It took quite some persuading to convince the kid that he needed a bath. The moment the suggestion was made to him he bolted back into Luke and Noah's closet. But if there was ever a person to encourage him it was Luke. He was so kind and patient and his voice so calming, so trustworthy… And it definitely helped to promise the kid a trip to the seaside…

However it was going to take both men sometime to get over the shock of the little body, littered with cuts, bruises and cigarette burns that a grown man would find painful. The boy winced as he sat in the hot water of the bath and Noah quickly poured in an antiseptic liquid, hoping it would help soothe some of the pain away.

At that point he had to leave the room for a moment. He bent his elbow to the wall and leaned his head on it, taking in deep breaths to hold back from crying. Who could do such a thing?

He returned and kneeled down beside Luke. Luke rubbed his back briefly and then both men did what they could to hide their horror and play happily with the boy as he bathed. Making a game out of it, splashing water at each other and blowing bubbles. The child never laughed, but his eyes would light up and they took that as indication he was okay.

Finally bathed and dressed in the brand new clothes Noah had picked up from the store the day before, they were ready for their walk outside. Before they left though Luke took Noah aside and whispered, "Noah, tomorrow we need to have a serious talk with Joshua. Tomorrow is one week."

He watched as Noah fought back tears.

"Please bubby. I don't want to upset you, but we can't keep him! Not like this! You know that, right? Joshua took him! And I'm willing to hear him out, but if I don't like what he has to say then I'm telling the police."

Noah couldn't speak but he nodded. He knew Luke was right. Whatever Joshua was up too it had to be illegal. And they didn't know the real story behind the child's injuries… Perhaps they weren't caused by his family at all… maybe his family were out there desperately trying to find him, worried to death for his safety. Since the boy had come to stay with them Noah had checked the internet everyday for missing children reports, but so far there had been none that matched his description.

"And Noah? There's something else! Something that's been on my mind since last night… I need to ask you something."

"What is it Luke?"

Noah watched as Luke stared intently at the boy.

"Not now…" he finally replied, "Later when we come back. When he's asleep."

As Luke started for the front door Noah grabbed his arm and said, "Luke, when we get back...?"

"I'm selling the company Noah. I promised you and I won't break that promise."

Noah smiled with gratitude and let go of his arm.

Luke gently stroked Noah's cheek for comfort and then headed for the door, jovially exclaiming "Come on boys! There's a whole beach waiting to be explored!"

He quickly grabbed his phone and house keys from the small table by the door. He noticed a few missed calls on the display but he decided to check them later.

...

The houses were cheap city council ones, paint peeling from the walls. Just a kitchen, one room and a bathroom in most, although they did each have a tiny un-kept front and back yard...

It wasn't unusual for the hooker to take a sick day off work. She was often out all night, getting drunk and picking up tricks in bars. She would leave the boy with a neighbour, a man called Bill, who swore at the child and clipped him over the ear whenever the fancy took him. Joshua knew his babysitting duties were paid for with sex. He had once watched them going at it up against the man's shed in full view of the child and the neighbourhood.

He watched now as the lonely boy played in the yard with an old ball that had long since lost its air and shape. He hated days like these because it meant he couldn't speak to the child, but then at least the boy wasn't cooped up inside all day.

His phone rang and he quickly placed the sandwich he had been eating on the passenger seat before wiping his hands, "Hello?"

"Joshua, its Colonel Mayer."

"Sir."

"I have a job for you. I need you to stop what you're doing and get on a plane to Los Angeles tonight. I've arrange for your e-ticket to be mailed to you."

His eyes found the kid. "How long will this job take sir?"

"Anything from a year to three… as long as it takes for me to get out of here... Your instructions will be mailed to you. Forget what you're doing. This is more important."

"Who's the mark?"

"My son, Noah." The phone went dead.

Joshua spent a few more minutes watching the boy before turning on the engine. "Bye kid. Good luck."

...

They made their way down the front path to meet the sidewalk and headed in the direction of the beach. When they reached the road Noah bent down to talk to the boy, "Now this is a busy road, so I'd really like it if you would hold my hand, okay?"

The boy considered this for a moment and then reached out and obediently took hold of Noah's hand. Both men smiled. It seemed the boy was slowly growing in confidence around them and it felt good. It felt like a privilege to be trusted by a child who usually trusted no one.

"Let's go." Luke said as he hauled the rucksack containing their beach towels over one shoulder. He walked slightly ahead of Noah and the boy, enjoying the cooling sea breeze on his face. He had a lot on his mind but he decided to try and enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet before having to deal with any of them. It had been one stressful week.

