"It's a timing tragedy,

I think it's nine when the clock says ten

This girl won't wait for the out of time,

out of time man"

-"Out of Time Man", Mick Harvey (Breaking Bad Soundtrack)

Out of Time Man

Chapter One

Taisie felt a shiver run through her body, as she lay down on the cold hard leather of the seats, in the back of the car she'd broken into.

She'd picked at the lock easily enough. She'd taught herself how to do that a young age. It wasn't so complicated- much easier than algebra or learning which spoon was the dessert spoon.

Taisie blinked heavily, feeling her eyelashes graze her cheek, and stifled a yawn. She wished she could rip open the car roof, and watch the stars. She couldn't name any of them, and they held little meaning to her, but it would feel more reassuring than simply staring into darkness, while goose pimples grew on her skin.

"God dammit," she muttered absently to herself. She'd cut her finger, picking the lock. It was bleeding- nothing serious, just little spurts of red here and there. She pressed her finger to her lip, feeling slickness, and slipping the metallic taste into her mouth.

The one day that'd she'd lost her coat, and it was fucking freezing outside. She could see her own breath, greeting the air around her, like puffs of smoke.

It had been a long time since she'd slept in a warm bed, but she'd grown used to the back aches and chattering teeth that came with spending the night in a stalled car, under a covered bridge, or simply on the streets.

Occasionally, her face was buried in a mattress. But that was never a good sign.

But now, her eyes were drooping and, despite the cold, she felt the need to drift into the world of the unawake.

This car was just as much of a home, as anywhere else was.

Taisie would always wake, just before sunrise, and scurry out of the car she'd spent the night in. She never took care to hide any signs of breaking in, but she didn't have time to care. If someone parked their car overnight in this part of town, someone was bound to break into it.

But it seemed that today was a destined to be a very different day.

Taisie awoke, feeling the rumble of a motor underneath her. When her eyes shot open, she looked around in a panicked frenzy.

She knew, better than anyone, that waking up somewhere different than where you fell asleep, was never a good sign.

But, in this instance, Taisie was merely an inch away from her sleeping spot. She was on the carpeted floor of the car. She'd rolled off the leather seats while she was sleeping, and had landed, face first, in a pile of dusty old newspapers.

She dared not move, as she glanced upward, and saw that someone was occupying the driver's seat, and the car was moving.

She had no way of knowing how far away from the city she was now, and she felt a sense of dread building in her stomach.

Without moving, or barely breathing, she read the newspaper titles.

Albuquerque Daily News

Albuquerque Inquirer

Albuquerque Today

Fuck, she thought to herself, Albuquerque was hours away. If she got out of this car alive, she'd have to hitchhike back, and there was no certainty that would ensure her safety either.

She wished she could get a better look at the driver, without revealing her presence. She took a sharp breath. She would have to act quickly.

Taisie lowered her hand to her feet, and carefully pulled out her pistol.

"Don't fucking move," She commanded, as she pressed it to the driver's neck. She had it positioned right where she wanted it.

Through the rear view mirror, she could see now that her victim was a man, probably in his 60s, with white fuzz across his face and head, but no other visible hair to be spoken of. His nose was crooked, and his sneer stayed on his face, even after she'd pressed the gun harder, urging him to react.

"Kind of hard to drive without moving," the old man growled.

Taisie shook away her doubts, and forced herself to try again.

"Listen, you old fucker, I'm not joking. Don't try anything, or I'll shoot."

"Is this a bank robbery?"

Taisie furrowed her brow. What a sarcastic old man.

"I want you to pull over at the next exit. You'll get out, and leave me the keys. You won't report it as a robbery."

"I won't?"

"Would you shut up!?" Taisie tensed, "I'm doing the talking!"

"Listen, kid," the old man continued, barely flinching, as he watched the road ahead, "you don't know what you're doing. So put the piece down, and let me drop you off at a McDonald's or something."

"I'm not a kid," Taisie's voice faltered, "and I'm not someone you want to mess with. Now, do what I say, or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" The old man snapped, "Do you even know where you're pointing that thing."

Taisie felt the gun slide in her hand, as her palms became sweatier.

