I'd like to thank everyone for the support of bringing this story back to life. The first few chapters will seem somewhat familiar as they fit the same kind of structure as the original three but I promise once we get going this is going to be a whole new ballgame. As per usual I love and appreciate any and all reviews, they help my muse and help me improve so keep them coming! Enjoy!

The statue of a girl stood in front of the windowless door, the metal structure the only thing standing between her and the man inside. Debra had explained very little on the ride to Richmond and the quiet had let Liette's thoughts spiral. Like a great tidal wave looming over her head, Liette could feel her emotions waiting to break her sanity. Liette could picture him already as he was now and not how he had been in the past. He had aged well despite his imprisonment. His face had been plastered all over the news and the announcements at bureau after his escape. It had been easy to switch the channel or walk past the bulletins to escape him but once she opened the door she wouldn't be able to switch the image if Joe off anymore, he'd be before her in the flesh once again.

"You're good to go." Ryan spoke as he stood behind Liette, observing her hesitation and wondering if he could trust her or not. Debra had introduced them before they had marched down the hall but Liette had only shook Ryan's hand and said nothing else. She recognized Ryan from years ago when he had sat in on Joe's lectures, using Joe as an expert on Poe instead of seeing him as the culprit. She might have told Ryan that they had met before but her head was in a different place. The few words she had exchanged since arriving at the prison had been with her fellow agents who were all eager to see Mike back in their company. They had been a reminder as to why she had to go through the door.

Liette's hands trembled as she reached into the pocket of her blazer to pull out a pair of thin black glasses. She used her grip on them to steady her hands before she slipped the frames onto her face. Her eyes adjusted to the new clearness provided by the lenses. She used her glasses to read but they were a recent addition to her appearance, one that she was not used to and one that Joe would not be used to either. She meant to disguise herself, even just a little, in order to separate herself from the person who had seen Joe Carroll as a friend. There was a reason Joe had asked for her and Liette could only assume that it had something to do with their past. It was a past that she had so desperately tried to let go of but as she opened the door she felt herself dragged back to the very first day she had stepped in Joe's classroom.

Waiting a year to attend university after her high school classmates had rushed off had practically killed Liette so she had been booming with excitement the day she stepped out of her mother's car in the parking lot of her residence. With the help from some upperclassmen her stuff was moved into her room and she was ready for her first class. Unfortunately frosh week rarely includes classes and Liette's shyness had made her a victim of wall flowering. It was an uncomfortable first week, one that had dulled her excitement for university and almost had her calling home every night wishing she was back in Louisiana. Her mother had talked her down, urging her that things would get better once classes started and luckily they did. Her first class happened to be Joe's.

Introduction to Romantic Literature was one of the courses that had just happened to fit Liette's packed psychology schedule. All universities made students take electives and although the romantic era was hardly Liette's favorite writing period she had been successful enough in English during high school that she assumed Professor Carroll's class would be an easy grade. Liette's mind was constantly focused on keeping her average, knowing that she needed her scholarships to remain at Winslow. With her grades and SAT scores she should have been attending an ivy league school like Harvard or Princeton but the thought of the school debt she'd acquire had turned her to the modest halls of Winslow university. Besides, the school put her in Virginia which is where she hoped to end up once she had the chance to apply to the academy at the FBI.

At ten to twelve on Monday morning Liette found her spot at the front of the lecture hall where she unpacked her bag by carefully placing her notebook and ballpoint pen on the small school desk in front of her. Her classmates filed in, picking seats closer to the back and around the centre of the room. A few fell into the seats in the front as well but as per usual Liette was isolated without a soul beside her. A few final students trickled in, finding seats around the room before they were followed by a man at least ten years older than them.

"Good afternoon everyone," Joe's British accent had the attention of many of the girls in the room as they straightened their shoulders and fixed their hair. Liette glanced around her, always observing her surroundings and the people who filled them. It was her mother who had suggested she should be a profiler because she was always aware of people's behaviours, even the smallest of things.

Liette watched as Joe placed his briefcase down upon the desk, clicking it open to reveal the contents but not taking anything out of it just yet. She saw the meticulous organization of the man's bag just from the way nothing spilled out when he laid either side open on the desk. Each book, pen and piece of paper was tucked neatly into a space that held it in place until he needed it. Such organization was something Liette could appreciate, for her book bag was laid out in the same way.

"I'm professor Carrol, you're welcome to call me Joe." he said with a smile "And this is romantic literature so if you were looking for political science I believe that is one floor above us." he teased with a charming grin, getting the chuckle of a few students around him. Liette's lips curled into a small tight smile as Joe's eyes came upon her. She glanced away after only a second, feeling the heat of his gaze leave her only a moment later. "I've posted the book list online, there is an anthology that has almost all the readings we'll be doing and then I'd like you to pick up the complete works of Edgar Alan Poe."