They had only walked a few metres when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He almost left it but then remembered all the missed calls, and he couldn't help but wonder whether it was important. It wasn't really fair to cut off his employees after what they had endured that week. Sighing he removed the phone from his pocket, "Luke Snyder?" he answered.

It was a frantic Julius, "Snyder, I've been trying to reach you, dammit! You're in danger! They're planning something!"

Luke's heart started to beat harder, "Planning what?" he asked, "When?"

"I don't know! But whatever it is it's happening right now!"

It was Noah who first heard rather then saw the shots. For years growing up he had spent every Saturday on the target practise ground and he knew the sound of rapid fire as well as he knew the sound of the wind.

He looked up and saw the car heading for them… he watched as the bullets sprayed the sides of the parked cars, smashing window glass in all directions. Various garbage cans flew through the air, scattering their trash over neatly trimmed green lawns.

"Get down! Get down!" he screamed as he flew his body onto that of the child, banging him to the floor and holding his arms protectively over the boy's head.

Luke heard the popping sound but was less familiar with it then Noah, he turned his head at Noah's words, the phone still held to his ear, and watched in surprise as Noah and the boy fell to the ground. Realisation dawned on him just in time and he threw himself to the floor just as the bullets flew over his head shattering the windows of his neighbour's house.

Then at last the shooting stopped. The car came to a screeching holt for a few seconds, the engine revving loudly, before it sped away up the street.

The trembling started from Luke's shoulders and raced down his body in uncontrollable spasms, "Noah?" he screamed.

"Luke? I'm okay are you?"

"I'm fine… the boy?"

The small body lay motionless, flat on its face beneath Noah. Luke feared the worst and started towards them.

"Oh, no! Jesus, no!" Noah jumped to his knees.

"Noah?" Luke's sob filled voice shrieked from metres away, he couldn't move any faster. His body was tensed up and it felt like he was trying to run in treacle.

He watched as Noah wrenched the child around, sure that he was dead, but the boy seemed to come to life and began to flail and scream. Noah's head and shoulders absorbed the force of the pummelling. He didn't try to speak to him, and in time, the child settled down some, his panic turning to sobs and finally into tiny muffled whimpers. He clung with one hand to Noah's shirt while sucking the other hand's thumb and staring vacantly at the sky above him. Only then did Noah check him for injuries and, finding none, press his cheek against the boy's, rocking him and whispering, "Its okay baby. You're safe now! It's over."

By this point Luke had staggered over to them and dropped to the ground, flinging his arms around them both and kissing them on their heads and faces.

"I'm so sorry!" he cried completely terror stricken, "I'm so sorry!"

Noah looked up at him as all three of them trembled together "Who are these people, Luke?"

Luke shook his head. He had no answer.

...

This was the closest he had ever gotten to his mark. There were a lot of people having fun on the pier that night and his concentration lapsed momentarily when a little girl knocked her candy cane into him, so he had to bend and rub the sticky pink stain from his trousers.

When he stood back upright he knocked into somebody and grabbed the man's arms to steady himself. For just a minute they stared right into each other's eyes and he struggled to hide his worry as he realised it was Noah. A look of recognition passed over Noah's face and Joshua was sure he had blown his cover. But then Noah simply apologised and turned to leave, hand in hand with the blonde kid.

It was only once they stood together by the hotdog stand that Joshua breathed a sigh of relief. He was still in business.

But as the worry left him something else started to bug him...

He couldn't get Noah's blue eyes out of his head. Something was there! He had seen those eyes before... Something about them reached down into his soul and squeezed at his heart. He spent the rest of the night pondering what it could be… But it wasn't until the following night, when Noah turned to look at him in disgust from the front of the silver BMW, driven by this father, that the penny dropped.

He was the spitting image of the little boy Joshua had left behind in Branson, Missouri a year ago...

...

The fuzziness in his head made it difficult for Luke to concentrate on the Detective's questions. They had tried to kill them. Him and Noah and the boy. He hadn't been able to stop shaking since that terrible moment he realised what had happened. The realisation of what he had nearly lost chocked him.

"It was a black Mercedes…" he heard Noah saying, "… I got the last three letters of the number plate."

Detective Mullins looked up at Noah with surprise.

"I grew up in the military." Noah explained. He held the boy tightly in the crook of his arm, patting his back and shaking his foot up and down to rock him. It was obvious the boy was terrified.

