson, the phone rang, spotting the blood red numbers 8:30 glowing on her clock. 

She'd taken a short nap, but that was interrupted by another dream that left her in a sweat, her dreams were bittersweet they were the only time she could see her father's face clearly.  Whereas in the day she could conjure up bits and pieces of the man that she knew.  It had been years since he died but that didn't make her miss him any less. 

"What," she growled. 

"That's how you answer a phone?" the voice on the other end lightly admonished. 

Rolling off her bed she started for the kitchen pulling out her cereal for the morning, "you called me for idle chit chat?" 

"No I called you because you have an assignment check your email."  Filling up her bowl with milk she set the jug back in the fridge. 

"Ok," she clicked on the captain toast crunch message snorting at the chose of cereal.  Reading over the encrypted message she stopped and listened on the other end for a second before frowning, "are you watching Brady Bunch reruns?" 

"Yeah, my aunt Esther got me the complete first season on DVD," she could hear his smile and shook her head at how pathetic her friend was. 

"Linus Crawley and company," retrieving her abandoned cereal she returned to her chair with her phone in the crook of her neck. 

"Major Linus Crawley and four others under his command," the voice said from the other end looking at the file now. 

"When?" 

"Four days from now." 

"So soon?" 

"Three point five mill has already been wired in advance the other four point five will be sent after the job." 

"Has he's done this before?" 

"I've checked him out with Kubx he used four of their guys for four jobs… he doesn't make the habit of using the same gun twice….. yadda yadda yadda…."   

Kubx was an assassin service for veteran soldiers to use their talents for hired gun work, on the outside it could easily be mistaken for a legitimate weapons corp. in importation and exportation, the owner was a long legged she demon name Dakota Winters. 

Dawson looked over her email again 'Charlie spilled his cereal by accident'.  Leaning back in her chair chewing on her cereal she looked at the glowing screen in the dim light of the beginning day.  Charlie spilled his cereal by accident was code for he didn’t want this to look like a harmful death.  Accidents weren’t Dawson’s specialty especially in four days time. 

Mac had done a check on the guy, you couldn’t be too careful in the world of lies and deception. 

Too many other assassins were caught because of feds getting the jump on them or even their own buddies betrayed them to get a step up in the hierarchal ladder.  That’s why she worked alone, well, relatively.  Mac was a necessary evil they had met six years ago both of them young and interested in a world outside of the norm.  With their combined talents they made their own organization much to the chagrin of Dakota Winters. 

With a rueful smile she felt her shoulder acting up again, rotating it like the doctor told her to she closed her eyes trying to escape the pain. 

***** 

"Ben it's her," Benjamin looked up from his patio table and looked at one of his old time friends. 

He sat his paper down slowly his eyes never leaving the text. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Positive," it had been some months since he'd seen his once jovial friend smile, those days were becoming far and in between, the aged soldier looked tired  and run ragged by his loyalty to his country and his love for his family.  Benjamin never wanted this to turn out the way that it had, fifteen years ago if he’d only been wiser his decisions would have been different.  But it’s impossible to change time, no matter how hard your heart wants to. 

"You know what to do" 

"It's already been done." 

"What are you two boys talking about to look so serious?" Nina's chipper voice broke the melancholy mood of both men as they looked at the rosy cheeked woman, her hair grayed by her children and their children's children—mother and grand motherhood was a chore within its self. 

"Nothing dear," Benjamin had lived his whole life lying to people, but his wife had the power to see through his veiled lies no matter how thick the covering, he didn't worry about her saying anything in front of Marcus.  Though when his old friend left she would grill him for all the information she wanted to know, and he knew she knew she would get it.  She was that good and then some. 

*****

The small café located on a similarly small corner only catered to veteran coffee drinkers and the doctors and interns that could walk to the café from the hospital. St. Marx was a sixty year old building that was finally getting renovated after proposal after proposal.  After two years of work St Marx was beginning to look more and more like a twentieth century hospital.  Of course the work did make it difficult to give the patients exactly what they need and most had to be transferred so the nose and debris didn't disrupt their recovery or worsen their conditions. 

The wait, noise, and work were well worth it, or so thought two of St. Marx finest doctors.  Enjoying a creamed bagel and coffee the paper Leah looked at the paper that she'd bought earlier before coming in. 

