The Truth Will Set You Free (closed)

[zydrate]

Sarah could only stare at Bryce. What could she say? He wanted something she couldn't give him at the moment. She wanted to but not right now.

"You're a liar Bryce." she just turned, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her as she walked out of the bathroom. She didn't bother to completely dry off or do anything with her hair as she dressed in what she was wearing the day before.

After grabbing her backpack... she knew this was goodbye.

She hated it.

He wouldn't follow her and that was OK. In the end. this was her fight, not his.

***

A couple of days later, Sarah returned to her home... she wasn't surprised to find it ransacked. She only sighed and straightened up what she could. It didn't matter. She'd be leaving in a couple of hours anyway. She just needed a few things.

Justin was dead. She had found out from Percy. Suicide they said.

Yeah right.

This time, Sarah was following a new lead. Would it pan out? She wasn't sure. Before, she was sure of a lot of things but over the past couple of days, she was doubting herself an awful lot. It sucked.

She had gotten a new phone and new number. Only work contacts.

In her room, Sarah opened a small safe behind a picture her sister had painted when she was smaller. It was framed and surprisingly, still hanging. She assumed they weren't really looking for valuables, not that she had any. Opening the safe, Sarah took out some documents. In it was her will. It was already sealed and stamped to her sister. Everything, from the house to her trust would go to her sister. There was no one else.

Sarah wasn't moving with the same hurriedness she used to have. She was drained of that. This time, she knew she wouldn't be back.

She didn't bother to close the wall safe. Instead, she picked up the papers and letter to Abigail. She'd drop it off at the post office on the way to catch her plane. That morning, Sarah had submitted everything she had on Coriz to her editors. They'd figure it out and run the story if they wanted... what she had of it. She hoped she'd be able to add to story.

Perhaps not. It didn't matter anymore. She had no one left in her life.

 

[BeachBum25]

"MOTHERFUCKER." He knew that Sarah heard him shout despite the fact that she was out the door and down the hallway from the room they had been in together. Bryce did not think she would just walk out like that. He was certain that she would try to prove him wrong. Well, he wasn't wrong. She just left. "MOTHERFUCKER."

Bryce went back home. He checked in with The Team. Things were very quiet. He was disappointed to hear that. He thought that if there was a mission, it would take his mind off of Sarah. Unfortunately, things were quiet.

He went home and looked around his empty house. Why did he think she would change? Despite the fact that he was willing to give into her, she still walked out.. and called him a liar too. "Fuck it."

When he entered her house and saw that it was ransacked, all he hoped was that she had not been home when it happened. He walked around. Bryce saw the safe was open. Sarah had been here, but she did not open it for anyone but herself. Bryce knew that about her.

He went to the paper and found out he had just missed her. They told Bryce she had submitted material and walked out. He knew where to find her.

Bryce walked up to her and grabbed her by your shoulders. "You are not doing this on your own. Wherever you go, I go. Don't say no. Don't try to run away from me. If you are going to finish the story, you are going to do it with me at your side. There is no other option."

 

[zydrate]

Sarah nearly spit out her drink. It was a small hole in the wall bar she usually escaped to either before she started a big story or just ended one (with a drink to congratulate herself). She had just about raised the glass when Bryce grabbed her, making her scream and all the patrons looking over at them.

The bartender knew Sarah but didn’t know Bryce. Immediately, he pulled out a shotgun from under the bar and pointed it Bryce while grabbing Sarah by her other shoulder and pulling her away from his grip. Sarah was totally confused up until the point she saw it was Bryce and she put herself between the shotgun and Bryce as she faced the bartender, “Whoa, whoa!! Stop! Carl… it’s OK! I know him!”

“Just because you know him doesn’t mean he can touch you like that Sarah!”

Sure, it wasn’t the sort of place a woman should be, but Sarah knew these guys… at least a couple of them. They were people she had grown up with and that was it, just people she knew.

She turned to Bryce and punched his shoulder, “What the fuck do you want?! Come to make promises you can’t keep because you chicken out at the last minute?!”

Carl cocked the shotgun and suddenly, everyone started yelling, including Sarah. She grabbed her bag and stormed out, leaving Bryce to handle himself.

Outside, she walked to her car, muttering curses to herself. What the hell was he doing here?! He made it clear in the shower of the hotel that he couldn’t do this anymore after telling her just the night before that he would protect her no matter what!

No matter what.

Yeah right.

Where the fuck were her keys?!

Sarah took a deep breath and dumped all her crap on the hood of her car. God, she was so flustered, she thought she had everything under control but no, now she was just… unable to focus. And now, she couldn’t find her keys.

Perfect.

Then she saw Bryce walking toward her, and she just threw her hands in the air, giving up. “What is it now?” She said, watching him, “You can’t be here, OK? They’re going to kill you too! So, I suggest you get out of here Bryce. His men warned me to come alone and if you’re there, they’ll kill you too!"

 

[BeachBum25]

He heard the bartender cock the shotgun and looked in that direction just long enough to take his focus away from Sarah. She stormed out leaving him alone with her friend behind the bar. Now Bryce was pissed. He had come here with good intentions. Now there was a guy pointing a shotgun at him and Sarah had stormed out after screaming at him.

"Sport, I do not want to hurt you. I know you are just trying to protect her, but understand something, I will take that fucking shotgun from you and stick it up your ass and then I will pull the trigger blowing your fucking head up through the roof." The guy laughed at Bryce. Before the bartender knew what hit him, Bryce had taken the shotgun and smacked him across the side of the head with the butt of it. After ejecting the cartridges from the shotgun, he tossed the gun to the bartender and grabbed Sarah's keys off the bar.

Walking up to her, he laughed. "Looking for these? Going to be pretty hard to get away without your fucking keys. How do you expect to survive anything that Coriz is going to try to do to you if you can't even remember your fucking car keys when you are trying to get away?" Bryce tossed the keys to Sarah.

