Although I tried to avoid it, danger always seemed to find me. This trend started with Mr. Kinley and the foster homes and then progressed through the private schools Maria placed me in where, having grown up an orphan, I never fit in. I had made the necessary adjustments in my image. Slowly, my career, friends, and family had fallen into place just before my past came back to find me. I suppose this was meant to be. Ultimately, my past would dictate my destiny. Its evil gaze had been on me for years. I had made a valiant effort to deflect its efforts but was caught at last.

I kept my head down, my fingers clenched to the sides of the seat. My mind composed my eulogy as the car took me closer and closer to my demise. The sky was dark now. We had waited almost too long to leave, Kael having proven himself more than resourceful in his reasoning for me not to come. In my insanity, I had thwarted him at every turn.

I hadn't necessarily wanted this but rather needed it. Whether it was the closure I needed or the sense of curiosity about my father satisfied, I could not be sure. The thought of letting this opportunity pass seemed insane. I told myself that it was the only way we would ever catch him, the only way to bring closure and justice to this whole ordeal. Deep down, I knew there were more reasons for my being here. My path had led me to this destination, and I couldn't divert from it if I wanted to.

The car engine hummed softly. Higgins was silent for once. We had given him the gun as Kael had planned. Either he felt it would keep Higgins from questioning our loyalty, or he didn't want any additional weaponry within arm's reach of my father. My father. Those words shifted my mood. I wished now that I would never have to meet him. Instead of excitement I felt terror, a feeling of impending doom.

I glanced at Kael. His cool gaze was fixed on the road. He didn't look apprehensive at all. I wished I could be so cavalier about the meeting tonight. My heart had been pounding for so long I was starting to wonder how long it could keep up this ridiculous pace. I felt the saliva poor into my mouth. I swallowed hard, but it was no use.

"Can we pull over?"

My shaking voice betrayed my ill state. Seconds later, the car stopped short at the side of the road. I jumped out, barely making it to the ditch before the bile exited my body. Feeling only marginally better, I straightened up shaking,

"Alright?" Kael called. I heard the door open. I turned, but it was Higgins, not Kael who had come out of the car.

"I just need a minute," I replied. Turning back, I wretched once again. Holding my abdomen, I turned toward the car. "Ok," I whispered, recovering. Cold metal touched my cheek.

I jumped. "What's going on?" I turned to find Higgins, gun in hand. A smug smile was on his face. My breath caught as I started to push against him, but his hold was strong. "What are you doing?" I asked, panicked.

"Higgins!" Kael flew around the car but halted abruptly as the gun was pressed against my temple.

"I've figured this one out, kids," Higgins shouted. His mannerisms seemed mad, irrational. Sweaty and shaking, he didn't look to be someone that could be reasoned with. "I've been drug along far enough!"

"Calm down," Kael said slowly, "What do you want?"

Higgins laughed and grabbed my arm to pull me closer to him. My eyes locked with Kael's. I knew he could sense my fear. I tried to feed off the strained calm in his eyes. Survival didn't seem probable in my current situation.

Higgins shouted, "I won't win! That's what I want, and it will never happen. Not the way this would have played out." He shifted his weight but the gun never moved.

"If we kill Gideon, I'm back to being the backup man with that betrayal forever as a black mark on my history of loyalty. If we don't kill him, Gideon will probably kill me anyway for failing to get that diamond and even you, Harper. You were supposed to be taken care of long ago. Long before he wanted to meet you."

"How will making us your enemies help you, Higgins?" Kael said, shifting his feet. It took all his self-control to keep him from rushing at Higgins, I could tell.

Higgins looked bewildered at our stupidity in not seeing it. "Clearly, I'll kill Harper like I was always supposed to do. You and I both know she's been walking around on borrowed time anyway," he paused at my gasp. Shaking his head at the seeming simplicity of it all he related the rest of his plan, "I'll just tell Gideon you shot her. As he wanted to meet her, I had no choice but to take you down as well when you failed to obey orders, yet again. You're the one who disobeyed orders. You're the one that should be paying for this, not me. And for all he knows, you still had the Eye as well. It's perfect."

Kael tried again to reason with him, "Not exactly, Higgins. You'll still show up without the diamond or his daughter. You really think he'll be pleased with that?"

Higgins laughed, a sickening sound that made my stomach roll. I tried to keep my retching under control. I knew it would not take much for the man to pull that trigger. Another vomiting episode may be all the encouragement he needed.

