"Mira?" said a hesitant voice. Li turned to see a little girl in a ragged old dress and bare feet. She had black long hair but sky blue eyes that always reminded Li of Ryo because of their uncanny likeness. "What, Sana?" Li asked. Over the last few weeks, the young Brazilian girl attached to her, for reasons that Li could not guess. She had come to view Li as sort of a mother since she had known her. The girl's mother had died during birth and her father was not able to compensate for it. He worked long hours in order to earn money to keep them well fed and clothed, but it was hard work. Sana had taken to spending her days with Li.

Sana looked at her with her blue eyes. "I was just lonely," She said softly. Li looked at the girl. It was true; she did not seem to have any friends. The other village girls had been raised differently and viewed Sana as an outsider.

"Do you want me to play with you?" A dumb question, really, the answer had been in the girl's attention deprived gaze the whole time, but she still had to ask it. It was sort of a meaningless ritual they had developed. Sana was usually always at Li's house every day, her father got home late, if at all. Li did not mind her quiet presence. Instead, she found herself teaching the girl. Sana had no schooling and no money for it, but she enjoyed learning, especially math. She was a quick and good student, and it brought Li a surprising pleasure when Sana finally mastered a rather hard to grasp concept and her face lit up with a smile of happiness. She should smile more often; it suited her.

Sana's happy presence was almost able to divert Li's mind from her darker thoughts, and her concerns. Lately she had had a weird feeling, as if she was being watched. She would be outside or in a building and she would all of a sudden feel alert and the hair on her neck stand up. The first time she had had an ominous feeling was when she was in China, a few months ago. She had been walking through the market when she felt it. She had whipped around, looking for whoever she had felt watching her, but she had found no one. That incident had reminded her of how dangerous it had been for her during the war, and of the many people who had wanted her dead. Normally she would have brushed that thought away, it was peacetime now, but the feeling had persisted. Therefore, Li had started moving more frequently. She used aliases that are more difficult and made sure she moved at odd times. She did not use public transportation that required records of personal information, because they would leave a path behind her. She often retraced her routes to fool any who might follow, and, after a time of thought, had even deleted any of her remaining records from the government's computers and had saved it on a backup disc that she had hid somewhere remote. Li Kamiya did not exist anymore.

Nevertheless, as time passed the feeling slowly grew stronger. Li had raked her memory trying to think of anyone who would want to hurt her, but she could think of none. Everyone been killed in the war. She grew more paranoid.

When Li had reached Brazil the feeling had ceased. Maybe that is why she had relaxed so much. She had been constantly on the run from something unknown for over six months, and finally she felt safe. In the back of her mind, though, she warned herself that something like that could not just disappear; but she had been in Brazil for three months now, and still she felt nothing.

She should leave. She knew she should. No place was truly safe, and whatever had been after her would find her again one day soon. Still she stayed.

---------------

Ryo held her husband's hand tightly as they walked to the doctor's office. She had about two more months before the baby was supposed to be born and this was just a check up.

"Angel, it's going to be okay. It's just a check up," Duo kissed the top of his young wife's head. "You've been doing this for the past seven months. You know the routine."

"I know... I just don't like doctors." Ryo sighed.

"It'll be fine. I'm going to be right here with you the whole time."

After what seemed like forever and several routine tests, the Maxwells were leaving the office. In the car, a special announcement cut through the song that was playing.

"This is Kent Davis with breaking news. At one a.m. this morning a city in Brazil awoke to a controlled bombing. The home that was targeted was said to be housing a terror-" the announcement was cut off by Duo switching the channel.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ryo screeched, switching back to the station.

"I thought-"

"Shh!" she turned the radio louder.

"-It is not disclosed at whether the terrorist escaped or not, but authorities have informed us that if she did she will be badly wounded. Police warn to be on the lookout for a woman around her twenties with serious burns and injuries. Thank you for your patience and you will now be returned to your regularly scheduled program." Music began playing again.

Ryo turned it down and sat back in the seat.

"What was that all about?" Duo asked.

"I just wanted to listen." Ryo said nonchalantly.

"You nearly bit my head off."

"Sorry. Moody I guess," She smiled and kissed his cheek.

---------------

Quatre was in his quarters in a Maganac underground base in Saudi Arabia when he received the call. It had been converted into one of the many smaller branches of Preventors that were scattered throughout earth and the colonies after the war. Unlike Preventors HQ, though, these branches were hidden and, as far as anyone besides the employees knew, did not exist. They had been created to oversee the earth sphere and keep the peace without arousing political suspicion. Most would decide that Preventors possessed too much power and would view them as a potential threat, so they kept a low profile.

Quatre was visiting the Arabian base just to observe the progress made. He had been assigned to the base for a month to head operations and oversee their actions. It was just a routine check. There were plenty of these the last few years because Preventors wanted to be ready in case more trouble arose. There had been peace for three years so far, and war did not look like it would ever be coming anytime soon.

Quatre was sitting at his desk overlooking paperwork when the phone rang. He picked up the phone to hear a Maganac soldier's voice.

"There's a call for you, Master Quatre. It's a woman. She won't give us her name but she said to tell you that a long lost friend wants to speak with you if you have the time." His voice held an edge of confusion and curiosity.

Quatre's mind worked fast. Long lost friend . . . that was Li! Was it her? "Thank you, can you please put her through and switch us to a secure line?" Quatre asked quickly.

"Yes sir." There were two clicks in a row.

"Li?" Quatre said after a second, heart beating fast. He had not seen his friend in two and a half years.

"Hey, Quet." She answered.

"Where have you been! You just up and disappeared one day! You could have told us." Quatre was a bit angry with her. After all, he had been worried for quite a while.

"I don't have time for explanations right now, Quatre, I need your help. I'll tell you everything later." Li had an edge of caution in her voice that made Quatre worry once more. She sounded more strained than he had ever heard her. Something was definitely wrong.

"What?"

"I need you to pick me up and soon. Can you do that?"

"Of course. Where?"

Li gave him the coordinates and then paused. "Don't stand out, Quet. I need to leave without being seen or noticed by anyone."