"I don't care what his fucking men warned you to do. What are they going to do, kill you deader for bringing someone along with you? Are you really just planning on walking in there? You are going to go to him and just let him torture you and then kill you? You know he is not going to let you live. He will torture you until you beg him to let you die, Is that what you want, Sarah?"

"You have called me a liar and you have called me a chicken the last two times we have seen each other. I have never lied to you. I have never been afraid of coming to get you. I am not afraid to go with you." Suddenly, the bartender came bursting out of the bar with his shotgun. He was cocking it again. Bryce took his gun from his waistband. "I didn't want to kill him Sarah, but he is too fucking stupid to know when he was given a new lease on life." Bryce said it loud enough for the bartender to hear and then turned and aimed his weapon at the bartender. "You must really want to fucking die. You and her would make a great team. Both of you have a death wish."

The bartender backed up and ultimately retreated back into the bar. Bryce turned back to Sarah. "You are not going there... at least not with out me you are not."

 

[zydrate]

She shoveled her things back into her purse and turned to face Bryce just as he tossed her the car keys, which she just happen to catch in time. “I would have remembered had you not snuck on me and scared me! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Yes, you did lie! You said—you know what? I don’t have time to argue with you again Bryce. You know the deal and you seem to be the one who can’t handle it.”

That’s when Carl came out again, with his gun. Sarah was about to tell him to go back inside when Bryce pulled his own weapon out and pointed it at Carl. She knew Bryce could handle weapons, but she had never seen him pull it on someone in front of her. And that kind of pissed her off… especially when he said they should be partners with a death wish. She didn’t think it was a death wish she had.

Poor Carl. She surmised she wouldn’t be able to come back for a while…

“I too, am going there without you!” She took the keys in her hands and realized the key fob was missing. She needed that to not to only unlock her car but also to start it. Again, she was going to say something Bryce took her by the arm and practically shoved her into the passenger seat after unlocking it.

He still had the key fob.

“And you say I’m the one with the death wish?” She wasn’t going to tell him about where she was heading to next but as soon as the car started, the map came up on the display.

Goddamnit. Couldn’t anything go right for her today.

The address was a hotel where she was supposedly meet with a member of Coriz’s ‘people’. They had said they only wanted to talk and would relay anything Sarah had to say back to Coriz. They just wanted to talk.

But she knew better. It could be just that or it could be they were just going to kill her on the spot.

 

[BeachBum25]

"Yes, you are the one with the death wish. Everything I do is calculated and has a plan. Well, everything up until now, anyway. You just fly by the seat of your pants. You do whatever you think you need to do for a story without thinking about what the fucking consequences might be. Then, when shit hits the fan, you try to find a way out of it."

After forcing Sarah into the car, Bryce went around and got in the driver's seat. After pushing the button to start the car, he looked over at Sarah. "So, you were going to go to some shitty hotel in the seediest part of town and meet Coriz, or Coriz' people, whoever the fuck you are meeting, and you really thought you were going to walk away? I bet they told you that they just wanted to talk... right? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Bryce sat there staring at Sarah. He was wondering if she was that naive or if she really did have a death wish.

He sat there with the car running. "You purged everything. You cleaned out your safe. Yes, I was at the house and saw the safe was left open. You knew you weren't going to make it out of there. Maybe not consciously, but subconsciously, you knew that they were going to kill you."

He shook his head as he put the car in drive.

As he drove away, he said to her, without looking in her direction, "You know, sometimes I wish I did not love you as much as I do." He knew that would probably set her off again, but it was true.. he loved Sarah, but she made it hard.

About 2 blocks from the hotel, Bryce pulled over. "Now, tell me what they want you to do when you get there. I need to know what we are walking into."

 

[zydrate]

“You're not walking into anything… I'm the one who's walking into this whole mess not you…”

She didn't want to tell him exactly what what's going on but at the same time she knew that he would not let her go unless he knew the truth and even then, she wasn't so sure. Sarah could feel the burning of his gaze as he waited. She knew he could wait…would wait, for days if he had to for the correct answer.

With a hard sigh, she kept looking out her side of the window and started talking, “a couple of months ago, I was approached by some of guys from the FBI – except, after some digging, I found they weren’t with the FBI, instead, they’re some agency—some unnamed slash unauthorized group, which I’m still trying to get the name of… anyway, they came to me, wanting to know how I got my information. Of course, I told them to fuck off but that didn’t work…” she didn’t tell Bryce they had tried roughed her up at first, trying to scare her, “apparently I’m impeding on their investigation, but I think they’re just scared I have more than they do…”

“So, one of their guys pulled me aside one day… and by that, I mean he showed a little before when I first sent that video to you… he told me he works on the inside and wouldn’t mind talking with me as he knew crucial details that I needed to finish my story… so, that’s who is waiting for me in that hotel. I’m going to talk to him to see if it correlates with what I came up with. Is it a trap? Maybe. But you must admit, getting an exclusive with an inside guy… a guy supposedly on Coriz’s payroll who Coriz doesn’t even know is working against him!”

She was playing with the window button, flicking as she talked.

“That’s about it in a nutshell… now, can I have my keys back please so I can get this done.”

 

[BeachBum25]

Bryce listened to Sarah's story and believed that it had a lot of fiction mixed in with the truth that she was sharing with him. "Sarah, do you really think I am going to buy that story. I think you know me better than that. You tell me that this guy is supposed to be part of some underground government organization so that I will let you go alone. That is insulting. All that story does is strengthen my conviction for going on with you."

He stared into her eyes. "You can still have your exclusive. I am not going to prevent you from getting it, but I am going in with you. If he is who he says he is, there won't be a problem. If he really is one of Coriz' men, then I will be there to protect you. Either way you get your story, and I know that you came out of it okay. If you go in there alone, there is a chance you don't get your exclusive, because you won't come out."

He started the car back up and drove to the hotel. "Sarah, I know you are pissed at me, but it is the only way that you are going in there."

Bryce checked his weapons. He had no idea what they were really walking into. He wanted to make sure that he gave them the best possible chance of surviving.

"Now is not the time to be mad at me. Now is the time to be vigilant. You can be mad as mad as you want when we come back out. That will mean that you made it out alive, and I will be fine with you yelling and screaming at me then. I might even take you back to the bar and buy you a shot and apologize to your buddy the bartender when we get out of this."

 

[zydrate]

“I’m not mad at you. I’m frustrated with you. It’s funny, I personally think I do OK until you show up.” That earned her a chuckle from him, and she glared at him. “As for believing me, that’s up to you. I am being honest. But I don’t care if you believe me or not.”

She got out of the car just as they parked and she heard Bryce curse and get out to catch up with her. She didn’t pay attention as she was focused on why she was there.

“A34….A34….” she whispered to herself as she walked into the grimy entrance and through the guest entrance to the hall… this was only a one floor hotel so she knew it had to be down one of the halls. She was focused and determined; her pace was hurried. “A29…. A30…” she walked faster. As she reached A34, she stopped. Without thinking, Sarah gave the door a small knock and the door creaked open…

Never a good sign. She pushed it open and the first thing she saw was a body on the floor. Normally that should have freaked out someone else but not Sarah. She should have stopped... she should have listend to Bryce when he pulled her back but she successfully pulled away from him and pushed the door open all the way.

The man was spread on the floor, a bullet in his head as far as she could tell from the trickle of blood seeping out slowly.

"Well.. fuck." she said and slammed the door closed in frustration.

She turned and headed back out, "Goddamnit!" she cursed under her breath. "Now what?" she asked. She was not paying attention as Bryce had suggested. No, she was nearly done with this shit.

When they approached her car, two tires were flat... both with holes from bullets...? She just shook her head, "Perfect."

 

[BeachBum25]

Bryce followed Sarah into the dirty hotel. When he saw the door was open, he tried to keep her from entering. He wanted to go in first and clear the room and make sure it was safe. She pulled away from him and went in. While she looked at the dead guy on the floor, Will looked around. He was looking for someone to jump out and ambush them. Fortunately, that did not happen.

"Slow the fuck down Sarah. They are not far away. They killed this guy because they didn't need him anymore. He got you to come into the trap. You are their next target." Once again, of course, she didn't listen. Sarah continued out of the hotel.

Bryce continued to be vigilant. He was looking around. Looking at where they might come from.

Just as Sarah noticed the tires had been shot out, a barrage of bullets took out the windows of her car and left holes in the doors and fenders. "Get down. Stay down." Noticing the direction the shots were coming from, Bryce called to Sarah, "stay along the wall. Crawl back toward me. Stay on your stomach."

When Sarah got back to him he told her they were going to go back into the hotel lobby. "It will give us a better chance to defend ourselves."

They started running toward the lobby of the hotel. They were only a few steps from the door when Bryce felt it. The burning sensation tore through his hip. Then he felt it again as it tore through his thigh. Bryce pushed Sarah to the doorway. "Just go. I'll be right behind you."

Bryce collapsed about 10 feet short of the door. He tried to pull himself along the ground. His entire right side from his hip down felt like dead weight as he tried to make it to the door. He saw Sarah looking at him. "Don't you dare fucking come out here."

 

[zydrate]

Sarah was pissed. She had just gotten that car 4 months ago.

Even in the chaos, Bryce was still telling her what to do… protecting her. Damn him… he was going to get hurt!

She had wanted to protest when he said to go back into the lobby of the seedy hotel, but managed to push her in front of him.. push her into the lobby. She plastered herself, kneeling with her back to the wall. The shots didn’t stop.

Where was Bryce?! He said he’d be right behind her…

She dared to look out and saw him on the ground… “Bryce!!!” She screamed, and then another barrage of bullets rang out! OK, so this was new…. Sorta… All this for a story. What the fuck was wrong with her? She could imagine Bryce telling her he told her so…

The new shower of bullets made her retreat back in toward the lobby. In the halls, she heard people screaming and some even running for the back exit… then some sort of different sound hit, and something landed in the lobby. Then the shooting stopped all together. She heard yelling but also sirens faintly in the background.

A grenade?

She could only look at it in horror. Something inside her told her to run or at the very least, take cover. She immediately threw herself down, covering her head but it was too late. The explosion was followed by an intense bright light and sound. Making her scream in pain and causing her ears to ring… she also couldn’t see.

Sarah didn’t see the barrage of people that couldn’t make out the back and started for the front entrance. She didn’t hear the sirens get closer… she didn’t feel someone pick her up and carry her out, blending in with the crowd of people. Her ears were still ringing but goddamn her head hurt…

She tried her best to stay awake but couldn’t. Her last thought before blacking out completely was Bryce. She had gotten him into this and she wasn’t sure what happened to him.

 

[BeachBum25]

Bryce felt like he was in a war zone. Bullets struck all around him; some ricocheting off the sidewalk and hitting cars, and windows, and buildings. He heard people running up beside him and opening the doors to the hotel lobby. He couldn't move. The last thing he remembered was the BANG.

**********************

3 days later

Waking up, Bryce looked around. It was a sterile atmosphere, so Bryce immediately knew he was in a medical facility of some kind. He tried to focus his mind on what would lead to him being here, and it all started to come back to him. "Sarah!" He tried to move, but couldn't. His right side hurt like hell. He couldn't move his leg. He looked around for a call button, but couldn't find one. "NURSE."

Instead of a nurse entering the room, a police officer walked into the room. Bryce looked him over and remained quiet. The police officer came close to the bed but remained more than an arm's distance away. "Well, well. The detectives are going to be happy you are awake. Boy, do they have a lot of questions for you." Just then the nurse came into the room and chased the cop away. "Don't mind him. He has been complaining about having to babysit you for a couple days."

Bryce looked at the nurse and asked her where he was. "I know you have a lot of questions. I will answer the ones I can. The doctor will answer other questions, and then, I guess you will have to get other answers from the police. You are at University Hospital. You were brought in with multiple gunshot wounds.. your hip and your thigh. You have had two surgeries already. As for how they go and what is next, you are going to need to talk with the doctor about that. He should be around soon. I just notified him you were awake."

