Sorry about the shortness. Thought might want to know what's happening. Enjoy.

He woke her quietly from her uncomfortable position on the chair. Gender equality sometimes kicked you in the back. And it felt a little as if someone had. It wasn't a recliner. Having only got to sleep a couple of hours beforehand she was understandably uncooperative. He shook her again. She blinked and checked her watch.

"It's four o' clock in the morning."

"Yes and the bus we need will arrive in thirty minutes. Don't make me ask you again?" She pulled her blanket around her. "We don't have time to shower. Some clean clothes are on the dresser."

They were by the road within twenty minutes. Lisa could feel the beginnings of a sleep deprivation headache. She had a feeling it would be a long day. The bus pulled up and they got on.

"So, exactly where are we?" She settled into a seat in the middle of the bus. She could tell that Rippner felt uncomfortable in such an exposed situation. She wasn't sure why he insisted on taking the aisle seat, it wasn't as if it was in her best interests to run away.

"Georgia."

"Ever specific and descriptive. Wait, you mean we have to be on this bus for a whole night and day?"

"It could have been worse."

"How?"

"My other contact is in Colorado."

"And you're still not telling me." As the sun came up, Lisa pulled the curtain over but it stuck halfway. She sighed and snuggled up against the seat, resting her head against the window pane. Rippner sighed exasperatingly at something and dug in his bag. A pair of sunglasses appeared in front of her half – closed eyes. She frowned at them for a moment before taking them and slipping them on. "Thank You." He grunted.

"I can't have you dropping from sleep deprivation." He settled into the seat beside her, shifting his eyes over watchfully to the front of the bus. Once or twice his hand twitched for a weapon he didn't have anymore. Lisa didn't care about the obvious vulnerability Rippner felt without any obvious means of protecting himself, she cared only about the sleep she wanted to get back. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

When she woke it was afternoon and a jacket had mysteriously appeared which covered her like a blanket. Rippner's eyes were closed but he wasn't sleeping. She was surprised that he had let his guard down for a moment. But then she couldn't think of many people who would be able to stay alert for so long on such a long bus ride. She looked over at his watch. She had been sleeping for twelve hours. Clearly she had needed it. She reached over Rippner for her bag on the seat beside them. There had been no room in the overhead for it. His hand caught her wrist before she had even made it halfway. He relaxed when he saw it was her.

"Sorry, force of habit." He released her wrist. He handed her the bag. She pulled out her bottle of water and sipped. Swallowing the liquid made her realise that she was in desperate need of the toilet. Rippner reluctantly let her out of his sight. He didn't wait for her outside this time but when she returned to their seats, she could sense that he had been tense while she was gone. She wondered what it must be like to live in such a high stress environment all the time. Then she wondered why she cared at all. It would probably be better for her if he did suffer a heart attack from stress. The bus stopped once or twice to refuel and Lisa convinced him to at least let her stretch her legs in the parking lot. She desperately wanted to call her father and saw the payphones that were only a few meters away. She knew it was too dangerous.

When they returned to the bus, night had fallen. Rippner was blinking rapidly and his hands were balled into fists. She recognised the signs of exhaustion. He had been up for almost fifteen hours and had probably had no more than five hours sleep.

"We can switch places. I can keep guard. I need something to do anyway."

"It's fine." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I'll be fine."

"How are you going to stay alert if your dead on your feet by the time we reach Chicago?"

"I'll manage somehow."

"You know, you're going to have to learn to trust me sometime, if you don't then you're putting us both in danger." She could see his resolve cracking.

"How do I know you won't leave me here?"

"I could have done that at the Motel."

"But where would you have gone?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, we'll be here for a few more hours and you need to sleep." She used her best customer service persuasion voice and gradually felt him caving. They did switch places and he eventually slept. It was strange to see him without a fake smile or the perpetual frown. Sh kept her eyes, dutifully on the front of the bus, though what they would do exactly in the event of someone dangerous boarding the bus, she had no idea. When they pulled into the bus station, she nudged him awake. She envied his apparent ability to be immediately alert upon waking and decided it must be from training. Then disembarked and slipped into a taxi. She didn't recognise the place that Rippner asked the man to drive to. They were discharged from the taxi and Rippner paid in the precise amount, leaving little in the way of a tip.

The small building was a record shop dubbed 'Late Night Records' with flats above from the look of it. There was a bell in the door which sounded loudly, making her jump when it closed behind them. A man with very dark hair and an even darker jacket appeared from below the counter. He put his palms on the counter. His demeanour was reasonable, even friendly. Lisa found herself wondering how Rippner knew someone who seemed so ordinary. But then she remembered that Rippner could be ever so charming when he wanted to be. He nodded at them as they passed, not bothering to move. Rippner lead her into a back room. He lifted a well concealed trap door and descended into a basement. She hesitated for a moment before following him down. She debated the wisness of descending into a dark cellar with a killer but knew she could handle herself. The switch flicked and halogen light bulbs buzzed into life revealing something she didn't expect.

"Guns. You brought us all the way here for guns." He had opened a cabinet that boasted one of the largest collections of weaponry that she had ever seen. Of course the largest collection she had seen was her Uncle's expansive hunting rifles collection.

"Did you think that we would defend ourselves from these people with hockey sticks?" She felt a wave of guilt before remembering that he had been trying to kill her at the time. He handed her a 15mm. She held it out in front of her, away from her body.

"It isn't loaded?"

"I can't imagine why you would think it was."

"Just checking." He continued to pull out weapons until he found what he was looking for. A semi- automatic handgun. Lisa sighed and sat down on the carpet. It was clear they were going to be some time. When Rippner was quite happy with their newly stocked arsenal, for which he used her bag. Once they were done Rippner lead her up the stairs in the back of the shop into a small living room that had a single bay window looking out over the lights of the city.

"What are we doing here?" Lisa dumped her bag by the doorway and remained standing, reluctant to sit down again after so many hours of doing just that.

"We'll be here for a few days. Ron is ex – military, trustworthy. There are a few other things I need to while we're here."

"Yes but what exactly?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Lisa sighed in frustration and went into the bathroom to wash up.

So what do you think? Too rushed? Should I be doing more of anything?