Once again, thank you for the reviews. Apologies for the cliffhanger in the last chapter, and er, apologies in advance as well... you'll see.


Alec Trevelyan stepped forward, his own gun raised, aimed directly at his wife's head.

'Hello darling,' he said coldly.

Husband and wife faced each other in a standoff, each with a gun to their head.

Ashleigh stayed silent. She stood her ground, refusing to let him see that she was unnerved. She willed her hands to stay steady.

'Aren't you going to say hello?' Alec mocked her, a small, cruel smile playing around his lips. Languorously, he ran his eyes over her, and she had a distinct feeling that he found her lacking.

'Hello.' She forced the word out through gritted teeth.

'Such a cold welcome. I expected more from you, Ash.'

She watched him warily, never taking her eyes off him for a second.

'Ah,' Alec said, as if he suddenly understood everything. 'You weren't expecting me, were you?'

'No.'

'You knew I was on the island though,' he said, feigning mock confusion. 'I thought you were looking for me.'

'I was.' Her lips seemed numb, her brain slow and foggy. She struggled to think straight.

'Well guess what, Ash. You've found me.' His laugh seemed loud in the near darkness.

'What a stroke of luck,' Ashleigh spat.

'You're angry with me,' Alec mocked her.

'Angry enough to put a bullet in your head right now.' The words came out viciously, and vehemently.

'No you're not, Ashleigh. If you were, you'd have already done it.' He seemed so arrogant, so assured, and anger flooded her. Her finger twitched on the trigger.

Shouts were echoing from outside, distracting her, bringing her attention back to the less immediate danger. Ashleigh's eyes flickered to the left, towards the noise.

'Expecting visitors are we?' Alec asked solicitously.

'I'm being followed,' Ashleigh said bluntly.

'Are you? My, that was careless of you. Didn't MI6 teach you evasion techniques?'

'I was doing a pretty good job until I ran into you.'

Alec laughed again. 'No you weren't. You're out of practise, Ash. Anyway,' he said in a softer tone. 'You couldn't blend into a crowd if you tried.'

She almost lowered her gun, thrown by the gentleness in his voice, the apparent compliment. The tension in her arms vanished, and she felt the gun drop by a few inches, before she realised the trap. With a jerk she brought the weapon back up, noting that his gun hadn't dropped a millimetre.

'Nice try, Alec, but I think we're far beyond compliments, don't you?'

'Who said it was a compliment? I was merely noting that your stealth tactics are distinctly lacking. It's only the total stupidity of the Huangs that has protected you so far.'

'I'll bear that in mind,' she snarled. 'But really, I must be going. I'd love to catch up, and believe me when I say we have a lot to talk about, however it will have to wait.'

'Stay where you are.'

'Or what?' she challenged, and at that moment, risking everything, knowing she had a gun pointed to her head, she turned and ran the way she had came, into the darkness.

She was counting on the fact that he had loved her once. That even Alec Trevelyan wouldn't be able to coldly fire on the woman he had married, the mother of his only child, that there would be a moment's hesitation even if he truly meant to kill her.

It might only be a matter of moments, but if she could make it around the nearest corner, then there would be a chance.

She heard the gunshot and threw herself down into the corner. The mirror above her shattered into a thousand shards, raining down upon her. Ashleigh threw her arms above her head, protecting her face at least, feeling sharp scratches as the jagged edges caught her bare skin. Looking up she saw a bullet hole in the backing panel, slightly off to the left.

A warning shot.

Two could play at that game.

She fired back the way she came, not caring if she was accurate, but a vicious part inside her hoped she didn't miss. Hearing a muffled curse, and a solid thud, she decided that she had bought herself a few extra seconds and started to run again.

She heard him coming after her, and felt terror drive her on. She had been frightened of the man she had married before, but right now, she knew he would kill her if he caught her.

She didn't want to give him the opportunity.

She was already tired, had been running for what had seemed like hours. But she had to find the strength from somewhere. Fear gave her feet wings.

Her husband was a murderer. She had know that when she had fallen in love with him, had known it for years, but he had changed, she had thought that he had changed, that there was no reason for him to kill anymore.

They should have been working together to find their daughter, supporting each other, getting through this terrible time one day at a time, together, relying on each other.

Now he was going to kill her.

She wouldn't let him.

She was retracing steps, struggling to find her way in the endless passages, a modern day labyrinth, only she had no golden thread with which to find her way, and there was no Minotaur chasing her, just her husband. She could hear his breathing, hear how close he was to her.

Finally though, she caught a glimpse of light from outside, and she doubled her efforts, hearing the steady pounding of Alec's feet behind her, throwing herself forward, she crashed through the door.

