Shackled

Emma was getting right into her role. She sat on the couch next to him, snuggling in close with his arm around her. Her fingers were running through his short hair and he could feel their cool softness on his scalp.

He could also feel something else. He shifted slightly to give his erection some room and also because he didn’t want her to notice. He wasn’t overly embarrassed. Who wouldn’t feel like this with a beautiful woman close to them, running her hands through their hair? It was only natural, but he didn’t want to complicate things.

Yet.

She shifted a little and looked up at him, her head nestled on his shoulder.

"If we stay here much longer, I'm going to fall asleep,” she said.

He agreed. In their sitting position, the guns were starting to press into him, but he couldn’t really get up and rearrange them in the foyer of the movie complex.

Hansen absentmindedly stroked her long dark hair.

“They’ll come when they’re ready,” he said. “Just be patient.”

Just as he said that, Paul appeared at the entrance that led to the theatres and said, "Ladies and...erm...gents. Your special early morning showing of Casablanca is this way."

"Holy shit," mumbled Emma. "That's an old one."

Hansen rolled his eyes and got up with Emma. They walked towards Paul and when they were close enough, he said, “Casablanca? That’s what you could come up with?”

Paul shrugged his shoulders. “Shit, Liam,” he whispered. “You think I’m a movie buff, or something?”

He turned and led them down the corridor that led to the theatres. As they got deeper into the complex, there were entrances to the different theatres. They passed them all and went to the end where there was a door marked ‘Exit’. Paul pushed on the door and held it for them to go through. As they passed him, he let the door go and it noiselessly shut itself in a single, smooth motion.

The hallway was narrow, so Paul let them walk in front of him. “Jimmy’s waiting,” he said. “Mrs. Chan has rung. He has what you want.”

Hansen nodded at Paul. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem. I have to get back,” he said, “You know popcorn never waits. I won’t see you. He’ll probably send you out the back when you’re done. Good luck.”

Hansen nodded again. They turned away from him and started to walk towards the door at the end of the corridor. They were nearly at the door when Paul called out quietly.

“Liam?”

They looked back. “Yeah?

“When the shooting starts, I’m in, ok,” he said. He had his hand on the door they’d come in and was ready to go back out.

“What makes you think there’ll be shooting, Paulie?” said Hansen with a hint of a smile.

“Just guessing,” he said with a big grin.

“Thanks.”

Paul walked out the door and they resumed walking toward the other door.

“Irish?” he said.

“Yes?”

“When we meet with jimmy, let me do the talking. Mrs. Chan said he’d have something for us,” he said. He knew that Emma would be confused. She wouldn’t remember Mrs. Chan saying anything of the sort. But she had.

In the bag of groceries they were carrying.

They were at the door now. He knocked. “It’s me, Jimmy. Liam.”

They waited for a few seconds and then the door opened.

Jimmy was a thin, red-haired man with what was an attempt at a beard splotched over his face. He was pale and tall and he looked like a techno geek.

He was.

The best.

He led them into the room and it was lit up with gadgetry everywhere. Lights flashed and there were well over twenty screens showing various scenes, some of the city and some of other places that Hansen didn’t recognise.

Jimmy led them into the centre of the room where there was a small table and some chairs.

He motioned for them to sit down and then he sat opposite them.

He smiled at Hansen.

“So what brings you here?” he asked with a smile on his face. “As if I didn’t know.”

Hansen smiled back at him.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Save the world and all that shit.”

“How many tries is that at saving the world?”

“Not sure, but try and try again is my motto,” he said with a chuckle.

“It’s always fun, that’s for sure,” said Jimmy. “Now let’s get down to business….”

Emma tried her best not to gape at the mass amount of gadgetry that Jimmy had store in his room. It was mind boggling. He easily put her lab to shame as far as computers went.

While the boys talked, she let her gaze shift over the place, taking in the details, wishing with itchy fingers that could go tinker. She almost laughed out lout at that idea. Liam would probably have a coronary. Stay put, don't touch. Be seen, not heard. Gotcha.

She bit down on her tongue, listening intently to the two of them talking. They seemed to be old acquaintances and it seemed as though Liam was definitely no stranger to toiling with danger. Of course...that was sort of a given considering the man was a walking arsenal.

"Right." She heard Liam respond, his voice almost rough and at that point, she felt him slide a hand over her thigh, giving it a squeeze.

She turned her gaze to Jimmy. His hazel eyes met her own. "Mrs. Chan tells me you need a computer. As you can see, I have plenty. But what I need see is your chip. Make sure we have the right components for the lovely...lady."

Emma glanced over at Liam who gave her a short nod. She wasn't entirely fond of how Jimmy was eying her. As discretely as possible, she leaned forward a little and slipped her hand down the front of her shirt, wiggled and then pulled out the disk.

Jimmy's smile turned into a leer, "Nice trick."

She held it before his gaze between two fingers pinched tightly, but as he made a grab for it, jerked it back. "Sorry, only I touch it. If you're as clever as you seem to be, you won't need to touch it."

Gone was sweet little Emma, replaced with a hard gaze and firm mouth. There was no way in hell she was gonna let him put his hands on what she had fought hard to keep safe.

Hansen could see Emma wasn’t taking to Jimmy. The guy was the best at what he did, but his social skills left something to be desired, even compared to his own. He tried to reassure her, putting his hand on her thigh and giving it a light squeeze. He wasn't sure it improved her demeanour. Jimmy was trustworthy and she needed to trust him.

"Nice trick,” said Jimmy as Emma pulled the small shiny disk out from her bra. Hansen nearly squirmed in his seat as he said it.

Jimmy reached over to take it out of her hand, but she pulled back from him.

"Sorry, only I touch it. If you're as clever as you seem to be, you won't need to touch it,” Emma said to him with a hard look on her face.

Hansen was impressed with her spunk, but this was going from bad to worse.

And you’re here to help her, you fool.

I thought you’d gone.

You wish.

“Fuck me, you two,” said Hansen. “You need him, Emma. I can’t help you without knowing what’s on the disk so that Jimmy can organise the required hardware and software. And you,” he said glaring at Jimmy, “need some fucking serious social skills. Now get on with it or I’ll get the fuck out of here and you can work this whole fucking thing out for yourselves.”

All three of them sat there in silence. Hansen got up and walked to a bank of screens. He scanned them and saw one that was permanently on the entrance to Mrs. Chan’s shop and also one was on what used to be the entrance to the pub Carl was hiding in. Correction, used to hide in. Now, the entrance was mainly rubble after the SPF operative had carried Carl's bomb out in his underwear. His nuts were somewhere in South America now. It gave Hansen an idea, but for now these two had to sort things out. He turned back to them.

“So? Can you kiss and make up or do I go outside, shoot someone and make some money for a change?”

For a moment Emma still hesitated. She knew that he was right and she supposed if he trusted Jimmy, then so could she. If he kept his hands off of her and his eyes on the info, not her chest. “I'm sorry...a little jumpy I suppose.” She mumbled and shifted.

Clearing her throat, she palmed the chip and then opened her hand, letting Jimmy pick it from skin. She did her best not to frown as his fingers lingered a little longer than they should. “May I watch?” She asked Jimmy, indicating that she wanted to move around to where he was at.

Jimmy grinned, “Suit yourself.”

Liam let out a little snort and rolled his eyes towards the heavens as Emma stood. She slowly walked around, jamming her hands in her into the pockets of her jeans. Jimmy swiveled around, rolling to his work area. The disk soon vanished in one of the ports and for a moment Emma felt sick. If something went wrong, ten years of research would be down the tubes.

Puffing out a breath, she straightened and rolled her neck and shoulders, moving away. Maybe watching wasn't such a good idea. Her head was beginning to hurt. Squeezing the bridge of her nose, she moved to pace the room.

“I'm sorry...a little jumpy I suppose,” said Emma. She still wasn’t happy, but she offered the chip to Jimmy.

Thank Christ.

Jimmy reached over the table and picked the little disk up from her extended hand.

“May I watch?” she asked.

“Suit yourself,” said Jimmy with a grin on his face.

Hansen snorted.

“I swear, Jimmy,” he said, “if you weren’t the best at this, I would have put a bullet in your red head a long time ago. I still might fucking do it.”

Jimmy looked over at Emma. “He has a temper, you know,” he said with a wink at her.

