A/N: For everyone who has been and could be confused about when my fic ends I will make it very, very clear (ie. the words the end will be the biggest hint :D). Still got a while to go, just over half way through now I think.

My heart felt thanks to my reviewers once again, I wouldn't still be writing this without your encouragement and your wonderful comments.

Chapter 11:When things go wrong

Evelyn asked for a table for one. Sands was busy with something so she was spending the evening alone. He was restoring the balance or something, Evelyn had not asked. She watched the world go by as she ate her meal. She suddenly caught a glimpse of her fingers, she had an unattractive mixture of clay and paint embedded underneath her fingernails that she had been unable to wash away. It made her smile; she had been feeling very creative recently.

She walked at a leisurely pace back to her hotel; it was a warm evening so she carried her cardigan over her arm. She hummed under her breath as she entered the hotel; she waved a cheery goodnight to the night watchman and took the staircase. Two minutes later she was turned the key in her lock and opening the door. It was dark inside so Evelyn reached for the light switch instinctively but instead of the plastic her hand touched something soft and warm; another hand.

Evelyn gasped and then felt a hand clamp across her mouth. She felt more hands grab her arms, she struggled but the grip simply tightened. She tried to scream but the hand muffled the sound. It was crushing her jaw but Evelyn couldn't do a thing about it. She was pushed front first into the wall and held against it, her arms twisted sharply behind her back. The hand around her mouth disappeared but her head was pressed against the wall so it was forced to one side. Suddenly everything went quiet and then the lights came on. Evelyn saw two men dressed in black with dark glasses to obscure their eyes like Sands' but Evelyn knew these men were not blind. They were going all around the room closing the blinds and listening at the door. Evelyn supposed there must be two more men holding her, one for each arm. One man, the boss perhaps, walked up to her, he lit a cigarette as he did so and breathed the smoke in Evelyn's face. It was the same brand that Sands smoked, what a peculiar thing to notice in such a situation.

"Hello senorita," said the smoker. He had a low gravely voice, Evelyn listened to him feeling quite sure she was going to pass out from fright at any moment.

"We thought we would pay you a little visit," said Smoker, "Only sociable." Someone behind Evelyn laughed.

"What do you want?" Evelyn asked trying to sound brave which was difficult when both your arms felt close to breaking point. The smoker man smiled but did not answer straight away. He walked over to the wall and slowly stubbed his cigarette out on the paintwork. It hissed for a second and then there was silence.

"I am not a patient man senorita," said Smoker as he walked back to her, "And I am not a nice man. But I am a reasonable man. If you give me what I want then nothing will happen to you but if you don't..." He raised one hand. Evelyn felt her arms being twisted behind her; she rose on her toes and let out a cry of pain. The smoker lowered his hand and the pressure lifted a little.

"Now you understand me," the smoker said as he lit up another cigarette, "You will listen to what I have to say." Evelyn choked as he breathed his stale smoke into her face again, her eyes began to stream.

"We've been watching you," the smoker said, "You're a pretty good artist, we've seen your work, had a preview if you like." He smirked.

"We even know who your friends are Miss Willuns, that is the area that most interests us. We know everything so don't lie to us, we won't be fooled that easily. We know you spend a lot time with ex-Agent Sheldon Jeffrey Sands." Evelyn's breath caught in her throat almost choking her. She should have known it was something to do with Sands. What did they want? How was she going to best protect Sands from these people?

"How did you meet ex-Agent Sands?" Smoker asked. Evelyn said nothing. Suddenly she felt her arms being twisted again. She cried out in pain.

"Don't play games with me," called Smoker and then Evelyn felt her captors ease the tension in her arms. She didn't know what to do, they were going to hurt her, maybe even kill her.

"How did you meet dear ex-Agent Sands?" Smoker demanded. Evelyn was determined to keep her mouth shut but pain drew words out of her.

"He's just a friend, I barely know him." When they let go Evelyn could still feel her arms aching in protest.

"You barely know him," Smoker repeated, "So you didn't bother to ask any questions all those times you ate dinner with him?" Evelyn felt a sudden wave of desperation wash over her.

"He never said much," she said trying with all her might to sound convincing, "We hardly know each other."

"So what do you know?" asked Smoker.

