The Fury Saga Book 6 - The Fury Directive Part 2 free porn video

'The Fury Directive' ==================== This novel follows directly from 'The Fury Trilogy' and 'Incubus'. Its plot and its characters originate in those stories, and they often understand their later predicaments by those earlier events. If you haven't yet read those earlier stories, I suggest that you save this text somewhere safe and read them first. I know it's an imposition, a big deal for me to tell you to read a novel and a medium-sized story before you even start this one. Note: This story does contain a small amount of strong and explicit descriptions and dark themes (torture, mind control etc) so stay away if you're easily offended or under 21. *** Many thanks have to go to Vickie Tern who contributed a 'special guest' chapter to this story and generally helped out in more ways than I can mention. As always thank you, the reader for letting me know if the two years it took me to write this was worth it. - o - o - o - Main story by Darkside. BOOK II. Middle Game. - o - o - o - The Senator and Scott breathed a long, hard sigh of relief as the pursuing Guild agents ran past. They heard a brief exchange of gunfire and then silence descended on them. After the violence of the past few hours the silence was welcome, and yet disquieting. The Senator wanted to peer outside the door but Scott warned against it. So far they had been forgotten and they might just stay that way. So they waited in silence, almost afraid to breathe. A loud cheer shattered the quiet as surely as any gunshot and this made Scott nervous. A few minutes later the same Guild agent who'd sent them on their mission walked thru the door. His catsuit was torn but the gleam in his eyes said it all. He was on the winning side. "Thank you," his voice boomed. "What?" Scott queried. The agent's voice had a sound of triumph "Your efforts helped us secure Hassan's personal office. From there we could issue false orders and thus hasten our victory. You are heroes. We are sorry for your friend but her death had meaning. Her sacrifice will be talked about in the Guild for a hundred years. Once we have cleaned up here you are free to go, we will give you the papers you need to get back to your country and we will arrange a flight back to New York." Scott's heart soared, at last he was getting out of this hell hole and back to his loved ones. It seemed almost a lifetime ago that the evil Dr Bexley took him. In reality it was a lifetime ago that his life had changed, maybe for good. Scott was starting to feel a little depressed again as his thoughts wandered back to his wife when the Senator grabbed his delicate hand and said "Come on, cheer up, we're going home." The Guild agent interrupted and said, "Not just yet. You are to go to this address in Manhattan and wait. You are not to talk to your family or friends until you go there. If you do not do this you will never be back to how you were before." Scott grew angry at this response, "Who the hell do you think you are? Telling me what I can and can't do. Who will we meet at this place that'll help us." The Guild agent ignored the first part of the threat and simply replied "Dr Elizabeth Bexley will meet you there. That is all I know." Ignoring Scott's evil glare the Guild agent fished inside his catsuit and gave the Senator a folded piece of paper and a key, he then turned and walked out. - o - o - o - The Guild commander stood over the sobbing Matthew and looked at Elizabeth's limp form, "She died well," was his only comment as he turned away and started to survey the damage around him. Matthew couldn't believe that Elizabeth was dead. He knew that each change used a lot of energy and that sooner or later she would hit the limit of what her body could stand but this was unreal. It wasn't like Elizabeth to have miscalculated something this big, not like her at all. His mind flashed back to the conversation they'd had in the communications room. What was it she'd said, ' With what I have planned next I might not. The only thing that can kill me is myself.' Matthew sighed once more. Elizabeth had known something like this could happen. That's why she'd told him to go to New York and wait for Salah. In her last few moments alive she'd given him the chance to be turned back. She had fulfilled her promise, and now in death she had redeemed herself the only way she knew how. There was still a nagging doubt at the back of Matthew's mind, maybe it was disbelief or maybe it was something else. People like Elizabeth just didn't die. She'd have had a backup plan for just this contingency, her changeling organ was too perfect and she was too fastidious to let herself be killed by overloading her system. Besides during the Fury she'd covered every aspect of her plan and built in multiple failsafes. It was only a lucky break that had eventually stopped her. When, he decided Elizabeth was in control of a situation then very little happened that she didn't wish to happen. She would KNOW the state her body was in. She wasn't some amateur in the use of changeling organ. She knew every aspect of it and every way it could be used. After all she was nothing if not, inventive in using it. Creating wings for herself to fly out to him, the poison dart weapons, being able to heal major wounds without effect to herself, and finally the four armed killing machine that had ripped it's way thru Hassan's elite forces like a hot knife thru butter. Elizabeth didn't give up, didn't slow down she was inexorable and when push came to shove a survivor. A thought struck Matthew, and he gently placed her body on the ground and stood up. "Hey, someone get me a doctor," he called out. Matthew repeated the call for a few minutes when the Guild commander came running in. "What is it?" he demanded. "I want Dr Bexley checked by a doctor. I need to know if she is really dead," Matthew asked. "I will see what I can find. We owe her much," the commander said and walked away. Matthew had to wait for two hours, not knowing if he was right or not. He stared at Elizabeth's seemingly lifeless body, looking for the slightest sign that she was alive. To the naked eye, and to the touch Elizabeth appeared dead. Matthew's train of thought was interrupted by a tall lanky figure walking into the room. With him he carried a large bag marked with a Red Cross and he had the air of command about him. He bent down and said to Matthew, "Quiet, I need to listen." Matthew waited with baited breath as the doctor examined Elizabeth in great detail. The doctor then gave a nod and stood up. Unable to wait any longer Matthew asked, "Is she?" The doctor's brown eyes looked right into Matthew's and said, "She is alive but barely. See! She is still warm to the touch. I can detect very little heart rate, maybe one or two beats per minute, and her respiration is almost non existent. She is in a state of almost complete metabolic shutdown; it's as though she is clinging onto life as by a thread. She needs more help than I can give her. Wait with her. We will get her to a hospital." Matthew was stunned, he was so sure that he'd detected no pulse at all. One beat a minute! That WAS no pulse at all. What the hell was going on inside Elizabeth? The doctor picked up on Matthew's confused look and explained, "I can offer no explanation for this, only that she needs proper treatment. Now wait here. There is no time to drive her to a hospital, we will have to fly her. We owe her much, now we pay some back." Within twenty minutes Matthew and Elizabeth were in a chopper flying towards Adelaide General Hospital. - o - o - o - "You can't be Kat?" Tina exclaimed. "Why not?" Tina eyed Salah suspiciously, "Because you're dead. Cathline and Matthew Stephens saw you die. Besides you had cancer." Kat