"I'm done with taking orders from a man half my age!" Higgins shouted. "Gideon will not listen to me as long as there is a Sullivan around to whisper in his ear. First your father keeping me down, now you. Kill Gideon and you can take orders from me now. Where have I heard that before? Enough is enough!"

He pressed the gun harder into my temple.

"Kael!" I shouted, helpless.

"Higg!" Kael shouted, "Killing Harper resolves nothing. Gideon will see through your lies. Your true fight is with me alone."

Higgins lowered the gun ever so slightly. It touched my cheek once again.

"We'll settle this," Kael directed evenly, "Just let her go."

Higgins nodded slowly. Heading away from me, perpendicular to us both, he muttered, "I don't know..."

Kael nodded in encouragement, taking a step forward. Higgins face suddenly contorted into a snarl and he shouted, "What do you think I am, a fool?"

In one swift motion he had raised the gun once again. I stared down the barrel, only a few feet away. The look in his eye, the way every muscle in his body tensed told me. He meant to kill me now. Knowing it was too late, I hardly had time to take two steps backward before the shot was fired.

The same instant Higgins pulled the trigger, Kael's body slammed into me, sending us both sprawling onto the ground. Dazed for only a moment, I slid my hands to my face. I had not been shot. Missing at such close range didn't seem possible unless Kael had taken the shot for me. I sat up, frantically looking to my right where he lay, equally dazed and panting. My eyes traveled down as my shaking hands reached over to trace the bullet hole in his jacket over the left side of his chest.

My eyes flew to his face. He was alive, for now, so I hoped the bullet had missed his heart. Before I could move to help him, Higgins grabbed my hair from behind, flinging me savagely to the side. I screamed, both in pain and with the realization of Kael's impending demise. Higgins proceeded to drop to his knee on top of Kael. Crushing him with his full weight, the move pinned Kael who gasped and frantically wedged his free arm under the man to unseat him with a tortured moan.

I watched Higgins roll to the side. Kael pushed himself up to one elbow. His voice hoarsely cried, "Run, Harper!" I shook my head and started toward him, but he shouted again, desperate and pleading, "Go! Or this is for nothing!" Higgins had turned toward me, but Kael pulled a knife from his pant leg and sank it deeply into the man's calf. Higgins turned back to Kael in a rage. Kael's eyes locked with mine one last time. Please, please leave me, his eyes begged.

I backed up slowly at first. When Higgins wrenched the knife from Kael's faltering grasp, I turned and ran. Hot tears of agony flew freely down my cheeks now, hysterical sobs escaping as I glanced behind me. I ran down the poorly lit London street. Judging by the location of Kael's gunshot wound, if Higgins didn't kill him soon, the injury would. I couldn't bear the thought of him dying this way, so wretched and alone. He'd had a premonition of this. He had said as much in his apartment. Because of him, I'd known deep down that this day would come. Now that it had though, it was destroying me. I wasn't ready to lose him.

If it hadn't been for Kael's pleading, I would almost want Higgins to catch up with me, end my misery. Only the memory of his eyes, so desperate for me to be safe spurred me on, forced my feet to cooperate while the rest of me crumbled in duress.

I had been running for several minutes now, with no sense of where I was going or where I had come from. The street formed a fork, one side leading over a bridge, the other down a dark, narrow street. I stopped for a moment to decide.

On the bridge was a tall figure. Probably homeless, he leaned against the waist high metal railing and threw something into the water below. Because there was no light further down the street, I decided to take the bridge. New York had taught me that homeless people were generally harmless, especially if not engaged by the passerby. Pulling my black trench coat around me tightly, I started across, not wanting to startle the man with my pace. I wiped a quick hand across my cheek as I neared him and tried to quell the persistent flow of tears.

The man turned to watch me as I passed. From the corner of my eye, I tried to see him but his face was hidden perfectly in the shadow of the bridge's beams. I looked straight ahead then, through blurry swollen eyes and refused to make eye contact despite his obvious interest in me.

I had made it past him, but still felt his eyes on me. Just as I decided I should run again, I heard him say something. I almost ignored him. Beggars often tried to engage me in conversation despite my best efforts, but it sounded as if he had called out my name. I stopped and slowly turned. He was only three or four feet from me, an easy distance to reach me should he want to.

"What did you say?" My voice was raspy from crying. I wasn't afraid of him. Whether I no longer valued my life or had become brave, I wasn't sure. My hands slipped around the waist of my jacket as I took one step forward.

"Caraleena," the man said again in a deep voice, shaking his head slightly.

*****

This chapter is a rough one, guys. Big loss. :( But who do you think she's found?

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