Berlin, Present Day

Anna let out a deep breath, taking a final turn in the bathroom to see herself at all angles in the mirror, and opened the door. John, sprawled back on the bed, flipped idly through the channels on the television large enough to float survivors of a boat wreck. When he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye he dropped the remote and struggled to speak while standing but almost tripped himself onto his ass on the floor.

"I guess it works then." She pulled at the material, as if inspecting it. "I almost went for gold but I felt that'd been done before so I settled for silver and blue."

Anna cringed, "I do hope you're not disappointed."

"Never." John swallowed hard, "I just wonder if you're about to put everyone at this thing to shame."

"It's an Embassy dinner. It's not an issue." Anna pulled out a matching clutch, tucking a few things into it, before taking the metal strap to her shoulder. "Though I'm still not sure how you got an invite to something like this."

"You don't think they'd invite me to one of these things?"

"I'm inclined to believe people like you don't get invited to these sorts of things because of the things you might say to someone." Anna pulled out a shopping bag, removing a few items and passing one to him. "You might want to wear this."

"What?" She did not answer, going to the bathroom again to affix earrings and a necklace that dropped between the V of her dress. After a moment she emerged again and John held up the watch, "I can't wear this."

"Why not?" Anna found her shoes, getting into the complicated heels so she stood almost even with his chin. "I think it'll make you look like you belong there."

"I think it's too expensive."

"Then don't remove the tag and we'll take it back before our flight tomorrow." Anna laughed, "It's just a watch, John."

"And I understand you spending more money in a single shopping trip than I think I spent in my whole life-"

"Hey, you try not buying anything new for six months." Anna huffed, draping a wrap over her shoulders. "The closest thing I've gotten to actually buying clothes was a little online shopping I managed when the Internet was working at fully speed one day. And all those things are sitting in boxes at my neighbor's house right now."

"Not to be opened for another six months."

"Let's not talk about that." Anna frowned, "I don't want to think about how they might be out of style before I even get to wear them."

"Then we'll talk about how I got the invitation." John grabbed his jacket and buttoned it. "You might be surprised to know that I've a few friends who get invited to these things and didn't feel like attending."

"One cold chicken dinner is enough for them?"

"Aren't they?" John slipped his things into his pockets and led her to the door. "He knew I was in town and offered the invitation to me."

"For what price?" Anna raised an eyebrow and John shrugged.

"I've just got to do some exposé on a competitor."

"You promised that?"

"I promised I'd look into it and write an article." John adjusted his lapels, "I've still got morals you know."

"John Bates the Great Crusader." Anna smiled to herself as the lift doors opened. "I do hope you write your autobiography one day and I can read all about all the times you've single-handedly saved the world."

"I wouldn't dare be so disgustingly self-inflating."

"It's true, you don't need it." Anna kept her focus forward, stepping out of the elevator toward the front of the foyer. "And I take back my insinuations from when we first arrived at this hotel. It's far nicer than I deserve."

"Is this why you let me have the other side of the bed instead of sticking me on the sofa?" John caught up with her, flagging down a car.

"There's a bar in the middle of that sofa and as much as I enjoy the idea of your squirming, I'm not a sadist." Anna nodded at him as he opened the door for her. "Besides, I enjoy having you close. It's a comforting thought."

"We could be closer," John whispered in her ear as his hand settled on her leg.

Anna turned to him, but did not remove his hand. "Now, now, we've not got the time for that."

"I could just turn this cab around." The driver turned back over the seat and Anna scowled at him.

"No, you'll drive us to the Embassy. I've no desire to waste the time and effort I put into this dress and this outfit when I'll be stuck in fatigues for the next six months."

"I thought you said you hoped it wouldn't be that long." Anna turned back to John's face. "That Robert was going to arrange for you to leave sooner than that."

"I just received the confirmation by email. Harrogate's approved the remainder of the year-long deployment and I'll be helping train a new staff of doctors and nurses." Anna rested her head back on the seat, "And I said I didn't want to think about it, not that Robert was arranging anything sooner."

"Is this because you insisted on this holiday?"

"No, but the attitude I had in his office wasn't going to win me any prizes." Anna bit the inside of her cheek. "It's the nature of the job."

"But you're going back?"

"I'm not going to end my career in a court martial because I went AWOL." Anna shuddered, "My parents would roll over in their graves and my grandfather would rise from his grave to hunt me down himself."

