Break's afternoon dragged on in much the same fashion as the morning, with him wandering the streets in search of more clues as to his Jackrabbit's whereabouts or the identities of his employees in Haiti. He'd spotted Raven several more times, always with a target a few hundred yards ahead of him, but hadn't been bold or stupid enough to follow him down the alleyways or into the run-down buildings where he pursued them.

When the day began to wane towards a gorgeous and vibrant sunset, Break found himself drawn out of the dingier parts of Port au Prince on Raven's heels. Petionville, the city's wealthiest neighborhood, came upon them with the subtle grace of coy laughter, replacing the heavily trafficked bustle of the main streets with something softer. As the atmosphere around him shifted, Raven's posture became more relaxed and his pace slower. With his hair freed from its ponytail, a cigarette between his lips, and his hands casually in his pockets, Raven could have been anyone. Only his tattoos and the now infrequent glances over his shoulder marked him as anything but a wealthy European tourist out for a stroll in the tropical evening.

Break paused inconspicuously to consider a gorgeous view of the ocean visible through the trees lining the streets, keeping an eye half-trained on Raven as he turned down a wide, cobbled street lined with large and well-illuminated storefronts. Raven stopped on the corner and pulled a sleek black device from his back pocket. At first it appeared to be a phone, but when Raven flicked his wrist, the palm-sized square of metal unfolded, and a small screen popped up. Break strained to read Raven's lips as he leaned in close and murmured something into the device. As soon as Raven drew back, a small holographic interface popped up and hovered in the air over Raven's hand. Break shifted and took a map from his back pocket. He leaned against the wall facing the street and unfolded it, doing his best to remain inconspicuous. He pushed his sunglasses further up on his nose to disguise the direction of his gaze, then squinted in concentration and focused once more on Raven.

The image hanging in the air above Raven's hand struck Break as instantly familiar. It was a map almost identical to the one he was holding. Only the digital version Raven held was full of strangely illuminated points and glowing lines drawn over and between streets. Break watched as Raven raised a finger and tapped one of the points. The map zoomed in immediately, and Break recognized an overhead view on the street where they were standing. Raven swiped his finger along the interface and the street rushed by. He tapped once more to stop the image's movement as a beacon of illumination appeared over one of the storefronts further along the street. He zoomed in momentarily and squinted at something written in the corner of the digital map. Satisfied, Raven swiped his hand through the center of the digital map, sending it scattering into a flurry of pixels that vanished almost immediately. He snapped the miniscule computer shut and stuck it back in his pocket, then set off deliberately across the street. Break tracked his progress with his eyes, watching as he strode through the door of a well-lit tailor's shop and out of view.

When Raven was gone, Break pushed himself off the wall and folded the map into his pocket once more. He picked up his cane and tapped it on the ground at his feet, then set off down the hill back the way he had come.

The walk to his hotel was short, only a few blocks from the main street of Petionville where he'd left Raven. Break allowed himself to take the walk slowly, enjoying the warm wind in the trees and the remaining hints of gold and rose still twisting through the clouds overhead. He removed his notebook from his pocket once more and flipped through it casually, marking notes on Raven's movements here and there throughout the most recent pages.

By the time he reached the hotel's lobby, the sunset had begun to fade into ochre twilight and a chill breeze had begun to draft up from out over the ocean. The doorman gave him a nod as he strode up the street, and Break thanked him with a wave as he pulled the door open for him. The small lobby hummed with the sound of a loud air conditioner situated behind the front desk, and three or four massive fans turned slowly overhead, cooling the sprawling space. Break smiled at the woman behind the front desk, then cut his way through the lobby's wicker chairs and low tables to the elevator. After a day of following Raven, Break was on high alert. The glances and raised eyebrows he received from the few other guests milling about the lobby made him jumpy, and he leaned with his back against the wall as he waited for the elevator to arrive.

Once he was upstairs at last, and had bolted his door and swept the room for possible hidden cameras or weapons, Break finally allowed himself to relax. He leaned his cane against the wall next to the queen-sized bed and tossed his switchblade onto the bedside table. Then he shrugged out of his shirt and collapsed face-down onto the middle of the mattress, heaving a heavy sigh. Barely a moment passed before he was already drifting towards a doze, carried along by the sound of the ocean drafting into the room through the open window and the jet lag still dragging at his bones.

Break jumped, and gasped so sharply he set himself coughing as a sharp buzzing sound jittered through his room. His eyes flew open and he bolted instantly into a sitting position, still spluttering. He looked around wildly for a moment then rolled his eyes as something on the floor caught his attention. The buzzing was emanating from his suitcase, a disastrous mess of well-worn checkered fabric that sat open on the floor beside the bed, its contents littered on the floor nearby. Resisting a powerful urge to ignore the call, Break scooted to the edge of the bed and leaned haphazardly over to fish his cell phone from a zippered pocket inside the suitcase. He sighed again as he turned it over and read the name flashing on the screen, beneath a glowing M16 insignia. After throwing himself back onto the bed, Break reluctantly tapped the phone's screen. The buzzing halted immediately, replaced by a robotic woman's voice.