Interns and other doctors passed with smiles gladly greeting both women, if it wasn't for their hard work and grant grabbing the changes made now would have never happened.  Leah Townsend and Barbara Rogers were for eight months the pain in the asses of every political figure in a fifty mile radius.   

Their support groups and proposed programs to help in therapeutic as well as surgical dimensions of hospital thrive made them one of the most recognized hospitals in the city.  

"I think Danny is going to propose," 

"You always think Danny is going to propose," Leah browsed through paper. 

"I know but this time..." she didn't have to look at her friend to know that dumb dreamy look on her face was plastered in place. 

"Its different." she deadpanned getting a glare from the hopeful woman.  Holding her hands up in surrender, "hey you’re the one that’s always getting her hopes up because you think every time he plans a special getaway he's going to propose." 

"At least I have some ambitions in my relationship what about you I haven't seen you with Todd in a while." 

"Todd and I are taking a breather," 

"A breather, and how is Sam taking it?" 

Looking over the rim of her cup she took a sip before placing it down slowly thinking of her son.  Sam was going on twelve years old, the twelve years of his life not only symbolizing his age but the number of years she was married to her husband Todd Townsend.  

"I don't know what to do anymore, did I tell you about what happened at his school? 

The blond shook her head.

"He broke into the chemistry lab and took the jar of ammonia sulfate went into the bathroom and dumped half of it in the garbage and the other half behind the toilets." 

"What?" 

"The whole school smelled terrible, I don't know where he gets this stuff," she leaned back in her chair still baffled by her son's audacity.  "He's suspended for two weeks because of it." 

"Blame it on MTV every other parent in the world does," 

Smiling a crack she could always count on Barb to keep her spirits up, chancing a glance at the clock, "it's time to go back to work." 

"Oh please don't make me I've got a eleven o'clock with Mr. Harrison today, don't laugh it's not funny."  Leah turned from her friend opening the door for the couple that had just walked in.  Barbara walked through with a scowl on her face, "that self righteous prick he's supposed to be a man of god, I hate when he looks at me he's always undressing me with his eyes." 

"At least he didn't palm your breast claiming god wanted to know what it felt like." 

Pulling away from her friend with wide eyes, "you never told me he copped a feel." 

"Not me." 

"Then who?" 

"Nurse Johnson," Barb couldn't help the smile that came across her face, nurse Johnson was one of the better endowed nurses in the ward and one of the most ornery.    

"What did Nancy do?" 

"You know how Mr. Harrison always gets those erections every time one of the nurses gives him a sponge bath?" 

"Yeah." 

"Let's just say that nurse Johnson took care of his johnson I think that he'll be on his best behavior today there haven't been any incidents since that day so I'm told," Leah informed. 

"My day suddenly brightened." Barb grinned. 

*****

Brenna Westin hated the mall, she knew that these kinds of places were where kids usually hung out, but it was getting more and more dangerous for elderly women to enjoy shopping.  The incessant profanity, the disrespect for their elders, the majority of these children probably didn't know how to read from her understanding. 

She didn't pretend to be an omniscient woman especially not in today's everything she knew was quickly being replaced by something more advanced and new.  This world was new and definitely not hers, most of her friends were long gone and now she lived alone with a lone cat to keep her company. 

Brenna didn't go out at night unless she really had to, she checked the clock when she left the pharmacy didn't close until eight thirty, luckily it wasn't that far from her house.  A short drive which made being out at night so close to home no as scary as it would if were a long distance. 

"Good day to you Mervin," waving goodbye to one of her nightly bingo players. 

"Don't move you old bitch," a cold voice in her ear stopped her search for her keys and kept her still.  Feeling something cold on her neck she didn't want to think about what it was inside her head she was praying.  She didn't know if the lord would hear her it had been so long since she'd prayed. 

"Give me your drugs," expecting to her a demand for her money she chanced a look back to see the barrel of gun pointed right in her face.  She passed over her bag praying harder asking god or anyone else for that matter for any kind of help.  She was old true, but she wasn't ready to die this way not with some punks stealing her medicine.  With shaking hand she held up her bag. 

"Thanks." 

Silence. 

