Rei sat in the balcony of the theater in Vicious' box seat. Stinger had gone for a quick trip to the restroom and once inside a marbleized stall, he switched on a tiny communicator located in the earring of his right ear. There had been some discussion between the two and Vicious had thought it best that Stinger wear the communicator, just in case something should happen to them while he was speaking with his colleagues. "We went to the theater and I've got some bad news for you. Spike's in the lobby. He must think you're around or something," he said. "Spike now. I can still use her to my advantage. I've found out the party that wants her dead and my involvement with her is only a small portion of the problem. She's wanted dead for her knowledge of her father's bad investment habits. Apparently he's trying to start anew by covering up his double-dealings. He's planted a bounty on her for false charges of arson and grand theft," Vicious' voice said. "So what do I do?" "Stay with her. Just don't take advantage of her a second time." "Oh you know about that." "My surveillance system is still functional. Just make sure nothing happens to her. I'll be there soon." Stinger opened the door to the stall and walked right into the end of Jett's gun. "You're not going anywhere," Jett said as Stinger gazed at him in surprise. "I did some checking up on you and you're wanted by quite a few people." "What have you done to her?" Stinger asked. "Ask Spike. He's got the grudge with Vicious." Stinger's eyes darkened as Jett increased the pressure on the trigger. Stinger's ears lengthened as Jett fired his gun. Stinger leapt lightly aside and rushed Jett. Again shots were fired and Stinger avoided them. All but one. The last one met him head on and he fell limply backwards, blood gushing forth onto the recently cleaned and waxed tiled floor. "Now I won't get as much of the reward. You were worth a lot more alive," Jett said as he gazed at the corpse, the clothes on his body slowly absorbing the blood that pooled out onto the floor. "Oh well, when you're as broke as I am, you can't choose how much money you're going to get." Rei huddled in a corner of the roof, gasping frantically for breath. She was thankful that she heard the thoughts of the bounty hunters before they neared her but she didn't like being alone. They had already killed Stinger and his dying mental scream had unnerved her so much that she barely had the mental capacity to run up to the roof. She wanted Vicious. She wanted him next to her. She wanted his affection, even though it didn't fall in the standard definition of the term. She wanted to feel his hands on her body, touching her the only way he could touch her. She heard footsteps on the stairs leading up to the roof and shivered in fear. She was utterly terrified as Spike blasted the lock on the door and kicked it open. The rooftop was dimly lit with the afterglow of fluorescent lights that shone from the surrounding buildings. The haze of the city covered the lights, causing them to take on a grainy appearance. Spike glanced around the area of the roof, his contrasting eyes searching for her. Their gaze met and a complete hysteria took over Rei's emotions. She fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably, for she did not know why she deserved to die. They both had come from a broken past, although hers had broken much later than his and perhaps that was what had drawn her back to him. She was fully aware of the fact that in the beginning all Vicious was planning on doing was using her and killing her when he grew tired of her but.but there was the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he could not kill her. Now.now she was going to die by the hands of his enemy and the only justification he had was his hatred for Vicious. Rei did not know what went on between Spike and Vicious, nor did she care. What Vicious had done in the past did not change how she felt about him. "Women," Spike commented as Rei haltingly tried to catch her breath. "I-I don't.want to leave him!" she sobbed. "He doesn't care about you. He's just using you. He'll kill you when he grows tired of you. If you come with me, you'll have a life. In a prison, but you'll have a life." "I have his word that he won't kill me." "His word doesn't mean a damned thing!" "You don't know!" she cried, then lowered her eyes. "You don't know. You've never seen his compassion. You've never seen his gentle side. All you know is the reason why they call him Vicious." "You don't know either. How he's deceived, cheated, lied, and killed. You don't know how he's stolen and made deals. You never fought alongside him, only to be stabbed in the back later on," Spike said and Rei gazed up at him. She noticed, for the first time, his two separate eye colors and sniffed heavily. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at him. "I've never seen anything like it," she said. "One eye is forever seeing the past. The other sees the future. Come on, while it's still safe," Spike said. "No. I'm in no danger. He will protect me." "Vicious is a lying, double-dealing, back stabbing bastard." "Merely an opinion, Spike," Vicious said as he stepped out of the doorway. His eyes peered dangerously out from underneath the bangs of his gray, slightly curly hair. His bird perched on top of his injured arm, its cold black eyes gazed silently at Spike, watching him.and waiting. "Vicious," Spike said, that one word saturated with all the hate he held for Vicious. "Give her to me and I'll let you and your companions go." "What my companions do is their own affair. This woman is wanted and I plan on delivering to keep her away from you." "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to go?" Rei asked as she walked up to Vicious. She took his hand and gazed pleadingly at Spike. "I understand him. Please. Don't take that away. Haven't you ever had someone that understands you?" Spike said nothing as he watched her run a hand over Vicious' face and down the scars of his past. If it had been anyone else, he would have killed them before they had gotten that close to him. If it had been anyone else.He watched her, the look in her eyes was obviously love and he glanced at Vicious, who stood watching Spike. His gaze had never left him, but there was something different in his eyes. Rei smiled, hearing Vicious' thoughts and she kissed him. "You want to break that up?" Faye asked and Spike glanced at her. "Where the hell did you come from?" he asked and Faye shrugged her shoulders. "From the door you broke down. Does it hurt because it reminds you of what you once had?" "No one asked you." "I know that. I'm not the kind of woman that waits to be asked. So what are you gonna do? Play the hero or the villain in this case?" "Let it go, Spike," Jett said and Spike looked at him. "Not you too," he said as Jett laid a hand on his shoulder. "There'll be another time for you to settle the score with him. Both of you know that. What that girl does doesn't concern you. It's her life and she has made her choice. Perhaps she sees more than you can." "Of course. Lecture me about life." "It's not a lecture. It's merely an observation." "There'll be another time, Spike. Another time when this will all be settled and we will both know the answer to our questions but now is not the time. I'll refrain my men from firing on you if you leave now," Vicious said and Spike looked at him. "I don't want you dead.yet." "Well, I'll take you up on that offer since it's the best I'm going to get from you. But believe me, I'll be ready for next time," Spike said and Vicious' eyes narrowed. "I know." *********************************** Vicious gazed at Rei. She pulled off her shirt and laid it on the bed. She reached behind her to unclasp her bra when she felt Vicious' hands on her back. He unclasped her bra and pushed the straps off of her shoulders. She laid a hand on his and he looked at her. "I want you to do something for me," he said and she looked at him. "What?" she asked. "Remember your past."