"State your name and rank," it demanded.

Break hit the speaker button and threw the phone down onto the bed beside him. "Xerxes Break, 007," he muttered.

The phone gave a chirp and the robotic woman's voice returned. "Identification not recognized. Please state your name and rank."

Break rolled onto his back. "Fuck offfff…" he groaned.

The automated message spoke again, undeterred by Break's frustration. "Identification not recognized. Please state your name and-"

Break snatched the phone and brought it up to his face, only centimeters from his lips. "Xerxes Break, 007!" he said loudly, putting harsh emphasis on each syllable.

The phone gave another reluctant chirp. "Identification recognized. Call waiting from…" the robotic voice faded, replaced by an achingly familiar human one.

"Cheryl Rainsworth," it said.

The automated voice spoke again, undeterred by the string of curses that came from Break's mouth. "Would you like to receive or decline this call?" it asked.

"Decline…" Break grumbled.

"Very well, Mr. Break. Thank you for – "

Break's eyes widened and he jolted once more into a seated position. "No, no, no! I was kidding! Receive, receive!" he said, shaking his phone violently.

The phone gave a smug chirp. "Very Well, Mr. Break. I will connect you now."

A moment of silence passed, then the phone let out a sharp ping as the call went through.

Break didn't even have time to draw breath for a greeting before a sharp voice rang out through his room. "You were supposed to report in an hour ago, 007. Where the hell have you been? Do you think this is a game? Do you think I wouldn't have sent anyone else if I could have?!" it raged.

Break threw his hands in the air. "I just got in! I'm not kidding you, I just walked through the door!" he replied defensively. "I just spent the whole day tai – " Break clenched his fists as the sharp voice cut him off again.

"You didn't answer my question, Break. Where the hell have you been! We have no backup available for you whose identities Jackrabbit doesn't know, other agencies' presence in Haiti has been on the decline with relations getting worse, and you just vanish? Are you trying to get yourself demoted?!" the voice exclaimed.

Break crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at his phone. "I thought you said you didn't have any other agents whose identities Jackrabbit doesn't know," he mocked.

There was a moment's pause, and the sound of a steadying breath being drawn. When the voice spoke again, it was terrifyingly quiet. "So help me God, I will pull 002 or 001 out from under cover if I have to…" it said.

Break smiled. "Save yourself the effort…I found him," he said smugly.

The silence from the other end of the line thrilled through Break. He uncrossed his arms and examined his short nails.

"What? No comment?" he asked.

Finally, the voice spoke again. "You…found Jackrabbit?" it asked incredulously. "You?"

Break rolled onto his stomach. "Almost…I found Raven. That's where I've been all day. Tailing him," he said.

Another moment of silence passed. "Well congratulations on doing your job," the voice said sharply.

Break gave his phone a smirk. "You could just say you're proud of me, Cheryl," he drawled.

Cheryl's response was instantaneous. "I will not say I'm proud of you until Jackrabbit and Raven are both in our custody standing trial for every major drug-related crime committed in the past five years!" she shouted. "Now you have thirty seconds to start giving me your damn report, or when you get back from this mission you are through!"

Break pulled himself into a sitting position once more, suddenly serious. He took the notebook and map from his pockets, and thumbed through the pages he'd written that day to find his most recent notes. He laid the map on the bed beside the open notebook and glanced between the two. He put his finger on the map and began tracing the route he'd taken through the streets that day while following Raven. "I found him at the pier first…things in this ring must be going south. He was looking for someone. And he found him," he said.

"Was it an employee of Jackrabbit's?" Cheryl asked, her voice all cool seriousness.

Break tapped the place on the map that marked the street where he'd found the body of Raven's first victim of the day. "Yeah. At first I wasn't sure, but when I examined his body I found Jackrabbit's insignia on him," he replied. "And he wasn't the only one. Raven tracked and killed at least five employees today, maybe more. I wasn't with him all day, I'm too conspicuous here and he's too suspicious. He would have noticed me if I'd kept a constant tail."

Cheryl huffed. "Well it's nice to know you retained at least some of what we briefed you on," she said.

Break glanced down at his notebook. "Yeah…" he hesitated. "He was operating as himself, too…not as Gilbert Richardson," he finished.

The line went dead quiet. Break could picture the look of shock and confusion on Cheryl's face.

Break flipped a few pages back in his notebook and continued. "There must be something bigger going on here. Jackrabbit never sends Raven out undisguised, even to take people out," he said.

