Love Beyond Time Part 1

The Tracers were just coming through the door when Meghan stepped into the time window and into the year 2000. Her heart beating fast she ran through the maze of graves that held the bodies of the citizens of New Orleans. A light flashed and she looked over her shoulder. A couple of Tracers had just stepped out of the time window. She tripped on a stone and fell, scraping her hands and knees. Pushing herself up she ran behind a mausoleum and leaned against its walls.

Breathing hard, she pushed a button on her wristband and a shield of the same configuration as the mausoleum appeared. She held her breath as the first Tracer walked passed her. He didn’t notice that the mausoleum was longer than the others in the cemetery. Meghan slowly let out her breath as she waited for the other Tracer to pass. As he went by her she saw the dart gun in his hand. Putting a hand to her mouth to stifle her gasp she watched until the two Tracers were out of sight.

She waited another few minutes before pressing the button on her wristband and removing the shield. Meghan sidle her way to one side of the mausoleum and peeked around the corner. The Tracers weren’t there. She sighed in relief and looked at her hands. They were already healing. She brushed off the tiny stones from her hands and knees and keeping her eyes and senses alert she started walking following the faint music coming from the Quarter.

~*~*~

Logan was tired and frustrated, everything seemed to be going wrong and he couldn’t do a thing to stop it happening. Flames seemed to dance around his eyes and lick through his head, and the intensity of the pain distracted him from his job.

He weaved his way through the crowds, pushed his way in between a very large man in very tight jeans and an even larger woman in a shimmering gold dress. The air about him was alive, jumping to the sounds of party crackers and various musical tunes. But it was also permeated with danger, almost bubbling to boiling point. It was his job to hunt it out and destroy it at all costs.

If he had to, he knew that he would risk his life if it meant easing some kind of peace into the atmosphere. He knew he would give anything for peace. There was no sense of peace in the air that night, no matter how hard he tried, and he could not shake the tension building in his shoulders despite the party atmosphere around him.

He had received a call from an anonymous source claiming the murder of a friend. The source had revealed that the murderer had hunted them down before attacking, and while he had escaped the other had not been so lucky. Logan worked on gut instinct and his gut instinct told him to listen. And so here he was walking the streets of New Orleans in the hope of catching this villain before things moved too far.

On a hunch he turned off the main street and found himself walking down a small alleyway, the noise drifted slightly, although it was just as lively, but the heat vanished completely and things became cold. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his long black coat as he slowly moved forward.

He heard a noise and knew it was a bad idea, but he continued on anyway, moving further and further from the crowds and deeper into the dark. A figure stepped out behind him, and he sensed it as he whirled around, his coat tales flying about him as he adopted a defensive stance. The stranger’s face was hidden in shadow, but Logan was sensitive enough to recognize power and danger when he was faced with it. This man was somebody and he was about to attack.

"No weapons." the stranger said, disregarding his gun. Logan did the same, safe in the knowledge that he kept a knife tucked into a small scabbard around his ankle. They flew into action, arms striking out at each other, the assailant kicked out and Logan fell backwards, seconds later he was back on his feet and charging forward. He dodged from side to side as punches were thrown, letting the attacker strike before returning the blow.

The pair were backed up against the wall, Logan had the advantage, with his forearm pressed against the man’s throat and then he felt the blade slip between his ribcage. The fire in his head exploded and he stumbled backwards. He pressed his hand against the wounds and encountered the sticky substance, he’d been in this situation too many times and yet this was different. This time he knew it was fatal. He looked up at this man who had stabbed him and recognized the evil in his eyes. He was lost as firecrackers sounded around him.

Logan didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious but when he opened his eyes an angel floated above him. He tried to smile but because of the pain all he could manage to do was grimace. He tried to speak but the angel put a finger on his mouth and shook her head.

Meghan knelt beside the big man and tore a piece of cloth from the hem of her long shirt. She pressed it against the man’s wound to staunch the blood. When she’d run into the alley and stumbled over him, at first she thought he was a drunk but then she noticed the sweat on his face and he was shivering. Sensing there wasn’t much time left for the big man, she leaned down and spoke. “Can you move? We must get you to a hospital!”

Logan shook his head, “No. No hospital. Take me home,” he said weakly. Meghan looked into the man’s deep blue eyes for a moment then nodded at his request. She riffled his pockets and took out his wallet. She looked at the man’s driver’s license. His name was Logan Dupré. He was 6’’2, blue eyes and black hair. He lived not far from here, but she new she couldn’t drag him.

Stepping out of the alley, Meghan looked up and down street to make sure there were no Tracers that could impede her saving this man. They weren’t there. “GOOD,” she thought. She looked across the street and spotted a taxi. She put her fingers to her mouth and whistled loud to be heard above the lively music coming from the bar across from the alley.

The taxi driver lifted his head and saw Meghan standing there. She bade him to come and went back to the man. Meghan wrapped the man’s long coat around him to hide the wound then moved and squatted near his head. The angel but her hands under his armpits and started dragging him. The pain grew worst and Logan lost consciousness again.

The man who lay in the bed before her was dying. It was very clear that he had lost far too much blood and was growing weaker with each breath that he took. This was the man that she had come for, and now that she had the dart she could go no further without him. There was only one thing that she could do, and while it was unthinkable she knew it had to be done. She needed him.

She reached into the pocket concealed in the sleeve of her T-shirt and withdrew a tiny-sheathed dagger. Slowly she removed the protective cover, revealing the translucent weapon. The light caught inside it as she brought it to her palm and swiftly sliced through the skin, it was so smooth that she barely felt the pain. She then repeated the action on his palm. He flinched in his unconscious state but his eyes didn’t open, not even for the slightest moment. Before she had time to think about her actions she brought their palms together, squeezing as tight as she could until she had no more strength and her arm weakened, letting go of his hand.

She had successfully transfused her blood into his, returning his life to him. This man was the only person who could save her people and she couldn’t give that up even if it meant breaking the rule her people had lived by for centuries. A rule that stated clearly that an immortal could not give life to a mortal through the merging of blood. The fact that she broke it now merely proved the dire state her people found themselves in.