Jimmy slipped the disk into a computer and they waited. Finally the screen in front of him lit up and there were a list of files. He hit the first one and there were slabs of text interspersed with molecular equations.

“Look at this, Liam,” said Jimmy.

Hansen walked over to the screen. “Don’t ask me, I failed chemistry.”

“Well it’s more microbiology,” said Jimmy.

Hansen looked at Emma. She nodded.

“The file documents the development of a virus that has no known cure and would cause an epidemic if released into the general population,” she said.

“You're fucking kidding me?” said Jimmy.

Hansen coughed. “Does she look like a fucking kidder to you?” he said. Then he looked towards her. “No offense. I’m sure your hilarious when you need to be.”

“You are grumpy today, Liam,” said Jimmy. “So you have a virus with no cure? That seems a bit pointless.”

Hansen shook his head. “No. Emma here, who you have been trying to annoy no end, was one of the lead scientists in developing it.”

Jimmy looked around wide-eyed at her. “Why would you do that? And you looked so nice….”

“Jimmy, she didn’t know. They were working on this to develop what is ostensibly a cure. They haven’t got the cure yet. Emma here believes she and her team were not far off working it out before she did a runner, but she needs a computer and a way for them to communicate.”

Jimmy sat looking at the screen quietly.

“First thing is,” he said, “we should make a copy of it. If Emma here,” he looked at her and smiled grimly, “disappears or is killed, then the information is gone.”

Hansen stared directly at him. “That won’t happen.”

“Ah, Sir Galahad Liam of Hansen,” he said. “Protector of all in distress, particularly hot looking damsels.”

Jimmy gave Emma a sly wink. She looked stressed. She looked like she was about to be sick.

Hansen was humourless. “No,” he said. “We’ve been electronically shackled. If Emma moves more than fifty metres from me, or disappears or is killed, then both our heads explode. It won’t happen.”

“Now that’s what I call a blow job!” exclaimed Jimmy.

Hansen resisted the urge to grab him by his thin little neck and twist it. He was used to it.

“Ok, copy the disk. Also, do you have a clean machine with comms she can use to keep working on the cure with her partners.”

“Do I have a deal…,” started Jimmy in a salesman’s voice.

Hansen cut him off.

“Just this once, Jimmy, put a sock in it.”

Jimmy looked sheepishly across at Emma.

She was smiling.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief and watched their interaction. Liam looked as thought he might kill the poor nerd boy and for some reason she found that thought highly amusing. Why? She wasn't sure. After all, she was technically a nerd, but she definitely had more social skills than Jimmy.

“Maybe once this is all over we should take Jimmy out of here for a few hours. I think he could stand a little fresh air and some sun.” She mused out loud and smiled at Liam.

“Haha – you mock now, but you'll love me when I save your asses.” Jimmy mocked, but his tone was more teasing that peeved.

She moved to Liam and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a good squeeze. Getting in touch with her team was definitely the key. She'd wanted to keep them out of it for fear of hurting their lives, but when it came right down to it, it was all for the greater good, wasn't it.

Jimmy watched them by the reflection on his screen and shook his head, grinning. “Will it be safe?” She asked Liam softly, her eyes so big and full of questions as she gazed up at him, “Will they be able to track us or find out and harm them?”

“Depends.” Jimmy cut in, his fingers flying over the keys. “If your team is sneaky enough, they could get away with it. Hard part will be first contact. Who do you trust the most in the company?”

She turned to gaze at the side of his skinny pale face, watching him work his magic. “Simon, Simon Thornton. He was next to me throughout the process. He helped me get out, but he has a family, so I was leery about getting him involved.”

Pulling his lanky frame up, Jimmy popped out her disk and tossed it at Emma. She caught it, pulling herself away from Liam long enough to do her jiggly wiggle, securing it in its spot. “I'm beginning to like that dance.” Jimmy teased and earned himself a glare from Liam.

“Okay, so I have a copy of the disk, it goes nowhere but with me.” Walking around his equipment, he stooped low and grabbed a black case. “This has your clean machine and comms. Good luck to you both...I would say you're going to need it.”

Emma wrapped her arms around Hansen and squeezed him in a tight hug. He was surprised, but he had been in many situations where civilians had been stressed and feared for their lives. They tended to pin their hopes on anyone who looked capable of protecting them.

That’s all it is.

Sure.

Once we leave here your fucking gone.

Wanna bet?

Fuck off.

Emma was happy with trying to contact Simon Thornton. Hansen didn’t care one way or the other. She said Thornton had a family, but he had agreed to protect her, not Thornton or his family. That might change when he met them.

It will change, Galahad. You’re a sucker. You’ll be walking around with a herd of lost lambs soon. Dickhead.

Fuck off.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…. my fucking hero.

You must be desperate, the Bible?

Jimmy seemed happy with what he had. “Okay, so I have a copy of the disk, it goes nowhere but with me.”

Walking around his equipment, he stooped low and grabbed a black case. “This has your clean machine and comms.”

“Good service, Jimmy,” said Hansen, smirking. “For a nerd.” He took the case and picked up Mrs. Chan’s groceries.

“Hey,” he said. “Anyway, good luck to you both...I would say you're going to need it.”

Hansen patted the front of his pants where his gun was.

“I’ve got all the good luck in the world down here,” he said.

Jimmy smirked. “Well….”

“Don’t even think about it,” said Hansen, cutting him off.

Jimmy went quiet.

“Out the back way, I assume?” Hansen asked him.

Jimmy nodded.

“Thanks. You’ll hear from us soon. Let’s go, Irish.”

He grabbed Emma’s hand and almost pulled her out of Jimmy’s lab. They walked a little further along the corridor they’d been in earlier and then Hansen pushed his way out of another door marked ‘Exit’. This one led on to a dirty alley full of trash that hadn’t been thrown down the chutes that were common in newer buildings.

They tip-toed their way down the alley, avoiding assorted detritus and junk and came back on to the main street. He stopped and turned to her.

“We’re nearly done for the day,” he said. “We have a lot to digest.” He paused and looked down at the case and the bag in his other hand. “Plus I’m starving and I could really go for some food.”

He thought for a moment, his face in thought as if he was contemplating whether he should tell her something or not.

“I have to make one more stop,” he said. “I have a headache and I need something to fix it.”

Bastard.

Hansen smiled to himself and they started walking again, making sure to avoid any SPF’s.

Emma had never considered herself to be a princess or a girly girl, but their tip toeing trip down the back alley was enough to make her want to scream 'eeewwww!' She was more than happy when they made it into the main streets again.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too." She admitted, pushing her hair back and studying him as he seemed to struggle with some internal decision. She was about to ask him what was the matter when he finally spoke.


“I have to make one more stop,” he said. “I have a headache and I need something to fix it."

"Mmkay." Who was she to argue? Again, Hansen had pulled her through this far and was giving her the tools to put her plan into action. "Let me help with the bags at least. I can pull my own weight." She suggested and when he just shrugged, she took some groceries off his hands and followed close as they began to move again.

Her mind began to wander, thinking of Simon and the others. Would they truly be willing to work with her and put an end to the threat? She had to believe they would or pulling it off solo was going to be a real bitch. Well, not quite solo. She had Liam, she reminded herself and while he was definitely rough around the edge, there was definitely an ooey gooey center to the man. Of course, he would never admit that and she would never repeat that thought out loud.

"Do you get headaches often?" She asked casually, wanting to get to know more about him.

As they started walking, Emma offered to take the bag of groceries from him.

“Let me help with the bags at least. I can pull my own weight."

He shifted it to his other hand and gave it to her. It meant letting go of her hand for a moment and it made him feel odd. He’d become used to it in his. He decided it was best not to hold her hand for now. The street was getting a little busier as people started to leave work. Not that what most people did now could be classed as ‘work’. It was mostly running administration for the government. The real work was done somewhere else, where few people saw what was happening. More people on the street meant it would be easier to avoid SPF’s if they saw them, but on the other hand, they would be harder to spot in the first place. Leaving one hand free might be prudent.

They walked in silence for a little while before she spoke.

He smiled to himself.

Of course.

"Do you get headaches often?"

He kept walking. He certainly wasn’t going to tell her about the voices in his head. He definitely wasn’t going to tell her when they’d started. That was for another time, if ever.

Tell her the truth.

