So I'm fairly nervous about this chapter, and feel that I should warn you in advance that there are some...err..a bit dark / twisted themes in it - fairly similar to the opening scene in 4x01 - just to give you a heads up.

Thanks for the review and story alerts also.

Skins isnt mine if it was I'm not sure they would let me broadcast it following this!


She struggled to draw the freezing cold air into her lungs as she blinked rapidly into the face above her, the face of Echo and she couldn't help but notice her eyes, so deep and rich in colour and full of concern, she saw her lips move but wasn't really taking in what was being said to her.

Cold hands moved over her chest searching for a wound Naomi knew she wouldn't find. As she pushed her hands aside she finally began to draw shaky breaths in, the pressure immense even though she was entirely fine, apart from what she suspected would be rather tender skin and probably a deep bruise soon enough.

She moved to sit up, saw the look of concern in those brown eyes before her as rasped out a simple "I'm okay" and gratefully accepted the hand held out to her, as she sat she reached a hand inside her jacket and pinched her fingers together producing a small metallic fragment, she knew what it was she didn't need to see it to know, she had felt it alright, a bullet. A bullet that had been lodged firmly in her jackets lining and had sucked all the air from her lungs only moments ago, holding it up to the moonlight assessing it wondering almost morbidly what would have happened if she hadn't been wearing this exact jacket, one that had been lined with plates to protect all those vital muscles and organs beneath her skin.

She flicked the fragment away from her, no point in dwelling on such trivial matters not when they were still so far from home and now in so much more danger than before. She rose to her feet and pressed her hand gently to the spot that had taken the hit, wincing ever so slightly...Definitely going to bruise.

She looked at Echo, only to see a frown on her face her bottom lip ever so slightly being worried away at as she stared at the area of Naomi's chest she had probably expected to be spilling on to the ground, self consciously Naomi cleared her throat and pulled her jacket closed again. She watched as her gaze moved across to the shooter who was now lifeless on the ground having not been as fortunate as her.

"Echo..." Naomi called to get her attention, but gained nothing... She repeated herself still receiving no response. Started to worry, worry that Echo was in shock or some ridiculous notion, but surely that wasn't possible, she was a trained deep cover agent, she would have been trained and tested to endure far worse than the situation that just occurred.

She reached a hand out to touch her shoulder shaking gently as she called her name, her real name this time not her code name, in the hope that it would be enough to snap her out of it.

"Emily...We need to go, they will have heard that" she watched as the frown disappeared to be replaced with Emily's eyes boring into her own, entirely unreadable yet it wasn't necessary as what Naomi couldn't read from the smaller woman she was told in a soft yet concerned voice that conveyed nothing but the truth.

"You scared the fucking shit out of me" Naomi watched the smaller woman run a hand through her hair and she understood what it was Emily was scared of, she was scared of being here alone, not scared of Naomi being hurt, just scared of being stuck here in this fucking woodland completely and utterly alone...for someone used to working with and depending so entirely on a partner, a twin no doubt someone that could probably read her as well as she could read herself, she could understand it would be daunting, she understood all too well, but she shared none of the same sentiment.

She watched Echo closely watched her steel herself as she turned away from Naomi, saw the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders and what she presumed was one deep and slow calming, steadying breath.

When she turned back to her it was with a look of concentration as she reached down to retrieve her gun from the floor as well as the gun from the guy they tied up earlier, there was no point in trying to be sneaky and quiet now, they may as well have erected a giant flashing neon sign saying 'we're over here fuckers come and get us.'

They nodded to one another, a silent agreement 'lets do this' and surged forwards, hesitantly at first, still trying to remain as stealthy as possible before they approached a clearing that held a flurry of action, maybe twenty people all armed and all gearing up to move out.

Naomi hesitated crouched down and scanned her eyes left and right, there was no way they could fight their way out of this, not in close quarters anyway, their best chance was to run and if they ran into trouble they would have to pick them off one at a time if they had to, but ideally to avoid it. She had already found out the hard way that they weren't going to be taking any prisoners on this one, he wasn't joking when he said it would be a shoot first ask questions later deal. There was no guarantee that next time they would be so lucky.

She turned to Echo and she motioned with her hand to move back the way they had come, they had no choice they would have to head back deeper into the woodland and seek the shelter that the trees would provide whilst they thought of another route.

Echo turned and move without question, it wasn't an issue of Naomi being the leader and Echo following orders like a good soldier, it was a clear and simple point of fact, the way forward was hopeless and their only option back. Any tactically minded person could see that.

As they approached what they assumed to be a safe distance they slowed and turned their backs on one another as they crouched down low so they had a 360 degree view between them.

Naomi pressed her hand to her ear... "Watchtower come in...Watchtower copy..." She tried a couple more times but nothing, she wasn't surprised, they were well and truly on their own now, she ripped the coms link from her ear and crushed it under her heel bastards.