The clicking of keyboards and a flourish of pens signaled that many of the students sitting behind Liette hadn't picked up their books. Many students waited until they knew they would need the texts before purchasing them but Liette had been too eager. Her bookshelf in her dorm room was already organized by her classes and each of her textbooks had been cracked open at least once last week when she had been avoiding the frosh week activities.

"I won't keep you for the full lecture time today." Excitement from the back row rose in a dance of whispers but Liette's shoulders dropped in contrast. "I want to outline the course for you and then we'll jump right in next week." Professor Carroll explained before he quickly began to go through the different topics he was going to cover. Names like Emerson and Thoreau came up and then Joe spent a great deal of time talking about Poe and the poems he would likely focus on. He detailed his expectations for essays and the reflection papers to come before he bid the class a farewell. Everyone packed up quickly but Liette left her notebook on the table before nervously rising. She had heard from other professors that it was appreciated when students introduced themselves. Liette rarely introduced herself to anyone unless it was for her own personal gain. It was advantageous for her to know Joe and have him know her but she still hesitated before walking up.

"Professor Carroll." Liette's voice was quiet but calm as she came to the front of the room, ignoring the last few students who made their way out of the room. "I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Liette Arnaut." Liette's young hand extended to be greeted by Joe's who shook with one but clasped his other hand on top of their grasp.

"I insist you just call me Joe." he said, holding their grasp as he looked down into her eyes with an intent gaze that made her look down uncomfortably. "It's a please to meet you, I hope you enjoy the class Liette." her name was like sugar on his lips, it sounded sweeter than it ever had before. Liette was used to the cajun or Acadian accents of her family and her neighbors so her name sounded different in Joe's British tone, so different that she couldn't help but play it over in her head.

Liette.

"Liette."

Ten years had passed but Liette didn't need to look at the man at the table to recognize his voice. She had been staring at her feet when she entered the room but her name on his lips once more beckoned her eyes upwards this time. Joe's begging gaze caught her as she stared across the room at him, hardly believing that this moment was real. His chains shook against his trembling hands, causing Liette to jump slightly as the metal clanged against the table.

He was just Joe. Underneath the orange jumpsuit and the metal chains, Liette could still see the man who had always into that classroom over ten years ago. She could see him in one of his three piece suits and the horrible ties he had bought himself. She could picture a piece of chalk between his finger tips, waiting for him to aggressively scribe something on a board behind him. She could see it all but that wasn't who he was anymore.

"God, you're more beautiful than I expected." Liette felt a chill run down her spine as his words, like melting ice against her backbone that made her whole body stiffen. She was a statue again. The door closed behind her as Ryan and Debra gave Joe his part of the deal, an audience with Liette. It was up to Liette to retrieve the information about Mike so the others could immediately go find him. Right now, Liette was useless to the team as she stood still on the far size of the room.

For a moment Joe did not say another word. His eyes moved from Liette's to study her completely, ignoring the frightened look on her face to take in her beauty. He had been proud to hear she had become an agent just like she had wanted to but as he looked at her now he found it hard to picture her with a gun and a badge. It wasn't until his eyes glimpsed the shine of gold tucking out from underneath her blazer that he was actually able to physically see her with the latter. Still, the idea of a gun in her hands seemed ridiculous to him. Liette was a star, radiant and burning with passion and light so the image of her with a deadly weapon just didn't match in Joe's perception.

Liette could feel his eyes all over her and it was in a manner that she hadn't processed before. Her lack of social skills had not made her a hit with men but her good looks had seen her waking up tangled with one or two in the past. She knew how it felt to be looked at by a lustful man but this was even more powerful. She could not bring herself to look at Joe's eyes in fear that she'd see the predator that he really was. She wanted to go back to the thoughts of the man back in the classroom.

"Come, sit with me."

"Come, sit with me." Joe invited, happy to see a visitor to his office hours just two weeks into classes. He was not at all surprised or unhappy that the visitor was his most keen student. Liette stood in the doorway of his office with her arms across her chest holding her notebook tightly against herself before she stepped in and took a seat opposite from him. "How can I help you?"

"You might not be able to, or want to for that matter. I just...it's a shot in the dark." Liette nervously tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear before she continued. "I was reading ahead and I wanted to discuss Evangeline with you. You see I'm from New Orleans an-"

"This discussion is much bigger than the type I usually take during office hours." Joe interrupted.