"Nothing," Evelyn said at once. It was the wrong thing to say.

"Nothing?" The pain shot up Evelyn's arms into her shoulders like lightening bolts.

"I know he used to work for the CIA and that he was paid off," she blurted out but the pain didn't stop.

"And?"

"That's all I know! Please!" Evelyn tried to struggle free but it was useless. She began to sob, the pain ended eventually but she knew it was only a brief rest bite.

"Come now senorita," said Smoker as he lit his third cigarette, "Tell me all you know."

Evelyn lay on the floor momentarily dazed. Her arms had been wrenched almost to breaking point and now they were tied behind her back. She had not told them any fresh information, insisting instead that she knew nothing more and that Sands never talked to her about himself. They had not taken kindly to this so they had beaten her up and thrown her around the room so she was bruised and battered all over. She had just been thrown to the floor by one of the goons. When the world stopped spinning Evelyn opened her eyes. Smoker was bending down beside her.

"We know you know ex-Agent Sands," he said stressing the ex as if wanting to make perfectly clear that Sands was no longer under the protection of any agency, "You tell us what you know and we'll leave you alone." It was a tempting offer Evelyn had to admit, she didn't want to be hurt anymore and she didn't know how far these men were willing to go to get their information. Suddenly a vivid image of Sands being ambushed by these thugs struck Evelyn and it made up her mind. Better to be killed herself than to know she was responsible for anything happening to Sands. Smoker waited but Evelyn remained silent. He slowly to his feet and nodded once to his companions.

"I don't know anything!" screamed Evelyn as they advanced upon her but the men were immune to pleading, this was just another job.

It was dark outside the window. There weren't even any stars in the sky. Evelyn was lying on her back, hands and feet bound. She was in her bedroom but the bed was empty, she had been dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. They had not tortured her for long, Evelyn did not care why. The men were outside the door now; Evelyn couldn't hear them properly so she had given up trying to eavesdrop. She was lying completely still because everything hurt. All she could do was stare out of the window at the uninspiring darkness. She wondered what they would do with her. She tried not to feel frightened, and tried instead to think of Sands but that did not have the intended effect. What if they did manage to make her talk? Sands would try and fight them off of course, but in an ambush no one would stand a chance, least of all a blind man.

As she lay seeped in gloom and fear Evelyn began to feel the tingle of pins and needles creep through her fingers. Wondering whether her bindings had been pulled so tight they were cutting off the blood supply Evelyn wiggled her fingers to try and restore the flow when to her very great surprise the ropes feel away from her wrists completely. She stared at them in disbelief and then moved her hands apart. It was a full minute before the shock wore off and she was able to think clearly. She sat up, ignoring the pain, and undid the knots at her feet. She stood up quite unable to believe this piece of good fortune. She listened; she could still hear the hum of low voices on the other side of the door so there was no exit there. The only other way out was the window. Evelyn remembered seeing a very old, very rusty looking fire escape attached by what seemed like determination alone to the hotel's side. She hurried over and threw open the window dramatically. The fresh air hit her face. There wasn't time to think about it. She swung her leg out of the window and squeezed through the narrow frame. Grabbing the window sill with both hands she closed her eyes as the whole structure beneath her feet lurched. Her stomach plummeted and waited for her on the ground below. It was the door to the bedroom opening that made her let go, fear of one thing can often be enough to allow fear of something else to be overcome.

Evelyn ran down the ancient steps sure that her weight was going to cause the whole thing to collapse but fortunately it did seem to comply with the basic safety regulations and it held firm. When the platform she had reached about halfway down gave a particularly nasty wobble Evelyn looked up. Two of the men that had been hurting her had just climbed onto the scaffolding above her and their weight was causing the metal to strain even more. Suddenly they saw her, one man pointed accusingly and then they both began to hurtle recklessly down the steps making them literally bounce up and down. Evelyn half ran, half fell forwards her hands desperately clinging to the railings for what little support they had to offer as she strived to reach terra firma. Finally she made it but there was no time to be thankful that the ground was no longer moving for the two men were still in hot pursuit, she could hear their angry yells aimed in her direction but she did not look back. Evelyn ran, she ran to the only place she could think of, the only place she could feel safe. She snatched brief looks over her shoulder but could not see anything. A few times she thought she heard gun shots but that only made her run faster until she flew up the familiar porch steps and through the door.

