AN: Yay! I got more reviews! Thank you all! Some of you have asked "where's peter? Who's peter?"…Well, that's a surprise! But I didn't forget about him!
Chapter 2: Rocks, Water, and Hard Places
Peter blinked his eyes as his mind returned to awareness. Damn. Not again. The blackouts were coming more often. This was the sixth time in as many days. He slowly dragged his torso up, sitting back on his heels, careful not to incur the wrath of his ever-present foe, the migraine. When there was no pain or dizziness, he moved again, this time reaching out for and finding something to help him drag himself upright.

He managed to uneventfully make his way the 10 feet needed to reach the place where he could sit down. Checking his watch, he groaned. It seemed as though the blackouts were lasting longer too. This one had lasted almost 15 minutes. He glanced through the window. Thank goodness it was late and there was no one around. Last time it had been close. He had regained his senses just in time to see a woman across the street about to step in to late afternoon traffic. She had stepped back just in time, wondering what had prompted her to walk into the middle of fast moving traffic. Peter knew, though. It was because of him. He had to control these blackouts somehow. Already, two people were dead. Two innocent people. He'd do whatever it took. He had to stop the blackouts, or more would die.



There were three short knocks, then one loud thump.

Katie stood in the doorway as she watched David Yoltz, lead counsel for Kilmartin Enterprises, pull his head up from under his desk. The three short knocks had been her, rapping on David's wooden office door as she opened it, announcing her arrival. The loud thump had been David, or rather his head, thumping against the underside of his large oak desk, surprised by her arrival.

"Katie! Is it 9:30 already?"

"Actually, it's almost 10, David. I was running late. What were you doing on the floor? And what happened to your window?!"

David blinked, as if he couldn't remember why he'd been on the floor. He second question drew his attention to the window. And saw why he had been on the floor – the large spider web of cracked class that was now his window. He looked back at Katie. "Oh, I, uh, dropped my pen." He pulled out the pen he always kept in his back pocket and showed it to her. "It's the last one of its kind right now. They're the cheap kind, but they're good, and I have a tendency to lose pens and the new order from Office Depot isn't due in until Monday."

Katie raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking. "I remember. And Natalie always seemed be a magnet for pens. I always figured when the two of you were together you'd be left writing with quill and ink."

"Yeah, well, I was down there when this bird flew right into the window. Scared the hell out of me. Then you knocked." He rubbed the back of his head absently. "That's when I hit my head on the desk."

Her eyebrow rose higher, if it was even possible, as she glanced at the window and then back at him. "A bird? This late at night?"

David listened to her words as his gaze focused on her raised eyebrow. He had seen her do that many times before. He still hadn't figured out exactly what the look meant. Basically, it could represent anything from amazement to annoyance to disbelief to deep thought. He shook his head and stood. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about Katie, though he had found himself doing so more and more in recent weeks. It's only natural. We've been seeing more of each other recently, he thought. Anyway… He drew himself to his full height of 6'1". "Hey, don't ask me about the strange habits of pigeons. They're the one's that eat bubble gum off the ground. So, what can I do for you?"

"You called me, remember. You said you had the quarterly reports for me and wanted to go over a few things."

"Right." He reached out to the left side of the desk for the two thick reports he had placed there earlier. He handed one to her. "Would you like to take a seat," he asked, indicating one of the visitor's chairs across from his desk.

Katie draped her coat and purse over one of the chairs and settled into the other, folding her slim legs so she was sitting cross-legged in the chair. "So what's the verdict?"

David skimmed through the pages of the report. "Well, uh, okay. Your review and approval of the charities selected by the board has to be done by Wednesday. Also, you need to be made aware of the plan to restructure accounting and the potential legal repercussions."

Katie listened to him list off half a dozen things other she needed to do. She took in the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble that lined his cheeks. "How long have you been in the office, David?"

He lifted his head and stared at her. "What?"

"When is the last time you took a break? I know the quarterly review has me running ragged and I don't have nearly the agenda that you do. When's the last time you ate?"

"Around noon, I think. It's been a long day."

