I hope I didn't take too long with this one.

Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 37

'We're going to get her out of there in one piece.'

I can feel Spencer looking at me, her words quiet but firm.

I nod, once, then let my head fall still again, my eyes locked onto the building where I know Emily is being held. 'I'll take care of Tory. You focus on getting Em out of there'.

I don't need to see Spencer to know that she is going to argue so I don't give her the chance, and continue talking. 'As soon as Tory realizes what is going on she is going to go straight for me, so we need to make that work for us'.

'How do you know she's going to go for you?' Spencer voices the obvious question.

'Em told me that when she ended things with Tory she used me being back in her life as a reason, saying that seeing me again had stirred up some unresolved feelings, and that she didn't think it was fair to be dating Tory if her heart was somewhere else'.

'Dangerous words to say to a jealous sociopath'. Spencer utters her assessment dryly, though her tone is deadly serious.

'I'm going to make that jealously work to my advantage'. I can picture it all clearly in my mind, and know that for Spencer to get Emily away safely I have to get under Tory's skin enough to get her to be focused on trying to kill me, and only me. 'I'm going to be her main trigger, so I need to get in her face, and draw her attention away from Emily'.

'She's volatile and unpredictable, which makes her incredibly dangerous'. I can feel Spencer's eyes on me, her gaze heavy with concern.

'It's just as well I'm a trained vigilante that is used to dealing with dangerous individuals then'.

Spencer's concern for me makes me feel good, but I know I can't let it affect what I plan to do. 'I've read Tory's file from cover to cover, so I know exactly what she is capable of. Trust me when I say I am not going to be underestimating what she is willing to do, but I also know exactly what to say to light her fuse, and I intend to set her off like a firework at a Fourth of July display'.

Spencer turns to face me properly and places a hand on my arm, the gentle pressure forcing my eyes to leave the safety of the building to meet hers. When our eyes meet I see Spencer's defenses are gone, her eyes shining brightly with her feelings, and I can see the worry for my safety in them. I can tell from that look that Spencer isn't happy with my plan, yet she doesn't try to talk me out of it, or even to offer an alternative of her own. Instead she simply gives me a small smile and says, 'Make sure you kick her ass for me too'.

I nod in understanding but don't reply, knowing that Spencer doesn't require one, and instead pull out a folded piece of paper from my back pocket. 'This is the most recent photo of Tory from her file, you should probably get a heads up on what she looks like before we go in'.

Spencer accepts the proffered piece of paper and unfolds it slowly, her eyes widening dramatically when she gets her first look at the woman we're about to encounter, and they shoot back up to mine. 'Have you see this?'

I frown at Spencer, not understanding her surprise. 'Of course I have'.

'So?'

I give Spencer a confused look, not sure what she is getting at, and she turns the paper so I can see the photograph. I scan the picture again, noting that nothing has changed since the last time I looked at it, and flick my eyes back up to Spencer's in silent question.

'Really? You don't see it?' Spencer raises her eyebrows at me, her face alight with surprise.

I shake my head at her, clearly missing whatever she is alluding to. 'See what?'

'THIS...' Spencer waggles the photo at me, her voice rising slightly with her intensity. '…..IS YOU!'

For a second her words don't register, but when they do I let out a bark of laughter. 'What are you talking about, Spencer? That's NOT a picture of me'.

It might as well be!' Spencer rolls her eyes at me and huffs. 'You really can't see it? This girl could be related to you, Paige, you look so alike'.

I frown as I take the picture back and stare at it. 'We both have brown hair and eyes, and I guess there is a similarity with the shape of our faces, but I apart from that, I don't think we look anything alike'.

Spencer takes the picture from my still hand and holds it up next to me for a comparison. I watch as her eyes flick between the paper and my face, and as much as I want to deny it I can see the truth of it in her expression, because she looks completely dumbfounded. 'It's uncanny, Paige, and if I'm honest, a little creepy'.

I turn and take a few steps, not feeling comfortable being compared anymore, and start pacing as I talk. 'Which bit? The bit where I have a psychopathic doppelganger, or the bit where Emily was dating her as a replacement for me?'

Spencer tips her head at my words. 'Well, when you put it like that, both I guess'.

'What the hell was Emily thinking?' The whole thing freaks me out a little, knowing Emily dated someone that looked like me so long after we'd been broken up, and I'm not quite sure what to do with the information.

