Disclaimer's: ... Do we really need to do this again? Might I apologize for the misprint. The song in Chapter 2 is "The Ghost of You and Me". I got the words switched. Anyway... you think BB Mak could sue for that? And the guy's name is Serd, again, had problems with spelling...

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We've been back at the Quest Compound for 1 week. I again almost went home. It took 2½ hours on the phone with my parents before they agreed to let me stay.

I don't go anywhere without 1 of the guys coming with me. That's my fault, though. I'm still paranoid. The only times I'm alone is in the shower and when I sleep. So really, I'm perfectly safe and my parents have no reason to worry... who am I kidding? If I don't think I'm safe, then my parents won't either. And do I feel safe here? Well, I felt safe in India and look what happened...

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"Dinner!" Race yelled.

Jonny, Hadji, and I ran down the steps. We had been doing some sort of exercises that Jonny said would be good for me. Now my back hurt and I was actually hungry. When I ate all of my dinner, Race was thrilled. He then shot Jonny a look and asked what the heck we had been doing because I looked exhausted.

"Martial arts exercises," Jonny said, "Maybe she'd feel safer if she knows how to react to danger."

"Knowing how to react won't help her," Race said, "Not with trained assassins..."

I tuned them out. I just love how they like to talk about me like I'm not sitting right there and can't hear them...

I asked to be excused and deliberately went upstairs without 1 of the guys with me. My resolve lasted about 2 minutes. I ran back downstairs. Everyone stared at me.

"I just came for a glass of water," I said, "What are all of you staring at?"

"Nothing," they all chorused. Good for them. They know better than to act protective. It's my job to ask for help; Then they give it to me.

"Cayla, you want to go finish your training?" Jonny asked.

Good boy, make it my decision, "Sure." I said. The 3 of us ran back up the stairs.

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"I really hate you," I muttered to Bandit.

Again I had awaken to the sound of, "Go get her, boy!" Again, I swore to kill his master. Again, I knew I wouldn't...

"WHAT?!?!" I screamed.

Jonny's head popped into my room, "Calm down. Breakfast is ready and Race has news, so come on, get out of bed."

I rolled out of bed and said, "Can I get dressed?"

"Sure, "Jonny said, "But don't take too long. I want to hear what's going on." Damn him...

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I was downstairs in 15 minutes. I poured myself some cereal when I discovered that the pancakes were made by Jonny and sat down with everyone.

Race cleared his throat and said, "How do you guys feel about a trip?"

"Where?" I asked.

"To Russia," Race said, "To stay at the Embassy."

"Why?" I asked.

"The Doc and I have business to attend to over there. We just want to know if you guys want to come," Race said. He didn't meet my eyes.

"Race," I said, "Why are you lying?" Please let this intuition be right...

"What?" Race said a second too late.

Hadji shot me a look and nodded. Good, he could feel it, too. Jonny looked clueless...

"I can tell you're not telling us something," I said, "What's going on?" My paranoia was back.

Race sighed and said, "Go look at Caller ID."

Hadji, Jonny, and I walked over and saw it blinking. I pushed the button and read what it said, "Unavailable. Augusta, Maine."

Jonny turned to Race and said, "That's about an hour away."

Dr. Quest looked at us and said, "We didn't know who it was, so we let the answering machine pick it up."

I didn't need to ask to know it wasn't good. I walked over to the answering machine and hit play. A cold voice filled the room.

"Benton, Race, I know you can hear me. You're sitting by the machine listening to me. Don't worry, I'm not spying on you. I just know how cautious you are, especially with a guest on board..."

I felt sick...

"What was the girl's name? The 1 man who made it back to me alive couldn't quite recall. He bled to death soon after returning. Such a shame. He was a useful ally. He thought it began with a C or a K. I'd so like to find out her name. I doubt you'll tell me, so maybe she will. Are you listening, girl?"

Getting sicker by the minute...

"Can you hear me? He said you almost died but Race shot the other assassin before he could find out your name. You probably won't pick up the phone now, either. Do you realize what kind of danger you're in? What you're up against? Did they tell you what I can do? Do you know my name? I am Serd."

Definitely sick. I was going to faint after this was over. I wanted to faint now, but, it's not like you can choose to faint when you can't handle something. He was still talking...

"The time is 7:02 AM . You have 12 hours to leave, girl, because in 12 hours I'm coming with my elite militia and the Quests will be no more. Do you want die with them? Like you almost did in India? I hear a guard died saving you. Maybe you'll stay because you don't deserve to live. If you stay, I'll take you alive. I'd like to see what kind of person it takes to ignore this. I want to know your name..."

That was it. I'm falling...

"Soon, you'll meet Jeremiah Serd and die..."

That was the last I heard...

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I woke up in my bed surrounded by everyone including Bandit. Jonny was holding my hand and Bandit was trying to lick my face. I sat up and was pushed back down.

"Don't move," Race said, "How many fingers are there?"

"2," I said. He sighed with relief and said, "No concussion."

I touched the back of my head and winced. There was a nice sized bump in the middle, "Ow."

"You need to pack," Race said, "That's what we all need to do. We're leaving for Russia ASAP."

"Good idea," I said, "There's another meaning for ASAP that fits even better."

"What?" Race said.

"Always Say A Prayer," I said, "We'll need to."

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Race told me to pack all of my stuff. He wasn't sure when (if) we'd be back. I was done in an hour. Race helped me bring it all downstairs with everyone else's stuff. They had apparently packed everything they wanted, too. We loaded and took off.

"The Embassy has trained military guards," Jonny said, "And Madame President is great. Not as good as Mrs. Singh, but still great. It's safe," he said, looking at me.

"No where's safe," I murmured. Jonny kissed my forehead and then, I went to sleep.

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Well, how's that for a surprise? The Jeremiah Serd wants an introduction to little old me! Should he get one? Review with some more action ideas. I need help, considering the only thing Robbie told me was to use swords in the palace.

And should I romanticize the situation between me and Jonny now or wait awhile? Robbie, don't say anything, I know you hate the whole romance plot to begin with!

I hope you like this so far. Don't applaud, just send roses!

Ja ne! The Management...