Bryce took it all in. He remembered getting hit and going down and telling Sarah to stay in the lobby. "Was a woman brought in with any injuries? Has there been anybody come and try to visit me?"

The nurse said she was not aware of anyone brought in from the same incident that he was involved in and that nobody had been in to visit him that she was aware of. Bryce tried to figure out what he had to do next. Then, when he tried to move, realized he was in no condition to do much of anything. Then he remembered the bang. Did they kill Sarah? Did they capture her?

The detectives were not happy with their conversation with Bryce. His answer to everything was "I don't remember." When they asked him why he was even in that area... "I don't remember." They told him that a witness saw him with a girl. He told them he doesn't remember being with a girl or anything else.

After the detectives left, the police officer was pulled from babysitting detail. The doctor came in and told him that he had been lucky. The 2 bullets that had entered his hip had actually missed shattering his hip. He said he doesn't know how he was that lucky. The one in his thigh had been removed also and, all things considered, didn't do too much damage. They told him that with Physical Therapy, he would be good to go in a few months.

Once he was left alone, Bryce's mind started to race. How was he going to get out of here? How was he going to find Sarah? Was Sarah alive? Everything led back to The Team. The only problem was, he said that he was not going to use them for personal use anymore.

 

[zydrate]

Sarah’s head was killing her. She was waking up slowly and dreaded to find out what her situation as. She reached up and touched her face…nothing broken. She tried to open her eyes but that made her head hurt more. Her ears were ringing, and she felt around one ear and felt something wet… blood? Her ears were bleeding. That damn ringing wouldn’t stop.

She finally opened her eyes and saw some people milling around, the bright lights making her head hurt more as was the noise of people moving about, talking, shouting orders. A hospital?

No… she sat up and immediately regretted that action as she fell back onto the bed, moaning in pain.

That’s when it hit her… Bryce!! Where was he?! What if he was right and her stupidness would get someone killed, mainly her or someone else… like him?

No one was paying attention to her as she got up slowly from the gurney, she was in. She had to get away from here. If they were still looking for her, she needed to be far away from everyone. Still, no one was paying attention to her as she walked, what she thought was steady, through the norm of patients scattered about. Nothing too serious it looked like. She wasn’t sure. Her long hair hid her bleeding ears. It was like she was walking underwater both in action and reaction.

Once she was outside, she leaned against a pillar and tried to muster the energy to keep moving. She made sure to stay out of the sight of most that were there, seeking help.

*** 8 days later ***
Sarah sat in a small hotel suite, absentmindedly eating a burger from a local take out place down the road. She had made sure to keep to herself and stay in her room. Not wanting to gain too much attraction to herself. Her headaches had gone away somewhat. The ringing in her ears was still present but seemed to be fainting day by day.

Earlier that morning, she had purchased another burner phone, using a fake ID (one of a few she had gotten out of her safe when she had gone home to get her stuff). It was a good thing she had gotten that first, as well as extra cash and had Carl, from the bar, keep them for her in case she would need to come back. She liked him. He didn’t hold a grudge against her about what had happened that night with Bryce. He was just glad she was OK. He had offered a place to stay, not his of course, but she didn’t take him up on it.

After she had gotten the phone, she had sent Bryce a message. Their code. 666 55.

OK.

She was OK.

That was it.

She had known he was shot but she hadn’t known he was still in the hospital. She also knew it was all because of her, he was hurt. And it was her fault.

She followed it up with 9999. As in don’t try to find me. She didn’t want him hurt again, and if this was goodbye, then sobeit.

*** 8 months later ***

She was still researching. But this time, she didn't make a show of it. She kept her neck under the radar and did things a lot more quietly. She didn't take unnecessary risks anymore. She couldn't.

She had also assumed a new identity and she felt it suited her.

The only thing that almost given her away was her tattoo. Her cherry tree branch tattoo that had run from one arm, up over the upper arm, across her back and running down a leg. Of course, she couldn't get rid of it all but had only gotten rid of what was on her arm. The rest, she still had. Plus, a slight nose job. Nothing too drastic but enough to show she wasn't the same person her US license had shown.

She should have stayed away from Mexico.

Should have.

But some old habits were hard to break.

This time though, she was extra careful. She knew from past mistakes and wasn't going to repeat them. She took her time. Besides, she didn't have Bryce anymore to rescue her or back her up. And as much as she hated that, it had to be done.

 

[BeachBum25]

Bryce was frustrated. The wounds to his thigh were healing well. His hip was another story. One doctor came in and told him that he should have a hip replacement. Bryce went off on the doctor; screaming at him. "Why the fuck would I have a hip replacement? The bullets didn't shatter my hip, so what would the purpose be? You just want to do a surgery that will pad your bank account, don't you asshole?" The doctor quickly backed out of the room. A few minutes later, Bryce got a visit from the security director. "I did not threaten him. I did not touch him. I simply asked him a few questions. Perhaps I was loud when I asked them. Of course, he couldn't answer my questions. He had to leave and call you. So, what is it you want? Do you want me to stop asking my doctors questions?"

Two days later, Bryce was discharged with a script to get physical therapy. It seemed the doctor and security director both agreed Bryce was well enough to continue his rehabilitation somewhere other than at their hospital.

Bryce went to physical therapy, religiously. He wanted to get better. He had to get better. He needed to find Sarah. He needed to know what happened to her.

When he got out of the hospital, he needed to get a new phone. It seemed that his cell phone was damaged at the same time as his hip and thigh. When he got the new phone, there was a problem with uploading his previous contacts. That was probably as a result of some software Bryce had his tech guy put on his old phone that prevented certain numbers from being hacked. One of the contacts that would not upload was Sarah's. The other contacts that would not upload were The Team members. He knew the contact info for some of The Team members, so that wasn't a problem. Sarah's was a different story. He now had no way of getting in touch with her... no way of knowing if she was safe.