'I'm guessing she was thinking, "I lost the love of my life because of my own stupidity and here is this girl, looking so much like her than its almost like I get a second chance, which means I can't resist saying yes when she asks me out". Emily is only human, Paige, and you can't blame her for falling for someone that reminded her of the woman she was in love with'.

I want to argue the point, to tell Spencer that the whole 'going out with someone just because they look a bit like the person you actually want' is plain weird, but I can't; because I remember that I did exactly the same thing back in high school with Shana. The memory shuffled to the front of my consciousness as Spencer was talking, and I can clearly remember thinking at the time that I would never have Emily, so maybe I should just be happy with a girl that reminded me of her. I know that I would be a hypocrite to try and call Emily out for something I myself did, so instead I simply sigh and nod in acknowledgment of Spencer's words. 'I guess it's irrelevant now anyway, Emily finally got the message after our conversation the other night'.

'What do you mean?'

I turn and face Spencer again, feeling guilty just thinking about the way the conversation had gone, but knowing that it had been well overdue. 'That night at the bar, after Emily sang her...ditty, do you remember she dragged me away from you so that we could talk?'

Spencer nods her head thoughtfully. 'You two disappeared into the ladies for an age, and when she came out it was obvious she had been crying, but she just grabbed my hand and told me we were leaving'.

'Did she tell you why?'

Spencer shakes her head. 'I asked if she wanted to talk about it but she just shook her head and said that there was nothing more to talk about, then as soon as we got home she just curled up into a ball and cried her eyes out for the rest of the night'.

I sigh heavily, guilt stabbing me painfully at the knowledge that I had inflicted such pain onto Emily, and I rub my hand over my face. 'Well, what happened was...

Two nights ago

'Paige, I need to talk to you. Now!'

Emily's grip on my arm is firm as she yanks me away from Spencer, and I have little time to protest before I find myself hauled into a vacant cubicle in the girls bathroom.

'Er, Emily, you do know there is a policy against two people sharing a cubicle, right?'

Emily looks at me in confusion for a second, but then realization dawns across her face and I see her blush as she shakes her head. 'We're not doing...I didn't...That isn't the reason I brought you in here!'

Emily is embarrassed, the implication that she's just dragged me into the womens bathroom for a quickie making her turn a deep shade of red. I place my hand on her arm to reassure her, and I see her calm somewhat under the gentle pressure. 'I believe you'.

'Thank you'. Emily gives me a smile. 'I'm glad you know I'm not trying to take advantage of you, though there was a time when you wouldn't be adverse to me dragging you into a cubicle and pinning you to the wall while I...'

'So why are we in here?' I cut Emily off before she can lead us too far down that road, not really wanting to hear any more stories about our sexploits than I've already heard from Hanna.

Emily gives me a blank look for a moment, the alcohol in her system causing her to space for a few seconds, but then I see something click into place and the smile on her face falls again. 'I brought you in here to talk about us'.

Emily's words come as no surprise, not after the performance she just gave, but my heart sinks a little anyway. 'Emily, we've had this conversation already...'

'Just, hear me out for a second!' Emily interrupts me, holding her hands up for emphasis, and once I've stopped talking she brings them down to cup my forearms. 'I know that things went wrong for us before, and a lot of the blame for that falls on me, but I don't think we were meant to end that way. Ali's disappearance was a shadow over us the entire time, dominating our lives really, and then things with A went completely crazy, its no surprise we didn't last back then, any relationship would of failed under those circumstances'.

'Hanna's didn't'.

My words stop Emily, and she looks taken aback that I've disagreed with her. 'Hanna and Caleb broke up, he left for Ravenswood because of A...'

'Caleb went to Ravenswood because Hanna told him to, and they broke up because Caleb was dealing with some stuff that he didn't want to worry Hanna with, but they worked through it and have been together ever since'. I've spent many a night listening to Hanna talk about Rosewood, and have a full, though slightly bias, picture of exactly what happened during my missing years.

Emily gapes at me, clearly not expecting me to be so well versed on our past, and I can see its knocked her off course. 'Yes, well...we're not discussing Hanna and Caleb's relationship, we're discussing ours'.

I shake my head at Emily slowly, already knowing where this is heading. 'Emily, the only relationship we have now, and the only one I am interested in, is one of friendship'.

