Chapter 1

The sun had long since set when Jane Sullivan awoke from a deep sleep. She was feeling cold and at first, had no idea where she was. She glanced up, glancing around the room, trying to get an idea of where she was. At first, besides the bare king-sized mattress, there was hardly any furniture in the room and none of her personal belongs were there. There was nothing about the room that said 'home'.

She glanced at the open window to find the city glowing with lights and she instantly knew where she was. San Francisco. She picked up her phone and saw it was a little after nine in the evening. No wonder it was so late in the day, she had slept all day and well into the evening. "That's the last time I ever fly overnight," she said as she got to her feet and stretched.

Earlier that morning, she had landed in San Francisco at four in the morning. It hadn't been the most relaxing flight, but when she arrived, she felt better knowing that she had arrived at her destination rather than spending another four hours waiting for a delayed plane that may or may not arrive. From there she took a taxi to her new apartment and unpacked.

It was a little after eight in the morning by the time she finished unpacking. By the time she finished, she was too tired to do anything else. She then collapsed on the mattress without even bothering to put her new sheets or blankets on the bed.

She got up, pushing a lock of her elbow length dark brown hair out of her face, and went to the kitchen to find something to eat, only to find that she didn't have much besides a cold Starbucks coffee and a packet of crackers and peanuts from her flight.

Guess it was time to get some food, plus she did need some caffeine. She took out the Starbucks mug, wrinkling her nose a little at the flavour. The ice had definitely deluded the flavour, but it was better than nothing. Besides, she needed the extra caffeine to wake up. She took another sip, but the flavour was so bad that it was no longer drinkable. She tossed it into the garbage without another thought.

She took out her phone and found the convenience store that was open 24 hours as well as a nearby McDonalds. First things first, she thought as she headed back to the bedroom to change out of her clothes from earlier. Some food and then get the essentials. She quickly changed into her jeans, a dark blue shirt and her leather jacket. She wiped under her eyes from where her mascara had smudged while she was asleep and added some foundation to cover up the dark circles under her eyes.

She checked over her appearance, her straight, elbow-length dark brown hair was still okay so all she had to do was run a brush through her hair. Her emerald eyes that were slightly bloodshot before was now clear. At least I don't look like I've been smoking weed, she thought.

She picked up her bag, but before she left the apartment she quickly booted up her laptop to see if she had any new emails.

Nothing.

She quickly logged onto her hacker program, Webster Serpent, to check if there had been any new assignments for her. Once again, there was nothing. She checked her hacker program, but it was empty. Nothing had been uploaded yet. She shook her head. She had been hoping for something yet, her contact and source at the Life Foundation told her she would attempt it later tonight when everyone had left. Maybe there were still people around or something had come up which made everyone stay late.

She created an alert on the program as well as her email for her contact, if the name came into her email, it would send out an alert like a text message to let her know if there was any new activity, even if she wasn't anywhere near her computer.

She logged out of Webster Serpent but left the computer on standby before she left the apartment.

San Francisco was a beautiful place, but there were a lot more steep hills than she was used to. It made her miss the flat little plains of her home town in Canada. On the plus side it was a little warmer, especially now that it was January. It didn't take long for Jane to reach the McDonald's restaurant, but just as she was rounding the corner, she spotted a homeless woman, crouched on top of a flattened cardboard box, curled up with blankets and a clumsy hand written sign asking people for spare change.

The sight of the homeless woman gave Jane a small pinch inside of sadness inside her chest. She hated seeing people like this, when they were reduced to nothing and nobody even bothered to help them, people just walking by, going on about their business and not bothering to help them or even glance their way.

Jane then made a decision; she went inside the restaurant, ordered some food and came outside with two bags and a tray with two mugs of hot chocolate. She handed out one of the bags and the cups to the homeless woman. "I thought you could have something warm in your stomach for this time of year," said Jane as the woman stared wide eyed at her. The woman seemed to hesitate, but upon seeing the bag that contained hot food, she accepted. "Thank you," she said in a somewhat shaky voice. "But why-"

"I just wanted to make someone's day a little brighter," said Jane. "Plus I know what it's like to be where you are." The woman smiled a toothless smile at her. "You're very sweet dear," she said. "I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem," said Jane. She smiled at the woman. "I'll see you later okay?" She walked away, sipping on her hot chocolate as she went, grateful that she had something warm to drink on this cold night. Along the way she ate her food, trying to savour the flavour and warmth.

As she walked away, she felt a creeping chill right behind her. She turned back, but upon finding no one there she continued on, although the creeping chill didn't go away. It was just when she was turning the corner when she heard loud raucous laughter, followed by the noise of shattering bottles.

