- Aftermath -

- Evil Lair, Master quarters -

The long dark hair drapes gracefully down her sleeping form. Her breathing is slow, rhythmic, and soothing. She lies belly down, spread gracefully across the length of the bed, extending all the way to the slender wrists recently freed from the steel shackles, to those succulent fingertips sprawled next to her closed eyes.

Lucy has a slight scent of citrus and lavender in her hair from recently using Amy's shampoo. Amy reaches over and brushes away a stray bundle of hair from her eyes. The intense light from the mid-day sun peeks through the corners of the window blinds. They should probably get up, but Amy is in no rush. As soon as she woke, she stayed awake but unmoving, just to be able to watch Lucy in well-deserved slumber.

Soon, Lucy's body shifts slightly and her eyes tentatively blink open. The first image to greet Lucy's view is Amy's smiling face, and so she smiles back, not holding back the sense of contentment and peace she feels now, to know this would be the first of innumerable times she will wake up by the dazzling blonde's side.

"Good morning." Amy whispers, as she closes her hand over Lucy's, entwining their fingers together.

"Good morning, Princess." Lucy answers, thoroughly enjoying the feel of the hand of the other girl upon her own.

Amy begins to stroke the dark knuckles with her thumb. "Sleep well?"

"A few hundred times better than on that military-grade mattress, that's for sure."

Both girls giggle at each other for a while, before Amy's face turns slightly more serious.

"So... gotten over the shock yet?" Amy asks while trying not to turn the mood too somber.

Lucy still retains a small smile as she answers, "...About what you told me last night?"

Amy nods, trying to hide the apprehension on her face.

"Well... I can't say I wasn't more than a bit surprised at first..." Lucy answers with a shrug. "But if I was put through that situation, who knows what I'd be capable of? I don't blame you for anything."

Amy looks on without speaking, and Lucy felt like she needed to say more.

"So much for the crime-fighting goody-two-shoes I met before, huh?" Lucy chuckles as she says this, but quickly stops as she sees Amy's expression becoming more downcast.

Lucy quickly reaches over and holds Amy's cheek, making her eyes return to look at Lucy's. "What is it, baby?" Lucy's voice was exuding with concern.

It takes a couple of feeble attempts for Amy to respond, but she finally forced her mouth to speak. "That's just it... Are you disappointed that I'm no longer the girl you pursued all those months ago? ...Have I changed too much?"

Lucy immediately smiles. With her hand on Amy's cheek, she begins to gently caress the smooth soft skin.

"Silly girl." Lucy says with her eyes gleaming. "I don't care what happened the last few months, you're still the same person as you ever were." She then leans in close, their faces only inches apart. "...But even if you did change, I would still find a way to love you anyway."

Lucy's words earn her a bright and exuberant smile back from the former crime-fighter. Amy leans in, and closes the small gap in between their lips, and gives her a warm, appreciative kiss.

Soon, their lips separate, and Amy can see from the concern in Lucy's eyes that she has something on her mind.

"What do you plan to do now?" Lucy asks in a reserved tone. "...Continue being a criminal? ...Or stay in hiding until they get tired of hunting for you?"

Amy responds casually, "What would you want me to do?"

"You can be whatever you want. I'll be here with you always." Then, a knowing smile forms on Lucy's lips. "...But I also know you don't really want that kind of life. All that money you stole, I doubt you enjoyed doing it for a second."

Amy pauses, her mind flashing back to all the con-jobs, the carefully calculated heists. She closes her eyes momentarily and shakes her head. "...No. I hated it. But I kept doing it. ...I think part of my mind hoped by doing this, I can somehow get closer to you, to experience the life you had."

Lucy gives her a smile, and continues to stroke her cheek. But a part of her deep down is saddened by what Amy went through for her. She feels guilty for it, even though she had no control over the entire situation. But now, she promises to herself, she'll be the one to make things right for this precious girl, whatever it takes.

Suddenly, a mischievous grin appears on Amy's expression. She reaches up and holds onto Lucy's hand, then proceeds to get up from the bed, taking the brunette with her.

"Come here. I'll show you something."

Lucy follows, showing a smile like Amy's, curious as to what other surprises she has up her sleeve.

Amy leads her towards the desk in the middle of the room. As they walk, she says in a fond voice, "Just so you know, I didn't go completely bonkers. I did have a method to my madness."

Amy reaches the desk, and then proceeds to type a few commands into the built-in keyboard. Quickly, the blank space above the desk flashes to several dazzling color displays, showing various official documents and records.

Lucy gazes at the documents one by one in a dizzying slideshow, but she recognizes enough to be able to register the significance. Her expression is a mix of disbelief and surprise.

"Isn't that...?"

Amy just nods as she gazes over the display, beaming with personal pride.

"Which means...?"

Amy nods again. "It means we have them by the balls. And I plan to squeeze until it hurts."

- Success -

This day was beginning to wear Ms. Petrie down. It's been 5 days since the Facility escape, and yet, she is still getting the same calls and e-mails. She keeps hearing the same complaints, the incessant whining from all levels of Government, all about the job her supposedly best agents weren't able to accomplish. She was able to keep her composure for the most part, except for the time when a high-level administrator from Homeland Security had the gall to insinuate that her agents let the prisoner go out of sympathy. She tore several strips off the man for nearly a half hour, until he finally blubbered to an apology for the comment.

As the DEBS matriarch sat in her office, dreading another ring of the phone, or a beep indicating another e-mail, she gazes attentively at the clock, wondering if she should just go home early to avoid another imminent outcry. Just then, a ring sounded nearby, and just as she was about to grumble angrily, she realized from the ring-tone it was just her assistant. She reached over and pressed a button.

"Ms. Petrie, there's something on CNN that will probably interest you." The assistant spoke urgently.

"Bring it up." She replied flatly.

A metal beam on the corner of her desk sprang alive with a 2-dimensional holographic display, showing a well-dressed anchorwoman behind a desk.

"...The White House Chief of Staff, Bill Page, was taken into custody without incident today at approximately 11:30am as Federal Agents arrived at his home with an arrest warrant. This morning's events follow the shocking leak of top-secret files showing that Chief Page, along with several other politicians from various countries around the world, had been collaborating to protect certain international crime rings from arrest and prosecution, in exchange for enormous bribes that were hidden in offshore accounts. Other countries have followed suit, each taking into custody their respective officials that were named as collaborators in the leaked files. In addition, approximately 100 million dollars were recovered from the hidden bank accounts by an unknown party and collected into a Trust Account that will begin to distribute the funds to various charitable relief agencies. Chief Page's lawyer had no immediate comment on the allegations..."

It was a good thing no one else was in the office, as Ms. Petrie wouldn't want anyone else to notice the satisfied grin that has suddenly appeared on her face.

- to be continued -
A.N.: Short update this time! Sorry!