Enjoy yourself, fucker, you’re going to have a rest.

Go ahead. You know what happens when you do that.

It's no worse than you. Laura will get rid of you.

Hehehe.

“Oh, in my previous work, I had a few close scrapes,” he said. “I got knocked about a little. That’s all. Now I sometimes get headaches that are a little stronger than most. I need something and then I'll be fine.”

He turned to look at her as they walked down the street. She was intelligent and eventually she would know he had a problem. He would have to stop talking back to the voices. He’d done that already and she would start to think he was unstable.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel. He could feel. Jess and Cassie proved that. And Carl and Bonnie and Laura and Mrs. Chan…. Even Emma. But they had done things to him. Unspeakable things. He was an asset once. Now he was a liability. A liability that they wanted to destroy. Wished they had never created. He wished his life had turned out differently. Maybe not even been born.

You’re getting maudlin, Hansen.

I’m fine.

Hehehe.

He really needed to get to the doc….

They got to the kerb and paused. He knew he’d gone quiet again and Emma would be wondering if she’d asked something wrong, but he didn’t really want to talk.

I need to get to the doc….

They waited for a break in the traffic of the public transport vehicles and crossed. They walked a further twenty metres up the street and there was a sign for a medical clinic. It was a government clinic. They all were now.

They stood a little away from the entrance and Hansen took out his comms unit.

Need it now. Head fucked.

He pressed send and waited for a minute. His comms unit announced a message.

Up. Now.

He wondered what Emma would be thinking. They were walking around meeting all these shadowy characters, each with different skills, and each just as dangerous as each other. She had been introduced to a whole new world. A world that was fighting against the world she lived in, the world she came from and knew.

Hansen eschewed the elevators and led her to an opening next to them. They climbed up the stairs to the first floor of the clinic and then rejoined the foyer and walked into the main entrance of some consulting rooms.

A woman in a white coat approached the doors, ushered them through and then locked the door. When she turned around, she looked at Emma with an expressionless face. Hansen nodded and she noticeably relaxed. Even with an expressionless face, the woman was beautiful. She was beautiful in a totally glamorous way, not the natural, endearing attractiveness of Emma.

Dr. Laura Black had short blond hair, was nearly as tall as Hansen and her pale skin was perfect.

She took Hansen into her arms and hugged him close. “I haven’t seen you for weeks,” she said, obviously glad to see him.

“I’ve been….busy.”

She laughed. “You were last night. I saw the news stream. Now let me guess, Carl and yourself were out for some fun?”

“I wouldn't say fun,” he said, “but yes, it was Carl and I.” He paused for a moment. “And Emma,” he said nodding to her.

Dr. Black hadn’t let him go yet. She gave him another kiss on the cheek, a little too long for his liking in front of Emma, but then she let him go and stepped back.

She extended her hand to Emma.

“I’m Laura Black, Emma, nice to meet you,” she said. “So you’re why Liam hasn’t called me in weeks?” she said smiling, but with no warmth.

Hansen looked at Emma. He knew her head must be spinning by now, but the look was the same she’d had a few times today.

You can trust her.

“I got knocked about a little. That’s all. Now I sometimes get headaches that are a little stronger than most. I need something and then I'll be fine.”

Emma felt as though she could buy that explanation, but as he fell completely silent after, she began to worry. There had to be more to the story or maybe she had pushed too hard. Once again Liam was pulling her through some loops. He seemed to know all sort of people in 'high places' or in his case, low places.

The glamorous doctor took her completely off guard. What sort of doctor looked like that? As if she'd just stepped off the pages of some glam magazine. She watched her hugging on Liam, her lips against his skin, her tall long body pressing close. For an instant she felt a sharp pang of jealousy and looked away, clenching her teeth.

Slowly bending at the waist, Emma unburdened herself of the grocery bags and wiped her hands on her jeans. It didn't matter who Liam kissed, he wasn't hers. They weren't romantically involved, he was shackled to her against his will and compared to Dr. Glamor Girl, she looked tiny and mousy.

“I’m Laura Black, Emma, nice to meet you,” Glamor girl said, extending a perfectly manicured hand. “So you’re why Liam hasn’t called me in weeks?”

After glancing over at Liam, she took the woman's hand, although both of them clearly not thrilled with the exchange. Still, Emma managed to smile oh so sweetly. "I can't take all the credit. We only met a day ago...the rest of the time has nothing to do with me."

Dr. Glamor pulled her hand away, giving her a look that told her she was unconvinced and Emma almost laughed. Was the Barbie Doll jealous? Crazy broad. Still, it gave her a little thrill. "Liam is just helping get out of some, well trouble. Apparently he's good at doing such things."

Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him and crossed her arms under her breasts and leaned against an exam table. "I could wait outside if you'd like....what ah...that help, you two...catch up?" She asked, raising her brows questioningly. "I really don't mind."

They shook hands, but Hansen could tell they hadn’t got off to a good start.

Women.

"I can't take all the credit,” said Emma. “We only met a day ago...the rest of the time has nothing to do with me. Liam is just helping me get out of some, well trouble. Apparently he's good at doing such things."

Laura nodded. She knew he was good at 'such things'.

Emma sat back against a table and looked at him. She had her arms folded and said, "I could wait outside if you'd like....would ah...that help, you two...catch up? I really don't mind."

Hansen looked at her.

She couldn’t be.

Her eyebrows were raised.

She was!

He almost laughed out loud, but held it in. She was jealous. Come to think of it, so was Laura.

Shit. Over me?

“Um, that won’t be necessary,” he said quickly. “Dr. Black knows what I need.”

Laura slowly turned around and opened the door to another room. While she was in there, Hansen looked around. At the ceiling. At the floor. At the open door. Anywhere but Emma. He felt like a naughty boy.

I haven’t done anything wrong.

Yet.

Laura came back with a small plastic bottle. The bottle was unlabelled and small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. She gave Hansen the bottle and looked at him seriously.

“Only one a day,” she said. “Promise me, Liam.”

He promised. “Ok.”

“There’s enough in there for a few weeks so that you don’t have to come back for a while, but you have to stop after a week. When you need more call me and I’ll let you know when you can take more.”

He nodded.

Yeah, right.

He looked at Emma. She would know these weren’t ordinary pills, but at least she didn't know what they actually were. The pills were Palazonol. They were used in the control of mentally unstable patients. People with personality disorders, violent tendencies, self harm and a host of other problems were prescribed them if they were too difficult to handle.

Only he and Laura knew why he took them.

And she wasn’t saying.

To anyone.

“Right,” he said. “We have to go.”

“So short a visit, Liam,” said Laura. “When you have time….”

“I sure will, doc,” he said. “I’ll call you again soon. Promise” He held up his hand with his thumb up.

Laura glanced at Emma and then back to him with a sceptical look on her face.

“Mmm. I’m sure,” she said softly.

He picked up the case and looked at Emma so that she could get the groceries.

“You’re certainly packing today, Liam,” said Laura referring to the weapons he was carrying. Surely Emma would start to get suspicious as to how all these people were so good at clearly seeing what he went to such lengths to conceal. “Surely,” she smiled seductively, “you weren’t afraid of me?”

“Er, no,” he said, “they wouldn’t be enough to stop you.”

He smiled as he thought about her…. There was still something between them, but he pushed it out of his mind.

At least she’s useful. She’s your type. Not like the scientist.

Say what you like. As soon as I get home, you’re gone.

We’ll see.

“Well, better go,” he said, walking over and giving her a light peck on the cheek. Laura turned her face and also gave him a quick brush on his lips with hers. “Er, um I have to cook dinner. We’re eating in tonight.”

She nodded. Then she looked to Emma.

“Bye,” she said with no emotion, not even offering her hand.

They started to walk to the door when Laura said something softly.

“Maybe you can cook me dinner some time.”

She looked wistful, even a little sad.

“You’ve never cooked me dinner.”

Hansen could feel himself blushing as he opened the door and let Emma out.

“Sure thing, doc,” he said over his shoulder as the door closed. “Sure thing.”

“Only one a day. Promise me, Liam.”

Emma's ears perked up a little. Apparently this was not your run of the mill headache medicine. So obviously, headaches weren't his only problem. She felt a twinge of remorse for feeling guilty about Laura. She obviously cared about Liam, even if it did seem to make him feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe it was just because she was there, invading their personal time. But she had offered, hadn't she?

