Author's Notes: I know the Mirror's Edge section is sparsely populated but I'll choose to continue this story. This is my new top project so updates will be coming as soon as I am able.

Disclaimer: I do not own Mirror's Edge. This game belongs to the developers at DICE. The characters: Faith, Kate, Mercury, Jackknife, Celeste and Drake belong to DICE(This is not the full list of characters from Mirror's Edge that will appear in the story). All others came from somewhere in my mind... I think.


Chapter 1
The vast expanse of the white city spread out before Jonathan, blanketed by menacing clouds that had not released a single drop of rain since they settled overhead. The quiet sounds of the street drifted up to his twelve-storey perch, the air brakes of a bus below, the engines of cars on the streets. A plane flew overhead, its engines drowning the low keyed symphony, an interlude of the city's more common sounds. He looked across at the billboard on the other building. The plane passed. The city's spontaneous composition continued.

Jonathan watched the people of the city from the roof, going about their daily existences. He both hated and loved this city. There existed in the city a level of control that certain people found extremely restricting, resulting in a level of chaos—low-key, very organised and definitely present—that required the services of a Runner, for him, freelance. He had to admit he loved running. He had no ties or connections with any other Runners however—less loose ends—making his job significantly easier. The coming about of the control which generated the job, included the loss of his mother. As always, Jonathan came to the conclusion that he hated the city more than he loved it.

The city however, was not the problem, it was its residents; those who chose to live a simple existence conforming to the restricting boundaries and laws which would govern a person's existence from birth until death. A life with no boundaries was only a dream to everyone in the world. A life with everything controlled was a prison. That was what the city was to him, a prison. A confined location where everyone was monitored and kept under control. The prisons of this city were not in themselves prisons, but simply confinement for those who required a higher level of surveillance. A white-walled prison. The light reflected so everything could be seen.

Well... not everything. Runners were those who refused to conform and he was one of them, just not with them. He preferred a solitary existence—life. Runners avoided the streets and transported messages to those who preferred the old city. They were almost invisible. He was invisible. Runners saw the rooftops as pathways. He saw everything as pathways whether street level or roof level. One just needed the right tools to get by.

He checked his watch. 10:12, time to get moving. He put on his shades and earphones and pulled his scarf over his face. Since he was alone, he needed ways to check Blues traffic and find pathways. The shades and earphones did just that, with the help of the hand-held computer on the inside pocket of his jacket. The shades were a combination of a prototype programme ripped off the Blues network and the shades themselves, the result of a client in debt who happened to be supplied with military hardware. The programme, which utilised an up-to-date GPS system and the up-to-date architectural files of all the city's secured buildings, which happened to be 90% of the city, displayed the structure of the buildings in 3-D. It allowed him to see through walls, in a sense. It even magnified in the left lens at the touch of a button, making it easier to find paths. The earphones simply monitored Blues traffic in the area. It helped to know where your enemies were.

He backed away from the edge of the building. Alex's place was due northwest a few blocks. He made sure his bag was securely strapped across his back, the single strap crossing his chest. Regular Runners preferred to run without extra weight. He actually preferred it, for the sake of knowing he would be faster without it and because of what he kept inside. It did not weigh much anyway. His second bag was much similar to the Runner bag, commonly used to transport messages. It had a single strap he slung across his chest in the same direction as the other bag, from his right shoulder down across his chest. It held several pockets for containing whatever documents and other sensitive materials his clients saw fit to have him transport as long as he watched them put the item or items in the bag themselves. It was a darker colour than the bright yellow the Runners use, making it more easily hidden in an emergency. The bag rested on his hip, out of the way.

He turned and began sprinting across the rooftop. When he came to the edge of the roof he jumped, crossing the gap that was the alley below and dropped to the roof of the next building one storey lower. As he continued on, his mind came to study the two—no three things that he would have to avoid as he ran. First, the CPF, City Protection Force, or Blues as they were more commonly known. This was a given considering they shot first and asked questions after, if you had not fallen off a roof or died from internal bleeding, given they could hit you in the first place. Secondly, other Runners since they would ask too many questions he would refuse to answer anyway.

He vaulted a pipe and a vent and wall ran across a billboard to get to the next building. He climbed a pipe on the side of the taller part of the building that extended from the roof and came to a higher roof. He continued on. Thirdly, Project Icarus. A special branch of the Blues that dealt with Runners by actually running. Mayor Callaghan's solution to the Runner problem and their hidden clientele. A joint CPF Pirandello/Kruger operation. There was not much doubt there since, not only was PK the largest security firm in the city but, they supplied the CPF with all of their equipment.