Meghan sat for an age at his side, the wound on her hand had long since healed and disappeared, and she was merely waiting for the completion of his regeneration. As she sat she studied him and the environment that he chose to live in. She brushed a hand through his hair pushing it away form his face, he had wonderful hair and for a second she allowed herself to think of nothing but him.

His skin was soft and smooth and she couldn’t help but trail the back of her fingers over his cheek until she felt the stubble that had been allowed to grow along his jaw. This man was something else, he was from a time different from hers and he exceeded all of her expectations.

He had risked his life because he believed so strongly in something that he would listen to a stranger to get it. While he knew nothing of her time or her cause he had already risked his life for them, for it was a Time Healer that had been murdered and a Tracer that had hunted him down. She had given her blood to him because this man was too strong for her to let die. She played a strand of his hair between her fingertips, amazed by its luxuriously dark length, when his eyes opened. She saw the confusion and the recognition in his eyes when his fractured whisper came, "Angel?"

“Angel?” he whispered. His voice was so weak as was his body but he felt so relaxed. Waves of pleasure were shooting through his body. He felt the gentle touch of a caress through his hair.

Where was he, who was this beautiful woman, looking down at him with passion in her eyes? He reached his hand up behind her neck and brought her lips to his. He kissed her softly, tasting her warmth. She resisted at first then matched the rhythm to his. Her lips were like pure silk; her breath was warm and enticing. Hmmm I surely must be in heaven, with this Angel. He fell gently back on the pillow and dreamt of sweet kisses and glorious green eyes.

Meghan O’Leary was stunned. She’d never before felt such emotion with just one kiss. She watched as he slept and thought how wonderful it would be to be kissed again. Her body was alive with emotions she never knew she had. Time passed slowly as she waited for him to awaken. The day flashed before her and wondered what she would do next. Where did the Tracers go? Will they know we are here and come for us? But more than anything she thought of this man and the desire to kiss him again.

The sounds of the outside world were filtering through the room. New Orleans is considered the town that never sleeps. Logan woke refreshed, feeling much alive. The room was bright with the morning sun as he swung his feet to the floor. He froze and noticed the woman asleep in the chair next to his bed. Thoughts raced through his head. He was running like a wolf through dark alleys feeling hot and cold, feeling a searing pain go through his body, a kiss so gentle and green pools of passion.

Love Beyond Time Part 2

Confused, he gazed at the young woman. She was very beautiful. Her hair was long and wavy. It framed her heart-shaped face. He reached out a hand and let his fingers touch it. It was so soft. And the color wasn’t red it was auburn. His mother had had auburn hair. He wondered what color her eyes would be when she opened them then as an image of her flashed across his mind he knew they would be green.

More images came to him as he remembered her from the alley. He quickly looked down at his side and gasped in surprise. The cut the assailant had given him was nearly healed! The wound had closed. There was only a thin red line now. How could this be? He frowned and looked over at the woman again. Had she cured him?

He remembered feeling his life ebbing away and then seeing her above him. Then the pain had been too much and he’d given in to the darkness. Logan raised his eyes and looked around. He was in his room above the tavern. How had he gotten here? He stood and walked across the room to the window. He peered out as he stretched. He felt strong and alert. His senses seemed more heightened then before. Logan heard a sound and turned.

“Good morning,” she said. “You’re feeling better I see. I’m glad the procedure worked. I was afraid it wouldn’t.”

Her voice was the first thing that struck him when she spoke. It was soft and musical. A lilting accent that struck a familiar cord but which he couldn’t place. And that worried him. In his line of work he had learned to place people immediately, to size them up and file it all away, yet this woman with her red gold hair and her witching eyes eluded him.

Procedure? It struck him then as the events of the night before crashed down on him. He drew in a sharp breath with remembered pain and Meghan jumped up in concern.

"No! Wait." And he held up a hand to her as he tried to gain his bearings. "Why am I not dead? I should be dead. I was in an alleyway for heaven’s sake with a knife in me. I KNOW I died. What happened? Where am I? " His voice rose sharply. He stared intently at the woman who was gazing back at him calmly, as though unaffected by his tirade. "I remember you. I thought you came to me in a dream - you know, angel of mercy, that kind of thing. So, what am I doing here now, what "procedure" are you talking about, and what - " lifting up his hand to show the newly formed scar, " - is this?"

Meghan really dreaded this; she’d spent hours last evening trying to think what was best to tell him. She started to explain and was distracted with his eyes. They were the deepest dark blue she had ever seen. They reminded her once many years back when she was on flight duty at the Tempest Space Center. She remembered like it was yesterday, walking down the long corridor until she reached the massive doorway. She hesitated not knowing what she would find behind the door. Why was the commander so eager for her to come here? She was tired of learning the ways of the Time Healers.

She stepped back ready to run, but her heart knew she had to go on, he said it was the final test. Her people needed her. She pushed the control panel on the wall and listened as the doors swooshed open.

Never before had she seen color so vivid in all her life. Before her was a tranquil lake the bluest she’d ever seen! She walked on, heard the door close and knew if she turned around it would be gone. Her feet moved on their own until she reached the edge of the water. She looked down and could see forever. She gazed around at this peaceful setting and knew at once; this was what the commander wanted her to learn. Peacefulness. Serenity.

She sat down on the plush green grass and felt it’s softness and gazed out onto the beautiful lake. She felt the breeze touch her skin, closed her eyes and prayed to the Keeper of the stars. ‘Give me strength I pray, help me on this journey I am to take. Let me follow in your guidance that I will bring a new beginning to our universe. My heart is heavy and I fear that I need your help more than ever to watch over my people and me that together we can build a new existence. Much later as her body felt healed she walked back the way she had came. When the doors opened her commander was standing there with a smile and open arms. She felt herself leaning up against his old body, knowing that it will be some time before she would feel this kind of placidity.

The sound of banging brought her back into focus. His eyes turned to the door and he looked at her with surprise. “Who is it?” he bellowed.

“It’s me Johnny let me in!” Logan went to the door and opened it wide.

“Man some night you had last night, who was that pretty girl that helped your sorry butt to the house? Man she’s a looker! You must have been off your rocker to get that drunk with a girl like that. I bet you don’t remember a thing do you?”