Glancing away, she studying her scuffed shoes for a little while. Liam was making fast tracks to get out of there. Picking up the groceries, she gave Laura a curt nod and followed him out, catching the tall blondes wistful thoughts. She said nothing until they were out of there.

He turned them into the direction of 'home' or so she was hoping. With all the places they had been, to Emma it was impossible to distinguish where the hell they were at. She wasn't used to all this traveling about the city. The silence between them was deafening. She wanted to talk, to ask questions, to poke about and get some info, but was too afraid to piss him off.

"You certainly have a lot of friends, Liam." She stated casually, her stomach clenching with hunger. "I'm getting a whole new view of city."

Not going to talk about Dr. Glamor, she told herself. Not...gonna...do...it. He owed her not explanations. "So what are you cooking tonight? Or shall i do the honors? Either way, i am starving." She yammered on, noticing the dimming light of the day turning into dusk. "I hope those pills work. I hate to have our local hero be down and out. I certainly hate it when my head starts pounding. Makes for a crap day all around."

They were walking back towards his place. He didn’t have to rush now, so they could do it at a more leisurely pace, although they still needed to keep a look out for SPF’s. He had been surprised that the SPF’s were thin on the ground, but most of his movements in the past few months had been at night, so it was possible they had focussed their attention on that time.

He felt relieved to walk beside Emma without having to explain something or introduce her to something new. It gave him some quiet and he liked that. The hazy sun was just starting to go down. Then she spoke.

Of course.

"You certainly have a lot of friends, Liam," she said matter of factly. "I'm getting a whole new view of the city."

She was angling for information, but trying to be casual. He knew that at some stage, she would want to know about these people, how he knew them and why would they be so willing to help him in what was obviously going to be a dangerous situation.

“I do,” he said.

That was it. He could explain later, when they ate. He was enjoying the silence between them.

You had been.

Hey, you’re back. Not for long. I’ve got the Palazonol.

It won’t work.

We’ll see….

It wasn’t the most romantic way to describe it, but he was getting used to her. She really was a good sport and she had coped so far with everything that had been thrown at her.

And she was attractive. Not in a Laura Black way. Shit, no one was that attractive….or dangerous. But she was beautiful and she was smart. He needed smart right now because he was invested in this. Emma didn’t know, but he would be doing this with or without her and he would much prefer it to be with her. Soon they’d be back at his place and they could work out what to do next. The surveillance cameras at Jimmy’s had been bugging him and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He would, though.

Eventually.

"So what are you cooking tonight? Or shall I do the honors? Either way, i am starving."

She could talk, that was for sure. He guessed she wasn’t any worse than anyone else, it was just that he hadn’t been accustomed to so much communication.

Since Jess.

She was talking again….

"I hope those pills work. I hate to have our local hero be down and out. I certainly hate it when my head starts pounding. Makes for a crap day all around."

He turned to her as they walked. He was tempted to say that his head would stop pounding if she would stop talking, but he thought that might be rude.

Since when did you care about rude?

Since now.

You never used to. Must be love.

What?

Hehehe.

“Yes, I get severe pain in my head,” he said, happy that she thought that. “Laura can get those for me.” He winked and patted his coat pocket. “The special stuff, you know?”

He hoped that would keep her happy for a while. He had to take one tonight and he was worried about her staying with him. Unfortunately, there were no other options. He thought that tonight might be a good night for a few drinks and a talk. She might go to sleep earlier with a good meal and drinks under her belt. He would expect that she’d feel tired after all the walking they’d done. Yes, that’s what they’d do, have a nice night in and try and get her to sleep. He had to take the Palazonol.

He felt better now that he had it in his pocket. Relief wasn’t far away. Just the thought of it there made him feel better. He slowed a little and turned to her.

“Ok, Emma Hopson, I’ll take you up on the cooking if you like,” he said. “Seeing you don’t do socks, you may as well do something.”

He shifted the case to his other hand and reached down absentmindedly to grab her hand.

“No pressure at all, Irish,” he said, “but I’ll tell you after trying dinner whether you’re worth keeping around or not.”

He laughed and they kept walking.

I could get used to this.

Sucker.

She laughed along with him. He'd like her cooking...even if he didn't admit it. It was actually once thing she enjoyed doing. One got tired of fast food and even though she lived alone, she enjoyed a good meal. Maybe she was a bit of a foodie. All she knew was she enjoyed food and was terribly cranky when hungry. However, Liam was making her smile despite the hunger pains that plagued her belly. The pastries had long since warn off and they hadn't bothered with lunch. She was going to have to start packing them food to take on their trips around the city. He was a machine.

Well...not a complete machine. He was in pain. But not the sort of pain he was trying to convince her of. This went deeper and he was trying his damnedest not to show it.

"I suppose those are fair terms." She responded and shot him a cheeky grin, her eyes sparkling. She wouldn't push and prod...much. Not unless she felt he needed her to or put them in danger. But she was curious. She wanted to know about all these people at the very least.

The image of Dr. Glamor flashed in her memory and she stuffed her away, feeling mildly irritated. Yep she got them for him...she was sure that's not all she got for him. She inwardly sighed mentally shook herself. Quit being a bitch. It doesn't matter what she does for him.

She was more than glad to reach his place again and this time wasn't so worried about traipsing through abandoned buildings. She blew out a sigh of relief when the steel door shut behind them. "Home sweet home." She sighed dramatically and giggled, kicking off her shoes before taking the groceries to the kitchen. Time to cook.

Emma agreed to cook. He didn’t mind. He was a good cook, but was liable to be a little more utilitarian, using food as an energy source rather than something that was to be enjoyed and savoured.

Like her.

Fuck off, mate. As soon as I can get her to sleep, you’re gone.

They shut the door behind them. He dropped the case on the floor and she put the groceries from Mrs. Chan on the kitchen bench. It felt good to be back. He needed to think and plan. He wanted to hurt them. Emma didn’t realise it yet, but her plight gave him an excuse, a reason to go after the fuckers again. He’d kept his head down for a while, but now he was recharged. He wanted to cause them pain.

"Home sweet home,” she said. It sounded sweet. She kicked her shoes off and the scene was almost domestic. Her looked at her small feet and they looked, well....cute. He’d forgotten what that was like, to share space with someone. Sure, she talked a lot, but it was a small price to pay for her banter and companionship. He’d almost forgotten about the shackles. There’d been no need for them to be apart so it hadn’t crossed his mind, but at some stage, that had to be handled. Fifty metres wasn’t enough room for what he wanted to do. Also, that would be too close for her and he didn’t want her in that sort of danger.

“I don’t know what Mrs. Chan put in there for us, but I’m sure it’ll be good,” he said. “Feel free to make whatever you like. In the meantime, I’m having a beer. Like one?”

Without waiting for her answer, he walked over to the fridge and pulled one out for himself and one for her. If she didn’t want it, then it wouldn’t be a problem for him to have it. Shit, two beers were like an entrée for him.

He took his assorted weaponry from his person and put them neatly at one end of the bench. He pulled up a stool on the opposite side of the bench, opened his beer and then sat there to watch her prepare the meal.

“So, Irish, what do you think so far,” he said, taking a long pull on his beer. “Bored yet?”

Emma let out a little snort, glancing over at the beer he had left out for her. It really didn't appeal to her taste. Water would probably be her better choice if she wanted to stay awake until dinner was over. “Bored is not quite the word I would use. I probably wouldn't mind being bored to be honest.” She glanced over her shoulder at him as she unpacked the groceries and some of them in the fridge. “I'm not used to all this excitement. I lived, breathed and ate science. So in other words, one boring nerd.”

She worked around the kitchen with surprising ease, putting some home made chicken fried rice. Before long the aroma of the food filled the air, making her mouth water. “This...experience is exhausting. If we make it out alive, I think first order of business is sleeping for a week.”

Laughing to herself, she stirred the food, the motion of her arm bringing a little wiggle to her body. “So...” She paused, moving across the small counter to fill the two plates that she had set aside, fished out some forks and turned with a sweet smile, “Bon Appetite! I'm sorry if it's not really gourmet, but I'm hoping it will at least fix the nagging hunger. I don't know how you function on beer and strong coffee alone.”