'You don't mean that, Paige, it's just because you don't remember us. We've been spending a lot more time together recently, haven't we, and we get on well, that must mean something!'

I sigh as I know that the reason I've been spending more time with Emily recently is because I've been keeping an eye on her in case Tory decides to show, but that's not exactly something I can share with Emily, and I realize now that it must have given her false hope about my intentions.'Em, I like you, of course I do, but its purely platonic...'

Emily's grip on my arms tightens and her voice becomes pleading. 'Please, just give us another go. I won't screw things up this time and I'll treat you properly, like I should have done the first time, I promise!'

I can see she means it, the alcohol in her system giving me an unrestricted look at the love and honesty shining from her eyes, and I know that if I wasn't so head over heels for Spencer that it might very well have convinced me into saying yes. However, the fact that I am so in love with Spencer means that saying yes isn't even a possibility, and I have to find a way to convey this to Emily, without completely destroying her in the process.

'You're an amazing woman, you know that right?' I slip my arms out of Emily's death grip and cover her hands with my own, squeezing them gently, and smile softly at her. 'What we had was real, and there is no doubt in my mind that I loved you very much'.

Emily's gaze bores into my own, and I know she must be able to tell what I'm about to say from the look in my eye because I see tears start to well up in hers as she shakes her head to try and ward the off inevitable. 'If you could just remember...'

It's my turn to shake my head as I cut her off gently. 'My memories are gone, Emily, and we all have to accept that they might never come back'.

'No, they will! You just have to try harder'. The tears brimming in Emily's eyes spill over, splashing a path down her cheeks.

I cup her face gently, the sight of her tears making my heart hurt, but knowing that there is nothing I can do to prevent them. 'You're an amazing girl Emily, but...'

My words are cut short as Emily suddenly lunges forward and presses her lips against mine, her hands disappearing into my hair to hold my head steady as she kisses me. The move takes me by surprise, her lips pressing against mine with a need borne out of desperation, and I realize that this is Emily's last ditch attempt to try and jog my memory into remembering our relationship. Emily's fingers in my hair are like a vice, their grip bordering on painful, and I know that trying to remove them against Emily's will would result in the loss of some hair, hair I have only just started to regrow in some spots.

Instead of fighting the kiss I decide to do the only other option I have, and drop my hand from her face as I remain unresponsive, waiting it out. I feel Emily try to deepen the kiss, her tongue running along the seal of my lips trying to gain entry, but I keep my lips firmly pressed together, and when she eventually realizes that I am not participating in the kiss she pulls back.

'You're not even willing to try?'. Emily's voice is tiny, her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she keeps her head dipped as she talks to avoid my eyes.

I use a finger cupped under Emily's chin to raise her head, gently coaxing her to meet my eyes, and when she reluctantly does I see that she is crying again. The sight is a dagger to my heart, and I feel terrible for hurting her, but I also need her to understand the reality of our situation. 'I'm sorry I can't be what you need, Emily, but I know that we are still meant to be a big part of each others lives, so can we maybe give being friends a try?'

'After that, Emily had turned and unlocked the cubicle, leaving the bathroom, and me, without looking back'.

'That's an intense conversation to hold in the toilet stall of a public bathroom'. Spencer's comment jolts a strangled laugh out of me laugh out of me.

'Yeah, it was'. I scrub my hands over my face. It's also the reason Tory was able to get to Emily, I add silently in my head.

After the night at the bar I had backed off, giving Emily space to deal with her feelings, which had meant I had failed to prevent her from being kidnapped, and now it was up to me to correct my mistake. The sudden reappearance of my memories is an unexpected complication, throwing my focus off as I now have to concentrate on keeping them from crowding in and overwhelming me, because I know that if I allow myself to think to closely on anything from my past I will be bombarded by an avalanche of emotions that I am unprepared, and ill equip, to deal with right now.

I know that all that matters right now is getting Emily back, so I push everything back into the little box its been locked in for the past few months, and wedge the lid shut again.

'This is either going to go hard and fast, or slow and painful'.

Spencer looks up at my words, her face registering confusion at my sudden shift of conversation. 'What now?'

'Getting Emily'. I look back at the building across from us. 'As far as we are aware, Tory doesn't know about our extracurricular activities, which gives us an advantage, but we can't rule out the possibility that while watching Emily she's also been watching us. If she's seen more than she should have then we have to expect her to be prepared for us'.

