They waited two days before making their entry into the Transit Sector. They'd worried it would be difficult to come up with a plan of action but it was actually surprisingly easy. Both knew they needed certain things and neither wanted to be in there long. The solution had been to set a deadline. One hour to get what they needed and meet back. All they had to do was draw up a list of what was needed and decide who was going to get what. The fact that Mercedes already had experience of a Transit Sector alleviated his anxiety, but only fractionally. Because she had the experience of camping and the kind of stores that stocked supplies, she was to collect all the items connected to their backpacks. Once he'd thought about it Sam was happy with this. After all, she'd sourced and bought their original items and every single one of them had been useful. Sam was in charge of getting other essential items such as new shoes.

It was nerve wracking to say the least, and setting up camp in a hidden spot not too close to the area in case they needed to make a break for it, they decided to make a dry run to acquaint themselves with where they were going. Only Mercedes could actually see the entrance and there was no telling what was on the other side of it.

Even when they were right outside, Sam was frustrated that he saw nothing. It was only when she pushed her hand into what appeared to be a small bush that he saw it open into a doorway. Sticking her head through, she paused.

"What can you see?"

She pulled her head back. "It's an alley. But there seems to be a busy street at the end of it. Take a look for yourself."

Sam was dying to. Putting his head through, he saw what she'd seen. It was an alley not dissimilar to the one he was almost shot in. The sense of dejavu it gave him was almost overwhelming. One glance was all he dared to take before settling back down on the ground with her outside. She stared up at him with hope in her eyes and he nodded.

She smiled. "So it is like the others then!" She'd only seen one Transit Sector. He had seen several and therefore he knew that they were all built to roughly the same specifications. If you'd seen one you'd seen them all. Everything should roughly be in the same places as the Transit Sector where they'd met. That meant she already knew where the stores would be for the supplies they needed, and he also had a good idea of where he wanted to go too.

"Do you think you can get everything in forty-five minutes?" The less time they spent in there the better and the memories that seeing the alley brought back were making him even more wary.

"Yep. Can you?"

He didn't even bother answering. He knew he should have been smiling but he couldn't. Even forty-five minutes of her not being by his side was making his stomach knot. He wouldn't be there to protect her if anything happened. For all her moodiness and their disagreements, she was still his Angel.

"It'll be okay Sam. You have a beard now and I… well I don't really look like myself either." She patted down her pants which had become significantly looser as the journey had progressed. When her back was turned, Sam still did exercises to try and maintain his physique, but the constant exercise and reduced food was causing her softness to start to melt away, much to his disappointment.

Her ass was still nice and round though.

But he reluctantly had to concede that they didn't quite look like the version of themselves that had left Sector 17 all that time ago. Yet still didn't stop him from worrying. "What happens if one of us doesn't make it back?"

She touched his arm reassuringly. "We'll both make it back Sam. If we want it badly enough it will happen."

Oh he definitely wanted it badly enough...

The next twenty-four hours were both the fastest and the slowest he'd ever experienced. One moment they were making plans then suddenly they were both stood by the bush, ready to enter the Transit Sector. After consulting each other and weighing up the pros and the cons, they decided mid-afternoon would be the best time to make their entry. After lunch things tended to be quieter. Those who were in the underworld tended to make their appearances in the evenings but they planned to be long gone by nightfall and they definitely did not want to accidentally get caught up in any unexpected curfew.

The plan and their shopping lists had been run over so many times that it was completely committed to memory and before they knew it they were outside the entrance and everything was in place. Their watches were synchronized and it was twelve minutes past two. They were due to meet back in the alley dead on three. Sam fingered the money in his pocket that she'd given him while he watched Mercedes as she stood with her eyes closed and her lips silently moving. He knew that she was praying and admired her for the fact that with everything they'd been through so far, her faith was still as strong as ever.

"I prayed for you too." He was staring so hard he hadn't actually noticed her open her eyes and smile at him. Glancing at her watch she stepped forward and threw her arms around him. "It'll be okay. We can do this!"

He nodded and squeezed her back, praying in his own way that this wouldn't be the last time he ever got to hold her. "Good luck Mercedes!"

"It's not about luck Sam." They were now in the countdown of their final minute and she released a shaky breath as she stepped away from him and opened the entrance gate. He peeked through to make sure that the coast was clear before stepping back to let her past. She was to go through first and hide behind a trash can. He would come through a minute later and leave the alley first. If the coast was clear he'd whistle as he turned onto the street. She would then follow a minute later and turn in the opposite direction.

He walked through the alley, past the trash can where he knew she was hiding and resisted the strong temptation to grab her and run back to their precious Outside world, instead continuing the walk to the end of the alley before whistling a jaunty tune as he turned onto the street, noting just one car and a woman carrying heavy groceries on the other side of the street. He wanted to turn his head to see her leaving the alley but didn't dare. He had no idea what the surveillance was like in this Transit Sector and wanted to draw no more attention than walking out of a seemingly empty alley would already cause to anybody who may have been bothering to pay attention. He had a job to do, and the sooner it got done, the sooner they would be back together.

She was five minutes late! Sam was crouched behind the trashcan with his purchases, desperately trying not to panic. He'd completed everything he needed to do plus got a few things that were extra and still had time to spare. Having arrived back in the alley nearly ten minutes early he used the time to see if he could see the entrance to the Outside for himself, but for the life of him it just wasn't visible. Then the panic had set in. What if something happened to Mercedes? He would never be able to get back Outside! On the other hand, he didn't think he could continue the journey without her!

It was tempting to go to the entrance of the alley and see if she was coming but he knew he had to stay down. The only thing he could do was keep checking his watch at thirty second intervals. As three o'clock came and went his panic reached fever pitch. His body broke out into a sweat and his chest started experiencing waves of pain. Each thirty seconds that passed without her arrival was torture. He regretted not bringing his gun. He'd spent a lot of the night wondering if he should, before reaching the conclusion that if he was stopped and it was found on him, it would only make things harder to explain, not easier.

Seven minutes late! Something had to be wrong. There was no way she would keep him waiting. She wasn't like that. She was organized and liked precision. They'd already spoken at length and agreed that if they felt they were going to be late for the deadline they would simply abort the task they were doing and come straight back. They could always try another day.

So where was she?

Mercedes wouldn't leave him would she? Because without her, he was nothing! It was a hard admission to make but that didn't make it any less true.

Eight and a half minutes! He rubbed his beard with his hands to give himself something to do. Something to distract himself from the terrifying thoughts that currently raced through his head. Visions of her body sprawled on the cold ground, beautiful eyes lifeless with a bullet hole between them. Visions of lowlifes who decided they wanted to have a little perverted fun with her beautiful body before ending her. He saw her eyes filled with tears and terror, her gagged mouth unable to scream while hands touched her in places they had no right to. He saw her beautiful face bruised and bleeding as she was tortured for details of his whereabouts. There were so many scenarios and none of them were good.

He was so distracted he nearly almost hear the sound of footsteps running towards him. He stayed still and silent as they approached, 90% sure that they were her steps, but hesitant to fall into any kind of strange trap that may have been elaborately set up to flush him out.

"Sam?" Her voice was a loud whisper but to him it was the greatest sound on the planet. He raised his head and saw her looking towards his hiding place with a panicked stare. The relief in her expression when she caught sight of him was immense. Without pausing she headed to a spot further along the wall. "Let's go."

He didn't need telling twice! He grabbed his bags and followed her as she seemingly disappeared through the wall. As soon as he was sure the gate was closed behind him everything was dropped and he pulled her into his arms, holding her as tightly as she held him. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"I'm so sorry Sam-"

"Dammit Mercedes! I thought you... I thought you'd..." There was no way he was ever going to put words to some of the things he thought had happened to her.

"I came as fast as I could. First the guy in the camping shop was trying to flirt and chat me up so it took me ages to get away from him, then there were two Sector Patrols stood near the entrance of the alley."

That made him tense up again. "Sector Patrols?"

"Don't worry Sam. They were only smoking. Just leaning against the wall taking a break. I didn't want them to watch me turn into the alley so I had to kill some time by going into another store to wait it out. I ended up buying a book so that I didn't raise suspicion for hanging around for so long."

"Had they gone when you came down the alley?"

She nodded. "I waited until it was clear then held back for one more minute just in case anyone turned back. It's fine Sam. I'm just sorry that my doing that made you wait and worry."

He was sorry too. But more than that, he was just happy to have her back. Without even caring he pulled her into another tight embrace, relishing the feel of her against him and knowing he was never going to let her be in danger like that again. "You're safe, we made it, we got what we needed and that's the important thing."

He was still basking in intense relief but reluctantly released her from his arms before he completely squeezed the life out of her. "Did you get everything Sam?"

He nodded and smiled for the first time as she looked at his bags with curiosity. "I got everything, and then some!"

"You bought extras? You know you'll have to be the one to carry it. What did you get?" She sniffed the air with a questioning expression then dived excitedly for his bag. "Sam, something smells really really good! Tell me what did you get?"

He grinned. "It's a surprise. Come on, let's get back to the camp and go through our new stuff. Race you back!" Grabbing her heaviest bags he took off into a run and she followed him, laughing. Yet another sound he had feared he would never get to hear again.

As he ran his chest almost burst with happiness. Mercedes was back with him and she was safe. His Angel was going to be around a little longer and he intended to do what he could to make her happy too.