Her eyes softened slightly as she came around to sit on the bench with him. “I'm going to have to take care of you while we're stuck together. I can't let you get all weak and puny or you won't be able to protect me from the big bad guys.”

Taking a bite of her dinner, she groaned and chewed happily, blissfully happy to be eating again. It only offered Liam a moment of silence before she started up again. “So will I ever get to hear your story? Or are we keeping it all about me? Not that I mind your man of mystery, silent, but sexy routine. But inquiring minds want to know.”

Hansen watched her cook. She knew her way around a kitchen. He kept drinking his beer. It didn’t look like she was interested in hers, so he finished his and slid his hand across the bench, grabbed it and opened hers. He took another sip, less urgently this time. This would make things harder. He would prefer her to go to sleep early so that he could take the Palazonol and get most of the side-effects out of the way during the night. Maybe some whiskey later….

You’re fucking weak. You care what she thinks?

Oh, did I hear something? Some static? Some crap?

Funny.

I’ve got a month’s worth. Hope you’ve booked somewhere nice.

Fuck off.

“Bored is not quite the word I would use. I probably wouldn't mind being bored to be honest. I'm not used to all this excitement. I lived, breathed and ate science. So in other words, one boring nerd.”

He smiled. One boring cute nerd.

The smell of her cooking was making him hungry. It was obviously Asian style and it contained chicken and rice, but beyond that, he didn’t really care. He needed some food, any food. He went to take another sip on his beer and found he’d already finished the second one.

Shit. You might want to slow down.

He got up and grabbed another one from the fridge. He also ran her a glass of water in case she wanted some. He wasn’t really a wine person. Beer and spirits. Simple. Unlike his life.

He sat back down and watched her bustle around. He knew she wanted to talk about things, but he wasn’t about to make her life easier. He was still working things out.

“This...experience is exhausting. If we make it out alive, I think first order of business is sleeping for a week.”

It’s going to get much more tiring before it’s over, Irish. Much more.

She danced around a little as she stirred the food, obviously getting to the end of the cooking. She was beautiful, intelligent and she had a sense of humour. Just watching her cook was making him feel relaxed. He used to enjoy watching Jess cook.

When she was alive.

She finished stirring, got the plates out and began to spoon the food onto them. She pushed the plates across the bench towards him and retrieved some cutlery. Then she walked around and sat next to him.

“So....Bon Appetite!” she said. “I'm sorry if it's not really gourmet, but I'm hoping it will at least fix the nagging hunger. I don't know how you function on beer and strong coffee alone.”

And Palanozol.

“I’m sure it will be ok,” he said softly.

“I'm going to have to take care of you while we're stuck together,” she said more softly. “I can't let you get all weak and puny or you won't be able to protect me from the big bad guys.”

Hehehe. Hero Hansen. Behind every great man there’s….

Fuck off.

She’s going to take care of you. The last woman to do that….

Fuck. Off.

Hehehe.

The food was excellent. She had done a lot with not much. They ate for a few moments in silence, Hansen hoped it would be longer than at least a few moments.

“So will I ever get to hear your story? Or are we keeping it all about me? Not that I mind your man of mystery, silent, but sexy routine. But inquiring minds want to know.”

Well, you did only ask for a few moments. Hehehe.

He knew that the question would eventually come. He knew she would want to know. He chewed on his food slowly, not looking at her.

“Sexy, Irish?” he said. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me that.”

He poked at his food and speared a piece of chicken with his fork. He put the piece in his mouth and chewed.

Slowy.

Thoughtfully.

He swallowed the chicken and had another long drink of his beer. It was finished.

Four won’t hurt.

He got up, walked to the fridge and took out another beer. He took her glass from the other side of the counter and refilled it with water. He avoided her eyes.

He slid the drinks across the bench and then walked around to their side. He brushed her slightly on the way past. He wanted to put his arms around her and tell her it would be alright, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know if it would be alright.

He sat back down. He was very close to her. His thigh was almost touching hers. He could feel the heat of her leg and his leg warming the air between them.

He opened his beer. He knew she would be thinking about his drinking, but this was nothing for him. He could drink a huge amount of alcohol. It was one of the things that had happened to him after them.

Them.

She had a right to ask, he knew that. How much should he tell her? How much could she absorb? Would she be afraid of him?

He pushed his plate away from him and dropped the fork on the plate. His meal was only half eaten, but he didn’t feel hungry anymore. He wanted the Palanozol. He needed the Palanozol. He didn’t want to do anything else besides the Palanozol and booze.

Tell her you weak bastard. We’ll see what she thinks then.

No.

Murderer.

No.

Killer.

No.

Tell her.

God….

He picked up his beer.

“The people who are after us. Who’ve tried to kill me. Who’ve tried to kill you. Who want to bring sickness on half the world to further their political and economic imperatives.”

Shit. Imperatives. He hadn’t talked like that for a long time.

He wasn’t looking at her, he couldn’t look at her. He sucked on the beer like a mother’s teat until he drained it.

He slammed the can down on the bench and slowly turned around on his stool till he was facing her.

“I used to work for them.”

Hehehe.

“Sexy, Irish?” he said. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me that.”

She felt her cheeks heat up and grinned a little, “Don't let it get to your head.” Taking another bite, she studied his profile. Watching him methodically chew his food and swallow, then gulp down his beer. Obviously this wasn't something he wanted to talk about and the longer the silence extended, the worse Emma felt. She didn't want to dredge up bad memories, but felt like she at least had earned knowing a little something. After all, now they were in it together.

He sat closer to her this time, his body almost brushing up against her own. It was comforting. So was the food, which filled her hungry belly and helped her relax. When he still didn't speak, she let out a little sigh and went to open her mouth and tell him never mind. She was such a softie, but pulling teeth just to learn his story wasn't worth it, was it?

But then he spoke.

“The people who are after us. Who’ve tried to kill me. Who’ve tried to kill you. Who want to bring sickness on half the world to further their political and economic imperatives.”

Carefully she set her plate aside and jumped when he slammed his beer down, watched him turn to face her. Her pretty face turned to his, gazing into his dark eyes. What she saw in them was both frightening and heart breaking all at once.

“I used to work for them.”

For a moment she said nothing, but held his gaze, shifting her body so that they were face to face. Food and drinks forgotten. “So tell me more...tell me what happened. Why do they want to kill you? I already know why they want me.”

Her voice was soft and low, she wasn't going to back down unless he insisted on not sharing, but since he'd taken the first step for her, she reached over and took one of his hands, linking her fingers with his.

She leaned over close to him and took his hand. He hadn’t expected that, but then he hadn’t expected helping her last night. Now she wanted to know what was going on. She was in as much danger as he was.

More.

At least he knew how to fight them, or at least go down fighting and cause those bastards the most of amount of damage imagineable.

He looked at her. “I’ll tell you,” he said. “It doesn’t matter anyway. You’re in as deep as I am.” He paused. “As…. we all are.”

He took in some air and let go of her hand. He walked around her and the bench and fetched another beer from the fridge. He needed it.

“I’m not from here,” he said. “I come from Australia. At least came from there. Now I’m here. I was a junior sportsman there. Not world class, but pretty good at everything. I had a shot once at swimming, but I wasn’t good enough.

“My family had a long military history. Once I was out of university,” he smiled at her, “yes. I only act like I’m uneducated. I have a degree in, of all things, literature. Anyway, once I left school I joined the military. My athletic ability had me fast-tracked into Special Forces and my education gave me privileges, like being made an officer on entry.”

Hansen stopped. He walked back around towards Emma. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to be closer to her as he told his story. He sat on his stool, very close to her, looking her in the eye.

“When all the changes started and natural resources became the biggest issue facing the world, governments started to work in a different way. It became about sovereignty. Who owned this and who owned that. It became about pollution. On the face of it, all significant issues, but slowly the emphasis changed. It was more about who was allowed to do what, not what was best for the planet.

“I was involved in missions that ostensibly were about doing the best thing for the population. Get rid of this dictator, secure that resource, all those sorts of things. Gradually, I couldn’t work out why we were doing things any more. My government became part of the the Global Energy, Health and Food Management Council, so I was not only working for our people, but for them. I worked with people from all the nations that had signed up, all of them Western, except for China. We did many….bad things.”

He drank a bit more of his beer.

Slow down already.

