Ava walked down the path by the river until she came to a bench. The wind was picking up and the chill was seeping through her coat. She took a seat looking around making sure she hadn't been followed. She was sure that Matt was getting suspicious of her lack of progress. She had been working the case longer than he had. She wished she could confide in him about her relationship with Sinj. She wondered if relationship was the right word. She remembered back to the night she met him, Saint John Hawke.

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW

It was one year ago that she had been assigned a case to follow a suspected Chinese spy that had been working at NASA. The government suspected he was leaking information to the Chinese Communist Party about a defence satellite program that NASA was working on with the US military. She followed him to Hong Kong. She had tailed him for days as he seemed to act more like a tourist than a spy. She figured that he wanted people to believe he was on vacation but she knew sooner then later he would have to make contact with his handlers. A few days later she got her break. The spy stopped at a market that sold steamed buns and bought a few, it was a quick exchange but she caught it. The spy slipped the man beside him a small package. That was the man she was sent to bring in. The man started to disappear in the crowd. It took everything she had to keep him in sight. As she followed him the crowds started thinning out letting her know that they were leaving the markets and heading into the seeder side of the city. She felt for the gun she carried to reassure herself it was still there. The man stopped in front of a small warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned. She waited until he went in and headed for the back looking for another way in. Finding a door that looked like it was about to fall off the hinges she entered as quietly as she could winding her way through old broken machinery until she spotted her mark and another man that she recognized, Chen Cai. He worked for the Chinese Ministry Of National Defense. She wished she wasn't alone on this assignment. This was much bigger than she thought. Now that she knew who they were dealing with she thought the best thing to do was to report what she had found and wait for further orders. Hearing a noise behind her she turned to see another man standing several feet away pointing a gun at her. In English he ordered her to put her hands up, as she did the other men approached.

"Who are you" Chen Cai spat at her. She definitely did not answer. He raised his fist and struck her hard in the ribs. The breath left her body as she slumped to the floor. Chen turned to the spy, "Did you know you were being followed?" The blood drained from the spy's face as he began to stammer. "I swear Chen, I was careful." As Chen moved the spy flinched and put his hands to his face as if to deflect a blow.

Ava shook her head. "You're pathetic, not only are you a trader but a coward as well." Chen took advantage of her position on the floor and gave her a kick to the stomach. This time she could feel the vile reach her mouth as she tried not to pass out. As she lay there she thought about her Mom and Dad and wondered if she would ever see them again. She doubted it, this was bad. Getting out of this alive was slim to none. Just as she was giving up all hope she heard a gunshot, realizing it was not her that had been hit she saw the look on the mans face that had been holding a gun to her as he fell forward. Chen went to retrieve his gun but was to late. A man with sandy blond hair and rugged looks knocked him out cold with one punch. That was the last thing she remembered until she woke up hours later.

She threw the blankets off of her and tried to stand up. The room was spinning but she could make out the man that was fixing food at a small stove.

Saint John ran over to her. "Whoa there, you need to take it easy. You took some hard blows." Ava sat back down. "Who are you?"

Saint John smiled. "You can call me Sinj." Ava couldn't help being drawn to him, he was handsome and had a way about him that made her trust him. "Aren't you going to ask me who I am?"

"Don't need to, you are Ava Taylor and you work for the CIA." Ava stood up as if she was about to bolt out the door. Sinj gently took her by the arm. "You're safe with me. I work for the FIRM. It looks like we were both on the same mission."

Ava jerked her arm lose. "If you were following me why didn't you stop the gunman before he got the drop on me?"

Again Sinj led her back to the cot and motioned for her to sit. "I was also in the market. I was right behind you but before I could reach the back door several Hong Kong police officers stopped me and asked for my passport and wanted to know what I was doing in this part of town."

Ava looked embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry I jumped on you like that. After all you did save my life." Sinj flashed her a smile that caused her stomach flutter. Something she hadn't felt before with other men. " What did you tell the police?"

Sinj shrugged his shoulders. "I said I was lost."

Suddenly remembering the other men "Sinj, what happened to Chen and the spy" she asked.

"After I knocked Chen out I did the same to Dr. Bai. I found the micro chip he passed Chen and left them there. So I suggest we get out of Hong Kong as soon as possible."

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW

It was getting colder. Ava wished she had a hot strong cup of coffee. At that moment she felt a presence behind her. "I missed you." There it was again, he could still cause butterflies in her stomach. Sinj reached down and kissed her check. "You're cold, let's go someplace warm."

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW