Stringfellow followed Dom out of the grocery store, carrying a large box of groceries. Dom usually shopped alone and would bring supplies out to the cabin, but today they'd stopped after returning from a brief mission in South America for Archangel. They'd been doing multiple missions back to back and the cabin's supplies were incredibly low.

Dom opened the back of the Jeep and dropped his box in, turning to take String's box from him. He looked to the side, following String's gaze to a young couple that appeared to be arguing on the street corner. A limousine was parked nearby, the door open. It appeared the man was trying to force the young woman into the car, and she was refusing to go.

"String, don't…," Dom said, as he took the box. But it was already too late, String was walking toward the couple.

Dom just shook his head, dropped the box in the Jeep, closed the door and headed after his friend.

"Get in the car, Kat, don't make a scene," the man said, gripping her arm.

"You're hurting me."

"I'm gonna do a lot more than bruise your arm if you don't get in the car, right now," the man hissed.

"Please, I just want to go home. I promise, I won't cause you any trouble. I won't say anything I swear. Just let me go home," the young woman pleaded, her voice cracking as she started to cry.

"Miss, is he bothering you?" String asked, as he approached the couple.

"Stay out of this, pal," the man said, looking only briefly at Stringfellow. "Get in," he shoved the girl toward the limo. She stumbled in her high heels and the man grabbed the back of her head, turning her so her head hit the top of the limo.

"Hey, let her go," Hawke said, moving closer to the couple.

"I told you to butt out," the man said, turning his full attention toward String.

The woman leaned against the door of the limo, her head bleeding where she'd hit it. She took in the scene in front of her. The man who had approached them was a couple inches shorter than the man she was with. "Please," she whispered, and String turned to look at her. "He'll hurt you, just go away."

"Shut up!" The man shouted at her and she flinched.

String looked at the young woman, but turned his attention back to the man. "Doesn't look to me like she wants to leave with you."

"That isn't her choice."

Dom came up behind Sting. The man's eyes briefly flicked from String to Dom and back to String. A small smirk played on his lips. The young woman moved away from the limo door. The man quickly reached out, grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground.

String moved forward, and the man stepped forward. "Are we gonna have a problem," he asked. Before anyone could blink, he threw a punch at Stringfellow, who quickly caught his wrist and twisted the man to put his hand up behind his back. String moved forward pinning the man between the limo and himself. Dom moved quickly to help the woman off the ground.

"Sometimes relationships just don't work out. Accept the loss and move on," String said.

The man jerked away and looked at the young woman and Dom. "You're gonna regret this," he said, his eyes locked with String's. He held his eyes for just one second and then moved his gaze to the young woman. "This is far from over, Kat. I'll be seeing you again, real soon," his voice was ominous and Kat couldn't help but shiver at his tone.

Dom tightened his arm around her.

The man got in the limo and in a few seconds the car pulled out into traffic.

"You shouldn't have done that," the young woman, named Kat said looking over at Stringfellow. "I mean, I appreciate it, but you really shouldn't have done it. Maxwell is a very bad man."

"How bad?" Dom asked.

Kat looked at him. "Very bad."

"What's a nice girl like you doing with a guy like that?" Dom asked.

Kat smiled. "I didn't know that was what he was like when we first met. I thought he was a legitimate business man," Kat's eyes clouded over and she bit her lip. "I was really wrong."

"We can take you to the police department where you can report his attack on you." String said, moving toward the Jeep.

Kat shook her head rigorously. "No, no I can't do that."

"Why not?" String asked.

Kat looked around. "Guys would come to the house, conduct business. One of the regulars, was a cop."

"Are you sure?" Dom asked.

Kat just nodded.

"Do you have any family you could go stay with? Somewhere out of state?" String asked.

Kat tried to smile, tears filling her eyes again. She shook her head and sniffed. "It's just me," Kat raised a hand to her forehead and wiped away a trickle of blood that was making its way toward her eye.

"Here," Dom handed her a hankerchief.

"Thank you." Kat pressed the cloth to her forehead and winced slightly at the pain caused by the pressure.

