Caveira paced in her room as she waited. Lion had called a one-on-one with Six to ask about taking a weeks leave.

"If I tell her it's for religious reasons, she'll believe me. She can't ask me about it anyways, it's against conduct," he told her before going.

She had asked him not to use her name and to just hint at another operator needing to take leave. Lion shook his head in disagreement. If Six didn't know who he was taking with him, it would make his request suspicious, and if Six had reasonable doubt on why an operator wanted to leave- then she had every right to deny said request. Caveira sighed as she continued to pace. Why did everything around Hereford have to be so damn complicated? Knocking on her door caught her attention. She made her way across her room to turn the knob and pull it open.

"What did she say?" Caveira said upon seeing Lion standing there.

"She seemed very skeptical at first, but she's allowed it. We'll be able to leave tomorrow."

Caveira sighed a sigh of relief. She had been so worried that Six wouldn't allow her to go because of her behavior.

"I would start getting ready now. I asked her to for an 8 a.m. takeoff time. We'll take a three hour drive to London, then depart to Toulouse. We'll arrive by 1 o'clock. Got it?"

Caveira nodded her head and thanked him. He really didn't have to do this for her, but it meant so much that he did. He gave her a small wave, and she turned to begin packing her things. The first thing in her hand was her Luison and knife. It was a habit that she had gotten herself into. For most of her life, they had been her good luck charms- but after Bandit, she didn't want anything else to do with them. She opened the drawer to her nightstand and placed them both inside. She stared at her gun and knife, tempted to bring them with her anyway. Take them... She heard from inside her mind. Caveira shook her head slamming the drawer shut. She made her way into her bathroom to splash cold water on her face. She stared at herself in the mirror thinking about her impending journey. She was scared. What if the person she was going to see couldn't help her at all? What would her fate be then?

A sharp pain on her left side caught her attention. She unbuttoned her vest and pulled it open. She gasped as she laid her eyes upon a bite mark on her left rib. The marks were red as they began to fill with blood, and the skin around the bite was red and irritated. Caveira lifted her right hand to gingerly touch around the area. It was very tender, and the heat of her skin was burning hot- the same way her body felt when she had her fevers. She opened the cabinet under her sink to get her bandages, and pulled one of the bigger ones out. When she looked back in the mirror, the bite was gone. Her skin had even went back to its normal color, and when she touched the area the bite had been her skin was average temperature. Caveira shook her head and left her bathroom. She returned to packing her things and getting ready for tomorrow. Her trip to France couldn't come soon enough...

Caveira walked slowly down the stairs to the first floor. She was on her way out to the car that was escorting her and Lion to London. She wasn't exactly enthused about a three hour car ride, but she guessed it could have been worse somehow. She stared outside at Lion talking with the driving upon reaching the entrance to Hereford. Lion was very animated with his body movements, and the driver looked less than pleased. Caveira smiled to herself. Lion was probably out there telling the driver how to do his job. Or maybe... Maybe he was telling him that she was crazy and to be ready for anything. A sense of panic washed over Caveira. What if he was telling him what she asked him to keep between themselves? He is... She heard that same voice in the back of her mind. Caveira squeezed her eyes shut shaking her head. If that voice was the one confirming her suspicion then it could only be a lie. Caveira opened the door and stepped outside.

"Ahhh, just who I was waiting for!" Lion greeted as he took her things from her to put them away. She gave him a weak smile as she began to get in the car.

"Hey!" a gruff voice called out from somewhere.

Caveira and Lion turned to see Capitao standing just outside the entrance to Hereford. His arms were crossed and he looked less than thrilled to be there, but then again- that was Capitao's signature look. He made his way over, looking between Lion and the car. It was almost as if he were suspicious of something.

"I know you weren't going to leave without saying 'bye' to me," he said turning his gaze on Caveira.

"I didn't want to have to say 'goodbye' to the only other man I hold dear in my life," Caveira said with a weak smile.

Capitao held his scowl for a moment more before giving her a soft smile. "Vou sentir saudades. (I'll miss you)" he said with a soft tone. He caught the subtle glimmer of tears before she threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her tightly, patting her back as she pulled away.

"Eu volto em breve. (I'll be back soon)" she replied before sitting inside the car.

"And you," Capitao said looking up at Lion. "Take care of my daughter, you hear?"