"Then we'll enjoy the party and just see where we go from there." John slipped his hand from her leg to hold her hand. "Give ourselves a bit of time."

"Like a date?"

"Exactly like a date." John snorted, "Although, speaking with complete honesty here, it's the nicest date I've ever taken anyone on."

"I don't know. I thought you swooping in for what you thought was a rescue in Bangkok was a nice date." Anna laughed, "But, also speaking in completely honesty, any date with you would be the nicest date."

"Really?"

"John, you could set this car on fire and I would think it was a great date." Anna shrugged a shoulder, "Maybe not my favorite first date but still up there."

"First date?"

"Since we've never officially had a date, you asking me to a ball at an Embassy counts as a first date." Anna tapped her fingers against the door. "It'll be hard to match if anyone else dared to try."

"I hope you're not about to give me more flak for the comment about you being unobtainable."

"Only to agree with you." Anna swept a hand down her form. "How does a man get a woman to dress up like this without her being very hard to impress?"

"He doesn't." Anna and John turned to the driver but he only shrugged. "I thought it was public conversation."

"It wasn't but we're too far into this ride to stop it now I guess." John faced Anna. "I don't think my editor'll let me stay in Kandahar for much longer."

"It's not like it's too expensive for him."

"But it's a drain on resources." John shuffled in his seat. "He'll let me finish the article and then he'll have me back in London."

"How long'll it take you?"

"See," John wagged his finger at her, "I know what you're thinking but the problem is that he's on to my attempts to extend stories. I used them up before I met you."

"That's not fair."

"I'll have to be back by the end of next month." John pulled out his wallet and paid the cab driver as they stopped in front of the Embassy. "So I get another three weeks of your company and then it's back to the cold and damp."

"What about the other story?" Anna took John's hand as he helped her out of the car. "What do I do about that?"

"I've got a few contacts I can give you for it."

"You know as well as I do they won't meet with me without a face-to-face introduction with you present." Anna stopped, working her hand through John's arm while her other held up the skirt of her dress to ascend the stairs blinking with the flashes of a few cameras. "I hope this picture doesn't get anywhere."

"They're not going to care about you or me when you've got ambassadors and big businessmen at this function." John rolled his eyes at those gathered. "This is cheap journalism a step above the paparazzi."

"Because they're not sweating it out in the heat of Afghanistan or swimming through shit to find their stories?"

John stopped, just inside the door, and handed the man there the invitation before spreading his arms for the wand they brushed over him and Anna. "You think I'm an elitist, don't you?"

"You're the one denigrating the people out there just trying to earn a living." Anna handed over her handbag for the security guard to check it before pulling her wrap to hang around her neck. "Just because their story'll be up in an hour, with pictures, and more than a few spelling errors doesn't make what they do any less important than what you're doing."

"And I think you're just trying to rile me up." John held out his hand to her.

"And if I were?" Anna smiled to herself, keeping her gaze forward as they took the stairs to enter the large room where other bright dresses and tuxedo-ed men milled around to the tiny little band in the corner with a DJ next to them. "What would my punishment be?"

"I didn't take you for a bondage type."

"You never know." Anna winked at him. "I might like to tie you to a bedpost and get into a leather bustier and use one of your leather belts."

John shivered and Anna patted his arm, "But not tonight, I left the bustier in Harrogate."

"Tease."

"Always." Anna nodded toward the coatcheck. "I don't want to leave anything on a table in a place like this."

"Why, because you forgot your sidearm?"

"Because I trust these people less than those who'll point a gun in my face. Those people tell you their intentions. People like this always have an angle and I'm not excited about finding out what it is once everything I own is missing." Anna handed over the wrap and her handbag, taking the ticket and tucking it into one of John's inner pockets. "There, so it's like you always carry my things."

"To give me purpose?"

"To make sure I can't run away." Anna took his hand, "I've a mind for a bit of mingling if you do."

"I do." John curled his fingers around hers and they walked into the crush.

The appetizers left her disappointed and she avoided the alcohol. John's fingers constantly brushed against the bare skin of her arms and back and Anna turned to him, relaxing her shoulders for half a beat before everything in her went on alert again. He lowered his mouth to her ear, keeping his voice low.

"You're on alert Anna."

"I'm in enemy territory. It's unavoidable." She nodded across the room. "It's part of my job."

"Then let me worry about it a moment." He held a hand out to her, "Dance with me?"

