This is dedicated to lethalperception7 because I read your profile, including the little note at the end and I am never one to ignore hints. Anyway, enjoy and review!

Chapter Ten

Jamie frowned at her screen, fingers flying over the keys as she hacked her way past another firewall. She'd already searched most of the military databases and come up empty. Selene was still working on the last one, but Jamie doubted she'd find anything. Right now, she was forcing her way into the NSA's database, and it was not easy. She'd only done it once before, to prove that she could, but they had put up new firewalls since then, and it had taken her over twenty minutes to get to the halfway mark.

Biting her lip, Jamie came up against another firewall and prodded gently for a way past. She found it easily enough, but getting through it undetected wasn't so easy. She had to change three strings of code and set up a five-second delay in the sensors that would allow her to patch up her entry once she was through.

Absently taking a sip of her orange juice, Jamie advanced and examined the next firewall. This one was new and tough. She couldn't find a single way past it that would let her remain undetected. After searching for nearly five minutes, she sat back and glared at her screen.

She was nearly there, just a few more firewalls, why did she have to get stopped now? Dammit, she had done this once before! But no, they had to go and get better security. Stupid gits.

Jamie blew out a breath and searched around the small diskettes scattered on the desk. She finally found the right one and inserted it into the drive, waiting a moment for it to load. It was a nasty little virus, termed a parasite-bomb, that would destroy the firewalls and then start eating away at the system. She would have a maximum of five minutes to find and download the files she needed before the NSA's computer technicians stopped the virus and discovered her presence. If she got out before that happened, they would never know she was there, at least not for a few weeks. It was effective, but crude, and she hated using it.

Someone knocked on the door and she sighed. "I'm busy," she called, finger poised over the enter button.

"It's lunchtime, Jay, we're heading out to meet the others," Selene replied through the door.

"I'm busy, Selene. Just bring me back a sandwich."

"Alright, fine, I'll be back in an hour."

Jamie nodded to herself and waited a moment to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted again. Then she hit the enter key and began to work.

She barely saw the words showing on the screen as she called up file after file, her brain automatically dismissing them as incorrect. She just needed to find one file that was right, and then download all files associated with it. After two minutes and eleven seconds, she found the name of a Captain Thomas Richards, one of the people Mitchell had named, and saw that he had twenty-seven files associated with his.

Very aware that her time was running out, Jamie started to download the files and watched anxiously as the blue bar slowly made its way across the screen. Hacking into other computers was just about the only thing that gave Jamie an adrenaline rush, something that could make her skin tingle and pulse speed up. She loved the thrill, the danger of being caught, because her powers of time didn't affect cyberspace. If she wasn't fast enough, she couldn't do anything to stop being caught.

The download stopped and Jamie quickly exited the database, smiling and letting out her breath when she saw that she had escaped with seven seconds to spare. Then she reached for her cell phone, dialling Rogue's number with one hand while pulling up Captain Thomas Richards' file.

"I got the files, twenty-eight in total, using Captain Thomas Richards' as the primary. No, it's alright, you finish lunch. I have to read the files first before I make any sort of report. Alright, bye."

Jamie hung up and took a long gulp of her orange juice. The cold, hard eyes of Captain Thomas Richards stared at her and shivered. This was a bad man, she could tell that instantly. There was just something in his eyes that made her tremble inside. He had done some very bad things in his lifetime, she knew. He had the same kind of eyes that Rogue had, only different, because Rogue's eyes were scary for a good reason. His eyes were just scary because they were. She didn't like this man, and didn't want to read about him.

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Jamie forced herself to read his file thoroughly. What she learned firmed her resolve to find this wicked man and kill him.

Normally, Jamie didn't approve of killing, not liking to interfere with the natural order of things, but sometimes she realised that it was a necessary evil. This was one of those times.

She had been hoping that killing Mitchell and the upper echelon of the Agency would allow them to spare the lives of the lower workers, but she realised now that that was not a realistic view. They would have to pass judgement on each and every member of the Agency. Perhaps some would live, but she doubted it.

She had been foolish to hope that she could reduce the amount of blood they would shed. There could be no innocents if they were working for the Agency. And the guilty had to be killed. They couldn't be trusted with life.