"Why don't we get some dinner, then. We can make it a working dinner," she said before he could interrupt and give her his spiel saying he didn't have time for a social relationship. She sighed internally. She wanted to be closer to David, but for as long as she'd known him, he'd never really been close to anyone. In fact, she and the mutual friend through whom they had met were the closest friend he had. She knew nothing of his family. He never mentioned them.

She, David and Natalie Richards had been each other's closest friends during her college years. Natalie had been on the swim team with David at Duke University. Katie had met them when they had come to Cambridge together for graduate school. Natalie became her roommate at Harvard. Katie was in her freshman year, Natalie was starting her master's degree in mathematics, and David was starting at Harvard Law. They had studied together – using each other for sounding boards for their different disciplines. Throughout the three years that they had been close, Katie had never known David to have a girlfriend – she had initially thought that he and Natalie were seeing each other, but that had been shot down when Natalie started dating another guy – or known him to have other friends. The man was a loner. But something about the way he acted gave her the impression that it wasn't what he wanted. Something had happened and he had a reason for his relatively solitary existence. The flash of memories lasted only a few seconds while David made his decision.

"Yeah," he sighed. "That actually sounds good. Kill two birds with one stone."

"At least this bird is metaphorical. It can't do any damage. We'll take my car." She stood, shrugged into her coat and moved toward the door. "I presume you didn't drive today, either."

"Nope." He flipped the report shut and stuffed into his briefcase before moving toward the door. "Took the train."

"Why do you even have a car?"

"Just in case."

"In case what?" She reached for his coat, hanging on a hook by the door, to hand to him.

He saw where her gaze was turning – the doorframe – as she reached for the coat. Anxious to keep her from seeing the real cause of the broken window, David quickened his pace the last few steps to the door, interrupting her motion, and grabbing the coat before her eyes could settle on the doorjamb.

She tossed him a look, silently questioning his unusually quick movements.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "Sorry. This hook has a, uh, a trick to it. If you don't lift the coat off just right, you can rip a huge hole in it."

"O-kay. So, do you have any preferences? Chinese? Italian? Thai?"

"Chinese?"

"Sounds good. There's this really good place down on…"

Her voice faded as they left the room, one of his hands hovering over the small of her back, leading her from the room. With the other hand he switched off the lights and ran his hand over the two small round holes on the doorjamb. They were so close together – the two holes were tangent to each other. They must have been low caliber bullets, given that they didn't pass through the wall. It was lucky for everyone else in the office that it was late at night, and no one else had been in the office. He'd been damn lucky he'd stubbed his toe on the corner of the desk when the first bullet came through the window. He'd already been on the floor when the second one struck. He'd also been lucky that Katie was running late otherwise she might have been hit. He spared one more glance at the broken window him, then shut the door behind him.



"Well, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

David smiled as he opened the door to Katie's tiny, fuel-efficient car. "No, it wasn't. Thanks for making me get out of the office. I guess I was hungrier than I thought."

She started the car and pulled into traffic. He was happy; dinner had been pleasant, and the work hadn't taken nearly as long as he'd thought. After they pushed it aside, they ended up just talking for the next hour or so. They talked about banal things like the weather and the annoying way road construction increased in the summer. They talked about more controversial things, like the upcoming presidential election. They laughed about the funny commercials and events they had seen. It was nice to be with someone again. Sitting in the car with her, the only sounds the sparse traffic, was comforting. He pushed aside the nagging voice in his head that told him it was dangerous to be here, and leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. The exhaustion that he had been holding back all week started to creep in and he yawned.

"Are you going to get some sleep tonight? Tomorrow's Sunday, and you don't have to go into work. At least, you shouldn't anyway. You shouldn't have even been at work today."

He chuckled lightly. "No. I promise I won't go in to work tomorrow. One scolding a night is enough."

She turned off the freeway, onto as street running parallel to the Delaware River, coming closer to David's small rental in the older area of the city.

"Hey, what happened with that death certificate you asked me about? Did you want me to get started on overturning it?"

"Huh? Oh, um. Never mind, actually. I was researching the wrong person. Same name, different birth date."

He frowned. She was distracted. Not a good combination at night on a road with few streetlights. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. This car's tailgating me though. Has been since the freeway."

