Sunday, March 5th

Skeiðarvogur
Eastern Reykjavik

17:05

A tired, cold, and hurt eleven-year-old would readily agree.

She had broken into a small doctor's clinic intended for dock workers during the day when the docks were operating. The docks had shut just over half an hour before and Tanya had broken in just minutes after the staff had left. The building's alarm system had appeared simple and easily bypassed – another skill which Tanya had but had no knowledge of every learning. At first, she had had no idea why she was even there, but her mind had told her to avoid hospitals and anyone who might involve the police. Her left leg throbbed with pain which was borderline unbearable. The bullet had, she hoped, gone through and through, but she would only find out once she was able to inspect and treat the wound.

The girl hobbled through to the back of the building in search of a treatment room. She soon found what her mind was seeking, even if she was not. She struggled to understand how she was still standing and fighting the pain. Almost feverishly, she yanked open the door to a small fridge and her fingers picked up and discarded small vials of clear liquids before finally grabbing one and then two more. On the way to a steel-topped table, she grabbed a handful of disposable syringes and needles before dumping her haul onto the table. She sought out some gauze and a few other items before she sagged down into a chair. With grunts of pain, the girl pushed down her thick over trousers and then her thermal underwear. The thermal underwear on her left side was no longer white but a disturbingly bright red. Without further thought, she carefully loaded a syringe with a small amount of the liquid from the phial before stabbing her left thigh with the syringe close to the bullet wound and injecting the full amount into her leg.

After waiting two minutes, during which time her thigh numbed around the bullet wound, Tanya willed herself into action. She squeezed an excessive amount of saline solution around the wound, eliciting a small scream. She probed around the bottom of her thigh and she quickly found the exit wound – it was only a flesh wound, but it hurt like hell. She swabbed away the last of the blood before she placed a pad across each wound and secured them in place with tape around her thigh which was then covered by a crepe bandage to hold it all in place. Stitches were needed, her mind told her, but there was no time. Once the wound was dressed, she injected her thigh with two further drugs to combat infection, or so her mind had told her, before she pulled up her ruined thermal underwear and holed over trousers. With difficult and painful movements, she moved over to where a large steel sink was set into a unit against a wall. She filled it with water – cold as there was no hot water, it seemed. As she splashed water over her face and then dunked her entire face into the water, she suddenly froze as a vicious flashback played itself in her mind. Water. Lots of water. The water was freezing cold. Someone was holding her under the water. Then she was released for a few moments before being plunged beneath the water for a second time. Then a third time. And a fourth time... When her mind finally refocussed, she found herself on the floor, leaning against the sink unit, shivering with more than just the cold water on her face.

Something was different. It was like a floodgate had been released and information was flooding into her mind. She was a killer. She could see flashbacks of attacking people in some woods at night. Zeta? That word featured a few times in the flashbacks. For the first time, she noticed that she had a tattoo on her left wrist – what had made her look for it? That boy, earlier – his voice . . . familiar. Survive. She had to survive at all costs – Rylee would expect it . . . who the fuck was Rylee!? The new memories hurt as her mind exploded and she felt like she was watching a movie in fast forward.

Then, mercifully, she passed out.

21:42

"Bourne!"

"Hello, Foreman – I though you'd have retired," Jason responded.

"You still running around with that bitch?"

"You mean me?" Nicky spat back as she joined her husband.

Brandon Foreman grinned at the sight of the two traitors – he would take them both down. If Bourne was seen as the best, then by taking Bourne down, he would then be the best. Foreman was good, but he also had an ace up his sleeve – at least he thought he did. There was a loud clattering as something fell from atop a large van parked about twenty yards away.

"The bastard had someone staked out with a suppressed assault rifle," Natalie Bourne called down from atop the same van.

"That is not playing fair," Jason chastised.

"I can still take you down," Foreman shot back.

"Not going to happen," Jason responded. "We have no time to spend on you – Tim?"

Foreman frowned as he turned, only to find a section of steel scaffolding just half a foot from his head – he saw nothing after that.

..._...

Timothy Bourne felt nothing as his mark slumped into the snow, a big red mark visible on the side of the bastard's face.

Nicky ran forward and she began to search the man's pockets. She came out with an encrypted radio and an earpiece which she placed close to her own ear, listening for a few moments.

"The local police have had reports of an alarm being triggered – a clinic, I think," she reported. "Earl is sending in two Blackbriar operatives – he is certain it's the girl. ETA three minutes."