Anna took a deep breath and released the tension from her muscles as John took her in his arms. They started with the beat, a combination from the DJ and the little band, that had John guiding her around the circular space. She allowed him the lead, trusting in his gentle hand below her shoulder blade and the other holding her hand out from her body.

"Where did you learn how to dance?" He asked, lifting his arm for her to spin out and then bringing her back in step.

"It was an elective at Uni and I rather enjoyed it." Anna followed his lead and dipped back for a beat. "What about you?"

"There was a community center trying to keep boys from smoking and doing drugs." He snorted, "They didn't realize it just made it easier for us for get ahold of said drugs when they put us in close quarters together."

"And you partook?"

"Can't say I ever had an interest in drugs." John grinned, bringing Anna as close as he could in public and she gasped at the feel of him. "Girls, on the other hand, were the name of the game and I was very good at dancing and getting them back then."

"You're not so bad now." Anna tightened her grip on his hand a second and he winced, letting her back a fraction. "Makes me wonder if you've been practicing."

"Is that a question or a suspicion?" John continued into the next steps, forcing Anna to stay on her guard.

"I wouldn't blame you. It's been almost two years and we're not really anything." She dipped back again, floating with the music and noting the way John kept them closer than before. "I just wouldn't want to think I was horning in on the territory some other woman was marking out for herself."

"You're not." John paused them, keeping step with the others who had joined the floor, but could not dance as well. "In answer to the question you're refusing to ask, there's not been anyone since Bangkok. Not like there were many before that but definitely none afterward."

"Two years is a long time to be celibate."

"Well," John winced, "Depends on if you think self-care is celibacy."

"Depends on how you're self-caring I guess." Anna paused, "And since you'll be the gentleman and refuse to ask it back, "I've not either."

"Why not?" John pulled them to the side. "You're an attractive woman and your difficult work hours aside, you could get anyone you wanted. I'm not stupid."

"You're not and that's why." Anna tugged John out of the crowd and into a small hallway. "After Bangkok we started writing one another and… I don't know I just couldn't look at another guy without comparing him to you. I couldn't read you emails and laugh at your handwritten letters or find your articles and then go out to try and find someone to knob for the evening. I'd only see your face and that wasn't fair to them or you or me."

John stared at her, "You've been thinking about me for a year?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Anna waved her hands. "You were the finest man I'd ever met and I couldn't find that anywhere else."

"I couldn't either." John crowded closer to her, putting a hand to her face and Anna shivered so all the hairs on her body stood on end. "I'd look at women and only see how they weren't you. You're the only one I wanted to share this story with me and I've never wanted to share a story with anyone before."

They finally met one another's eyes, and Anna stroked down his face. "You're the only person I'd want to share my story with. The only person I want for the rest of my life."

John turned to kiss her palm and then lowered his head to place his lips gently on hers. Anna put her hand up, stopping him. When he frowned she turned the knob nearest to them and, checking the room, led John inside.

In the dark of a room lit only by the crack of light from under the door and the streetlights from outside the building, Anna flipped the lock. She tried to turn but John he pressed her into the door. His lips ghosted on her skin and his hands slipped the fabric of her dress to rub over her. The rasp of the material set her nerves sparking and fizzing as she put one hand to the wall to hold herself up and the other covered the hand closest to her.

"Don't think I didn't notice, when you came out of the bathroom-"

"That I'm not wearing a bra?" Anna turned her head slightly, "Or that there's only a thong stopping you from being where we both want you to be right now."

"I wouldn't be so cruel." He finally kissed at the juncture between her neck and her shoulder. "I'd want you ready."

"How ready can I be? I've waited for almost two years for this." Anna keened and tried to force his hand down but John stopped her.

"If I'm going to shag you in this," John looked around, "Office that some poor custodian has to clean in the morning, I'm doing it properly."

"The first time we had sex you took me doggy style on a bed."

"And with these heels I'd be tempted to do the same thing again. Or on that desk over there but," John lowered his voice, the skirt of her dress lifting up in one of his hands while the other moved over the exposed skin in the V of the dress. "I want to make this worth the wait."

"You're always worth the wait."

"Thank you." He paused, "You don't mind that you can't see me do you?"

"Why would I mind?" Anna grabbed her skirt for him as his fingers teased over her thigh to get closer to her thong. "I can hear you and it's been your voice in my head for a year. This is just fulfilling my fantasies."

"I thought your fantasy was to suck me off in a shower."