Spencer nods in understanding. 'If she's unprepared and we go in hard then it will all be over without much trouble, but if she's prepared then we can expect a lot more resistance, and possibly even a surprise or two'.

I smile at her astute assessment, trying not to think about the fact that I can remember other nights when we discussed strategies before a fight, and nod my head. 'The fact that she is keeping Emily so close is testament to how superior she feels, and lends weight to my theory that she's got a narcissistic personality, but we can't ignore the fact that she's clearly a clever bastard either'.

'So how do we find out whether she's prepared or not?'

'With a little help from our friends'. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, dialing a number quickly.

The line connects after the third ring, and the voice on the other end dispenses with a greeting in favor of getting straight to the point. 'You ready for me to start?'

'We need five minutes, and then we'll be good to go'. I press the button on my handset to change the phone to earpiece mode and slip my cell back in my pocket, pulling a secondary electronic device out instead, and then turn to face Spencer again. 'As soon as we connect this to her apartment, Caleb will be able to hack into any electronic device within a fifty foot radius and turn the speakers into receivers, and once Caleb has isolated the right speaker, I will be able to listen into any conversation going on inside'.

Spencer steps forward and takes the device from my hand, holding it up to get a better look at it in the dim light. 'This will definitely work?'

I hear Caleb make a sound of protest in my ear, the aspersion on his technical prowess stinging his pride, mainly because I had asked the exact same question a couple of hours ago when he had given it to me (being a millionaire that can hop a plane whenever she needs to comes in handy), so I don't comment on his dented ego. 'Trust me, it''ll work'.

Spencer seems happy with my word and nods as she hands it back, her eyes showing the faith she has in me. 'Lets do this then'.

Without needing any further communication I pocket it as I turn and start to jog towards the edge of the building, feeling Spencer fall into place beside me, our shoulders practically touching as we speed up the nearer we get. Our feet hit the lip of the building at the exact same moment, our legs muscles propelling us up and into the air as we leap across the alley dividing our building from Emily's, twelve stories above the ground.

We hit the fire escape simultaneously, the faint noise as our boots connect with the metal ringing out with a dull clang. We both freeze, our eyes scanning the area for any sign the noise has attracted attention, but once I am certain we are still unobserved I swing my legs over the bar and land lightly on the metal grate. Spencer is quick to follow, her eyes meeting mine for further orders, and I use the S.A.S. Style hand signals we normally use for our missions to silently instruct her. It is only as I am finishing that I realise the significance of what I am doing and I look at my hands in surprise before glancing at Spencer, but a raised eyebrow from her is the only indication of her surprise at my flawless use of something that only a few nights ago I was still having trouble with learning. Now however is not the time or the place, so I simply shrug and move on.

I lead the way up the fire escape onto the roof, and head for the door to the internal stairwell. I stand to the side as Spencer hunkers down in front of the door and watch as she pulls out a small black case from one of the pockets in her top. She opens it up and selects several items from within, the shine of the metal giving away the lock picking tools identity in the moonlight. In no time at all the door is swinging open and Spencer flashes me a triumphant smile as she methodically packs away her breaking and entering tools, a skill I learned she became proficient at as a result of the many times she had to illegally enter somewhere while trying to discover the true identity of A.

Spencer lets me enter the building first, knowing that she needs to hang back and try to remain undetected so that she can whisk Emily away without Tory stopping her, and I head straight down the stairs, knowing from the floor plan Caleb dug up for me the exact location of where Tory is holed up. When Caleb had first discovered where Tory was I had been incensed, my blood boiling at the audacity of such a move, but after I'd taken a few minutes to calm down I had realized that it had completely tied in with what I believed was the girls pathos.

Most people, when planning to kidnap a person, would aim to keep as low a profile as humanly possible to minimizing the risk of the police tracing and tracking you down. They would pay for things in cash, use disguises and fake identities when interacting with people or going public places, and then once their target was acquired, they would run as far and as fast as possible to evade capture. Tory however, is a whole different kettle of fish it seems, because she was incredibly visible, and highly traceable.