Johnny reached in Logan’s refrigerator grabbing a beer and as he turned around that’s when he notices her standing by the bed. “Oh man I’m sorry I thought, Um... well... I guess I should be leaving. Thanks for the beer Logan we’ll talk later.”

The door quietly shut and Logan had never moved. His eyes looked at this woman and he said, "How do you know Big John? Wait! First tell me who you are, and why are you here?”

“My name is Meghan O’Leary, Commander of The Time Healers. I met Big John as you call him last night. He helped me get you in his cab and up to your apartment. And to your question earlier, you were dying until I healed you."

“What? Dying? If I were dying I wouldn’t be standing here with an almost healed wound,” he said as he pointed to his side.

Meghan didn’t know what to say, and for a split second she thought about not answering him and running to get as far away from him as she possibly could. This man with the amazing eyes and the soft hair scared her more than any Tracer ever had. What was worse was that she knew it wasn’t him it was the way he made her feel.

He stood before her now, expecting, waiting and while she knew he needed her to speak to make everything better she also knew that she could never do that. She understood that whatever she told him wouldn’t make things easy, it would throw his world upside down to know that he would never grow old, that he had been forced to become a part of a world that was at war. That he had been forced into her world.

"Last night you were stabbed. The wound was fatal. I found you on the brink of death in an alleyway and, as I said, Big John helped me bring you here. There was no other way to save you so I made you immortal, like me." She knew as soon as she’d said it that she couldn’t backtrack now.

"Immortal? Yeah right! What is this? Some kind of joke? You made me immortal - what does that mean? Who the heck are you lady?"

"I told you my name…"

"It’s not your name that bothers me, I want to know what you’re doing here and I want to know why I’m not in morgue right now, give me an answer and then we’ll take things from there." He crossed his arms over his bare chest and the movement brought her focus from his face to his tanned and muscular torso. She took in a deep breath and forced herself to look back up.

"Alright, I’ll explain,” she sighed. “I am a Time Healer. My people and I go back in time to help those who become like us cope with their immortality.”

“Time Healers? Go back in time? Are you telling me that you’re from the future?” he asked incredulously.

Meghan nodded, ‘yes.’ “I’m from the year 3256. My brethren are but one faction of the New Interstellar Alliance. Rogue groups in NIA that call themselves Tracers are intent on obliterating my people. Yesterday I escaped the Tracers sent to kill me through a time window and entered your time.”

“Time window, your time, my time…this is impossible. There’s no such thing as time travel! And Immortality! No one can be immortal,” he said as he paced around the room. Logan was confused, he knew he should be dead and this woman, if she was to be believed, had saved him. He didn’t know what to say or how take this woman. He decided to go along with her story, not quite believing it but not knowing what else to say.

"We are a small tribe. The Tracers believed that our immortality is an abomination, that we are impure. They have developed a serum that kills immortals.”

"So why make me immortal?” he asked.

“I made you one of us because I couldn’t let you die," Meghan explained.

“So what you’re saying is that I…that you…How?”

“The procedure is very simple. I mix my blood with yours. My immortal blood regenerates within yours and becomes a part of you. You live when you would have died."

Suddenly Meghan’s face paled and she closed her eyes. Logan thought she was going to faint so he rushed over and pulled her into his arms. Pain knifed though Meghan’s head and she grimaced. The Tracers were nearby she could sense them. She opened her mind and heard their distinct footsteps. The heavy chained boots marching in unison. ‘How had they found her?’ she wondered. ‘She had been so careful.’ They were no longer safe here. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, “They’re coming, and we have to go.”

“Who’s coming?” he asked.

“The Tracers. They’re nearby. Open your mind and you will sense them,” she replied.

Logan complied, closed his eyes and opened his mind. He felt a twinge of pain in his head and was suddenly bombarded with sounds from outside his room. He heard the vendors hawking their wares on the street below so clearly he was amazed. Every little sound drifted into his mind. Then he heard sounds that shouldn’t be part of his beloved New Orleans. Heavy chained boots walking in unison. They were marching and the sound was getting louder taking over all the other sounds from below.

“Heavy chained boots, marching?” he asked as he opened his eyes and looked down at her.

“Yes that’s them,” she said as she step out of his embrace and grabbed his shirt and long coat from the chair and threw it at him. Logan automatically caught them and put them on. He was still stunned that he felt no pain when he knew he should have.

"We have to hurry. Is there a back way out of here?" Meghan asked.

“We can go out the tavern’s back door,” he replied as he retrieved his wallet and gun from the bedside table then pulled on his boots.

They went to the door and Logan pushed her behind him as he opened it and peeked into the hallway. Meghan followed Logan as he led the way down the tavern’s back stairs to the back door. They stepped outside into an alley. Logan pulled out his keys and walked over to his Jeep Cherokee.

They got in and peeled away just has the Tracers stepped out the tavern’s back door. Logan kept his eye on his rearview mirror as he drove down Madison Street. He knew New Orleans like the back of his hand.

He looked over at the woman seated next to him and wondered if he should believe her story. She had been right about someone coming, he’d seen them himself when he’d looked into his rearview mirror. They’d been dressed in some kind of suit that looked like it had been painted on them. They had short hair like he use to have in his army days. They’d even walked kind of like the army. He hadn’t seen their eyes because they were wearing dark glasses.

He cleared his throat and she looked at him. “Who were those guys back there?” he asked.

“They were Tracers,” replied Meghan.

“What are Tracers?” asked Logan.

“Tracers are a rogue group in the NIA, the New Interstellar Alliance. They hunt down immortals because they believe we are an abomination that we are impure and are contaminating society on all the worlds that are part of the NIA. They have managed to create a serum deadly to immortals. Now they’re after me and because I mixed my blood with yours to save your life they are now after you as well,” she explained.

“After me!” exclaimed Logan. “I still don’t believe this cockamamie story about immortals. If there were immortals walking around, wouldn’t everyone know about it?”

“Logan you are a spook, a spy. You’re part of a secret covert organization called Mercury. You answer only to two people, Jake Gaspard and your President. Your missions, when they send you, are to save key people who have been kidnapped, or are threatened by terrorist factions. I could name a lot more if you’d like? You are also an expert researcher in the field of antidotes,” she said with a smug expression.