"Like the one with more jets than seems reasonable? Like the location you mentioned wanted to have me up against the wall in?" Anna tried to laugh but his fingers teased just under her breast and her head dipped forward against the wall in front of her.

"It's not nice to tease."

"I just wanted you to know that I remembered." Anna paused, noting the way John's fingers also stopped. "Just like I know you remembered."

"How could I forget anything about you Anna?" He kissed at her neck again, fingers moving toward their intended targets so he stroked over her breast at the same time he wormed into her thong to ran a finger down her in a stripe.

Her hand on the wall clutched into a fist, banging lightly on the surface, and her back arched. The breezed of his breath moved down her back, placing intermittent kisses so she never knew when he would leave one or just pass by, and all the while he continued to taunt and tease her with skilled fingers playing a melody at her breasts and a harmony at her folds until she was weeping. Anna twisted, scrunching her hand in the material of her dress when John's tongue darted out at the bottom of the V at her back, just above the string of her thong.

He worked back up, finally inserting a finger as his thumb flicked and rubbed at her bundle of nerves. Anna rested her head on the wall, hauling in deep breaths while her body attempted to press her chest more fully into his grip and her hips rutted against the work of his hand. When he added another finger the slick sounds of his efforts drown out the blood rushing in her ears and her heart almost stopped thumping just to burst inside her.

John tweaked at her nipple and Anna rotated her head enough to kiss him. Her hand at her skirt dropped the material, leaving it to drape over the arm wrapped over her thigh to keep his hand working at her, and clutched the back of his neck to force his lips to hers. She stuttered and rocked against his hand, feeling the evidence of his arousal resting at the indentation of her ass as it shifted and rubbed against her with her motions.

Anna worked her tongue into his mouth, burying her shriek as John sent her over the edge, in the interior of his mouth. They broke apart, John massaging her down from her high as he hiked her skirt back up. He tied it around her waist and slid the straps of her thong down her legs until he crouched behind her. She spread her legs when he nudged one and then cried out as his tongue licked along her.

It started all over again. The plateau where he left her only led to a higher high as her fritzing and sparking nerves surged back to life. John's hands sculpted and scraped down her legs while his tongue licked and laved over her. He even drove it into her before coming back to wrap over her nerves. When she came again, almost hard enough to leave permanent marks in her hand with her teeth, Anna collapsed against the wall.

The sound of a zipper and the shimming motion behind her only became real when he ran himself along her. She tried to pull herself upright, whimpering when she attempted to gain control of her soaring body. And, for the brief instant before John drove himself inside her, Anna wondered if maybe two years was too long a time to go without sex. Maybe it gave people the wrong idea about the level of amazement one should have at such an experience.

Except, Anna's thoughts flickered and wavered to the steady thump of John moving against her, with him it would not be a lack of understanding or experience. This was what someone had with the person they loved. Or at least she hoped that was what it was. If not, then at least it was exquisitely wonderful sex.

John's determined kisses at her neck and back, hands still working over her scorching skin, brought Anna back to the moment. She widened her stance in her heels and rocked back as he drove forward. He stuttered and then groaned as Anna twisted and gyrated her hips back to meet each of his thrusts with a determined snap. A snap that left the room echoing with the wet beat of their driving bodies.

His fingers stuttered on her and Anna held still for a moment as John drove through his climax. One that took her right to the edge and his slipping fingers finished for her almost unconsciously. John draped over her back and Anna used the leverage of the wall to keep them standing.

A moment later he pulled out, grabbing tissue from the nearest desk and using it to clean himself before getting on his knees to take care of her. Anna stayed still, her body trembling and quivering in the aftermath as he did something as simple as bring her knickers back up or untie her dress. They arranged themselves for a moment, Anna pivoting to set her back on the wall behind her.

They giggled a moment before Anna drew John closer. She kissed him quickly, wiping at the evidence of her lipstick smeared over him. "Wouldn't want anyone to know what we were just doing in here."

"Pretty sure they'll smell it." John fluffed out her dress. "You chose this on purpose."

"I needed to seduce you since I didn't know when I'd get another chance."

"Well," John checked the watch on his wrist, "I say we leave this rather dull party and go back to where I can do that in a bit more style."

"The large bed you definitely sold the farm to afford?"

"There was no farm." John ran a finger down Anna's cheek. "But it was worth it for you."

"Then please take me to bed Mr. Bates."