He vaulted over a fence and ran along the large AC vent on the roof and used the height to get to the next roof, coiling over the railing. It had been by sheer luck and random frequency checks to get all of CPF's signals that he stumbled across the Icarus frequency. After some researching, using his clients as sources, he determined they could be a problem, though not a big one since they were not enough to cover the entire city at length. A good Runner took months to make and even then they could still fall, or get shot.

He rolled when he dropped down to the smoking deck of a much taller building. It was not time for lunch yet so people were not out smoking yet. He pressed a button on the frame of his shades. He could see the layout of the inside of the building. He searched for the stairs. Turn left, the end of the hall, the door leading to the stairwell. According to what he saw, there were no cameras in the stairwell and the one camera in the hallway was on the corner. He listened through the door, no footsteps. He opened the door a crack and looked down the hallway, the camera was pointing down the adjacent hallway. He moved that instant, past the opaque walls of the persons in their offices and reached the end of the hall in a matter of seconds. The camera turned to face the hall he had just come from and he opened the door and began his ascent up the stairs.

As he climbed the stairs his thoughts remained on Icarus. He had encountered a few of the Icarus Runners about three weeks back. A few shots from a gun he had stolen from a patrol cop who dared to get in his way and three went down. The last one was unlucky enough to be thrown from the roof. Jonathan had made sure to vanish, stash the bag and call his client, informing him that the bag would be delivered the next day when the heat had died down.

He reached the roof. He switched off his shades and looked for a conduit to the next roof. He had to cross the street. He looked to the next building. He was lucky enough to find a crane present on the roof of the building since it was being renovated significantly. He sprinted across the roof and jumped, landing on the crane's arm and continued down, sliding on the lower part of the arm to slow down.

A few more rooftops and he was on the roof of Alex's apartment building, a small white seven-storey building with little to no cameras. He opened the door to roof access and climbed down the stairs to the fifth floor. He opened the door into the vacant hallway, lined with rooms on the right and left. He made his way down the hall and made a right, continued on and made another right into the next hallway. He found the door with the numbers 516 on it and knocked three times, scanning the brown hallway as he did so. He heard the latches and the locks being unlocked on the other side of the door and scanned the hallway again. He saw Alex's face through a crack in the doorway and nodded, pulling down the scarf so that it settled around his neck and revealed more of his face. The door opened all the way and he stepped inside. Alex looked into the hallway, up and down, and then pulled himself back inside, locking the door as he did so.

As Alex turned back into the room, Jonathan saw the pistol in his hand and instantly became alert, his carefree manner replaced with his more on edge self. Alex saw the change in Jonathan's features and apologised.

"Sorry Johnny," he said, walking past Jonathan and putting the gun on the table next to his computer. "I think I might be in trouble."

"Remove the clip," Jonathan said, his eyes quickly scanning the room and resting on Alex's nervous movements and the gun on the table. His ears listened for anything out of the ordinary.

"What?"

"And the bullet in the chamber." He looked at Alex, who had not moved. "Empty the gun," he ordered.

"Come on Jonathan. I could be in some deep shit here."

"Listen. Empty the gun or I take the package right back to Roscoe. He knows my rules. Clients with guns get no business or broken bones or more often than not, both."

Alex released a sigh and moved to the desk. Jonathan tensed prepared to move at a moment's notice the instant anything became out of the ordinary, from Alex's movements to the sounds of the street coming through Alex's window. Alex handled the weapon, removing the clip and the bullet in the chamber and placed them on the desk next to the gun. Jonathan relaxed slightly as Alex moved away from the weapon, still a nervous wreck, but an unarmed nervous wreck.

Jonathan removed his Runner bag and handed it to Alex. Alex opened the bag and removed its contents. He threw the bag on the couch and checked what had just been given to him. Positive that everything he wanted was there, he opened his desk drawer and removed an envelope. He handed it to Jonathan who was looking around the room. Jonathan took it and opened it and, using his free hand, counted through the number of hundred dollar bills. Two thousand dollars even, his standard pay. He removed his backpack and slid it into a hidden pocket on the inside.

He looked at Alex who was typing at his computer, looking at the paperwork from the bag. His hands were shaking. He turned and looked at Jonathan.

"What's got you so spooked?" Jonathan inquired.

"Johnny. I think I found something. I mean seriously found something."

"You must've found something serious if it's got you so freaked out." Jonathan's eyes drifted for a brief moment to the gun.

"Yeah. I got it the two days ago—" Jonathan stopped him.

"I don't want to hear it. If it's got you so bad I don't want to get involved."

"Come on Johnny."

"Nope." Jonathan shook his head. "I'm gone." He turned and opened the door. He looked back while he stood in the doorway. "You better keep it loaded." He tilted his head to Alex's desk.