Using the contact information that he knew, he reached out to The Team to ask them to try to locate Sarah. He did not want them to do anything but tell him where she was. They were unable to find anything about her. They hacked facial recognition software used at airports and border crossings..... nothing.

When Bryce heard from The Team that they could find no trace of Sarah, he was certain that she was dead. What else could he think? The Team had access to the best technology in the world and was unable to locate her.

************************

8 months later

Bryce was slowly but surely returning to working with The Team. He was taking back more and more of his duties. The only thing he wasn't doing now was participating actively in any missions; physically, he was not quite there, but it wouldn't be long.

As hard as he tried, he couldn't forget about Sarah. It wasn't that he wanted to forget about her, but he had to move on. The thing that he kept coming back to, and the one thing that prevented him from moving on was the uncertainty of what had happened to her. He was certain she was dead, because The Team could find out nothing about her or any movement by her. During the many hours spent coordinating activities of The Team, Bryce used the technology to try to find her and came up with nothing. If he could just find out what happened, he could move on.. he could come to grips with it. He wasn't sure that would ever happen.

 

[zydrate]

She had everything. Sarah was done... well, as done as she could get on someone like Coriz. There was so much, she almost didn't now how to sort it all out but, she felt she had done a pretty good job in her writings. Now...the only thing? Getting it published. As she had thought before, this was no job for some little hometown paper. No, she needed a professional.

That's when she contacted John Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Publishing. The guy she had met last year when Bryce had finally caught up to her on her way to LA.

John told Sarah of course he remembered her. He did want to meet her and had asked for that night but of course, Sarah said that was impossible as she was... out of country. She could meet him a week at his home office in Washington.

He asked perhaps it could be for dinner?

Sarah was already nervous as it was to return to the US but what choice did she have? She needed to make sure this meeting happened. She needed to make sure her work got out there. With NO interference from the Government or any other officials.

After this, then it would be all over. Yeah, she'd have to remain in hiding...? She tried to find the positive in that but knew there was none.

*** 1 week later - Boston ***

She made sure not to be too conspicuous as she moved through the airport. She kept her hair (which was now dyed platinum blonde) in a ponytail which was pulled through the back strap of her black cap... she also had on sunglasses. She didn't engage anyone and moved with ease as she had been at this particular airport several times in her life.

Sarah had checked into a small hotel, on the outskirts of the city. She needed to be away from the heart of the city. After, she was supposed to meet John at a small Italian restaurant but she had gotten a text from him, asking her to meet him at his office and he would take them both to the restaurant when he was done.

Nothing too bad or suspicious... right?

Maybe they'd be able to talk at his office first and then they wouldn't have to have dinner. Yeah... totally feasible.

 

[BeachBum25]

He was starting to feel better. He was getting back into the swing of things. Bryce did a couple of training missions with The Team, and everyone agreed he was ready.

He decided to go slow, though. He stayed out of a couple of missions The Team took on just to make sure he was really ready. Then one came in that he thought would be an easy one. The call originated on Capitol Hill. The caller did not identify himself at first, but said that he and his daughter would like to meet to discuss a personal issue that he believed would require The Team's help.

Bryce agreed to the meet and it was scheduled to take place in a small cafe. Bryce went alone to the meeting. There was no need to drag anyone along with him.

When he arrived at the cafe, he took a table outside and sat with his back to the wall of the cafe. He saw a man that he recognized as a US Senator walking into the cafe with a younger woman. At first he was thinking the senator was having lunch with a fling, but when they approached his table, he realized it must be the man's daughter. The man walked up and introduced himself as Allan Hartford. He did not introduce the woman. He simply said that she was his daughter.

"Yes, I know who you are, Senator." The man seemed surprised that Bryce knew who he was. "How can I help you and your daughter Senator?"

The man went on to tell how his older daughter might be in trouble.. that she was a journalist and that she always took high risk assignments. He told Bryce that they did not have much of a relationship with the older daughter, but they were concerned because the younger daughter had recently received a copy of the older daughter's will in the mail. Bryce knew exactly who he was talking about. Although, Sarah never really talked about family, she had mentioned her estranged father was a senator and that she had a younger sister who was much different than her.

"You are talking about Sarah, right? Sarah Morris is the name she goes by, right?"

Bryce once again saw shock on the man's face. "I have been looking for her for quite some time. I have been to Mexico in the past for her. Your daughter doesn't like to be told how to protect herself. She puts herself in danger and then calls me to get her out of it. Yes, I know your daughter.. very well. We dated at one time. Sometimes I think she just went out with me so that she would have someone to come save her ass when she got in trouble."

"Well, the last time I saved her ass I took three bullets. I went down outside of a building. She was inside the building. I have not seen her nor heard from her since, and it isn't for lack of trying. We have used quite a bit of resources, many of which are probably not legal, to find her and have come up empty."

The Senator told Bryce, "Find her and you can name your price. I want to get my daughter.. her sister... back."

Bryce looked to the young woman then back to the Senator. "There is no charge for this one. This one isn't business. It is personal. I will be in touch."

He got up and left the cafe with a renewed vigor. He needed to find out what happened to Sarah.

 

[zydrate]

Sarah rested for the night and had breakfast delivered via a food service. She had a train to catch in 2 hours so, she hadn't unpacked (her one bag). The train ride would take a little over 7 hours and in that time, she would be finalizing some details with her research.

It was hard to transition from a talkative person to someone who basically kept to herself. It also didn't help that she had lost all hearing in her right ear from that stupid flash grenade all those months ago. But Sarah adapted. What else was she going to do? She had seen the doctors in Mexico and they couldn't fix it. Oh well. Now when someone could say she never listened, she had a valid excuse.

That made her smile because she thought of Bryce. But her smile quickly faded as really thought of him. She didn't remember that much but she knew he had been shot that night. Had bad? She wasn't sure. It made her mad that he just couldn't stay away. He kept with her and had gotten hurt. If only she hadn't called him that time... yeah.... He would be ok... No, he was ok... Right?

