Ok people here is chapter four. Enjoy

Chapter 4 "If you scream, I will kill you."

Vincent scowled at the struggling child in his arms.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing" He thought angrily.

He glanced up and down the hallway again fully expecting someone to come strolling along and see him. There was no one, but Vincent knew that probably wouldn't last long. He had to get rid of the kid, and fast. Once again he ran through his options. There weren't many.

He could take her into the apartment, tie her up and hide her somewhere. No, she might somehow make a noise and alert his target to his presence.

He could put her in someone else's apartment and leave her there. No, too risky, while he was waiting for his target someone might discover the girl and call the police before his mission was accomplished. He vaguely realized that all the options he ran through revolved around the girl still being alive. It would be easier to simply kill her and be done with it. Vincent shook his head almost appalled by the thought. Kill a child? No, he couldn't do that. But what was he supposed to do with her then? He was out of options and he didn't like it.

Frustrated, Vincent cursed angrily under his breath. Suddenly the girl stopped struggling. In his surprise Vincent relaxed his grip and nearly dropped her. The hand covering her mouth slipped just a bit, but it was enough for her to get her own grip on his hand, with her teeth. Vincent swore violently and dropped her. She may have been just a small child but she could bite hard. She was a bit stunned when she landed on the floor, but at first she didn't try to run, instead she just stared at him.

"You said a bad word." She breathed, her soft sky blue eyes wide with shock.

Vincent hesitated for just a second. "What is wrong with this kid?" he thought. Here she was on the verge of being killed and she was worried about his language!

Vincent didn't waste another second on the thought, because at that moment the girl turned and ran off. Again he caught her quickly, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next. As soon as he grabbed her wrist, she turned into a miniature hurricane. She turned and kicked him hard in the shin then tried to bite the hand that was holding her all the while swinging her other fist every time he tried to grab it.

In all of his life, Vincent had never seen anything like this. The little whirlwind he was currently trying to restrain was putting up a remarkable fight. Finally, he succeeded in capturing her swinging fist and not a moment too soon. From the bottom of the stairs that led to the hallway that they were in he could hear voices. And the people who owned those voices were heading up the stairs. Vincent had to get out of the hallway and fast He glanced around and spied the open door of the apartment that the girl had come from. He would go there, but first he had to take care of the kid. As soon as she heard the voices, she had opened her mouth to cry for help, not knowing that it would prove fatal for her and the people coming up the stairs. However, Vincent was much faster than she was. He hated threatening children, but she left him with no choice. He pulled out his gun and placed it against her forehead.

"If you scream, I will kill you."

Mkenzie hesitated just inside the door to the bar, taking a moment to get used to the smells and sounds that assaulted her senses. She didn't wait too long before she ventured in, otherwise people would notice, and that was the last thing she wanted. She chose a booth near the back, in a dark secluded corner and waited. A moment later a man stepped through the door. He was tall and well built, with a handsome face, sandy colored hair and grayish-blue eyes. Mkenzie watched him carefully as his eyes scanned around the bar, finally coming to rest on her. She put her elbows on the table and laced her finger together as he approached.

"Mark" she said coolly, with a slight nod of her head.

"Hey" he murmured, glancing around nervously.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…" Mark hesitated, then with a sigh slumped back into his seat. "I don't know anymore."

"You don't know?" Mkenzie asked, sarcastically. "If Armys finds out that you were here he's going to kill you, you know that, and now you're telling me that you don't know why you're here? I find that difficult to believe." She placed her hands flat on the table and leaned forward. "You didn't follow me here for nothing Mark. Now what are you doing here?"

"I guess I just wanted to hear again why you're doing this."

Mkenzie's jaw dropped. Oh please not this conversation again. "Mark I already told you…" she started, exasperated.

"I know what you told me!" Mark snapped angrily.

"Lower your voice." Mkenzie hissed, glancing around to see who might have heard. A few heads had turned in their direction, but quickly looked away as she glanced up.

