It seemed like an age that he had been left outside the window but his watch told him that it was only thirty minutes. Just as he was starting to feel abandoned a light tapping sound from behind alerted him to her presence. Turning his head he saw that not only was the room now lit, but the window was open and the girl had her head leaning out. "Sorry but you're going to have to climb in. Dad's watching the evening news so he won't move from where he is." She lifted the window wide and offered her hand. The climb caused a shooting pain in his wound that made him involuntarily gasp out loud.

"Shhhh!" She hushed him as he landed heavily with a thud.

The room was larger than he expected. The door was to the side, a large bed sat in the middle and in the narrow gap on the floor between the bed and the window a camping mat, blanket and pillow had been laid. Her voice was all business. "Take off your shoes and lie here, I need to look at your wound."

Still weak from his injury and stunned by the unexpected and thoroughly undeserved kindness he had no choice but to do as he was told, allowing her to remove the hoodie and unbutton his shirt. "I'm sorry I took so long. My dad lectured me for being late. Then he lectured me for 'losing' my jacket. Then he made me sit with him and eat. I couldn't get away any faster..." He saw the way her eyes glazed when she saw his bare chest and it raised a faint ironic smile. That look was a common female response. He worked hard to take care of his body and maintain his physique. His job required a strong body and a strong mind and he prided himself on having both. Of even greater fascination to her was the tattoo of an angel that he had over his heart. It was an intricate drawing of a chubby smiling little girl baby with wispy blond hair. Her wings were wide, one wrapped around her like a soothing blanket and the other slightly extended, seemingly wrapping itself around both her and him, then reaching up, the tip creeping up onto his neck, sometimes high enough to peek slightly above his collar depending on what he was wearing. It was an image that meant the world to him.

He watched as she tore her eyes away from his body art and focused back on the task in hand. The time that had elapsed since the injury allowed his shirt to start to stick to his wound and the exertion of climbing in through the window had caused it to start bleeding again.

"Did you keep the pressure on?" Her voice seemed to bring him back to what was happening and he nodded, showing her the now ruined hair tie which he'd been using. He knew enough basic first aid to understand the importance of pressure on a bleeding wound. But again he winced as she slowly pried his caked and stiffened shirt from the injury. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do to make this part-"

"Don't worry!" He hadn't meant to snap at her in response. It was the pain talking, but she already seemed to understand that. Taking the pillow she propped it upright against the wall. "Here, sit back. It'll help." He pulled himself back against the wall and again caught her admiring his muscles, but her eyes always returned to the tattoo. He waited for her to ask about it but no question was ever forthcoming. "Nearly done..." She finally finished easing his shirt away and he helped her by sliding out of it completely. Averting her eyes from his naked torso she began cleaning the wound with a cloth which she dipped in a small bowl of warm water. "It's not too bad!" He watched as she carefully cleaned the wound. "The bullet skimmed your skin but didn't penetrate fully. The outer edge of the wound is deeper and it seems to have taken a bit of flesh with it but thankfully it doesn't seem to have hit anything internally. It's a nasty laceration so it'll definitely leave a scar. It looks like you'll be okay without stitches as long as we keep the edges of the wound together."

Her calmness as she worked amazed him. "You sound as if you're used to dealing with gunshot wounds!"

She shot him a searching look and shook her head. "Just what I've seen on TV. I always wanted to be a doctor but here only men can be doctors. I heard that in other Sectors women have more career choices." She wrung out the cloth and continued to clean the wound, avoiding his stare. ''No Sector is perfect. This one is good for some things but not so great for others. We all need to learn from each other and take the best from each world." Refusing to meet his eyes she shrugged. "But what do I know? I'm just little old me and my opinion's not important."

That wasn't true. "I disagree. You speak more sense than most out there, believe me."

"Yeah, well..." She'd finished cleaning the wound and was checking the skin around it for debris and other injuries. Her touch was light and made him breathe that little bit more deeply. "I'm sorry we don't have much first aid stuff so I have to improvise. She pulled out a small knife and before he could question what was happening an aloe vera leaf appeared and she sliced into it. "This will keep the wound sterile and promote healing at the same time." She sliced the piece lengthwise and put the cut side against the wound covering it completely. He took another sharp intake of breath. It stung like hell. She secured it with surgical tape from a very old looking kit. Then came another of the long pieces of fabric she used in her hair. This time she wrapped it right around his torso to secure it. He had to lean forward to allow her to get the fabric all the way around him and the movement put them in close proximity. He used the opportunity to watch her, unobserved. Everything about her was still angelic despite the fact that he knew she was definitely human. And a Sector 17 human at that!

When she finished she admired her work before tossing him a shirt. "It belongs to my brother. He's away at the moment and won't miss it." She turned her back and allowed him to slip it on himself. Once done she turned around and actually did something that was half way towards a smile. "There, that's better." She got up and vanished from sight returning a couple of seconds later carrying a small tray bearing a mug and a plate. "I'm sorry there's no more dinner left but I've made you a warm chocolate and malt drink which is really filling and there's some bread, butter and cheese to have with it. I made the bread fresh this morning and I can assure you its good.' He eyed the items hungrily. It hadn't occurred to him until that very second that he'd eaten nothing since breakfast and the smell of the drink was making his mouth water. Before touching them however, he eyed the two white capsules on the plate next to the bread warily.

"Just something for the pain so that you can get some sleep. If you don't trust me you can leave them, I won't be upset. I'm just trying to be helpful." She started to look uncomfortable again. "You go ahead and eat while I go in the bathroom and get ready for bed." He'd totally missed the small door to the side on first appraisal of the room. The pain was obviously dulling his senses. How could he not notice that she had an ensuite! "Anyway..." She rocked back on her heels and quickly stood up and frowned, at a loss for further words.