"Where?" Jason demanded to know.

"Just around the corner," Nicky grinned.

Jason and his family ran as he made a brief phone call to Jenna Collins.

21:58

Tanya Swift awoke with a start.

The few hours of sleep had done wonders for her, both physically and mentally, however, the local anaesthetic had worn off and her thigh hurt like the buggery. Then her trained mind kicked into action – what had awoken her? She looked around and she found herself stretched out on the floor of the treatment room in the clinic. She was just about to clamber, painfully, to her feet when she heard movement and a voice called out.

"Lögreglan! Vertu þar sem þú ert!"

The second part was not fully understood, but the first word was 'police', in Icelandic, Tanya knew. She did not move; she just lay there as the two police officers stepped closer. Then she felt a hand on her left arm and just like a mouse touching the trigger of a mouse trap, she exploded into life. The policeman who had touched her was yanked downward; his head being taken off the sink unit. She felt herself simply reacting as she pulled herself to her feet, just as the first policeman fell. His partner was kicked backwards, against the steel-topped table and he fell to the ground. However, before Tanya could make for the doorway, a man stepped through – the man was grinning and Tanya knew that she would have to fight, despite the throbbing pain in her left thigh and her weariness. Despite all that, she suddenly found the energy to fight and she found the clarity of mind to understand her surroundings. Time appeared to stand still as a fist came towards her and she ducked, turned, kicked out with her right foot, her leg extending horizontally and taking the man in the face.

The reaction was instant as Tanya received a punch to her upper chest, sending her flying backwards into the policeman who was scrambling back to his feet over by the sink unit. The policeman cushioned Tanya's fall but the man was knocked senseless as his head struck the sink. Tanya rolled off to one side as her attacker advanced on her, then she reached behind her back and she pulled out a flick-knife from the waistband of her trousers where it had been secreted in a pocket. The blade deployed in an instant as Tanya regained her feet. Her attacker was all the more wary since he had seen his foe in action – especially as a blade was in play. However, as he moved to draw his own blade, there was a major flurry of activity as first three men flooded into the small clinic, putting a smile onto the face of Tanya's attacker as he recognised his colleagues. That initial flurry put Tanya on the back foot, knowing that she was majorly outnumbered, but then came a second group, consisting of three people – two of whom appeared to be non-adults. Tanya was amazed to see the two non-adults laying into two of the men while the remaining pair, including her original attacker were having the literal shit kicked out of them by the third member of the second group. A fourth shadow appeared, and Tanya reacted instantly as a hand touched her arm.

"Tanya, stop!" the voice said sharply, before the woman pulled Tanya around the fight and out into the clinic's waiting room. "I am Nicky – you are safe if you stay with us. Okay?"

Tanya knew that she had no choice – she felt weak from loss of blood and after a year on the run, she was exhausted.

22:08

There was a lot of shouting and banging coming from the small room at the back of the clinic.

Tanya was stunned to see a man, who seemed vaguely familiar, fighting two of her foes, and doing quite well. The strikes were hard, and the fighting was serious with no holds barred. Jason was in his element and he was very angry as he smashed a head against the doorframe, again and again, until the wooden doorframe was badly dented. By the look of the blood on said doorframe, the head was also badly dented. Indeed, when Jason finally released the head, the body it was attached to, fell to the ground. Jason then went to town on the other man whom he had been fighting. Beyond Jason, Tim and Natalie were also having the time of their lives as they each fought a man more than twice their size. Not that size was a problem as both skilled youngsters were able to fight using their agility above brute strength. Natalie downed her man very quickly with a few powerful Martial Arts strikes which took her foe by surprise. The men had been warned that they might be fighting highly trained children, but they had not taken the information seriously, believing themselves to be the ultimate warriors.

"Fucking CIA reject!" Natalie growled as she punched the man in the throat, putting him down permanently as his airway was crushed.

The girl ignored the man's thrashings as he suffocated and turned her attention to where Jason and Tim were still fighting. Her expert eyes could see that Tim, while younger, was still a force to be reckoned with. The boy moved fast, and he dodged the vast majority of the incoming blows but a few still connected and Natalie winced as she saw the expressions on Tim's face as he fought the pain even as he continued to fight his foe. As for Jason, he was inflicting immense pain on the man who was doing everything he could to ward off the almost continuous blows striking his body, not to mention the shattered bones and other bodily injuries which were sapping at his strength as each second of the brutal fight passed. For a very brief moment, as the last body fell to the floor of the clinic, there was silence – but only until police sirens began to close on the clinic.

