The assailant pushed Nikki's neck further into the wall as she floated in and out of consciousness.

Harry ran in, as her eyes began to gloss over, her body slowly being deprived of oxygen. He dragged the man off her and threw him onto the ground. Nikki slumped to the floor before Harry could return to check Nikki's breathing.

"Nikki, you're going to be okay, just breathe deeply for me and you'll be fine…" he tried to reassure her. He held her hand and looked deep into her eyes. Neither of them could have expected that the evening would end this way. It started with a kiss; he was praying it wasn't going to end in a goodbye. Harry didn't believe there was a God, but at this moment he was praying there was one to protect her when he hadn't. Harry began to panic as she began to lose consciousness. Before Harry could do any more he was grabbed from behind and thrown across the room, the pain shooting up his spine as he hit the wall. Holding Harry by the scruff of his collar, the man threw a few punches into Harry's ribs and watched him double over in pain. The man spoke to him as he looked towards Nikki.

"Come to rescue her have you? Who are you? Trying to be some sort of hero?" demanded the man.

"My name is Harry. And no, I'm not a hero. But I'm here to get her as far away from you as possible" Harry shouted.

"You've made a fatal error here Harry…you should have just left me to it. I would have killed her soon enough whereas now she's going to suffer, and watch you in pain, and then you'll feel guilty, because you've caused her pain." He said, giving Harry's ribs another sharp punch.

"Who are you?" was all Harry could muster.

"Well Harry, right now, that's not your priority, but rather what I'm going to do to you…". Nikki's head rose as she regained consciousness.

The man smiled at Harry and glancing at the glass doors that lead out of the cutting room threw him towards them and the glass cascaded around Harry's body. He was fighting a losing battle. He felt the searing pain throughout his body and he couldn't contain his overwhelming urge to scream out. He yelled in pain, begging the man to leave, and for a moment he became a child, an innocent victim caught in the crossfire. His only desire was to protect his closest friend, the one who lay on the opposite side of the room. Nikki cried out as Harry hit the floor, the tears coursing down her face, frozen with fear to the place he had left her. She cried for him. Her body became breathless, no longer controllable as her eyes began to close.

With the shards of glass scattered around his body, the man knelt over Harry. arHaHhvHarry's shoulders were pinned down by a hand crushing his sternum, whilst the man's other hand started work on his face. Harry glanced to the floor beside him the razor sharp glass inches from his assailant. The punches were the least of his problems. The blood trickled down from Harry's nose until one blow to the temple knocked him unconscious.

Harry could write his own post mortem report now. It would make it easier for Nikki and Leo, they wouldn't have to do it. Blow to the head leading to brain hemorrhage, bruising and sharp stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, probable cause of death. Harry Cunningham would have died between 11pm and 1am. There was nothing either of them could do.

The two pathologists lay unconscious as they drifted towards the darkness.