sighed, "Just because I look like Salah doesn't mean to say I am him. As to what happened to me during the last year. That is, shall we say a long story. Besides it's time we blew this joint and get outta here. If all's gone well then Elizabeth's time bomb is about to go off and the Guild will be finished. With all due respect, I want to go home. Coming?" Tina smiled, somehow she felt drawn to this mysterious stranger known as 'Kat' ,"What about Cathline? She needs medical attention" "We'll take her to the local ER and then we go to New York. There's someone coming there, who I've been waiting to meet," tears formed in Kat's eyes as she thought of seeing Matthew again. "You're talking about Matthew Stephens right?" Kat nodded, "Yeah. It seems we have spent more time apart than together. We've been married for nearly five years and only a week of that has been 'normal'. Still it's nearly over. Come on give me hand with Cathline, I'm sure she's put on weight since I last saw her." "She'd thump you for saying that," Tina smiled. "She would too," Kat smiled back. - o - o - o - The stretcher team was waiting at the helipad as the chopper came into land. As soon as the wind from the spinning rotors had died down they rushed in and put Elizabeth's seemingly lifeless body on a gurney, attached an oxygen mask to her face, and wheeled her away from the chopper. Matthew ran after them and was about to go into the ER room when he was stopped by a nurse, "I'm sorry miss, you can't go in there." "Why not! She's very important to me. I need her, hell the whole world needs her." The nurse sighed, it'd been a long day, "Please, can you give me her name She looks a lot like Rachel Martin but she's been missing for months." Matthew really didn't want to open up this can of worms but it had to come out sooner or later. "She's not Rachel Martin. Her name is Dr Elizabeth Anne Bexley, and mine is Matthew Stephens." The nurse raised an eyebrow. Either the young woman standing opposite her was stark raving mad or she was telling the truth. Mind you the young Woman did look familiar but why would she be bringing Dr Bexley in for emergency treatment? They were mortal enemies as far as she could remember. The nurse decided to call the police after she'd dealt with the woman in front of her. Her response was simply, "Ok. Why don't you sit down over there The doctor will call for you when he's ready." Matthew saw a free seat in the waiting area and sat down. At least Elizabeth was still alive, albeit only just, but that was enough for Matthew. His spirits rose as he thought that he was now free of the Guild and on his way home. Matthew refused to allow himself to hope that Kat was alive -- he felt that if he dwelt on that too much, then all the pain and hurt of the last year would come flooding back. Memories now dulled by time would become razor sharp once more, and would only serve to break his heart once more. The same went for Elizabeth's promise to turn him back, he did believe her intent. But would she have the know-how? Instead, his thoughts wandered back to the Guild. By now Elizabeth would have uploaded the entire Guild database to the world and slowly but surely the purging of Guild agents from their positions of power would begin. All around the world such and such a figure would be asked to step down, face prison or worse. The full extent of Guild atrocities over the past few centuries would be exposed for all to see. Matthew allowed himself a smile, Elizabeth was right, the Guild WAS finished. Sure, a few would get away but like the Nazi party after the Second World War their numbers, and influence would slowly dwindle away. When they got the disks to the government and the truth and motives behind the attack on Tel-Aviv were exposed the Guild would have nowhere to hide. Matthew once again marvelled at Elizabeth's plan. She was a Trojan horse within a Trojan horse. While working to get rid of Hassan she'd been working towards the Guild's downfall. A worrying thought struck Matthew and his good mood was shattered. The Guild would soon know about Elizabeth's double cross, and boy, would they be pissed. He had never met this Salah, who Elizabeth was in league with but he was sure he wouldn't take betrayal lightly. He'd seen the Guild in action against each other and knew that he'd have little chance against even one of them. Elizabeth, assuming she lived thru this, might just win, but where would that leave him? Matthew thought a little longer and then realized that Elizabeth must have thought all this thru. The destruction of the Guild would take months, if not years to work thru and she couldn't count on being able to hide all her 'friends' for that long. Whatever Elizabeth's solution was, it was probably already in place and only she knew about it. The answers Matthew wanted to know were laying in a hospital bed, near to death and unable to help. Yet again, Matthew was at the mercy of Dr Elizabeth Bexley. - o - o - o - Kat looked at the ER doctor, concern showing in her face, "Is she ok?" The doctor nodded, "Yeah Rachel Martin will be just fine. It's a fucking shame about her eye though. Whoever patched it up didn't do a bad job considering." Tina interrupted, "When can we speak to her?" The doctor turned to Tina and replied, "She should be awake in a couple of hours. We've administered a sedative and put her on a drip to help her body recover. Speaking of such you really ought to get checked out yourself." Tina shrugged, "I'll be fine, say, when will the cavalry be here?" "If you mean the feds? Oh about an hour." Tina nodded her satisfaction and turned to see Kat's anxious looking face, "I'm sure it'll be ok. You did rescue us after all." Kat paused for a few moments and then replied, "Yeah I know. It's just that we're on a tight deadline here. I'm not sure if we can afford to be grilled by any passing FBI agent. We still have Israel to stop and millions of lives depend on us. Now I was never privy to what Hassan and Osman were scheming, but I do know that what happened to Tel- Aviv was just the catalyst. We will wait until Cathline is able to walk and then we go. This isn't over yet, not by a long way." "Are you always so upbeat?" Tina asked. Kat gave a smile, "I used to be, now I see only what will be. We have a week at the most before it all goes straight to hell. When it's all over then I'll be upbeat again." A few things puzzled Tina. Why did Kat pretend to be Salah? What was Dr Bexley really up to, and more importantly was Scott still alive. Kat caught her circumspect look and guessed what she was thinking. "I'll explain everything later on. Just let's say that I trust Dr Bexley and that I'm sure Scott can take care of himself. In the meantime I'm Salah to anyone but Cathline and yourself." - o - o - o - Scott and the Senator boarded the plane and sat down in the non- smoking section. Scott still felt alien in his new body, the clothes felt strange, the voice was strange, and every man on the plane gave his comely form the once over. If the senator was concerned he didn't show it. However the relief of going home was shared by both of them. The plane took off an hour later and soon was cruising at altitude. Scott gave a deep, womanly sigh. Home was only ten hours away. For his part the senator was deep in thought. Clearly, he and Scott were pawns in a larger game, but who was the grandmaster now that Hassan was gone. He suspected that this Salah was behind it, but clearly this Dr Bexley had some influence on proceedings. More worrying was the Guild activities with the changeling organs. Of course if he had been his normal self he could have gone right back and exposed the whole thing and been taken seriously. Now, in his secretary's body -- with no easy proof to say he was who he said he was. The