"We need to go," Jason pointed out, somewhat unnecessarily.

"I remember you," Tanya said as she laid eyes on Tim. "Toulouse."

"Yes, Tanya, I was there, and I remember you Zetas," Tim confirmed. "We can talk when we're safe, 'kay?"

Tanya nodded as she was helped out of the clinic by Nicky.

22:22

They made it far enough away to slink into the darkness a few moments before several police vehicles rapidly converged on the area, skidding to a halt outside.

Though they were safe for the moment; they were still a long way from safety with about three miles of dangerous territory to cover with CIA goons and Icelandic police between them and the airport where their jet awaited them. Of more concern to Jason, Nicky, and Jenna was Tanya's condition. The girl was injured and beginning to struggle as they moved very slowly towards the port from where they hoped to steal a vehicle. Jason and Natalie ran off ahead, scouting for trouble all while seeking out a suitable vehicle to acquire. Nicky and Jenna did their best to keep Tanya moving, but the girl was fading fast, despite all her efforts to push herself well beyond her limits. It was almost thirty minutes later, by the time Jason returned with Natalie and the temperature had plunged to just below zero Celsius but there was a nine mile-per-hour wind which added a significant chill factor to the area. The shock factor of Tanya's injuries were being exacerbated by the cold, despite the expensive cold weather gear which she wore.

While the Land Rover Country four-wheel-drive was perfect for the snowy conditions, it was not known for providing an amazing heater. As Jason drove away from the port, Natalie and Jenna sat beside him in the front while Nicky and Tim sat in the back of the vehicle with Tanya between them, a purloined blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The pathetic excuse for a heather provided a feeble wisp of warmth which did little to bring the temperature above five Celsius. They drove within the posted speed limits so as not to attract any unwanted attention.

"Can't the heater turn up any further?" Tim asked for the tenth time.

"No, it can't!" Natalie responded for the tenth time, her irritation growing each time the boy asked.

Jason had no choice but to take a tortuous roundabout route to try and avoid any nasty reception committees. However, his care and attention only got them a bout a mile as he turned left onto Kringlumýrarbraut, heading south. They were picked up, almost immediately, by a black Jeep Cherokee which was being driven by...

"We've got another CIA reject behind us!" Natalie called out. "Closing fast!"

"I've got them," Jason responded calmly as he planted his foot to the floor and the ageing diesel engine dug deep for whatever torque was left in the fifteen-year-old engine and the vehicle surged ahead to increase their speed of advance from forty to fifty-two miles per hour.

"Can't we go any faster?" Tim queried.

"Can't you shut up!" Natalie retorted tartly.

"Time and a place, Nats!" Nicky pointed out as she drew a Glock 21 from the pocket of her windbreaker, and she checked that there was a .45-ACP round in the chamber.

As the Jeep easily caught up and came up alongside, Nicky lowered her window and she put half-a-dozen .45-calibre holes in the driver's door, sending the Jeep spinning off the road. At the next junction, Suðurlandsbraut, another Jeep Cherokee appeared from the left and smashed into the side of the Land Rover and bullets shattered a good deal of the Land Rover's glazing, sending glass flying across all those inside. Natalie turned in her centre seat beside Jason and she fired off a dozen nine-millimetre rounds from her Glock 19 pistol. More bullets struck the Land Rover, but the vehicle seemed to shrug off the strikes as it kept going. At Ártúnsbrekka, things started to go wrong as another Jeep Cherokee appeared and cut them off, just seconds after they had taken a right which would take them towards the airport. They dodged the vehicle, but not before several bullets shredded both tyres on the left side of the Land Rover which began to slither around on the tarmac.

After half a mile, the Land Rover became uncontrollable and Jason yelled out a warning as the four-tonne vehicle struck the curb and overturned.

23:04

Dwight Earl was smiling as he climbed out of a Jeep Cherokee.

