I can't believe I am writing after an eternity. But I will complete this story. It is too dear to me.

Please read. Comments/ reviews are welcome as always.

Chapter 17

The paramedics rushed to the spot where Samuel was lying. Blood pooling around him. One of them bent down to examine the wound, the other was searching for a pulse.

"You have to act as if I am dead" Samuel said in a tiny wispier, careful not to move too much.

"What?"

"You have to act as if I am dead." He gestured the medic to search in his coat pocket. Looking at the badge was all the assurance the medic needed and the role play began.

The man taking Samuel's pulse looked at his watch and promptly announced the time and date of death. He then pulled out a body bag. They lifted his limp body and placed it in the bag and pulled up the zipper to close it.

Placed him on the stretcher and moved him out of the lobby.

xxxxxxxxx

- Target exterminated -

He typed the message in the message window. Send. He reached for the button on his phone.

There was something wrong with the whole thing. If Samuel was actually dead, why had the paramedics moved him? The airport was put on high alert but the security was not behaving frantic.

He roughly stuffed the sniper inside his bag and rushed outside. Too late. He saw the medical van drive off.

xxxxxxxxxx

Kai felt the carpet beneath him. His mind was slowly coming out of the thick slush of his memories. He slowly opened his eyes. The scene that flooded in was blurred. Someone was standing over him,

"Awake, are we?"

Kai felt a couple of sharp slaps on his cheek and his vision cleared some. The man's face shifted in to focus.

"Boris" Kai managed to say weakly, his throat parched.

"Yes my dear boy, we still have a few lessons to go, don't we?" he caught hold of the front of Kai's t-shirt, violently lifted him off the ground and put him on to his feet.

"For starters," he pushed him away. Kai bumped into the mahogany table behind causing everything on it to rattle rather viciously. "Let's make sure that you don't ever testify against me," he moved closer to him, "Look around you Kai, I have the power to undo your entire existence. Why would you want to put yourself through such a thing?"

Kai stared at Boris "Where is Tala? And Ia..?" his throat felt like sand paper, he coughed gasping for air.

"Oh I don't know if Tala is going to make it."

The words rang through the room. What have I done?

"Yes you should not have convinced them to testify against Biovault, Kai" Boris said like he could read Kai's thoughts.

Kai's heart was racing, No he knew Boris, and he liked to play games. Like the one he was playing with him. He liked to see people, his students suffer, live in fear. And he was trying to instill fear into Kai too, even now.

Kai looked up at him, his eyes cold "you would not kill him, we are all too precious to you. You will watch us suffer but you will always bring us back from the edge of death," he coughed again "Isn't that what you have always done?"

Boris was at a loss for words, Kai smirked.

Then he moved so fast, Kai hardly had any time to react. He pinned him on the top of the table and held his face in a pinch, "yes, you have nailed me right on the head, boy" Boris brought his face close to Kai's looking straight into his eyes, "You are right, I will always bring you back from the edge of death. But I will also be the first one to push you there."

He pushed Kai's face back, straightened himself and turned around.

"And you can be sure Kai, that I will always be there to cause you unimaginable pain. To discipline you." He unbuckled his belt.

"Like right now" WHIP. "Well this brings back memories does it not? My lovely boy." WHIP.

Kai fell to the floor. He was just too weak to react. WHIP. Breathing was becoming a problem now. The wounds on his back opened up once again. Tears unwillingly spilled from his eyes, the pain was too much for him now. He collapsed on to the floor.

"Boris," a second voice reached Kai. His heart almost stopped beating. Fear.

xxxxxxxxxx

Max sat on the hospital bed. His team mates were arguing with the two police officers. None of them wanted to believe that Kai could be involved with kidnapping Max.

"… But he said that he just saw Kai's scarf. That means he did not actually see him," Rei turned to Max, desperately looking to make sense of the situation, "Right"

"Well then, why did he flee?"

"Well he did not flee"

"Then where is he, your friend?"

"Well I don't know. It's your job to find out."

"Yeah. And every minute you stand here blabbering, is a minute lost." Tyson was fuming. He was torn between multiple ideas and so were all of the others.

"Max, please, we know that its must be too much, but" Rei looked at him intently "please, think once again. Did you actually see Kai?"

"… Rei, my head is a complete mess right now. I don't want to believe it either." He let out a troubled sigh "But I do distinctly remember seeing his scarf and I also remember hearing his voice."

"Shit."

Hillary was standing in one corner of the room silently looking and listening. She had always completely trusted the captain of their team. And she was not about to falter now.

The sun was almost setting now, and it lit the room in a beautiful pink orange. As she turned her head to look out of the window, something on the floor caught her eye.

Everyone was so caught up in their conversations, that no one noticed her move across the room and pick up something near the door,

"Oh my god!"

They all stopped talking and looked at her. She was looking at a photograph. Her eyes wide. She seemed to have frozen in time.

"Hil, what is it?" Kenny set Lizzy aside and mover towards her. She was looking at a photograph. He tried to take it out of her hand but her grip on it was a little too tight.

"Let it go Hil." He looked at her shocked face, "Hey Hils, look at me, let it go." She slowly loosened her grip, "here sit down."

Kenny saw the picture captured on the photograph, "Damn it. I think this should explain a lot guys."

It was a photo of Ian, his blood soaked shirt was clinging to his body. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. Kenny handed the photo to Rei, who handed it to the two detectives, challenging them to say another word against Kai.

"This proves one thing," He turned to Max, "Max, that was not Kai. I'm sure he was hiding this. He has been hiding something since Russia."

He looked at the detectives again, "He is in trouble. He is not the criminal here, he is the victim. I know him, he will never say anything and will try and do everything on his own."

The two of them looked at one another, "Call him from the secure line."

xxxxxxxxxx

TBC

Well I'm guessing there will be just a few more chapters to go after this. I'll try and put them up as fast as I can.