She heard Echo sigh, heard her shift next to her then heard something thud against the ground hard again and again as turned to see her pounding her fist into the ground in frustration. This wasn't meant to be how it was, not for Echo, no not Echo she was Emily. Naomi didn't know why she was making a conscious effort to refer to her as Echo in her head, they were in this together now just Naomi and Emily, Vendetta was out of the picture for the moment, and with Vendetta went the codenames.

Naomi just watched the smaller woman's frustration building before she finally kicked her body into gear and grabbed her hand and held it tightly as Emily's bowed head stared at the floor.

She tugged gently on her arm to get her attention "The city isn't far from here...come on" tugged her up and linked their hands together as she pulled Emily along after her, heading in the direction she knew the city was, due north.

They moved again in silence Naomi not knowing what words she could possibly offer to Emily who was clearly completely and utterly exhausted and tired of running and Emily, well she just didn't seem to have the energy to do more than put one foot in front of the other, but they couldn't stop they would be sitting ducks here their best hope was to get to the city, hide out in the hustle and bustle. She checked her watch 11pm local time, that would at least give them the cover of drunk party goers to blend into.

Surprisingly their path had been clear thus far and as the woodland grew thinner and the darkness was replaced with artificial light Naomi knew they were drawing close to the town. She took the weapon they had stolen and ditched it, it would be no use to them now and was too bulky to hide, she slipped her pack off and took a few select items too before hiding that in the remaining undergrowth. It wasn't ideal but it was too conspicuous to keep carrying around now especially that they were heading into a well lit city. She shoved the items in her combats and jacket and took the bottle of water, taking a sip before passing it to Emily and then disposing of that also.

As they came out of the woodland they kept to the shadows, moving along the side streets as quickly and quietly as possible heading towards the busier part of town in the hope that they could blend in and at least buy themselves some time. Knew when they were drawing close the thud of the music and the occasional shriek or shouting that could be heard.

Naomi chanced a look behind her again to make sure there was no movement to be concerned about and she caught Emily's face, pale and drawn but her eyes still burning with frustration and annoyance which she presumed was at least better than defeat, but it was concerning because there was a danger that she would do something stupid if her anger got the better of her and could she really fight? She could fire a gun alright but how much good would she be in hand to hand combat right now.

Naomi decided they were close enough now, she slipped her gun back into the waistband of her pants and reached her hand out to Emily, linking their hands and surging her forwards into the first club they found taking solace in the darkness. The thudding beat of the music a welcomed distraction from the absolute silence they had heard for what felt like hours now. She held Emily's hand firmly in her own and pulled her straight to the back of the room following the signs for the toilets where they could wash some of the grime from their hands and just have a human moment to get their shit together, she figured Emily needed it and if she was honest she did just a little bit too.

She walked in and locked the door, closing of the entire toilets giving them just a moment to themselves, Emily rushed into a cubicle and Naomi stood her palms face down resting on the sink in front of her as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, so very similar to the same very action she had done back at the hotel before everything had quite literally gone to shit. She puffed out a breath and then stood straight before washing her hands, scrubbing hard under her nails to get all the dirt she could before she grabbed some towels and wiped them dry. She then pressed a hand gently to her chest and winced again, it had started to bother her as every movement had rubbed ever so slightly on the spot that had been hit thanks to her jacket.

She heard the cubicle behind her open, the creak of the door and watched as Emily moved to the sink to clean her hands before she raised her eyes to Naomi's reflection that was still holding her hand against her chest. Emily turned dried her hands and stepped towards her, unzipping Naomi's jacket and lifting her tee that she had hastily ripped earlier. Her hands cold against Naomi's skin caused her to flinch slightly as she traced them across a deep purple mark marring her porcelain skin.

Naomi's heart raced, she was sure that Emily would be able to feel it as she felt the smaller woman's hands on her skin again, it was surreal she was so cool calm and collected, her emotions didn't betray her, they were always kept in check, but here she was her heart pounding in her ears far louder than the beat of the music on the other side of the toilet door and she couldn't control it, and what worried her more was that she couldn't hide it either, that tiny fist sized muscle beneath Emily's hand was betraying her, pumping hard and fast.

No words were spoken there was no point in asking if it hurt, it was a given and would have been an unnecessary waste, Emily simply sent her a half smile as she pulled her tee back down and shifted to lean gently against the sink her head dropping to stare at the floor, Naomi let out the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding as she zipped her jacket back up and stared at herself in the mirror at least thankful that her ice cold blue eyes had remained just so.

She placed a hand on Emily's and gave it a gentle squeeze feeling more confident now she had that treacherous muscle back under her control and she pulled her towards the door before she dropped her hand and unlocked it heading up the stairs not far to her right. At least from up here they would have the advantage of being able to scan the crowd below. She leaned on the railing looking out and Emily leaned her back against it.