*****

"Damn," there were many games in the world today that teenagers and adults used to pass the time or have something to conquer.  The universal conquest in the world of videogames Dawson loved it.  Mario was one of her favorites she had been jumping off a cliff when she saw a shadow making an appearance at the mouth of the alley. 

"Did you get it?" 

"Yeah," Mac looked at her friend with a frown. 

"Tell me again why you had me steal a lowly ladies prescription from her I just know I'm going to hell for this?" 

Looking up from her game, "I can never get past level six you know that I'm not just talking about this game either I'm just saying I can never get past level six on any of the games I play.  Don't you find that odd?" 

Mac stopped trying to figure out this complex individual a long long time ago, now she just worked for her and occasionally slept with her.  Speaking of sleeping, "I'm tired I'm going home, need a lift?"  Taking the key from her pock she threw her mask inside. 

Cornering Mac Dawson held the woman by the waist pushing her ass in to her crotch, "hmmm, what are you doing?" 

"Nothing," biting at the material that kept her a fabric away from the milky white flesh she knew was beyond the black sweater she let her hands roam from the sides of her pert ass to the inside of Mac's thighs. 

"Sure as hell doesn't feel like nothing,” Mac lowered her head closing her eyes to savor the feel of the woman behind her, it had been far too long. 

Dawson licked the back of the exposed neck moving the sweater upward to feel the skin underneath, "you feel good." 

"We're doing this here?" 

"Why not," pushing her hand down her friends’ pants she felt the wetness meet her hand, "so warm and ready for me....I like that."  One of the perks of working around this woman was not only the pay and the cool gadgets but she could also have sex with her boss.  Out of the very few women she's fucked Dawson was by far the most exhilarating.  They never fucked in the same place twice and it was always unexpected.  Dawson was dangerous very dangerous making her blood boil even more to know that this woman of many talents with a prowess that excelled and surpassed that of the bedroom wanted her. 

Wrapping her arm around the blonde’s neck she pulled her bosses lips to hers and they met in a wet kiss of dominance and passion and need, Mac never made it easy for Dawson to take command of the kiss, she liked the battle of tongues.  Dawson's hand moved inside the girl grazing across the sensitive clit, Mac shivered and her lover smiled at the reaction.  One of the most fulfilling things about sex is knowing that you were pleasing your partner just as much as you yourself are being pleased. 

Mac's hips moved against the pumping fingers lodged in her entrance bringing her closer and closer to ecstasy she felt Dawson moving behind her and threw her head back when she felt the her nipple being pinched under expert hands.  "Oh.....oh...oh..yea.." she bit the bottom of her lip to keep quiet, but Dawson wasn't having any of it. 

"I'll stop fucking you if you don't scream," she whispered teasingly in her lovers ear, Mac was hesitant she was always doing things she didn't want to when she got around the formidable blond.  With her climax in the balance she opened her mouth to Dawson's ears it was one of the sweetest sound she could ever hear a woman scream, "Fuckkkk....yea....yessssss...Dawson." 

Keeping her friend upright she held onto her with one arm and the other still played with her clit feeling her shake and release another cry before her head slowly fell to Dawson’s shoulders pleading for her to stop.  If make weren't enjoying the aftermath she would have seen the self-satisfied grin on Dawson's face as her hand traced her nipple for fun.  "Daw..." she warned lightly still catching her breath, opening her eyes she saw the night sky savoring in the feel of warm hands on her heated skin. 

"Come on I'll take you home." Kissing her cheek Daw left her own devices as she went over the passenger’s side.  Getting in she started the car and turned right heading toward Mac's apartment.  The ride was silent, but nowhere near uncomfortable both women were busy with their own thoughts to think about the other. 

*****

Dawson looked at the happy family through the window of their home, blue eyes looked up and looked in her direction but she knew that she wouldn't be seen. 

She'd spent the majority of her life in the shadows, she became good at adapting herself to an environment so others couldn't detect when they were being watched.  There was once exception, and she thought she was dead, how many times she wanted to come up to her on a regular day like this one and tell her that she did exist.  That she'd always been with her in one way or another. 

When Dawson was young she couldn't understand the feelings she was having for the older girl, the feelings were foreign and strong so strong just like the ones she had for her daddy.  When she realized that she knew she had to run, run as far and as fast as she could away from the girl who had the power to hurt her and break the walls that she'd made to protect her heart from the kind of pain someone felt by losing someone they love.  Dawson had never been afraid of anything except losing the people she cared about.  She hadn't even known about her fear until that morning where the men came with sad faces and lowered eyes.  Her father's friends couldn't even look her in the face, but she knew. 