She felt her stomach clench, she was hoping that she wouldn't have come across people like this. Not only that she forgot her Taser at her apartment but also her can of pepper spray was still on the counter at home. How could she have been so stupid not to have grabbed it before she left? She grabbed her keys, just in case she needed to use it as a weapon.

She gathered what little courage she had and walked around the door, keeping her head down and doing her best not to draw attention to herself.

Unfortunately, her efforts were wasted. She was just rounding the corner and had managed to pass them, who they seem to be minding their own business when one of them spotted her. "Well, well. What have we here?"

Oh crap.

She tried to ignore them but it wasn't until she heard footsteps behind her and then a hand suddenly grab her arm, did she turn around. Unfortunately, she couldn't see who her attackers were because they were shinning a flashlight right in her eyes, blinding her. She raised her hand in an attempt to cover her eyes, at the same time stepping back, trying to put some space between her and whoever had hold of her. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, as she saw someone was approaching behind her. She knew exactly what was going on, she was surrounded by the men. There were four of them, as far as she could see. "Well, well. What have we were?"

"Hey, Donnie, maybe she's here to party with us?"

"Yeah! Hey, girlie, you gonna give us a show?"

"Hell no!" snarled Jane, clutching the keys in her hand so tight she felt the ring digging into her hand. She felt someone trying to grab her messenger bag, which made her spring into action. She spun around, using her keys as brass knuckles and didn't hesitate for a millisecond before, with a moment as swift as a lizard, and she slashed a deep wound into his cheek. He went flailing at the air as Jane turned around, pivoting on her heel to kick one in the chest. She felt a satisfying crunch as she heard him fall backwards.

She took another step and lashed out with her fist, this time feeling a nose five way under her knuckles. She heard a howl of pain, which made Jane smile in satisfaction. She heard footsteps behind her, but before she could turn around she felt something hard cracked her in the back of the head.

She let out a cry of pain as she raised her hands to her head. She felt someone kick her in the ribs, where she left out a cry of pain. She tried to let out a kick, but her assailant caught her leg and was able to knock her over. "You stupid bitch! You broke my fucking nose!"

"You deserve it you asshole!" snarled Jane. Unfortunately it was the wrong thing to say, the next thing she knew, she felt a piercing pain as she felt a switchblade cut her left arm, tearing her leather jacket in the process. Jane let out a scream of pain. She tried to lash out a kick, trying to take out whoever was closer to her, but whoever was around her, jumped out of the way. "Aren't you a feisty one," growled a voice. She felt a hand on her throat as she felt a cold blade touch her throat. She squeezed her eyes, shut hardly daring to look, for fear if she did the end would come a lot quicker. "You'll be lot of – GHK!"

She then heard the sound of a collapsing body. "Ma'am?" she heard someone ask, as she felt a warm hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes and found – she must have passed out and begun dreaming. There was no way this guy could be real. Dark hair, baby blue eyes, a strong face and, from what she could see from her view on the ground, a rather athletic body as though he had spent several hours at the gym.

She blinked. "Y-Yeah," she said, sitting up before placing a hand on her forehead. "Ow." The pain in her head was bad, she felt like she had a migraine. She felt something hot and wet running down her arm. The stranger reached out and grasped her left arm and saw the wound she had gotten from the switchblade.

He must have seen the blood running down her arm, because he offered a hand. "Let's get you to the emergency room," said the guy, helping her up and putting an arm around her.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm fine really."

"That blood on your arm says otherwise," said the stranger. "Plus you looked like you got a few hits here and there." He looked at her sideways. "On the other hand, where did you learn to fight like that? You look like you took self defense lessons."

Jane sighed. "I took karate when I was ten years old. Unfortunately I had to quit when I turned fifteen."

"How come?"

"My sensei had to focus on his studies. He told us that there would be no more karate after we graduated from our blue belts."

"Wow five years? That's impressive." He looked impressed. "Did that also involve using your keys as brass knockers as part of your training?"

"Well it comes from experience," she said. "Plus I read about it in a book. The character was about to be attacked when she used her keys as brass knockers. The guy that was going to attack her got a really terrible injury. Hit him in the cheek. It said he was bleeding like a pig."

They had arrived at the emergency room, which thankfully was empty. They were able to get into a room, after explaining to the nurse that Jane was assaulted and that the stranger, Eddie Brock, happened to get to her just in time before anything else could be done. They were then escorted to a hospital room, stripping off her leather jacket and lay on the bed.

The doctor came in and checked on her head injury to make sure she was all clear and got her head x-rayed to make sure she didn't have a concussion. Other than a bump on the head, she didn't have any other injuries. Then when it came time to get her wound stitched up, Jane almost passed out when they had to give her anesthetic to numb the area.