They needed a plan to get out of here, and all Naomi could think of practically was to find a car and to just drive and keep driving using their advantage that no one knew her identity, the only two people that they had crossed had only heard her voice and felt the hilt of her knife and the other hand been on the receiving end of a bullet from Emily's gun, so in theory it would work. People would be looking for two sisters anyway brunettes, not a peroxide blonde and Emily well she could just keep out of sight for now with greater ease in a car just by laying on the back seats until they reached a secluded distance. Plus they couldn't keep moving on foot, it was too slow and too dangerous and Emily was tired any idiot could see that, no they needed something quicker and more practical and logically a car was the best solution.

Naomi felt as though she was being watched, felt that there were eyes trained on her and it didn't take her long to find them. A woman, fairly average looking long brown hair and a white flowing dress, she looked out of it, probably high on some shit and then she watched as she turned to her friend next to her, a guy who looked completely sober and suddenly Naomi had an idea. She smiled at her sent her a wink and watched as the girls face lit up below her, she reached a hand out and motioned then watched as the girl started to make her way towards her as she bumped into people in her inebriated state.

Naomi turned to Emily who was gazing at…well…nothing in particular just seemingly lost in her own thoughts, she leaned in close so she could hear her over the beat of the music.

"How's your pick pocketing skills?" she asked and Emily just shrugged, taking that to mean 'so-so' she tugged on Emily's arm to get her to turn around to face the crowd as she stood closely behind her.

"See that guy, one o'clock, dark hair, red shirt, I'm willing to bet that he has a car here, he's too sober to not be driving. I need you to get close to him get his keys and meet me near the entrance in 15 minutes...Got it?" Emily nodded and began to head towards the stairs, she looked like a walking zombie but Naomi figured it shouldn't be too difficult to swipe his keys especially the way the crowd were moving against one another, she followed her partners path, watched her weave throughout the people loitering on the upper floors effortlessly and start to move closer to the target, it was only then that she felt the tap on her shoulder and remembered that she herself had her own part to play.

She turned around a brilliant smile on her face as she looked the woman up and down, she seemed nice which made her almost feel guilty for what she was about to do, to fuck with this poor girls life in such a reckless manner, but she knew the gravity of the situation and everything was just collateral damage like the guy in the woods and this would be no exception.

Leaning forwards she pressed her lips close to the woman's ear and drawled in what she hoped was her sexiest voice as she placed a hand on her hip and rubbed her thumb there gently "Hey beautiful, what's your name?"

She heard the gasp as she had spoken and knew then that this could work, it would be enough of a distraction for them to take what they needed and leave with no one noticing their suspicious exit.

"S-S-Sophia" she stuttered ever so slightly and Naomi felt like she was going to laugh that such a small action could cause this kind of reaction in this girl, Sophia.

"Sophia...Pretty name for a pretty girl" It was cheesy she knew it but this girl was so high she was on another fucking planet, she could have told her she looked like a goose and she would have probably achieved the same result.

"Come here often?" She asked just making some sort of conversation as she continued to rub her thumb across her hip, the strokes getting gradually more and more forceful. She felt Sophia tremble slightly under her touch and watched her nod before she leaned back in.

"Has anyone told you that you look like an angel" she watched Sophia shake her head from side to side to signal no. Naomi flashed her another smile before she placed both her hands on her hips and pulled Sophia close to her so their bodies were touching as she continued stroking her thumb more and more forcefully causing the fabric to rise and fall slightly.

She then took the moment to spin them around so that Sophia's back was pressed against the railing and she could check on Emily's progress over her shoulder, they needed to get the timing right for this to work at its best. Emily was getting closer but not quite there yet, the crowd so closely packed that it was proving difficult to manoeuvre there without literally looking like a woman on a mission. Naomi realised this would probably work out well, a little more time to get to Sophia and mould her perfectly to her needs.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to kiss an angel..." she drawled as she pulled back and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and saw Sophia's eyes wide and eager before she closed them and moved towards Naomi. She took the opportunity to take another look over her shoulder before she pressed her own lips against Sophia's, taking no time to deepen it as her eyes stayed on Emily in the crowd, watching her sluggish form moving closer to her target...almost there now. Naomi pulled away from Sophia's lips and moved instantly to her neck pressing wet kisses there, trailing her tongue across the skin every so often as her eyes were glued to Emily, watching her as she pretended to 'trip' and 'fall' into the guy as her hand snuck inside his jacket and a flash of silver was seen moving away in her hand and in that moment Naomi couldn't help but smile. Her skills weren't 'so-so' they had been perfect and they were one step closer now.

