It was a cold, dark night. When Anna entered her flat, she did not expect him there.

"Hello, Annapeth."

Anna pulled out her gun as she turned to face the intruder. She lowered it with a frown when she recognized him. "Hello, Father. How long has it been?"

"Over a decade since you ran from me." he walked over to her and removed he gun from her hand as she stood still, fearful of him.

"What do you want from me? You already destroyed my life once, Sir." She said through clenched teeth as he stroked her temple with the barrel of her revolver.

He whispered in her ear "I want you to sleep, dear. And when you wake up, you will have no memories at all. I will put you with people who will try to help you unlock your memories. And when that happens I will kill one of them." he giggled as he relished the idea of killing his enemy.

A tear rolled down Anna's cheek, because if she did not do as he told her she would be tortured before being forced to do what he wanted anyhow. She nodded her head in submission.

"You will go to London for a holiday, and one night while you are in your hotel room an old friend of mine will visit you. He wants you to struggle so it will be more realistic. I left you a billfold in your room with all the information you need, and I cleared your schedule for the next three weeks at work." he continued to whisper in her ear as he stroked the barrel of the gun over her lips, smiling as she silently cried in fear. "I missed you, dear. Us Moriartys should stick together."

He backed away from her and placed the gun on her table, smirking at how still she was, fearful like a little rabbit.

"I am not a Moriarty, Sir. You adopted me." Anna turned towards her adopted father "Get out." she pointed at the door to her flat. She glared at him, her changeable blue-green eyes flashing angrily.

He bowed mockingly with a smile. "Of course, dear." he walked past her and shut the door behind him. She heard the lock click, and she grimaced as she thought 'Of course he'd have a key to the door.'

When he was gone, she considered running again, but decided against it. She walked to her bedroom and found the billfold along with two bags of clothes and necessities packed.


The next day she took the bus from Aberporth to London, a tedious eight-hour journey that would have been good if she had pleasant thoughts to occupy her.

When she arrived, she sighed in relief as she hailed a cab. The address provided to her was for a small, but expensive hotel. When she arrived, she was shown up to one of the suites on the third floor that had a balcony.

Once she'd unpacked her things, she slept, tired after the long train ride. When she woke up the next morning, she decided to skip her adopted father's itinerary, and walk about London on her own. When she returned that night, she was happy to find her room empty of anything that would have given her suspicion.

Over the next two weeks, she had a marvelous time sight-seeing in London, enjoying the city like anyone would if they had never been somewhere larger than Liverpool. Occasionally she'd see a man follow her, as if he was shadowing her for someone. But on the last day of the second week, he vanished.

The next day, she decided to rest in her room to recuperate after all she had done over the previous two weeks. After taking a long soak in the washroom, Anna was surprised to find a young, red-haired man seated on her bed, looking out the open doors leading to her balcony. He looked at her, and smiled. "Hello, Annapeth. Your father sent me."

"Who are you?" she asked, pulling the bathrobe tighter around her to hide some of her exposed skin.

"Kinley. Samuel D Kinley. Would you like for me to attack you or would you rather I just drug you and get it over with?" he smirked as he continued to look at her.

"Your accent... it's American, is it not?" Anna asked, hoping to delay the inevitable a little longer as she walked over to her wardrobe.

"The lady is smart." he continued to grin when he challenged her "Where in America?"

"Based on your accent I would place you on the western coast. Northern California perhaps?"

"Good job. Even your father's not that good."

"Adopted father." she corrected him as she dressed herself, pulling a pair of blue denim trousers on. "How did you meet the likes of him anyhow?"

"The same way many of us do. We get noticed for particular... talents we have he might find useful." he shrugged as he watched her pull a green t-shirt over her head.

"Ah. And what is your talent?" she asked, turning to him, one eyebrow raised in question.

"I, along with my team, cause memory loss in some people by hypnosis. We make it look like an accident, or a mugging when in truth it is a coverup for one of your father's operations."

"What will you do to me?" she asked as she tied her trainers, looking at him, gauging his expression.

"Would you rather I stage a mugging or something more traumatic?" he asked, studying her face carefully.

"Anything you want except forcing yourself on me. I'd rather not have no memory and the possibility of a child that will have no known father." she smiled gratefully in relief as he nodded.

She stood up, and walked over to him. He looked at her with a confused look. "Why are you so keen on loosing your memories?"

"When you have my adopted father, you want to forget everything he's done to you."

"Fair enough. I'll get your coat. We'll take a cab to my place before we start anything. Would you like to walk out with me laughing like old friends?"

Anna nodded "Sure. I don't want you in trouble with anyone."

When they took the cab to his flat, they were quiet, one full of guilt for being forced to destroy such an innocent person, the other hoping that whatever happened could be fixed when this was finished.