"C'mon," String said, putting his hand lightly on her elbow and turning her toward the Jeep.

"What?" Kat asked, stopping and moving slightly away from String.

"We know someone who can help you," String said.

"I told you, I can't go to the police."

"He isn't a police officer, but he is in law enforcement. But, I promise you, you can trust him."

Kat shook her head and moved away. It's not a good idea. Look, Maxwell's crazy. You already made him mad by getting involved. If he thinks," Kat continued backing away. "You need to stay away from me. Just forget what you saw."

Kat moved away from them and toward the sidewalk. She began to walk down the street toward a bus stop.

String looked at Dom and just shrugged. He went to move toward the Jeep, but stopped when he saw a police car turn onto the street and start slowly moving down the road.

"What? What is it?" Dom asked, noticing that String had stopped walking, his gaze moving from the police car to the young woman.

String started moving toward the woman on the street, his gaze on the police car. Dom noticed the police car started picking up speed, and String started to run toward Kat.

"Gun!" Dom called out as he saw a hand reach out from the passenger window of the police car, holding a gun.

People began to scream and scatter as shots rang out, the glass in the bus station enclosure shattering, scattering across the sidewalk.

String grabbed Kat, throwing her to the ground behind a parked car. He covered her head as another bullet struck the window of the car and glass rained down on them. "Stay down," String said in her ear as he felt her try to move beneath him.

The sound of tires squealing on the road, let them know the shooter was speeding away. String slowly raised his head and looked around, making sure the coast was clear.

"C'mon," he reached down and grabbed Kat's arm, pulling her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" Kat asked, as she hurried with String toward Dom.

"The man I mentioned earlier. You need the help."

"Our friend in white?" Dom said, knowing exactly who Sting was talking about.

Kat looked at the two men, confusion clouding her expression.

"You're gonna have to trust us," String said.

He quickly got her into the Jeep, and pulled out of the parking lot.

"What's your name?" Dom asked, as he scanned the area for any more trouble. "That guy called you Kat."

Kat looked back at Dom, and over at Stringfellow. Were these guys seriously going to try to have a normal conversation after someone just tried to kill them?

"I'm Dominic Santini, but most people call me Dom. Your knight in shining armor over there is Stringfellow Hawke."

"Really? That's really your name?" Kat said, the surprise of his name overshadowing her shock of what just happened.

String just looked over at her and said nothing.

Kat took a deep breath, looked around at the cars they were quickly passing and slid down in her seat slightly.

"My given name is Eternity Katzmerick. Hippy parents," she said with a shrug. "I've hated Eternity as long as, well for eternity," Kat said, trying to take the laid back attitude they were portraying. "So, I've gone by Kat most of my life."

Dom laughed and String looked over at her.

Kat looked over at String. "Stringfellow Hawke? Hippy parents too?"

String looked over at her, but didn't say anything. Dom however laughed loudly.

Kat looked back at him and smiled, but noticed that Hawke didn't laugh or smile at her comment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Especially after everything you've done for me."

"You're fine. What was the name of the man you were with?"

"Maxwell O'Connell."

String pulled the Jeep up to the Santini Air hanger.

"You own an airline company?"

Dom laughed again. "Hardly. We do aerial stunt shots for movies, commercials, that kind of thing."

"Cool." Kat said, looking around the hanger.

They stowed their groceries in the fridge in the hangar and moved over to the helicopter. String walked into the office while Dom showed Kat around the helicopter.

He joined them as Dom finished explaining how the tail rotor worked.

"He's waiting for us, let's go," String opened the door and motioned for Kat to get in.

Kat paused again. She looked over at Stringfellow. "You're taking a big risk. Maxwell is very powerful."

"We've dealt with powerful people before," Dom said.

"I don't want to be to blame for anyone else getting killed," Kat whispered.

"Anyone else?" Dom asked.

Kat's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I can't do this," she started backing toward the hanger door.

"You have a choice to make," String said. "Come with us and see if our friend can help stop this Maxwell O'Connell, or leave, and take your chances on your own."