Thankfully, Eddie had been there and was able to catch her before she fell off the bed. "You alright?" he asked. "I'm fine," she said. "I just wasn't expecting the needle that's all." It was a second before she added, "I don't like needles. They make me faint."

Eddie chuckled before putting a hand on her cheek. "Isn't that why I'm here? Distract you from the little needle?" Jane felt her cheeks burn and her heard rate pick up, although it didn't go unnoticed by Eddie or by the doctor as he was preparing her arm for the stiches.

Eddie grinned as he wrapped his arm around her. "You two seem like a really good couple," he said. This brought Eddie up short. "Oh, we're not really dating," he said. "We just met earlier tonight," added Jane, wincing when the doctor began stitching. "We weren't dating or anything. We just – met" The stitches didn't hurt thanks to the anesthesia, but the feeling of her skin being tugged on felt funny without there being any pain.

The doctor looked surprised. "Oh, well, um – pardon me then." He resumed stitching, probably embarrassed at his earlier comment. "So where are you from?" asked Eddie. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"I'm from Canada actually and I just got here earlier this morning. My flight got delayed for six hours. I was supposed to be leaving at 5 o clock last night. I didn't leave until midnight, so I didn't get here until four this morning." She broke off as the doctor finished the last stitch before he got up and went to grab some gauze from the cupboard.

"What made you come down here?" he asked. "I got accepted temporary job for about six months. Maybe longer, we'll see how it goes," she said as she broke away from Eddie's gaze to look down at the doctor, who was now applying a gauze pad to her wound. "Plus I'm looking for someone. It's kind of personal."

She felt a hand touch hers, she looked around and found Eddie holding her hand, at the same time she felt an electric current going through her as though he had physically shocked her. "It's okay," he said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She hesitated, trying to process his words before she smiled and gently squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

"Alright there Ms. Sullivan," said the doctor. "You're good to go." He then have her some discharge instructions on how to take care of the stitches as well as her head injury, but she might as well have thrown it in the garbage for all the good it did. No need for it once I have my friend back, she thought as she and Eddie left the hospital.

"How come you refused the pain medication?" he asked. "Surely you would want some to make you feel better?"

"I have a high pain tolerance," she said. "I've dealt with a broken arm for three hours before I got to a hospital. A broken arm hurts a lot worse than this." She raised her left arm, where her sleeve was a little more bulky due to the bandage. "Trust me this felt more of a papercut than a broken bone. I don't remember much of that night, I just was playing rough with my brother then I hit the wall wrong and I just felt this pain go up my arm. Thankfully my parents got to the emergency room and they got me patched up. I passed out not long after we got into the hospital. I didn't even feel it when they put in the IV and re-broke my arm before casting it."

"What were you doing that you broke your arm?" he asked. "We were playing hockey in the garage," she said. "He sort of body checked me, I hit the wall a little too hard and the next thing I knew I heard a loud crack. It was then that I started screaming from the pain. Since then I've always been a little bit more careful about I do. I mean I do still play, but I'm just more careful to make sure I don't hurt myself. I'm just thankful I injured my left hand rather than right hand."

"You're a tough girl," he said. "I mean you did show it to me back there. I mean you were able to defend yourself and you got stitched up without shedding a tear." "Thank you," she said. "I really mean that. I guess I should say I owe you one." He shook his head. "You don't owe me anything," he said. "I'm just glad I was there to help." He hesitated. "Although maybe if you wanted to go for coffee."

"Sure, coffee sounds good," she said. "I thought you had to work?"

"I told them I would need a few days to get unpacked and settled in. I start on Thursday. I should be able to see you before then."

"Sounds good."

They had reached Jane's apartment, but Jane made no move to go inside. "Thank you again," she said. "I really appreciate it. You don't know how grateful I am that you were there."

He reached out and placed a hand on her cheek, once again that electric current went between them, although it was stronger than before it had been in the hospital.

"Hard to believe you're from Canada. I would have thought you were from New York… you're so tough."

"I can be nice, just don't make me mad."

"How nice?"

He reached out to tuck some hair behind her left ear, before leaning in to press his forehead against hers. Jane opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't due to the electric current that was now pulsing its way through her like it was a living organism and her heart rate was picking up to the point she thought she was going to have a heart attack.

On the other hand, she felt her body freeze when he moved into her personal space as her stunned brain that was trying to figure out on what to do. There was a part of her that didn't like the fact of how close he is with her, but then there was another part of her that wasn't close enough.

He was waiting for a response, she smiled. "Sorry," she said, smiling and feeling somewhat embarrassed. "You're making me nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"Probably what I'm thinking of doing right now."