She didn't want to answer. She couldn't give him any leverage, and he already knew the truth. She'd stolen the gun from her last John. She'd studied it intently, and tried to remember what she knew about using them. But she was still an amateur.

"Do you know which vein to aim for? Where you'll get the most blood, or where you'll cause the most pain? Or are you just guessing? Did you pick the neck because it was closest, or because you thought it would kill me quicker?"

"What the fuck do you know about guns?" Taisie commanded, "you have no idea where I come from."

"You clearly have no idea where I come from either," the old man tapped his fingers against the driver's wheel, "I know a hell of a lot about guns. But you don't need to know about that. Just drop it."

Taisie's hands clenched harder and harder, until she lost her grip, and it fell to the ground.

Shocked, she looked up, to catch the man's eyes in his mirror. He looked unimpressed.

"Pass it," he commanded cooly.

For reasons unknown, Taisie obliged.

But the old man did not try to shoot her, or even hide the gun. Still with his eyes on the road, he weighed the gun in his hand, clicking his tongue against the roof of his tongue.

"How did you get your hands on it?"

"Doesn't matter," Taisie muttered. Now feeling vulnerable, she grabbed pulled the strap on her tank top higher up her shoulder.

There was silence for an unsettling moment. The old man placed the gun down by his feet.

"Not even loaded," he chuckled darkly.

"It's not?" Taisie sucked in air, horrified, "He fucking stiffed me."

"Fair weather friend," The old man clucked.

"So what are you, a cop or something?"

"You think if I was a cop I'd be this casual?"

Taisie sniffed sharply, and glared at the man's reflection.

"I used to be a cop. Now I'm just pissed off," he shrugged.

"What are you going to do with me?" Taisie wondered. He didn't seem too interested in doing anything with her. Not like most men she dealt with.

"I'm going to figure that out soon enough," he said through gritted teeth, "but first...I need a cup of coffee."

"Are you kidding me?!" Taisie groaned, "you don't need any goddamn coffee!"

"It's six in the morning and I had a late night," the old man disagreed, "I need coffee."

"So let me out at the coffee place then," Taisie pressed, "and buy yourself a doughnut while you're at it, so you can stick it up your-,"

"God, you're a classy girl, aren't you?"

"I just want to get back to L.A."

"Then why'd you get into my car, eh?"

"I was sleeping in it, you halfwit!" Taisie dug her fingernails into the leather seats, "some of us don't have fancy cars and houses."

"You think I have a fancy house?" the old man grunted, "you're the halfwit."

Taisie shrieked in impatience and frustration.

"For fuck's sake, just let me out! It's not like I can pay you for the damage I did to your lock, and you're obviously not interested in fucking me, so what else do we have going here?"

The old man raised his eyebrows at her vulgarity. It was interesting what would and wouldn't shock him.

"So that's how you make your cash then?"

"Don't you dare fucking judge me," Taisie growled, "you have no idea what it's like."

"No, I imagine I wouldn't."

Taisie sighed, and sat back in her seat. She buckled her seat belt into place. It didn't look like she'd be getting out of the car anytime soon.

"Can we at least listen to some music?" Taisie mumbled.

"We can listen to the news," the old man clicked on the radio, and switched it to a local news station.

"Why would you want to listen to all this miserable shit?" Taisie inquired, "isn't the world already depressing enough?"

"You tell me," the old man snorted.

"What's your name anyway? If I'm going to be stuck with you, you might as well tell me."

"I'm Mike. Mike Ehrmantraut," Mike Ehrmantraut informed her.

"I'm Taisie," Taisie pressed her face against the window pane, watching as the city passed her by.

"No last name?"

"Not anymore," Taisie chewed on her lip.

"You seem pretty casual for someone who's been uprooted like this."

"It's happened before," Taisie said, under her breath. This was all too familiar to her.

But he was a damn fool to think that she was casual, in anyway. Her heart was battering against her ribcage, and her eyes darted around the car, every time she blinked.

"You casing the place?" Mike grunted.

So maybe he wasn't a fool. Just a crazy old man.

"Natural habit," Taisie cleared her throat.

"I'm sure it is."

The car lurched as it turned a corner. They were pulling up to a Starbucks.