Maybe it comes from growing up in a wealthy family that is not used to dealing with something as common as cash, but Tory had used her credit card prolifically since she arrived in New York City. Caleb had been able to trace every single transaction she'd made using an encrypted code he'd embedded into the firewall software he'd sold to American Express nine months ago, and discovered that three days after arriving in New York, Tory had signed a six month lease on the apartment directly above Emily and Spencer's.

Tory had been one floor away from Emily the entire time, no doubt able to follow her all over the city, and I had to assume that she also knew exactly what all of us looked like too. Spencer and I were always very careful with entering and exit our apartments while wearing our vigilante gear, and normally dumped it all at mine because I could lock it away to prevent it being discovered by Emily, but to prepare for every eventuality I had to at least entertain the idea that she knew we were more than we appeared to be. That thought had prompted my flight to see Caleb, because after discussing ways to get intel on what was going on in her apartment, he has volunteered the piece of kit he was currently working on for the 'private sector'. It was an experimental bug that had M15 implications if it proved successful, and Caleb had been asked to consult on it to work out the kinks in the code for the wireless connection. The one he had lent me was currently the only prototype in the world, and worth at least half a million dollars if sold on the black market, but the patent on it was worth several times that in potential military contracts. I'd had to promise Caleb that I would get it back to him, in one piece, by tomorrow evening at the very latest, or he would find himself in hot water with some very powerful people.

When I reach the right floor I pause, taking the time to listen for any sign of activity beyond the door to the landing of the sixth floor, and when there is none I crack the door and peek out. The hallway is completely empty and dimly lit, the bulbs of at least three fluorescent lights non functional. The door to Tory's apartment is directly next to one of the dark bulbs, and the thought crosses my mind that she was the one to deactivate them, but the fact that she is brazenly flaunting herself by using her credit cards makes me think that she wouldn't bother trying to hide her presence in such a crude way. No matter the reason, the low light works to my advantage, and I turn to face Spencer long enough to signal my intention. Spencer nods in understanding and I turn back to the door, inching it open slowly and slipping through as soon as the gap is wide enough.

I walk along the hallway as if I do it every day, knowing that the best way to avoid suspicion is to act as if I belong there, but keep my hood pulled down low enough to keep my face hidden. I keep to the side that Tory's door is on and just as I get level with her door I stop and bend down, acting as if I'm tying my shoelace, the few seconds giving me enough time to slip the device into place on the bottom right corner of the door closest to the hinge. Caleb had given me some long winded explanation about how "tests had shown that this was the corner least likely to to looked at by the occupant on a day to day basis, thus making it the optimal place for secreting the device", but I hadn't really cared and had told him to skip to the important stuff.

Once the device was in place I stood up and kept walking, not once looking back, and didn't stop until I reached the doorway to the south stairwell. I slipped through and scanned to make sure it was clear before speaking. Once I knew it was safe I gave Caleb the go ahead. 'Time to earn your money, geek boy'.

'One, I'm a tech wizard, not a geek'. I heard the clicking of keys as Caleb taps away on his laptop, starting the process of hacking all the tech in the vicinity. 'And two, you're not actually paying me for this'.

I roll my eyes even though he can't see me, the familiar feel of our friendship once again buzzing around my head. 'If your tech does what it's suppose to, I'll buy you and Hanna a two week trip to anywhere you want, all expenses paid'.

The clicking stops. 'Seriously? Anywhere?'

'Anywhere. As long as you resume whatever tech wizardry you have just ceased, right now'.

The clicking immediately starts again, and I hear Caleb let out an embarrassed laugh. 'Sorry about that'.

'No worries dude, I know you got my back'. I let it slide, knowing that without Caleb's tech this would be a much riskier operation.

'That I do, Paige, that I do'. Caleb sounds distracted, his words mumbled as if he is focused on something else, and the line goes silent except for the incessant clicking of the keys for a minute or two before, 'Three more seconds and...' Caleb lets out a loud "AHA!" of triumph. '….I've got her!'

I hear a sudden burst of static in my ear piece as Caleb patches me in to the receiver, but then it clears, and a female voice is talking directly into my ear. '…..between us? We had it good, you and I, and we could have that again, I know we could. All you have to do is try!'

The words are so reminiscent of the conversation Emily and I had a few night ago that for a moment I get deja vu, but then a voice I know starts speaking, and I can help smiling with relief at the sound. 'You smashed your way into my apartment and kidnapped me, Tory. Is it really so surprising that I'm having a little trouble thinking about us trying our relationship again while bound, hand and foot, on your sofa!'