She actually ran right into Sands who had just stood up upon hearing the running footsteps. He staggered as she collided with him but they both remained standing. Evelyn clung to him as everything seemed to collapse around her. Before either of them had spoken she began to cry. If Sands was at all confused by this sudden appearance and strange behaviour he did not show it. He let her cry for a little while, and Evelyn did not realise he had his arms around her until he spoke.

"What's the matter?" he asked. His tone was not particularly gentle, but then Evelyn did not wish to be patronised or soothed by someone who could not help her. Sands was asking the question plainly so she took her cue from him and answered accordingly.

"I was attacked in my hotel," said Evelyn, "Men who wanted to know stuff about you. I didn't tell them anything so they..."

"They what?" asked Sands sharply. He released Evelyn so he could use his hands. They found her face and gently explored it. She winced as he touched a bruise under her eye.

"Fuck," said Sands under his breath as he felt cuts and more bruises all over her. "What did they do to you?" But Evelyn could not answer, she began to cry again. Her muscles had begun to ache again now the adrenaline from running had worn off. Sands was hugging her gently, she did not know how much that was helping until he stopped.

"You should have told them what they wanted to know," he said in an almost scolding manner, "You shouldn't have put yourself in danger."

"I couldn't tell them," said Evelyn, "If they'd hurt you..."

"They can't hurt me," Sands said dryly. They stood as they were for a long time. Evelyn rested her head against Sands' chest and her tears made his shirt damp.

"What if they come here?" Evelyn asked at length.

"There's no if," said Sands, "They will come here."

"I'm so sorry," sobbed Evelyn, "It's all my fault."

"Of course it's not your fault," said Sands quickly eager to stop her tears, "I've been waiting for them."

"Waiting?" sniffed Evelyn wiping her eyes. Sands nodded.

"You have a choice," he said straightforwardly, "Either you stay here and fight or you run."

"What are you going to do?" asked Evelyn.

"Same thing I've been doing since the moment I got here," replied Sands, "I've never been a fan of running in the dark." Evelyn thought about how long she had been running away from things. She could feel Sands' chest rising and falling as she leant on it.

"I don't want to run any more," she said. Sands smiled. He was hoping she would say that, he did not want her to leave and this fact meant he did not argue with her decision when perhaps he should have done. He did not even think of what this would mean, all he could think of was that Evelyn was not going anywhere and that seemed to wipe everything else clear from his mind.

Sands washed Evelyn's cuts seeing no reason why he should wake up Nino for the task when Evelyn could tell him what to do. With Evelyn wrapped up in a blanket Sands reached inside his pocket.

"I don't want an argument about this," he said and he handed Evelyn something. She took the gun in her hands and the grim realisation that she might need it hit her.

"No abrupt rejection?" Sands asked.

"No," said Evelyn looking at her new weapon, "Only a thank you."

"Keep it with you," said Sands, "And don't hesitate to use it, after all you do have the somewhat hefty benefit of sight."

"Sands?"

"Yes?"

"What if they do come looking for you?" Sands smiled, a cold humourless smile.

"Then I'll kill them," he said, "Simple as that."

Evelyn thought she would never get to sleep that night but with Sands beside her she drifted off almost immediately. Sands however remained awake. The men who had hurt Evelyn were probably members of the fragmented Barillo cartel who were eager to seek revenge after Sands killed Barillo's only daughter and contributed towards the death of Barillo himself. The cartel had decreased significantly in number, so much so that for a time it had seemed as if they had disbanded completely but that was unfortunately not the case. Perhaps they had managed to recruit some new members which had spurred them to attack Evelyn, whatever the reason was Sands cursed himself for not seeing it coming (in a figurative sense) and arming Evelyn against it. He listened to the sound of her sleeping and thought how badly she could have been hurt, as it was she was lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries, and it was all his fault. He put off going to sleep knowing his dream would be especially vivid tonight but eventually sleep took him.

Evelyn woke as Sands screamed. He sat up, even paler than usual, shaking and breathing very fast. But this time he was not in pain, for it had not been him strapped to the table as usual, it had been Evelyn.