Against my better judgement, I allow Moira to follow me back to my new home. She stares around herself with wide eyes and looks back at me, "I can't believe this place! It's so big and so clean…"

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't touch anything."

Moira holds her limbs close to her body after dropping the photographs of me on the table, "Who lives here anyway? And why did they take you in?"

"Reggie and Selena live here, Reggie's training me."

"To kill that man?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Are you paying him?" Moira's hand reaches to her stomach again and her eyes glaze over.

"No, he doesn't need my credit…not that I have any…"

"Oh it's been so long since we've stopped by to see the Sweeney's," I can hear Selena's voice outside the door.

"Yes, well, I'm sure I don't have to explain why," Reginald opens the door and stops when he sees Moira, "What's going on here?"

"I just…she's a friend, Moira, her name is Moira," My toes drag across the floor, my eyes lower from Reggie's and Selena enters the room.

"Not another one Reggie! At least she's cleaner than this one," She stares down her nose at me then turns back to Moira, "You haven't touched anything have you? Let me see your hands…"

Moira looks at me, then steps forward to have her fingers examined.

"Sweet heart, this vagabond has nothing to do with me," Reginald's voice is low and I can feel his gaze like fire on my flesh.

"What?" Selena grabs hold of Moira's hands and the woman yelps, "What are you doing here?"

"I brought her!" I step forward and interrupt Moira's frightened stammering.

"Why?" Reginald's hands find his hips as he taps his toe.

"I was…she just…we…uh…"

"Spit it out you!" Selena snaps, she barely even has to focus to keep Moira at bay.

"She helped me okay!"

"With what?" Reginald steps toward me now.

"I was…out…doing some recon."

"Do I have to remind you what kind of trouble I'd get in if the Investigators ever realized I was harbouring a wanted criminal?" Reginald is on me, pinning me against the wall and Moira cries on the other side of the room.

"I know! I just…I need to know more about him, especially now!"

"Why? What's so important you'd put the well-being of my wife and I at risk?"

"Look!" I motion with my head to the table and he follows my line of sight.

"Oh…" Reginald sees the photos and maps and turns to look at Selena, who drags Moira over to the table with her.

"He's been watching me," I sneer.

"For quite some time it would appear," Selena reaches out with one hand to touch the evidence laid out for her on the table.

"Why would he be following me? Why does he want me dead?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" Selena snorts and rolls her eyes, "This is professional stuff, he's been watching you for years! There must be quite a bounty on your head."

"He's a hand?" I blink and my mind races, "Who would want me dead?"

"Nowadays, honey, I'd say just about everyone."

"But this contract has to be older than the current state of affairs," Reginald picks up the photo of my parents and I see pain in his eyes.

"Does it have something to do with them?" I ask and he looks up at me.

"I honestly don't know," Reginald shakes his head and turns to Selena, "For goodness sake, would you let that poor woman go?"

Moira springs back to my side as soon as she's free of Selena's grip, she rubs her wrists and I can feel her fear, "You should probably just leave Moira," I whisper and Reginald laughs.

"There's no way she's leaving yet, I need to know she isn't going to go shooting her mouth off to every scary man who asks her where she's been."

"Reggie, she doesn't know anything," I fire back.

"She knows everything!"

"I won't tell anyone," Moira's small voice tries hard to penetrate our angry yells, "I swear, I want this man dead just as much as you do. I would never want to jeopardize your plan," Her eyes are pleading as she looks at me.

"What's with this sudden change in morals Moira?" I try not to sound as angry as I am, but her constant flip flopping is driving me crazy. One minute all she wants to talk about is god and my sins, the next she's aiding and abetting while I break into a private home and encouraging me to kill a man.

"I just know what he's capable of, I don't want him to hurt anymore people," Again Moira's hand reaches for her stomach and this time I take note.

"Moira…" I look at her hand and it moves quickly away.

"You know I haven't let Todd touch me since Mitchell died," Moira's eyes are focused on a point in the distance just above my head, "After that man…after I was raped I barely even let my own husband share my bed…"

"Oh god, Moira, no…" 

There are tears welling in her eyes know, they glisten in the bright light of the condo, "Todd's going to know it's not his…can you imagine what he'll think of me?" I step forward and Moira melts into my arms, I swear I even see a tear in Selena's eyes as she pieces together what's happening. "I swear, I won't tell anyone about what you're doing here, please just let me go home."

Selena looks at Reginald who is clearly struggling to make a decision, "You can't possibly expect me to just let her go!"