Before she could turn away he did something completely out of character. Somehow without thinking he'd reached out and grabbed her hand and now he looked straight up at her. "Thank you!"

Her face broke out into a megawatt smile that was like a ray of sunshine. He hadn't seen a full smile on her face until now. And strangely enough he liked it. "You're welcome. And thanks for not killing me and taking an injury for me. To tell you the truth… I guess wasn't ready to die today." Then she turned and was gone. He heard the sound of teeth being brushed then moments later she returned wearing a set of blue striped pajamas and sat on the bed watching him in silence for a few minutes before speaking again.

"While you're eating I'm going to set out a few ground rules. Firstly, keep your voice down at all times. It's deep and I don't want anyone to hear it. Secondly, you are the first man outside of my family to ever set foot in this room and if you in any way attempt to abuse that privilege I will not hesitate to hurt you. I am my daddy's baby girl and he taught me self-defense before he taught me how to walk. Being the only girl in this family, my dad is respectful of my privacy and never comes in here. If, by any chance he does look through the door, you're shielded by my bed as long as you stay on the floor. Thirdly, and most important, this bed is my personal space. You do not look at it and you do not touch it. The same goes for me. What happened outside by the tree was just to get us out of the situation. I know the conversation I had made me sound like I'm one of those girls but I'm not. I may need you, but I don't need you for that!"

His curiosity got the better of him. "So what do you need me for?"

"To get out of here." The answer surprised him and she stared back at him hard. "But I'm still working on my plan so I'll tell you more about it tomorrow."

"And what does you plan mean for me?"

"It means that you don't die."

At this point, he couldn't really ask for anything better than that. He also couldn't fight the huge yawn that escaped his mouth. He'd opted to take his chance with the pain killers and they had worked quickly. Nobody was ever going to follow him into Sector 17. Hell, nobody would ever expect the likes of him to even step foot there! Now that the adrenaline had gone and his wound was dressed, his body had automatically entered rest mode. He knew she was eyeing him carefully but a second, larger yawn escaped anyway.

"We'll talk more in the morning. You need to rest." He watched as she climbed under her covers. "In the bathroom is a spare toothbrush and towel. You need to stay down on the floor at all times and use the bathroom only when I'm in the room. And don't even think of trying to move around the house during the night. I've locked the bedroom door and the key is hidden where you'll never find it."

"Are you scared of me?" He didn't know why he asked but he needed to know. She looked at him with those big dark eyes. "Yes. Yes I am still scared of you. But it's not the kind of fear you think it is. I know you're not going to kill me. I can see it in your eyes. Besides, there are other things scare me far more than you."

It made him feel good to know that she was still scared of him even if he didn't quite understand what she meant about other things. To a degree he was at her mercy right now, but her fear of him still left him some power which he could use in the future if it became necessary. Safe in that knowledge he used the bathroom before putting the pillow onto the camping mat and pulling the blanket over himself with another yawn.

The next words out of his mouth came as a shock to him. "Diva is a pretty name."

She paused. "Diva is not my name."

"But that girl- she called you…"

"It's a nickname. A title. My name is Mercedes."

"Mershaydis?" His tongue struggled with the sound because it was a name he'd never heard before and it sounded foreign to his ears. She snorted in amusement at his accent.

"It's pronounced Mer-say-dees!"

"That's what I said. Mershaydis!"

She giggled and a wave of anger shot through him. How dare a Sector 17 girl laugh at him! Then he remembered that not only could he not raise his voice, this girl had done for him what nobody from his own Sector would have done. The thought calmed him as he listened to her continue, "You're funny! When I was little and couldn't say my whole name properly I used to call myself Jay. It's short for my middle name which is Jael. You can call me Jay."

Jay was definitely easier and he liked it. "They're nice names."

"They're from the bible. They were both good women, and Jael in particular was a heroine who saved a nation. She, like me, was not to be messed with, and not afraid of men."

He felt himself being drawn into a conversation he was too tired to be getting in to. "Well thank you for saving my life today Jay."

"Thanks for not killing me! It seems strange, we've been through so much together and I don't even know your name either!"

"My name's Al-" He paused. Was telling her his name really such a good idea? "You know what. Maybe I shouldn't tell you my name. People are still looking for me. Bad people. It's a protection for you if you don't know who I am."

She pushed herself to the side of the bed and looked down at him. "I don't think it's fair that you know my name but I don't know yours. What am I supposed to call you?"

"You can call me whatever you like!"

Her eyes hardened. "So I can call you gunman?"

"You could. But that's not really a name."

She thought about it for a moment. "You want me to give you a name?"

That was an interesting idea to him. "If you want."

"In some Sectors people are given names based on who they are. People get to know them first then they give them a name that they think is fitting."

"So if I tell you my story you'll give me a name?"

"Yeah."

"And if I won't tell you my story?"

"Then I call you 'gunman'. But I don't want to. When I looked into your eyes tonight I saw that you were far more than that."

It unnerved him that she appeared to have peered right inside him at the very moment they'd met and Alex didn't yet feel ready to share his story with this stranger. He suddenly felt defensive. "Then 'gunman' will have to do!" He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and turned his back to her. "Goodnight Jay."

Silence.

He knew that she was staring at him but she didn't care. He didn't want to talk.

"Fine!" She switched off the light and he heard her turn her back to him. "Goodnight murderer!"

He's been through a lot, but this whole situation had to be the strangest thing to have happened to him.