Outside the fair was beginning to die down. It seemed darker and cooler now. Ashleigh stumbled, catching her knee on the ground as she fell through the door, skinning her hands as she struggled to regain her balance. She threw a frantic glance around, seeing nothing and everything all at once. Not knowing what to do, she simply ran forward, heading for cover.

Another gunshot rang out, and she moaned in fright, feeling terror threaten to overtake her. She had to stay focused, but all she wanted to do was hide. She glanced over her shoulder, saw Alec running after her. She had all but forgotten about the weapon in her hand, the survival instinct was stronger.

She was running on coarse ground, uneven and dangerous, ahead of her she could see a beach, the dark waves illuminated by the moon above. A wooden pier jutted out into the water, perhaps, if she could get there, she could make it to the beach.

Ashleigh fell. She felt the ground slip away from her, a stone under her foot causing her to lose her balance, and she hit the ground hard, winded, her gun skidding away from her.

Arms suddenly closed over her body, wrapping round her waist, jerking her upright, and a low voice growled into her ear.

'Run, just keep running,' Alec was lifting her, pushing her forward, shoving her gun back into her hand.

She almost fainted with fright. Her knees went, and all she could feel were Alec's hands on her waist and somewhere in the back of her mind, she realised he was helping her rather than putting a gun to her head. He was dragging her forward, making her go faster.

'They've seen us,' he hissed, and that gave her the boost she needed, she sprinted forward, ignoring the stinging in her knees and hands.

The Huang brothers saw the English bitch fall, hitting the ground hard. The scarred man helped her to her feet.

It was the evidence that they needed, they knew the two of them had killed their father.

Two gunshots rang out in the night, almost unheard over the loud music and the couple in the distance stumbled again, once more almost falling, but they carried on, dragging each other forward.

'The pier!' Huang Sr. cried, waving his gun in that direction. 'Head them off.'

They ran. Sprinting through the thin crowd, heading towards the wooden pier. Ashleigh could see it less than two hundred metres away. Lanterns swayed wildly in the increasing sea breeze.

'They're after both of us, aren't they?' Ashleigh gasped. Alec was still pulling her along and she struggled to match his long stride.

'If you already know, why do you have to ask?' Alec snapped, his hand tightening painfully on her upper arm.

'Confirmation. I'm fed up with being in the dark, its time we start dealing in hard facts.'

'Yes, they'll kill us both.'

'Because you killed their father? I saw his body, Alec.'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

She never got an answer to her question; instead, she skidded to a halt, dragging Alec to a standstill with her.

The older Huang brother had evidently taken a short cut, and now stood in front of them, blocking their way. He lifted his weapon, and Ashleigh saw the pale flash of his thumb as he clicked the safety off. Ashleigh turned, her hand grabbing for Alec's, pulling him in the opposite direction. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Huang Sr. matching their pace, running parallel to them. He shouted something in Chinese, that neither Ashleigh nor Alec understood, but it sounded like an order.

The solid weight hit them from behind. The junior Huang brother had evidently decided on a more physical form of revenge, the three of them tumbling to the ground in a flailing mass of limbs. An elbow slammed into her ribs, and Ashleigh groaned, the sharp pain almost unbearable in that moment.

She had landed on top of Alec, who was having his own problems. Huang Jr. threw a punch down, catching Alec on the side of the temple. Ashleigh scrambled backwards, trying to put some space between herself and the fighting men.

An arm encircled her throat, dragging her upwards, cutting off her air supply. While Huang Jr. grappled with her husband, Huang Sr. decided to deal with her.

His arm was locked around her neck, his spare hand locked around his wrist, tightening the hold. She struggled to get a purchase on the ground; he was much taller than her, her feet scraping against the coarse gravel. Her hands clawed at his arm, digging her nails in, pinching his skin, anything to try to get his to loosen his hold. She was beginning to feel light headed, her lungs fighting to hold onto their precious air.

Alec pinned Huang Jr. to the ground, smashing his fist into the young boy's face. For a moment he felt a pang of pity for the boy, dragged into the dispute by his older brother, desperate for revenge against his father's killer, but the boy was still moving beneath him, having taken a blow that would have knocked out a stronger man, and Alec respected him for that.

That quickly changed as the boy threw a wild punch into Alec's stomach, winding him briefly. He collapsed sideways, off the boy, covering his head as Huang Jr. wildly rained down blows into him.

She couldn't breathe, and Ashleigh was beginning to panic. She could make out Alec struggling, and struggling hard. Reaching up once more, she hooked her hands around Huang Sr.'s arms and used them to lever herself up, thrusting her feet out hard.

