"Darkness Within the Darkness"

June 15, 2008
Coney Island
2045 hours

God it was quiet.

The kind of quiet that's so creepy it puts goose bumps on your arms.
Paige stifled a sigh not wishing to disturb the quietness. The Target
she was watching did not move around much. She was also quite sure
they had not been detected. Unless of course the Target scoped out
the warehouse before they got there and watched them walk in. And
that was always a possibility with these games. These waiting games.
The objective to see who outsmarts who, who outlasts who, who doesn't
get killed first. The Target crushed out the cigarette he was smoking
on the ground, the small orange glow disappeared under his shoe.

She imagined what Bella must feel. Probably not too different than
she did. The past was really never far behind. Paige, however, had
already decided she was going to do something about it, her past.
First was getting her money back. The money she rightfully pilfered
from a Section account, who had pilfered it from a Mr. John Gonzalez
whom she had met on a mission in South America. What was that...her
second...maybe third mission? It was so different back then, only a
few short years ago. The missions, so wrong, so destructive to her
fragile psyche that had yet to build up defenses strong enough to
withstand that which was Section One Policy. Paige suppressed a
shiver. John Gonzalez had been a good man caught up in a bad act. She
had wanted more from him than was allowed, then was taken. Even
though he had provided the means for her to get a large sum of money
he still owed her.

She would hunt him down, too.

But first was her money. Joshua would help her with that. The
manipulative bastard owed her as much, dragging her to the ends of
hell with him only to leave her begging with pretty green puppy dog
eyes for more. He deserved as much. And she would use all that she
knew, all that she learned from him, to get what she wanted - a free
pass to Cozumel, Mexico, to collect her money.

Then she was heading to Washington DC to catch up...shit. Her eyes
narrowed as she watched the Target pull a weapon out. Did he know
they were there? Did he know they were present but just not where
they were hiding? Or was he just fucking with them?

"Isabella." His voice was deep and smooth, definitely one that
someone not trained would easily mistake for genuine, trustworthy.
And one that immediately scraped her the wrong way. Or maybe it was
just a predisposition, a notion already implanted in her head that
the guy was a prick. Paige's eyes lingered over the weapon he held in
his hand. "Alpha 4, watch that weapon," she directed quietly to
Declan.

"I see it Alpha 2, target is in sight," he responded in a whisper.

"Lachlan," Bella said evenly.

"I'm glad you came," he said with an easy smile and Paige's skin
crawled a little.

"You knew I would," she replied almost flippantly.

"Yes. Yes I did. Who are your friends?"

"Hold position Alpha 4, he might be bluffing," Paige said to Declan.
There was no telling if they were compromised or not. Not for sure.

"Associates. How have you been?"

"Never mind," Paige said a little pissed Bella had so easily given
them up. Or maybe she knew the Target so well she could tell if he
was bluffing or not. Either way, it didn't matter. "There goes that
notion," Declan said, "holding position."

"Ah you know, a little bit of this a little bit of that. A lot has
changed. I've been busy," Lachlan said.

"I noticed, you've been up to all sorts of mischief."

Lachlan just nodded and they both went silence. Paige's eyes flicked
from Bella to the Target, back to Bella, then to the weapon in his
hand.

"So," he sighed a little, "I guess my invitation will fall on deaf
ears. Looks like you have yourself and your organization to call
friends."

"What makes you think that changes anything. There is no way I'd join
you."

"What makes you think..?"

"Quit the bullshit Lachie."

Paige could see the anger rising in Bella's face and the tone of her
words. "Come down Alpha 4, nice and easy." Paige stood up even as she
gave her orders.

"I know you," Bella continued, "I know how you think now, the way
your demented little brain ticks. You sent me that little invitation
of yours to get me here so that you could ask me to join you. You
were going to tell me just enough so that if I turned you down you'd
have to shoot me. But you were banking on me being eager to rejoin
you in our past escapades." Paige stopped still some ten yards from
the duo and Declan quickly joined her.

Lachlan smiled at Bella, "Ok you know me." He paused for a moment
then said, almost shyly, "so...is that a no?"

Bella looked at him stunned for a moment then burst into laughter.
The sound seemed alien in the former silence and the objects
discarded in the warehouse soaked it up as quickly as Bella produced
it. And as her laughter died off the creepy silence
returned. "Lachie, I have to know. Why?"