Logan was stunned. How did she know all these things about him? He slammed on the brakes and pulled out of the traffic and into a mall parking lot. He took off his seatbelt and got out of the Jeep. Logan went over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door.

“Get out!” he said, his voice low and controlled.

Meghan slowly got out of the car. She stood relaxed but ready to defend herself if he became violent.

Logan paced up and down in front of her. He tried to control his mounting panic. How did she know these things about him? How could she know about Mercury, and Jake, his commander?

Logan stopped in front of her. “Ok lady! How do you know so much about me? What do you want?” he asked.

"I’ve known about you for centuries Logan. Your life is all right here on this data crystal,” she said as she removed a crystal the size of a medium sized button. “I was too late to stop the assassin the Tracers sent to kill you and you were mortally wounded. The knife he used was dipped in a poisonous chemical called Waxen. If I hadn’t mixed my blood with yours you would be dead right now.”

“Why do these supposed Tracers want me dead?” he asked.

“Because of your field of research. They are afraid you’ll find the antidote to their serum and stop them from destroying immortals, she replied. “Please help me.”

“Why should I help you? Look what you’ve done to me!” exclaimed Logan.

“Because now you have an incentive. You are now immortal, like me,” said Meghan.

All of a sudden Meghan grew taunt and she twisted her head about scanning the parking lot. She sensed danger. An image of a man with a gun exploded in her mind. She looked over at Logan and knew by the expression on his face that he had seen the image as well and sensed the danger.

"Get down!" she shouted as she grabbed his arm and pulled him to the ground. A bullet flew past just where Logan had been standing.

Logan pulled out his gun from the small of his back and leaned against the Jeep’s passenger side. He sidled to the front of the car and poked his head around it to see who the shooter was. Meghan pulled Logan back just in time as she sensed another bullet coming and watched it go through the window of the blue Pontiac in front of her.

“Friend of yours?” she asked Logan.

“Could be,” he replied, “it could also be a friend yours. A Tracer maybe?”

Meghan shook her head, “No, the danger I sense is directed at you not me. I’m sure with the work you do you have many enemies who’d want you dead.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” sighed Logan. He took another peek and saw a heavyset bald man.

“Clarence is that you?” shouted Logan. “I thought I told you to get of town or I’d feed you to the gators!”

“Ya cain’t give me to no gators if yer dead Dupree,” Clarence shouted back.

"And who's going to shoot me? You Clarence? You can't even hit the broadside of a barn!" replied Logan.

“Why ya lily livered Frenchy! Ya cain't talk to me like dat! I'm gonna plug ya full a holes,” said Clarence as he rushed from cover and ran for the Jeep.

“I’ve had enough of this,” said Meghan. “We don’t have time for this. Keep him occupied and I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” asked Logan as he turned his head to look at her. She was already gone.

Meghan sidled to the back of the Jeep and took out her stunner from the pouch under her shirt. The stunner looked very much like a pencil except it was a long slim crystal with three different colored buttons. The blue button froze a person in mid-stride. The yellow button rendered a person unconscious and the red button vaporized him.

She flattened herself on the ground and peeked out from behind the back tire. She saw the man, Clarence, running toward the Jeep and pointed the stunner at his legs. Meghan pressed the blue button and Clarence froze, like a statue.

Love Beyond Time Part 3

Julie Lawrence smacked her desk in frustration. Before her lay three files all related by one name, Logan Dupré. File one contained a highly placed missing persons case, leaked to her by people in the National Security Agency’s classified persons department. The second crime scene was in an alley that contained enough of Logan Dupré’s blood to have guaranteed his death. Thirdly and most disturbing, the seemingly insane ramblings of a wanted felon, Clarence Sampson, who claimed to have been attacked by a healthy Dupré and an unknown woman a day after the blood in the alley was discovered. How did Dupré, their best covert ops man, manage to be named in three reports in twenty-four hours? Julie was angry Mercury couldn’t be discovered now! Dupré’s incompetence had involved the Police, the F.B.I. and angered Mercury’s benefactors. Resigned she closed the files and pressed the intercom button on her desk.

“Leon, fuel the jet. I’m going to New Orleans.”

~*~*~

“What the hell did you shoot Clarence with?” yelled Logan as they drove out of the city.

“I used my stunner,” replied Meghan. She took out the long slim crystal to show him. “Don’t worry, he’s not dead. I only froze him for a couple of minutes to give us time to escape.”

Logan took the crystal and as he drove he examined it.

“I assume you pressed one of these buttons to freeze him?” he asked her.

“Uh huh,” Meghan nodded. “The blue one.”

“What does the yellow button do?” he asked.

“It knocks a person unconscious.”

“And the red one.”

“I try to avoid pressing that one,” she said solemnly. “It vaporizes the person.”

“Vaporizes? What does that mean?” asked Logan.

“It means that the beam from the red button kills the person by literally making him disappear, he burns from the inside out and there’s nothing left,” she explained.

“There’s no way I’m giving this back to you" Logan tucked the crystal into his pocket; his eyes coolly dared Meghan to fight him on the issue. She let the moment pass.

"Where are we going Logan? You should probably eat, the procedure tends to make people hungry."

"I’ve been hungry in the past, it doesn’t bother me." His tone low and controlled Logan stared at the road ahead.

"I know you’re angry..."

"Angry doesn’t even come close lady! What did you think you were doing forcing this on me! I have responsibilities, what you’ve done puts people’s lives at risk!"

"You know as well as I do that Mercury has people who can take over your job, they may not be as good but they can do it."

"Logan I need you," Megan paused and looked at Logan, making sure they locked eyes, "and like it or not now you need me."

~*~*~

At 12:35am a Mercury jet was given clearance to land at a little known airstrip outside New Orleans. Forty-five minutes later Julie Lawrence entered NOPD headquarters. Fake ID and skilled flirting gained her access to the staff area, a great memory of the floor plan gained her access to Detective Ryan Harrison’s office.

Quickly she fiddled the locks on the filing cabinet and desk drawers, less than twenty seconds. Julie allowed herself a smug grin; it was delicious to be that good at being bad! Methodically she scanned the files, which, like his office were oddly tidy. It would seem that Detective Harrison was very, very neat. The man must be doggedly dedicated to his job or have far too much time on his hands. Julie was of the belief it was the latter.