Twenty yards away, the shattered remains of a Land Rover County lay on the tarmac, inverted, steam rising from the hot engine which, miraculously, was still running; exhaust fumes pumping out the pipe at the rear end. Arrayed around Earl, four armed men advanced with him up Ártúnsbrekka. More men advanced from the far end of the road, their Jeep blocking the road behind them. Earl was certain that there was no escape for any of the people in the overturned vehicle. He was about to take down Jason Bourne, Nicky Parsons, and more than one Predator – not to mention his traitorous subordinate. It was six v nine – bad odds for Bourne and his team, but Earl was not about to get carried away with his success; he knew full well that anything was possible when Bourne was involved, not to mention the other failed experiments who were arrayed all around him. The leader of his team of CIA mercenaries raised a fist and everyone stopped just a dozen yards from the Land Rover. No one had emerged and there was no sign of movement as the interior of the inverted vehicle was in darkness. Then, almost a full minute later, one of the back doors of the Land Rover was pushed open and Tanya hauled herself out of the Land Rover. Earl grinned as he saw the young girl emerge. He displayed no overt concern for the blood which trickled down the side of the girl's face. However, he glowered at the woman who followed the girl. His subordinate was also bloody, but she was leading the girl, plus another, ahead of her.

"Here you are, boss," she said.

"Bourne?" he demanded.

"Badly hurt, along with the Parson's woman and the boy," Jenna responded as men covered the two children with automatic weapons.

"So, you saw sense, in the end," Earl went on. "We shall see about your treachery when we get back to Langley, Miss Collins."

Earl then turned to one of his men.

"Put the Bourne's out of their misery," he ordered.

"No!" the older girl shouted as an incendiary grenade was tossed into the Land Rover.

With a loud bang and a whoompf, the vehicle interior exploded into flames which quickly engulfed the entire vehicle, inside and out as Earl grinned, knowing that he was bringing the Bourne issue to a very fiery end.

23:09

All attention was on the burning Land Rover – as intended.

Right on cue, Tanya stepped towards Earl, her expression full of malevolence. The girl ignored the two men with assault rifles, striding past them until she was just two feet away from Earl. The man appeared amused by the girl's brazen behaviour and he smiled.

"Something amusing you?" Tanya demanded angrily as her anger overtook her pain and she looked the man up and down. "Does my misery amuse you? Bastards like you made my life a living HELL! Bastards like you made the lives of hundreds of children, a living HELL!" Tanya took a second to calm down before she spoke again. "I am free, and I will remain free."

"Free?" Earl chuckled. "You will die this night. You are a freak of nature and the remnant of a failed program. You are a failure who does not need to remain breathing. Sandler, put this bitch out of her misery..."

Earl expected to see fear in the young girl, but instead, the girl smiled up at him.

"Do you want to live, you fucking arsehole?" Tanya asked pointedly as she pulled something out from under her jacket.

There were several sharp intakes of breath as Tanya nonchalantly held up a trio of high-explosive hand grenades in her left hand and the extracted pins in her right hand. Several feet shuffled backwards, away from a potentially painful death.

"Nobody moves!" Tanya bellowed as she slowly turned to keep an eye on the men.

"Easy there!" Earl said as he stared at the trio of spherical death.

Forty yards behind Earl and his men, a steel manhole cover shifted then lifted up. No one saw three people emerge into the late-night darkness. No one had even considered that there might be a threat of any kind within a hundred yards of where they stood enjoying the warmth from the impromptu car fire. With all attention on Tanya and her grenades, Jason, Nicky, and Tim moved closer under cover of the darkness, weapons raised. They spread out until they were in position to drop all eight men with negligible chances of the girls getting hurt. Two men got off return shots, but missed their targets, leaving just Dwight Earl as the sole survivor of the burst of gunfire. The man did not dare move as he found himself staring into the eyes of Jason Bourne and Nicky Parsons. He could see a boy standing with them, an assault rifle held in his young hands. The girl who had been standing with Jenna ran and swept up an assault rifle of her own and she checked out each corpse.

"Cunts are dead," she reported a minute later.

"What are you going to do?" Earl asked.

"Kill you," Tanya responded simply.

"You said I could live."

"I did, didn't I – okay."

"What?" Natalie exclaimed.

"Leave her," Tim warned. "She's a Zeta."

"So fucking what?" Natalie replied.

"If I was a betting man, I'd say Tanya was planning something nasty for Mr Earl. Let me explain, oh big sister of mine: Zeta's were trained to be cold and ruthless, and no way will she let that bastard off."

Tim was bang on.

"Take these – careful!" Tanya said as she handed the three grenades to Earl to hold in his gloved hands.

