When all else fails, kill for a government agency and die for no one.

What do you do when the past comes back?

“I need to ask you some questions and I want full answers. I want the truth from you, Derrick.” She looked at him with the same look she had always given him that let him know that she was not playing around. Derrick knew she wasn't playing. He had seen that look so many times since he's known her.He looked at her and sighed. “What do you want to know?” She started walking and said “We can’t talk here. It is too…Wait! Someone is coming. You need to hide. I’ll get rid of them.” Derrick hid back in the shrubs and was silent as he watched Anna proceed to pretend to look for him.

“Anna! How is the search coming?” said a voice from the left on the road. “Jolon, the search was going well until you came along, raising your voice. I did sense him but now I don’t. He seems to have fled the area. I do not like to be checked on, by you or anyone else for that matter, and you know this. I will call you when I have the target. Until then, and I mean no disrespect, but stay away from the case. I don’t care if you are the boss or not. You wouldn’t have assigned me this case if you didn’t know that I was capable of handling it. I will call you at The Assemblage when I have him.” She stepped back from him and he said “Fine. Just be careful. I know the past between you guys. I’ll let you do what you need to do in order to finish the case. Until then, no one will contact you. If you need any assistance, call us. We’ll get to you. If I don’t hear from you by noon tomorrow, I’ll activate the tracker. She watched as he walked away. She had a great admiration for Jolon, but also great uneasiness. There was something about him that she couldn't pin-point. Anna knew that what she was getting ready to do was going to change her life forever. She walked over to the bush and said “I need to get this tracker out of my leg.  They will use it to track me at any point even though he gave me till noon tomorrow” She sat on the ground next to Derrick.

She pulled out her dagger and held it in her hand above a place in her thigh. “Wait! You can’t cut into your leg. That is too dangerous.” Derrick said, coming out of his hiding place. He made a grab for the dagger but Anna was too quick. By the time he realized that he missed his mark, she had already sliced into her leg and was rooting around for the tracking device. Derrick saw the blood oozing out of the incision and dripping to the forest floor. He knew that even if the rumors were true, she would heal quick but too much blood loss would still be detrimental. Anna, having a stubborn streak a mile long, would hurt herself while trying to prove that she was capable doing what needed done by herself.

Anna pulled out the tiny device and clutched it in her palm. “We need to put this on something so that it will keep moving so they won’t know that I removed it.” She barely got the sentence out before she lost her balance and fell to the ground. “Anna! Are you all right?” Derrick said going to her side and kneeling down beside her. He saw the pain in her eyes and the flush of her cheeks and knew that what she had done was not a good plan. “Sorry, I’m just tired and stressed. I haven’t eaten today so the blood loss is a little more harmful” Anna replied holding her hand out for Derrick’s help. “I have to get you somewhere and fix that wound. I can't believe that you haven't eaten today.  I have a cabin in the woods. Nobody knows that it is mine since it is under a false name and under a series of false leads. We’ll go there and I’ll fix you up.” Derrick helped Anna to her feet and, holding up the tracker, she said “I need to do something about this” “I’ll take care of it, just give it here and wait a second.” He took the tracker and disappeared into the dark. Anna was starting to worry but he was back and holding her up. “I tossed it in the river. Since the river moves at a slow pace, it won’t travel quick enough to be suspicious but it will almost always be moving. And i figured that it would be alright from moisture since it was in your lef. Come on. You’re weak and need to rest and eat.” He picked her up and carried her through the trees.

She realized that she was actually uncomfortable being in his arms while so vulnerable. By the time they reached his cabin, about 30 minutes later, she white with pain. With her strength low due to the lack of nutrients and the blood loss, healing was not going as quick as it usually did. He took her in and laid her on the couch. He left the room and came back a few moments later with a medical kit. “Well aren’t you one of preparedness” Anna said with heavy breath. She stared at him, fighting the feelings of warmth and caring that she had locked away that were trying to escape. “I have to remove your pants so that I can clean the wound.” He said putting the kit on the floor beside the couch. She eyed him suspiciously at first and noticed the blush creepy up his neck. She then relented and let him do it. Anna didn’t know why she was leery at first; they had been together all through high school and 2 years in college.  She winced as the fabric that remained slid over the gash in her leg. Anna knew that it was a stupid move to take out the tracker without any supplies nearby. She wasn’t worried, though. She knew that she would heal before anything major was done to harm her she just hoped that her own stupidity of not taking care of herself didn’t harm the healing itself, just the speed of it.

That was the good point to the changes that she had been subjected to.  Before she could object, Derrick ripped a strip of cloth off of some fabric that was in the kit, poured alcohol on it and tied it around her thigh. She winced with the first wave of stinging, but quickly grew used to it. Her mind shut off from all other thoughts when derrick stood and removed his jacket. When she had last seen him, he had a firm and somewhat muscular build, but now his arms were thick and corded with muscle. Anna noticed that it wasn’t in the body builder way, but in doing hard work all day every day. He could probably give an oil rigger a run for their money. She had to snap out of her thoughts. She can’t go down this road again.