The Dupré crime scene was in the front of the active files drawer. Using her hand-held scanner she copied what her files had lacked, unfortunately it wasn’t much. As she turned to leave Julie remembered something about detectives, the stuff in their files wasn’t always everything they knew. Files mostly contained facts and evidence, good detectives worked on gut. Julie looked at the clock 2:12am, far too early for desktop detectives, later today however she would meet with the good Detective.

~*~*~

Detective Ryan Harrison hated call-outs, and at night they were NEVER pretty. As he was entering NOPD headquarters five hours earlier than his usual start time, he bumped the shoulder of a woman leaving the building.

She turned and briefly caught his eye but a soft beeping began in her pocket. Harrison was amazed as she pulled out the smallest cellular phone he’d ever seen; it was the size of a matchbook before it popped open.

Watching her walk away he gave her an amazed once over. This woman with long dark hair pulled tightly back, clothing that caused her to blend with the night and hard eyes that were just as dark, moved like a panther. If he hadn’t bumped her he probably wouldn’t have even seen her. As the door closed he heard the faintest strains of her voice.

“Leon, I’ll need that hotel booking after all. Oh, and Leon, send me everything that exists on a Detective Ryan Harrison.”

Bursting out through the doors Ryan searched the darkness but he knew it was futile she was gone.

~*~*~

Logan pulled into a truck stop just off the highway. Before they could get out of the Jeep a ringing sounded. Meghan twisted around searching for the sound.

“Open the glove compartment and pass me the cellular phone,” said Logan.

Meghan opened and riffled inside the glove compartment. She searched for the cell phone but couldn’t find it.

“It’s not here,” she said as the phone rang again.

Exasperated, Logan leaned over and grabbed a black little square that to Meghan resembled a matchbook.

“That’s a cell phone!” she exclaimed. “It’s so small!”

Logan opened the cell, “Hello!”

“Hello Logan,” said Julie Laurence. “What in the blue blazes is going on?”

Logan pulled the phone away from his ear and grimaced. This was all he needed. Julie on the warpath, what was he going to do now?

“Julie, what’s up?” he asked.

“You tell me! Your blood is found in an alley, a lot of it I might add. You’re named in a missing person’s case and there’s some lunatic named Clarence who says you and some woman froze him with some kind of ray gun!” she shouted in his ear.

"Calm down Julie..."

Julie snapped, her voice becoming deceptively low and controlled. Glancing around the hotel car park where she was standing, her eyes briefly came to rest on a man who seemed a touch too interested in her conversation. Her language slid easily into rapid French.

"Logan I am always calm, you’ll remember even when I’ve been shot I remain calm. If you ever tell me to calm down again you are going to regret it. Now, I need to meet with you so we can come up with some sort of solution for this mess. And while you’re on the way you can report to headquarters, they are just about ready to have you declared a liability."

"Julie, I have someone with me, that meeting may not be such a good idea. Let’s just do this now."

"I don’t want to. Meet me in the square in two hours. If you’re not there I’m going to activate a tracking team and have you hunted down. So help me Logan..."

Julie took a deep breath. "You are going to help me fix this mess."

Logan considered her order; he hated being told what to do, especially by Julie whom he’d helped to train. He would have said no but couldn’t afford to have Mercury hunting him too.

Mercury wasn’t the main reason though. Julie was like a bulldog; she would just keep at him, even until she died if she had to. It was a good trait he may need her.

"How will I find you, the square is always crowded"

"Don’t try, I’ll find you. I’m glad you made the right choice Logan. Bring your lady friend and keep her quiet, do not draw the attention of the police. You are wanted for questioning and I don’t want to have to get you out of jail on top of everything else!"

The phone went dead, Logan almost laughed out loud Julie had never been one for pleasantries like ‘Good-bye’ it was highly unusual for her to even say `Hello`.

"What’s going on? What did Julie want?" Meghan was dying of curiosity. If Julie’s call managed to rattle Logan, it had to be big news.

"We may be in trouble. How do you Know Julie?"

"So, what does that mean?" asked Meghan. She ignored his last question.

"What it means Meghan is that Mercury’s pulled out the big guns.”

“Ah yes, Julie. If I remember correctly the data files on Mercury said that you trained her. She’s very good at accents and infiltrations. Her I.Q. is way off the charts. She graduated University at the age of 17. She has a Doctorate in Forensics and she’s very good at reading crime scenes. Boy they really did send out the big guns,” said Meghan with a huge grin. “Oh and I just remembered something else about her.”

Disgruntled by her accurate assessment of one of Mercury’s top operatives Logan glanced at her, “Oh yeah what else?” he asked.

Meghan looked him straight in the eye and said, “She’s more open-minded than you are.”

Meghan was almost high on excitement and curiosity as she and Logan entered Jackson Square. Even with her extensive resources in the future she'd been unable to find anything but a hazy black and white photo of Julie.

Meghan was sure if Julie believed her, Logan would trust her completely. Music floated on the air, happy people crisscrossed her path. Gradually Meghan began to relax and drift away from Logan's side, New Orleans seemed so safe.

Deliberately a woman stepped into her path. Meghan stopped; she was slightly taller than her accoster but felt a sudden overwhelming urge to run screaming in the opposite direction.

Near black eyes steadily bore into her green ones. Gasping Meghan took a step back, feeling her body hit a wall of warm muscle. She went rigid then sighed with relief as Logan spoke.

"I see you've mastered the fine art of silent intimidation."

Realization hit, this was Julie! She looked surprisingly young. Meghan saw Julie's eyes flick from Logan's to hers then come to rest on Logan's again. Meghan held her breath something was going on. The tension grew in the air, reaching fever pitch before Julie took a step back and cracked a huge grin.

"Get a hair cut you big lug!"

"You're the one with pig tails"

"This is a plat you uneducated swine! Look I haven't slept in 32 hours and I gather this is going to take a while. I think that strong New Orleans coffee is in order. Incidentally did you notice my native drawl, took 2 hours of solid practice to master this accent."

Logan looked stunned, Julie continued.

"I swung by your apartment earlier, it has been given a serious go over. Here's a bag full of clothes and selected other goodies, you can thank me later. The rest of your stuff is wasted. I don't see any point in your going home."