“But you know all of this. My work was good, the best. If there was something to be done, my team would always do it. They discovered I had a very useful trait. I could do things that others couldn’t. I was not immoral, their words, but amoral. If the job demanded it, then I could do it.”

He looked at her.

“They studied me and tried to work out what it was about me that made me like that. I could lay waste to a whole city and not think twice about it. I’d been told it was the right thing to do, so I did it. There was a part of my brain that was able to disassociate pain and death from the job at hand. I could go….outside myself to follow orders. They couldn’t really work it out. They started to give me a drug, Palazonol, that was supposed to heighten this mental process. It didn’t work. In fact, it did the opposite: it gave me a conscience. I started to question what I was doing.”

He paused for a moment.

“But, I didn’t tell them that. After they started feeding me the Palazonol, I didn’t know why the fuck I was doing anything I fucking did. Then a job went wrong. Wrong if you were them. We went to Indonesia. I was supposed to produce a disaster, something that destroyed a town. They were sitting on oil, lots of it. There were children, there were women, there were innocent peasants. They wanted to live on their land, the way they had for hundreds of years. I wouldn’t do the job. I didn’t do it. They did it with someone else, but it blew up in their faces. They wanted the oilfields, but they didn’t want it to be overt. It ended up becoming a major issue and it was the beginning of the contrived wars. It was the beginning of when they stopped caring about how they looked and if their motives were obvious to the rest of the global population.”

She kept looking at him, listening. He smiled at her and raised his hands.

“I hope I’m not boring you,” he said. “My team followed me in everything. I knew how to plan what the leaders wanted, but I looked after my team. I was the best. I was an asset. They put me in the care of Laura Black, basically twenty four seven. She’s a neurosurgeon. Her job was to repair what the Palanozol had undone. I had not only become normal, they could have coped with that. I was actually becoming a problem. They could have put a bullet in me, I suppose, but my team was the best of the best and if they did that, they were taking a chance that it would all fall apart. You’ve met some of my team: Carl and Jimmy. Mrs. Chan's husband was there. Bonnie was there. You haven’t met her, but you will. Bonnie could be watching you for weeks and you wouldn’t know it. To keep her close to me, Laura Black was made the doctor, but she’s also deadly in hand to hand combat. I wouldn’t want to fight her. We always joke about that, but I’m serious, I don’t know who would win there.”

He smiled weakly at her.

“Of course, I’m lucky she likes me so it won’t come to that.”

He took another pull on his beer. He watched her. She was listening.

Good. You have to know what we are.

“Our role changed a little as the world changed. Our work became much more related to the economic power of nations. We were involved in industrial espionage, we brought down governments for no reason other than they stood in the West’s way and we conducted terrorism on a scale our enemies could never have thought of.”

His beer was finished. There was more to the story, but he needed another.

It feels good to tell someone.

Dickhead, she won’t understand. She’ll be scared of you.

I don’t care….anymore.

Emma listened and watched him. The amount of beer he was consuming didn't go unnoticed. Not that she minded terribly. It was obviously his way of coping with a past that was eating at him. Palanozol...that name stuck in her brain. She'd heard of it before and none of it was very good. Strangely while he rattled on about his life, she began to worry more and more about him. They had harmed him and used him, like they had used her.

He was also dangerous. But she had known that. Seen him dangerous he could be and was sure he could be brutal when it came down to it. But she had always seen a softer side of Liam. One that showed her how much he cared for his team and those he had come to know along the way. Like Mrs. Chan and her family. There was good in him and while he had done a lot of bad, that was then. This was now. This was a new Liam, a little battered, a little unstable, but one trying to make rights out of all sorts of wrongs.

He was still gazing at her face, more than likely waiting on her reaction. Standing, she surprised him by moving away and going to the fridge. She took out two bottles of beer, popped the tops and then slowly sauntered back. “Well, I have to say this does explain a few things.” she started off slowly and handed him the bear. She wanted to pull him into a hug instead and squeeze him tight for comfort, but restrained herself. Instead she sat back down, her beer handing between her slightly spread thighs. For a moment she looked pensive, her eyes searching his darker gaze. “So when you went to see Laura...that was for the Palazonol, not headache medicine or am I wrong?”

He gave her a slight, if not reluctant nod. She blew out a breath. She wasn't completely familiar with the drug and all the side effects, but it was some heavy shit. “Okay, fair enough.” With a small smile she took a long sip of her drink and then made a face. Definitely not what she wanted. “Liam, I already knew you were different and possibly a dangerous man if messed with the wrong way. I've noticed enough also to understand that you're also one of the good guys, even if you have your rough edges. I'm not here to judge you. I think the past should remain the past. Any other person would have ditch long before now and left me to those SPF bastards. I would be dead. And you've at least bought me some much needed time.”

Her hands came up and gently caressed the side of his face a second before dropping. “Of course, now I have deduced, because I can be a smart cookie sometimes, that you were waiting for me to pass out to take your drugs. And I respect that in a way, but I want you to know you don't have to hide things. I might have been sheltered in a lot of ways, but by all accounts I should have unraveled days ago.” She gave him a bit of a rueful grin. “I'm not a porcelain doll, I won't crack so easily. Is there more?”

She had listened quietly to all he had to say. When he paused, she got and walked to the fridge and pulled another two beers out for them. She brought them back.

“So when you went to see Laura...that was for the Palazonol, not headache medicine or am I wrong?” she asked.

He nodded. She seemed to accept his story so far.

“Of course, now I have deduced, because I can be a smart cookie sometimes, that you were waiting for me to pass out to take your drugs. And I respect that in a way, but I want you to know you don't have to hide things. I might have been sheltered in a lot of ways, but by all accounts I should have unraveled days ago.” She grinned at him. “I'm not a porcelain doll, I won't crack so easily. Is there more?”

He drank a bit more of his beer.

“You’ve done well,” he said. “Better than I thought you would. It’s not easy when they’re all gunning for you. I know.”

He sucked in some more air and continued on.

“My team reported to a man called General Blaxland. He had once been a legitimate soldier. He was highly decorated and highly respected, but slowly he became more aligned to the economic side of the Global Energy, Health and Food Management Council. He was involved more in terrorism than military duties. At the time we didn’t notice the shifting priorities of our missions, but in hindsight, we were his tools in serving his masters.

“The final mission we did for him was to protect the interests of a company called Hardacre Industries. They had been receiving threats from various groups around the world. They manufactured weapons that were being used by governments to quell insurgencies. They had plants all over the world, but we were asked to protect the one they had in Thailand. They used cheap labour and it also kept it out of the world’s view.

“Bonnie was doing the initial surveillance and she came back with some terrifying news. Not only were they exploiting the local population, they were using children to work long hours in sometimes dangerous conditions. I thought that was bad enough, but then Bonnie found out that they were actually testing their weapons on the local people. They were killing people in their trials. Now, I never thought anyone would stoop to that, so I went in as part of the plan. I worked with the management there under the name of Patrick Flannery. They knew I was undercover to protect them. While I was there, they showed me….. more things.

“What they showed me was revolting. I was disgusted. When I spoke to the rest of the team, they all agreed with me. I went to General Blaxland for a face to face meeting. He listened to me as if it was all new to him. I remember him nodding and listening. He was an imposing figure. Tall and thin with silvery hair. He was just about the only person in senior ranks I truly respected. But…. he said we had to carry out the mission. We were to protect the plant while we worked on finding out who was threatening it. I was shocked. He was a true military hero and he was directing us to protect a business that was using live humans for the testing of lethal weapons.”

Hansen stopped again. He really needed that beer. “Thanks,” he said to Emma, tilting the bottle in her direction and then taking another slug of it.

“I went back to the team. I told them I was going to take the fuckers out. I was sick of what we were helping to do and couldn’t bear to be a part of it. I was surprised with their reaction. They were surprised I’d taken this long to come around and they were all for it. Laura admitted they’d been sort of grooming me. They knew I was the one, in their words, that was finally going to do something about this. They had all been involved in some minor stuff here and there in helping rebels and insurgents, but they thought that this would be a significant kick in the teeth for the bastards, that maybe we could generate enough publicity to make the world come to its senses. There was only one problem.

“The Palanozol was not working as it should and my mind was deteriorating. I can’t really describe it to you except to say that I hear voices. There is a constant chattering going on in my head. There’s a ‘good’ side and a ‘bad’ side. They are constantly fighting. When I make decisions, I usually listen to the good side, but when I’m confronted or in danger, the bad side seems to take over, even when I’m doing supposedly good things.