They tired to ease themselves out of the party without making too much of a fuss and if anyone saw them, or cared, they said nothing. The people at the coat check retrieved their things with nothing more than cursory professional interest and then John and Anna were free. A cab took them back to the hotel and Anna ignored John's protests to pay the woman before they hurried inside. Even the lift felt interminable but when they managed to get to their room, it all slowed again.

Anna took John's hand, shedding her wrap and clutch before removing his jacket. A gentle tug loosened his tie and then a snap had it floating to the ground. When John tried to cover her hands Anna stopped him, shaking her head, and undid his collar and buttons before sliding his braces over his shoulders and down his arms. They hit his hips and Anna pulled one wrist at a time into her grip to free him of his shirt.

It floated to the floor as Anna went to her knees, untying his shoes and then unbuttoning his trousers. The zip echoed, John shivering as the motion passed over where he started to reawaken. Anna worked her hands to remove his shoes and then his trousers. Leading him to the sofa she let each of his socks fall to the floor before pulling him by the elastic of his boxers.

They snapped and John shuddered. Anna only licked her lips and then dragged them down his legs before she pushed him onto the sofa. He sat there, legs spread, and Anna settled herself between them.

"If you remember everything," She whispered, running her lips from his ear to his neck, her fingers digging and massaging at his thighs as she knelt on the floor between his spread legs. "Then you'll remember what I wanted to do to you in Bangkok."

John only nodded but Anna took it as answer enough, kissing and sucking a path in zigzag over his chest to each of his nipples in turn. He shuddered and hissed when she ran her tongue over them and then nipped lightly at them. A buck under her had him trying to move but Anna dug her nails in to keep him still as she traced her tongue over the crevices and divots of his chest to follow the slightest of indentations at his waist from where his boxers sat. Each little divot received her full attention while her hands shifted ever closer to his growing arousal.

When her lips and tongue final worked back, her hands already started pulling and squeezing him to full life. John groaned and clutched a hand in her hair, holding tightly to the back of her head when she worked from base to tip with just the edge of her tongue. Anna smiled, pressing kisses to his quivering and swelling skin while following the urges of his hips and hand at her skull.

Using her hands at his thighs to get the leverage she needed, Anna took just the head in her mouth. She hollowed her cheeks, scraping ever-so-slightly with her teeth, and held him in place when he tried to move. Her tongue licked over him and ran the edge of his slit before Anna moved deeper to suck farther.

Each of her motions drove him farther and farther past sanity until Anna finally pulled back. She noted the pulse of him for a second and stood before him. John's hazy eyes tried to focus as Anna kicked her shoes to the side and worked the cloth over her shoulders to hang at her waist and leave her chest exposed to him. He did not say a word as she shed the rest of the dress and then slid her thong down her legs.

When she was finally as naked as he was, Anna climbed on top of him. Her knees settled at either side of him, pulling tight to keep her right at his hips, and she trapped him between them. Her fingers followed a pattern only she could see over his face before she kissed him.

John twisted a hand in her hair and the other grabbed her ass. He held her close, bucking up to ride his erection against her nerves. Anna used both of her hands at either side of his head to hold him steady as she took control of his mouth. With each dip and run of her tongue, John gripped her ass harder to pull her against him as he tried to move.

"Join us please." He finally whimpered and Anna shifted just enough to slide herself over him.

They rested their foreheads together, their chests bumping as they tried to breathe, and Anna turned to see John's eyes. She smiled, holding his jaw. "I've never seen you when we've done this."

"I want you to see me forever." He thrust into her and Anna's eyes closed at the sensation.

They worked together, holding and battling for the edge. John's lips and teeth and tongue tempted and teased at her breasts as Anna drove her fingers through his hair. She gripped and guided but he paid her no more mind than she paid him earlier. Instead, all Anna could do was tighten her internal muscles to try and drive him toward the edge he seemed determined to let her leap off first.

Through their nonverbal combat, expressed just through their moans and grunts and sighs and the sounds of their joining, John broke first. He stuttered his final motions and then gripped Anna by the ass. Her arms wrapped over him by instinct as he lifted them both. Walking the few steps he needed, John dropped her back onto the bed as he still stood at the edge. He twitched slightly and Anna wondered if he really was as done as he suggested.

But when he drove forward, losing all the finesse and romance and seduction of the office and even the desperate drives from the sofa, Anna could only grip the duvet under her. She writhed and twisted, raising her legs to his waist and trying to wrap over him. But John looped one leg over his elbow to open her further and drove deeper than he ever had before.