task was much more difficult than he first thought. The president would believe him and that, he decided was the only chance of exposing the whole deal. - o - o - o - A tap on the shoulder interrupted Matthew's introspective thoughts. He looked up to see two cops standing above him, one man, and the other a smaller brunette woman. The woman cop was saying, "Excuse me miss , we need to speak to you." This threw Matthew a little but he then realised that the nurse must have called them. They did have Dr Bexley in custody after all. All Matthew could say was "Sure?" "We'd like you to come to the station to help us understand what is going on," The man demanded. "Why? I want to stay here, with Elizabeth," Matthew replied. "From what the doctor tells me she's not going anywhere. Hey you can relax, you haven't done anything. We just need to know how come Matthew Stephens is suddenly Dr Elizabeth Bexley's best buddy in the whole world." Matthew sighed, he didn't really have any choice so he stood up and went with the two officers. The station was about a half-hour drive away and a burley cop showed him to the interview room. The door was closed and Matthew sat down to wait. The two officers who'd brought him in stood watching Matthew from behind one way glass. The man turned to his partner and said, "Jill, I dunno, she sure looks like Matthew Stephens." Jill shrugged, "Me too Shane. We'll soon know. If she's got tattoo's all over then it's him, and if not we hold her until we find out." Shane looked at Matthew for a few more seconds and then asked, "Who do you think she really brought in? It can't be Dr Bexley can it?" Jill's face looked blank, "No idea. The last anyone heard of Dr Bexley was that she was swimming around in the Indian Ocean. If it IS her we need to hold her until she can be deported. Have you contacted INTERPOL yet?" "Yeah, I've got her complete file coming thru in about an hour, but from what I heard she's one nasty bitch." Jill thought for a moment. They couldn't hold Matthew Stephens, if it was him, indefinitely. They would either have to charge him or let him go. First things first. Check if it really was Matthew Stephens or an impostor. "I'll go in and check her story out. We can hold her for impersonation if she's lying." Shane agreed. It was the best plan they had so far. Jill went to her desk and picked up a tape recorder, checked that it had two tapes in and that it was in working order. She then signed the chit giving her responsibility for it. She walked around to the heavy cell door, unlocked it and walked inside. From his vantage point, behind one way glass, Shane could see and hear everything that went on inside the cell. Matthew was by now getting a little bored. He'd been waiting around here for what seemed like an age and was getting nowhere fast, so when Jill walked in it was a relief. Of course this was all part of Jill's strategy but then Matthew didn't know that. "Hello again," Jill said plugging the tape recorder into a nearby socket. "Hi. Look when am I getting out of this place?" Matthew demanded. "Hold on a sec," Jill fumbled with the tape player until it started recording. "That's better. This is inspector Jill Spencer serial number 165432 interviewing a woman who claims to be Matthew Stephens. The purpose of the interview is to determine her identity and to ascertain if the woman currently being treated at Adelaide General is indeed Dr Elizabeth Bexley." The set piece delivered, Jill became more relaxed. It was important to get the subject at ease. Matthew just sat opposite and waited. Jill brushed her blonde fringe back from her eyes and started to speak, "First things first. I need you to prove to me that you are Matthew Stephens. According to news reports you've been missing for some weeks." Matthew thought for a second, "That's easy. When Dr Bexley was turning me into her she made me have a large hydra tattooed over my body. I can show you if you want." Jill was happy at this. The woman had passed the first test with flying colors, "Please." Matthew undid his catsuit top to reveal his full, firm bosom. Just above the cup on each breast Jill saw the head of a dragon like creature. The work was exquisite with the colors still vivid and the patterns intricate and detailed. This came as a shock to Jill. She'd been expecting to find nothing and therefore dismiss the woman as a fraud. However this new turn of events turned the whole thing upside down. Hell, it really was Matthew Stephens sitting in front her. If she was telling the truth then it really was Dr Bexley in intensive care. Jill collected her thoughts and for the benefit of the tape said, "The woman has just shown me a very detailed tattoo of a hydra. In my opinion this confirms her identity as Matthew Stephens." Matthew had just finished dressing himself and interrupted, "Satisfied, now can I go please." "I'm sorry, not just yet. Now tell me how you came to be here and why you think that the woman you brought in was Dr Elizabeth Bexley?" - o - o - o - Kat too was seated in a police interview room and was finding the attention uncomfortable. For her part Tina was out of her depth, she was on the receiving end of the interrogation for a change. Tina knew the drill, they'd play one against the other and try to find holes in their stories, and then slowly dissect them until one of them broke or made an error. Tina heard the handle on the cell door turn and in walked her inquisitor, a tall athletic woman with brown hair and a sharp and determined look about her. "Hi Detective Cox. My name is Detective Sandra Wilson. I'm not going to play games with you because you probably know them all anyway." Tina smiled, "I know. Let me guess, you're going to ask me what the hell went on in between getting kidnapped at the New York Hilton and now. How come Rachel Martin lost an eye, where Detective Scott Harris is, where Marcel Devereux is and who's the rag head who came in with us?" Detective Wilson gave a knowing nod, "Hmm, I think you about covered it there." Tina took a long deep breath. She decided, that Salah's true identity was one particular fact she didn't want to mention, after all things were confusing as it was. Instead she sat back on her chair and said, "Detective Harris and myself were assigned to look after Rachel Martin. Rachel had requested our presence as she suspected that Dr Elizabeth Bexley had somehow returned from her exile." Detective Wilson raised an eyebrow, Dr Bexley was involved, that was just the perfect start to what would turn out to be a pretty shitty day. - o - o - o - The Senator stretched out his long shapely legs and looked over towards Scott. He was still asleep and seemingly relaxed, The Senator on the other hand found it impossible to sleep on a plane at the best of times. He thought about waking Scott, just to have some company but then decided otherwise, Scott needed his rest. The large TV screen in front of him came to life and CNN news appeared. A smartly dressed TV reporter stood outside the UN building. Behind him flew the flags of several nations, one of which was at half mast. The reporter started to speak. "Hi, this is Matt Dillon for CNN world. Tensions in the Middle East grew today at the news that Israel has put its forces on war readiness. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran have done likewise while Pakistan has offered to ship part of it's nuclear arsenal to Egypt should Israel's invocation of the Fury Directive be approved. The US, British, French and Russian governments have all condemned Egypt's actions stating that use of the Fury Directive is entirely justified. Great Britain and the US in particular voiced their outrage at Egypt's attempted assassination of the British Prime Minister. For it's part Egypt continues to vigorously deny any involvement in the genetic warhead attack on Tel-Aviv nearly just over three days ago. In spite of the evidence presented to the UN the Arabic nations continue to support Egypt's stance." The Senator took a deep breath. "Fucking hell," he swore. This was serious news. From the sounds of it the Middle East stood on the verge of war and it looked as though at least two nuclear powers were going to get involved. Things would get very messy, very quickly indeed. An even more worrying thought crossed his mind. He'd speculated that the Guild had developed changeling technology and were somehow going to use it. This attack on Tel-Aviv using genetic weapons was just too close to the Guild's knowledge for comfort. Furthermore Egypt was one of the more benign states, and there was little chance that they would pull a stunt like this. The Senator sighed, for the first time since his transformation he felt utterly helpless. He desperately needed to get back to the Senate and try and stop the coming war. On reflection, he decided there was nothing he could do until the plane landed and he'd met with the infamous Dr Bexley in New York. The Senator fiddled with his seat position and tried to get some sleep. - o - o - o - Matthew was about to go into the finer details of the Guild's civil war when there was a sharp staccato knock at the door. "Yeah," Jill called out. Shane's voice was muffled thru the solid door "You gotta minute." "Sure. Inspector Jill Spencer pausing the interview at," she checked her watch, "19:25." Jill reached over and pressed pause on the tape. "Now what?" Matthew asked. He was getting tired of this interrogation. It brought back those nightmare memories of his first trial and subsequent imprisonment. "Don't worry. Back soon," Jill offered, she stood up and made a rat-tat knock on the cell door. Matthew heard a key being turned and Jill went out. The key was turned and Matthew was alone once more. Outside of the cell Jill saw Shane holding a large brown folder. She could just make out the words 'Dr Eliz" before the rest was covered by Shane's hand. "I take it that's Dr Bexley's file from Interpol," Jill nodded. Shane nodded, "I've had a quick read and thought you needed to read it." Shane handed the folder to Jill who looked around until she could see a free desk. Jill walked over to the desk and sat on a beaten up old swivel chair. Shane followed and grabbed a nearby swivel chair and sat down beside her. Jill spent a few moments scanning the document and then sighed, "Fuck!" Shane nodded, "Why us? As you can see the file confirms what we know of her. We could be out of our league here." Jill read out parts of the file, "IQ is 160 plus. She's fluent in five languages, a Medical doctorate, and degrees in Bio-chemistry, and genetics. She's a smart bitch isn't she?" "That's not all. Read on," Shane said. "Umm. She ran the TG-Gen lab back in the US. She's prone to sociopathic behaviour with aspects of schizophrenia or MPD. Wow, the guy who did this has classed her as 'Lethal'," Jill exclaimed. "Never heard of that one," Shane admitted. "I read about it. Part of Interpol's new classification's I think. Put it like this, your average serial killer or terrorist carries around an 'Extremely Dangerous do not approach, classification.." "I know that," Shane retorted. "Well 'Lethal' is a few notches above that. It means that everyone who comes into contact with the felon is either dead or maimed afterwards. In other words contact with Dr Bexley seriously damages your health. She's probably the most dangerous woman on the planet!" Shane thought for a few moments, "So now what do we do? Matthew claims she's all better now thank you very much and she's needed to stop a new war in the Middle East." "Dunno. All I know is that Dr Bexley is responsible for the deaths of eighteen people in the US, countless kidnapping's, and continued genetic research in outlawed areas. I think we should get her on a plane as soon as we can. She's the yanks problem after that," like Shane Jill just wanted out. This was bigger than both of them. "You believe her? Matthew that is," Shane asked. "Yeah, I do. We've sent units to the place where Matthew said they were held. We should hear from them in an hour or so. I think we'll keep him in until they check his story out. He's then free to go, and if they find this Guild Matthew has gone on about, then we'll know the Dr Bexley bit's true as well." - o - o - o - "So Dr Bexley was behind the attack on Tel-Aviv," Detective Sandra Wilson confirmed. "No not behind it. The Guild used her technology to do it. She was in league with them. She helped them in return for them helping her turn back from a mermaid." "Do you know Dr Bexley's whereabouts?" "Sorry, no. Look, I've told you all I know, I want to get back to the hospital to see how Rachel Martin is," Tina complained. This had been going on and on for around 2 hours and Tina was getting frustrated. "I'll find out for you. Let me just get this one thing straight, this man, Salah, he helped you to escape?" Tina nodded, "Yeah. He broke us out, we owe our lives to him." Sandra took a deep sigh. She'd wanted to implicate Salah in the kidnapping but both Tina's story and Salah's matched, "It's ok, he's in the clear. They'll probably give him a medal or something. Shame about Rachel Martin's eye though." "Yeah it was," Images of Cathline's bloodied, eyeless socket came flooding back to Tina. 'Shame' was too mild a word for what Cathline had gone thru at the hands of Osman. "Look, I have a few things to clear up. As far as I'm concerned it's over. The feds and our SWAT teams are on their way to this Guild stronghold you talked about so no doubt we'll be able to confirm things then. You should be able to go in an hour or so." "But just don't leave town for a while," Tina finished off. Sandra nodded, "Got it." - o - o - o - Jill was at her desk, filling in her report. She'd left Matthew to stew for a bit as she wanted to put a little pressure on him. Jill had adopted the habit of doing paperwork as she went along rather than leaving it until the end as Shane did. Her concentration was broken by her phone ringing "Inspector Jill Spencer," she answered. "Hi. This is Dr Gates at Adelaide General. You NEED to get up here as soon as you can." "Is it about the woman claiming to be Dr Bexley?" Jill asked. "Yeah. She's not dead if that's what you were going to ask. Put it like this you NEED to get up here and bring the other woman along with you." "Ok we'll come. See you in a bit," Jill sighed and put the phone down. She had a hunch what the doctor had found. However she didn't really want him to have found it, as it made things much more complicated than they already were. Jill sighed, and put her pen down, and went into the cell to break the news to Matthew and Shane. Adelaide General Hospital was just like any other modern medical facility. All gleaming white on the outside, and plastic and sterile on the inside. After checking at large, pine reception desk Jill, Shane and Matthew waited for Dr Gates to show up. They didn't have to wait very long as some 20 minutes later a tall gangly man in a white coat walked over to them and extended his hand, "Hello My name is Dr Gates. You must be Inspectors Spencer and Jackson." Matthew interrupted, "How is she doctor?" The doctor shrugged "Matthew Stephens I presume. I was hoping you'd tell me. But I've an even better idea, I'll show you, please follow me." They followed doctor Gates thru a winding series of almost identical corridors. After taking an elevator up a couple of floors they were shown into a large room. In the middle of the room was a bed surrounded by electronic equipment that continued to emit a beep every so often. Laying on the bed, attached to multiple drips lay