They were in a dorm, filled with a few dozen bunkbeds. The mattresses were hard and uncomfortable. The room was otherwise empty, excluding two people. A five-year-old old Aurelie gestured animatedly to a nine-year-old Zane. He had a small smile on his face as he watched the little girl next to him enthusiastically tell him about her day. Her hair tumbled and swayed around her like a fire as she bounced up and down and just generally moved. Aurelie was always in motion, a little ball of energy and vitality, his only source of warmth in this dark and dreary place.

If another person saw Zane like this, they would likely have a heart-attack. He usually had an impassive mask and cold, sharp eyes. It was to the point that many believed his facial muscles just didn't stretch in a way that would accommodate a grin. This Zane was smiling and the look in his eyes was tender and soft. The only one who could change him to that extent was Aurelie.

Finally, even she ran out of things to say. Crawling onto his lap, she rested her head against his chest. His arms came down, grabbing her so that she didn't slide off.

"Hey, Z?" She asked, sounding tired.

"What is it, Relle?"

"Will you protect me?"

"Of course I will. I always will. How could you even ask that?"

Suddenly, the scene changed they were on top of a building now, a skyscraper. He could see an entire city below him. The tower they were on now was so tall that none of the other buildings could even compare to it.

But he only paid the scenery the smallest amount of attention possible, his focus on the little girl that stood before him. She was still five, whereas he was now twenty again.

"Liar." She accused glaring at him. "If you were always going to be there, then where were you that day? Where are you now? You don't have the slightest clue as to where I am, and you're going to protect me?" As she spoke, she moved backwards, and as she moved, she aged, until, at the end, she was standing at the edge of the building, a sixteen-year-old once more. Her expression changed from anger to a plea.

"Help me, Z, please!" She screamed, and then she was disintegrating, turning into fine particles of sand.

"RELLE!!" He yelled. He couldn't move, as though his entire body was encased in cement. All he could do was watch as she disappeared, the cruel wind whipping the particles away from him .

"NO! RELLE!" Zane yelled, jackknifing into a sitting position on the comfy bed he was sleeping on. Taking a deep breath and running his hand through his hair, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed, and walked to the window. It provided a night view of Seattle. They, he and Chase, had jumped onto the first flight to Seattle when Aurelie hadn't been on the flight she had said she would be on. They couldn't get in touch with her either.

When the receptionist told them that she hadn't checked out yet, they asked to for her room key. It took about a minute of charm on Zane's part, and they were allowed in. He hoped that they would see her laughing face as she admonished them for being such worrywarts, and then gave them one of her infamous flying tackle hugs. But the room was empty, save for her luggage and clothes, which were strewn about the place, her natural state of disorder. She only ever cleaned 'when she couldn't stand the mess anymore'. Now the room was spotless, Chase's slight OCD problem having put everything into order.

Shrugging, Zane went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took a short shower, and put on black jeans with a black t-shirt, over which went a black leather jacket. He grabbed the room key card, and walked out of the bedroom into the living room, which was separated from the kitchen by a bar. The TV was on, replaying the news of Senator Fulmann's death at the hands of the 'Vigilante Assassin', aka Aurelie. She found the crimes of people high up, went to the victims, or the families of the victim, and asked them how much they would pay her for the said person's death. Whenever she killed someone, she left a list of their crimes with their bodies, giving her the name of a 'Vigilante Assassin', though they only found out about the assassin part after Aurelie had gotten pissed at being called a vigilante, and told them so as a p.s. on the list of crimes.

Chase Winters was watching the TV, his elbows propped up on his knees. He didn't flinch or look surprised when Zane dropped onto the cushion next to him. Being friends with two assassins had gotten him used to people appearing out of thin air.

"Anything new?" Zane asked. Chase shook his head wearily.

"They know next to nothing. Like always. And no one saw anything suspicious. Relle is too good for her own good." Both Chase and Zane refused to believe that something bad had happened to the third member of their trifecta until they saw a body.

Zane sighed. They couldn't tell the police that Aurelie was missing, because that would bring up uncomfortable questions as to what exactly she was doing in Seattle, among other things. If they dug into Aurelie's past... Zane gritted his teeth, knowing what exactly they would find.

If legal means were out, then they had to use the next option, the one that Zane was more comfortable with. Illegal means.

Rising from the sofa with a lithe grace, Zane started to walk to the door, making sure to grab two of his guns on the way out.