"Personally, I'd prefer it to be you," Charlie quipped and she was surprised by how calm her voice was, which was completely at odds with the inner turmoil she was feeling. Fuck you, Nick, she silently fumed. At least now she knew which side he was on, not that the satisfaction of that would help her right now. Amazing how she just stumbled from one mess into another, not always of her own making, but this one was definitely on her. She'd chosen to take the risk of meeting with Nick's man and it had backfired badly.

Finding herself yet again staring down the barrel of a gun, Charlie's mind started to calculate her chances of rushing at Angelo and disarming him without the gun going off, but she didn't like where the results were heading. Despite his good looks and 'trust me' smile, which no doubt aided him in carrying out his duties, Angelo Rosetta was not a man to mess with. He wasn't a great deal taller than her, but was strongly built and while she'd had little trouble in the past in dealing with men much larger than her, this was different. This man was a Police Officer who had been trained in the same way she had, which took away her tactical advantage. He knew what to expect. Then there was also the gun. It was being held in a firm, unwavering hand and Charlie knew the moment she made any movement toward him, she'd be dead before she even finished that first full step.

Charlie moved her gaze from the gun barrel, to his eyes. He'd appeared genuine when he'd apologised about this and she could see that in his eyes. Unfortunately, she could also see determination, so there was little hope of appealing to any sense of decency or honour, as she had a strong feeling nothing she said would alter his course of action. No, her only hope out of this unscathed, was Joey. What was Joey doing now? Charlie dared not look to where Joey had been hiding out, in case it clued Angelo in that she wasn't alone after all, but she was nervous over what Joey intended to do. If Joey came out firing, Angelo still might have time to get off a shot, if Joey didn't hit her, herself that is. Just get close enough to call out and distract Angelo, even let him see the gun, if that's what it took. Just don't fire, Charlie was trying to tell Joey without actually saying it aloud.

"I know what you're doing," Angelo said.

"And what is that?"

"You're trying to work out if you can rush me and get the gun away from me before I have a chance to react," he said. "You'll fail."

"You would say that, wouldn't you," Charlie said. "Why, Angelo? Why are you doing this?"

"I don't have a choice."

"You already said that," she replied. "Why don't you have a choice?"

"It's a test of loyalty and if I fail, I'm not going to like the fallout."

"Why is Nick testing you?"

Angelo laughed. After his momentarily lapse in letting his guilt get to him, he was back to feeling good and not just because of the refill he'd picked up earlier that day. He'd thought undercover work was a thrill, but he was quickly discovering that there was something strangely compelling about holding life and death in the palm of your hand.

"You really have no idea what is going on, do you?" he said.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Ah, sorry Charlie, but I have a witness to track down and I'm through wasting any more time on you."

And so it all came down to this moment. Which way would it swing? The answer came just as Angelo's finger tightened on the trigger.

"Freeze or I'll shoot!" a voice called out from the darkness. Angelo automatically whirled toward it and Charlie took her chance. She went for him. Straight away realising his error, Angelo was able to dodge her attack and send Charlie sprawling face first into the footpath after he tripped her with his foot. Only her hands prevented her face from smashing against the ground. Pain shot through her wrists and palms as they bore the brunt of her weight. Wincing in pain, Charlie turned over and found herself nose to barrel with the gun. Again.

"I've had enough of this," Angelo hissed. He never had the chance to pull the trigger, as loud cracks of gunfire erupted into the night. One, two, three bullets struck Angelo in a tight pattern over his heart and he fell backwards.

Charlie crabcrawled backwards from his fallen body, a mixture of pain, shock and relief coursing through her body. She nearly flinched when a hand touched her shoulder.

"It's just me," Joey said, holding her hand out toward her. Ignoring the pain in her hands, Charlie took it and got to her feet.

"What have you done," she said.

"Saved your life," Joey calmly replied. She shrugged. "Hey, I warned him, but he didn't listen," she said. "A thank you would be nice."

"Ah, yeah, thanks," Charlie murmured. She shook herself. This was too much. An officer lay dead at their feet and they had no idea how much anyone else, besides Nick, knew about him. If there was no proof to Angelo's corruption, then she and Joey were now in more danger than just from Braxton goons. The Police took a very dim view in losing one of their own.

"Oh fuck," Charlie murmured.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Joey told her. "Someone had to have heard those shots and called the cops by now."

Charlie just stared at her. The woman was far too calm for someone who had just killed another person.

Sensing movement, Joey's eyes widened. "Oh bugger," she said. "Run!"

Charlie immediately responded without question and they both bolted just as Angelo sat up and fired, his bullets spraying wide, but not by much. He winced as he got to his feet and set off after them. Even with a bulletproof vest, those bullets still stung like a bitch and he'd have the bruises later to show for it.

In their haste to dodge bullets, the two women got separated at the first junction. Charlie went right, Joey went left.

Taking turn after turn, Joey raced around the next corner and found herself in a small alley.