String moved back over to helicopter and held the door open. Kat hesitated for just one more second and got into the helicopter.

It didn't take long to get to The F.I.R.M.

"What is this place?" Kat said, stepping out of the helicopter and looking around.

String ignored her question and just moved them toward the entrance of the building. They walked down several hallways and into a plush office.

"He's expecting us," String said to the woman sitting at the desk.

"I know," the woman dressed all in white stood and moved to open a door to an interior office.

String entered first followed by Kat and then Dom. Marella stepped into the room as well, closing the door behind her.

Archangel moved from behind his desk to stand in front of Kat.

"Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, meet Eternity Katzmerick," String said, moving over to lean against Michael's desk.

Michael reached out his hand. When Kat extended her hand, he turned it and moved it to his lips to kiss the back of her hand.

Dom rolled his eyes.

"String tells me you ran into some trouble," Michael said, releasing her hand.

Kat looked over at String.

"You can trust him."

When Kat still didn't speak, Archangel took the lead. "I understand you made the acquaintance of Maxwell O'Connell," Michael nodded to Marella, who pulled up a photo on the screen behind Michael's desk. A photo of Maxwell O'Connell appeared on the screen.

"Under investigation by the DEA, ATF, and FBI for running drugs, guns and a number of other despicable crimes. They haven't been able to pin anything on him."

Kat looked surprised by how much he already knew. She looked over at String and then back to Michael.

"Do you have any information that might be able to help them?" Michael asked.

Kat looked around the room, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.

"Did someone get killed, Kat?" Dom asked her.

Kat's eyes got wide and a look of fear crossed her face.

"We can protect you," Michael assured her.

"You don't know him. You can't protect me from him."

"We can," String said.

"He and the man I told you about, the police officer, were meeting a man they called Diego late one night a week ago. I was there because Max had taken me to see an opera. Max told me to stay in the car," Kat looked down. "They were gone a really long time. I got out of the car and walked a few feet until I could see them all standing down by the water. Max and the police officer were standing facing Diego, whose back was to the water. I couldn't hear everything they were saying, but Maxwell was yelling at him, you betrayed me."

"And then?" Michael asked, when Kat had been silent for a few minutes.

"Maxwell shot him. I saw the flash from the gun, and Diego's body fell in the water."

"Do you know anything more about this Diego?"

Kat shook her head.

"Kat, we appreciate this information. Would you mind waiting outside with Mr. Santini for a moment please," Michael asked, even as he moved her toward the door.

"What d'ya think?" String asked, as Michael closed the door.

"She's right about Maxwell O'Connell, he's a very bad man. And very powerful.

"What did you find out about her?"

"Not much," Marella said, pulling up a picture of Eternity Katzmerick along with a very brief profile. "She's 26 years old, her parents are both dead, no siblings. She went to college and got a degree in liberal arts. She's had a series of administrative jobs, nothing that stands out. No criminal record, one speeding ticket 3 years ago."

"So how does Miss Average get connected with someone like Maxwell O'Connell?" String asked.

"From what we've been able to determine, they both attended a charity event to raise money for art programs in inner-city schools. He was a big donor, and she was just a part of the group that joined for the exhibit of some of the school projects, but not that popped for the $500 a plate dinner. She's a pretty girl though, I can see how she caught his attention," Michael summed up.

"Any red flags?"

"None," Michael said.

Stringfellow looked between Michael and Marella. "What aren't you telling me, Michael?"

"Nothing. You know everything I know," Michael insisted.

Hawke waited for a few minutes. "I'm gonna take her to the cabin. She'll be safe there. If you need her for anything, you can reach her there."

Michael looked over at Marella. "Sure."

String looked at them both one more time. He gave a slight shake of his head and walked out of the office.

Michael waited for the door to completely close.

"Keep looking," Michael said to Marella.

"At which one?"

"Both," Michael said looking at the screen. "I want to know everything there is to know about Maxwell O"Connell and Eternity Katzmerick."

"What am I looking for?"

"If I knew that, I'd just look for it myself," Michael gave her a small smile.