Julie led the way to a cafe. She was in shock. Logan had been so protective, almost livid when she started on the woman he was walking with. Julie hadn't even been serious at first, until she saw the look on his face had promised all manner of torture if she didn't back off, she'd left it until his eyes showed the beginnings of panic. No matter their past here she was in control, he hated it and that's why she lay it on. Their brotherly-sisterly exchange had been for the benefit of his lady friend.

~*~*~

The time had come for explanations by the time they were all seated and had a drink Julie stopped smiling. Turning first to the woman apparently named Meghan and then to Logan, all pretenses of happy smiles faded completely.

Slowly, almost hypnotically so she placed both of her hands palm down on the table in front of her. Meghan noticed a tattoo where the face of a watch should have laid, the planetary symbol for Mercury.

Julie calmly met her eyes and exhaled, breaking contact only to begin talking.

"Three reports in twenty-four hours is a poor reflection of the man who helped to train me. I now have a huge mess with a detective, who by my research is as dogged as me. You are going to aid me in the creation of a solid story to ram down his throat. Jake is seriously pissed, I've been told not to frighten or order this detective off the case. Jake says the challenge of completely fixing your mess will be good for me. I did not join Mercury to be anyone's personal assistant! So, I want to know everything, it is not a request. One of you is to start talking right now."

Logan began; he had been talking for well over an hour when Meghan took over. She was animated, throwing everything into her explanation as if her life depended on it, perhaps it did. She told Julie about the Time Healers, how immortality occurred, time travel, her use of weapons and defense, ending on the NIA, Tracers, their poison and how if they succeeded they could be a threat to anyone not just immortals.

Logan watched Meghan as she talked. Her features colored with pride at the actions of her people one moment only to be washed with horror at the mission of the Tracers, mesmerized him. She was so passionate both Julie and Logan were engrossed.

Briefly her gaze met his; Logan was shocked when he identified a veiled sadness barely hidden below the surface. As Meghan turned back to Julie, Logan realized the sadness had been there from the moment he'd opened his eyes to meet her bewitching emerald gaze.

Was this sadness for the plight of her people, could she feel so deeply for them? Or was it more personal? The surge of so something closely akin to anger that thought rose shocked him. As he brooded, Julie's lilting French cut into his thoughts.

"Well it's an extreme story, but I've heard extreme before. Before I consider it any further however I need to ask you something. Forgive me Logan but do you trust her?"

Logan hesitated momentarily, in their line of work trust was a four-letter-word, and misplaced it got you killed. For Julie to even ask it meant that his response would make or break her opinion of Meghan. As far as she knew Logan only trusted two people on earth Jake and her. So his honest response shocked them both.

"Yes." He nodded as he gazed into Meghan beautiful green eyes. He didn’t know how it happened, but in the short time he’d met her and she told him about the Tracers, the serum, her immortality and HIS, she had somehow gotten under his skin. He could actually feel the walls around his heart cracking. It had been a long time since any one had affected him this way. He reach under the table and gave Meghan’s had a squeeze. He turned his gaze back to Julie.

“Yes,” he said again, “I do trust her. We haven’t told you this but she did save my life. I was mortally wounded in that alley. She got me home and mixed her blood with mine. I don’t know if it’s true are not but she tells me that I’m also immortal now.”

Julie looked at Meghan and her widened in surprise. Logan? Immortal? She’d heard the sincerity in Meghan voice when she’d recounted how she’d found Logan. But this immortality thing was pushing it a bit, wasn’t it?

Julie became thoughtful as she considered what they said. She was sure they weren’t lying. She would know if they were. Ever since she was a little girl she’d had this ability to tell when someone was lying to her. She didn’t know where the ability came from because she’d never known her real parents. They had died when she was just a baby. She’d grown up in various foster homes all across Europe, which is where she’d learned how to be different people for her, various foster parents.

Julie looked at them again and decided they were telling her the truth. She bent down, grabbed her briefcase and put on the table. She opened it and removed a large envelope.

“Here, take this,” She said as she passed the envelope to Logan. “There’s money, an untraceable SAT-CELL phone, get rid of the one you have, and two passports in the name of Lucas and Lila Winters. Find a place to lay low and I’ll call you after I’ve located a lab you can use to research the antidote to this Waxen serum.”

Logan took the envelope and stood.

“Thank you Julie,” he said as he took Meghan hand in his. “I’ll wait for your call.”

Julie watched as they left and walked away. She closed her briefcase and took out some money. As she stood up and turned to go she bumped into a wall. Her head came up and she looked into the amused hazel eyes of Detective Ryan Harrison.

“Going somewhere?” he asked innocently.

Pinned to the spot Julies mind filled with cuss words in at least seven separate languages. Three things struck her simultaneously. One, she'd let Logan and Meghan go before they sorted out a plausible story. Two, she was under no cover at all, not even the contacts she usually wore to disguise her distinctive eyes. And three if she didn't break eye contact with this man right now she had about a snowball's chance in Hades of thinking of a plan.

There were so many variables, she was furious with herself for this situation ever having occurred. Never before had she been such an idiot. Had he seen her with Logan and Meghan? She didn't think so; surely he would have reacted before they'd left. Had he heard her talking, what accent had she been using with Logan just then?

Most worryingly though did he recognize her from last night? Damn him for having been at work before she'd seen the ID photo in his file! If he recognized her she was in serious trouble.

Think, think, think! She was taking to long to respond. Last night! Did she still have the FBI ID in her pocket? She hoped that no one at the police station had bothered to check it out yet. Yes, she'd have to take her chances with that.

With the barest shreds of a plan Julie took a step back, said a silent prayer and with a blink of her midnight eyes became someone else. Ryan watched with interest as the woman’s facial expressions changed rapidly. If he hadn’t been looking at her so intently he would have missed them. First there was shock, then recognition. He could swear he saw the wheels moving in her mind as she tried to come up with a story to feed him. He knew the instant she had a firm plan. Her midnight eyes lost all expression except for a mild interest in him as if she’d never met him before.

Ryan knew that couldn’t be true because they’d bump into each other last night at the precinct. When she’d disappeared last night he’d returned inside and asked the desk Sergeant who she was, nobody could give him an answer. It was as if she hadn’t been there at all. No one had noticed her.