"Shit." The two buildings either side of her offered no avenue of escape, with the nearest windows barred or out of reach. The way forward was also blocked. There was no way she could get over that brick wall. It was a dead end. She'd studied the map, yet she'd still managed to take a wrong turn. It should have been right, not left.

"Damn it Joey, you're getting careless," she murmured to herself. Charlie wasn't with her, which meant she must have gone the right way. At least she hoped that was the case.

She could hear pounding footsteps that warned he wasn't far behind her. Joey looked back down the way she'd just come. The streetlights lit the entrance to the alley, yet left the rest in relative darkness and as much as she loathed the idea of being cornered in an alley, the closeness of those footsteps told her that it was already too late to leave without the risk of being seen.

"Fuck."

Joey searched around her for a place to hide. There was nothing. Nothing except for the darkness of the shadows. There, in the corner, it was more than dark enough to hide from prying eyes. At least that was what she was desperately hoping was the case. She could hear him getting closer. She had no choice now. Backing into the corner of the alley, Joey calmed her nerves. The less sound she made, the better. With the gun held as if her hands were up in prayer, she waited.

Danger was yapping at her heels and Charlie ran, fear driving her forward, fear that every step she took, could be her last. She ran past parked cars, past houses, past shops closed for the night. She could hear sirens in the distance. Where once those sounds had been a familiar and comforting sound, they now brought nothing but worry. Her heart was thumping, her lungs were burning from her sprint, yet onward she ran. Zigging, then zagging, always with a clear mind of which path to take.

Finally, she slowed. There was no pursuit behind her. She'd gotten away. Had Joey? In the event they'd somehow become separated, they'd made contingencies to meet at a specified location. Charlie prayed that Joey would be there.

Time seemed to have slowed for Joey. She'd calmed her breathing, taking shallow, almost silent breaths, but she couldn't stop the thump, thump, thumping of her heart. It sounded like drums beating in the night. Each thump, louder than the last. An exaggeration of course, which Angelo couldn't hear. Joey could see him now, standing there under the street light. His hand was over his eyes, as if trying to better see into the shadowy darkness. Her eyes met his. Angelo's didn't react as they continued to scan the alley. He hadn't seen her. Yet. If he moved closer and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he may see her. She pressed herself harder against the wall.

He stepped forward and her hands tightened on the gun. He'd obviously been wearing a vest, which made any shot more difficult as the only effective shot would be to his head, a much smaller target that was more difficult to hit with any accuracy, especially when moving and in a darkened environment. Given the danger that came with missing the head shot, Joey vowed she'd only shoot if she had a clear shot or had no other option.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Angelo sang out and the words bounced off the walls in an eerie echo. "Get out here you bitch," he added more menacingly. "I owe you a couple of bullets."

He wasn't sure she was there, of that she was certain. He was just trying to spook her enough to flush her out from wherever she was hiding. Ha, he was underestimating her if he thought that would work. Angelo kept coming forward, pausing every few steps to scan the shadows, searching for any movement, listening for any sound.

Joey barely dared to breathe when his eyes once again moved over her position. Still, the shadows protected her. If he got any closer, he may see her, even in the shadows. She stood frozen. Any movement would give her away. The tension in her body was almost at breaking point.

Piss off, she whispered over and over in her head. He couldn't hear her of course and he moved forward, ever so closer to discovering her. She cursed herself for her stupidity. What had all that planning been for, if the first thing she did, was get herself cornered in a dead end alley. Any other footpath or turn would have taken her to safety, yet she'd ran this way. A mistake she hoped wouldn't prove to be fatal.

Joey heard a heavy sigh.

"Damn it," she heard Angelo mutter as he turned away from where she was.

Escape was imminent, yet she dared not let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Her eyes widened in sudden fear and she barely managed to stifle her gasp of horror. She couldn't see it, but she sure as hell felt it. It was a nightmare. She could feel each step of those hideous feet. One foot, two, three, all eight of them she could feel as it crawled across her face. It was huge. At least the size of a twenty cent, no fifty, no bigger, it was a fucking giant spider. At least that was what her phobia riddled mind kept screaming at her.

This spider might well be the death of her. If she fainted, she was dead. If screamed, she was dead. If she moved to flick it from her face, she'd reveal her position and she was dead. Joey squeezed her eyes shut and tried desperately to pretend she was somewhere else. An image of Charlie popped into her head. A little tweak of her imagination and Charlie was now standing before her in a bikini. A nice, skimpy, barely covering her nipples type of bikini. Joey's favourite sort. The Charlie image began a sensuous dance, her hands cupping playfully at her own breasts in a … the image disappeared in a burst of fear as the spider continued on its agonisingly slow crawl across her face. It was now hovering at the edge of her mouth. Joey could feel a foot beginning to touch her lips. Angelo was still there, yet to move away. Two legs were now on her mouth, another brushing by her nose. Her nerves were seconds from breaking.