The man was not happy as he hugged the grenades, keeping their spoons in place so as not to trigger them.

"You guys ready to go?" Tanya asked.

"Yes," Jason replied as Nicky climbed into a jeep and she brought it closer.

"Okay," Tanya said as she turned back to the unfortunate CIA DDDI. "Here are the pins." With that, Tanya dropped the three pins onto the roadway, before she climbed into the Jeep, taking a window seat.

As everyone climbed aboard, Earl looked around for the fallen pins which were very difficult to see in the darkness . . . if he could just... The Jeep had moved off just a dozen yards before it stopped and Tanya leaned out of an open window, a pistol held in her hand at the end of an outstretched arm.

"Fucking chump!" she growled as she squeezed the trigger just once.

Earl was struck in the right thigh. The man fell off to one side, frantically juggling the grenades as a spoon pinged off to one side. There was a sharp bang and a bright flash in the darkness, closely followed by two more.

"Get me the hell out of here!" Tanya demanded.

Forty minutes later...

Aboard ALFA FOXTROT
Gulfstream G650ER

Jason was enjoying his new-found luxury.

"I could get used to this," he quipped, ignoring the scowl thrown in his direction by his wife.

Just a few feet aft of where Jason sat, Tanya Swift lay on a couch, wearing just her knickers and a T-shirt as Nicky went to work on her leg wound and Natalie went to work on the girl's other cuts and bruises. Tim was providing assistance as needed. In a seat, across from Jason, Jenna felt relieved to be out of Iceland, although she knew that she would have an awful lot of explaining to do. She had called DDCI Pamela Landy and explained everything. Landy had not been bothered about the loss of the DDDI, nor the agents – her only concern had been for the young girl currently being treated for her injuries.

"What are you doing?" Tanya asked Tim who was keeping his eyes averted from the almost naked girl. "You've seen me naked before, Timmy . . . I think."

"You've got boobs," Timmy pointed out, embarrassment evident in the boy's voice.

"I wouldn't go that far," Natalie grinned.

"I agree – they are small," Tanya confirmed.

"Okay, let's keep the hormones in check," Nicky chuckled as Amy Davenport came aft with plates of food.

"Oh, my God!" Tanya exclaimed as she laid eyes on the most amazing food she had seen in a long while. "That burger looks awesome!"

"My speciality – the normal passengers aboard are very partial to burgers, so I try to keep stocked up on fresh meat," Amy explained. "For some reason, Predators seem to prefer fresh meat."

Tanya did not respond as she tore into the burger like a savage wild animal who had been starved for weeks on end. Not to be outdone, her fellow animals were soon ripping into their own burgers – Natalie and Tim were also very hungry. Jason was a little more polite as he too chomped on a burger. As for Nicky, she was very pleased to have Jenna to talk too – someone normal who ate like a human-being for a start! The flight was relatively short – just under two hours due to a headwind – but it was long enough for Tanya to being feeling like she was human and no longer an animal being chased across Europe. She also felt safe for the very first time in many months. Despite her happiness at being rescued from her ongoing life of hell, her thoughts turned to the faces which had haunted her sleep and waking hours for as long as she could remember. As the hours went by, her memories were returning, and the faces were becoming clearer.

"Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"I keep seeing faces, but I have no idea who they are – I just know that they are important to me."

Tim grinned.

"Is one of the girls blonde-haired with an assured look like she should be in charge?"

"Yes," Tanya admitted.

"That would be Rylee," Tim said.

"There's a boy..."

"Simon."

"A scrappy little girl?"

Tim laughed at the description.

"Harper."

"A pair of Chinese girls..."

"Lin and Xiāngxìn."

"There are other faces – indistinct – but then one which..."

Tanya found herself crying. Natalie was surprised to see Tim's grin vanish to be replaced by an expression of extreme sadness mixed with intense anger.

"I feel so sad," Tanya said as she cried. "I don't know why I'm crying, but that face; she means so much to me."

"Turner," Tim said quietly.

Monday, March 6th

Edinburgh, Scotland

02:00

"What is going to happen to me?" Tanya asked as she stepped off the plane.

"You are going to be looked after by a group of people whom I trust," Jason replied. "That man over there, he is called Jasper and he will take you somewhere safe where you can wash and rest, okay?"

"Thank you, Jason. Thank you, Jenna. Thanks to all of you."