Lion nodded giving him a small salute before getting in the back seat with Caveira. Capitao gave her a final wave before closing her door and watching them drive off. He stood there watching until the car was out of site. He pulled one of his cigars out of his chet pocket to light it up. He looked upwards towards the sky, letting the smoke expel itself from his lungs.

"Que Deus tenha misericórdia dela ..."

Olivier and Taina sat in the airport waiting for their flight to be called. Olivier was obviously disgruntled by the way he paced around and stared out the windows.

"What could be taking so long?" he said out loud to no one in particular.

"These things happen sometimes. If only we could have taken one of Six's planes," Taina added in.

Olivier sighed shaking his head, "Even if we took one of Six's planes, we'd have to land in Paris and take a plane from there. Toulouse is so uptight about who travels in their air space." Taina laughed to herself earning a look from Olivier.

"I guess that explains why you're so tightly wound all the time, right?" The fact that Olivier didn't exactly find her statement funny made it even funnier to her.

Olivier shrugged looking back out the windows, "I guess I've got it honest then." The intercom rang out with a short squeal and the announcement that their flight was now boarding was made. Taina and Lion gathered their things and began to make their way to the terminal. It was crowded, and Taina could feel herself beginning to panic. She didn't like people, and there were too many here for her to feel at ease.

Olivier picked up on Taina's anxiety. He reached down and took one of her hands in his.

"What the hell?" Taina snapped as she tried to yank her hand away. Olivier's grip on her hand tightened.

"It's because I can feel your anxiety. Just squeeze me when it's too much for you," he said back to her with a low voice. Taina stared at him with that hard stare she used when interrogating. "Look, I'm only doing this to help you. I'm not trying anything, I swear."

Taina continued to stare at him a few moments more before looking forward. They stepped forward to the gate attendant and presented their boarding passes. The attendant looked at their interlocked hands and smiled, "Getting away from the kids?" she asked.

Olivier gave her a short laugh, "I promised her a getaway. Is it too late to take it back now?" he joked back. Taina gave them both a deep scowl. The attendants smile faded away as she handed them their passes back.

"Enjoy your flight," she said flatly as they proceeded through the hallway to board.

Taina squeezed Olivier's hand as they squeezed themselves through the narrow hallway of the plane.

"Too bad Six didn't put us in first class," Olivier grumbled as he stepped aside for Taina to take her seat. He put their things in the overhead compartment then sat down beside her. "Do you want to sit in the aisle? There's more room here," he offered.

Taina shook her head and turned to look out the window, "I'd rather see where we're going." Olivier stared at her for a moment before shrugging and looking ahead.

"Hi, can I see your boarding passes?" one of the stewardess's asked them as she walked up.

"Ouais, un second," Olivier said reaching inside his hoodie pocket.

"Ooh, I like your accent," the stewardess said in an obviously flirtatious tone.

Olivier chuckled presenting his pass, "I like yours as well." Taina rolled her eyes as she sighed. It was gross that he was flirting with someone as he sat beside her.

"Ma'am, can I see yours?"

Taina looked over at the stewardess and shrugged, "I don't know where I put mine." She begun to look out the window again when the stewardess suggested she should find it. She needs to leave...

"I don't know where I put the fucking pass, okay? Would I be here if I wasn't supposed to be?" Taina snapped turning to look back at the stewardess.

"Allez, allez, allez!" Olivier said placing an arm across Taina's chest. He looked back towards the stewardess who looked less than pleased with the way she was just spoken to. "She's under a lot of stress, I apologize. Can we have some time to find her boarding pass?"

The stewardess shook her head, "I don't need it. Enjoy your flight." She spat the last part in Taina's direction before walking away to check on the other passengers. Olivier turned to look at Taina who was preoccupied with the scenery outside the window.

"What was that about?" he asked quietly. Taina didn't say anything, she simply just shrugged.

"Hey, I know that you're going through a lot, but can you just try to keep a level head?"

Taina shook her head rapidly before snapping her attention to Olivier. Her gaze was fierce, and it made the collar of Olivier's hoodie feel tight. "If what was happening to me happened to you, then you'd understand that you should probably fuck off with your advice."