When he’d entered his office it had felt strange to him. He knew someone had been there but nothing had been moved. So he’d booted up his computer and had contact an old friend of his in the FBI. This morning his friend had got back to him with the name Logan Dupré who lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans. From there he’d called in various favors and had learned about Julie Laurence.

He’d called all the Hotels and had finally found her at the Sheridan. He’d parked in front and had followed her when she’d left to meet the couple that’d just left in the Square.

Thumbnail at her lips Julie looked intimidated, took another step back, banged into the table and knocked a cup to the floor. At the sound of shattering glass all eyes in the cafe landed on Ryan and Julie. He scowled then played the part of a concerned gentleman.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you ma’am it wasn’t my intent, I simply wanted to apologize for walking into you earlier this morning. Allow me to introduce myself, Detective Ryan Harrison.” He extended his hand. “And you would be?”

Julie let recognition to flood her features, stepped forward and shook his hand with gusto. In her best New Yorker accent she launched right in.

“Just on my way to meet you! I’m Lizzy Simpson, FBI SMPD Special Missing Persons Division. Sorry for coming across startled then, I just never expected to walk into a huge slab of man twice in one day! Imagine the odds of both slabs being you! Are you here for coffee? I’m running on the stuff. I was planning on visiting the precinct but if you’re on a break I could come see you later. To be perfectly honest a break sounds fantastic, I need some sleep and I have to make some calls. Speaking of calls I hear nature, could you just hang on a moment I’m going to use the ladies, then I’ll be right with you.”

She was in the toilet before Ryan could react. She’d been like a walking assault! The description he’d been given by a FBI contact earlier filled his mind.

“Julie Laurence was the best undercover person we ever had, she wasn’t actually FBI we used her a few times though. She could be ANYONE at the drop of a hat. It was eerie to watch her slip in to character, she seemed too good, almost like she had split personalities.”

“No photos of her exist but I’ll never forget her eyes, without contacts they were almost black, it made her impossible to read. She died four years ago, shot in the thigh during a firefight. We tried to stabilize her on the ground but she died in the chopper on the way to hospital. A total waste the man who shot her died of a single wound to the head. By all accounts Julie shot him as she was passing out. Her funeral was government funded, low key you know, a closed casket, she had no family. Haven’t thought about her in a while, she was the best Harrison, young and brilliant it’s a damn shame.”

So was this Julie? Why would she fake her own death? What did she want with him? Five minutes ago she’d been a hellcat poised to strike him down, then she'd become a bubbling idiot. Before that she’d been as cold as stone listening to that couple talk. Had the man she’d been talking to been Logan Dupré? And why did she talk to him in French? He’d picked up the word ‘trust’ a few times but then their French was fast and Ryan hadn’t been close enough to listen properly.

She was a real puzzle. Ryan loved puzzles, he made a decision right then he wouldn’t arrest her like he had first planned, ‘Lizzy Simpson’ was about to have a new best friend.

Love Beyond Time Part 4

Logan drove them to the Royal St. Charles Hotel just a block from the French Quarter. He figure why stay in a dive when they could stay in a nice place with room service while they waited for Julie’s call.

He looked over at Meghan. She was a beautiful woman with her long auburn hair, her clear green eyes and her sensuous mouth. He parked in front of the Hotel and they got out of the Jeep. Logan tossed his keys to the valet and taking Meghan’s arm he led her inside.

Confident he’d get a room he walked up to the desk clerk.

“We need a room,” he said.

“Yes sir, right away,” replied the clerk. “Would you like a room overlooking the street are one in the back overlooking the gardens.”

Logan turned to Meghan and she said ‘the gardens.’

The clerk then said, “that’ll be $79 a night with free continental breakfast in the mornings.”

Logan removed cash from his wallet and signed the register. The clerk gave him the key to their room and Logan led Meghan to the bank of elevators. They rode the elevator to the 9th floor and opened the door to room 904.

"So what do we do now?" Logan asked.

"Get some rest and replenishment. You'll need it where you'll be going." Meghan spoke as she took a carton of apple juice from the fridge.

"One thing though, I forgot to mention, no junk food and no smoking." Meghan said just as Logan was about to light his cigarette. Although he had quit smoking a few years ago, he suddenly had an urge to smoke.

"What other things did you forget to mention?" Logan sneered sarcastically.

"Although Immortals heal from wounds almost instantaneously, we need lots of healthy food and plenty of rest to keep us going and to heal others. Junk food and bad habits are taboos. The rest of the stuff, Immortals need to observe, I'll tell you about them some other day when you are feeling better," Meghan lead Logan to the bed just as Logan was feeling faint.

"You are suffering from the side effects of the transformation. Sleep well and...." That was the last of what Logan heard as he drifted off to dreamland despite his struggle to stay awake.

"…Peaceful dreams Logan."

She knew it was pointless, he couldn't hear her, sleep hit quickly after the transformation. Logan's face was soon relaxed in deep sleep, Meghan allowed herself to take a long look. In sleep he looked younger, it was strange the paths people chose to take in life. She could even picture him as a smiling ten-something, happy and living a normal life, he would never have normal now.

Turning from his bedside she scanned the room, it was spacious and beautiful. Spotting a door on the opposite wall a frown crossed her features, if it was another entry she'd have to block it. Pulling the handle to reveal an unsuited however Meghan almost swooned with joy. Quickly she snapped all the suite's locks and, after reassuring herself Logan was still sleeping, she took a hot shower for the first time in almost a week.

Fresh, clean and wearing some comfortable complimentary pajamas, Meghan tried to decide what to do. The view was lovely, choosing a garden room had been smart. Lush green surrounded old buildings as far as she could see, resting her forehead on the windowpane Meghan exhaled in an attempt to relax. It had been too long since she'd felt secure. The constant running, hiding and always praying for survival had taken their toll.

Pulling a chair into position where she could see both the windows and Logan. Huddled knees under her chin and staring at the sleeping man it struck her, things would really be ok. She wasn't alone anymore. Logan would find the Waxen antidote, and even if he hated her for doing this to him she'd finally managed to save her people. As she smiled in silent triumph she felt the sudden urge to contact Stephanie, her best friend.