She was sorry though. She wanted to tell him that so bad but not right now... she had to finish what she started and it was almost over... almost.

****

Washington DC.

Sarah despised this place. She knew this town like the back of her hand. Quickly, from the train station, she grabbed a rental car (a small SUV that had tinted windows) with her last fake ID and credit card.

Then realizing it was almost time to meet up with John, she drove to the side of town where the Fitzgerald Publishing building was located. She was already late by the time she arrived. There weren't a lot of people around as it was after office hours. He wanted to meet here? Wasn't there something suspicious about that?

Not in Sarah's mind. She was tired and of course, probably making a stupid mistake. At this point, she had just wanted to get this over with.

Security had pointed her to John's office on the 4th floor.

She walked the hall until she saw his office with his name on the door. She knocked on the door... it wasn't dark and his door was open. Perhaps he went to the restroom?

Sarah pushed the door open slowly... that's when she saw a pair of legs on the other side of the desk.

Oh sh!t... no...

She rushed to his side and of course, did something she shouldn't have, she pushed him over and saw the 3 gunshots, one in his head and two in his chest?

***

Sarah paced the length of the interrogation room. They had left her there to check her ID and of course she knew they were going to find they were fake. What was she going to do now.

After what seemed like an hour, someone entered the room. A detective. He smirked at Sarah, "Have a seat... Ms. Carson? April Carson, right?"

She didn't answer and took a seat.

"Did you know the victim?"

"No answers without a lawyer."

The detective tried a different approach. Sarah's answer was always "Lawyer."

"Can you afford one?"

"Lawyer."

"OK, smartass, we'll get you one... it's going to be a while... it being Friday night and all..."

She knew she was still being filmed so she just sat there... and waited. Time to think of what happened. Why was John dead? More importantly, who did this to him?

 

[BeachBum25]

After returning from the meeting with the senator and his daughter, Bryce reported to The Team about it. When he told them it was Sarah, they all looked at him and made faces. "Don't worry. WE are not going on any more missions to pull her ass out of any fires. Anything to do with Sarah is personal and if something has to be done, I will do it alone." Several of the men just shook their heads. A couple asked Bryce why he continued to chase after her especially after she almost got him killed. "I'm not quite sure."

Bryce went over the fact that there had been no sign of Sarah in months. "If she is alive, she has definitely crossed the border into Mexico, yet, we have scanned all border crossings and haven't found her. I have looked at all of the airports that we can access and have not seen her. I haven't seen her since the day I got shot. I don't even know if she is alive."

After sitting around and bullshitting with the men for a while, Bryce went home. On the way home, he stopped at the gym to work out. He still didn't feel like he was in the shape he needed to be to carry out some of The Team's more intense missions.

After working out, he was walking past the treadmills and looked up at the televisions. On one of the televisions was an image of a man who he recognized, but could not place where from. The caption under his picture said, "John Fitzgerald. Publishing Magnate found shot to death in his Office. Suspect in Custody."

He walked into the locker room and took a quick shower. As he was getting dressed it hit him. He was the guy Sarah was talking to in the airport in LA. "She couldn't have anything to do with this, could she? There is no way. It had to be a coincidence."

He drove home, picking up some Chinese takeout on the way. Once in his house, he opened up his laptop and started searching the internet for information on John Fitzgerald. There didn't seem to be anything about the guy that would get him killed. Maybe it was somebody who couldn't get something published by his company.

Bryce continued to search. Once again, he saw that the police had a suspect in custody. In a couple of places it didn't say suspect, but it said the police were talking with a person of interest. Bryce picked up his phone and called someone he knew in Metro. "Hey, I don't want any details about what happened, but tell me who is in custody." The guy was hesitant at first to tell, but Bryce convinced him that he would never tell where he got the info.

"Yea, it is a woman." Bryce froze when he heard that. "Her name is April something. Yea, April Carson." Bryce thanked his contact and hung up.

No longer hungry, Bryce closed up his takeout and put it in the refrigerator. "I'll bet it is her."

Bryce picked up his phone again. In his contacts he found Paul Reed. Paul Reed was one of the most powerful attorneys in DC. He was the founder of a law firm that had offices in just about every major city now. Paul Reed was also the attorney that took care of any legal issues that might arise for The Team.

"Hey Paul. I need a favor." Bryce told him about the murder and the suspect and who he had a feeling the suspect was. "I am not positive it is her, but can you do me a favor and check it out. If it is her, can you represent her. This one is on me.. not The Team."

After hanging up, Bryce sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. "What did she get herself into now."

If it was Sarah, she would be pissed if she found out that he had contacted an attorney. If it wasn't her, Paul would let Bryce know and Bryce's search would continue.

Several hours later Bryce got a text from Paul Reed with a picture. His reply to Reed was, "yes."

 

[zydrate]

With a hard sigh, Sarah shifted in her seat, but she made no other sounds. She continued to sit at the interrogation table, leaning her head on the palm of her right hand while her finger tapped at her ear. She didn’t hear anything out of that hear and found herself doing that a lot as it was her way to see if that would help in getting her hearing back. Of course, it was dumb but hey, it kept her mind occupied.

She could also wait. She learned a lot of patience these past few months. Staring ahead at the 2-way mirror in front of her, she didn’t budge. It had been at least 3 hours since the last time someone physically checked on her. She was still too hyped up to feel tired. All the while she was waiting, she thought about how this happened. Had John told someone about she was coming to meet him? The thing was, how would anyone know?

Fuck, nothing made sense anymore. She wasn’t a quitter but goddamnit, she felt like doing so right now.

The door opened and a cop, along with some old man in a wrinkled suit was behind him. The old man introduced himself as Kent Baker and he handed Sarah his card.

Sarah read it and sighed. She was doomed. Poor guy looked tired, and she felt bad for probably waking him. They were about to start talking when another guy, with another cop entered the interrogation room. He told everyone else to leave him alone with his client. That’s when Kent spoke up… as if they knew each other...? Probably because of the same circle… Sarah didn’t know. It was just odd to have someone else come in and take over?