Olivier's jaw tightened as he clenched it. Taina breathed out a heavy sigh before looking back out the window. The intercom came on with a bing, and the flight attendants began to go over the flight's protocol. Oliver watched them uninterested. He couldn't care less right now if the plane exploded before they even made it in the air. The pilot came in after the flight attendants to revamp them on where the flight was going and how long it would take to get there. He thanked everyone for being on the flight, and the plane began to run down the tarmac. The familiar light feeling came over Olivier as the plane rose further into the atmosphere. The sounds of shaking metal and harsh wind filled the cabin as the plane suffered hard turbulence. The pilot came back over the intercom to alert the passengers that it was nothing but high velocity winds and they would be through it soon. Olivier's left hand felt hot very suddenly. He looked down to notice that Taina had taken his hand in hers and was squeezing it. She wasn't doing it for an apology, but the way that she had decided to grab onto him for support made him forgive her for the way she had been earlier. He wanted to say something. To make a little joke and see if she was feeling more at ease. But, deciding that he didn't want to ruin the moment- Olivier rest his head against his seat and fell asleep.

Taina jerked awake. Her face was still leaning against the window. She didn't mean to fall asleep, but the fact that she was able to close her eyes for longer than ten seconds without hearing it speak to her was sort of a blessing. She looked outside. It was pitch black. She wasn't exactly sure about European geography, but she figured that they were somewhere over that small gap of sea that separated the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe. The faint strumming of a guitar accompanied by soft vocals caught her attention. There was no one else in the cabin with her. Did Olivier pull one over on her, and not wake her before the plane left back to the U.K.? No, the flight attendants would have done that. Even then, a flight just didn't take off to another place after everyone got off, right? Nevertheless, Taina rose from her seat and stepped out into the aisle. She stumbled as she suddenly became disoriented. To the best of her ability, she began to walk towards the attendant's station. The music remained clear, echoing through her mind as it grew louder the longer she walked. She knew the melody well. It was one of Dominic's favorite songs.

Taina pulled back the curtain that led to first class. She blinked her eyes continuously as she tried to focus her blurry vision towards the back of someone's head in the very middle of the first row of seats. She started forward once again on weak legs.

You say- that there's noises in your head...

Taina leaned against one of the seats in the aisle as a sharp pain shot through her skull. She fought her way through the migraine and her dizziness to continue towards the other person.

You say- that there's voices in your head...

Another sharp pain hit through Taina's chest. She coughed, panting to catch her breath. She focused back on the other person. They were wearing headgear that she would recognize anywhere. Taina stepped into the row of seats just behind him. She slowly placed her hands on the sides of his helmet, and began to lift it off. "Dominic," she said in that low sultry voice he liked. She dropped his helmet after pulling it off, frozen in her place. Instead of seeing auburn hair, she was met with a mass of bloody, gnarly, and jagged tissue surrounding a hole in the back of his head. She inhaled deeply, and screamed with everything she had in her.

"TAINA! TAINA, PLEASE!" Olivier shouted as he shook her by her shoulders.

She was asleep, and screaming at the top of her lungs. Olivier placed a hand over her mouth fighting to subdue her flailing arms. Her eyes snapped open, but she continued to breathe rapidly. She frantically began to look around at her surroundings. There were a bunch of people she didn't know standing and looking at her, and then immediately to her right was Lion. You're on a plane.. she remembered, and took a deep breath to calm down. Although she was still and breathing normally, her heart continued it's panicked beating.

"Is everything alright? Are we going to have a hard time with her?" a man asked coming over to them.

"No, she's fine," Olivier said letting go of Taina. "Who are you anyways?" he snapped turning his focus on the man asking them questions.

"I'm the air marshal. Why? Are you looking to have a problem, man?"

Olivier shrugged, "Not generally, but if you continue to bother her seeing that she's distressed I just might. Air marshals keep people safe, right?" The air marshal stood silent, his focus never turning off Taina. "You see she's fine now, so please, let us enjoy the rest of our flight."

The air marshal continued to stare at Taina for a few more moments before looking at Olivier to give him a nod. He walked away, and Olivier slouched back in his seat. Taina wiped the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes. She leaned over and tapped Olivier's arm. He opened one eye to look at her.

"Thank you," she whispered, and turned to look out the window once again.

Just a note- the song lyrics are from a movie called "Heartthrob" on Netflix. You won't be able to find the song itself online since the movie didn't come with an official soundtrack. The reprise of the song does play at the end of the movie though (I'll be using the reprise later in the story), so if you want to hear it and you have a subscription to Netflix, I highly suggest it.