"If this ring's in enough trouble for Jackrabbit to be this unsubtle, this could be the chance we've been waiting for," Cheryl said in disbelief.

Break tapped a photograph in his notebook and smiled coolly. "Yeah it could," he said.

When Cheryl spoke again her voice had regained all of its business-like authority. "Your next step is to find a way to get to Jackrabbit himself…this is where things could get dangerous. With Raven constantly guarding him, he's nearly invincible," she said.

Break picked up his phone and disabled its speaker mode. He pressed it to his ear as he flopped once more onto his back. "And what if Raven weren't guarding him?" he said slyly.

Cheryl scoffed. "You aren't the first agent who's thought of taking out Raven first. I'm running low on body bags, I'd prefer not to have to send one all the way to Haiti," she quipped. "There's one man on our force that I would confidently send into a fight against Raven, and it isn't you. Find another way," she said sharply.

Break looked over at the mess spilling from his suitcase. "Cheryl, I don't intend to fight him," he said, his voice dripping with honey. Cheryl was silent. Imagining the shock on her face made Break smile as he continued. "It's not like his preferences aren't well known…and it seems to be a strategy no one's tried before. There's more than one way to get a person to drop their guard," he said pointedly.

Another moment of silence passed before Cheryl spoke up once more. "I didn't know you swung that way, 007," she said wryly.

Break laughed. "There isn't a way I don't swing…I'm already set to go with this. Tonight. When I was tailing Raven earlier he was looking at some sort of digital interface with places all over the island marked on it. If I can get that computer, I have no doubt I can find Jackrabbit. This whole thing could be over in a matter of days," he said triumphantly.

Cheryl gasped softly. "Raven's personal interface…" she said, her voice low and calculating. "Alright, 007, you have my permission to go ahead with this. We have trackers on you, but I'll need your intended location to pass on to surveillance in case anything goes south."

Break scooted to the side of his bed and began half-heartedly rifling through the contents of the suitcase on the floor. "He'll be in disguise again, and there's only one place in Port Au Prince a man with standing like Gilbert Richardson's would go for a drink…the Diamond Plaza," he said.

Break jumped as something on the other line slammed into the floor. "No. You are not to follow Raven to the Diamond Plaza! You know who owns that place! You don't need to be dealing with Hunter and Jackrabbit on this mission," she shouted.

"Hunter was spotted in South Africa checking up on one of his mines three days ago," Break argued.

"Without Leo!" Cheryl retorted. "The last thing you need is the world's most dangerous close-combat fighter and the world's deadliest sniper on your ass. If Leo's not with his master, the chances of him being in Haiti to threaten Jackrabbit and Raven are painfully high. Hunter and Jackrabbit's rivalry has gone deadly before. That is not a crossfire you want to be caught in," she said.

"Awww, I'm touched. If I didn't know better I'd say you were worried about me," Break said with a melodramatic sigh.

Cheryl laughed loudly. "Don't flatter yourself," she replied icily. "You're familiar with Leo's alias, aren't you? He operates the same way Raven does as Gilbert Richardson, as his master's personal valet. He goes by the name of – "

"Glen Baker," Break interjected. "I don't do all the reading, Cheryl, but I do most of it."

"Don't interrupt me!" Cheryl snapped. "I expect a full report on all you learn tonight, including any sign of Leo. Hunter's been too quiet lately, I don't like it," she said slowly. There was a brief pause. "Do you understand the seriousness of what you're doing in Haiti? Everyone on the damn planet's been hunting Jackrabbit for years. He's the most conniving, manipulative, elusive piece of shit on the planet and he's right in the palm of our hand. Taking him down is instrumental."

"Yes ma'am," Break replied lightly. "I'll be in touch in the next few days."

"Be safe," Cheryl said. "And don't fuck it up."

The line went dead with no exchange of goodbyes.

Break dropped his phone onto the floor beside the disarray of his wardrobe. He pulled himself onto the bed again and picked up his notebook, thumbing casually through the pictures and clippings there. Do you understand the seriousness of what you're doing in Haiti? Cheryl's voice echoed in his head.

Break smirked. "Even you don't understand the seriousness of what I'm doing in Haiti…" he said quietly.

Another phrase cropped up in Break's thoughts. Taking him down is instrumental.

Break traced a finger over a name written in his neat handwriting on one of the pages of the notebook. Taking him down is instrumental…because then I'll be able to get to you…

Break narrowed his eyes. "I'm coming for you, Zai," he said coolly.

The Diamond Plaza glittered as brightly as its namesake in the cool night, its white marble walls and glowing windows a brave statement of marble against the tapestry of a dark blue sky littered with a smattering of stars. Raven ran his fingers through his hair as he approached the door, and pulled an intricate gold pocket-watch from his jacket pocket. The doorman did his best to hide a look of surprise as he approached.