Shaking her head from the wandering thoughts of sorrow, she stared at the family with a smile, at least one of them had grown up happy, and Leah deserved it.

*****

"You alright punkin?" Nina asked holding her hand up to her daughters back comforting her in a circular motion that she did for all her children whenever she sensed their anxiety or sadness. 

"Fine mother," her daughter dismissed her feelings like she always did.  Her mother frowned; her kids didn't talk with her anymore as if she hadn't been what they went through when she was her age. 

*****

“Fuck!” pulling glass out of her shoulder and arm she felt the air hit her wound, groaning she pulled away from the wall needing to get out of the building as fast as she could.  How she managed to get out of that death trap she would never know, she remembered having every thing as organized as any professional hit could be.  There was nothing out of place and as the clock it two thirty she started lining up her shot.  She didn’t expect the interruption of guns and yelling. 

She was taken to a van cuffed and in between two men twice her size, she heard bits and pieces of a conversation up front that gave her more of a clue of how she got caught.  From what she could gather they’d be tailing her and keeping track of her deaths for some time now.  Whoever they were they were good, but not good enough, feeling the cuffs binding her she had one advantage.  They’d underestimated her so far, getting her in the van and bound was relatively easy, they didn’t see her as much of a threat, but that would be changing.  ‘Just a little more…’ they were passing a market where she could catch a glimpse of people bartering and buying different knick knacks. 

‘Now!’ her mind screamed.  Bringing her arm up her elbow connected with the man on the right.  He grasped his nose while his partner’s reaction was slow enough for me to duck and bring my head up under his chin.  He must have bit his tongue because when he opened his mouth to scream blood replaced spit as it splattered. 

"What the.... Carter get back there and take her out," Carter started back but hesitated hearing the command, obviously it conflicted with the debriefing, if they hadn't killed her yet she suspected their motive was to keep her alive.  Taking advantage of the opening she brought her hand up hitting Carter in the face throwing her arms around the driver she pulled at his neck making the van swerve out of control.  Feeling the jolt the van moved faster toward the corner of a street heading straight for the pole on the other end.  Bracing herself she felt her body being thrust forward out the window, Dawson's head connected with the pole sprawled on the pavement unmoving. 

She didn't know how long she was out, or how much damage had been done to her body because of the crash, when she sat up her body protested but that didn't stop her.  Dawson rose with the help of the behind her and looked into the van she'd been thrown out of, there was no movement over the radio she could hear someone trying to contact what looked like to be a dead driver.  Shaking her head she stopped quickly admonishing herself for doing something that stupid. 

The street was relatively empty; looking over the unconscious body of one of the soldiers she pulled out a gun and placed it securely in my pants as she started down the street.  Holding on the walls around me she kept myself up when she disappeared in an alleyway, falling to the ground she started back up knowing that she still needed to keep moving.  Her body wasn’t helping every movement was a reminder of her ever pain.  They would be coming soon enough to find out what happened to them, whoever 'they' was she didn't know, but she would find out later. 

Taking her cell phone out of her pocket she scrolled through the numbers, she was getting blood on her phone and she'd only had it for a couple of months 'just fucking great'.

*****

"Sam point the light right here, come on move you feet." Sam looked at his new friends Stag and Pike the moved around the house with ease, he knew that they weren't the nicest guys in the world, but they were there for him when no one else was.  He did a lot of things he never thought that he would be able to do when they were around, they thought him cool for it, and he thought them cool for accepting him. 

"Alright," he whispered back, the house was empty they'd been staking out the neighborhood for some time now, Pike's brother was a pool cleaner so they knew what families would be gone and what families were not.  It made their job much easier to do to have a guy on the inside just as long as Spike's brother got a piece of the pie as well. 

This wasn't the first house that he'd helped them break into, they looked around for valuable things, they took their time around the house, and Pike’s brother had told them that this client would be away for months at a time.  They didn't have to rush and that made the other two guys more lethargic and ready to play with the different things they found. 