"It's our pleasure," Nicky said.

"Stay safe," Tim said.

"For once the brat's making sense," Natalie admitted.

Tanya gave everyone a hug before she turned away with tears in her eyes and trepidation in her heart.

11:00

"Your name is Tanya Swift?"

"Yes, sir."

"You are eleven-years-old?"

"Yes, sir."

"You spent a little over two years as a Predator?"

"Yes, sir."

"What phase were you?"

"I was Phase 2."

"What intake were you?"

"Seventh, I think."

The man seated on a sofa across from Tanya smiled as he continued the interrogation. Tanya was not unduly concerned, and she had expected the interrogation. It was cold outside, but she was toasty warm in the Drawing Room as she sat on a super-soft sofa. Her interrogator had been very nice and pleasant to her, as had everyone she had met since they had landed earlier that morning. Tanya had slept for a few hours before waking up to a hot shower and a pile of surprisingly well-fitting new clothes. After an amazing cooked breakfast, the interrogation had begun. The man was called Jasper Collins and he worked for the British Government. While the interrogation was acceptable, Tanya was unhappy about being involved with anyone from the Government – even her own – and therefore, she did not trust the man, although he was very nice towards her. Something which did unnerve her, just a little, was that the man had her Urban Predator file.

"Your weapons skills are exceptional, Tanya, as are your skills in the Martial Arts. You are also skilled in explosives, subversion, close quarters combat, and computing..."

Jasper paused as there came the sound of raised voices coming from beyond the stout wooden door which led into the room were Tanya was sitting.

"I am not going to wait; I want to see her, NOW!"

Tanya frowned – that voice...

"You recognise that overly loud obnoxious voice?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, I do," Tanya replied, her expression changing to one of sadness. "But I don't know her name."

"She's..."

"No!" Tanya ordered. "Just let her in . . . I need to figure this out for myself."

Jasper opened the door and he said a few words before Tanya saw a young girl enter the room. The girl was grinning, and she looked very happy with herself. That meant something...

"I need to see your right thigh," Tanya stated.

The young girl laughed as she unnotched her belt and released the button on her jeans. Rolling her eyes, the girl pushed her jeans down to her knees. Tanya's eyes found the small scar on the lower right thigh. She reached out to touch the discoloured skin.

"That's where Rylee shot you," Tanya said quietly before she looked up.

Tanya then reached for the girl's left arm and she turned it over. Tanya held out her own left arm and she placed the underside of her left wrist alongside the girl's. The same tattoo was visible on each wrist.

"We're the same," Tanya stated. "We're Zetas, you and me . . . isn't that right, Harper?"

Harper grinned as she pulled up her jeans, fastening them and her belt. Then the two friends hugged. Keira, standing over by the door, could see tears on Harper's cheeks. Tanya was also crying. For Keira, it was amazing seeing each and every child find freedom after so much hardship. Even more, finding a child who had spent time with her little sister during such a trying part of her life was something which Keira had craved. She so wanted to find out more about what her little sister had endured during those missing years. She so wanted to know how her little sister had survived. Keira watched as the two youngsters stopped hugging and they both wiped their faces. Then Tanya studied Harper for a few moments before she suddenly yanked up the nine-year-old's T-shirt.

"You're looking a little well-padded, Harper," Tanya commented. "Especially around the tummy."

Keira laughed nastily, ignoring Harper's hurt expression.

"I've been on a special diet," Harper explained. "I have to eat a lot of protein and other stuff to help my body heal and replace the weight I lost when I was taken and tortured."

"You what!"

"I was taken and tortured – back end of last year."

Tanya proceeded to lift Harper's T-shirt up and her eyes caught the scars on the younger girl's stomach and chest.

"They sliced me on my neck, chest, stomach, thighs, arms, and legs," Harper said, somewhat stiffly.

"Are those...?"

"Cigarette burns – fourteen of them. They stabbed my in my right foot. They broke my left wrist and all my fingers – twice. Three of my fingernails were ripped out. They plunged my left arm into hot water then rubbed it in salt – I don't remember much of that."

"That sucks!" Tanya announced as she dropped Harper's T-shirt back into place.

"Tell me about it!" Harper sighed. "But it's the past, and I'm better now."

"The person who..."

"Dead."

"Good."

