Jane pulled over to a gas station. She pulled out her gun from the center compartment, slipped it in the back of her slacks and walked out. After gassing up and getting some food from the convenience store she returned to the SUV and drove off.

She checked the rear view mirror as she had done so many times. Since they left Chicago everything seemed clear, no indication that they were being followed. And as she leaned back the gun bumped against her body and she shifted forward in her seat, removed the gun and placed it back in the center compartment.

Lincoln had already opened a bag of chips and started munching on them as he studied her. He had never seen a woman so adept at handling a gun before. Actually she seemed adept at handling almost any situation and he grinned, thinking she could probably handle him as well. Most men folded under his strength, but Jane looked like a woman who had enough skills to bring him down. And he found the idea very erotic.

"Jane," he said reaching the bag of chips toward her and she grabbed a few. "When we were back in Colorado…when you shot Leon. That wasn't the first person you killed was it?"

"No it wasn't. Why do you ask?" she had an odd look on her face.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you. Heck, you saved my life, you saved my son's life. It's just…"

"It's just what?"

"It's just I've not shot anyone before…I know I was supposed to shoot Steadman. I was in the garage with a gun, but I never went through with it. Somebody beat me to it that night. I just wonder if…I wonder if I could have done it. I mean I had to get high just to walk in there," he started to stare at the bag of chips.

She studied him, wondering what he was thinking. Did he judge her or just struggling with his own demons?

He turned back to look at her. "I never thought I could just walk up to somebody and shoot them. But there was something in me that was ready to do it. I had no choice."

"Why? Was it to pay off the 90 grand?"

"No," he shook his head. "I wouldn't have killed anyone for money. There are more important things than that…Like my son."

"I don't understand."

"They told me if I didn't off the guy…that they were going to kill my son."

Jane looked at him with compassion. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. They told me that the guy I was supposed to off was some sleeze, some low-life drug dealer. They never said it was Terrance Steadman. Man, they played me good."

"Killing is a capital offense. Were you concerned about getting caught?"

"Of course. Plus I never killed anyone before and I was scared. But…they were going to kill my son. His life is worth more than mine. I was willing to spend my life in jail if it meant he was safe. LJ was all I could think about."

Jane had studied his face. How had he gotten so caught up in this? Lincoln was definitely a man with a huge heart, but he didn't think things through. His love for his family and his need to put them first, had gotten him in trouble. He borrowed money to save his brother and give him a better life, only to be faced with the prospect of losing his son's life in the process. What a horrific irony.

"So what happened?" she asked.

"Well, I walked into the garage. My mind was all messed. I paused at first, then I was about to walk away. There was no way I was gonna kill someone. Then I kept thinking about my son. They were going to kill my son. So I took out this weed I had. I bought it just to clear my mind."

"Since when does marijuana clear your mind?"

"It doesn't. But I needed to get through it," he paused. "So I see the car and I walk over there with my gun drawn. My hands were shaking and I couldn't feel my feet. I was so numb. But I kept saying, just shoot and walk away. The guy is a low-life drug dealer. Nobody's gonna miss him…But just before I got to the car, before I saw him, there was some doubt…I started to think, maybe I'll just walk away and take my son with me, flee the country. But then again, I was worried that they would find us and kill my son…Then I looked in the car and saw him dead. His head lying on the steering wheel with a bullet hole in his head and I had to look again, focus. Was he really dead?" Lincoln said and took a deep breath.

"Then what?"

"I ran out of there."

"Where you thinking it was a plot to frame you?"

"Nope. I was scared out of my mind. There was a dead body in the car and I was standing there with a gun in my hand. I just wanted to go home and clear my head."

"So what happened when you got home?"

"I had to wash my face with cold water. To wake up from this nightmare…I remember feeling a sense of relief though. I didn't have to kill this guy, somebody had done it for me, so I was off the hook. They would think I did it and my son would be safe. But then I looked and saw the bloody pants in my bathtub and the cops stormed him. It all happened so fast, I could barely think."

"So when did you realize it was a set-up?"

"When my attorney told me about the evidence, my fingerprints on a gun I didn't use. See I dumped the gun I had and it was never found. Then there was the whole business with the bloody clothes in my tub. That's when I started to put it together. But it was too late. They framed me good. The evidence was stacked against me…I just wasn't thinking. I borrowed the 90 grand and look at what happened," he shook his head in disgust.