"How can I help you?" The barista chirped. Her grin disappeared as she took one look at sullen Mike, and the half-dressed vagrant in the back seat.

"I need a coffee," Mike told her. He had an edge to his voice that dared her to ask him what size he would like.

Once the coffee was in his hands, he stuffed his wallet back into his coat. He wore a black fleece. Taisie watched were he stowed it, wondering if he had a piece on him as well. Or a cellphone. If she played her cards right, and he wasn't armed, she might be able to jump him and steal the car. But time needed to be on her side.

"You're not very polite, are you?"

"Kid, you've got your feet on the back of my seat. Don't talk to me about manners."

Taisie rolled her eyes and lowered her feet. She didn't point out that her boots were situated around the head piece of his seat, so she could strangle him if need be.

"I don't get why you don't just release me. I serve no purpose to you!"

Mike was silent for a while, and sipped his coffee while they slipped back onto the highway.

"I need to consult someone, before I do anything about you."

"What are you, in the mafia?" Taisie spat, "I didn't do anything! I just slept in your car. I'm 5"2, and I'm homeless. If you really had a problem with me, you'd call the cops."

"I don't associate with cops," Mike caught her eye in the mirror, "now keep quiet. We've got a long drive ahead of us."

Taisie guessed that it had to be about seven hours to get to Albuquerque from here. Getting back to L.A would not be an easy task. She'd have to switch hitchhiker's several times, and there was no guarantee that she'd make it back alive. She'd had some bad experiences with hitchhiking before.

"This is going to be a long ride," she cleared her throat, slicing into the silence that had gone on for just over an hour.

"True, but you can make it a lot shorter by keeping quiet," Mike mumbled.

He'd finished his coffee, and crumpled up the cup, dropping it onto the floor of the passenger's seat. He didn't seem to be a man who prioritized organization. In fact, from all the time Taisie had spent with the man, she had decided that the only thing that he did prioritize, was driving.

"You expect me to sit here for seven hours, without any food or water, against my will? I mean, really, don't you think people will think it's a bit creepy that you've just decided to kidnap a nineteen year old girl?"

"Nineteen, eh?" Mike ground his teeth, "old enough to know that breaking into a car is just as illegal as kidnapping someone."

'I don't think that's how that works," Taisie muttered to herself.

Mike gave Taisie a warning look, so she let the silence simmer, for about an hour, until she could take it no longer.

"I'm bored...let's play a game."

Mike did not indulge Taisie with an answer.

Taisie kicked at the back of his seat, refusing to let him pretend she wasn't there. Maybe if she annoyed the fuck out of him, he would let her go.

"The problem with what you're doing, is you're distracting me from driving," Mike informed his captive, with a piercing glance in the mirror.

"That is the stupidest thing I've heard all day. We have six more hours to go, and you honestly expect me to be quiet the entire time?" Taisie pushed her luck.

"I expect you to know what's good for you," Mike had this way of talking that was somehow calm enough to make you unsettled and confused as to whether he was angry or not, but also sharp enough to know that it was best not to find out.

"It's just a game- it won't hurt you."

"I don't play games. My 10 year old granddaughter plays games," Mike rolled his eyes to the roof of the car.

"Aha!" Taisie clapped, triumphantly, "So you have a granddaughter. Well there you go, we've already set the grounds for the game. I get to ask ten yes or no questions about your life, and you must answer honestly."

"That's not a game, that's interrogation," Mike pointed out. The car was beginning to fill with sunlight, and the old man looked uncomfortable in his thick black fleece.

"And you'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you? Because you used to be a cop?" Taisie wondered how far she could push Mike's buttons.

"Yes," Mike put simply. He clenched his pasty hands on the steering wheel until they turned a rosy shade of red.

"So we are playing the game then?" Taisie prompted

"Yes. And that counted as a question," Mike snapped.

So the old man had decided to have some fun.

"Fine," Taisie shrugged, "Where are you taking me?"

"That's not a yes or no question," the ghost of an amused smile flew by Mike's face, but disappeared again before Taisie could get a good look at it.

"Are you going to harm me in any way?" Taisie dared to ask.

Mike cleared his throat and frowned.

