"Double cross?" He questioned following after her as she quickly retreated to the deck of the boat. "You cannot be serious!"

Abruptly she stopped in her tracks and turned to face her long time friend. The set look of determination told him that she was much more than just serious about crossing Merrill. He almost couldn't believe that she wanted to put Gabe's life in more danger than he already was. How could she even think of playing spy games with the madman of an ex-spy when their friend's life hung in the balance? Not that he hadn't gambled a time or two before, he'd just never used any of his team to make the gamble. Now he could see why she was so good at her job. It went far beyond her loyalty to the work and her friends. It was in how she was willing to risk everything, including the lives of her friends to get the job done. And right now her job wasn't just merely getting Gabe back, but also taking Merrill out. And if he didn't know any better he'd swear that taking Merrill to the grave was her first priority. In that moment of staring into her hauntingly icy blue eyes Judson knew that she was more than just serious, she was deadly serious.

"You know that I am, and that there's no stopping me, Judson," her voice was soft and dangerously full of venom. Pulling her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans, Mac quickly looked up the last number to call into her phone and hit the redial button. Rolling her eyes and groaning loudly she took a breath and began to speak into the phone, "Merrill, if you know what's good for you, you won't harm one little hair on Gabe's head. Enough with the game of cat and mouse. Tell us what you want from us and for Gabe we'll do our best to help you." Angrily she punched the end button on the phone and shoved it back into the pocket she'd pulled it from. The ball was now back in Merrill's court.

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Tossing the now docile young man onto the cot, Gavin pulled the chair so that it once again sat directly in front of the creaking old bed. Though Gabe had had a tougher mind than he first anticipated he was certain that the young man was ready for the second phase of the brainwashing. He was more than sure that the young man's mind was a confusing mess of information, and he'd be right there to help him sort through it all. The drugs that he'd first used on his young captive were drugs that he'd used many times before. Though he originally bought them to aid him in gaining information he wanted from people when they weren't willing to give it to him, he was happy and disappointed to discover that it was more effective at erasing memories than it was at getting the truth out of people. Who in their right mind would create and market a "truth" serum that erased memories anyway? He leaned back in the chair staring at the mostly conscious young man before, as smile crept across his thin lips again he pushed aside his angry thoughts about the serum.

The drugs were harder to find now that others had caught onto the fact that it was not a truth serum, but rather a memory elixir. He guessed that not to many criminals had any use for mind altering drugs, but in the last three years Merrill'd learned to use those drugs to his advantage. They'd been especially helpful after he "died."

The soft persistent beep of his cell phone pulled Merrill from his reverie of revenge against Mac and Cross. Pulling the small black phone from the same pocket he'd kept the syringe in, he punched in his code for the voice mail. "Merrill, if you know what's good for you, you won't harm one little hair on Gabe's head. Enough with the game of cat and mouse. Tell us what you want from us and for Gabe we'll do our best to help you," Mac's venomous voice filled his ears.

He couldn't help but smile at the raw nerve he knew he'd more than touched with them. He'd ripped out of them and put it somewhere they'd never find it until he was ready for them to see how he'd changed their week link. With a bright shine to his hazel eyes as he stared at his prize catch, Gavin absently powered down the phone and slipped it back into its home in his shirt pocket.

Moving the mostly comfortable chair closer the old fold away bed, Gavin took his soon to be adopted son's hand in his own. Staring at the limp hand he held, Merrill could hardly believe that nearly a year before he was ready to murder the young man. And instead the friends of this young man had tried to kill him! In the months that followed their attempted murder of him, Gavin had reinvented himself and come up with a plan to create a family for himself. Unlike most, he wanted not for actual child; he had no patience to stand by and wait for them to grow old enough for him to teach anything to.

But Mackenzie Previn's young friend was perfect. He was old enough to be taught so much more than a small child and more than that he had an eagerness to learn. The only problem with choosing someone older were the memories they had. And Gabriel Patterson would never willingly chose to forget his friends or his life. With the drugs that Merrill was a able to get his hands on, none of that mattered.

The thin hand he held moved slightly, pulling his attention back to the task at hand. A barely audible moan made its way to Gavin's ears as pulled his interest back to the waking young man.

"Where . . . Where am I?" He couldn't get his eyes to focus, there was too much light.

"Safe." Gavin smiled broadly as he waited for the next question to come, hoping that he'd finally obliterated all memories the young man, soon to be Erik Merrill, ever had of being Gabriel Patterson.

"What happened?" He couldn't get his voice to come out much louder than a slight whisper.

"You were in a minor accident. You hit your head and had to be sedated for the last twenty-four hours."

"I don't . . . I don't remember." Fear and frustration began to swell again in him. Why couldn't he remember? Who was the man holding his hand? How'd he hit his head, what kind of accident had he been in?

Seeing the questions brimming on the tongue of his newly acquired son, Gavin offered, "you need a little bit more rest, Erik, all will be explained when you wake up next." He gave Erik's hand a small reassuring squeeze before laying it gently on the bed next to Erik. Feeling as though he'd finally rid Gabriel Patterson from the mind of his first family member, Gavin stood from the chair retrieving his cellular phone from its home once more as he moved.