"If it's any consolation, they would have gotten to you no matter what. The 90 grand just made it easier to control you. But they could have threatened your son at any time."

"I guess. But I still brought it on myself."

"That's the thing about conspiracies. The conspirators have no remorse in what they do to people and how they destroy people's lives. It's the victims that carry the burden of the guilt. They feel responsible for something that, in the end, is out of their control."

"So what are you saying? Let the guilt go and blame it all on the company?"

"Why not?" she said and smiled. "After all they are the ones that devised this plan to begin with. If it wasn't for them, you would have never ended up in the garage to begin with. You wouldn't have been so conflicted between killing a man and saving your son."

He laughed. "That's true. I keep telling Michael not to blame himself for everything that's happened. He broke me out and as a result a lot of people died. And not just by the hands of the company, but from the criminal that escaped with us, T-Bag."

"And here you go blaming yourself…You like playing the martyr don't you," she said smiling.

Lincoln laughed. "It does seem that way sometimes. But no, I would rather be a normal person, living a normal life. Now I just have to figure out how to do that."

"You and me both."

"So what about you? When was the first time you killed someone?"

"You make me sound like a hit woman for hire," she said jokingly.

"I didn't mean too," he said grinning. "I was just curious."

"Well," she said looking straight ahead. "I used to work for the FBI. Only for about 6 months until a friend of mine, this guy I knew…" her voice started to fade. "Well he introduced me to the company,"

"Wo Jane. You knew a guy. And here I thought you had no male friends," he said teasingly.

Jane blushed a little.

"I think I hit a nerve," Lincoln said. "So what was this guy like?"

"Lincoln," she said and shook her head.

"Ohhh, now I have to know. So were you and this guy more than friends?" Lincoln said, very curious what her taste in men were.

Lincoln studied her as she bit her lower lip. Must be a nervous habit she had when avoiding a sensitive subject.

"I thought you wanted to know when I first killed someone."

"Not anymore."

She bit her lower lip again and he found himself drawn to her mouth. She turned to look at him and caught him looking at her lips and this time he blushed, turning his head toward the road than back at her.

"So are you going to tell me about him?" Lincoln asked.

"Why do you want to hear about some guy I fell in love with?" she asked.

Then suddenly he felt a pang of jealousy. Jane had been in love. Why did it bother him? He had fallen in love with a woman also. And he was still in love with that same woman. So why should he care about her past love?

"I don't mean to pry," Lincoln said. "You don't have to tell me." Truth be told, Lincoln wasn't sure he wanted to hear it now.

"It's alright. The short story, he was a nice guy. We had a great time and it ended. I guess all good things come to an end," she said solemnly. One way or another they come to an end.

"Was he with you when you made your first kill?" Lincoln asked, changing the subject, avoiding her love life.

"My first kill!? The way you make that sound."

"You know what I mean," he said grinning.

"Yeah I know. No he wasn't with me," Jane said. She too was happy the conversation shifted to something she could handle talking about. "I had been in the bureau for like 4 months, I was on a case. We were making a bust on some warehouse owned by this syndication."

"You're talking about a warehouse owned by the mob?"

"Yes. The crime boss wasn't there, just some of his underlings….So we enter the warehouse and guns went off. This guy had a gun on my partner and was about to kill him when I shot him in the chest."

"Where you scared?"

"Well, I've hunted animals before, so I've killed prior to this incident. But killing a man is a whole different matter. I had a lot of emotions running through me. I had the adrenaline of the moment and I basically acted on instinct to save my partner. But afterwards….when I had time to think. I kept seeing the man fall to the ground. I kept hearing my gun go off….It's odd…Time really does stand still. To this day I can remember killing him. I remember it so vividly," she looked at Lincoln. "I guess the first one stays with you."

"And now? Has it gotten easier?"

"Yes it does. Not because I've gotten used to killing a person, but because I know why I'm doing it. I have a cause and I fight for it. I fight for innocent people, like you."

"Like when you killed Leon and saved my life."

"Exactly. I won't lose sleep over that one."

"Believe me, I'm grateful. I'm glad you saved my life."

"Me too," she said and they both looked at each other and smiled.