"That's really not up to me. It's much more complicated than-"

"Oh, that's just great to hear. It's a yes or no answer. Be honest, is there a chance that I will be harmed?"

"…Yes, there is a small chance," Mike muttered, refusing to look Taisie's way.

Taisie was silent. She bit her lip and turned back to look out the window pane. God fucking dammit. Now she had to get out of here.

"I thought you were going to be asking me questions about my life, not your future," Mike invited her back into the game, in a voice that seemed to be as gentle as he would ever go.

"Where did you grow up?" Taisie inquired, still looking out at the passing cities. They must have been nearing Arizona by now.

"Chicago," Mike chewed on his lip, "Also not a yes or no question. New rule: every question you ask me, you must answer as well."

"I grew up in Los Angeles, same place you found me," Taisie pressed on, "You talk about grandkids, I guess you were married then?"

"Yes, once. What about you?"

Taisie gave Mike a pained look through the rear view mirror.

"I'm nineteen."

"I mean, are you currently engaged in a romantic-"

"For fuck's sakes, Mike, I'm a prostitute," Taisie felt her face burning. Romantic relationships didn't exist in her life.

"Alright, alright. Next question."

"Do you live in Albuquerque?"

"Right now, yes. How long have you lived in L.A?"

"Not a yes or no question...," Taisie frowned, "I'm feeling like you're turning this around on me now. You're definitely trying to interrogate me."

"Oh for fuck's sakes. Why are we even doing this? Just be quiet, won't you?" Mike grumbled. It appeared that his juvenile spirit had left him for good this time.

"Why won't you just admit it!?" Taisie exploded, throwing her hands on the back of Mike's seat, "You're taking me to Albuquerque because I know something, and you want to find out exactly how much I know."

Mike had no visible reaction to this accusation.

"Well you're wasting your time, because I know nothing! I fell asleep just after midnight, long after you'd left your car, and I woke up when the car was moving. I didn't see what you did before or after you got into the car, and there's nothing suspicious in your car, except for maybe a few too many crumpled up coffee cups. You're dragging me halfway across the country-"

"It's really not halfway," Mike objected.

"-for no reason!" Taisie continued, "If you would just let me go, I'd appreciate that very much."

"Whether or not you appreciate it, I can't risk anything," Mike explained, "You're coming with me to Albuquerque, and then we're going to talk to an associate of mine, and sort some things out. If you cooperate, and keep your mouth shut, then I will let you go at the appropriate time."

"I'm more likely to find something out about you while I'm here," Taisie muttered to herself. Even if she could see no physical evidence that Mike had been up to something, she felt confident enough that she could pry the information out of him if she tried.

"Aren't you at least going to feed me?" Taisie kicked at the back of Mike's seat like a child, "I haven't eaten in at least two days."

She was being dramatic in her tone, but not with her information. With her salary being so low, and depending on when she could find a John, food was hard to come by. She learned to live off of things like apples and cheap candy, and her thin stature showed this clearly. Her dark skin clung to her bones like a snug jacket.

Mike was quiet for a while, considering what Taisie had said. She thought that he might be ignoring her, until he stuck his hand in his glove compartment, and drew out a muffin in a plastic container. It was a bran muffin, and looked rather stale, but Taisie shoved the entire thing in her mouth, practically choking as she swallowed each piece.

"You weren't joking," Mike realized. He looked back at her, and, for a moment, Taisie wondered what he might be thinking. He almost seemed remorseful or solemn.

But before she could properly think this through, her eyelids became heavy with sleep, and she felt herself fall onto the seat, pressing her head against the window.

Taisie awoke, blinking madly.

"What the fuck?" She groaned, and wiped at her eyes. After a few seconds, she recognized her surrounding, and realized what had happened to her.

"You drugged me, you bastard," She accused through gritted teeth.

Not one to lie, it seemed, Mike nodded.

"You wouldn't shut up, and I needed some quiet time."

"You just have a muffin full of sedative in your car?"

"You never know when you'll need it," Mike shrugged, "Piece of advice for you, kid, sometimes silence is good."

"It never did me any good," Taisie disagreed, stretching her arms. She felt uncomfortable, from whatever position she had unwillingly slept in. She could feel pains in her back from the seat belt she'd slept against.