Jonathan left Alex and went back to the stairwell and emerged on the bottom floor a few minutes later, now wearing a blue jeans, brown jacket and a gray shirt. His gloves were removed and he still had his earphones in his ears except now he was listening to music. He was invisible among those he hated.

Faith lay on the couch in the abandoned cooling tower, their new hideout more than halfway across the city. Mercury sat typing away at his computer, tracking the other Runners that were out. Things had not changed as much as she thought they would. Running continued much as it had these past years. It simply required a new level of caution now that the CPF had better means of chasing them down. Runners now had to be more careful when approaching clients.

She palmed a deck of cards in her hand and watched the fan of the cooling tower spin. She heard Merc talking to another Runner over the comm. Merc. She had left him to get her sister. It was lucky that Drake had bailed from his hiding spot and gotten to Merc in time to save him.

There was a knock at the door. It had to be Kate, since she was the only one who did not come through the hole in the roof, but Faith picked up the gun from the coffee table just in case. She cocked the hammer and opened the door a crack. She saw Kate outside the door. Faith's eyes drifted to the bags in Kate's hands. She opened the door and let her twin sister in.

"Hey Faith."

"Hey sis."

"Were you planning to shoot me?"

"No. You know how it is."

"Yeah. Anything happen recently?" She raised her left hand with the bag in it and pointed at the computers.

"No it seems to be a little dull since I haven't heard Merc raise his voice."

Kate placed the bags across the room and sat at her own computer. She was now helping Merc monitor CPF chatter. It made the job easier to have two people monitoring the frequencies. It was hard to convince her at first but after making her realise that she could not do anything else, Faith managed to persuade her.

Faith safetied the pistol and replaced it on the desk. Kate spoke again.

"I guess they're keeping the Icarus Runners off the roofs because of the suspected rain."

"The clouds have been up there for three days now kiddo," Merc's deep voice broke in. He kept his eyes glued to the screen. "It hasn't rained yet, but I guess they're being cautious." The dark man turned to Faith. "Better for us, since business has been up because of it."

"I guess." Faith pushed the gun out of the way and began building a house of cards. Everything practically began with a house of cards—she had been building one when her sister got in trouble. Then Pope was murdered. Celeste, the bitch. She betrayed the Runners and set up Kate to go down for Pope's death two and a half months ago when Kate was still CPF.

She looked at Kate, who now had hair dyed a deep brown which she wore loose as opposed to her usual tight bun. She had begun to wear makeup to have slightly thicker eyebrows and longer lashes and wore contact lenses to change her eye colour. All of this was set up by Drake, tracker and supplier to most Runners.

They heard footsteps on the roof. Faith grabbed the gun and swept it through her house of cards—she should really start playing Solitaire—and pointed it at the hole in the roof. Merc had turned and pointed his gun at the hole too while Kate simply rested her hand on hers. A person descended through the hole.

"Easy guys. Expecting company?" Collin asked raising his hands after he hit the ground. Everyone in the room relaxed.

"Kid, this city is full of surprises." Merc turned back to his computer screens.

Faith replaced the gun on the table and gathered her cards back into a deck. She set them out for a game of Solitaire. It would definitely make things easier when she picked up her gun. Collin walked over to the mini-fridge and removed a bottled water. He sat in the chair across the room and turned to look through the shutters. He could not see much as usual, except for the NicPix billboard across the street.

Faith continued her Solitaire game peacefully. There has not been much to talk about recently. The news was, as usual, corporations making new deals, scientists making so-called technological breakthroughs and Callaghan's usual bullshit propaganda. Advertising, not news.

"Faith," Merc said. Faith looked up from the cards in front of her. "Got a job for ya. Need you to meet Ricardo for a hand-off." He handed Faith a comm as she walked past him. "Get to the apartment building on Everest. I'll guide you from there."

Faith hooked the comm on her ear, covering it with her now brown hair. She climbed through the roof and jumped to the next building, running along the ledge, with the reflecting glass next to her. She stopped and looked at herself. She knew no one could see her, the reflecting glass was simply for show. She now ran with a jacket on, to hide her Runner glyphs, she'd removed the one on her eye, but refused to removed those on her arm. Her hair was now the sort of brown that blended neatly with other people in the city—just another head in the crowd.

She turned from her reflection and continued running. As she approached the corner of the ledge, preparing to jump, her mind flashed back to Jackknife that night on the roof of the Shard. You can't live on the edge your whole life Faith. Sooner or later you have to jump. She jumped to the next building, landing safely on the roof. Maybe he was right. The edge had gotten sharper.

