"Hey Georgie, do you, by any chance, know where Natalia is?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant. Rogan has decided to track down Natalia and see if she has anything to do with Mara's disappearance, since Mara was trailing her.

So I have to ask Georgie where Natalia is, because apparently it won't be as weird for me to ask as him. That's what he said, anyway.

"You actually just missed her," Georgie replies as we stand on the front porch of her house.

"Really? Where did she go?"

Georgie gives me a curious look. "Why are you so eager to find her all of a sudden?"

"Ummm, well, uh......" Hurry up and think of something, Wynne! "I wanted to.......apologize to her, because........Izzy has been really rude to her lately........" Sure, okay, we'll go with that.

"Yeah, that sounds like Izzy," Georgie laughs, "well, I think she went over to Matt's house for some reason, she didn't say."

I can't hide my surprise. "M-Matt's house?"

"Yeah," Georgie says slowly, "you're acting weird...is everything okay?"

"Well, I, um......" I am possibly the worst undercover-information-gatherer ever.

"Does this have something to do with what she said about Seth? Because I talked to her about it and-"

"No! No, nothing to do with Seth....." I assure her, too loudly.

"Okay." She studies me with a strange expression.

"Well, I-I'll be going, then....bye!" I hurry off the porch and down the street, whipping around the corner to find Rogan waiting for me.

"She's at Matt's," I say, and without a word he starts marching in the direction of the house.

I jog to keep up with him. "I still think we should get Doyle, and Izzy," I pant.

"No. I don't need them."

"But I do!"

He turns and glares icily at me. "Fine. Go and get them. It will be done before you get there."

I stop. "It? Done? What will be done?"

He doesn't answer, and in just a few strides he has left me far behind.

Yeah, I think I'm going to get Doyle and Izzy now. Rogan's scaring me.

+++++

"He'll kill them all," Izzy says, "I mean, not Mara and Seth, of course but......y'all just don't know. A whole lot of shit's gonna hit the fan."

I know now's not the time, but I'd really like to know where that expression came from....I mean, did somebody empty a chamber pot into a fan one day? I mean, really.....

"Well, let's get going then," Doyle says.

+++++

We reach Matt's and find the front door open. Well, more like ripped off the hinges, to be exact, and lying in splinters on the porch.

"See? I told you!" Izzy says irritably, throwing her hands in the air.

We slowly creep toward the house, Doyle slowly pulling his knife from his waistband, Izzy pulling out her katana and me withdrawing my Glock.

"So....do I have permission to kill Natalia now?" Izzy asks slowly as Doyle cautiously places his foot on the first step.

We inch our way up the steps, my breath hitching in my throat in anticipation of what may be waiting across the threshold, and Izzy is aggressively muttering what sounds like some sort of pep talk under her breath.

I step a foot into the house, the floor creaking beneath my boot as a quickly look left and right, checking the room for any kind of threat.

It's clear from what I can tell, but I can't see around the couch. I move further into the room, scooting around the right side of the couch, Doyle heading around the other side. We quickly discover there is nothing behind it.

Izzy has already left the living room and cleared the kitchen. She rejoins us in the living room with a scowl on her face, muttering, "Where is it?"

She marches toward a door underneath the staircase that stands slightly ajar and yanks it open. A narrow, wooden staircase leads down into darkness.

Doyle pulls a flashlight from his pocket. "Shall we?" He says, clicking it on and leading the way down the stairs.

They creak beneath our weight, and Doyle's light illuminates another door at the end of the stairwell, its lock broken. A crash sounds from the other side of this door, and we quicken our pace.

"He'd better not have already gotten Natalia! She's mine!" Izzy growls, shoving Doyle against the wall and passing him before wrenching the door open.

Light floods the stairwell, the smell of rubbing alcohol reaching my nose, and Izzy springs into the room, wielding her katana.

The room appears to be more of a hallway, with three doors leading off of it. The walls and floor are white and spotless, the fluorescent lights flickering ever so slightly.

At the far end of the hall lies Natalia, who seems to be either unconscious or dead, a large gash on her forehead spilling blood over her eyes.

"Aw shit! He got her first!" Izzy bellows, Doyle quickly shushing her. So much for the element of surprise.

A sound suspiciously close to a roar emanates from the door in the center, followed by a dull thud. Doyle leaps forward and rips the door open.

Rogan towers over the crumpled body of Matt, his face contorted with rage and his hands stained with blood. Matt is undeniably dead, his face is bruised and bloody.

I tear my eyes away from his broken corpse to take in the rest of the room.

"What the hell?"