Nevertheless, Taisie did remain quiet and introspective for a while. She checked the clock on the radio. They still had about two hours left until they'd arrive in Albuquerque.

It had been a long time since Taisie had been in a car. Sure, she'd jumped into the occasional truck in a back alley to perform certain ungodly acts. But being in a moving car, for a long period of time, with a destination, felt so foreign to her.

Her parents had never driven her to school. She'd always ridden her bike, or taken public transit. They'd owned a shiny SUV, but the seats had no memory of Taisie.

And, after that, well, she couldn't remember. Those years were black to her. Empty.

"You okay, kid?" Mike asked, sounding suspiciously concerned.

When Taisie blinked, refusing to let a single tear form in her stubborn eyes, and looked up at Mike, he frowned, shaking away any evidence that he'd cared.

"Fine," Taisie shrugged, "I was just thinking about the past."

"Well you just keep on thinking," Mike warned, "I was getting used to the silence."

So Taisie took his advice, and dwelled in the silence, and continued to think about her past. Only this time, she skipped over her dull former years, and the disappointment that brought. Instead, she chose to, as she often did, squeeze her eyes shut and try and remember.

When Taisie was sixteen, something happened. She'd been walking home from school, pushing her bike along side her.

L.A was hot, especially toward the end of the summer, and so she could remember that she'd been wearing shorts and a tank top. Much to Taisie's parents' disapproval, she'd favoured skimpy clothing, even back then.

What happened next was a blur to Taisie. A chaotic mess of memory. She knew that she had been kidnapped, because she'd seen the missing posters, and she'd heard about it on old news show episodes. However, she couldn't remember anything after that.

The next thing Taisie did remember, was sitting on a patch of pavement, outside a gas station, breathing heavily, and drenched in sweat. She'd been holding a gun, which she dropped, when she came to, and ran. She'd run as far as she could, until she couldn't breath, and began to cry.

By that time, Taisie had turned nineteen years old. Three years of her life were missing, and all she had to speak for it was the memory of gun in her hand, and the occasional shadow, and deep voice taunting her.

"Hey," Taisie spoke up, maybe half an hour later, "hey."

"Hey hey, what?" Mike spat, "I thought we'd agreed on silence?"

"We did, but...," Taisie strained her eyes, as she looked ahead through the wind shield, "I was just thinking of a way you could repay me."

"Repay you? Fuck that! You broke into my car!" Mike was practically roaring.

"And you took me hostage! Have we not already decided that your crime was much more serious?"

"Well let's hear this idea of yours, I could use a laugh," Mike insisted. He'd taken off his black fleece about ten minutes ago.

Taisie had discretely snapped her seatbelt off, when Mike wasn't looking, and sprung forward, grabbing Mike's gun from it's holster around his waist.

"What are you doing, kid?!" Mike roared, turning back, trying to snatch it from her, while glancing feverently back at the road.

"Calm down, I'm not going to fire it," Taisie assured him, allowing him to turn his focus back to the road.

"What do you think you're going to do with it, then?" Mike wondered, "pick your teeth?"

"It's small enough," Taisie inspected it, running her hands along the pistol, "why?"

"Why do you need to know?" Mike pressed.

"Because you're going to teach me how to use it," Taisie put plainly. She placed the gun down, delicately, on the seat beside her.

"Why the fuck would I do a thing like that?"

"Because I can help you. You can take me on as an apprentice."

"An apprentice for what? I'm retired."

"Like hell you're retired!" Taisie sat up abruptly, nudging the back of Mike's seat, aggressively, "don't fucking patronize me! I know that you're a hit man, a cleaner, an assassin. Whatever you want to call it, there's no way you're convincing me that you're not one. I'm not an idiot."

"So you're a smart one, eh?" Mike chewed on his lower lip. She'd noticed that this was a habit of his, "and taking you on as an apprentice would help me, how...?"

"Because two people can do the work twice as fast. You would barely have to pay me, and I'd be out of your sight as soon as I had enough money for rent."

"Sounds like you just need a place to stay. If you wanted the money so badly, why don't you just ask for it? Or steal it, for that matter? I have no doubt in my mind that you like to steal."