"The woman's been through enough as it is don't you think?" I had no idea Selena was capable of compassion like this.

"So what? I'll just let her back out into the world? Full of the knowledge that I'm harbouring a wanted criminal, not to mention someone who has stolen from Calloway?"

"I won't tell anyone," Moira whispers, crying now.

Selena and I stare at Reggie, willing him to take pity on poor defenceless Moira. He stares from me to his wife with a sigh and rolls his eyes, "If anybody ever comes poking their nose around here, I swear I'll find you and slit your throat myself."

Moira gulps and closes her eyes, there's a moment of silence before she nods and I lead her to the door, "Don't worry about him," I pat her back as she goes out into the shared hallway.

"I'm not worried about what that man will do to me, there's no way I'll ever talk about what's happened here today…" She lingers at my side, her left foot inching away while her right refuses to move.

"I'm going to get him Moira, don't worry."

"I know…it's not that that's bothering me."

We stand quietly for a moment, I see tears glazing over her eyes and I reach out to hug her, "It's Todd isn't it?"

Moira allows the tears to flow freely as she buries her face in my shoulder, "What will I tell him? How will I make this okay?"

"I don't know Moira…I really don't…"

---

The room in Reggie's condo that he trains me in is nowhere near as clean as the rest of the place, the walls are bare wood, covered in scuff marks and racks of long sharp knives.

"Remember, your knife is your most important friend, your only friend!" Reggie says, he's standing behind a black dummy on wheels, "It should be able to guide you as well as you do it."

With that, Reggie pushes the dummy forward. It rolls toward me, I can hear its rusty wheels but I can't see a thing through my blindfold. I wait for a split second, then swing my right arm and the knife in my hand implants into the cotton stuffed doll. I hear another coming at me from behind and spin to stop it, but I'm too slow. It knocks me over and Reggie laughs at me, "It's not really that funny," I sigh, lifting the cloth from my face.

"Oh, but it truly is." 

"Yeah, well, I believe it was you who told me not to waste time. Quit laughing and toss another one at me," I'm standing in the middle of the room, there is a ring of wheeled dummies around me and I hide them from view with my blindfold.

"You are quite serious about your training," Reggie says as he circles around me, choosing a direction to attack me from.

"I thought you wanted me to be serious."

"Yes, absolutely, I only mention it out of pride!"

There is about ten minutes of waiting, Reggie is silent -- I can't even hear his footsteps. I'm breathing deep, focusing on my hearing and tensing my muscles in anticipation. Finally, I hear the faint squealing of wheels and spin around to cut into the dummy. Another comes from to my left, ninety degree turn and BAM, cotton white blood all over the floor. forty-five degrees to my right, I take down another and before I can collect myself I'm hit from behind.

"I don't understand how you're moving so quickly!" I call out as I sit on the floor pouting to myself.

"I don't understand how you're not! This is life or death here, shape up!"

"I'm trying okay?" 

There's a gentle cough from the door and I wait for Reggie to speak again. The blackness behind the blindfold is encompassing and I can't see a thing; I go to remove it but Reggie protests.

"Did I tell you to take that off?"

"No, I just…is someone else here?"

"You stay there, wait for the attack. It could come at any moment."

I tighten my muscles again and wait, five minutes, ten, fifteen. I feel the tension in my body relax slowly and I begin to grow impatient. I don't even know how long it's been now that I've been waiting so I cautiously lift my hand and peak out from under my blindfold -- Reggie's gone. I spin around, there's nowhere in the room that he could be hiding, I can't understand where he could be!

I notice the door is open a crack and I go to see if I can hear what's going on. Without opening it any further, I put my head next to the small sliver of light that is seeping into the training room and strain my ear.

"You honestly haven't discovered anything at all?" I hear Reggie's voice, but the person he's speaking to is too quiet for me to catch the response to his question, "No, I don't see anything special about it but there has to be some sort of trick to it! Some sort of code!"

I'm tempted to open the door, I want to see so badly what's going on but I wouldn't want to be caught eavesdropping. I put my eye to the crack but all I can see is Reggie's broad back across the room.

"Well my wife is in here! Do you understand that? The Inspectors have seen her face and they are suspicious!" Whoever Reggie is speaking to must be important, because he quickly stops his angry rant to listen to the whispered voice of his guest, "Yes, that's true, but she said that she's not related to the Stones at all, so why would Agnes say she was Bernard's cousin?"

Whoever is with Reggie is clearly discussing the photo album and I want desperately to know more. I try to move even closer to the door, silently begging for it to stay still and quiet.

