Hi,

I know it's been a long time...too long and I am sorry for being such a loser for not updating, but it may be a while until I can update again because of some training and stuff, but I will try and update as soon as possible! Thank-you for the patience and all the wonderful reviews and follows! Enjoy and review!

Sam Turner sat in the far corner of the small coffee shop with his back to only one other booth. The smell of mixing vanilla, mocha, and hazelnut wafted through the air as customers talked loudly. For such a quaint little space he sure wasn't going to be getting any quiet. His coffee sat steaming in front of him and he had folded his black coat over the back of his chair. He distantly heard the bell above the door chime and his gaze fell on the familiar man standing close to the door.

"Mac!" he raised his voice against the crowd and quickly got up, moving over to his friend. He internally winced at the white cane clutched in Macs's hand and the dark sunglasses that shaded his eyes...he had only found out about the accident a couple of days ago.

Sam placed a hand on Mac's arm and his friend seemed to relax slightly.

"Hey, Sam," he said and allowed Sam to lead him back towards the booth he had picked earlier.

"It's crazy in here today," Sam smiled as he sat across from Mac, who folded his cane quickly and kept his coat on. He gave Sam a small smile, but didn't say anything. "You want anything?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm good," Mac's face was serious and Sam felt something twist in his gut.

"This isn't just two friends getting together for coffee is it?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Mac smiled apologetically.

"No, it's not," he lowered his voice. "It's about Jake Whitner," Mac said and Sam felt a jolt travel through his body as too many emotions rushed through him. "I was hoping you could help me wrap my head around a couple of things."

"Of course, anything I can do," Sam said with a half-hearted smile as he pushed back all the old memories and feelings.

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Mac sighed as he pushed his way out of the small coffee shop. The visit had provided nothing except old facts and old evidence. Sam had merely confirmed his suspicions and provided little for insight for what Whitner's next move would be.

He turned left and knew he was headed the right way because on the way in the wind had been to his back and now it hit him directly in the face, sending cold shivers down his spine. He was supposed to meet Stella two blocks down. She had tried to come with him, but he had insisted she grab some dinner before meeting up with him. Mac appreciated Stella's help and enjoyed spending time with her, but he also took pride in the fact that he could go some places on his own. He wasn't going to get in the way of her living her own life.

He counted the steps he took and was about to turn down the next street when footsteps caught his attention over the howling wind. He turned his head towards the sound and though the footsteps had stopped, the smell of leather and cigarettes told him someone was standing close. He slowly pulled his cane from his coat pocket and extended it. He couldn't hear anyone else on the street. His only choice was to continue to play ignorant and allow the person trailing him to believe he had the upper hand.

Mac turned the corner and listened carefully as the footsteps continued to hit the wet pavement behind him. The footsteps were too large and loud to belong to a woman and Mac could only imagine the size of the man they belonged to. He moved further down the small street, feeling the presence of a wall close to his left side. The footsteps behind him were close and he could feel the man only a couple of feet away. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest as he waited for the man's first move. Mac heard a grunt from behind him and twisted close to the wall just as the air beside him shifted and he felt the man lunge past him, where he had been standing only seconds before. Mac kicked away from the wall and swung with his cane. He heard a sharp intake of breath and a sickening crunch as the metal tip met solid bone. Leather swiped against leather as the man swung and Mac cried out as he felt something sharp stab into his arm. He ignored the pain as he quickly rotated left and swung his cane again, aiming lower and catching the man's knee. The attacker cried out as he collapsed to the ground. Without giving the man time to recover, Mac raised his foot and stomped it down on the man's face. Blood rushed in his ears as he heard the attacker's whole body hit the pavement and lay silent. Mac reached his hand out for the wall and leaned against it as he tried to catch his breath. He carefully reached for the source of the pain in his arm and felt the end of a knife protruding from his bicep. Blood flowed from the wound and slid down his sleeve. He gingerly reached for his phone with his other hand and hit the first button.

"Mac? Where are you? " Stella answered on the second ring.

"Uh, around the corner from you," he leaned his head back against the cement wall behind him as pain coursed through him.

"I'll meet you there...are you okay? You sound a little out of breath," she asked

"I'm okay, just ran into a small problem," Mac said with what he hoped sounded like a smile.

XXXXXXX

"Is that a knife sticking out of your arm? A small problem? What the hell, Mac?" Stella's voice was laced with concern as he heard her heels come to a stop next to him and felt her hand gently touch his arm.

"Looks like I had a little follower," Mac nodded his head towards the unconscious man next to him.

"I leave you alone for an hour and this is what I get," Mac could hear the smile she was pushing through her worry.

"I'm fine, Stella," he said softly.

"You can say that until you're blue in the face, but you're still going to the hospital," her tone left no room for argument. He nodded wordlessly as she called for an ambulance.

"Well, this brings an interesting new twist to that 'you should see the other guy' saying," she said as she hung up the phone and they waited for the ambulance to arrive. "Who is this guy anyway?" She voiced the exact thought that had been running through his head since he had first heard footsteps.

XXXXXXX

"Okay, a couple more stitches and you'll be free to go, Detective," the young nurse said cheerily. Mac nodded in acknowledgement as he stared at her general shadow in front of him. As silence filled the small white room, his ears picked up a name coming from the reporter on the TV that made his stomach lurch.

"Could you turn that up?" Mac asked as he strained to listen to the news. The nurse moved and suddenly the words were loud enough for him to understand.

"That's just terrible isn't it? That man murders all of those people and just walks out of prison? Makes you wonder what the world is coming to," the nurse said as she finished his stitches. Mac clenched his jaw as he heard the details of Whitner's escape from the bland voice on the TV. He could almost imagine Whitner's taunting face plastered all over the screen as he was placed on a glorified pedestal by the late night news.

"Yeah, it makes you wonder," Mac murmured just as his cell phone rang from inside his pocket.

Okay, this might be goodbye for a while, but I will be back as soon as possible! Thank-you for reading and please review and make suggestions!