?.

January of 1993.

Vancouver.

Gagnon rolled his eyes when he arrived and saw that Sam and I were sitting at the table together. He sat down across from us, ordering a water.

"I thought I told you to stay away," Gagnon said to Sam.

"Ronnie called me. Wanted to make sure he was treated fairly."

Gagnon glared at me. "Do you have something of substance this time?"

I started fidgeting, slipping into the character of Ronnie. Uncertain, paranoid, morally ambiguous. I had to show that I was desperate.

"White. Arthur White."

Gagnon raised an eyebrow. "An American?"

"Yeah. Big guy, or whatever. That's it. That's what it is."

"Hey, use your words, Ron," Sam encouraged.

"They're going after him. They got pictures of him cheating on his wife. Extortion. Blackmail. Whatever. The whole deal." I glanced at Sam, groaning. "You gotta get me out of this. Get me out of here. Can you do that?"

Gagnon was chewing on my words. He said, "Do you have any proof of this?"

I pulled faded, beaten up photos from my pocket. Pictures from his affair, bribed out of my one of my buddies back in the States. I owed him.

Gagnon took the photos, pouring over them.

I interrupted him after a full minute. "Immunity? Huh?"

"If this lead goes anywhere, I'll help you," Gagnon decided. He tucked the pictures in his pocket. "You're doing the right thing, here."

XxX

"I can't believe you did it," Dino said, groaning as he slipped into his wheelchair.

"It's not done yet," I reminded him from the doorway.

Sam snorted, "But it's basically done. I want you to sleep easy and rest, buddy."

Dino was livelier than I had ever seen him. Days in the hospital had done him good, helped him kick the last of his withdrawal syndromes. I was seeing glimpses of who he really was, who I might have known if we had met under different circumstances.

It felt good to see him this way.

He grabbed my hand as Sam pushed him through the doorway, holding it firmly, giving me no choice but to meet his eyes.

"I doubted you. I really did. I know you don't like me… how I live my life. But thank you."

"I do like you," I corrected, squeezing his hand.

Sam grinned at me as he turned into the hallway. I trailed behind them, keeping an eye out for any signs of Chimaera. It seemed they had mostly given up on him. Yora had other things to think about now. Even if she kept that lead to herself, maybe she would stop tormenting Dino.

If she kept at it, though, I would have to take another route to stop her.

"You guys head to the apartment, get him settled," I said, helping Sam get Dino into the car. "I want to hang out near the bank and see if they make a move."

"Okay, Mike, be safe," Sam said, shutting the door on Dino and adding, "I mean that."

Was he talking about Amelia?

"I'll see you soon," I said, with no other promises.

It was cold and windy, but the walk to the bank was welcome. I had a lot on my mind. Not just this mission, but the ones before it. Yora was just a piece of a bigger puzzle. I wondered what I would do if she came after Dino again. If I wanted to protect him, I would have very little recourse. I could call Card and end it all very quickly. Blow up their base of operations. Hunt down their lieutenants. But that included Amelia.

Maybe she knew too much.

I ran into her before I made it to the bank. She seemed to be leaving, heading down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. She saw me and her eyes glowed.

"Michael."

"Amelia."

She looked in the general direction of the bank, and then into my eyes. Hers had such force in them that they captured me, captivated me.

"I'm leaving. For good."

"Probably for the best."

"I want you to come with me."

Her words hit like a train. I stared at her, uncomprehending, until I realized my mouth was open. I shut it with an audible click, shaking myself. "What?"

"I want you to come," she repeated, drawing closer. "Run away with me."

"I can't."

"Why not? You told me you hated your job."

"I don't hate it. I just… it's complicated."

"It's wrong for you. I can tell." She came closer, closer, until her hand was on my chest, her breath on my neck. "You're like me. Wild. But you're pretending to be someone that you're not. You should be yourself. Let go."

I could think of nothing to say but "I can't."

She frowned at me, but it shifted into a soft smile. She kissed me again, in farewell, and walked away.

I never saw her again.

XxX

"Just got a call from Gagnon."

I looked up from my game of dice, accidentally dropping one that inexplicably rolled across the table to strike Dino in the knuckle. He yelped.

Sam sat on the couch beside me, somehow still in his underwear despite it being late afternoon. "I got a call from Gagnon," he repeated. "He said I can publish my story now, if I want. But that I might want to add some more details to it."

"Did they catch her?" Dino asked hopefully.

Sam nodded, grinning. "The United States government and the Vancouver police worked together to bring Chimaera down – apparently they had the audacity to try and blackmail a US Senator."

"Seems like a bad move on their part," I agreed.

"Your plan worked like a charm." Sam sighed, glancing over our gameboard. "We should probably stay out of Vancouver for a while, huh?"

"Probably."

The phone rang. Dino held up his hand, insisting that he could get it. He hobbled over, leaning heavily on his crutch, his whole leg in a plaster cast. Sam and I watched, wincing when he groaned and propped himself against the wall. He answered on the last ring.

"Hello? Oh? Okay…" He looked over, "Uh, it's for you, Michael."

My skin felt cold.

Sam's eyes bore into me as I went for the phone.

Card was on the line.

"Having a good vacation?"

His tone was telling. He must have heard what just went down. "I think it's over now."

"It is. I have a plane waiting for you at the airport."

I met Sam's eyes, unable to keep the sadness out of mine. I knew it had to end eventually, but there was something freeing about this lighthearted mission. A good ending. No deaths.

It was going to change now. I was sure of it.

"Where to?" I asked, expecting something vague.

"Somewhere snowy."

Russia. That was his code for Russia. A black cloud crept over me.

"I have to go," I said when the line went dead. Sam was already on his feet. He followed me to the kitchen, where my bag was open on the table.

"No chance you'll tell me where you're headed, huh?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, Sam."

"This was fun. We should do it again sometime. I owe you big time."

"You don't owe me anything."

"I wonder where I'll see you next. Maybe Moai."

"Maybe. Goodbye, Sam."

"Bye, Mike. Safe travels."