Washington, DC

  He stared at the secured line, drumming his fingers against the desk as if the action would help him make the decision any easier.
 If I do this, Drake thought, every government agency will be out to find him. He will be captured, but will he be killed? On the other hand, if I don’t do this, I will never find him. Who knows where those fake agents have taken him… or if they’re Oculus.
 Drake ground his teeth, knowing that whatever he decided, he was going to regret.
 If Oculus had smuggled Xander out of the prison, no one would ever find him. He was as good as dead.
 But if someone else was at work here, outing them would most certainly lead to finding his son but it would also put Xander in grave danger.
 “Sir?”
 Drake had almost forgotten Agent Goetz was at his side, waiting for an order.
 “Leave me,” he instructed.
 The trusted man eyed him nervously, unwilling to leave his boss in such an obvious state of uncertainty.
 “Sir, I want you to think this through,” Goetz said, uncharacteristically voicing his opinion.
 “And I want you to leave me,” he retorted sharply, his sea green eyes raking over the man contemptuously.
 You think I don’t know what’s at stake here? He thought furiously. This has been the thing which has consumed me for over twenty-five years. How dare he?
 Reluctantly, Goetz turned to leave as if detecting Drake’s mounting anger.
 Drake stared after him for a long moment, the door closing as he watched, his mind still whirling with confusion.
 After what felt like an eternity, he reached for the phone and pressed one button.
 “It’s me. I need a universal alert issued…it’s a matter of national security.”

____________

She was warm and cold simultaneously, wracked in something similar to a fever as she tossed and turned in her bed.
 “Tell me where she is!” Xander hissed in her ear. “Where is my sister?”
 “I don’t know,” Catriona mumbled. “I don’t know…leave me alone…”
 “I will never leave you alone,” he growled, his voice overpowering her. “I will not rest until I get my hands on you both.”
 “We don’t have Sarah!” she whimpered. “Please, stop coming to me…”
 “Cat! Cat, wake up!”
 Solis shoved her roughly and with great effort, her eyes parted as she stared at him with terrified dark eyes.
 He peered at her curiously, sensing her unease.
 “You’re talking in your sleep,” he told her but Catriona could only shake her head in denial.
 “I wasn’t asleep,” she gasped. “He’s here.”
 Sol’s mouth pursed into a fine line.
 “He’s not here,” he snapped in annoyance but Catriona knew he could never understand the way the assassin came to her in the night.
 She didn’t comprehend it either but from the day she had seen him in North Branch, it was as if he had possessed her.
 He’s not human. He’s a ghost or a -
 “Forget about your damned nightmares and focus!” Sol growled. “Look!”
 She blinked and sat up, glancing at the flickering television screen. At first, she could not make sense of what her lover was trying to show her but it quickly became evident when Xander Van Hoyt’s mugshot appeared on the screen.
 “What is going on?” she demanded, jumping onto the covers to study the screen closely. “Turn it up!”
 Sighing, Sol grabbed the remote control and raised the volume.
 “…massive manhunt for the escaped killer, along with his two accomplices,” the reporter intoned. “The reports are that he could be anywhere, and is likely in the company of these two people.” Pictures of the two flashed onto the screen. “Aliases Sam and Cathy Smith of Interpol. They are also considered to be armed and dangerous. If you have any information pertaining to the whereabouts of these three people, please call – “
 Solis hit the mute button.
 Catriona felt the blood drain from her face as another image of her and Sol appeared, this one was a grainy picture from North Branch’s security system.
 “Oh fuck!” she cried. “How did this happen? How did they figure it out so quickly?”
 “I don’t know but we have to get out of here,” he replied shortly. “And we have to get to Paris and find this SOB.”
 “Are you nuts? I’m not going anywhere near Van Hoyt!” she protested but Sol was already throwing on his pants.
 “Well I am not losing this contract,” he snapped back. “We need to find Ashtyn Deveaux and get rid of Van Hoyt before he becomes an even bigger problem.”
 “No,” she retorted. “We need to get further underground until he is recaptured.”
 But even as she said the words, she knew the only way to ensure their safety was to kill the threat. And that threat was Xander Van Hoyt.
 “Call Renault and ask him what he wants us to do!” Catriona ordered but Sol shifted his eyes away.
 “Don’t be stupid,” he snarled. “Renault doesn’t know we’ve subcontracted this job.”
 Dizziness washed over Catriona and she closed her eyes, swallowing her terror.
 “Forget about everyone,” she whispered urgently. “We’ll be on the next plane to Brazil.”
 But Sol was not taking “no” for an answer.
 “We’re going to Paris,” he replied curtly. “We don’t have a choice.”
 “I have a choice!” she countered, her voice rising an octave in distress. “I am not the one who signed on for this! I can’t understand how this blew up so quickly. It’s like we’re being set-up, Sol!”
 He sighed, turning to her almost furiously as if she was a small child.
 “You don’t have a choice,” he said flatly, aiming his pistol at her head. “You’ll either come or I’ll have to kill you too.”
 Catriona looked at him, a bemused smirk on her face.
 “You would kill me?” she asked, a dead calm overtaking her. “Over this?”
 He shrugged.
 “There’s more at stake than I initially mentioned,” he answered easily.
 She raised an eyebrow.
 “Oh?”
 “There’s time to discuss that later – if you decide to stop being a pain in my ass and do what you’re told.”
 Cat stared at him for a long moment, a wave of fury enveloping her.
 He’s been planning to kill me all along, she realized. He’s just waiting until he doesn’t need me anymore.
 “What’s it going to be, babe? Are you with me or against me?”
 Catriona smiled coldly. 
 “Of course I’m with you,” she replied, a whining tone in her voice. “Put that away.”
 He nodded, his over-confidence blocking what he knew about the sultry brunette.
 I wonder how much money he’s truly getting for this, she thought, watching as he holstered his weapon and continued to throw on his clothes.
 Imagine being double crossed by my own lover and partner. What a stupid man.
 Slowly, she rose from the bed and began to collect her belongings.
 I will warn Xander that we’re coming, she decided. Let’s see how Sol feels about walking into his own pre-planned death.