"I see." The man nodded, "Okay give me the letters…"

"Lima, Charlie, Foxtrot."

"That's great! Should help us to narrow it down… Hopefully the car wasn't stolen." Now that he had all the information he needed Detective Mullins seemed to notice the boy for the first time. "You never mentioned you had a son…"

Luke felt his heart freeze… No! Not yet! Quickly he said, "He's Noah's!"

Noah's eyebrows shot up at that. Luke gave him a look to indicate he should remain silent, "He usually lives with his mom. He's just visiting!"

The Detective stared at the boy for a moment and Luke held his breath. "Yes. I see." Luke exhaled deeply, "Well it would seem you two have been lucky! Very lucky! We'll look into this right away. In the meantime I'd like to put you both under police guard."

"What?" Noah exclaimed.

"That's not necessary." said Luke. It was the last thing they needed!

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you, that this is the second attack on your person within one week Mr Snyder! And on both occasion we are lucky no innocent bystanders were killed in the process! I must insist!"

Luke knew it was useless to resist. He nodded.

"It was a warning." Noah suddenly uttered.

"What?" Luke asked.

Noah looked up at the Detective, "They started shooting way before they were anywhere near us. They wanted us to see them first… They gave us time to get down."

"Are you sure?" The Detective asked.

"Those were AK47's, Detective. If they wanted us dead then we would be dead."

Luke stared at Noah and gulped.

"Thank you both for the information. You are free to leave. Please wait by the desk so that we can organise a tail for you."

...

He knew he liked Noah after watching him for just a few days. He was always so kind and polite to people he met in stores or on the street. He treated everybody equally. Joshua wandered more than a few times over the year what would possess a father to put a tail on his own kid, but he found out soon enough the day Luke arrived in Noah's life. So the kid was gay and daddy didn't like it.

It was obvious the relationship between father and son had diminished and the Colonel was reduced to drastic measures to get Noah back. Joshua hadn't expected this to escalate as far as they had. He was shocked when the Colonel knifed the blonde right in front of him, as though his life was worthless. He was even more shocked at the cold disregard the man had for his own son's obvious pain.

It was pretty clear Noah was totally in love with the Luke kid.

Joshua was sure the Colonel was too intelligent not to see that for himself. So he wondered how the Colonel expected to keep Noah with him once they reached the cabin. He never imagined for a minute that the Colonel would harm his own child. Because it was also clear to Joshua that Noah meant the world to Colonel Mayer.

It wasn't until a weak Luke desperately clung to him from the motel room bed and begged for his help, that his eyes opened to the Colonel's sick suicide plot. He was already fond of Noah, but now Noah also reminded him of a sad little boy from a previous job, and Joshua knew in his heart that he had to act.

...

Noah carefully pulled the door but didn't totally close it. He took one more look at the sleeping child. He left the passageway light on just in case the child should wake up during the night, and he made his way back to the lounge where Luke stood in the dark staring out of the window at the police patrol car parked outside.

He drew Luke into a hug, their first real hug in hours and they remained like that for minutes, just grateful to still have each other. It felt so good to mingle the warmth of their bodies.

"I'm sorry, Noah." Luke eventually whispered into his chest.

"It's not your fault Luke. You couldn't have known how far these people would be willing to go." He held Luke by his shoulders and kissed his forehead before looking into his sad hazel eyes, "And you were trying to get out of it…"

"Yes, I just made that decision too late!" He shook his head.

Noah pulled Luke's back up against his chest and rested his chin on Luke's shoulder. "Do you think Karen and Sal next door will ever forgive us?"

Luke couldn't help but laugh! Their neighbours were not exactly happy with the gay couple next door. Not that Luke and Noah cared. Only now they had even more ammunition to bring up at the next neighbourhood watch committee meeting.

They stood in each others arms for a few more minutes until Luke took Noah's hand and pulled him over to sit on the couch.

"Noah?" he began.

"Yes Luke?"

"I really need to ask you something…"

"Okay, shoot…"

"God! Please don't use that word!" Luke exclaimed, his body still shook slightly from the day's events.

Noah smiled and squeezed his hands, "Okay, sorry. Go ahead…"

"I'm not sure how to ask you…"

"You know you can ask me anything…"

Luke bit his lower lip, "Promise you won't take this the wrong way, okay?"

"Okay." Noah said cautiously, wondering what issue, other then the fact he had a mark on his back, could have Luke so worried.

"When you were with Maddie…"

Noah's head shot up, where was THIS coming from?

"… did… did you ever cheat on her?"