Harold ushered Kat into the passenger seat of his black Lincoln Town Car. Kat couldn't remember if she'd ever been in a car that expensive before. He was silent as he pulled out of the alley and onto the street. The lawn care truck was still on the corner, and the black sedan was still parked conspicuously behind it. He was just about ready to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the headlights of the truck flare to life.
"I'm sorry Katherine, but we're going to be taking the scenic route." Finch said quietly.
"That's ok. I imagine traffic is going to be a nightmare no matter which way you take." Kat was watching the neighborhood slide by outside her passenger window. Finch was able to peripherally observe her, concentration everywhere at once.
The Town Car began snaking through the surrounding neighborhoods, surfacing now and again on main streets, but largely confining itself to stop signs and numerous turns. After a while, Kat began to notice the lawn care truck as well.
"Hey, Mr. Hawke…" she began, unsure of how to most quickly explain her entire life. "What do you suppose that truck is doing? Do you think they're lost?"
Finch could read from the concern in her tone that Katherine was perfectly aware that directional impairment was the least of their problems. His eyes flitted from the road to his rearview mirror and back again.
"Perhaps." He answered vaguely.
It wasn't long before he realized that the black sedan that had been parked behind the truck was now crossing the intersection perpendicular to them. They were attempting to box him in.
"Mr. Reese, if you please, some assistance?" he muttered quietly.
Kat was scrutinizing the truck from her view in the passenger side mirror. When she realized that the driver was one of the blonde men from that afternoon, her heart began to wedge its way into her throat.
"Listen, Mr. Hawke…" she began, but before she could choke out another word, Harold had veered quite suddenly into an alley.
"Katherine, I am afraid you're being followed." He said, accelerating and hoping for an exit other than the outlet on the next street.
"I…" Kat stammered.
"Please, there isn't time for me to explain. Keep an eye out for another turn?"
Kat swung around in her seat, watching garage doors and the backs of apartment buildings slide by. Harold's eyes were fixed on the next street.
"Hold on." He warned.
Kat, however, wasn't prepared for the car to explode out of the alley, tires screeching in a left turn as they went.
"I suppose now would not be a good time to mention that this appears to be a one-way. In the opposite direction." She stated flatly.
"I don't plan on being here for long, Miss Corvis."
"Good, because there's a car coming in the other direction."
"I see that."
"Perhaps we should…"
"Katherine, please." Finch found himself gripping the wheel far too tightly. The narrow streets wouldn't leave enough room for both cars to pass each other. It would be a risk, but there appeared to be the service entrance to one of the apartment buildings coming up on their left. Finch found himself running out of time to decide. Hitting the brakes a little too hard, he swung into the service drive as the oncoming vehicle slid past, laying on its horn.
"Mr. Reese, I realize this is an unusual request, coming from me, but can you find me another way out of this cavern?"
"Did… did you say Reese?" Kat swung around and eyed Finch suspiciously.
"Yes, Katherine. I did. Now is not the time for…"
The sound of squealing tires and an engine gunning in the distance echoed through the cavernous garage.
"They're coming." Kat whispered.
Finch cut the engine of the Town Car. He hit the door locks.
"Katherine, listen to me. There is a train stop two blocks from here. Get out of the car. Walk, don't run, and keep your head down. Now get out, and go."
Kat hesitated for a moment, before swinging the door open.
"Mr. Hawke… Thank you."
"You have to go. Now!"
Shutting the door with a careful snap, she began trotting back toward the entrance of the driveway. She hadn't gotten 10 feet before the black sedan pulled across the driveway, and she stumbled backward, stunned.
The driver, the second blonde gentleman, was emerging from the car, it seemed to Kat, in slow motion. He was screwing a silencer to the end of his gun. Behind her, she distantly heard the sound of another car door, along with the winding tire screeches of the lawn truck somewhere in the deep.
