Detective Nicholas Knight sat on his sofa and looked about his comfortable and yet lonely surroundings. There had been times when he had thought of moving on but there were times when it seemed that there was too much to leave behind. One of those things was his dear friend Doctor Natalie Lambert, a woman that had promised everything to find a cure for that which afflicted him. A part of him knew that there was no cure but he wouldn't let that part win, there had to be something out there that could help him. He knew that finding it wouldn't be easy but with enough time it would be found, time was something he had a lot of.

Pushing these all too familiar thoughts from his mind he got up from his couch and walked over to his refrigerator. Opening one of the two polished black doors concealing the barrenness within he pulled out a green bottle containing ruby coloured liquid. Shutting the door he had opened he went over to a cupboard in his small and rarely used kitchenette and pulled a wine glass from it. Uncorking the bottle with his teeth he carefully poured the liquid rested within it into his glass. After the glass had been filled halfway he placed it onto a counter before corking the bottle and putting it back where it belonged. This little job out of the way he returned to the counter and his glass.

He stared at the ruby liquid within and could almost feel it rolling down his tongue. It made his thirst increase and the smell was almost too tempting for him to abstain from drinking what was within the glass. Lifting the glass to his lips he took one sip, then another and another until it was empty. Guilt began to tug at him as he placed the glass into the sink. That thing that rested inside him had once again overridden everything he'd worked for. Even though it was too easy to give in to temptation he had thought that all his work with Natalie had given him more control. Instead he had let it slip through his fingers like fine silk without the slightest care until the deed had been done. A cure would never be found as long as he allowed these slips in control to happen and he knew that he and only he would be to blame.

Turning his mind from the dark path his thoughts were following once again he looked up at the sun shaped clock he had hung on the wall he noticed that it was almost time for him to leave. As he put on his shoulder holster he wondered what awaited him at the station. Life as a homicide cop was interesting as well as varied and he knew all too well the danger involved in it. In the years that he and his partner had worked together he recalled more than one occasion that they had been shot at and attacked.

Pulling his favourite black leather jacket from the coat stand, Nick walked over to the elevator and pushed the button to go down. The sun had handed its immortal throne over to the moon as it sought other parts of the earth to lighten and warm making it safe for him to leave for work. He looked up as he left the old abandoned warehouse that he had made his home and smiled as the cool night air touched his skin. Its caress was soft and soothed away his troubles, on a night like this it almost felt as if he could fly to work.

Aware that his time was running short he got into his turquoise 1962 Cadillac, something more precious to him than any of his other possessions. Leaning back against the driver's seat he started the car and smiled as the engine roared into life. Its purr was like a sweet song sung only to him as he drove it onto the road.

Tonight was different to any other night; he had to pick up his partner Detective Donald Schanke as his friend's car had broken down. It had been an unwelcome occurrence to all concerned but Nick couldn't deny the fact that by doing this he could talk Schanke into giving the Caddie a wash. It was one of the things he liked about his partner, no matter when he asked he could always be assured that his partner would never refuse an opportunity to wash the Caddie. The job was always one done well and done by a man who had an equal appreciation for the beauty of Nick's highly prized vehicle.

Pulling up outside Schanke's house Nick was pleased to see his partner leave the house immediately. After Schanke had settled himself in the passenger seat and the usual greetings had been done and over with, Nick started up the car again and drove off.

Someone was following her. She knew they had been following her ever since she'd gotten off the plane. Lost in this unfamiliar city she hadn't known who to turn to for help or whether anyone would help her. All she'd been able to do and could do was to keep moving in the hope that she might lose her follower in a crowd or a public place. So far she had found neither of the two and she was beginning to feel a desperate need to either shake them off or stop walking and face them. Even though the latter was far from ideal she would know who it was that had chosen her as a target and dispel her curiosity fuelled fears.

Reaching the point where her curiosity would lead her to stop walking away from her follower Robyn looked for any signs that would lead her to somewhere where she might yet lose them. As yet her shadow had made no attempt to attack her but her senses told her that it was a situation that would soon change. Time wasn't on her side and she knew that she would have no choice but to give in to her curiosity and face her fears. Whoever this person was she couldn't sense them as she could other people and the dreadful thought crossed her mind that a Watcher had chosen to take advantage of her being alone and vulnerable in a city where no one knew her or even knew she existed, it was the perfect situation for the Judges.

Seeing no other choice or way out Robyn once again took fate into her hands and turned sharply into a rain soaked alleyway. No other people were there apart from her and her shadow, no other people could get hurt. Slowly she turned around to face the person that had followed her for all this time.

When she saw who it was her eyes opened wide with fear and she said only one word, "Cain."

A white toothy smile shone out in the darkness in response.

Kit walked into the house and sat down on the sofa. His eyes drifted over to Robbie who was sitting despondently in his favourite chair. Anger at the despicable nature of the man's deeds still burned within him but sympathy for what he had to be going through cooled that fire. It was obvious to him that Robbie blamed himself for Robyn's disappearance and took every dead end in the search for her worse than everyone else. Looking deep within himself he tried to find some words of comfort for the man that he had once loved and respected as a father, after some searching he found some.

"Robbie," Kit began getting the man's attention, "I'm sorry for what I said, for what I did."

"You shouldn't be. I deserved it."

"Even so, I shouldn't have reacted like that. Perhaps I would have been more use if I'd supported you rather than being so quick to bit your head off. Maybe if I'd used my head instead of my mouth Robyn would still be here."

"This isn't your fault, Kit. I did this. I was the one that told her I wasn't her father. I was the one that ignored Doctor Malone when he gave me advice I couldn't afford to ignore. Because of me she's gone and she might be…she might be…"

"We'll find her Robbie and she'll be ok, you remember that."

Blue flashing lights echoed off of the white washed walls lining the alleyway. Police tape had been pulled across the entrance and exit to make sure that prying eyes were kept behind the lines and out of the way of the police officers patrolling the scene. A plastic tarp covered the body of a young woman lying face down on the rain soaked floor of the alley. No one yet knew her identity but the death she had suffered had been brutal.