Immediately, she got suspicious. What the fuck…?

The detective from earlier had come in and suddenly, everyone was talking over another. Sarah just sat there, watching... waiting...

 

[BeachBum25]

Bryce knew that Paul Reed was the only one for the job. He would not.. .could not... be bullied by the police or prosecutor or anyone, for that matter. Bryce also knew that Reed would never divulge who had retained him to represent Sarah. Bryce had every confidence in Paul Reed.

When Paul Reed entered the interrogation room with the police officer and saw the Public Defender sitting with Sarah and there was another cop in the room, he immediately dismissed everyone. Kent Baker, who Paul knew from seeing him around the court building started to object and asked Reed what he was doing there. "Kent, I am not sure why they woke you up and dragged you down here. Something tells me that they are trying to pin something on MY client and they just wanted her to have representation, so, they called you because you are overworked, probably had a long day in court and they figure that in the middle of the night you are tired and might miss something."

Reed looked at the 2 cops. "You two can get the fuck out of here. This meeting is between me and my client and the public defender. You are not welcome. If you would like, I can wake up the Chief and let him know that you are violating Ms. Carson's right to counsel." The two police officers left the room.

Re-focusing on Kent Baker, Paul reed continued. "I have been retained to represent Ms. Carson. Why don't you go home and go back to bed. I have a feeling that Ms. Carson is going to be out of here before your head hits the pillow. Kent, thinking that sleep sounded really good, agreed, and left.

Reed sat down at the table; looking at Sarah. "So, Ms. Carson, tell me, have you said anything to the police?"

 

[zydrate]

He asked if she talked to the police.

Sarah just stared at the man. Not answering him. She was measuring him up. And he was doing the same to her. She had a feeling he wasn't going to ask her again. After a minute or two of silence, Sarah took a deep breath, "No. I've not answered any questions."

Then he asked about her reason for being where she was. Sarah's only answer was, "It was personal."

He asked questions and Sarah was vague in her responses. Why was she there? Business.

Did she do it?

No. He was dead when she got there.

Hell, she didn't even own a gun and couldn't shoot one. Of course, that was a lie, she did know how to handle one, thanks to Bryce.

They would've kept talking but that's when the Detective came in and he didn't look happy. Hell, he just looked tired. Sarah looked at him, her face remained expressionless.

"So, did you two get to talk.... April? That's not your real name is it?"

Sarah tilted her head and glared at the detective, "Am I being charged with anything? Unless I am? I'm going to leave."

She heard Paul telling her to shut up and refrain from saying anything. Did she listen? No.

Of course not... "I'm sick and tired of people telling me what I can and can't do! I'm tired of people I know being shot or finding people dead all because of me!"

Her next move was risky but right now, she was giving up and didn't care what the consequences were because she was tired of this, "No, I'm not April Carson but unless I'm charged with anything, it's only a fucking misdemeanor! I am the daughter of US Senator Hartford and unless you want the press to find out you're trying to pin this whole thing on his daughter just because you're too fucking lazy to find the real killer, then just try it!"

 

[BeachBum25]

The detective looked at Sarah. Then, he looked at Paul Reed. He smiled broadly. "Oh, so, now you are saying that you are a US Senator's daughter. Hmmm, well, we are going to need some time to check that out. Do you know how many people that we bring in tell us they are related to some politician up on the Hill? A lot. So, since you are now changing your name after providing us with identification saying you were April Carson, and now claiming to be the daughter of a senator, we are going to need to hold you here for a little while. Get cozy."

The detective didn't wait for any response. He turned and walked out; leaving Sarah and Paul Reed alone in the room.

Reed just sat there quietly for a few moments. He looked straight at Sarah with a blank look on his face. Once the silence became deafening, Reed spoke to Sarah in a calm, quiet voice; a voice that had years of dealing with police, court personnel, and clients who were too cocky, or too brazen, or just too dumb to keep their mouths shut. "So, how did that work out for you? Did you think that going off on everyone and then playing the politician card was going to get them to let you just walk out the door? We were walking out the door when you opened your mouth. Thanks to your mouth, you will probably be here for the weekend. I hope you enjoy bottled water and bologna sandwiches in a holding cell., because that is where you are going to spend the weekend."

Reed sat back in his chair. He took out a card and slid it across to Sarah. "Here is my card. When you are ready to talk, give me a call. My personal cell number is on the back. If you would rather go with Kent Baker, that is your prerogative. I am sure he will be able to spare 15 minutes or so to talk with you at some point next week. He is a good man. It is a shame how overworked they are in the Public Defender's Office."

He stood up and collected his briefcase and started toward the door. "They described you perfectly when they called me to ask me to represent you. I didn't think it was possible that someone could keep finding ways to get herself in trouble. You just showed me that it is possible." He walked over and knocked on the door so they could open it and let him out.

 

[zydrate]

She screwed up.

As usual.

After everyone left, Sarah wasn't sure how long it was until someone entered. Another suit.

He introduced himself as someone from her father's office.

"So?" She said.

"You're being released to him. Seems he made a few calls and--"

"I'm sure he did but I don't believe you about him making any calls...but you know, at this point, I don't care. I know you work for my father but I also know why you're here... Let's just get this over with so everyone can be happy, ok?"

"You're not that stupid, are you?"

Sarah didn't answer as he handcuffed Sarah's hands behind her back and led her from the interrogation room. It was extremely early and probably change of shift as no one was around. The man held her by the upper arm and led Sarah outside through a side door where she saw a black SUV waiting.

"Ahh, my daughter... I missed you."

Sarah didn't say anything, she just stared at the man she called her father.

"Do you know how hard it has been to find you?"

No answer.

"Luckily, your quote unquote boyfriend called me."

Of course he probably fooled Bryce. This man didn't care about his own daughter, he only cared about furthering his career and becoming richer.

"You've caused me a lot of problems, Sarah. I'm not putting up with it any more."

"Ok." Her only response so far. That seemed to anger her father.