At the sound of Harold's uneven footsteps behind her, Kat began backing up slowly. She reached out behind her, almost instinctually, and found a hand already outstretched and waiting for her.
"I am sorry, Katherine." He murmured.
"Finch, I'm on my way." Reese's voice was almost infuriatingly calm in his ear.
"I don't think you're going to be able to help us, Mr. Reese, but thank you. For everything." Finch said softly. The screeching of tires from behind them was getting louder. The lawn truck had managed to navigate its way through the underground maze of passages that was the service tunnel, and was soon to be upon them. The blonde man with the gun had a smile creeping over his face.
"Margaret Gulliver?" He asked, smugly.
"N-no." Kat steadied her own nerves. "That's not who I am." At this, the man's smile broadened.
"You can't change your nature, Maggie. That's what makes it easy to find people like you."
Finch felt Kat's grip tighten at this. He was inwardly furious that his efforts to protect her were ultimately proving futile. Perhaps he should have left her with Reese after all. He had been , to this point, stoically staring down the blond gentleman, but took a chance and glanced quickly at Kat, who he was somewhat surprised to find was gazing back at him. At the sound of the lawn truck lurching to a halt behind them, both squeezed their eyes shut to wait.
Two gunshots echoed through the space, Kat and Finch both flinching, then opening their eyes in mutual disorientation. They found themselves both on their feet. They found the man with the gun in a heap in front of them. And in front of the still-open door to the lawn truck, they found John Reese, blithely holstering his own gun.
"I told you I was coming for you, Harold." Reese stated, face neutral but eyes glittering.
Finch and Kat looked, numbly, from the man on the ground in front of them, to each other, to Reese. After a few moments, Harold realized that he and Kat had not unclasped hands, and released her, turning abruptly to Reese.
"I see you've been busy, Mr. Reese." Finch deadpanned.
"So… what happened to the other guy?" Kat knew it was probably best not to ask, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.
"Don't worry about it." Reese replied, significantly. "Harold, take Katherine home. I have some phone calls to make, and I'll fill you in on the rest later."
Finch motioned for Kat to return to the Town Car. She stepped toward it, hesitated, then ran back, flinging her arms around Reese.
"This is the second time today you've rescued me. Thanks."
Reese was smiling slightly.
"I told you, that's my job."
"So… now is the time you drop me off someplace and I never see you again, right?" She echoed her statement from the afternoon.
"Unfortunately, you really don't want to see me again." Reese replied.
"Yeah, I guess the implications of that are pretty bad."
"Katherine, it's getting late." Harold was standing beside the car. His expression wasn't one of impatience, but she still flushed as she turned to return to the car.
"Goodbye, Mr. Reese."
All too soon, Harold was pulling up the street to Kat's apartment building. They had driven in silence, Finch's eyes on the road, Kat watching the streetlights sliding by above the car, and offering periodic, punctuated directions.
"It's just there. The one on the corner." She mumbled, nerves exhausted and head spinning with the events of the day.
"Katherine, are you going to be alright?" Finch asked, gently.
"Yeah. It's just one more thing I can't tell my roommate." She replied heavily.
"Although I cannot offer you a solution, or even much comfort in that regard, please know that I understand exactly how you feel. You think, at the moment of the decision, that it will somehow absorb into your being and become part of you, but it never fully does."
"It's ok." Kat countered. "Even if I never get to tell her about who I used to be, at least I know I'm not alone."
Wordlessly, she opened the door, and stepped out into the pool of light beneath the streetlamps. She was glad to be home, and for the day and its adventures to be done, but she couldn't help but feel the tiniest twinge of disappointment at the thought of never seeing the mysterious Mr. Reese and his strange companion ever again.
Harold watched Kat ascend the steps to her front door. Call it old-fashioned, but he hadn't spent his day trying to save her life only to speed off before he saw her safely indoors. He was interrupted, however, by the buzzing of his phone. A new number. Some things just never changed.