Huang Jr. didn't stand a chance, Ashleigh's feet smashed against his head, sending him flying. Momentum carried both Ashleigh and Huang Sr over, toppling to the ground. Ashleigh was pinned under the solid weight of the man's body, but she could at least breathe and she gratefully sucked oxygen into her lungs. She felt a hard slap to her face and the sharp sting as her lower lip split open. Then Alec's face appeared over her and the heavy weight was lifted off her body as he heaved Huang Sr. away. As the weight went, she leapt to her feet and ran, heading back towards the fair and the safety of people. The arm that hooked round her stopped her, and suddenly, Alec was dragging her back towards the sea.

As they reached the wooden pier that jutted into the night black ocean they glanced back, realising how much distance they had put between themselves and the two brothers. However, their situation was not ideal, at least, in Ashleigh's eyes it certainly wasn't. The wooden slats that made the surface of the pier seemed to bounce as they ran on them. The pier itself was old and rickety, and in dire need of repair. There were gaping holes where the boards had rotted, before crumbling into the sea below. To Ashleigh it seemed to sway in time with the waves rolling against the wooden supports, and she fought in Alec's arms.

'Let me go!' she shrieked, as his arms clamped around her body.

Sweat broke out on her skin as she realised how perilously she was perched above the sea. She hit out at Alec's strong chest, struggling to break free.

'No,' he whispered into her hair over and over, trying to pin her to him.

'Yes,' she could taste blood in her mouth, feel the cold sweat on her forehead being cooled by the sea breeze. She gave an almighty heave, and broke free, heading back towards the entrance to the pier and the safety of land.

And froze.

The Huangs were approaching once more, the younger brother's face swollen; already beginning to darken where Alec had hit him. The elder was heading towards them with murder in his eyes and a weapon in his hand.

Alec weighed up the options. He watched the Huangs and he looked around the pier. He already had had an idea forming in his mind as he had dragged Ashleigh here, and now, he thought it was the only option he had. Face the Huangs, fire round after around at each other and hope that he or Ashleigh could fire quicker than the brothers.

Or they could escape.

Ashleigh had been watching the Huangs. She turned as she felt Alec's eyes fall upon her once more.

'What?' she asked, folding her arms across her chest defensively. 'Alec, what?' she repeated.

Alec was silent. He stared at her.

'What are you doing?' Ashleigh repeated again, her voice a low hiss. She was unnerved by the cold, hard stare but as she watched, she saw his eyes flicker to the right, and beyond her shoulder. Confused, she turned.

There was nothing behind her but the battered wooden rail of the pier and the dark ocean beyond. She turned back to him with a look of horror on her face.

'Alec, no,' she whispered.

He said nothing, instead taking another step towards her. Involuntarily, Ashleigh stepped back. She could smell the sea salt in the air, felt the breeze ruffling through her short hair, pushing a few strands of dark fringe across her forehead. The pier suddenly seemed even more unstable beneath her feet and she was torn between moving towards Alec and the so called security of the middle of the boards, or she could step backwards and cling onto the rail.

Neither idea appealed much.

A wave of panic began to flood through Ashleigh. She risked a quick look over one shoulder, as if desperately hoping that she was once more on dry land, but simply realised that she had been edged ever close to the railing. And Alec was still bearing down on her.

'Alec, please, oh god, please no, not that,' she pleaded. He was her husband. He knew how much she hated the sea, even though they had rarely spoken of it, he knew that she never went in deeper than her knees, preferring instead to stay on the beach, watching Alec and Natasha splashing about in the waves. She had wanted to join in so desperately, but the idea of giving herself to the sea had terrified her, and now Alec wanted her to throw herself into the ink black ocean. 'Please don't make me do it,' she whispered, her plea barely audible over the crash of the waves below them and the cool sea wind. Jasmin had persuaded her to go into the water, and she had coped in the still, calm, clean tasting water, but still, Jasmin had died. If she went into the dark, heavy, pounding, salty water of the sea, who knew what would happen?

She stared at Alec. 'No,' she tried again. 'No, I won't! I won't do it!'

Her voice became a howl as Alec grabbed her, scooping her into his arms as easily as if she had been their daughter, and for one moment she was cradling against the strong muscles of his chest, feeling the softness of the cotton of his shirt against her cheek, breathing in the cool, fresh scent that seemed to surround him, feeling the strength of his arms as he hoisted her up, and then there was nothing beneath her but air, and she was screaming as she fell.

She hit the water hard, her scream cutting off as quickly as it had started and she knew nothing more.