Elizabeth. Her eyes were still closed, and as far as Matthew could see there was no change in her condition. Matthew walked over to Elizabeth, hoping to see some sign of life but he was disappointed. Dr Gates went over to a nearby desk and pulled some X-Rays from a brown envelope. He attached them to the viewing light on the wall before calling Jill, Shane and Matthew over. "What are we looking at doc?" Jill asked, pointing to the outline of a skeleton and various white fuzzy blobs that were being shown on the viewer. "These are various X-rays, ultrasound and CAT Scans taken of the woman brought in us today. They show that her anatomy is very different to that of a normal human being. She seems to have a secondary heart where her womb should be, and this seems to be able to take over the instant the main one fails. A lot of her internal organs have similar failsafes build in. In her abdominal cavity, and sharing space with her second heart are a smaller liver, kidney, and even a lung. Now, it looks as these new organs can't support the body for extended periods of time, but they do look capable of stepping in while the main organ is repaired." "She has two hearts?" Shane exclaimed. The doctor nodded, "Yeah that's not all. She also has a large organ where the appendix should be. At first we thought it was an inflamed appendix, but scans show it's internal structure is very different." Jill was intrigued. This must be the changeling organ Matthew claimed Elizabeth had grown inside herself, "Different? How so?" "It seems to be similar to the pancreas both in form and function. As far as we can tell it's sole job is to produce enzymes and proteins. In other words it's the biological equivalent of a chemical factory. It also seems to be directly attached to the spinal cord, which could indicate links to the brain or central nervous system. I've no idea what it does and it's too complex to study unless we remove it. It's so embedded in her that if we remove it she'll die, it's part of her." Matthew glanced over to where Elizabeth was lying, "How is she doc?" "She's alive and seemingly in a state of hibernation. Her body has shut down everything except her smaller heart, a lung and her brain. It's as though she on emergency power and even that looks as though it's starting to fail. She's on glucose and saline drips to help her recover, but given the unusual state of her anatomy I've no idea if that'll do any good. But it's normal treatment for extreme exhaustion. She needs to recover slowly and by herself. She'll live if she wants to live is what it comes down to. I must say that if I was trying to give my body the best chance of survival I'd do exactly what's happened here. Keep oxygen flowing to the brain and heart. The rest of the organs can take care of themselves for a while. The life support equipment is helping to take the strain away from her. I'd love to know how she got like this and what in hell that organ is." Matthew looked at Dr Gates and replied, "I think I may be able to help there." - o - o - o - The squad car drew up to the hospital where Cathline was being treated, and Tina and Kat emerged, followed by Detective Wilson. They were shown to a side ward where a slim nurse met them at the door. "How is she?" Tina asked. "She's up and well. The knife wound wasn't that serious and it penetrated the shoulder muscle. It's just as well we got to her just in time otherwise it could've been much worse. She's a little weak but there's no reason why she should be out of here in a day or so," the nurse replied. "Any chance of it being sooner?" Kat asked. The nurse shook her head, "I'm sorry sir. Shock can have a delayed action so we'll need to keep her in overnight anyway. Between you and me she's been a right royal pain in the butt. She's keen to get out and get on with her 'critical mission' as she calls it. We only shut her up after we threatened to sedate her." Kat smiled, "Sounds like her. Can we go and see her now?" The nurse moved aside and gestured for them to go inside. Kat peered inside and saw Cathline propped up in bed, one arm in a sling and reading Newsweek with her one good hand. Cathline heard a slight sound and turned to face them. When she saw Tina she gave a little smile which then turned into joy as Kat walked into the room. Kat gave Cathline a look that said 'keep my real identity quiet', and Cathline understood by saying, "Hi Tina, Hi Salah. They let you out then?" Kat nodded, "Yeah they're cool. You can't keep a good man down. The nurse tells me you have to be in here for a while and that you're being a pain." Cathline still couldn't really believe that it was her friend, alive, well and standing before her. She wanted to stand up and hug her, tell her how much she's missed her, tell her that Matthew still loved her, and tell her all the events that she had missed. For some reason Kat was still being cagey, probably something to do with that cop standing behind her. All Cathline could reply was, "What else would you expect from Anne Bonny?" Kat smiled, Cathline was using her old password from the Fury days. Tina was feeling a little left out, but she let it pass, this was Cathline's and Kat's moment. She turned to Detective Wilson and said, "Hey these two got pretty close while we were in there. How about some privacy, We can wait outside." An incurable romantic at heart Detective Wilson agreed, with the proviso that they stand guard outside the door. Cathline spotted this conversation and called out, "Hey, what are you two whispering about?" "Just thought you two could do with some privacy. We'll be right outside." Tina said and turned to leave. "Tina, Thanks," Cathline said softly. After Tina and Detective Wilson had left Kat made sure that they weren't being observed before rushing over to Cathline and giving her a large hug. Tears formed in Kat's eyes and she moved to brush them away. Cathline too was overcome with emotion and said softly, "I missed you. You should have seen Matthew, it was so sad." "I know what he went thru, I saw it all. But that's later, come here," Kat said and went to hug Cathline a second time. To Kat's amazement Cathline pulled away saying, "Kat.. I can't. I don't dare. Sorry. Maybe later." Kat ignored the rebuff and sat down on a nearby chair, "Cathline I've so much to tell you, so much to explain, and yet the most critical part is yet to come. We need to get to my place in New York ASAP. Elizabeth will be bringing the proof we need and more importantly Matthew's with her." A flicker of anger grew over Cathline's face, "Elizabeth as in Dr Elizabeth 'I'll ruin you life forever' Bexley? The same Elizabeth who got me, Tina, Marcel, and Scott kidnapped, the same Dr 'hell bitch' Bexley whose DNA technology just killed half a million people?" Kat nodded softly, "That Elizabeth." "I missed you, but if you're now in league with HER then I'll have to ask you to leave," Cathline said, her voice full of veiled menace. Kat took a deep breath. She understood exactly what Cathline felt but for the moment Cathline would have to trust her, "Look, I'll go into this when everyone's back. You need to hear both sides of the story to fully understand. Cathline, We, I need you. Elizabeth has just effectively killed the Guild now we need to stop Israel making the biggest mistake in its history. Cathline I need you." "If it was anybody else but you asking I'd scream right now. I'll go with you to New York and hear you out. That's as far as I can go. I don't know what's gotten into you I really don't I'll assume it's all that testosterone whizzing around inside you." "Cathline, thanks. Be ready at 8am tomorrow, we leave then." Cathline's face grew angry once more, "Hey I'm not one of your Guild buddies, who you can order around. I'll go when I'm ready to go." "I've