"Holy shit.," leaving the kitchen Sam started in the bedroom where he saw the other two go into, "what's up guys?" he said before he stopped stared at the wall turned a doorway, behind the door was a small closet and on the walls were maps and most notably guns in all shapes and sizes. 

"Whoa," Stag said smiling taking one of the guns down from the post weighing it he looked it over, he'd been in a lot of shit and seen and touched a lot of things but never had he actually held a weapon like this before.  Everything looked well kept after the luminescent light made the knives look eerie and inviting at the same time.  This was no ordinary client they all thought to themselves, but they were all struck silent by what lay before them. 

"Get the back let's take as much stuff as we can tonight and then we can come back later and get the rest," Stag looked at Pike. 

"What?" Sam was shocked back into the present cradling a weapon of his own in his hands. 

"What you think we're just going to leave all this behind," he said with a wave of his hand. 

"What are we going to do with it then?" Sam already knew the answer, but wanted to know if Pike was really going to say it and with as much enthusiasm as he said in his flickering eyes. 

"Sell them, you know how much people would pay for this quality weaponry." 

"Probably not the same price I did," Dawson leaned against the doorway looking deftly pale with beads of sweat above her brow and her lip, the startled boys looked at her with surprise, but Pike was the first to take a grip on his gun and hold it up in threat.  Dawson looked at the kid her eyes dull and dead then at the gun. 

"You gonna shoot me kid?" she asked looking at him without flinching, she'd lived through too many things to be afraid of a kid with a gun especially after the night she just had. 

"Do it." she said simply, Stag and Sam weren't as brave as the older boy they knew they'd never be able to cross the line that Pike was flirting with this unknown stranger. 

"Get the fuck out of our way or I'll blow your fucking head off," he was desperate and therefore his only card to play was the one that he was pointing. 

Tired of this she raised her own hand covered in blood and pointed to the boy, Dawson stared into his eyes his trained on the gun she was holding the other boys were trying to dissuade their friend, but he wouldn't let up.  "There's been enough killing tonight, I really really don't want to kill you kid so put the gun down and get out." 

Pike bit the side of his lip getting angrier and angrier by the second 'how dare this bitch think she can disrespect me' "you don't scare me," he said. 

"Dude put the gun down so we can get the hell out of here." 

"Stop being such a bitch Sam!" the boy yelled glancing at the scared boy, this was not what Sam had expected, she was supposed to be gone and Pike wouldn't let up.  She knew the boy well enough to know that he wasn't about to be punked especially by a woman Pike was misogynistic in that way, and Stag his right hand lackey was keeping quiet a large wet spot staining his pants.  

Cocking the gun back she stepped even further into the room causing the boys to step back.  Pike as the boys called him stepped back as well giving Dawson the opportunity to step drop her gun shift and take the gun away from the boy.  With both guns now she held them up at all three of the boys.  The only thing they could really register hearing was the sound of their own heartbeats pounded loudly in their ear as they waited to maimed and buried in her backyard.  Dawson was tired and if she didn't take care of her wounds now she would probably collapse and never wake up again especially with that kid Pike looking at her like that. 

"Get out," she said softly making the boys hesitate her eyes narrowed giving them the same command.  The older boys dodged past the threshold heading straight for the door, Sam wasn't the lucky. 

Dawson caught the kid by the collar, the other boys looked back but Pike pushed Stag who was about to protest but thinking better of it left with his friend leaving Sam behind.  Sam's heart jumped into his throat when he watched the door close taking away his way of escape.  Pushing the kid into the bathroom she shoved him on the toilet, lucky for him the seat was down looking through her cabinets she took out a more advanced first aid kit.  Sam could do nothing but watch as this woman undressed showing the bruises and cuts over her body. 

"What happened to you?" he asked slowly he saw injuries like this on tv but nothing this graphic or so close to him, he felt his stomach churn smelling blood almost tastin the metallic red in his mouth. 

Dawson looked up from what she'd been doing, "unwrap some of that bandage will ya," she ignored the question as she tended to her wound. 

"Clean with water then dab it with alcohol to clear it from infection." 

"What are you a doctor?" Dawson asked staring at the boy. 

"No," he shrugged, "but my mom is," he ended. 

"And I suppose your mother doesn't know anything about your little escapades with tweedle dee and tweedle dumb?" Sam snorted. 