A waitress came by and they ordered quickly. They waited until she left and an uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Mark broke the silence first by muttering something obscene under his breath, then put his head in his hands. "Why are you doing this Zee?"

"I already told you." Mkenzie growled, resisting the urge to haul off and smack him.

"Yes, you told me why, but you won't tell me why you insist on doing it this way."

"It's the only way."

Mark shook his head. He had already had this conversation before, but at least he could try again. "It's not the only way Zee. You could…"

Mkenzie cut him off with an upraised hand. "No Mark, I won't.

"Why not?" Mark said, getting angry again.

Mkenzie didn't answer, simply shrugged her shoulders and slumped back in her seat. Mark leaned forward and put his hands on the table.

"Zee you don't have to do this. Not this way at least."

"Don't call me that." Mkenzie whispered softly

"What?"

"I said, don't call me that."

"Why not Zee?" Mark retorted sourly, glaring at her.

She sat up straight and glared back. "Because I said so Mark Antony." She sneered, putting a hard emphasis on his full name. The name he hated.

"Okay, okay…" Mark said quickly, holding up his hands, as if to ward off the verbal attack. "Sorry, but you're kind of pissing me off right now."

Mkenzie shrugged nonchalantly. "Everybody is pissed off at me right now." She grinned. "Besides it's better to be pissed off than pissed on, right?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "That was pathetic."

"So are you."

Mark started to say something back when the waitress arrived with their drinks. Mkenzie took a long drink then sat back with a contented sigh and closed her eyes, waiting for the alcohol to race through her system and calm her nerves. Mark simply stared at his and frowned, thinking. After a moment of silence he spoke.

"It won't change anything you know."

Mkenzie opened her eyes and cocked her head to one side. "Don't start." She warned.

"Nicholas is dead." Mark continued ignoring her. "Destroying Armys won't bring him back."

"It's not about Nicholas." Mkenzie snapped, her dark brown eyes flashing dangerously. Bringing up that subject was too painful and she wasn't ready to face it yet.

"Isn't it?"

"No, it's not. It's about teaching Armys that just because he's a part of the Mafia doesn't mean he can do whatever the hell he wants. He's an arrogant asshole who's crossed the line one too many times and this time his position isn't going to save him."

Actually, that was only part of the truth, because it was about Nicholas, although she wouldn't ever admit it.

"So this is just about you and getting your revenge. Is that it?" Mark asked crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Why shouldn't it be?" Mkenzie hissed, struggling to keep her temper in check. "Armys almost got me killed twice and Nicholas is dead because of him. Why are you trying to defend him?"

"I'm not defending Armys. Believe me, I'd like to see him dead as much as you do, but I don't want you to do something stupid because your pissed, and trust me what you're doing now is stupid. If certain people find out what you've done, you'll have more than just Armys to worry about."

"I know the risks Mark, but I also know that I can pull it off. I'm not going to testify in his trial. The FBI will have enough information to go on without me, so if I meet with an unfortunate "accident" it won't change anything. Armys goes to jail, everyone thinks I'm dead, and everyone goes home happy, the end."

" Well I hope you intend to disappear soon, otherwise your fake death may end up being real. And when I say soon I mean very soon."

Mkenzie paused for a moment to digest the information. "When?" she asked, realizing what he meant.

"I don't know, I only heard part of a phone conversation, he ordered the hit about two days ago. I don't know when it's supposed to go down. Could be today, could be tomorrow, it could be next week."

"Well that doesn't really help me much." Mkenzie said, running a hand through her shoulder length black hair. She glanced at her watch, then stood up to leave. "Listen Mark, I have to go now. She paused for a moment, then grinned. "You get the bill."

"Wait," Mark said, grabbing her wrist. "Here take these." He said pressing a small object into her palm. She frowned and looked at the object in her hand.

A cellphone.

"What the hell…?" she asked.

"Just in case."

Far a long moment she just stared at him, her dark brown eyes boring into his grayish-blue ones, as if looking for a hidden agenda. Then wordlessly she turned and walked away.

Mark stared after her until she walked out the door and disappeared from sight. "Your welcome." He said, smirking.