"Would that be this?" He then leaned in to brush his lips over hers. She froze, at first unable to believe this was happening before she relaxed. The kiss was all heat and hunger with longing, it had been a while since she had been kissed, but there had never been any feeling like this when she had kissed her ex-boyfriends. She felt his hands wrap around her, pulling her close to him, before they rested at the small of her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She could taste a faint flavor of beer on his mouth, but it wasn't overpowering. She could even smell a musky smell that drove her even more into the kiss.

They pulled away for air, both of them feeling breathless from their make out session. "Been wanting to do that since I seen you," he said. "I- I just don't know how to explain it, but I didn't want to push it." "So, you're not looking for a one night thing?" asked Jane, breathing deeply to get as much needed air back into her lungs.

In answer he smiled. "No," he said. "I just come out a bad break up a few months ago, so I want to take things slow this time. I not quite ready to take that step with anyone yet, I just don't want some short fling."

She put a hand on his cheek. "I understand," she said. "I'm not looking for anything like that either. I'm looking for something that wants to last and something that's concrete, not just about meaningless sex. My last two boyfriends wanted to have sex with me but I turned them down."

"Tough and smart," he said. "I like that about a girl." They were just about kiss again when an alarm went out, making the two jump apart. "What was-"

"Jeez that's my cell phone," said Jane, pulling out her cell phone. She saw two notifications from Webster Servant

ITEM ADDED: LIFE FOUNDATION

Available on Chat: Dora Skirth

Crap, thought Jane. Dora's going to kill me. She looked up at Eddie, giving him an apologetic look at Eddie. "I'm sorry it's work," she said. She held out her hand. "I'll give you my number that way I can text you." She quickly punched her cell phone number into his phone before he gave his, gave him a quick kiss good night before she went upstairs to the apartment.

By the time she got to her apartment, her computer was positively shrieking at her and blinking with the serpent logo as though it were having a seizure. "Alright, alright, I'm here," she said to the computer. She hit the space bar which turned off the alert. She quickly logged into her computer to find that Dora was still on the chat.

Dora:Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for an hour!

Lisbeth:Sorry, something came up. I almost got mugged but I slipped away.

Dora:Oh my god, you weren't hurt were you?

Lisbeth:No I wasn't hurt, thankfully I was rescued. Got away with a few scrapes and bruises, but other than that I'm fine. So what's up?

Dora:I was able to get that program uploaded. You were right, it wasn't that hard. Didn't need a password.

Lisbeth:I'll send you compliments to Anton. I helped him write the program. We tried to make it a program that doesn't require logging into the computer.

Dora:You got that information already

Lisbeth:Yep got it. It'll be a bit before I can access the network

Dora:How long?

Lisbeth:Maybe two days, depending on how much stuff he has on his hard drive. Once that's done, I'll have my other program find as much evidence as we can. I'll let you know when it's ready.

Dora:Excellent!

Lisbeth: What do you plan on doing with the information?

Dora:The world needs to know the truth about Carlton Drake. He's…..

Lisbeth:an evil son of a bitch?

Dora: he's messed up alright and he's definitely an evil son of a bitch. I thought we were making the world a difference, but he wants to create a whole new species of some kind.

Lisbeth: Oh my god! The sooner we get this guy exposed the better! I still have those scars when he took the package away from me. Believe me I want nothing more than to give him the same treatment he did to me when he stole the package. Does he want to do the same thing with the package too?

Dora: That's exactly what he's doing! He's been doing that with the package, and right now – he – it's a he right?

Lisbeth: Yes it's definitely a he, anyways go on

Dora: Drake's been trying to make the package bond with other test subjects (homeless people that are volunteers), but the package has been refusing each test subject, sometimes he's killing them. He's even lashed out at the test subject after he's killed them

Lisbeth: I think he's trying to send a message. 'Bring me back to my host'. How has he been doing?

Dora: He misses you. He lets out this cry every night every time I leave for work. It's kind of heartbreaking.

Lisbeth: Damn it Dora, don't make me cry. How soon can we get him out?

Dora: Tonight if you really want to. Are you up for it?

Lisbeth: Hell yeah, let's get him out. I don't want him to spend another minute in that hell hole.

Dora: Excellent! I knew you were going to say that! Can you meet me in front of City Hall? What will you be wearing?

Lisbeth: I'll be wearing a black wig and carrying a black messenger bag. Ask for Veronica. I'll be there in half an hour; hopefully my injury doesn't slow me down

Dora: Roger that!

Dora has disconnected from the chat.

Jane smiled as she logged off the program. "Hold on there Hybrid," she said. "I'm coming for you."