"Oh." Liette stood, feeling suddenly embarrassed. Her face continued to flush with a red hue that burned against her skin. She regretting the decision of coming here. She should have just called him to discuss the poem with her mother like she always did but she had been hoping for a conversation with someone who actually had some sort of idea about what she was rambling about."I'm sorry." Liette added as she began to shuffle away from Joe's desk.

"But if you're free in an hour I would be pleased to discuss it with you over tea." Joe stood, following Liette's movement as he came to stand beside her in the space.

"Tea?"

"Or coffee, if you'd prefer." the man chuckled.

"I wouldn't want to impose." Liette shook her head.

"I offered." Joe reminded her, tapping the top of her books with his finger as he smiled down at her. "The cafe on Broad street? It's just five minutes from here, I can meet you there."

It took a moment but Liette shook the memory from her head and moved forward, her hands reaching for the top of her seat before she could actually reach it. Her grasp came down upon the cold metal and she held it like a crutch. Slowly she dragged the chair back away from the desk, feeling Joe watching her every movement before she sat down across from him. A moment later she allowed her eyes to raise from the silver surface of the table to connect with his eyes for the first time.

The wave crashed down, threatening to drown her. Her breathing became shallow as she struggled through the moment, her lips opening and closing as she took in each breath as if it was her last. She could feel his hands on her throat even though she was confidently out of his reach. His grasp on her existed in just one look but she couldn't break away, not this time. He held her gaze with admiration and exhileration, a light in his eyes appearing in the spaces that had been so void of life in all his dealings with the agents and Ryan Hardy. As Joe's gaze sucked the life out of Liette, hers rejuvenated him.

"Hello Joe." Liette finally spoke, her words full of hesitation and doubt as she looked at him. She knew that everyone was watching via the video camera in the corner of the room. By now Liette had figured out they probably suspected her as one of his accolades but she wasn't here to deliver a message or play her part in Joe's story. Joe was clearly inclined to write her in but Liette would have preferred to have been left out altogether.

"I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to see you again."

"Where is Agent Weston?" Liette asked, focusing on the task at hand.

"I'd very much like to talk to you." Joe said, ignoring the situation they sat in. In his eyes they were practically back at the coffee shop, sitting comfortably in each other's presence.

"I ned to know where Mike is." Liette repeated.

"Mike?" Red hot jealousy ripped through Joe's voice. His fidgeting hands balled into fists, rock hard fists of fury and rage. Liette felt the constricting grip on her throat again as she watched the man transform before her. Polite, kind and courteous Joe slipped away, the light in his eyes fading into darkness for a moment.

"Agent Weston." Liette corrected quickly.

"You called him Mike." Joe's jealousy was not soothed so easily.

"We're colleagues." Liette replied on cue "He's my friend." she added. Her softness reflected out to Joe and allowed him to examine himself in contrast. His fists loosened, his palms flattening on the table once more as he leaned back and straightened his spine. He chuckled to himself for a moment, breaking his gaze from Liette as he amused himself with what had just happened. He had reacted like a lovesick school boy, possessive and jealous. Such a gut reaction was to be laughed at but he wouldn't have it happen again.

"Please."

The word fell from Liette's lips, a soft snowflake melting in the air as it reached Joe's ears. The chill of her voice came out of desperation and fear. Despite picturing them in the coffee shop, deep down Joe knew their relationship had been ultimately changed the moment she had found out about him. She was not here because she missed him or because she had wanted to relive old times. She was here to save her colleague. Her friend. Still, Joe's request remained.

"I'll tell you where Agent Weston is if you stay and talk."

Not an inch of Liette wanted to remain in this room any longer but she would not have Mike's blood on her hands. "Okay." she agreed with a nod. "Tell me where he is."

"Oh no, it doesn't work like that. What would stop you from just running out of me?" Joe shook his head. Did she think him a fool? He had outsmarted the police and her fellow agents time and time again. He would not find himself in a trap where he came out empty handed. He'd have his conversation with Liette and he'd ensure by the end of it she'd want to come back and speak some more.

Liette looked around the room, blank walls giving her no reassurance except for the camera that sat in the corner. She could not see the people watching the feed but she knew they were all gathered around monitors in the other room just hanging on her every word.

"Fine." Liette said before exhaling. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I'd like to catch up and well, I'd like to explain some things to you." Joe said, his lips forming a smile as he leaned back and relaxed into his chair. Agent Weston still had time which meant he had some time of his own. By the hands on the clock on Liette's wrist Joe knew they had hours to kill, hours that he'd fill before he gave Liette the answer that she wanted. Agent Weston would just have to hold his breath and wait.