Meredith King was working a little later than usual. She felt a little guilty, knowing that Chloe would be home before her, even after working her shift at the clothing store. Still, she was rarely late and her daughter never seemed to mind.

She was still holding her cell phone, having just texted Chloe to tell her she would be late. She was smiling a little at how lucky she felt to have such a daughter, when the phone rang.

The caller was unknown. She almost didn't answer, but she sometimes dealt with people who her phone wouldn't know. "Hello?"

"Meredith King?" The voice was male and a little gruff..

"Yes," she replied, a little hesitantly.

"The mother of Chloe King?"

"Yes, who is this?" She was annoyed, but getting worried, though she tried not to let that show that in her voice.

"There's been an…" the voice hesitated before continuing, "an incident."

She hesitated, waiting for more, but finally asked "What do you mean? Where's Chloe?"

She no longer cared what she sounded like, she didn't care that her voice reflected that she was upset. She didn't bother to question the man when he didn't really answer her question. She just wrote the address he gave her and immediately headed in that direction


Chloe was feeling guilty – again. Almost everything she did and said to her mother was a lie. She thought about telling her mom the truth almost every day lately. She had always managed to spin her way out of the lies, to keep her mom in the dark, but it didn't help with the guilt.

"Don't lie. I need to be able to trust you."

Sometimes her mother's words haunted her. Could it really be as bad as Alek had said if she told her mother the truth? He wouldn't talk about what had happened when his adoptive parents found out about him. She could only imagine, and she did imagine. She imagined the worst.

"You might as well go. It's slow, I can take the last little bit and close up by myself." Lana's voice startled her.

The Uniter hesitated. She wasn't really thinking about the offer, she was more than willing to leave her job a little early. She was trying to orient herself – she had been completely lost in thought.

She quickly looked around the store and found that Lana was right, though it was not just slow – the store was empty.

Chloe forced a smile and managed to say "Thanks. See you tomorrow" as she gathered her things. She didn't look back as she headed out of the store, onto the street. She did notice that it felt a little weird to be leaving work alone – Amy or Paul was almost always with her. Even Alek walked with her from work sometimes, though she knew he was often around even if he wasn't right next to her. He might even be near now, though she couldn't see him. She couldn't see Alek or anything very remarkable at all.

She found her mind returning to guilt as she walked, though she tried to push that thought out of her mind by thinking about what she could do with the few extra minutes she had been given because she was off of work early.

"Chloe." The word was spoken softly, but it still startled her. She quickly found the speaker – a guy who was probably a little older than her. She immediately raised her guard. Strangers that knew her name never seemed to be up to any good.

She didn't speak, but gave him a questioning look.

"I'm Vicente. I'm sorry, I'd hope to meet the Uniter under different circumstances, but your mother…"

He let the words trail off. This couldn't be good, someone who called her 'the Uniter' and mentioned her mother in the same sentence.

"What about her?" She didn't try to control her voice – she let the tension she felt show.

Vicente broke eye contact briefly. She hoped she was making him nervous as he replied "she needs your help." He nodded towards a car and started walking towards it.

"You're Mai, right?" Chloe asked as she followed him.

Vicente nodded.

"Then you know that there's always someone with me and you know what I can do to you if anything happens to my mother."

She was intentionally harsh as she spoke the words, but he was not fazed. He simply nodded again and started to drive as soon as Chloe entered the car.

She eyed him warily as he drove. She knew she probably should be paying more attention to where they were going, she even knew it was stupid of her to be in there with him at all.

She also knew that someone was always with her, so she wouldn't be alone. Whoever Vicente was, whatever he was doing, just the fact that he mentioned her mother bothered her. She thought it would be a good idea to stay with him, see what he was up to.

Maybe she imagined it, but he did look a little nervous as he drove. He didn't speak at all. After a few minutes of watching him she decided that, Mai or not, she could take him in a fight if she had to.


Alek was distraught. He wasn't sure how he had been subdued, but it had happened. When he woke up, when he frantically looked in the store, Chloe was gone. He was desperate for a few minutes and he searched and listened, finally relieved as he heard her voice. He ran to her as quickly as he could.

His heart sank as he saw her getting into a car with another guy. He called her name, but if she heard, she ignored him.

He instinctively reached for his phone, but found nothing. It was gone. He barely considered looking for it – he could live without the phone. He couldn't live without Chloe. He had to figure out a way to follow them.


"Where's my mom. Where are you taking me?"

Vicente had been driving for more than half an hour, and though they were still somewhere in the city, it looked like he was leaving town rather than going someplace in it.

She could see he was getting nervous – she really felt some satisfaction because of it. Satisfaction and increasing anger. He still had barely spoken.

She didn't feel any fear. She knew she could take him if she needed to.

"Let me find a place to park." He finally said, glancing at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road. "We need to talk."

"We?" Chloe asked, flashing her claws briefly. "You need to talk, to tell me what you're doing and where my mom is."

"There" Vicente pointed towards a mall parking lot just before pulling into it. He drove to an isolated corner with few cars parked nearby.

Chloe glanced around only briefly before saying "My mom's not here. Where is she?"

Vicente shook his head. "This isn't about her, Chloe. This is about you."

Chloe glared. "What about me?"

Vicente looked at her, still a little nervous. "I didn't really believe what Lilah said about you, but maybe…"

"Lilah?" Chloe interrupted. She hesitated before she made the connection. "The one who came here from the Sao Paulo pride? The one who came here with Nikki and tried to force me go to Brazil?"

Vicente nodded. "The one who watched you kill Nikki. Lilah said she told you would pay for killing Nikki."

Chloe did not appreciate the memory. "Exactly who are you and why are you here?"

"Like I said, I'm Vicente – from the Sao Paulo pride. And I didn't come alone."