Emily sounds frightened, but her voice is still strong. Her tone however, is that of someone who has been put through the wringer, physically and emotionally, and is now reaching the end of her limit but trying, desperately, not to show it. The strain in Emily's voice hints at the stress she is experiencing, trying to maintain a calm exterior while cracking on the inside, and I'm guessing she is doing it because she knows from experience that anything confrontational with Tory is a bad idea.

'You gave me no choice, Lee Lee!' I scrunch up nose at the nickname, finding it weird to hear her called anything but Emily or Em. 'I was watching you and that photographer...' The way she says "photographer" is exactly the same way most people describe the most disgusting thing they've ever seen. '….getting close again, and I just couldn't let her get her claws back into you!'

'You were spying on us?' Emily voice tells me she is clearly horrified by the idea.

I've heard enough to know that Emily is unharmed, and know I can proceed with my plan, so open the stairwell door to reenter the corridor.

Tory's voice waxes and wanes as she talks, showing that she is pacing the room as she explains. 'It's remarkably easy to follow someone, even someone that knows you, in New York, because nobody makes eye contact here. Everyone goes out of their way to avoid looking at each other, so scared of inciting the attention of the wrong person, that they wouldn't even notice if Jennifer Lawrence was sitting next to them on the subway'.

I stride down the hallway until I'm outside Tory's door, catching sight of Spencer peering through the crack in the door from her end of the hallway as I approach. I nod minutely at her to let her know that everything is going according to plan then turn to face the door of apartment 612, immediately sticking a wad of silly putty over the peephole. Once I am sure it is completely covered I pocket the remainder, rolling my neck reflexively in preparation, and knock on the door. The noise from my earpiece goes quiet, the long winded explanation of just how wrong I am for Emily cut off mid flow, and I hear Tory swear in annoyance at the interruption.

I knock again, louder this time, three smart raps that state my intention of staying put until answered, and I hear Tory swear again softly.

I knock once more, this time longer, and add my voice to the mix. 'Pizza delivery!'

'What the actual fuck...?' I can just make out Tory's muttered words, the confusion clear in her voice, and I knock again.

I add some bass to my voice, trying to sound as different as possible to disguise my real identity, and include a touch of impatience with it. 'Hey, c'mon guys, I got a bunch of other deliveries to make too y'know!'

'You got the wrong address, I didn't order anything'. Tory's voice echoes in my ear as her voice comes through the door.

'I got an order for this address, lady, no doubts about it.'

Everything goes silent for a second, then the earpiece just about picks up the faint sound of footsteps, and I can hazard a guess as to where she is going. I make sure to stand next to the wall instead of in front of the door, just in case she is crazy enough to shoot first and ask question later, but am heartened when no bullets immediately punch their way through the door.

'Take your finger off the peep hole so I can see you'. Her voice comes from just the other side of the door, a faint echo coming through the ear piece, and both versions have a detectable amount of hostility in them.

'I ain't got my finger over it, lady, why would I wanna do that?' I lean my head out so that it is in front of the door, not wanting to arouse her suspicion even further by letting her know I'm standing to the side, and speak in the same friendly but slightly harried tone. 'You probably can't see me because half the lights in this hall are on the fritz, including the one next to your door'.

'I didn't order a pizza anyway, so go away'. I let out a silent breath of relief, knowing that she has bought the lie as she has moved on to trying to get rid of me.

'Well, someone sure did lady, and I don't care if someone has jacked you on this, but I need paying thirty four fifty for them'.

My words get the desired result.

'I'm not paying for pizza I didn't order, that's ridiculous!' Tory sounds pissed, her voice raising against her will, and she hits her hand against the door for emphasis.

I can't help rolling my eyes at her, knowing that she is completely minted and probably spends ten times that amount on a coffee without batting an eyelash, but glad I'd guessed right in my assumption that she would turn into a whiny brat when asked to cough up for something she didn't actually order. 'Ok, look lady, you're not the first person to get a hoax order, but I still got unpaid for pizza I need to account to my boss for, so I'm going to need you to sign to say you never ordered these'.

'I don't have to sign anything, now go away!'

I can hear her stomp away, and through the earpiece I hear her muttering about "shit for brains delivery idiots".