"She'd kill me if she found out," he said then his eyes went wide and his voice filled with panic, "your not gonna tell her are you, how you found me, it was the other guys idea to take your weapons not me." 

"You just wanted to take the other stuff," it wasn't much of a question. 

Sam looked sheepish but nodded reluctantly.  Sam looked at the wound again, "you got a needle and thread or are you just going to put a bandage over it." 

Dawson traced the outside of it opening the cabinet taking the needle and thread out. 

"You plan on being a doctor." 

"No," he didn't realize how resentful he sounded. 

"You'd probably make a good one," she said "here loop this through for me." 

Sam took the needle and thread doing as he was told, which in his position he thought would be the safest thing, he didn't know why he'd been chosen to stay behind or why she didn't even bother to call the cops, but he wasn't about to complain.  His mother would have his head if she found out this was what he'd been doing for his weekends when he said he was staying over at a friends.  He wasn't due home until the day after tomorrow and his stuff was still at Stag's house.  "Here."  Dawson had been busy looking over her hurt shoulder that was throbbing with a vengeance. 

She took the needle and thread and began sewing through her skin to close the wound, Sam was transfixed but wanted to know something, "why am I here if you’re not going to call the cops or tell my mom?" 

"What makes you think I still won't call them?" she asked pulling the needle through and up again, she smiled seeing Sam's face pale. 

"Don't worry Sam." 

"How do you know my name?" the boy sounded even more alarmed. 

"That's what that kid called you isn't it?" Dawson thought up quickly it seemed to be good enough for the dark haired boy. 

"You don't strike me as a kid that enjoys getting into trouble so I figure I'm at least saving you from one night of mischief," she rationalized. 

"What's your name?" Sam asked after few moments of silence, "why?" 

"You know mine I think it would be fair," Dawson trained her eyes on the kid with the blue eyes so much like his mother's. 

"Dawson," she said without another word viewing her handiwork in the mirror, "what do you think?" she asked still perusing it in the mirror. 

"I think you've done this more than once in your lifetime." 

The last thing Sam expected was to hear the throaty laughter of this strange woman.

*****

He was angry, men that he trained for this specific reason had come up short of his expectations the only person that exceeded them was the woman they were supposed to apprehend.  His men had been instructed time and time again not to underestimate the target, and it seemed that they had. 

Pacing up and down Marcus was just as displeased as his long time friend. 

"Sergeant could you explain to me again why you were not able to apprehend 'raven'?" he managed through clenched teeth. 

The team leader lowered his gaze knowing that there was no excuse, but raised it again his eyes looking at nothing in particular as he straightened up and answered, "there is no excuse sir, we had her out manned and didn't get the job done." 

His voice rang out in the abandoned warehouse by the wharf, cutting the silence of night with his intruding breath.  Benjamin looked each man over, fit and capable and yet they could not have taken one woman down.  He heard Marcus giving them older and a fitting reprimand before he angrily dismissed him. 

"Out manned," 

"And surrounded," 

"By fit capable soldiers that we trained ourselves," 

Both men exchanged tired smiles, "she does you proud doesn't she?"  Marcus smiled. 

Benjamin chuckled.

*****

"I got you I got you," Sam gloated moving his thumbs and fingers over the control with practiced ease as he raced past in his fantasy car, Sam was the first to break the ice when he saw her set up in the 'playroom' his eyes ogling the Xbox.  Now they were side by side on bean bags with black remotes in their hands staring at the big screen especially made for this occasion. 

"Your pretty good for a girl," the kid intoned hitting her car with his almost making her crash into another building. 

Dawson cut her eyes at the kid, "you’re pretty good for a brat." 

Sam was past trying to hide from this stranger that he was enjoying himself even if their meeting did start out rocky.  "So what kind of name is Dawson anyway?" 

"What, it's just a name." 

"You like it?"  

"I didn't when I was younger but I think I've grown into it," she spared a glance at the kid before she returned it to the screen. "You like your name Samuel?" 

"Sam," he gritted between clenched teeth, "My grandparents call me Samuel." 

"Ok Sam it is." 

Looking at the clock beside the television she paused the game, "hey," Sam protested, getting up from her comfortable seat she went to the phone, dialing waiting for Mac to answer.

 

TBC