She hated that simple yet sad fact. Life was so precious, so fleeting and wonderful, yet there were some people out there that just did not understand how sacred life was, they had to destroy and corrupt it, and for that, they themselves could not live.

There was a time when she thought she would never condone killing. People deserved the chance to live, to see the world for the miraculous thing it was, to breathe in the timeless wonder of nature, but when she had become a Dark Rose, Rogue had shown her that some people just couldn't do that. Some people didn't see all the wonder and beauty, they just saw the dark, ugly things that man had created. And those people were corrupted by that sight, they were twisted and torn until they became part of the ugly dark. She wished that they could just ignore the dark, ignore the plague that was mankind, and just look at the natural wonder of the world. Why couldn't they just take a walk through a forest or bathe in a lake? Why couldn't they feel the ancient power of an oak tree or the ever-changing freedom of a river?

Jamie sighed and blinked the computer screen back into focus. Captain Richards stared back at her and she quickly lowered the lid of her laptop, looking at the wall. One file and she was already getting depressed. That was not a good sign.

Deciding that she needed to get a little more grounded before looking at the other files, Jamie grabbed her jacket and left the hotel room, intent on finding some nice piece of nature to enjoy.

She had just stepped out onto the street when she heard someone calling her name. Turning, she saw Envee jogging towards her and frowned slightly.

"Something wrong?" she asked when the other girl reached her.

Envee waved a hand dismissivly, still grinning. "Nah, I just wanted to chat to ya."

"Oh. Why?"

Envee raised her eyebrows and spoke in a tone that clearly said 'of course'. "Because we haven't really chatted in a while."

"I don't think we've ever chatted."

"Well, yeah, I mean, precisely, and I think we should. I mean, we work and fight together, but I don't really know all that much about you, and that just isn't right. Wanna go to a nice little café and have lunch?"

Jamie's frown deepened at the request. What she really wanted was some time by herself, but perhaps spending time with Envee would be nice. So she nodded and let Envee lead her to a small café she knew. They ordered their food and waited for the waitress to go before speaking.

"You look kinda down," Envee said, "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Come on, kid, ya can talk to me."

"What's the point? It will just make you depressed and probably confused. As a friend, I should not try to make you depressed. So I will not tell you."

Envee blinked and thought about that for a moment. Then she said, "Maybe I can help. Talking about whatever's bugging you might make it a little bit better."

"You can't, it won't."

Envee let out a frustrated breath and welcomed the pause as the waitress gave them their drinks. Stirring some sugar into her coffee, she studied the serious young girl before her and tried to decide what to do. Michelle had told her that Jamie needed to talk to someone, but getting her to open up was not easy.

"I had a nightmare last night," she finally said in a quiet voice, and Jamie frowned at her. "I was… running through a maze, and something was chasing me. I knew that if I could just find the exit, I would be alright, but… I was so lost, and the thing was just so fast… I kept running, faster and faster, but it caught me. I was terrified, fear stabbing through my gut. I've never been so scared. Then I woke up. What do you think it means?"

She actually wasn't lying, she had had that nightmare last night, but she already knew what it meant. She just wanted to get Jamie to talk.

Jamie was an analyst. She took whatever problem laid out before her and dissected it into parts, working through each section logically until the solution was evident. This was no exception. She quickly had the dream figured out.

"The creature chasing you were your fears and dark emotions involving the situation with Mitchell, and possibly underlying problems that I am not aware of. The maze suggests that you are searching for a path, searching for answers, but you are lost and confused. You are scared of the creature, and thus of your emotions, and probably what changes they will cause in you if you give them the recognition your subconscious wants you to. Once you figure out what your emotions are involving the situation with Mitchell and embrace them, the nightmares should fade."

Envee nodded, not really hearing what Jamie had said. "Do you have nightmares?" she asked, and Jamie smiled slightly.

"I don't sleep."

"Oh. Right. I forgot. Must be nice, to not have to wake up screaming."

"I guess."

Seeing that she was still getting nowhere, Envee sipped her coffee and tried to figure out what other tactics she could use. "Jamie, do you ever miss your parents?"

Jamie blinked in surprised, and then thought about the question for a moment. She'd never really thought about it before, just accepted that her parents were gone and she was a Dark Rose now. Eventually she answered quietly, "No."

