CHAPTER FOUR

It felt a bit odd to the raven-haired beauty to be dressed in an average street outfit. Meandering the picturesque streets of Paris, France, the woman didn't want to look down and see herself in a pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt. All of her "normal" clothes were stashed away in a London flat still. She was quickly realizing that her years of trying to smuggle platform shoes and a dozen metal chokers through airport security lines was beginning to be tiring. And no longer having the connections from her previous line of work, it was hard to convince overseas security that she was a sane person.

Peeping out from under her ball cap, the woman pursed her ruby red lips and narrowed her gaze, searching for the right apartment. A smile lit up her face as she realized she was standing directly in front of her destination. Tugging at her all black carry-on suitcase, she entered the apartment and scaled the stairs, coming to a long hall on the third floor.

As soon as she came to the last door, she set three firm knocks on the surface and took a step back, waiting for a familiar face. She could hear a male voice inside. It was faint but was just enough to make her smile.

"I'm so sorry to keep you—" Their eyes met, quickly answering a million questions with a single glance. "Abby?! What are you?"

Abby's smile cracked. "Well, geez, Tony. Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Of course! It's just you took me by surprise is all. I wasn't expecting to see you. Tim said you had gone to England."

"Yeah. I have a flat there. I've decided to stay there for a little bit longer. Reeves' funeral was a few days ago. But I wanted to get acquainted with his home a little better. Thought perhaps it would help with the non-profit." Abby stared down the kitchen behind Tony. "So are you gonna let me in, or do I have to make a bed in your hallway here?"

Tony chuckled, stepping aside. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just still in shock. You could have called. Don't you have Facebook?!"

"That's okay." Abby strode inside, partially ignoring Tony's sarcasm as she was still lugging her suitcase behind her, giving the apartment its first truly scientific analytical inspection. "Wow, Tony! This is such a nice place!"

"Thanks. I did have help with the decorating though."

"Well, duh," Abby scoffed. "If you would have decorated there would be movie quotes painted on the wall and posters of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood decking the halls."

"Oh, that's a good idea!"

Abby rolled her eyes. "See, I told you! You must have a female friend. You seemed to have reformed some."

Tony scoffed. "Reformed?! Hardly. But fatherhood tends to put a little perspective on your life."

"Speaking of fatherhood," Abby perked up, her eyes ablaze with joy as she whirled around on her heel. "Where's that little one of yours?"

"Right here!"

Abby threw open her arms and let the not-so-little Tali run straight into her embrace, lifting the girl from the ground into her arms. "Oh! You've grown so much! I hardly recognized you. I'm so happy you remembered your Aunt Abby though."

"I never let her forget you guys," Tony inputted, reaching a hand to smooth out the child's tender locks. "We look through photos often. I do it mostly so she can see her mother." A lump caught in Tony's throat, preventing him from explaining further to which Abby offered a tight-lipped nod of understanding.

"Come here," Abby motioned Tony over, queuing up a group hug. She held Tony and Tali snuggly for a few cherished silent seconds before she eased out of the hug and returned her eyes to Tony. "What do you say I treat you both to dinner? My treat."

Tony beamed. "What do you say Tali? Should we take advantage of Aunt Abigail's kindness and have a night on the town?"

Tali laughed and bobbed her head up and down.

Abby chuckled. "Then it's settled! Let's go!"

Tony was trailing the two ladies out of the apartment, hurriedly gathering the jackets and wallet when something dawned on him. "Abby?!"

"Yeah?"

"You brought your suitcase. You didn't stop at your hotel first?"

Abby's eyes twinkled mischievously. "I don't have a hotel. I figured no one was using your guest bedroom right now so I just came. I hope that's alright? I just knew you'd love a roommate." With that she was gone, out of sight, and with Tali still in tow.

Meanwhile, Tony stood in his apartment trying to piece together what Abby had just said. It wasn't as if he was upset. He was simply surprised. Still, he pushed the confusion aside, donned a smile, and followed out the door before it turned into a girl's night out.

His face had been worn down with time. Bags underneath his eyes were cradled with the premature wrinkles forming alongside his cheekbones. The freshly-shaven face did very little to return him to his youth. That is, what youth he had left that incarceration had not stolen.

Eight years, he whispered beneath his breath as he shut his eyes to the lump forming in his throat. A gentle tear strolled away from his eye and plodded down against the neatly-made prison cot. After letting himself shed a good bit of the emotions that had been locked inside for so long, he opened his eyes to look at the stack of clean clothes next to him. They smelled fresh, like the same detergent he had smelled for years on laundry duty. It only served to remind him of everything that had happened while he was inside…every heart-rending feeling of guilt that had torn away at his soul every second of every day he had lived when all he wanted was to be dead.

He wiped at his eyes with the short sleeve of his uniform like a child before he crawled to his feet, weak from emotion to change into the clothes that he had been given. He wasn't used to this kind of clothes. All that he was given was a second-hand pair of jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and an athletic jacket since it was getting cooler these days. A pair of sneakers on the floor completed the ensemble.

Once dressed, he called for the warden, and as he waited in the pin-drop silence, he whispered, "God, I still don't think you're real. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're the reason all this has happened to me. The reason my family is dead. The reason I got put in here. But the fact that I'm getting out has to mean something I suppose. So I'll put things right. But I'm not promising any commitment here. I've done very well on my own. We shall see how this goes."

The warden unlocked the prison cell and stepped aside, his face glazed over with little emotion. If there was any emotion, it was disdain for a man who should have received the chair had the system worked right.

The prisoner gave the warden the most courteous nod he could manage before walking down the hall ahead of the warden. He could almost feel the sunlight he was going to feel as it trickled from the sky down to his aged skin. Sure he had been outside many times. But this was different. It wasn't a tease. It would actually feel like the freedom he had envied for so long.

As soon as he was beyond the gates of the prison, the officials locked him out, leaving him alone on the curb like a common homeless person. His name no longer mattered. For it had been changed. His face no longer mattered. Its features were worn. His status no longer mattered. For he was nobody now. And his past no longer mattered. Thanks to a clerical mishap and an incredibly naïve judge who had more on her mind than cases, the prisoner was now as free of a man as he never thought he'd ever be.

A/N: Quick apologies for not posting an update in a while! Hopefully the chapters will come more quickly as I have so many ideas for this story these days. So...mystery prisoner...I wonder who it is?! **evil laugh** Okay seriously I'm wondering if any of you will figure it out. But it won't be a secret for long. Trust me. Hold on to your Nutter Butters for this one folks! Thanks as always for your lovely reviews and support. God Bless, 'Kath'