He smiled but it wasn't genuine this time, he was growing anxious for
the game to be over with and Paige shifted her weight uneasily. "You
said you knew me. You tell me."

Bella shook her head defiantly.

"I wasn't going to waste away in prison for something I didn't do
alone," he said quietly. "If I went down, we all went down. Including
you. Anyway, you got away. I got free. What does it matter?"

"Bastard." He remained silent now. Bella sighed, "well Lachie, all
those years you saved yourself in prison...you may as well have gone
because now...I'm taking you in. Now, the people I used to work with
would have tortured you until you told them what they wanted to know.
But these guys...I don't know. I sure hope they don't, I'd like to
have a go at it." He stiffened under Bella's words. "Yes, look at the
person you made. Look at me now. You knew me once. Maybe I would have
joined you then. Hell I went out of my way to do so. Now? I will
destroy you."

"I won't go in quietly," he said in a low voice. Paige's eyes flicked
to Declan who nodded his head at her.

"I was hoping you wouldn't." Bella nodded to them, apparently she was
done with him. Paige moved forward with Declan veering off to the
side of the Target.

"Lachie, don't fight them," Bella said, "we only have to take you in
alive, they said nothing about broken." Then she simply turned and
began walking away.

'Don't turn around', Paige thought to her but it was too late.
Lachlan had raised his weapon sending a bullet into Bella who went
down on her knees. Paige and Declan had covered the remaining
distance and with weapons raised finally confronted Lachlan. "Put it
down," Paige screamed at him.

"You drop yours or I'll put a bullet in her head this time," he
screamed back.

"Drop it asshole," Declan joined in the yelling.

"Back off or she's dead," Lachlan screamed back at him.

"Put the fucking weapon..." Paige was cut off by a single gun shot.
They all fell silent though Declan and Paige never took their eyes
off Lachlan. Bella was up on her feet again, which was good, Paige
thought, at least Bella was able to stand.

"That...was uncivilized," Bella said quietly to Lachlan. "Put the
weapon down Lachie. You can shoot me but then you WILL die. If you
play nice you may survive."

Lachlan considered her words for a moment then began to lower his
weapon.

"There we go," Bella said, "you know you opened up an old wound there
don't you."

He nodded. "I remember. And I also remember you almost bled to death
the first time. Are you going to waste anymore time here?"

Well, Bella could waste time but Paige wasn't. She moved quickly,
Declan now at her side. They had him unarmed and bound within
seconds. "Alpha 2 to Tac 1, Target secured." Lachlan just smiled
smugly. "Let's go," Paige said giving Lachlan a shove. Bella walked
in front of them as Paige and Declan followed not far behind with the
Target between them. That creepy silence filled the warehouse again
when Bella suddenly turned and lifted her weapon. Bella wouldn't,
would she? Wasn't it not just two days ago when the very same thing
happened? When time slowed down long enough Paige could almost see
the bullets leave the barrel of a gun? This time, however, they did
not embed themselves into her team mate's chest. This time, it was
one shot, to the head, and the body dropped between the two agents.
Paige stared down at Lachlan, her mouth slightly open. Did that just
happen? Her eyes flicked up to question Declan, had it?

It had apparently as he looked, for a moment, slightly uneasy about
the situation. "That, I believe, wasn't in the plans," he said
quietly. Paige looked down again and the body was still there, still
had a dime sized hole in the forehead. "No, it wasn't," she said
quietly.

"Alpha 2, report," Simon squawked in her ear.

"Target's dead," Bella answered flatly for Paige.

"What? Repeat Alpha 3," Simon said clearly confused.

"This is Alpha 2, Target is terminated, we're coming back," her tone
of voice said it all.

"Copy Alpha 2," was all Simon said this time.

"I got him," Declan said easily picking up the now dead Lachlan over
his shoulder.

"Thanks," Paige said quietly. She watched them walk away. She cursed
at herself silently. She should have seen that one coming. She saw
the way they interacted, Bella and Lachlan, they knew each other,
well, and Paige should have known better. She should have moved
faster, not let Bella have a chance at anything. But she didn't. She
fucked up. Again. Twice in almost as many days. How many more times
would she be allowed to fuck up before Gray decided it was enough?
How many more times before she was 'inactivated' as an agent? "Fuck,"
she muttered softly to herself and started walking towards the van in
the silence.