SKETTY24 = WHOOO =D!!! It's great to know that the story's picking up for you again =D! I really hope you like this chapter as much as much you liked the previous one too =)! Hmmm...I guess the past few chaps were more of 'Karen fillers' since they introduce her character for the first time in this fanfic =).

ANGELICA = WHOA O.O! I never thought I'd see the words 'great' and 'kind man' and 'Stryker' all in the same sentence O.O! LOL!!! But yeah, I'll admit, he was a wonderful person before. But as to how he became evil, will be revealed in the next few chapters =)! (you don't want me to spoil how things will unfold now, do ya? ;).

Chapter 64: Chasing fate

Karen's legs moved in quick long strides as she made her way down the sidewalk. The stern and serious look on her face made her seem as if she was deep in thought. She was actually thinking of other places where she could possibly get a hold of the book. She knew of another bookstore that was a good ten minutes' walk away from Nathan's, so that would be a good place to start. If she doesn't find it there, there was another one near Sean's place, though it was a full hour's drive away. Or she could just visit the city's public library and see if they have it. Though if they did, she doubted that she would be able to borrow it for a full week, since the library doesn't lend out its new releases.

William now found himself standing in the sidewalk outside Nathan's shop, without a clue on where Karen could already be. She could have already ridden a cab or walked down another street for all he knew. But no matter what happened, he would find her. He had to find her. He had the book that she was looking for and he knew that he would be able to help her out. He also found it quite amusing that for the first time in his life as a mercenary, someone outside Code7 actually needed his help, and that this 'help' didn't require him to do something in the likes of deactivating a nuclear bomb, or saving a captured POW from an enemy camp, or devising a plan to infiltrate an enemy stronghold. This 'help' simply required him to lend a book to a girl that he just met in a bookshop.

He turned his head and looked to his right. That was the direction where Karen walked off to when she stormed out of the shop. If this were his lucky day, she might still be walking on that side of the street. Then he suddenly noticed a familiar female figure walking just a couple of blocks away from where he was standing. He narrowed his eyes as he observed her. His years of training in Code7 had somehow sharpened his visual senses and had given him some kind of 'sixth sense' in detecting his prime target. He just didn't expect to find himself using that predatory 'sense' in this kind of scenario.

Then his eyes opened wide when he confirmed who it was. It was her! It was Karen! He knew it! He immediately got on his feet and ran to her direction. He was quite a fast-runner, thanks to all the rigorous physical training that he'd been through, so he knew that he would be able to catch up with her in no time. He just hoped that she wouldn't take a cab or ride a bus or disappear around the corner or behind a crowd, because he wasn't 'that' fast, and his sense of sight and smell weren't as strong and as sharp as that of Logan's. God, what he would do to have mutant powers like that right now.

Stryker, the older William Stryker, remained standing inside the bookshop. A gentle smile curled up his lips as he watched his young self run out of the door to chase after his Karen --- after 'their' Karen. So, this was how they met. This was how it all began between him and her. This was where it all started. Him and Karen met because he stole her book. He couldn't help but laugh to himself. They met over something so petty, and yet so inexplicably coincidental, as if they were meant to be. Destiny, perhaps? Or maybe it was fate's twisted way of instigating a chain of events that would eventually lead to their yet-to-be-revealed future, the future that he was yet to uncover.

Then he turned his head and looked at Nathan, the friend he had almost forgotten. The old man, who seemed to be as old as Stryker was now, was reading his newspaper again. Stryker walked in front of the counter and looked at him.

"It was nice seeing you again, old friend." He smiled as he nodded his head. It was quite unfortunate that his friend couldn't hear him now. "Thank you --- for everything." He whispered softly. Then he stepped away and gave him a small salute. "Goodbye."

Stryker's figure slowly faded from the bookstore, until he completely disappeared. Then in a blink of an eye, he suddenly found him standing in middle of the sidewalk, a couple of blocks away from the bookstore. He knew he was still in the same part of the city because he could see the sign of Nathan's store in the distance.

So what was he doing here?

This his eyes suddenly opened wide and his jaw dropped in panic as he saw William running straight towards him. Stryker looked like a rabbit in front of a speeding train. He was about to step aside, when the young man ran through his physically transparent image. Then he immediately turned around, and watched as William ran off into the distance. He forgot that no one could touch him in this world, not even his younger self. Though if he were any other man, William could have easily knocked him out cold. The young man was running so fast, like he was running for his life.

