Disclaimer: I do not own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.
San Francisco was known for its earthquakes, but this particular night was tremor-free. For everyone but Chance, that is. His world was shaken to its very foundations.
"I was 32 years old, single, with a shoebox apartment downtown and a job that wouldn't get me anywhere. When this guy, Brunner, approached me, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to break free from everything", Katherine explained, slightly trembling. She kept throwing unsure glances at the team.
"Solid ground", Chance thought bitterly and nipped at his drink.
"Stealing the book from Joubert seemed so easy – he wouldn't call the police, right? And Brunner already had buyers who had paid him part of the money in advance… But then Brunner got shot, right in front of me." She shuddered at the memory.
"Truly innocent." Chance took another sip at his drink.
"I wanted to disappear right after his death, but the police was on site way too fast and put me into witness protection. Then you came along and I figured it would be easier to get away from you than from them. When you left me alone on that boat, I fled as soon as you were out of sight. I was already running when it exploded."
"Trust."
Winston studied Chance carefully. Self-reproaches about leaving Katherine alone on that boat had eaten away at him for years, playing a big part in his unnerving habit to throw himself into the line of fire of every gun available. He felt deep hostility building up inside of him, a feeling he had never thought possible in connection with Katherine.
A feeling that was, unbeknownst to him, shared by Ilsa. One look at Chance's face, the way his jaw line was set, the way he stared into his glass with opaque eyes, and she knew he was terribly upset. Just like she had feared he would be.
"At first I thought I'd just keep on living like I did before, only at another place, but the …guilt… about being part of a crime, about betraying you, didn't leave me alone. I joined a charity organization and started working in Asia."
Ilsa nodded. "That's how we met. Marshall and I visited one of our projects in Bangladesh and you were introduced to us. As a member of the logistic team, if I remember correctly?"
"Doesn't explain why you're here now", Guerrero stated. They all recognized that tone. It was usually reserved for interrogation; interrogation with the help of a certain tackle box…
Chance wasn't sure if he liked Guerrero's attitude towards Katherine. She had betrayed him, yes. But on the other hand this was Katherine. The be-all and end-all without whom he wouldn't be here right now but most likely still running with the Old Man.
"Someone poked around, a private eye named Harry something. That alerted the buyers from six and a half years ago – they became aware of the fact that I'm still alive and they threatened me – they want the book they paid for or they'll kill me."
"Harry?", Ames asked incredulously. "Clumsy white guy, balding, rather nerdy and talks too much?"
"That's the way he was described to me, yes."
"We need to talk to him. Find out who hired him." Chance put down his empty glass.
"Last thing I've heard, dude ran off to Mexico. Someone scared him", Guerrero said.
"Can't we just give the buyers the book?", Katherine timidly addressed him. Last time they met he had been planning to kill her, after all.
"The book was destroyed some months ago, when we rescued Winston from one of the parties incriminated by its content." Guerrero studied her reaction carefully. She was shocked.
"So there's no chance for me to get out of this mess?"
"It's our job to save people", Ilsa stated calmly, trying hard to keep the edge out of her voice. She didn't like the way Chance looked at Katherine. Not at all. She wasn't jealous, mind you – that was the least of her concerns right now. She could see Chance slowly slipping into "fanatic" mode; the same mode he had been in most of the time during the ordeal with that South American freedom fighter, Maria. In this mode he was inaccessible for reasonable argumentation and solely focused on his recent crusade of choice, no matter how high his personal risk.
Unbeknownst to her, Guerrero shared her worries. He could see Chance slowly losing it; he was still in the first stages, but things could get very worse, very fast in the blink of an eye. "We should follow the money Brunner was paid in advance. That'll lead us to the buyers and then we can decide what to do next."
They all agreed this was the way to go. Outside, dawn was breaking. Since they had all had very little sleep during the night, they decided to get some rest and come together for a first meeting in late afternoon. Chance told Katherine she could stay at the office, he would keep an eye on her. He locked eyes with Ilsa, wondering if she would object.
"I trust you", the look on her face said and he was relieved. Relationship issues were the last thing he needed right now.
Katherine retreated to the spare bedroom next to his own and he curled up on the couch, a strategically more advantageous position, should anyone go after her. It was unlikely, though. The buyers were still under the impression she was in the process of retrieving the book. Why should they strike now? Given this relatively stable state of affairs he should have gotten some hours of if not peaceful, then at least undisturbed, sleep. Instead he kept weaving in and out of consciousness, a vague thought not leaving him alone. He couldn't quite grab it, it was elusive and hazy, but there was something that was bothering him deeply.
Past noon, he suddenly snapped out of sleep with one clear realization on his mind.
Guerrero. Oh damn, Guerrero.
Only then he noticed Katherine in a bathrobe standing by his side.
A/N: A big thank you to tree979 for reading through my rather lengthy outline of the chapters to come and giving very helpful feedback!