"Where is all the information and research you've done, Sarah? I can't have that shit being brought to the public's attention."

No answer.

"Sarah?"

Her father nodded to the man who had gotten Sarah from the police station. Without hesitation, he took a gun out and shot Sarah's thigh. She only gasped hard, knowing this was coming... They were going to kill her.

"Your research, Sarah."

She looked down at her wound and shook her head, trying to not to show how much it hurt... She saw blood slowly seeping from the wound.

"No... I can--give you information...but it's too late. I've sent it all to different--people to make sure it gets printed if something happens to...me..."

The muzzle was pushed against her right shoulder and another flash of burning pain was felt...

Would the senator kill his own daughter? Yes. And Sarah knew her time was up.

"One last chance Sarah."

Even though it was hard to do through the pain, she just laughed, "Don't have the balls to do it yourself?"

The man put the gun to Sarah's head.

 

[BeachBum25]

Paul Reed paused before leaving the interrogation room. He looked at Sarah and shook his head. "Something tells me that you are going to wish you accepted the help of the person who hired me."

He left the interrogation room when the door was opened and walked out to his Bentley. Once he pulled away, Reed called Bryce to let him know what happened. All Bryce could say was, "Thanks for trying Paul."

Bryce didn't feel anger. He was over it. he wasn't shocked. Nothing Sarah did anymore shocked him.

He sat in the dark for a while. Why did he care so much about someone who didn't care about him, and certainly didn't seem to care about herself?

He picked up his cell phone and called the senator. He let him know where Sarah was and that she would probably get out first thing Monday. The Senator replied, "I'll make a few calls and get her out tonight." Then the Senator disconnected the call quickly.

Still sitting in the dark, Bryce wondered about the senator's reaction. Why would he be in so much of a hurry to get her out. Wouldn't he want to make sure that she was in a safe place for a few days"? Getting her out would just mean she was going to go out and get herself in more trouble.

Bryce called Paul Reed back to get clarification on something he told Bryce when he called to give an update. "Paul, didn't you say that Sarah told the cops that she was the daughter of Senator Hartford?" When Reed confirmed that she had, Bryce asked a follow up question, "But she didn't ask anyone to contact the Senator to get her out, did she?" Reed told Bryce that she had not. "She just wanted to be set free because she was the Senator's daughter." Bryce thanked Paul and disconnected the call.

He jumped up and went to his safe. He took out an extra weapon and several clips of ammo and headed out of his place. He drove to the Metro Police Station and parked down the street from the entrance. He sat there for a while, just watching the front door.

A while later, he saw an SUV pull up to the station, and then move around the corner to the side. Bryce moved his vehicle to a position where he could observe. A short time later, he saw Sarah come out in handcuffs, led my a man in a dark suit. It seemed odd, but he thought maybe they were transferring her instead of holding her at the station.

Then, Bryce heard the first gunshot. He exited his vehicle and stealthily moved toward the SUV. Then, he heard the second shot as he approached. When he got to the door, he saw the barrel of the gun at Sarah's head. Before the man could pull the trigger, his brains splattered over the Senator. Bryce pointed the gun at the Senator. "Sarah, I know you are hurt, but you have to get out of the vehicle... NOW."

Looking at the Senator, "I don't care how the fuck you spin this in the media, just know this, if it comes back on either one of us, the real story will make it to the news. In fact they will have it before you get to them, and if I don't like what you say, they will release the real version, and you will be ruined and put in jail. Also, know this, I am not going to kill you now, but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future... and that could be the very near future."

Grabbing Sarah and picking her up, Bryce carried her to his vehicle and laid her down in the back seat. He closed the doors and drove off, saying nothing at all to her. Picking up his phone, he called the Combat Medic that was part of The Team. "I need a favor. Someone has been shot and can't go to the hospital. I can't have the police notified. Can you check her out and make sure she is okay?"

Bryce drove to the warehouse that The Team was currently calling home. Their location changed every few months so that nobody could pinpoint their location. Bryce drove into the warehouse and saw several other Team members there besides the medic. When he got out, he looked at the Medic. "Why are they here?" The Medic's response was, "We are a team, that's why."

They got Sarah out of the vehicle, carried her to a back room and the Medic began to look at her and work on her. Bryce stayed out of the room. He knew that his presence would only anger Sarah. She always got mad at him for saving her ass.

 

[zydrate]

Sarah waited for the 3rd and final shot. She looked into her father’s eyes as the barrel of the gun was brought to her right temple. She wanted to look into his eyes to make sure he knew that he didn’t scare her anymore and she was ready to die to bring him down.

She heard the shot, but it didn’t come from the gun pressed to her head… at least she didn’t think so…

That was over 10 months ago. Sarah was somewhat better, well, she was alive. She had lost all her energy and emotion for her story. It had cost nothing but trouble for everyone she cared about or even came in contact with… she knew she had to throw in the towel and stop her research and digging into everything.

In the end, Coriz was only a small part and most of what he was doing was pinned onto him from those higher up in Washington.

Fucking politics. That was all it was. She had known that it played a small part... at first but of course, the more she uncovered, the more they were involved.

It took a lot of self-motivation to get herself better and a lot of YouTube to help herself get better for both her leg and her shoulder. Her hearing, that was another story. There was no saving it. But it didn’t matter. She was done with her journalist career. Yeah, she had made some stupid mistakes in the past and did some stupid moves but never had the consequences she had with this last story. She was even asked to come back but each time she declined.

In the end, with Bryce still by her side and helping her along, she found it time to move on from him. He deserved so much better than her. He deserved someone who wouldn’t get him shot. He deserved someone who could be with him and raise a family and that just wasn’t Sarah. She didn’t want a family. She wanted someone yes, but not a family. She had a family and they had turned out awful and she didn’t want that.

A year after everything had cooled down, she moved herself to Mexico permanently. Would things ever be the same? No. Of course not. She had no one and it was OK. She needed to start over.

Would she call on Bryce again? No. Again, he deserved so much better than her. Although their ending was bittersweet, she knew he understood.