I give it a beat or two, as if I'm considering my options, then drop my winning line. 'Alright lady, if that's the way you want to play it, but you should expect to see the police in about twenty or thirty minutes'.

'WHAT?' I wince in discomfort at the volume of the noise that comes through the earpiece, guessing that Tory must have been standing directly next to the receiver when she let loose her exclamation, because it half deafens me for the three seconds she strung it out for.

I shake me head to try and get rid of the ringing, then realize that the stomping I hear is Tory's footsteps marching over to the door, and step in front of the door to brace myself in case she decides to fling it open and confront me face to face.

'What the hell do the police have to do with me refusing, quite rightly, to pay for pizza that I DID. NOT. ORDER!' The door remains firmly closed, but Tory slaps her hand against it in time with the last three words to emphasize her ire.

I relax my stance slightly, knowing now that she is still too cautious to open the door so won't have to confront her without warning, and add some more fuel to the fire as I rev up my voice. 'Look lady, my boss has been in this game for far too long to still believing chumps like me, trying to put themselves through college with a minimum wage shitcrapper of a job, when they swear the reason they haven't got their fare isn't because they pocketed it, but because the douchebag behind the door wouldn't bother opening up for thirty seconds, even with the security chain on, to sign to say it was unwanted, which means my ass is gunna get canned, so yeah, I'm gunna call the cops on you. Lets see how you like having your evening ruined!'

'You vile little toad!' Tory's voice rises in agitation, and I know that she is near to where I need her to be. 'If I wasn't already otherwise engaged, I'd come out there and put you in your proper place, once and for all, because god knows you need it you mouthy little shit!'

I smile a small humorless smile, knowing that I am about to skip right over kicking the proverbial hornets nest and dive right in to pouring gasoline over the damn thing. 'I don't know what kind of stick you needed to shove up your ass to get that fake as a pornstars chest, accent, lady, but I can tell you I've been doing this job a long time now, and I've heard every threat in the book, from folk three times as big as you sound, too. I wasn't intimidated by any of them sweet cheeks and I sure as piss ain't intimidated by you either, so either shit or get off the pot, because I'm about five seconds away from dialing the cops'.

I curl myself up out of the way of the door, laying a bet with myself that she won't be able to resist firing at least one bullet through the door first, and wait for the fury to explode. Nothing happens for a second, the complete silence in place of the unholy racket I was expecting surprising the heck out of me, but then I hear a sickly sweet voice from the other side of the door.

'You know, I think we got off to a bad start'. Tory practically purrs the words at me, the sudden switch in demeanor off putting and highly suspicious to me, which make the small hairs on the back of my neck immediately stand on end. 'I apologize for my rudeness, and for the petty name calling, it was crass and unnecessary. Can we start over?'

'That depends'. I risk standing back in front of the door to answer. 'You going to pay up the thirty five bucks you owe me?'

I thought you said it was thirty four fifty?' An edge sounds for a moment in Tory's voice, though it is quickly smoothed away. 'We're starting over now, are we not?'

Tory's slip was enough for me to understand what she is doing, and I smile at the thought that she thinks she can get the jump on me. 'You're not going to begrudge me a measly fifty cent tip, are ya?'

'I suppose not'. Tory's voice starts to fade, and I realize that she is walking away from the door.

'After all, you're going to have earned it after what I'm going to do to you'. The last part should have been barely perceptible, but thanks to the device in my ear, it actually gets louder again as Tory walks across the room towards whatever item Caleb has hacked into a receiver.

Tory is right on the other side of the room now, and I can tell she thinks she is safely out of earshot, because she starts talking freely again. 'I think the knife is how you'll go, yes, a good old knife is more than good enough for a trouble maker like you. A nice gut wound to make you see the error of your ways, thinking you could cheek someone like me and get away with it, Ha! I'll show you!'

I grit my teeth as I listen to her talk so easily about how she is about to murder someone who's greatest crime, to her knowledge, is being a bit mouthy. 'A bullet would be too quick, too easy, on one so unprepared. It would be a waste, and I'm not a wasteful person, so I think I'm going to save those beauties until I'm ready to face little Miss Superhero''.

I immediately know she's talking about me.

'Oh what a shock she's in for, getting all high and mighty with my girl. Yes indeed, I'm really going to clip her wings when I get my hands on her'.