no idea what you are holding against me Cathline, but deal with it. I suspect it's to do with Elizabeth and myself. If that's the case remember the saying, 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer'. Cathline, I still care for you and you are still like a sister to me. Now please get some rest, I'll see you in the morning." Out of force of habit Kat gave a single fingered salute and left the room. Cathline was troubled. Kat had changed a great deal in the last year. Sure Kat was still compassionate underneath, but there was an element of ruthlessness about her. Kat hadn't said anything about the Guild members she'd sent to their deaths in that bitter and bloody battle. What hold did Elizabeth have over Kat to make her so agreeable to working with her? Cathline had no easy answers -- only that she wasn't sure she liked, and more worryingly wasn't sure she trusted the new Kat either. What was it Kat had said, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. That Cathline decided was the best approach to take. - o - o - o - "Can I stay with her?" Matthew asked Doctor Gates. "Fine with me, if that's fine by them," he said nodding towards Jill and Shane. "We still haven't fully corroborated your story. But what we've seen here is good enough. Just don't go anywhere," Shane ordered. "Don't worry. I'll be here," Matthew replied. The changeling organ and Elizabeth's anatomy fascinated Dr Gates. So he asked "Mind if I stay and ask you some more questions?" Matthew replied "Sure," he was just as curious to find out Elizabeth's inner workings as Dr Gates was. "We'll set up two officers outside, just to be safe. They're there to make sure she doesn't get out," Jill said, gesturing to Elizabeth's still form. "Whatever you say officer, but she's not going anywhere for a while," Dr Gates responded. "Ok. Look we've gotta go. We'll catch up with you in a few hours," Shane said and walked out, followed soon afterwards by Jill. When they'd left Matthew pulled over a nearby stool and sat down beside Elizabeth. He took her cold, almost lifeless hand in his and sat there willing her to pull thru. Without her, he would never see Kat again and hope against hope never be turned back into himself again. Dr Gates walked over to Matthew and queried, "I thought you two were mortal enemies?" Matthew shook his head, "We were. Then we realised that we'd both done stupid things. She's making up for what's she done. I just hope she lives to be able to do it." Dr Gates walked over to the X-Ray's again, "She really is remarkable. I didn't want to tell the cops this as I'm not sure about it myself, but if you ask me she's regenerating herself." Matthew looked puzzled, "How?" Dr Gates settled into his lecture mode, he reserved for pre-med students. "From what you tell me this changeling organ produces the DNA altering drug based on what the brain tells it. It can replicate anything biological anywhere. You also said each change uses up a lot of energy, I think that's an understatement. Unless her body is much more efficient than ours is, which it could well be, each full body change burns the equivalent amount of calories as a fifteen mile run. I think she's run out of energy, and she's in this comatose state until she gets enough to wake up again. Like a battery on charge if you like." "So she put herself into this coma?" "I believe so. She's got all these extra failsafe organs to take over if the main ones fail, she's keeping exactly the right things going to keep her alive and she's a brilliant doctor. You mentioned something about healing bullet wounds?" Matthew raised his eyebrows, "Yeah it was amazing, she took a bullet to the chest and it didn't even slow her down." Still in his lecture tone of voice Dr Gates replied, "I'm not surprised. Her backup organs would kick in long enough for the main ones to regenerate. Only a major head trauma, massive internal injury or her own choice could kill her." Matthew was staggered, "So Elizabeth is very hard to kill. What could kill her?" Dr Gates nodded, "I dunno, a large calibre cannon shell to the head, decapitation, or anything that would cause instant death in microseconds. I'd love to write a paper on her but others wouldn't believe me. I'm only speculating here but as long as she could think 'repair' and send the signal down to the changeling organ she'd be ok. The rest of her body would take over and she'd be back to normal. Her body wouldn't wear out, grow old or maybe even die of natural causes unless she willed it." Matthew thought for a few moments, "That's what's worried me -- in the past, when under great stress Elizabeth has shown suicidal tendencies. For example, when I jilted her, and when her parents died she tried to take her own life. She's since said she was better but I'm not so sure. When we were being shot at she initially showed no sign of wanting to take cover. She just stood there waiting to be hit, as if wanting to die." Dr Gates voiced his thoughts out loud, "Hmm, if that's the case then she may want to die after all. If that was the case she could simply tell the changeling organ not to repair the injuries and just to let her die naturally. I suspect inside her right now part of her wants to die, and be at peace and the other wants to live and complete whatever tasks she had in mind. You know her best, which way do you think she'll choose?" Matthew shrugged his shoulders "If it were seven years ago I'd say she'd want to live. But now after she's suffered so much and caused so much suffering to so many I'm not sure. Maybe the world would be a better place with no Dr Elizabeth Bexley." "Every time in history needs its boogy man," Dr Gates replied. "I guess. Would you mind if I had some time to myself?" Matthew asked. "No not at all. I've some more tissue samples to run anyway. See ya" Dr Gates said, and promptly left the room. Matthew looked at Elizabeth's lifeless body. Inside her, a battle was going on, no less fierce than the one she'd just faced, and just as important. Matthew couldn't help but feel compassion for his once mortal enemy, she'd suffered so much because of him and he so much because of her. He squeezed her hand softly and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Maybe it really was time to forgive and forget. - o - o - o - Kat lay awake in her hotel room. Tina had left her, at her request and so she was alone once more. Cathline's attitude puzzled her, why was she so hostile towards her? Sure she didn't expect a hero's welcome, but she was reacting as if she'd just seen her worst enemy. Still, Kat speculated, shock can do strange things to a person. She allowed her thoughts to wander back to the task in hand. She was worried, Elizabeth should have called by now, and any delay could be disastrous. Already swords were being unsheathed all across the Middle East, and surely a catastrophic war must only be days away. Kat's one source of hope was that, so far Elizabeth had come thru every time, only where the hell was she? and where was Matthew? Still, Kat had left the Guild on the verge of collapse. She'd ordered the Guild to destroy all the evidence of any battle and move to secret strongholds on the pretence that the forces of law and order would soon be upon them. Of course if all went well about a hundred million people would know about these secret strongholds. She'd told her second in command, Kismet that she would be going off to oversee the rebuilding of the Guild. Kismet was a very capable man but not imaginative in the slightest. Under his leadership the Guild would surely fail. The Guild no longer worried Kat -- Cathline and Elizabeth did however. Much depended on Elizabeth, where the hell was she? - o - o - o - Back at the police station Jill was reading the reports from the units they'd sent