"Why not?"

"Because… they hated me. If they ever found out that I was a mutant, they would have hated me and been disgusted. They would have disowned me. They were narrow-minded bigots who are my family only through genetics." She paused and then, for some reason she didn't quite understand, asked, "Do you miss your parents?"

Envee hesitated, thinking back to when she had lived with her parents, and her brother. After a moment she shook her head and smiled. "No, I don't, but I do miss my brother, Jaysin. He was great, always there for me, helped me learn how to defend myself. I do miss him, but I think, if he could see me now, see what I've become… he'd be proud."

"I'm sure he would be."

Their food arrived, and Envee picked at her salad, letting the silence grow until she figured out what next to say. She was usually pretty good at reading people (she had to be so that she could talk her way out of difficult situations) but Jamie had always been a mystery to her. The girl was just so cool and efficient, never showing anything to hint at her emotions and thoughts.

There was a light in her eyes that said she saw the world differently to everyone else, and Envee realised suddenly that she did. Jamie was timeless and knew it. She looked at the world and knew that everything she saw would eventually wither and die, turn to ashes and blow away in the wind. But she wouldn't. She would remain.

"You must be very lonely," Envee said quietly, not really intending to speak. Jamie looked at her sharply, and Envee blushed, stabbing at a piece of lettuce. "I mean… you're immortal, and you have to look at things, people, and know that… they're going to die, and that you won't."

"I can die. If I receive a serious enough wound I will not be able to heal it quickly enough to save myself. Or I could be unconscious. Or I could have my powers stripped. Or I could simply choose to die. I am not immortal."

Envee frowned again, absently eating a piece of cucumber. Jamie was completely refusing to open up. How was she supposed to get a brick wall to vent her emotions? Okay, if she got really desperate, she could use that drug Cathryn had given them that lowered someone's inhibitions and gave them one hell of a pleasure buzz, but they were supposed to use that on enemies, not friends. Besides, Rogue would yell at her.

When she was halfway through her salad and Jamie had nearly finished her sandwich, Envee decided to just be blunt, not an unusual course of action for her.

"Okay, Jamie, I am getting annoyed."

"Excuse me?"

"I am trying to get you to open up a little, and you aren't co-operating. Michelle thinks that if you don't get some things off your chest you're gonna go nuts, and I volunteered to be your Agony Aunt. So spill."

Jamie blinked at her and then looked down at her plate, trying to decide whether or not she should just walk away. She wasn't very comfortable with talking about her emotions, mainly because knowledge was power. She didn't want to give anyone, even a friend, a tool that could be used against her.

With just a little touch of regret she said, "I'm fine, Envee. Thank you for your concern."

Envee let out an irritated huff of air and resisted the urge to shake the younger girl and/or bang her head on the table. She settled for taking a large gulp of her coffee (which just happened to be a large Espresso with three sugars) and giving Jamie a mild glare.

"Jamie, would you please stop trying to be so… so… I don't even know what the hell you're being, but it's annoying! Look, I'm your friend, and you don't seem to appreciate that fact. I have saved your life a grand total of three times and you have saved mine eight. You have healed more wounds than I care to count. You are my friend and I want to hear what's troubling you."

"Nothing is troubling me."

Envee shrugged and said, "Maybe not troubling, but Michelle says you need to talk, and have you ever known her to be wrong?"

Jamie frowned yet again and stood up. "I have some files to read, thank you for lunch."

Envee watched Jamie walk away and muttered a string of curses, angrily admitting that she had just completely failed. Then she sighed and rested her chin on her palm, staring at the people walking past the café. Michelle had said that it was very important that Jamie talk to someone, but she just didn't know if she could get the girl to open up. She was usually pretty good at getting people to talk to her, but how could she manipulate someone like Jamie? In order to manipulate people she needed to be able to 'read' them, using their body language, words, and vocal inflections, but Jamie was a complete enigma.

Her cell phone rang and she answered it quickly, glancing at the screen and seeing that it was Michelle.

"Don't worry, just keep trying," Michelle's voice said, and Envee sighed.

"You sure this is important?"

"Yes. And hey, you love a challenge, right?"

Envee grinned at that and hung up. She finished her salad and her coffee, paid the bill, and walked back to the hotel.