“The job basically went to shit. We set up a plan. We were going to take all of the management hostage, then destroy the plant and then try to get as much media exposure as we could. We were naïve. We didn’t realize how much the media was controlled by the governments and the corporations. Shit, we didn’t realize that the governments really were the corporations.”

He tried to slow his breathing.

“On the day we went in to grab the management, I totally lost it. I actually killed all of them. Then I killed the CEO on film and sent it to media outlets and to as many members of corporation boards as I could. These were evil men, but I had become them. Every time I put a bullet in them, I thought of the innocent people they had killed. I was a mess. Carl had to shoot me with a tranquilizer in the end. I massacred the whole management team at the plant while the others were rescuing the workers and destroying the facility. I’m not sure if you heard about it because they tried to keep it quiet, but they ended up twisting the story so that we were dangerous terrorists that had to be destroyed. Now, we live here, under their noses. Because we were from all different parts of the world, they thought that we’d scattered, but we came here. It was easier to hide here than anywhere else. We all do odd things as our part of the effort, but it is difficult to pull anything big together without exposing ourselves. The night I met you, I’d just dumped an informer with some insurgents. I believe they were going to kill him.”

He smiled wryly.

“The problem is, after the incident at the bar where we rescued you, they will know that at least Carl and I are together. That means they will be coming after us. It means you’re in even more danger because they know we have you and they know what we can do. Their urgency and effort to eliminate us will be doubled. But,” he said, “your problem has given us something to target. That’s why I asked you if you wanted to start this, because once it’s started, it has to go all the way. You’re shackled to me for now, so unfortunately, you have to be a part of it. The risk you’re taking is that I can be very unstable. The Palazonol helps keep my voices quieter, but it can also be unpredictable. It can make me behave so coldly that nothing is beyond me. Nothing.”

He drank more beer.

“You’re right, I wanted you to be asleep before I took the drug. It takes a few hours to stabilize and I can really sit there talking to myself in a creepy way and I didn’t want to scare the crap out of you. I remember everything afterwards, but at the time, I can’t really control it. It scares even me.”

He put the beer down and sat back on the stool. That was enough for now. He didn’t want to tell her about how they’d killed his wife and child. He couldn’t go back there for now.

“So you see,” he said, “you’re sort of with the safest person you could be with, but sort of with the most dangerous. If we weren’t shackled, then maybe…..” He shrugged his shoulders and lifted his palms upwards. “But we are shackled, so you’re stuck with me.”

Emma smiled and nudged his foot with her bare one, “So you're a little crazy, we all have our faults.” She teased softly. “I'm not complaining. At least you don't stink. Could be worse, always worse. I'd like you more if you stocked up on some sodas though. Honestly, I don't know how you can live on beers and coffee..btw, should you really be drinking AND taking drugs?”

Setting aside her beer, she stretched a little and rolled her shoulders, digesting all the information he had given her. It definitely helped put the pieces together as to how he ended this way and why. While in some ways it was sad, at least he and his team had their eyes open. Not many cared to bother looking, content to stay in their own little bubbles and doing as they were told. Emma had been one of those people and like Liam, had gotten quite the shock of a lifetime.

“I think you and I have a lot more in common than we initially thought, Liam. And since we're stuck together, I say we make the best of it. And before you ask, no, I'm still not washing your dirty socks.” She gave him a wink and stifled a yawn behind of her slender pale hands.

For a moment she watched him drink his beer, both of them falling silent before she started speaking again. “I've trusted you with a lot recently and well, I'm hoping you will trust me here too. I'm not a doctor and I won't pretend to know what you go through when you take those magical little pills. It doesn't sound like much fun.” Drawing a breath, she let her fingers brush against his own, her gaze shifting to his hands. Large and strong. It was hard to picture him falling apart, mentally or in any other way. “So I'm proposing that maybe we can get comfortable, take your medicine and let me be here for you. I don't like the idea of me snoozing away while you have a small mental breakdown in a dark corner, Liam.”

EC - thank you for your patience

She seemed to have absorbed what he’d told her. Of course, he hadn’t told her what had happened to his family, but she didn’t need to know that.

Yet.

She rubbed her foot on his, just a quick nudge. It made him feel….warm. Having her there made him feel better. The smells of cooking, sitting at the bench talking, her nudging his foot.

Domesticity.

For a trained killer, he was very domestic. Laura had often joked about that. I’ll fuck you all day long, Liam, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to put your washing away. He smiled at that.

I wouldn’t want you putting my washing away, Laura, waste of a damned good ass.

Cute. Reminiscing are we?

Come back to say goodbye, have you?

Thinking of Laura. How nice. And you’re stuck with a nerd who’s going to get you killed.

I’ve got the Palazonol so just go quietly eh?

You’re going to get us both killed.

Irish and I will be fine.

I meant us. You and me.

There is no us. No you and me. There’s me. They put you here. You don’t belong.

You’re dead without me. You won’t be able to do what’s needed.

We’ll see.

I hope not before it’s too late.

I’ll help the girl.

Just fuck her. She’s just a girl. Fuck her and you’ll see she’s just that. Don’t make her a cause, put her on a pedestal.

Nervous are we? Jealous maybe?

She’s not important. We’re important. She’s nothing. A girl. To fuck. Then bye bye.

No. Bye you.

Don’t…..

His thoughts were interrupted by Emma.

Thank God for that.

“So you're a little crazy, we all have our faults,” she teased. “I'm not complaining. At least you don't stink. Could be worse, always worse. I'd like you more if you stocked up on some sodas though. Honestly, I don't know how you can live on beers and coffee..by the way, should you really be drinking AND taking drugs?”

If only you really knew how crazy I really was Irish….

He shook his head at her. He knew he shouldn’t be drinking, but he knew his limits. He’d never had a problem with alcohol and the Palanozol and Laura had never warned him of one. They probably didn’t know enough about it. What you don’t know, won’t hurt you. Jess had said that all the time. Now there were lots of things he wished he didn’t know.

Jess.

No more.

Emma was fidgeting around in her seat. She wouldn't be quiet for long. He knew her well enough now. She started to speak.

He smiled.

Bingo.


“I think you and I have a lot more in common than we initially thought, Liam. And since we're stuck together, I say we make the best of it. And before you ask, no, I'm still not washing your dirty socks.”

She winked at him. She looked tired and was trying to keep some yawns down. It was time to go to bed. They had a big day tomorrow. He had to talk to Bonnie, but there would be heat everywhere. Carl would be with her. He needed to find out about Irish’s friends, especially the guy that helped her. There was no point having the information on the disc and getting killed for it if there wasn’t a chance they could hurt the government. Shit, that was the whole reason to do this. Hurt the motherfuckers.

He took another sip of his beer. She spoke again.

It’s easy talking to you, Irish, I like it.

“I've trusted you with a lot recently and well, I'm hoping you will trust me here too. I'm not a doctor and I won't pretend to know what you go through when you take those magical little pills. It doesn't sound like much fun.”

She paused. He thought it must have taken her a significant amount of effort since she was rolling now. She drew in a breath.

Ahh, she needed air.

He loved watching her try to get everything out. He was sure that if she could, she would have two conversations going at once. She was beautiful and independent.

And innocent.

Her hands brushed his and he got that feeling again. Warmth. She was so small compared to him. A lot of people were, but he wanted to scoop her up, tell her it was all going to work, brush her ears with his lips, whisper that they were going to be ok....

But I didn’t know.

For sure.

She kept going.

“So I'm proposing that maybe we can get comfortable, take your medicine and let me be here for you. I don't like the idea of me snoozing away while you have a small mental breakdown in a dark corner, Liam.”

He winked back at her.

I better get a word in….

“Oh, with my charms, Irish,” he said, “I think I could find a truck load of women willing to wash my socks. I can keep you…. for other purposes.”

He smiled slyly. He knew he would embarrass her.

He drank again from his beer and his face became serious.

“Thank you for the dinner, Irish,” he said, looking directly at her. “I appreciate it. Why don’t we get cleaned up and ready for bed.”

He stood up, directly in front of her, his legs almost touching hers as she perched on the kitchen stool. He put one of his hands over hers.