David turned in his seat to get a look at the car. All he able to see were the headlights. "Yeah. He's too close. And he's got his high beams –"

David didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. The car behind them suddenly accelerated, ramming into the back of Katie's car.

"Hey! What the hell does he think he's doing?" Katie glanced into the rearview mirror, swiftly returning her concentration back to the road in front of her and moving back into her lane.

There was a roar. The driver of the car behind them had gunned the gas again and pulled alongside. David saw a glint. "Get down!"

He jerked his upper body down below the level of the window, pulling Katie's shoulder with him, just as three shots sounded, and both the driver and passenger windows exploded, raining glass down on their heads. Katie thoughts moved quickly. She flipped a switch, turning on the cruise control, then slipped her hand beneath the seat, lifted a lever and pushed her seat back, allowing her to get her entire body down around the steering column and below the window. The only problem now was that she couldn't see where she was going. There was no way she could lift her head to see; sparks were flying and metal pings still echoed in the whistling air. She heard the harsh crackle of broken glass as the back windows blew out. The other car had fallen back, and was behind them now. There was no way to stop the car without being rammed by the other guy. She didn't know what to do.

David seemed to read her mind. "Just keep the wheel straight! I know this road," he shouted over the noise. "It stays straight for another mile or so." His head cracked against the glove compartment as the car suddenly jerked forward again. It was as he was shaking the stars from his vision that he realized the bullets had stopped flying. The other car was now trying to run them off the road. The shooter must be out of bullets. The car jerked again, violently, this time sliding to the right. "Shit!"

"What? What the hell his happening? Why are they shooting at us?" Katie's voice was high and urgent, but controlled.

"I have no idea why. But a couple more hits like that and they'll knock us into the river. This time of year, that is not a good place to be!"

"Well, any ideas?" Her teeth clenched of their own volition as they were hit fourth time.

"Yeah, one. When I tell you, shift into neutral, hit the brakes and jerk the wheel hard to the left."

Katie's eyes widened as she realized what she would be doing, but she nodded her head. Well, she nodded as best she could in the cramped quarters. She wasn't sure she saw him, so she said. "Got it. Neutral, brakes, left."

"Okay. Keep you head down." David slowly lifted his own head, peering over his shoulder, looking through the now missing back window. He squinted in an effort to see around the blinding high beams, and managed to see the outline of the car. He saw it moving closer, jerking to the right, moving in for another bump. "Now!"

His world swung wildly as Katie executed his instructions. The car spun around and he felt his body flung into the passenger door and the street lamps whirled. The screech of tires assaulted his ears and the smell of burning rubber wafted into the car. He prayed that whatever kept the door shut hadn't been damaged by the bullets. The car shuddered when it came to a stop, rocking and facing the other way. Katie gathered herself for half a second, then flipped the car in gear and took off in the way they had come. David swung around and looked out the back, just in time to see their attacker crash into the flimsy railing he had been trying to run them into. The rail collapsed under the force. The car, slowed by the impact, teetered for a moment, but it was too late. It was already halfway over the edge. The car tipped, and fell into the river with a strangely quiet splash.

David sat back into the seat, and looked over at Katie, who had watched in her rearview mirror. "Should we go back? See if there's anything we can do?"

Katie looked at him for a moment before moving her eyes back to the road. "No. If the driver's still conscious, who knows what other weapons he has. But we'll call it into the police as an anonymous tip. Use your cell phone. Those calls are routed to the state dispatcher and can't be traced."

He nodded and reached for his coat, now lying on the floor in the back seat, and grabbed his cell phone. He heard Katie's voice speak softly.

"This wasn't some accident. They were trying to kill us"

He flipped open the phone. "I know. But we can't report this to the police."

She was surprised by the vehemence in his tone on that last statement, though she already agreed with his assessment. "No, we can't. They don't have the resources to move fast enough to investigate a case like this."

He dialed, and put the phone to his ear. "Turn right here. We can get to my place this way."

Katie shook her head. "No way. Until we know what's going on, and which one of us was the target, you're staying at my place. There's much more security there. And I think it's time I introduced you to some friends of mine."