"I love to steal!" Taisie exclaimed, frustrated, "but that's not the point. I want to learn how to do what you do. And be just as good."

Mike chuckled darkly.

"That's a laugh! You think you can be as good as me? Kid, I've been training for this all my life, and I'm a LOT older than you are."

"It doesn't matter," Taisie shouted, "I want to learn! I NEED to learn! Why won't you just agree!?"

"Stop having a tantrum back there," Mike warned, "why would you need to learn how to clean? You're nineteen. Go get yourself a real job, go get married, don't fucking learn to kill people."

"I told you- you know nothing about me. I have NOTHING, and I never will. Do you know how DEGRADING it is, having to sell my body and STEAL just to stay alive? I have no other options. Nothing I do ever gets me any further, it's just a cycle of getting and losing money, and sleeping in dark alleyways. I am terrified every night, and not because I'm homeless. I'm terrified because there is a part of my life which I don't even remember, where I was fucking kidnapped! I NEED to know how to protect myself."

Mike soaked this in, a cold, stony look on his face.

"I'm not going to give you the sympathy you're looking for, kid."

"I'm not looking for sympathy," Taisie continued to fight back tears, "all I need is a few lessons. That's it."

She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself.

"Can you do that for me, old man?"

Mike chewed on his lip, once again.

"We'll see."

"We're almost there," Mike informed her.

Albuquerque looked just as Taisie had expected it to: like a desolate, dry, wasteland. It had a familiar feel to it, yet nothing was recognizable.

"Where are we going? Your place?" Taisie was curious to see what kind of cave this beast lived in.

"No, I told you. We're going to speak to an associate of mine."

"I thought you said that before you agreed to take me on as an apprentice," Taisie spat out, her heart picking up its pace.

"I agreed to no such thing," Mike tutted, "anyway, he won't hurt you. He's as dumb as a doormat, and about just as deadly."

"People have been known to trip on doormats," Taisie mumbled.

"Not this guy," Mike shook his head, as if she'd spoken seriously, "Let me tell you something about Saul Goodman..."

"His name is Saul Goodman," Taisie wrinkled her nose, "what kind of name is that?"

"Not a real one, but it doesn't matter," Mike interrupted, "he's well known around here. And he does his job. That's all that matters."

"What is he?" Taisie wondered, "a drug lord? A pimp? Another hit man? A-"

"He's a lawyer," Mike cleared his throat.

"We're going to go visit your LAWYER?" Taisie gave Mike a pained look, "what happened to me not being in trouble?"

"Saul is different," Mike attempted to explain, "he's a criminal lawyer. He deals with...special cases. You don't have to worry about him. He's no problem. Though I should warn you, he's a terrible flirt."

"I can deal with flirts," Taisie rolled her eyes, "it's just lawyers that make me nervous."

"It'll be fine," Mike disagreed, as he pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall. It was crowed, and it seemed that all the traffic was directed toward the building which read "SAUL GOODMAN-ATTORNEY AT LAW"

"He's a popular guy then?" Taisie asked, expecting no answer. Mike grunted in response.

They pulled into one of the few parking spaces, Mike turned the ignition off, and they sat in silence for some time.

"Well?" He asked Taisie.

"Well what?" Taisie frowned.

"Are you going to give me my piece back?"

"Oh...right," Taisie carefully picked up Mike's gun and gave it back to him.

Casual as can be, Mike slid it back into his holster, and twisted around in his seat in order to zip his black fleece jacket back up.

"I'm going to get out of the car first," Mike explained, "then you wait two minutes, and follow. Always follow, got it?"

Taisie wondered if he meant ALWAYS, as in "in the future, when you're my apprentice", or if he was just being dramatic.

"Yeah," she nodded obediently.

Mike stepped out his car, and closed the door tightly. He didn't look back at Taisie as he walked toward Saul Goodman's office.

Taisie stared blankly at the radio clock, waiting for two minutes to go by.

It was curious that Mike trusted her to even follow him. She could easily run off, or steal his car. But maybe he understood her desperation, now that she'd explained her situation. He must have known that she'd always follow him, just like he'd instructed.