Harper could see that Tanya meant it. However, she could also see confusion in Tanya's eyes. Harper knew her friend very well and she knew that Tanya was lost. Harper guided her friend to the sofa and sat her down.

"Spit it out, Tanya!" Harper ordered the older girl.

"What's going to happen to me?"

Harper looked up at Keira who sat down beside Tanya.

"Hello, Tanya. I'm Keira, and for my sins, Harper is my little sister. Ever since Harper came home, along with several other Predators, we have been working hard to figure out how to help you all integrate back into society, and where necessary, provide rehabilitation."

"Rehabilitation?" Tanya queried.

"Some Predators went bad," Harper said without further explanation.

"It has not been easy for any of your colleagues to reintegrate. We have also learnt – the hard way . . . as usual . . . that you Predators have needs. We discovered quite early on that none of you Predators can stand up on your own two feet for more than a few hours without causing wilful destruction of property or grievous bodily harm to each other, not to mention the appallingly crude language and the inability to behave like a human being rather than a feral animal."

Tanya looked over at Harper, her eyebrows raised. Both girls than burst out laughing.

"A bunch of fucking animals!" Keira growled as she ignored the two girls.

Jasper chuckled as he gathered up his papers.

..._...

Once the two girls had calmed down and had a drink of orange squash, they both sat down to continue the debriefing.

"No one is promising that it will be easy for you, Tanya," Jasper said. "But what is important, is that you have your life back. You are in charge. You make all decisions pertinent to your life, to your body, to you. While you are still a child – I know you don't like that, but fact is, young lady, you are a child – adults will make decisions which affect your personal safety. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Tanya responded.

"We will find you a home. We will find you a family. You are still too young to live on your own..."

"But..."

"No buts, Tanya!" Jasper said sharply. "Life has rules and you will follow them. You will go to school. You will behave correctly. You will not break the law. You will not make use of your skills under any circumstances – understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"I know what you're thinkin', Tanya," Harper said. "We all hate being told what to do, but you know, I like it; I like being a child again. I get into trouble every few weeks..."

Keira coughed pointedly.

"I get into trouble every few days..."

Keira coughed again.

"Ah, come on!" Harper exclaimed.

Tanya giggled.

"Okay, I find myself in the doghouse more than I would like, but that's what being a child is all about. Enjoy it, Tanya, while you can."

"Fuck me!" Tanya exclaimed. "I never thought I would ever hear something useful coming out of your fucking gob, Harper!"

"She does have her moments," Keira commented dryly.

"Thank you, all of you, for making me feel welcome. Seeing Harper and listening to her has set my mind at rest – I trust her. I just want to have a normal life and I want to be able to live without being hunted or being made to kill."

"You follow instructions from people like Jasper and my sister, then you will be safe," Harper said seriously. "I promise."

"What happens to me next?" Tanya asked.

"You'll stay here for a few days while we figure out what to do with you," Jasper said simply.

"Let's go for a walk," Harper suggested.

..._...

Both girls wrapped up warmly as it was very cold out, that morning - but quite a bit warmer than Reykjavik.

For the first ten minutes, or so, the two girls simply walked around the grassy areas, side by side, not talking. Tanya was enjoying the fresh air and the knowledge that she was safe – finally. Harper gave her friend the space which she needed, not saying a word. Finally, Tanya spoke.

"Where are we?" she asked as she craned her neck to watch an Easyjet Airbus A319 taking off from the nearby airport.

"We're just a mile south of Edinburgh Airport," Harper replied. The M8 motorway is just beyond those trees to the northeast, and there's a weird place where dick-fucks pay shit-loads of money to whack a little white ball around – I think they call the game golf."

"Waste of time, if you ask me," Tanya agreed before she asked, somewhat tentatively. "How many of us are there?"

"I was number six – you make fifty-three."

"Wow!" Tanya replied, visibly startled by the high number.

"Many are dead – over a hundred . . . that we know of," Harper said darkly. "We know – hope, actually – that there are more out there waiting to be rescued. There are quite a few living within a dozen miles of us, right now – you'll probably meet them in due course," Harper offered somewhat cryptically. "The vast majority are in America."

"Chicago?" Tanya ventured.

"What makes you say that?" Harper replied, her face devoid of expression.

"I figured that some might choose to go there, to kill her – seeing as that is where she is," Tanya replied.

Harper groaned.

"You've got a lot of catching up to do, my friend."

Tanya frowned at the somewhat loaded comment.