The footsteps on the stairs were getting closer. Vincent made the silent observation to himself as he listened through the door of the apartment. The girl was sitting in a corner near the door, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. Every now and then she would sniffle softly and wipe her tears away, but at least she was being quiet. He waited until the footsteps had passed the door and faded away then cautiously opened the door. The hallway was empty again. He walked over to the little girl, who shrank back as far as she could, grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. Gun drawn, in case they ran into any unfortunate person, he dragged her out of the apartment. They walked quickly, Sarah's little legs practically running to keep up with Vincent's long strides. He made his way down the stairs and headed towards the parking garage attached to the apartment complex. Luck was still with him when he reached the garage; so far, he had not run into anybody. He stepped into the garage and looked around, searching for the perfect vehicle to perform his task. He started to make his way towards an old looking sedan when he heard a car pulling in. Vincent ducked quickly behind a station wagon, pulling the girl down with him. The vehicle in question, a blue Honda, pulled to stop three spaces away from where Vincent was hiding and a man stepped out. Marcus, the landlord, had apparently returned from his shopping spree. Marcus strode to the door and called out to somebody. Beside him Vincent felt the girl stiffen, apparently recognizing the voice and hoping that this would be her chance to escape. She started to move away when she felt the muzzle of a gun press into her side.

"Don't even think about it."

Vincent had to wait almost ten minutes before he could be sure that Marcus had taken all his purchases and wouldn't return. Finally, he was able to stand up. He had already started towards the sedan again when a glitter on the Honda caught his eye. He turned and groaned. Marcus had left his keys on top of his car, which meant he would probably come to look for them. Vincent would have to hurry. He stopped suddenly when an idea came into his head. He put his gun back in the holster on his side, then went over to the car, took the keys and opened the trunk. This time he wasn't so lucky in what he was looking for. He'd been hoping for some rope, but there was none. There were however, some rags and a scarf he could use. Swiftly he tied the girl the up and stuffed a rag in her mouth to keep her quiet. He shoved her into the trunk and shifted a bunch of the other junk around so she was hidden. Then he closed the trunk and walked away feeling very clever. He had just reached the door when disaster struck. Marcus had indeed come to look for his missing keys and in the process ran into Vincent. He saw the keys in Vincent's hand (Vincent had been about to pocket them) and a grin broke out on his face.

"Ah, you found my keys!" he said reaching for them.

"I was just going to turn them in." Vincent said coolly, handing the keys over, and mentally cursing the man.

"Thank you, thank you!" Marcus said quickly and stepping back to let the other through the door.

"It wasn't a problem."

Marcus started to say something when a harsh voice called out, "Marcus, get your lazy ass in here and help me!"

Vincent couldn't help but smile.

"Well thank you again, sir." Marcus said, then quickly hurried off.

Vincent hesitated a moment after Marcus left. "Shit" he thought bitterly. He had intended on keeping the keys to ensure that nobody would look in that damn trunk. "Oh well," he thought, "Shit happens. You gotta roll with it." With a shake of his head, he made his way back to apartment number 63 to wait.

Mkenzie reached the apartment complex tired and irritated. She started across the lobby, noting, with a quiet laugh, that Marcus had left his keys on the front desk. "Idiot." She thought as she strode towards the stairs. "Sleep, sleep, sleep." She mumbled to herself. "I want to go to sleep."

It was all she thought about as she reached her apartment and unlocked the door.

Runs and hides from readers I know, I know. I'm so evil, another cursed cliffhanger. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Remember to drop me a review

Review replies

SpadesJade: Well Sarah's gotten herself into a bit of a jam. You're going to have to wait and see what happens to her. Evil laugh Sorry :-D Sorry it took so long to update but school is killing me. Don't worry, I won't be abandoning this story, it's too fun to write. Lol

Winged Seraph: Yes, Sarah was a bad girl and now she's in a lot of trouble. But many apologies for taking so long to update, especially after I ended on a nasty cliffhanger. Sorry :-(