3.30am
Bella almost knocked her door down getting through it quickly. She
slammed it behind her, and threw her keys in the bowl by the door as
she sped past it. She was focussing on controlling her breathing,
keeping her mind clear. She had been half way home when her brain
began its shutdown; it didn't want to cope anymore. She ripped her
clothes off on her way to the bathroom, naked by the time she reached
the shower. She stood in the cubicle for a moment before turning the
cold tap on all the way, her hands flat against the cold tiles. Her
body began to shiver as the torrent of cold hit it. She closed her
eyes concentrating on the sensation of cold, the feeling it provided.
She slowed her breathing, concentrated on keeping her muscles
relaxed, controlling the shivers. Her mind began to settle, calm
down, going to the calm place she was keeping her body in, she took a
deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, water streaming over her
face, mixing with the few tears that had escaped before she had
regained control. No one would be able to tell, which drop on her
face held the salt of tears. She reached for the hot and slowly
turned it on, waited and adjusted a moment, turned it up a bit more.
Some part of her was hoping that by warming the water she might warm
what was inside. As cold as the water had made her body, her soul was
colder; her heart had formed a shield of ice, protecting her from what
had happened out there tonight. The water warmed, her skinned warmed,
and everything else remained the same.

5 am
It must have been hours before she emerged from the bathroom. At
least it felt that way, a glance at the clock told her otherwise. She
wasn't exactly sure if the water had been cold or not when she got
out, it didn't matter.
She wrapped a flimsy dressing gown around her as she wandered into her
lounge; the gown was short, stopping half way down her thigh, edged in
satin, made of a blue sheer material that required a lingerie bag when
washed. She tied the satin tie around her as she reached the kitchen
and poured herself a Captain Morgan.
"For shame, Bella, you know what this kind of drinking leads to." She
muttered to herself just prior to shooting the drink and pouring
herself another, larger drink.

Curled up on her chair, she stared out the window at the world coming
to life beneath her. The sun was new in the sky and the air smelled
of potential. Children ran and yelled, laughed, played. Bella
couldn't recall if their school should be in or not, she knew they
were due for summer break soon, seeing as it was Monday morning she
guess that they must have been welcoming their three month holiday.
Parents walked nearby, smiling at their children, enduring them until
summer camp started and they could be rid of their progeny again. She
watched the traffic increase, adults on their way to work, night owls
going home to sleep. The world came to life in front of her eyes and
she remembered watching this as a child. Only her parents took them
out to the country for their summer break, not wanting to be rid of
their kids as soon as possible. Bella recalled her mother telling
her, "I want to be with you two every chance I get. Who knows what
might happen tomorrow". In those days when the world came alive it
was birds, animals, a few people, the farms, readying for
their…whatever, she never really understood farm life. The city was
so different. She loved it.
She looked over her shoulder at the clock that hung on her kitchen
wall. 7.30. Sighing she stood, dumped her glass in the sink and went
to get changed.

She drove her car according to the speed limit, obeyed the road rules
and wore her seatbelt. It had been the longest it had ever taken her
to get to the safe house and while she found it kind of frustrating to
go so slowly not having slept the night before and with the drinks she
had had she didn't want to trust other people's lives to her reflexes
this morning.
The place was fairly deserted when she got there, no missions or
something. She had reached the workout room before she remembered her
shoulder and the restraining hold it put on her. She couldn't work
out this morning, not without extra pain, causing more damage.
"Damn it!" She spun and back handed the punching bag with her good arm
and winced as the jolt went through her other arm. She thought on it
for a moment and after a while a thought occurred to her, she turned
toward the door with a new purpose. There was a body in the doorway,
when she focussed she identified him as Declan.
"How's the shoulder?" His easy Irish accent held no sign of resentment
at how she treated him earlier that morning.
"Annoying," she responded quickly and then narrowed her eyes at him.
"Don't you have a home to go to?"
"One might ask the same of you." He chuckled.
"Hmm. Excuse I have an elsewhere to be." She tried to manoeuvre past
him but he stood his ground and she would have had to hurt herself to
get away.
"You left something behind last night." He help up the 50 and waved it
at her. She looked at it and then at him as she took it from him. If
he didn't want it it was no skin of her nose.
"Ok I have it, now move." He stood his ground and she waited. Once she
tired of waiting she simply added, "Before I move you."
He whistled. "Them's fighting words Irish."
She looked at him ad grinned. "Wanna play?" She stepped backwards into
the training room slowly, spreading her arms slowly in invitation. He
watched her grinning ad then he quickly close the gap between them
reaching out and gently pushing the injured shoulder. She winced, her
breath coming out in a hiss. Her eyes flashed at him, anger almost
making them glow.
"Nah, it'd be too easy." He stepped away from her this time leaving
the exit free.
He had pissed her off now and she wheeled around the face him again.
"Fine, fight later, shoot now. Come on."
She led the way to the firing range and the two of them competed in
target shooting, she used her good arm, ignoring the pain in her other
shoulder and he, out of…courtesy, chivalry, whatever fired with the
one hand as well. He won by a few points.
"You're not a bad shot." The compliment was obviously only made to try
and make her feel better.
"Please." She didn't appreciate it.
"Alright, that was fake. But this I mean, that is impressive shooting
considering."
She smiled, "I hit my target when it counts."
He knew what she referred to and nodded. "You do. I still would have
beaten you though."
"What?"
"You know if we had been able to do that properly. I would have won."
The way he spoke told her that he had no doubt about his words. He
was completely convinced that she was not as good a shot as he was.
She smiled to herself and wondered if she displayed this kind of
arrogance. She knew that she didn't feel that confident but she also
knew she put up a facade to those around her, was this strong and was
it this annoying?
Declan had turned and left her standing alone in her musings.

9am
Bella wandered through the safe house, normally at this point she
would have gone into the fashion house but…well she wasn't allowed to,
now and having to deal with Lucille would result in a death. She sat
in the change rooms thinking. She still wasn't tired.