to investigate Matthew's claims. Whoever had been there had done a good job at covering up whatever had been there. When the units had arrived they found a mansion with what could be a secret facility underneath. The only thing was, that the entrance to this secret facility was embedded under several feet of freshly poured concrete. If whoever had been there had thought to do this then, the actual complex would be destroyed by now, and very little would be left to corroborate anything. They had found a small speck of blood on the floor of the entrance hall. This was being analysed at the moment but it could be from anyone or anything. What Jill couldn't believe was the speed in which this whole operation had been covered up. Whoever had been based there was good, very good, and all traces and leads to them would surely be gone. Having Dr Bexley in custody was certainly a good thing and both her and Shane were bound to get commendations for finally snaring the elusive and lethal American doctor. Still deep in thought she failed to hear Shane walking up to her desk. Shane rat-tatted a knock on her desk and Jill looked up, "What's up," she asked. "Only the biggest bust in history," he said casually. Jill's curiosity was aroused, "How so?" "You remember this Guild that Matthew Stephens was going on about?" "Yeah, seemed a little far fetched if you ask me," Jill said sceptically. Jill could hear the enthusiasm in Shane voice, "They're real. Someone just dumped what looks like their entire operation onto the Internet. Names, bases, financial stuff, a list of crimes the whole lot. The Guild had thousands of agents across the globe and their scope of operations is mind boggling." "What of our Dr Bexley, is she mentioned at all?" Jill said getting back to matters in hand. "No idea. There's tons of it to go thru, all I can say is that I wouldn't want to be a Guild member in a few months time. This is equivalent of exposing the entire Mafia." Jill gave a low whistle of amazement, It wasn't everyday an international crime syndicate was blown wide open. - o - o - o - Matthew was shattered. The silence of the room was disturbing but the only sound was the beep, beep of the life support equipment. It was, he decided a good sound. It proved that Elizabeth was still alive and that there was hope for her recovery. In spite of his shyness he felt as though he had to let out his feelings towards her. It was, he reasoned the best time to do it, when she was lying helpless and unable to strike back. "Elizabeth," he started and then paused, feeling a little self-conscious about taking to himself. Of course there was no reply from the comatose woman on the bed, so Matthew continued, "So much has happened since we spent any real time alone. I think the last time we did was the day before we were due to get married. I find myself needing to tell you what I think and how I feel. Whenever we've met it's always been you and how you feel, you never gave me the chance to explain. True, I never gave you the time right after I left you, but I was so confused." Matthew paused, thinking what to say next, "When you saved my life so long ago I reached out and grasped onto the hand that had saved me. You were everything I wasn't -- rich, beautiful and brilliant. I felt as though I was the luckiest man alive. I had a fianc?e who had everything and who treated me like a king. But I was never in love with you, it was the idea of being in love with someone like you I was attracted to. You knew my background, a simple country boy who left his hometown to find a better life in the city. I never had a rich dad, a place of honor at Harvard or a cushy job earning mega-bucks. It wasn't your fault I didn't love you Elizabeth, it never was; it was mine." Matthew felt a tear form in his blue-gray eye and wiped it away with his slender feminine hand. Then he gathered his thoughts, and he continued, "You will make somebody a wonderful wife, I know it. I felt trapped Liz, I really did. Your dad would've offered me a job, you'd have had millions and we'd never have to struggle again. That isn't me and I think you realise that. I wanted my marriage to be a struggle. So that when we came out winning I'd really have felt as though we'd grown and worked it out together. Being married to you would be like a permanent holiday, no need to work, no need to save, and no need to grow in our relationship." Matthew looked down at his breasts and traced his finger around his nipple, "You could say I've had a struggle already, and life without Kat is the toughest struggle I've ever had to face. I could cope with having tits and being a woman as long as she was there. This last year has been hell and I'm just glad Cathline was there for me. Sorry I digress, where was I? Oh yes, Please understand I could've been happy with you, I really could but how would we grow together, how would we have that spark that's needed to keep a relationship alive. The answer is we wouldn't. I had to leave you, I had no choice. What would've happened when children came along huh?" Elizabeth of course didn't reply back. Matthew was in full flow now. The weight of seven years of pain was starting to lift, "I don't need to answer that do I. Our marriage would've been a sham, an act for the world to see. I don't want that and I thought too much of you to put you thru that kinda pain. As I saw you walk down the aisle towards me, I saw my whole life stretch before me. It was like a highway that had already been built and mapped out and I already knew every pot hole, yellow line and junction. The only way to avoid this was not to get on in the first place." Matthew wiped another tear away, somehow the chance of losing Elizabeth had focused his thoughts, "My love, my life, Kat was torn away from me and I know the pain that causes me. I now understand what pain I must have caused you. I can't say anything else but 'sorry'. I was naive and selfish and I am truly sorry." Matthew gave Elizabeth's hand another squeeze and continued pouring his heart out, "I only realised at the last possible moment, what else could I do?" Matthew's auburn hair brushed over his face and he flicked it back into place, "I've hated every second of being a woman. Sure some of the sex Kat and I had was fun, but everytime I look down I see my failure and your fury. People have said to me 'get over it, get a life' but after a while the physical aspect wasn't the problem. You did this to me. You did this to me to ruin my only chance of happiness and you tried to destroy everything I held dear. That's what I think of when I see myself naked in the mirror, that's the first thing that runs thru my mind when I feel the sway of my hips or the bounce of my breasts. The fact that you tried to destroy me utterly and that I failed to stop you being hurt. I tried to do the right thing Elizabeth I really did. I hope you make it because I'm not sure if I can spend the rest of my life paying for one mistake." "You say you saved Kat, and I've no idea if that's true or not. I hope you did because I need her more than ever, and you're the only person who can help us. I think I believe that you want to help, and I'm glad you didn't take advantage of me when we were pretending to be married. I think if you had taken advantage of my 'conditioning', I'd know that I couldn't trust you. I remember you sleeping on the floor, while I had the bed and that means a lot to me. My fidelity to Kat was one of the most precious things I had. I know she fucked Cathline before I got her back but her motives were right, she wanted to see if she could live as my lesbian 'wife'. If she'd have found out she hated it with me I'd have been devastated." Matthew fell silent, just listening to the beep of the life support machine. After gathering his