k morning fog. It approached the massive

e tires crunched loudly

r eyes. Her chest ached with a dull, heavy pressure. She was not th

. He suffered from a rare,

in front of th

d on the front steps. He wore his standard black suit. He look

index finger to her lips, telling Alfred to

her grey co

Alfred?" Arline ask

we have a problem. The inventory for the experimental drug i

he second wooden step of the staircase. Her

keeping Gary alive. And the patent for that

ather's life. It was the ultimate

o take in air. She releas

or the drug on my desk by

g, dark hallway. Oil paintings of her ancestors stared down at her fr

e guest room s

pped out into the hallway, blocking

he drug supply. She walked straight into

was a sharp mix of cold mint and th

lost her balance

clamped around her wrist like a steel vice.

erked he

pair of pitch-bl

Kipp Sa

agency. In Washington D. C. , politicians called him the

ecognized his face,

fifteen years. A dark basement. The sound of

iolent tremors shook her arms and legs. She pulled

ker of pain crossed his dark eyes, but hi

t. He took a half-step back, putt

allway with a hard thud. She pressed her hands flat again

wrinkled grey suit. He looked at her pal

at this hour, Mrs. Caldwell?" Kipp asked. His voic

r cheek. The pain helped cl

Her voice shook, but she forced herself to glare a

fingers had left faint red marks on he

ot argue

ial meeting with Gary," Kipp

like a cornered animal watching a predator. She did no

econd. His dark eyes seemed to sc

down the hall. His footste

she heard the front

her nostrils, threatening to drag her back into the darkest memory of her life. She dug her fingernails into her own arms, using the physical sting to anchor herself to the present. "I am not that helpless girl anymore," she whispered into the dark, her voice trem