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With a bored sigh, 'Nora Shepard' turned around and saw the flashing lights of the police. They were pretty far behind her, but it seemed to appear they took their sweet time before they figured out she as going well beyond the speed limit. She snorted and accelerated even more, weaving through cars, semis, and buses with ease on her speed bike. When the cop was momentarily blinded by a bus, she turned off the lights on her bike, and quickly weaved in front of the bus, then off into a ramp. True to form, the police missed her completely as she made a sharp right and out of sight.

"Idiot," she mumbled when the sound of the cop eventually faded into nothing. She turned the lights on and made her way back to the reservation. The blood tests she had taken a long time ago had determined her to be part Native American and part Hawaiian. That had led her to find the tribes in the southwestern states . While it took her back in the general direction of OLA, it was still far enough that she didn't need to worry about it.

Under several government acts, members of the Tipai indian tribe had expanded their lands to the point where they didn't require handouts anymore and were more than capable of living interdependantly with modern society. They were also close with the local Navajo tribe for protection from the occasional radical hate groups that would spring up from time to time.

It had been a year since she moved down from Fairbanks to Phoenix. With her remedial education and training complete, she was free to go about anywhere as she wished as a citizen of the United North American States.

As Nora Shepard.

The thought still bothered her. While with every passing day, the thought that she was no longer Ann, but Nora Shepard, seemed to be more acceptable. Ann was just a street punk from OLA. Nora Shepard was a good person that thought about others before herself. She was also smart.

That wasn't to say that Ann had remained as ignorant and violent as she used to be. While the violent and malicious edge she had developed as a youth was still there, it wasn't as blunt as it used to be. If there was someone she didn't like, she'd find ways to end them without anyone knowing about it. It was more amusing to her to see people flail about as their security fell apart around them, unaware that it was Ann, no, Nora, who had ended them.

However, outing Red Sand and Halex dealers to the police was losing its charm. Nora was getting restless. As the wind beat against her helmet, the rain droplets on her visor told her it was going to rain again. Great. Wasn't Arizona supposed to be a desert? Did they have a Weather Service now?

Not pleased with the prospect of her bike getting soaked she picked up speed, thinking about getting back on the highway when she realized she wasn't far from Max's house. Max Van Patten, her boyfriend of four months.

When they met, they were at a factory where she had applied for work. However, there was nothing for her there, but she did, however, meet a nice guy that made her smile. He was a few years older than her, a bit lanky, not as tall as her, but he had guts. He was a yapping dog that had the courage to stand against a lion. The first few months of their relationship had been interesting.

Turned out the son of the owner of a factory he had been working in had been doing dirty. The punk was a control freak and developed some delusion that he was capable of controlling anyone he wanted in this part of the city. Too bad she, with Max's help, lead the police to evidence of his dirty work and now with him behind bars, the workers there actually seemed chipper whenever she came to visit him during lunch breaks.

However, perhaps it was her, but for some reason, her restlessness had seeped into and begun to mess with her feelings for Max. He was a nice guy, soft enough in all the right places, but hard where it needed to be.

Perhaps it was ennui. Maybe she was bored. But she could not find a reason why she wanted to keep seeing him. Perhaps part of her was afraid that he was eventually going to want to get serious. Afraid of intimacy and marriage? Perhaps. Either way, whatever intense feelings she had when they were an item before had long cooled.

That was why she wanted to speak with him tonight. It wasn't the only reason. She knew he was planning on taking his well-worn van and travel the eastern states. She couldn't blame him. There was only so much one could do in the deserts of Arizona.

When the rain started to come down harder, she pulled up in the driveway of Max's quaint and humble home. Homes like these were a dime a dozen, easy to build, required little maintenance and were large enough for small families to grow up in. She had heard they were also prototypes for prefabs that people in the off-world colonies used to live in on newly settled worlds.

She wondered what kind of crazy person would want something so small in light of newer and better units. But it wasn't her place to judge as she parked her bike in the alcove of Max's driveway so her bike wouldn't get soaked.

She walked up to the door and knocked on it with her fist quickly.

"Hey, Max! It's Nora! It's pouring out here!"

A moment passed and then the door opened, she quickly stepped in and pulled off her helmet. Her hair had gotten longer, but it was no longer dingy or dirty and she was quite proud of how well it looked when it shimmered in the sun. An additional touch was the single white and red eagle feather she kept in a braid over her right ear.

"Hey, Nora," Max said with a smile as he walked up to her, hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Max," she replied calmly. The next several minutes were going to be tense. She was sure of it. "You almost done packing? Put in your two weeks and all that?"