She continued trailing her tongue and pressing kisses to Sophia's neck as she watched Emily turn to look at her and she was surprised that she saw something flash across Emily's eyes, disapproval she presumed, disapproval for shamelessly using this girl and her friend for their needs. But the way she saw it, it was survival of the fittest and Naomi wasn't about to die just for some stupid pay check. She pulled back from Sophia's neck and kissed her forcefully pressing hard against her stopping only when she started to feel Sophia grind against her.

She pulled back and held her face between her hands, as she pressed a gentler kiss against her and closed her eyes for just a second whilst pushed her guilt aside.

When she opened her eyes they were cold, hard and if this girl hadn't been so off her tits she would have noticed the change, but she was too out of it and now was her opportunity to manipulate this poor cow to make a scene.

"Can you fly?" She asked as Sophia stared at her "I bet you can, all angels can fly and you're the prettiest angel of them all" Sophia beamed at her and her smile lit up her entire face as she nodded.

Naomi's jaw tensed as she knew for definite this would work now, she kissed her again and leaned in close not wanting to look her in the eyes as she whispered the next 4 words...

"Will you show me?" She watched as Sophia nodded enthusiastically, eagerly almost like one of those stupid churchill nodding fucking dogs.

"Five minutes, I'll be down there waiting for you to float down to me, alright?"

She nodded again and Naomi flashed her one more smile before she turned and headed to the stairs not looking back again. She moved quickly through the crowd as she pulled her cigarettes from her jacket pocket and pulled one out, lighting it immediately. She took a long drag and let the nicotine float through her lungs as she heard the start of a commotion behind her, nearly at the door she saw Emily and reached out to take her hand in her own as she pulled her towards the entrance of the club as she heard the screams behind her and watched as all the bouncers from the front of the club hastily ran from the entrance deep into the masses. She chanced one glance over her shoulder and watched as she saw Sophia standing on the railing with her arms spread wide and her face beaming at the ceiling before she saw her gently start to fall forwards. Naomi turned away, not wanting to watch her handiwork and pulled Emily forwards with more speed, literally dragging her out into the street as the screams and cries behind her grew.

She snatched the keys from Emily and began hitting the buttons on the bleeper waiting for the flash of the indicators to tell her exactly which car it was she was looking for. On seeing it she dragged Emily to the car before letting go of her hand and slipping in the driver's seat, turning the engine over before she slammed her foot down on the accelerator.

They made their exit from the city undisturbed, Naomi ignored the flash of the lights from the ambulance heading towards them, didn't care to think about exactly what it had meant.

They reached the border where Emily hid in the boot as Naomi swiftly crossed the checkpoint without issue. Emily hadn't spoken to her, not a word for hours now, once across the checkpoint she had remained in the back of the car and had curled into a ball as Naomi drove through the early hours of the morning. She kept an eye on her every now and again in her rear view mirror but she was just still and unmoving, asleep perhaps? If she was asleep she could only hope and presume that it was peacefully.

A couple of hours past the border, Naomi pulled over at a payphone and called on a secure line arranging a new extraction, this time much simpler just a private jet waiting at an airfield close by to take them back home to safety, this time it would be without the risk of being shot and having to run and she knew now there was no risk of Vendetta soiling their name with another botched mission that they would oblige without question.

She hung up the phone and slipped back in the car to find Emily in the passenger seat next to her now her eyes focused forwards, they didn't speak, just drove for a while more and it was only when they reached the airfield, left the car and were seated comfortably on the plane that Emily turned and thanked Naomi all be it rather coldly. It was only then that Naomi looked out the window letting the guilt sink in. They had both taken a life tonight, the circumstances dramatically different though but the result still the same, for her it wasn't the first time and she was almost certain that it wouldn't be the last, but it didn't make it any easier. She would dismiss it of course, she had to that was the way it worked but for right now she had to feel what she had done, it was the only thing that kept her human, the only piece of the old her that she clung on to.

She turned to look at Emily, her eyes focused on the brown orbs across from her conveying her guilt at her actions as she simply stared at her.

Emily gave her a half smile as she leaned forward and grabbed Naomi's hand. "I don't condone what you done, not for a minute...But I do owe you my life, I don't think I would have made it out of there without you."

Naomi nodded and gripped Emily's hand back for a brief moment before she pulled away and turned to stare out the window.


So errr don't hate me, I started writing this when I was ridiculously hungover and thought it was a good idea then, but then it started to occur to me that not everyone's mind is as warped as my own and I am a little concerned that it was a little bit too 'out there' for the masses, but I never said that it was going to be all sugar, spice and all things nice. I apologise if I offended anyone - but its just fiction kids - dont hold it against me.

Plus I solemly swear to only kill charecters that I don't like ) ... also let me know who you want killed off I'm sure I'll need some more victims in the future!

Anyway I appreciate any feedback, even if it is only to tell me that you didnt like where I took this.