"You really think so?" Reggie is scratching his head now, "I mean, it's an interesting theory that's for sure, but maybe the old lady was just going senile? She could have just been making it all up."

My body presses too close and the door creaks. Reggie perks up and looks over his shoulder but I've already backed away, as he pushes into the room I've already replaced the blindfold and have taken my position in the centre.

"Have you moved at all?"

"What? No, what's going on? Did you leave me here alone?"

I hear Reggie walk closer and he grabs hold of my arm, "Come with me."

"Why? Reggie, I didn't move, I swear! Please, where are you taking me?"

We leave the training room and in the glaringly white condo my eyes are instantly drawn to the dark figure in the corner, with a black scarf covering his face and a hood pulled down over his orange hair -- the scavenger.

"Hello," He says to me with a nod, "It's been a while."

"It has," I cock a brow and cross my arms, looking at the big old album on the table, "How'd you find that?"

"Honestly," Reggie goes to pour himself a drink as he rolls his eyes, "I broke you out of that station didn't I? What makes you think I couldn't liberate an album?"

"That's not important," The scavenger says gesturing for me to take a seat, "I'm here to ask you about the people in these pictures."

"Why?"

"Curiosity."

"I don't believe you."

"I wouldn't expect you to," He says, looking at Reggie, "But I would expect him to make you cooperate."

"What?" I turn back to Reggie and he shrugs, "God, fine, ask away."

The scavenger puts the album in my lap and we flip through the pages together. He asks me about every person, what their names are, how they were related to Agnes and other mundane things without giving any indication as to whether or not he was satisfied with my information.

"Thank you," Reggie says as I finish on the last page, "You should get back to training now, work on your solo stuff for a while and I'll join you in a moment."

I want to protest but I don't. I look back and forth from Reggie to the scavenger a couple times and sigh as I move back to the training room. I make a couple grunting sounds, trying to fool Reggie into believing I am training as I listen at the door.

"Well? What's the verdict?" Reggie says and I can't hear the scavenger's response, "Not a single one eh? What do you think about that?" Again there's a quiet response and I get frustrated, "Well, if there is anything else I can do for you, don't hesitate to come see me."

I rush further into the room and start to assault the small punching bag which hangs from the ceiling as Reggie opens the door again, "How do you know him?" I ask.

"I'm sorry?" Reggie squints his eyes.

"That man, the scavenger, how do you know him?"

"Oh," Reggie looks back toward the door, then half smiles at me, "I guess, I don't really…he…is more of a friend of Selena's."

"Why do I not believe it's a coincidence that he used to watch me sleep and now I'm here living with you?"

Reggie stares blankly at me, stitching his brows together as he searches for the right words, "Because…it's not?"

"So then why am I here? Why did he know that hand who killed Agnes is dangerous? What else does he know?"

"How long have you been here now?" Reggie asks, taping his hands.

"I don't know, a month or so."

"And how many questions have I allowed you to ask me?"

"Well…not many really," I shrug, trying to think of the last time I questioned his authority. As I'm thinking his fist flies through the air and slams against me chin, I fall to the floor and spit blood as I look up to him.

"What the hell was that for?"

Reggie squats over me and turns me onto my back, then he pounds my face again and again. I'm crying and begging him to stop as I squirm in his grip.

"You do not ask questions do you hear me?" Reggie asks, finally halting his attack. I'm gushing blood from my broken open nose and my eyes are swollen and sore. I'm crying, and I nod as I gasp for air, "Do you hear me!?"

"Yes!" The word flies from my mouth like a blast of smoke and magma from a volcano, they burn my bleeding mouth with anger and rage.

"Stand up," He says and I obey, "You understand that I am putting my job and my life on the line for you?"

"Yes," I nod, not looking at him.

"Do you understand that I am providing you with all the training you'll need to survive this coming Murder Day?"

I gulp and watch my feet, "Um…yes…"

"Do you understand that I have been feeding you? That I've provided you with clean clothes and sheets to sleep in? That I've been doing all of this with no expectation of payment on your part?" He pauses and I nod again, "Then understand this; you do not ask questions. You do what I say, when I say it, and you will not ask why."

"Yes Reggie," I continue to look away and he steps closer to me, gently touching my face with his rough fingers.

"I'm sorry about this, I am, but you needed to know your place."

Suddenly I'm questioning my place, I'm wondering why I even stay here…oh right, half the city wants me dead…"Yes Reggie."

"Now go clean up, you can have the afternoon off."