thoughts once more he continued, "I'm glad that you see that Kat and I were right together. It may seem like all roses and flowers but she could be a right royal pain in the butt when she wanted to be. BUT I loved that, the fact each day was different. Now all I see is the empty road of loneliness stretching before me." Matthew paused and gathered his random thoughts into some kind of order, "What you did to me, to Kat, to Cathline and all the others was pure evil, and I've no other words to describe it. You say you've changed and that you're sorry and I did believe you. But thinking about it like this I'm not so sure. When you ripped thru the Guild's elite forces, tearing bodies limb from limb, I could see signs of your evil returning. However, it was the cool, casual way you disposed of Hassan that really struck fear into my heart. You killed him without a thought or concern, as if he was some bug for you to swat rather than a living human being." Matthew continued, "You seem to have forgotten about your revenge on us and transferred it to something else. You say that you've changed and that human life is precious to you. Before your assault on the Guild I believed that, but now it seems as if you're two people again. One is the loving, caring Elizabeth who saved me from an icy grave and who's trying to save the lives of millions, and the other is the murderous monster of the last few years. You are yin and yang, good and evil in the same person. Your Rachel Martin body will be etched into my mind as the personification of all that is beautiful and kind about you, and that four armed killing creature you became will haunt my nightmares as your evil let loose on the world." Matthew sat silent for a moment, listening to the hum of the machinery and then down at Elizabeth's comatose body, "The right thing do to would be to disconnect this machine and let you die. The risk of your evil side destroying lives again would be too great." Matthew stood up and walked to the power socket and the wall. He bent down and took hold of the plug. Just one simple pull and it'd all be over. Just a quick flick of the wrist and the 'hell bitch' would be gone. Unable to keep himself quiet Matthew spoke out loud once more, "For once I'm going to do the wrong thing. We still need you. Millions of people in Egypt and the Middle East still need you. We need your evil, your darker side to stop a greater evil being unleashed on the world. You've spent the last two years trying to come to terms with what you've become, and in some ways your fury has transformed you as well as me. Who knew it would come to this? I'm sure you didn't when you first planned your revenge on me. All I wanted was to live a quiet life and be happy. Was that so much to ask? I guess you wanted the same things, maybe you still want them." Matthew fingered the plug once more and then turning his head back to Elizabeth he walked away. Part of him wanted to end it right here, to finish what he should have done in that airport so many years ago, and the other felt an enormous sense of relief as he effectively put aside his last chance of revenge, "It's over, Elizabeth. I've given up my chance to kill you, besides, who made me judge, jury and executioner?" Matthew sat down on the stool and took hold of Elizabeth's hand once more, "I guess the same battle is going on inside you right now, to die or to live. Your good side is telling you to live as lives depend on you, and your evil side is telling you to die because you deserve to. Or maybe it's the other way around, your evil side wants you to live because only then can you get the justice you feel you deserve, and your good side is telling you to die so that you can't cause anymore harm to anyone else. I'm not sure which way round it is but I do know it's a decision only you can make." Matthew looked at Elizabeth's unearthly beautiful face, hoping to see a sign of life but there was none. He then looked down at his hand holding hers and continued to speak out loud, "I've rambled on a bit I know, and much of it won't make much sense but it's how I feel and matters of the heart are seldom orderly. I do still care for you, you know. We share more than just bodies don't we? We had a great time together didn't we? Gurney races in the hospital, food fights, dancing in fountains, and the day I proposed to you was magical wasn't it? I've just thought of another reason for you to live. You need to see that not all love is unrequited. You need to be loved and to see that love is far, far stronger than hate. Having friends around you that care for you is the start of that. I'd have hoped you'd have seen that in Kat, and I after all you did to us but it wasn't you who learned that lesson, it was us. So Dr Elizabeth Anne Bexley you'd better get used to having me around cus I'm here for the duration." Matthew looked up at Elizabeth's face and nearly fell of the chair in shock. Two bright blue eyes looked back at him and a weak, faint voice just said, "Thank you." - o - o - o - "Wake up sleepy head, time to go," Kat gently shook Cathline awake. "Waaa, Go away, I was having a wonderful dream," Cathline complained. Kat smiled, "You never were good at mornings were you? Look, you get your stuff and I'll get a doctor so you can discharge yourself." Cathline sat up, her eyes still bleary from her nights sleep, "What if I don't want to go with you?" Kat's face showed concern, "The doctor said you're ok." Cathline averted her eyes from Kat's face, "What if I don't want to go? What if I want to rest here before getting back to being Rachel Martin?" Kat sat down on a nearby chair and turned towards Cathline, "That's your choice but I'd have thought you'd have wanted to see this right thru to the end. After all the pain we've gone thru these past few years I'd have thought you at least would want to know how it all ends." Cathline interrupted, "I'll read the book or watch the movie or something." Kat smiled again, "There won't be a book if you're not around to write it. I hate to remind you but there IS no more Rachel Martin. Not in the modelling sense anyway. How many agencies will be interested in you now that you've lost an eye? It doesn't matter to me, it doesn't matter to your friends but it will matter to those money grabbing bastards who think that looks are everything." Cathline couldn't believe her ears. This wasn't like Kat at all, she was always sensitive and caring. She'd never have mentioned her missing eye like that, "Where's the real Kat? What's your real name and why are you pretending to be her?" Kat knew she'd hit a nerve. Which was precisely what she'd intended to do. She had to find out why Cathline was acting so frosty towards her. Now she at least had a clue, "I have always been me. You don't spend a year pretending to be a Guild member, or working with the 'hell bitch' without picking up a few traits from them. The old Kat died when she went into Hassan's palace over a year ago. How I am now is what I've become after a year's worth of plotting, manipulating, and now killing people. I hope someday the old, the real Kat will come back but until she does then I have to unlearn what I've become and go back to what I was. I just hope my friends learn to accept what I've become and I hope that Matthew still loves me when I get back to him." Cathline stared at the man sitting in front of her and said, "That's the most 'Kat' thing you've said since you've got here." Kat grinned, "So you'll come?" "I'll come," Cathline said softly. Kat smiled, "Excellent. Tina's downstairs in the car waiting for us. I'll see you in reception once you've discharged yourself." "Kat?" "Yeah?" Cathline was about to broach another subject but decided against it. It'd have to wait until she saw Elizabeth again, "Nothing. I'll see