Anna lost herself to it, her neck forcing her head back into the comfort of the duvet under her, and her back arching to try and release her tension. It was John's fingers at her clit and then his mouth at her breasts that did it. She lost herself in the overdrive of sensation and synapses firing faster than they ever had before, and Anna tumbled over the edge.

In the few moments she had of conscious thought, she realized John followed her. He caught himself on an arm next to her, their heavy breathing syncopating as they tried to slow their heart rates. Anna shifted slightly, pulling away from him to get further up the bed, and reached back to drag him next to her. John followed, seeming to lose his strength as he went until he collapsed next to her.

Anna pushed her hair back, laughing. "This bed's better than the last one."

"But we were married then." John mumbled into the pillow, finally managing to raise his head to look at her. "Here we're just shagging one another."

"I'm about to use a word I hate, so I do hope you understand me." Anna turned on her arm to stare at him, "We did not just shag. Not even in that office. This was…"

She shuddered and John tried to speak but she put a hand over his mouth. "If you speak I'll never say it." Swallowing, Anna finally managed it, "This was making love."

John laughed as Anna lay back, her whole body twitching as if trying to rid herself of the feeling of something crawling over her skin. "Didn't like that did you?"

"No, it's a horrible phrase."

"How'd it taste coming out of your mouth?"

Anna pursed her lips, "Like vinegar…" She grinned at him, "And not nearly as good as you tasted."

John coughed, "You can't do that to me."

"Why not?"

"Because while you can manage multiple orgasms, I can't."

"You just did three in a very short time." Anna flicked hair from his forehead. "You've got good little swimmers."

"I'm just happy I got you four times."

"Well," Anna shrugged, "Like you said, I can have multiple orgasms."

"Want more?"

"Maybe later." Anna lay back on the pillows, closing her eyes. "I haven't done that in awhile and my workout regime wasn't exactly geared toward sex-capades."

"Mine either." John settled next to her, interlacing their fingers. "But I thought we did pretty well."

"Me too." Anna kissed him, "Now sleep or we won't have the energy to move."

Berlin, 1945

John tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair. The man across from him looked over the letters and the certifications before pushing them to the side. He interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them to inspect John.

"And why should I let another reporter into our city?"

"Because the world deserves to know what's going on here. Look," John stabbed the desk with a finger. "The world doesn't think much of you right now, that's for sure. But they'll think even less of you if I get back to England and start reporting with what I do know."

"And what do you know, Herr Bates?"

"That you're trying to keep me out, that your guards are bribable and I managed to get this meeting because you're a bottom feeder, and, thirdly, that you've got a lot to hide." John lowered his voice, "Don't think I don't know about the man who was selling human flesh for people to eat."

The man on the other side of the desk paled, "That was a vicious rumor."

"Not according to the woman given the last note to go there." John settled back in his chair. "She told me the whole story and I managed to get the rest of the details with the money I have. Again, a problem with money in a country as wrecked as yours."

"So you'd profit from our desperation, is that it?"

"That must be difficult for you to admit since I know you were wearing military insignia just a short time ago." John bristled, "Don't talk to me about benefiting off desperation. Maybe you haven't seen the destruction you wrought in Poland or on the Croats or in France but I have. I've traveled the length and breadth of the line of devastation caused by this war and I've not got time to bandy words with you. Let me into your country to do my job or I'll do it elsewhere and you'll like what I've got to say even less then."

The man glared at him before grabbing a large stamp and driving it with significant force onto John's passport. He practically flung it and the other papers back at him. "Take your papers and don't let me see you again."

"Oh, I promise you'll see me again." John stood, tucking away his things as calmly as possible. "You'll see my name everywhere as I tell the world what it's like here. And then you'll see the pity the world brings to your devastation. A pity you didn't have on those you destroyed."

"It was war."

"It was unnecessary and now it's over." John picked his bags off the floor. "Have a good day."

He left the office and Talbot peeled himself off the wall to follow him. "I have to say, I've never seen anyone get out of one those that quickly."

"I need you to take me to the local records office." John skipped over the pleasantries, taking the steps in a hurry to reach the line of cars, Talbot guiding him to one. "We've got to track someone down."

"Your wife?" Talbot opened a door and helped John in before climbing into the back as Branson leaned over the seat.

"We may not find her."

"I'm not leaving this city until I do. Either in person or the grave with her name on it." John closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, "I'm not letting her go until I know she's gone. I won't accept it any other way."

"Right then." Branson turned back around, "Records office here we come."