Laura Richards, daughter of Security Adviser to the mayor, Peter Richards, slowly opened the window of the apartment and climbed in. She looked around the room. It was its usual tidy self. She stood in the small part of the apartment that was the kitchen. The punching bag hung a few metres in front of the kitchen counter over a clear area to the left of the balcony door. The kitchen itself, was as always, spotless. Cups and dishes were stacked neatly behind the glass doors of the cabinets. The fridge hummed lowly to her right. The 42 inch flat screen TV was up against the far wall, a deep brown coffee table in front of it surrounded by a small suite. The saxophone case leaned against the wall next to the stereo system. She walked past the TV and opened the door to the left of it. The bedroom was practically the same way. The bed was against the far wall, the computer on the left wall, on a large desk. Next to it were several backpacks of different colours and designs. The closet next to the bed was partially opened, showing a variety of clothes steamed and hung up carefully. The steamer was pushed up next to the closet. The right wall had a single wide window with the curtains closed. Beneath the window were a few pairs of shoes, next to a chest-of-drawers.

A cat slow pranced out of the closet and stretched, the bell around its neck jingled lightly. Laura looked at it as it strolled over to her and rubbed up against her leg. She bent down and picked up the cat. It purred as she rubbed its head. The collar with the bell jingled. "Not now Elisa."

She put the cat down and it jumped onto the bed and curled up, ready to continue the nap, Laura had woken her up from. Laura sat at the computer and leaned back in the chair. "I wonder how long it'll be till he gets here?" she said softly, looking at the cat laying on the bed. Elisa raised her head from the bed as if to say I don't know and then calmly closed her eyes. Laura released a sigh as she looked at her watch. 11:49.

Hopefully he'll be back soon. I think I'll surprise him for making me wait.

Jonathan stepped off of the bus and walked the short distance to his apartment building. He walked inside, the music still in his ears and took the stairs up to the seventh floor. He walked to his apartment, the room at the end of the hall where it turned right down another hall, number 713, and removed his keys.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Something was out of place. He felt a draft coming through the kitchen and tensed—the window was open. He removed his earphones and shut the door, dropping his bag next to it. He checked the bathroom to his right. Empty. The main room was definitely empty. His bedroom. He walked to the door and opened it. He stepped inside cautiously. He heard a noise behind him and spun around. He grabbed the person's outstretched arm, slid his foot forward and tripped the person then threw them across the room.

"Jonathan!" Laura screamed as she flew through the air. Elisa jumped out of the way, just in time before Laura landed upside down on the bed, her feet on the pillows. She tried to get up, but then felt pressure on her shoulders and could see Jonathan staring at her intently upside down.

"Jade, how many times have I told you not to do that?" he asked, using her nickname.

"Today would make one hundred and forty-three I think," she answered lightly, still calming herself down from her flight.

Jonathan stared into her green eyes and then gave her kiss. Elisa jumped back onto the bed. Laura released a small "oomph" as the cat jumped onto her stomach, the exact spot in relevance to the bed where she was sleeping before. Laura started to move, upsetting the cat again. Jonathan laughed. Elisa jumped off of the bed and looked up at the two of them while Laura sat up.

"Don't look at me like that. It's his fault." Laura looked back at Jonathan.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "And how is it my fault when you're the person trying to jump people in the dark?"

"Because you threw me across the room."

"And you sneaked into my apartment."

"And why are we explaining ourselves to your cat?"

"I have no idea." The two of them started laughing. Elisa tilted her head and looked up at them with her glowing eyes. She walked over to the desk with the computer and lay down next to it.

Jonathan removed his jacket and hung it on the bed post. He turned on his computer and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Laura on the bed. He soon returned with his backpack in his right hand and was reaching in with his left. He removed the envelope containing his recently acquired pay and threw it on the desk next to the computer monitor.

"You were on a job?" Laura asked.

"Yeah." He checked the recent City Eye Channel News on his computer. Nothing new.

"This weather is strange isn't it?" she asked him, opening the curtains.

"I'm expecting some heavy rain when it starts."

She closed the curtains a bit and walked up behind him and reached her arms around him while resting her chin on his shoulder. She rubbed his chest. "Mmmm...I love it when it rains." She turned his head and kissed him. He returned the kiss, pulling her closer and turning the chair. He stood up reaching his arm around her waist and pulled her as close as he could into another kiss. Laura put her hands around his neck as she enjoyed the moment.

Elisa looked up at them from her nap. She walked out of the bedroom door and went to the balcony's glass door and lay down against it. Hopefully the two of them would not be able to wake her while she was out there.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading. Please review. Anonymous reviews are allowed. Just a slow chapter to get into the minds of a few characters. The next chapter is going to be similar.