Sam would have screamed, but the hand that was clamped around her mouth was bruising. She could barely breathe let alone scream. Thoughts were racing through her mind as she felt the man bring her even closer. What did he want? Paz? But why come after her when he's an easy target in the next room? Is he going to kill her? She swallowed hard clenching her hands to try and compose herself. As she did so, she flinched slightly. The gun…she was still holding the gun. She immediately started to turn it towards her attacker, but he released her torso and easily disarmed her.

"Let's not go shooting each other, okay? I don't plan on hurting you, but you have to stay quiet." He shifted slightly and she squeezed her eyes shut as silent tears fell. "I'm not here to hurt you." He slowly released her and Sam flew across the room as far as she could go. She huddled in the corner and stared unblinking at her attacker. He wasn't a very large man, much shorter than Paz. But what he lacked in height he made up for in muscle. His dirty blond hair was short and unruly, but she shied away when he locked his green eyes on hers. He held out his hands, one still holding the gun. "Easy now. I'm here to help."

"Who are you?" Sam asked, her voice stronger than she thought.

The man sighed. "I'm the same as him," he said, jerking his head toward the bedroom.

Sam stiffened as the man indicated that he knew where Paz was. And that meant that he knew what condition he was in and couldn't defend himself. She'd been disarmed like she gave the weapon to him, he was calm while she was shaking, and he was blocking her only way out. "Please…I'm not involved in this. I was just coming home from work…"

The man shook his head and tucked the gun into the back of his waistband. "Unfortunately, he just involved you. I'm guessing he was hoping to just borrow your car, but considering the state he's in…well, plans change."

"Who are you?" She whispered. While the man battled with his decision to answer, Sam looked around her bathroom for a weapon. Nothing was available. It wasn't like she could use the toilet brush against this attacker.

The man stepped forward towards her, and she slammed back into the wall once more. However, from somewhere behind the man, she heard a faint click and they both froze.

"Sam…I want you to move…away from him…and walk over…to me." Paz said softly from the doorway. He held a smaller gun in his hand, pointing directly at her attacker's head. The man turned and faced him, paying no attention to Sam as she skirted around him towards Paz. "You…okay?" He breathed, his breaths labored from the pain. Sam nodded against his back. Knowing that Sam wasn't injured, he turned his focus to the man in front of him. "Who sent you? Vosen?"

The man looked slightly confused, but shook his head. "No. Not Vosen. I don't work with Outcome anymore."

Paz nearly faltered. "Outcome? You're not Blackbriar?"

He shook his head. "No. I've been dealing with a certain set of problems, but saw the most recent news report on Jason Bourne…" He saw Paz stiffen ever so slightly. "Yeah…when I heard they were clearing house, I thought that maybe you'd need some reinforcement. I'm guessing you're Treadstone like he was."

Paz shifted and blocked Sam from view. "Was?" His voice cracked slightly. "I didn't-I didn't shoot him." He felt Sam curl a hand into the back of his waistband, since he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her cheek pressed against his back and he knew she was trying to calm him down. But his grip on his back-up weapon didn't waver. He still didn't trust this newcomer.

"No. You didn't…I wouldn't have either. But he ended up in the river, right? No one can survive that fall." He shook his head.

Paz wasn't sure what to do. He didn't trust the man, but he didn't want to kill him either. "What's your name?"

The man's eyes met his own. "They called me Aaron Cross."

Paz didn't recognize the name, but then, he never did make contact with other assets. "I don't know you. But I may need you later."

Aaron nodded. He reached into his jacket and Paz immediately straightened, ready to fire. Aaron froze. "Easy, just grabbing for a phone." He pulled a simple flip phone from his pocket and slid it onto the counter. "Just speed dial 3 on that and you'll get me." He glanced behind Paz, looking for Sam, but turned his gaze to Paz's when he growled. "Don't stay here too long. They'll find you soon enough, and they won't hesitate to hurt her," He walked past them, but Paz didn't relax until he heard the back door snick shut.

Paz sagged against the counter, his body suddenly shaking from exertion. Sam reached around him, grabbed the phone and slid it into her pocket, and then pushed Paz onto the toilet once more. "What's wrong with your hand?" Paz looked at her with a blank stare. "You're holding your gun in your non-dominant hand, which means something is wrong with the other. Let me see it." She held out her hand and waited patiently. Paz placed his hand in hers and she hissed in a breath. "Jesus Paz, two of your fingers are dislocated. How come you didn't tell me before?!"

Paz watched as she moved around the bathroom, gathering different things. She left the room for a moment, and then came back with a bottle of pain killers. "No. No. I can't take those."

She paused and looked down at the bottle. "Why? Are you allergic to hydrocodone?"

He shook his head. "No. They'll make me foggy. Make me sleep. I can't let my guard down."

"You were just unconscious on my bed an hour ago and-"

Paz looked downright dangerous, "And that asset came in here and could have killed you."

"But he didn't. You need to take something for the pain." She pleaded with him, but he shook his head vigorously. "It's going to hurt to pop these back in place. Really hurt."

Paz grabbed her hand, causing her to pause. "It's not the first dislocation I've had. The elbow, shoulder, knee…I can deal with two fingers."

Sam nodded and pocketed the pills. "I need you to remain still. Hold your wrist with your other hand. I'm going to pull your fingers away to pop them back." He nodded and did as she asked. Sam didn't hesitate. She expertly reinserted his fingers into the sockets. Paz didn't move an inch, but she could feel his muscles pull taut in his forearm. When she looked up at him, he was dripping sweat. "Let's go back to the room and let you lay down. I'll go make you some soup and bring you some water. You've been running for some time. " She helped him into the bed, running a hand down his face. He didn't utter a word. She hurried to the kitchen, heated up a can of soup and poured him a glass of water. She grabbed both items and moved back to the bedroom. She watched him fight off sleep, shaking his head and then wincing in pain. "Paz…"

He looked up at her, "I'm fine."

She smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'm sure you are." She watched him sit up slightly and handed him the soup bowl. "You need to eat something." He nodded and started eating the soup. Soon, the whole bowl was emptied, so she handed him the glass of water. He drank greedily. After he settled back into the pillows, she ran her fingers over the side of his face again. "I hope you'll forgive me."

Paz looked confused. "Forgive you? For what? The fingers didn't hurt that bad…"

Sam smiled softly. "Not for that."

Paz blinked, felt his eyes droop. "What did you…give…me?" His eyes opened a bit wider. "The pain…pills. No." He tried to get up, but his body was fatigued and the pain pills helped that fatigue.

Sam gently pushed him down. "You need to sleep. You'll be okay. I promise."

Paz wanted to talk, wanted to yell at her. Tell her how stupid this was, but he was so tired. And the pain had finally began to recede. He watched Sam's face fade from blurry eyes before the medication pulled him under.