"Good…good evening Mr. Richardson," he stammered.

Raven flashed him a cool smile. "Likewise," he said. The doorman's eyes flicked to the pocket watch in Raven's hand. He followed his gaze then snapped the watch back into his pocket. The man's eyes shot to his face once more.

"Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything we can do to make your evening more enjoyable," the man continued nervously.

Raven nodded a farewell and brushed past the man into the elaborate lobby beyond. Ornate furniture was littered about in elegant formations, with wealthy hotel patrons scattered artfully about it. The walls were decked with rich paintings of seaside settings, and light music echoed through the room, emanating from a grand piano perched elegantly in one corner. Raven set off across the room, coolly ignoring the gazes of the patrons who turned to stare and whisper as he entered. Raven's bold golden eyes and pale skin were brought to artful life by the deep teal shirt he wore, and the fine cut of his black suit placed him in an elegant class above even the wealthiest of the other patrons in the room. He strode easily towards the bar, one hand dipping into his pocket to retrieve the pocket watch once more. He dropped it from his palm and began to spin it by its chain, in time with the slow, confident pace he kept.

Something caught Raven's eye as he walked, and his face settled into a mildly dissatisfied expression. He paused a moment then changed his course, dodging between a set of gorgeous couches and approaching a small cocktail table in the center of the room. A single, slight figure was seated in one of the two high-backed chairs there.

She looked up from the book she was reading as Raven approached, and blinked at him through a set of delicate glasses. As easily as Raven's face had settled into dissatisfaction, her well-formed lips turned up in a slight smile. Her long, dark hair was swept away from her face into a gorgeous braid, and her hands concealed beneath a pair of long white gloves. The deep blue satin dress she wore tumbled like an ocean around her crossed legs, and a gorgeous, diamond-encrusted necklace draped around her long neck and thin shoulder blades.

"Mr. Richardson," she lilted sweetly as Raven paused before her table.

Raven rested his hands on the empty chair across from her and narrowed his eyes. "Good evening, Miss L'Vitsa. What brings you to Haiti?"

The woman uncrossed her legs and set her book on the table. She leaned forward on one elbow and blinked slowly at Raven. Her eyes wandered to his pocket watch, and she reached up a casual hand to toy with the rich diamond necklace around her neck. "I heard there was a problem with the local rabbit population…have to keep them in check, you know?" she said with a small shrug.

Raven gave her a sweet smile. "Well, I'd be careful if I were you, miss. It only takes one false step for the hunter to become the hunted…" he replied.

The woman sighed and leans back in her chair. She picked up the drink on the table beside her book and took a delicate sip. "I'll keep that in mind," she said as she lowered the glass.

Raven popped his knuckles. "Have a pleasant evening," he said icily.

"You as well," the woman replied with a little wave. She set down her drink and picked up her book once more, returning her attention to it before Raven had even turned from her table.

Raven resumed his course towards the bar, forcing away his irritation. He approached and pulled out one of the barstools, tossing the pocket watch casually onto the counter beside him as he did. The bartender, a gorgeous woman with ebony skin and an intricate tumble of braided hair, appeared almost instantly. She gave Raven a smile. "Good evening sir, would you care for a drink?" she asked.

"Vodka and tonic. With a lime, please," he said politely.

The woman nodded and bustled off across the bar.

A soft whistle to his right made Raven jump. He turned sharply, his eyes landing instantly on a man who had appeared beside him. He was slight and elegant, and moved with a dancer's grace as he pulled out the barstool beside Raven's and leaned an elegant cane he carried against the counter beside it. He was even paler than Raven, with dark eyes and white hair pinned back at the base of his skull. Raven's eyes were glued on him as he moved to sit, unbuttoning his black pinstriped jacket and adjusting the knot of the gold tie around his neck as he did. He raised his eyebrows as he craned his neck to watch the bartender. "Damn, she's gorgeous," the man said smoothly.

Raven's gaze flicked to the man's hands, which had settled on the bar in front of him. They were awake, alive as a magician's, and full of an expectancy of movement at every moment. The man looked over and at Raven and gave him a charming, curious smile.

"You're not Gilbert Richardson, are you?" he asked. His voice was lively, and his dark eyes sparkled inquisitively.

Raven gave a small, embarrassed laugh. "I am," he said with a nod.

"Wow!" the man exclaimed. He shifted in his chair, turning to face Raven and extending a hand.

Raven took it, and they shook. "I didn't catch your name," he said.

The man leaned back in his chair. "I'm Maddon Kent," he said. He laughed, and gave a small, one-shouldered shrug. "But my friends call me Mad."