He nodded and adjusted his denim jacket. He looked just as tense as she did. They both knew what was going to happen. They were both mature enough to read the writing on the walls and understood that this was for the best, even though neither of them liked it.

"Nora, I'm sorry, I-" he started before she held up a hand.

"No, Max. We both let it happen," she said curtly. "Maybe we just couldn't think further than the moment or we used it up too fast. I don't know. It's good that you're leaving. Not sure if you ever plan on coming back, but I don't know if I'll be here if you ever do."

It was never meant to be and it hurt them both for some reason.

"Whatever you do, Nora, be the best at it, ok?" he said with a sad smile.

"Same to you, Max," she replied before she walked forward and held him close. He reciprocated the embrace and leaned his head against her shoulder.

"Don't think the rain's going to let up any time soon. Want to spend the night?" he asked quietly. It was the last gasp of their affection for each other. Under normal circumstances, she would have been happy to do so.

It was tempting. One more night. What could it hurt? However, she shook her head. There were too many 'maybes' and 'what ifs' for her liking. She couldn't live a life like that. Better to end it now than let a few regrets linger on in places they weren't supposed to.

Unlike many of their peers, their intimacy had never progressed passed kissing. Nora would never admit it, but the idea of opening herself up and being so vulnerable terrified her. What would happen if he had learned her deepest and darkest secrets? She quickly squashed the internal battle she had and whispered, "Good bye, Max. Thank you, and good luck."

As she walked towards the door to open it, he nodded once and said, "You too, Nora."

It didn't matter how soaked Nora was when she returned to the reservation. The first thing she did as soon as her bike was covered and her door locked was throwing herself on her bed in heaving sobs. It didn't matter how wet her sheets became.

A few days later, Nora began to wonder if she could have just bit the bullet and gone with Max. Sure, the tribe was good to her; they showed her love, the ways of the Great Spirit, and the legacy of her people. However, her restless nature was starting to get in the way again.

In her hand, she carried several letters a few of her fellow tribesmen had requested that she take into the post office. While they were self-sustaining, they needed, on occasion, to go into town and recover packages, as mail service was still shoddy for the reservation. Omni-tools in this part of the country were sparse and most preferred the solid feeling of letters and packages, anyway.

After depositing the letters where they were to go, she went over to their post box and opened it, expecting nothing. Very rarely did they get some kind of correspondence via mail. However, to Nora's surprise, there was as single letter inside. When she pulled it out, her eyes widened when she read that it was addressed directly to her!

She looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching her, pocketed the letter, walked as casually as she could back to her bike, and took off. Her mind reeled at the possibility that someone had found her out. Who knew she lived here? The government had no reason to contact her.

Once far enough from the post office, she pulled into an empty alley, pulled out the letter and opened it as fast as she could. She looked over it quickly with her back to the wall.

To: Nora Shepard

From: Simon Lifton, Life Care, LLC.

Speaking on behalf of the estate of the late Francis Christopher, I would like to speak with you concerning the remnants of his property. If possible, please contact me at-

She looked over the latter a few more times. Father Christopher? What could it mean? She hadn't the slightest idea what he would do. Immediately, she went to a comm near a gas station and called the number on the letter. Her poly-tool was still working, but it still didn't have extranet access.

"Hello, this is Life Care, how may I help you?" the secretary on the other end asked.

"Um, yes. My name is Nora Shepard. I just received a letter from you guys."

"Oh, yes! Just a moment, please." With that, the secretary had put her on hold.

After a brief silence, a new voice, a man's, came on the line, "Ms. Shepard?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Now, you were in the care of one of my clients, Father Francis Christopher? In the Old Los Angeles region?"

"Yes. I, um, I moved out of OLA to Arizona a few years ago. I knew Father Christopher."

"Well, it turns out that he was putting aside some money for treatment for your condition, however, with his untimely passing, it left the money in limbo. However, he made sure that if anything were to happen to him, he wrote in his will that the money would be sent to you."

Nora paused. "What?"

"I know. Everyone in my office had to take a day to mourn for him. He was more than just a volunteer in OLA. He was one of a kind that made you believe in people."

"…I see."

"With that said, he wasn't married and had no family to speak of. So, in his will, you were named is sole recipient of the remains of his estate. And so, with your permission, I'll be sending the money he meant for you in his will within the next few days."

"I, uh, ok."

"Thank you very much, Ms. Shepard. I'll keep in touch."

Nora was stunned to silence. When she turned off the comm, she then leaned her forearm against the booth and put her head against it. What had she gotten herself into? How could she tell the truth now? Not only did she steal Nora's name, but money that was meant for her treatment?!

What kind of monster had she become?