BountyHunterpart6

Maria turned down the radio as she drove into the depths of Roswell. Fury for being overshadowed in her work raged through her. The complete feeling of failure masked her entire being. She was good at her job and she did know it. She was one of the best; she had just made a mistake.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. Liz Parker was someone she should have had in her custody minutes after getting the job. Liz Parker was a mousy office worker; a social inadequate who stumbled into a multi-million dollar fiasco and walked away with a cool half mil and all the information to nail the ringleaders.

Maria didn't care about why Liz Parker had done anything or even about the company itself that she had worked for who bilked millions from unsuspecting clients. She didn't care about the clients either; all she cared about was herself and getting her job done. There wasn't room for her to get messed up in the tangle of the reasoning behind anything; she didn't have time for that. Maria DeLuca had learned at a very young age that she could only rely on herself.

She was her own best friend but also her own worst enemy. Hiding behind a disguise of toughness and attitude was a woman who was alone in life. A woman who had a ton of acquaintances but no friends. A woman who knew she had to fend for herself and not let anyone else get in her way. In grade school her report had stated: Does not play well with others. That had stayed true for the rest of her years. Work alone. Be alone.

"Damn," she whispered as she pulled back into the parking lot of her hotel. She parked and laid her head down on the steering wheel wondering what the hell had happened to make her feel this pathetic. Then she remembered it had everything to do with Liz Parker and human nature.

Maria DeLuca grabbed the woman's hands and held them behind her back. She could smell the coloring in her hair; it was still so new. The cut was choppy and Maria wondered briefly if she had done it herself in the bathroom at a gas station, just like in the movies.

"You have to let me explain," Liz Parker pleaded trying turn around to face her captor. "You don't know anything!"

"I know that you're going to get me an awesome amount of money," Maria kicked her feet apart.

"Please, if you take me back they'll kill me!"

"That's not my problem." Maria slipped handcuffs on the newly auburn-haired woman and turned her around to face her. "Your problems are not my problems, got it?"

The bright lights and clinking of change from slot machines were almost a memory. The whitewashed cement wall in front of them outside a casino was reality. The night was drawing to a close; the sunrise was on the verge of coming attractions.

"Please," Liz's almond shaped chestnut eyes flooded with tears.

Maria felt a pang inside of her that she never had before. She actually felt sorry someone she was after. She felt sorry for the small felonious woman in her custody. Against her better judgement she tilted her head to one side and nodded slowly.
Never get involved.

"You have to help me," Liz looked around Maria nervously. "You have to believe me."

"Don't tell me what I have to do," she said full of bravado. In truth, the little woman in front of her was making her nervous with the darting eyes.

"They will kill me if they get to me," Liz said in a voice holding fear. Too much fear for one person.

"You stole money, you have evidence. You have to pay your debt to society for being a lowlife." Maria shook her head and tightened the cuffs just a bit. Just enough to make her feel in control again.

"I know, but if you take me back, they'll kill me." Her words held her truth.

Maria took a deep breath and did an internal count to five. "I have a job to do."

Liz Parker nodded and hung her head. "What's your name?"

"My name?" Maria repeated, surprised at the question. "Why?'

"I want to know the name of the person who's going to inadvertently kill me." She looked up into Maria's green eyes.

"Maria. Maria DeLuca."

"Well Maria DeLuca, you have just killed Liz Parker."

Maria waited a beat. Blood on her hands was never part of the deal. Of all the criminals who'd pleaded with her for release, this one was different. This one made Maria feel compassion. Human nature.

Without thinking it through to completion, she turned Liz back around and unlocked the handcuffs. She waited until Liz turned back to face her before speaking. "Tell me your story Liz Parker."

"Thank you," Liz looked down and rubbed her wrists as if they had been secured for hours instead of mere minutes. She clasped her hands together, fingers interlaced. "I'm sorry."

Without missing a beat, Liz Parker swung her interlocked hands up and across Maria's face. The sheer surprise and pain knocked Maria to the ground. In the few seconds it had taken to understand what was going on, Liz Parker had vanished.

That's when it became personal.

* * *

Michael shaded his eyes and peered in the window of the storefront office. He saw Isabel busy at work behind her desk, the mountain of papers still in front of her. After getting the door slammed in his face by Nancy Parker, he drove around town on the look out, hoping he'd just luck out and find Liz Parker walking down the street. After an hour of being unsuccessful he decided on heading back to the office.

Isabel looked up and smiled when the door opened. Her smiled fell when she realized it was just Michael. "I thought you were a new client."

"Sorry," he sat across from her and waited for her to look up again. His brow furrowed when he saw the tension in her eyes. "What's going on Iz? Anything I can do to help?"

She laughed and shook her head. "It's just Alex issues again."

"What he'd do now?" Michael had learned a long time ago that no matter what it was, it was going to be Alex's fault.

Her eyelids flutter for a few seconds, trying to blink back tears. "He asked me to move in with him."

Michael tilted his head and frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?"

She nodded and sighed. "It is, but I don't know what to do. Yes or no? I keep weighing the pro's and con's of doing it and they come up even."

"Do you want to?" He asked and raised his eyebrows.

She nodded and then covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. "I guess I never asked myself that."

"See, I am good for something."

"Yes, Michael. You are good for a few things." She grinned. "So, how'd it go with Ms. Parker?"

"Do you mean before or after she slammed the door in my face?"

Isabel's shoulders sagged. "Did you get anything out of her?"

"No, but maybe Maria DeLuca did," Michael shook his head. "She beat me to her. She was walking away as I pulled up."

"So you met Ms. DeLuca," Isabel leaned back in her chair and grinned. "Whatcha think of her?"

"I think she needs an attitude adjustment." His mind drifted to the way she had got in his face and he smiled. "Big time."

"She gonna give you a run for your money?"

He nodded and pursed his lips. "Oh yeah, you can bet on it."

TBC