"What?" "I know who wants you killed." "Who? Why would anyone want me dead? What did I do wrong?" "I can tell you who. The rest you will have to look to yourself for answers." "Tell me who, then." "Sit down." Rei did as she was told and gazed up into Vicious' dark eyes. "Your father." "My father?" "Yes. You told me you don't remember much of your past so perhaps you did something or found out something that he holds against you. Enough to post a bounty on you." Rei stared at him, shocked by the news. Her own father wanted her dead. But why? Where was the justification? Vicious knelt before her, his dark eyes piercing into hers. "You've got to unlock your past. You've got to remember. You know, in the beginning, my main focus was to use you to my advantage but it seems that you're already being used," he said and she blinked her eyes. "That can't be true. Why would my father want to do such a thing?" Rei asked and Vicious looked at her as he laid a hand on her face. "You tell me," he said as he ran his fingers down her cheek. "Where's the scar that puts you back to that time? You know mine. You've touched it before. Where's yours?" "I.I don't know." "Could you hear thoughts before? As a child, perhaps? What happened to bring that sort of death wish about?" "I don't know." "You're going to have to think. Where's the scar that's linked to your past?" He pushed back her hair and gazed at a scar on the side of her neck. He touched it and Rei froze in terror. She had seen it all. She had seen the horrible truth. Her father had, in the basement, enough weapons to blow the entire system up. He had made his money for Sentinal 8 by illegally selling weapons of mass destruction to various terrorist groups. She stood at the top of the stairs, crouched low, watching him. He inserted a syringe into his arm and pushed down on the trigger. She knew that she wasn't allowed down there in the basement but she was curious and at the age of sixteen, she had finally decided to investigate. Large detonators sat on tables along with flamethrowers and biochemical weaponry. She watched the people browse through the stock as if they were in some sort of bazaar and sneezed. It was a soft sneeze but it was loud enough to catch her father's attention. He threw something at the spot where she was crouching and she gasped as she felt something attach to her neck. It was like a metallic centipede and she felt its razor sharp legs dig into her skin. She screamed in pain and ran out the door. She ran through the house, vainly trying to pull the metallic parasite from her neck as a feeling of drowsiness came over her. She reached the front door and with her hand on the doorknob, she fell unconscious. She awoke a few weeks later and the man that was in the hospital room with her, she did not recognize. He identified himself as her father and told her that they were currently in financial trouble. She was supposed to look for work as soon as she felt better. He never told her the reason why they had suddenly become destitute but Rei surmised that her presence in the basement that evening had spoiled a heavy business deal and her father had placed his entire trust in landing that deal, which failed. "It's that bad, isn't it?" Vicious asked and she looked at him, the present slowly coming back into focus. She cried out and embraced him, crying hysterically. "Please.please don't let him hurt me! He was under the influence of something back then but.but." She broke off abruptly as Vicious pushed her back onto the bed. Her chest heaved frantically up and down as Vicious wiped her eyes. "There's only one thing for you to do, then," he said as he removed his shirt. "What?" "He used you. He's going to kill you because he no longer needs you. You're no longer useful to him." "So?" "There's only one thing for you to do." "There is?" "Yes. Kill him first." "But." "You can hear my thoughts and I know how minds like his work. I didn't get to where I am now by being compassionate." "But you are compassionate." "Only you can see that. Now what are you going to do about your father?" "All of this seems like a dream. It can't be reality. Not if I have to make a decision like this." "Perhaps you're right. But, how are you going to wake up from the dream? There's only one way and you know what it is." He kissed her chest and Rei sighed. She heard his thoughts and knew they were true, she just did not want to accept the fact that her father deserved to die. Vicious continued to kiss her and she looked at him. Did she want to give him up? She felt him move downward and moved her body in response to his touch. "Do you know what to do?" Vicious asked as he glanced up at her. "Yes but I don't know how," Rei replied, her voice shaky with the knowledge of what she was going to do. "I'll help you. This won't be my first killing." "I know. Oh.Vicious." "I don't need to say it, do I?" "No you don't. Your thoughts spoke clearly."