"Karen!" William shouted as he ran to her, pushing and wading through the people in his path. "Karen! Wait! Hold on!" He shouted again, trying to get her attention.

Karen furrowed her eyebrows while she continued to stride down the sidewalk. Did she just hear someone call out her name? She swore she did, but that was impossible. She didn't know anyone who lived in this part of the city. Then she sighed and shook her head from side to side. It was probably just her imagination playing tricks on her.

"Karen! Wait!" Stryker shouted again, louder this time, waving his hand in the air. He was now just a block away from her. If she wouldn't stop, he would inevitably catch up with her anyway. Though it would help if she just stopped walking right then and there.

Karen suddenly stopped on her tracks and her eyes opened wide with surprise. Someone did call out her name. She heard her name in the air as clear as she could hear the sounds of the vehicles driving by the street. But who could it be? Was she supposed to know whose voice it was? It sounded like a young man's voice too. In fact, the voice sounded so terribly familiar, as if she had already heard it beforehand.

She slowly turned around to see who it was, and what she saw was definitely a sight for sore-eyes. It was the young man from the bookstore --- William, as Nathan referred to him. And he was running down the sidewalk towards her.

She arched an eyebrow as she looked at his approaching form. What was this? Some kind of weird, twisted dream turned into a reality? She was just eyeing this guy in the bookstore a while ago, thinking of how cute and charming he was, and now he was running after her? This was definitely the kind of thing you'd see in a movie, not in real life. Though she had to admit, he did look kind of cute whenever he quickly apologized to the people he pushed aside. What a gentleman.

William felt relieved when he saw Karen stop and look at his direction. He just hoped she would remember him. She should remember him. Then he gradually slowed down his pace as he ran closer and closer to where she was standing.

He stopped right in front of her, his chest moving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Then he smiled and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You're a fast walker, you know that?" He asked through deep breaths. "If I were you, I'd join one of those walking marathons." He said with an exasperated smile on his face. "You'd win. No doubt. You really gave me a quite of a run there." He said with a chuckle.

Karen just stood there and looked at him with an awestruck, dumbfounded look on her face. She still couldn't believe that he ran all that way for her, and was now striking a conversation with her. This definitely had to be a dream. Then she quickly moved her eyes away from him. It was also about time that she snapped back to reality. She still had more important matters to attend to. She was currently searching for a book that was virtually non-existent, and she was on the verge of a deadline, emphasis on 'dead'. She definitely didn't have the time to go talking to a guy in the middle of the sidewalk.

"I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm the guy from the bookstore." He said with a smile as he looked at her. He could feel his heart beat slowing down now. "You know, William Stryker? Nathan's friend? I was the one who gave you the name of the author of the book you were looking for." He couldn't wait to tell her the good news. He knew she'd be ecstatic once she finds out that he had the book.

She looked back at him and smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, I, uh, I do remember you." She said. "Thanks again for helping me out." Then the smile on her lips faded and she stepped backwards. "Look, William," She added. "I really wish I could stay and chat with you...but I really, really need to go." She said with a hint of dismay in her voice. "I don't want to appear rude or impolite or anything like that. It's just that I'm currently busy with a lot of things right now and I really need to get going."

"But ---" William said as he motioned a hand towards her.

Then she forced a smile on her lips and shrugged. "Hey, maybe I'll see you again some time." She immediately said, cutting him off before he could say another word.

She definitely had to walk away now before she ended up spending another minute with him. William looked like he was trying to start a conversation, and she didn't have the time for that now. She flashed him one last smile, and then she immediately turned on her heels and walked away without saying another word. She actually couldn't believe what she was doing. She was actually walking away from a very nice guy who was trying to get her attention. And for what? A stupid book? Yeah, she was definitely out of her mind. That book had infected her day like some sort of dark plague.

"I have the book that you're looking for!" William suddenly said. He just wasn't going to let her walk away from him. And it was more than just the book. There was something about this girl that made him want to talk to her more.

Karen suddenly froze in place and her eyes widened with surprise. Did she just hear that right? Did he just say that he had the book that she was looking for? She slowly turned around and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him suspiciously.

"What did you just say?" She asked intriguingly.

"Well that got your attention." He scoffed.

"What did you say?!" She asked again, more imposingly this time. If he really did have the book, then she should know. She needed to know. She had to know.

/"Quite demanding..."/ William thought to himself as he looked back at her.

Then he breathed in and smiled. "I said, I have the book that you're looking for." He said each word slowly and clearly, like he was narrating a poem.