The next chapter of Honor is coming, I promise!

Chapter Three: Staining the Twilight Black

[You're waiting here

For someone else to break you

From the inside

You've been so composed

But we all know there's

Always something

Tearing you apart

Always so much longer

Than you counted on

It hits you so much harder

Than you thought

But you don't worry

Don't worry

'Cause you got soul]
-Matchbox 20, 'Soul'

Things were quiet in the city that never sleeps as Ulrich hovered under a window in an abandoned building that sat squarely across from the New York National Bank. Occasionally he would glance down at the folder in his had to make absolutely sure that he had the right place. It was twilight now and the sun was setting over the horizon. Ulrich was sure she would go for it tonight. Tonight would be the easiest time to get that ruby, and Ulrich intended to be ready.

The chase the night before was starting to catch up to him. Ulrich felt his eyelids begin to droop. He shook his head to clear it. Stay focused, he chided himself. He was after a criminal, this was no time for a nap. But sleep called his name like the siren of legends, and Ulrich felt himself drift away...

Ulrich awoke some time later to the sound of a cocking gun. Immidiately he snapped awake, eyes wide and hands groping around for his bag with the gun. Where was his gun?

"Looking for this?" The femanine voice drifted out of the shadows with a confident air about it. Like maybe the voice's owner was holding a gun pointed at his skull. Ulrich's bag was tossed to him. He did a quick check of it. He still had the cuffs, but his .38 was missing, as was his knife. Other, less-deadly items were still inside. "So what are you doing here," the voice inquired. It was dark now, but Ulrich thought he could make out the outline of her body in the faint light coming through the window. He could definately see a gun in her hand, though it wasn't his, he was fairly sure of that.

"Give me my gun and knife." She laughed at his demands.

"Funny that you make demands when I'm the one holding the Glock." Well, at least he knew what kind of gun she had now, little good it would do him. "Now what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Ulrich snapped back. He had no idea why he was being so cocky whens he obviously had the position of power in this situation. Pride always had been a fault of his, and it was going to get him killed one of these days. Possibly even tonight if he didn't learn how to keep his mouth shut.

"Tell me what you're doing here!" Her voice rang out, but Ulrich noted it had jumped an octave. She was scared. On impluse Ulrich stood, starting towards her. If he was right he could get out of this. If he was wrong he would have to count on her having bad aim.

He got closer and closer until he could feel the Glock's barrel pressing into his leather jacket. He had changed into all black before he'd left his apartment.

The Glock was shaking, he could feel it beating an unsteady rythm against his chest. Unless that was his heart that was doing the erratic thumping. Ulrich hoped it was the gun. "Take it easy," he cooed at her gently. "Just put the gun down now. I'm not armed, I can't hurt you." Okay, so he probably could hurt her, armed or not, but at least he couldn't shoot or stab her. The gun didn't move.

Ulrich raised his arm in a chopping motion, knocking the gun away from her failing grasp. She gasped and fumbled for it desprately even as it clattered to the floor. He kicked it out of her reach. She squealed and made a break for it by taking off towards the doorway. Ulrich grabbed her arm and was dragged several feet back into the light of the window before he could stop her. He admired her strength for a moment before getting a good look at her.

In the pale light that shone through the window like a spotlight she stood there and Ulrich understood her fear of him. She was a hooker, and a beat up one at that. It looked like someone had roughed her up really bad.

"What's you name," he asked in what he hoped was a gentle, non-threatening voice. He wasn't good at gentle, non-threatening voices.

"Amber," she offered meekly. "What are you going to do with me?"

Ulrich sighed. "I'm going to take you to the local shelter. Once we're there you can tell me where you hid my gun and knife." She looked surprised, this was obviously not the answer she had been expecting. "I'm a fugitive apprehension agent, and I don't hurt women unless I have to. And I'm probably nothing like the jerk who screwed you over, if you'll excuse the expression. Now let's go."

She followed him out the door silently. Ulrich cursed himself for his laziness. None of this would have happened if he had only stayed awake. Now he had all but blown any chance he had at capturing Yumi. They reached his Escalade and slide in. He turned the key, and the digital clock read midnight. The witching hour, though it didn't seem so spooky right now.

Once at the shelter Amber had handed over Ulrich's weapons and thanked him profusely. He chalked the incident up to the chaos factor and returned to the abandoned building. The whole plan to catch Yumi had been tossed into the wind, but hey, at least he had done a good deed.

Peering once more out the window proved to Ulrich that all was quiet at the bank. He stared intently at it for a moment, daring Yumi to try and take that ruby.

There was a flicker of movement in one of the front windows. More like a shift in the shadows. No much to go on, but it was a slight indication of life inside the building. Ulrich decided to act.

He slunk across the deserted street like a cat and up to the bank. The entry point wasn't out front, but that would have been to easy and obvious for Yumi anyway. Ulrich continued around one corner to the back. Nothing. The place was locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Ulrich looked up at the starless sky. What now?

The roof! Ulrich sprinted around to the only side of the building he hadn't seen yet. Sur enough, a thin rope hung from where a grappling hook attached it to the roof. Ulrich had the sudden wish that he'd paid more attention when Jim was teaching them how to climb.

The bounty hunter took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and scaled the wall. Ulrich hauled himself into a standing position on the roof and gazed back down into the alleyway. "I guess she's not scared of heights anymore," he muttered.

A quick inspection of the roof revealed the entry point. There were several skylights, and one of them had a decent sized hole cut in it from a glass cutter. At least she wasn't sloppy. Ulrich gave yet another sigh and check that his bag was secure on his shoulders. Gently with practiced eased, Ulrich slipped himself down into the hole. So much for not catching her.