“If you want to be here, that’s fine. Any excuse to lie next to me, eh?" he said playfully. "When I take the Palazonol, things happen. I don’t exactly know, but it’s not good. I say things. I’m not dangerous.... that I know of.” He paused, his face blank. He stepped back and looked at the plastic bottle on the counter that Laura had given him.

The truth was, Hansen didn’t like the Palazonol. It made him softer, less inclined to do the first instinctual thing. It was meant to do the opposite, of course, but Laura always worried that if did its job properly one day, then he would become an amoral killing machine. And uncontrollable. He worried about that, but for the moment, the Palazonol helped.

And it got rid of him.

Me? No reason to be afraid.

I’m not.

Hehehehe.

He shook his head.

“Why don’t we get cleaned up and then go to bed?” he said. “The longer I have resting, then the better we’ll both be tomorrow. You need to rest too. You get ready first, ok?”

He walked over to the bed and sat on it to wait for her.

He grinned at her and patted the spot beside him.

“No need to be shy after all we’ve gone through, so we’ll sleep together,” he said.

He wiggled his index finger at her and pretended to look scared.

“But you really do have to keep your hands off me this time....”

“Oh, with my charms, Irish,” he said, “I think I could find a truck load of women willing to wash my socks. I can keep you…. for other purposes.”

His sly smile made her blush even while she rolled her eyes, trying to brush him off. "In your dreams." She mocked back and grinned in return. "And you're more than welcome for dinner. I girls gotta eat. You just happen to be stuck with me."

She clasped the hand that he slid over hers as he stood before her. She had to crane her head back slightly to gaze into his face as he spoke, reminding her of how small she was compared to him.

“If you want to be here, that’s fine. Any excuse to lie next to me, eh?"

She snorted, "I confess, I cannot help myself."

"When I take the Palazonol, things happen. I don’t exactly know, but it’s not good. I say things. I’m not dangerous.... that I know of.”

She tightened her smaller hand around his and drew herself up, pushing him back slightly so that she could stand without putting a crick in her neck. "It'll be fine. I'm not worried about it." She told him. It was a small lie. She was worried, but about him more than herself. She wanted him to be okay. To be better and not have to suffer.

“Why don’t we get cleaned up and then go to bed?”

She nodded slightly and finally let out a yawn she'd been holding back.

“The longer I have resting, then the better we’ll both be tomorrow. You need to rest too. You get ready first, ok?”

"Sounds good to me. I'll be right back." Moving away, she reluctantly let go of the warmth of his hand and plucked up the shirt she had worn the night before. In the tiny confines of the bathroom, Emma brushed her teeth and rinsed her face, taking care of business as usual. She tend wiggled out of her pants and folded them neatly, setting them aside along with her shirt, then wiggled into the over sized one that was Liam's.

She she returned, he was grinning and patting the spot beside him. She quirked a brow and gave him a small smile.

“No need to be shy after all we’ve gone through, so we’ll sleep together,” he said.

He wiggled his index finger at her and pretended to look scared.

“But you really do have to keep your hands off me this time....”

She giggled at that and crawled onto the bed, mindful of how much flesh she was flashing. "I can't promise anything. Your animal magnetism is hard to resist." She teased and pulled the sheet up over her bare legs, wiggling down into what had been her spot the night before. "Your turn. Hurry before I pass out and forget that I'm supposed to be molesting you."

That tickled her again and she giggled, her eyes sparkling despite the seriousness of their situation.

"Your turn. Hurry before I pass out and forget that I'm supposed to be molesting you,” she said.

I hope you do pass out.

He got up and let Emma crawl into bed. She seemed relaxed enough. That was good. He wanted her relaxed. Not scared. It wouldn’t do to be scared.

You fuck up when you’re scared.

Tell me about it. You’re going to take those stupid pills. With me gone, you’re fucked.

Because you been such a great help so far.

You’re alive.

Jess and Cassie aren’t.

Can’t win ‘em all.

I have to.

He walked over to the kitchen bench, scooped up the little plastic bottle that Laura had given him and walked into the bathroom.

There used to be an old singer. He remembered his father used to play things called CDs. He always used to play this singer who’d been long dead, even then.

“It’s now or never….”

Elvis. That was his name. Cheesy.

But Hansen had liked him.

Summed it up really.

Cheesy. Sentimental.

That’s why they’d had to fuck with his brain.

He washed his face with cold water. It stung, but it felt good. He hadn’t shaved for a while. Since going out after Fat Fuck actually. The thought of what had happened to him made him smirk and he regretted it instantly.

Thatta boy. That’s the old Liam. Why take the pill? It’ll take your edge. Your difference.

I can’t think clearly with you there. You’re not an edge. You’re….sick.

His thoughts returned to Emma. Hopefully she’d fallen asleep. He doubted it, but it would be better. The Voice wouldn’t give up without a fight and he didn’t want her to hear it.

The struggle.

Yet he did though. Deep down, he did.

He wanted someone to hear the struggle. To share it with him. Like Jess had.

When she was alive.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

You’re fucked.

No argument there. Hehehe.

He shook his head. He opened the bottle and tipped it slightly. The little blue pill fell out onto the palm of his hand. It was so small, but it could do so much. It’s promise, just it's promise was nearly enough. He hadn’t taken one for a while. He’d wanted the edge. The difference. He couldn’t go around getting people like Fat fuck without that. The Palanozol tempered that.

Or could he?

Maybe he was damn good, regardless of what they’d done to him. Maybe he could be effective and not be….

….a killer. A monster.

“You’re the devil in disguise….”

Elvis again. Did that old dude have a song for everything?

Maybe he could do his work and be normal, whatever the fuck normal was.

Emma didn’t seem to be afraid of him. Maybe it was because he’d saved her.

So far.

When the shit came down, would she be able to cope with it. Her situation was an excuse for him. Ok, it was more than that, but the truth of it was, her plight gave him a reason to hit back. To make a final last attempt at getting everyone to realise what was going on. That this was no way to live. No way to exist.

Exist. That’s all people were doing. They were existing for the benefit of others. Gullible. Scared. Ignorant people.

Exisiting.

We’ll I’ll make you see, whether you like it or not. I’ll take the blindfolds off and then it’s up to you. But at least I can say, “I did something.” It might have been wrong. It might have been stupid, but I did. Something.

There was an old saying in Australia when he was growing up.

Don’t leave it to your mates, do it for your mates.

None of these people were his mates. These gullible climbers who believed that existing was enough. But they didn’t deserve this and he had to do something.

Anything.

He put the pill on his tongue, closed his mouth and looked at himself in the mirror a final time. His eyes stared back, an infinite reflection of glass onto cornea onto glass. No, not reflecting. Refracting. Bending. Twisting. Would he ever find the real Hansen again? The one that swam with his friends. That kicked a football. That loved the sun? His eyes started to moisten and well up so he turned and left the bathroom. He switched off the lights in the room, not looking at Emma. He could hear the low hum of the fridge and the rumbling of the electric buses on the surface.

He walked to the bed, navigating the short distance easily. He pulled the sheets back on the bed and slowly slid in, hoping that Emma would still be asleep. She would pretend she was anyway to save arguments.

Maybe.

He left his clothes on. He still didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, even after all they’d been through. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, but not seeing it. There was only darkness.

The pill was still on his tongue.

You don’t have to do it.

I do.

Why?

I have to do good, by being good.

Dickhead.

To you.

She’s gonna die. You know that, don’t you. And you probably will too. Dickhead.

I have to try.

You won’t win. You’ll kill all your friends. Those fucking humans up there don’t give a shit. They’re happy with the handouts they’re given.

I don’t care.

Fuck, Liam. You could still be with the government. Be one of the lucky ones.

Lucky?

He swallowed the pill.

You’re a cunt, Hansen.

Maybe….

The Voice was getting lower.

You’ll regret this….

Maybe….

He didn’t care how it looked or what she would think. He rolled over and placed his arm over Emma and snuggled against her back. He pulled her close, his arm fully encircling her, only the t shirt between her bare body and his arm. He lowered his head a little so that his nose was buried in her hair. She smelt good. Like a woman. Different to him.

Tighter he pulled her. He would be crushing her soon if he didn’t stop increasing the pressure.

You…are….

The Voice was fading.

But he would be back.

He wouldn’t give up.

Ever.