In some ways, the knowledge that Tory knows about my extracurricular activities comes as a relief, because I know she will not be underestimating me when we get into it, and because she's not expecting me she'll be so focused on trying to regain the upper hand that she will have no time to pay attention to anything Spencer is doing.

Even though I can't actually see her I know she's watching, so give Spencer the get ready signal, then knock forcefully on the door. 'You stopped to scratch your balls or something in there lady, because I'm still waiting for you to open this damn door and give me what I'm owed!'

I hear the thin keel of her voice through my headpiece as it hisses out an expletive, and know my words have hooked her when I hear her mutter. 'You're owed a painfully excruciating death, you foul mouthed bottom dweller, but I'm more than happy to give it to you!'

'Coming!' Her completely obvious fake cheerful voice rings out, and I take a step back with my right foot, setting my stance ready for when I hear my cue.

I hear the rattle of chains from the other side of the door, and then the unmistakeable sound of a rather hefty deadbolt being shot back, confirming my hunch that Charlie's idea of "just kicking the door in" had never really been a viable option despite how much it appealed to the inner cowboy in me. Discussing this with Charlie may seem unusual, but she has been through such upheaval in her life that when she moved in I vowed to always been honest with her, no matter what, so that she could feel secure about being part of the family. Letting her know that there was a chance I might be injured in my tussle with Tory had only been fair to her, especially as I am relying on her to look after Hanna for me, so had rang her earlier to let her know what was going to go down this evening.

My eyes are locked onto the handle of the door so I see it the second it starts to move, and as soon as that faint, but obvious, tell tale click of the latch releasing the door frame sounds, I move. My rear leg comes forward, my hips propelling it with force, until my foot lands solidly against the door. It connects perfectly, the strength in the move creating a powerful kinetic energy, one strong enough to send the door flying backwards, at speed.

As I'd hoped, Tory had been close enough to the door to be in its way when it was suddenly in motion, and was caught completely off guard by the sudden velocity at which it is now moving. The door connects with her face, a rather satisfying thunk sounding as the solid object comes into contact with the much more pliable one, and Tory lets out a grunt as she is knocked back and off her feet. She lands on her ass, her face a picture of surprised confusion at the sudden shift in dynamic, and I can tell I have a few seconds before she recovers.

I take a few steps in the apartment, my eyes quickly flitting around the space to scan for hazards, weapons and, of course, Emily. I spot the gun straight away, the barrel easily recognizable as it pokes out from the hastily placed newspaper which is meant to conceal it, but it is safely out of reach on the table on the other side of the room, and I feel confident enough that I can prevent Tory from reaching it to leave it where it is for now.

The apartment looks fairly innocuous, nothing immediately standing out and screaming "Serial Killer" at any rate, and it is similar enough in design and layout to Spencer and Emily's for me to feel confident in it straight away. The only thing I don't see, is Emily, which would of worried me if I'd burst in here blind, but because I'd been able to hear her here a short while ago, I can fairly safely assume that Tory has simply squirreled her away in one of the bedrooms as she didn't want her to be a front row spectator as she "dispatched" the pizza girl.

Once I've done my scan of the area I return my eyes to the girl still sitting on the floor, and see that the door had done more damage than I'd hoped. Blood is dripping out of Tory' nose, but I don't need the fairly heavy flow to tell me that her nose is broken, because the angle it is now at does that itself. The door must have also mashed her bottom lip against her teeth, because it has bust down the left hand side, and the wound is adding a separate crimson patch to the pale blue T shirt currently getting stained by her leaky nose.

The knife that Tory had been holding is now laying on the floor behind her, the sudden shift from standing to falling on her ass causing her to automatically let go in favor of trying to break her fall, but it is still within reach should she realize it is there.

Once the initial shock wears off I watch as Tory's eyes fly up to me, and the instant recognition of who I am is impossible to deny. Her face immediately goes thunderous, the laser beam of hate radiating from her eyes telling me that she knows exactly who I am, and is not happy to find that I am the one that's knocked her flat on her ass. 'You!'

The word is spat at me, the contempt in it telling me I rate several floors below dogshit on her shoe in her book. 'You're the bitch trying to steal Emily away from me!'

I let myself grin my best shit eating grin, pouring confidence and cockiness into words as I say. 'And you're the loser, wannabe me, whose ass I'm about to kick'.