Despairingly Meghan bowed her head, she was wrong it wasn't a triumph too many people had died. After promising her everything would be all right Meghan had seen Stephanie hunted down and 'terminated' by the Tracers. Meghan had been hidden but she'd seen it all, Stephanie's screams would haunt her forever. The injustice of it tore her apart; Stephanie and so many others were gone forever.

All the emotions she'd repressed for months welled up and Meghan finally cried. It felt like her soul was torn down the middle. The memories, good and bad played over and over in her mind.

She tried to mentally block them out but they just kept coming. Stephanie’s wedding to a mortal, the secret smile in her eyes whenever she thought of him. The way her gaze would light up when he entered a room. The sorrow and tears in her eyes when he had died in a car crash. As Meghan played each memory in her mind her tears slowly stopped and her gaze fastened on the handsome man lying on the bed.

Logan was her salvation. With him her people would survive this new threat. In a way she was sad that she’d had to turn him because he might be like other new immortals and not want to live forever. But in another way she was happy because now she would have someone with her always that is if he stayed with her after perfecting the antidote.

Physically and emotionally tired Meghan just sat there and stared at Logan. Her eyes became heavy and in moments she too fell asleep. Several hours later Logan opened his eyes and sat up on the bed. He felt rejuvenated, alert and strengthened. He stretched out his arms and fist with his hands. He felt stronger than he’d ever been. It was sinking in that maybe she was telling him the truth. That she really was immortal and so was he. He looked around the room and spotted Meghan asleep in the chair.

Her beautiful auburn hair slightly covered her enchanting face. He felt the walls around his heart crack and chips of it fell away. His eyes left her face and followed down her body. She was petite and well formed. He remembered thinking she was an angel when he first saw her in the alley and later when he woke up in his room with her bending over him.

Logan got up and went over to the chair. He crouched down and of its own volition; his arm rose and his hand gently pushed the hair from her face. His eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the tracks of dry tears on her flushed cheeks. She murmured and turned her cheek into his hand. Meghan’s skin felt so soft and her breath felt like fire licking over his skin.

His hand felt like it was burning, a sensation he'd never felt before. Breathing hard he quickly removed his and stood up. He stared down at her and a look of pure longing passed over his otherwise chiseled face. She looked very uncomfortable sitting all bunched up in the chair, sleeping. Logan bent over and like a child picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. She was light as a feather to this strong man. Covering Meghan with a blanket, Logan quickly stepped away from the bed.

He glanced out the windows, which Meghan had been looking through when he was asleep. Outside, silence dominated the surroundings. However, his emotions were in turbulence. On one end, he is glad to be alive and marvels at the discovery of being an Immortal. After all, he is a Scientist at heart. On the other end, he is dismayed at the news of being pursued by the Tracers and to be at the heart of the whole scheme of things. He holds the "Waxen Antidote" to cure Meghan's people. But he doesn't have a clue to what it is. As far as he knows, he hasn't invented anything remotely like that.

Being undercover was hard enough, now to be responsible for a race's survival, he felt as if there were two mountains on his shoulder. However, he is glad that Meghan is with him at this moment. She is the most intriguing woman he has ever met. The care and concern for him that is reflected in her eyes moves him. Normally, he is very cynical and wary of people. However, he can't help but believe what she is saying is true. Although he was incredulous at first, from the events that have happened since he became an Immortal, he can't deny that he is an Immortal and that Meghan is real. The only question that remains is how can he help Meghan?

Logan turned back to where Megan lay and saw that her eyes were open and looking straight at him.

It was the emotion shining within her eyes that got to him. He'd been attracted to her from the beginning, but he'd been so confused about all this immortal business that he hadn't dwelled on it.

But now, all he could think about was how good it felt to kiss her before. How much he would like to do it again.

Suddenly he was leaning over her, not even remembering walking there, but here he was. He couldn't help himself; he had to touch her - to fell her soft skin - to taste her sweetness.

"Logan?" her voice was hoarse and full of the wonderment that he himself was feeling. Had he ever felt like this before?

No way. He wouldn't have forgotten something as powerful as this. "I need to..." his voice drifted off as his lips paused just a hairsbreadth away from hers.

"Oh, yes," she sighed helplessly, as she reached up to fit her mouth to his.

He teased her lips with little nibbles, then when they both could stand it no longer, he crushed his mouth to hers, tasting, caressing, and burning...

"NO!" Meghan cried, wrenching herself away from him and rolling to the edge of the bed to stand up. "This can't happen. We've got too much to do. I don't ... I mean, I can't..." she stammered in a panic, as her hands ran through her tussled hair.

Logan took a deep breath and stood with her, the bed separating them.

For the moment, it might as well have been an ocean.

Logan shook his head and waved his hand to stop her words. "It's okay, Meghan, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that. Look, I take all the blame, it won't happen again."

Megan bit her lip, and nodded her head. But deep inside, she didn't want him to be sorry. She didn't want to forget. She wanted to crawl over to him and wrap her arms around him and never let him go.

She shut her eyes again, almost praying that sleep would take her. The darkness never came, oh it was there, waiting for her but it wouldn't take her. She laid there, every fiber within her aware that Logan stood in the room. Her soul shook as the door slammed shut and she almost ran after him, ready to give him everything that she had to give. But that darkness held her back, though it never took her, it kept her attention rapt, forcing her acknowledgement of the essence it held.

She saw everything within it, one thing held her most. Stephanie. She remembered knowing that on hearing of her husband's death her best friend was never the same again, remembered knowing that her very hope had been torn away from her.

Stephanie's world had disappeared. While Logan could never be taken as Stephanie’s husband had been the hope he held could easily be broken. She couldn't let it happen to them. His kiss had shown her everything, given her a taste of what they could have but she couldn't see beyond it.

For once in her life the visions in her head revealed nothing, her future with Logan remained untold ready for them to write. She turned away from the uncertainty She turned away from the uncertainty and gave herself up to the tears that had been threatening to fall for so long.

Julie had been running on autopilot for hours. As good as she was at keeping cover, if she didn't get to sleep very soon she was going to have a slip up. To be perfectly honest she wasn't used to having to watch her cover quite so closely all the time. The good Detective Harrison was just everywhere she turned!

He watched her with an intensity that was even harder than that which Logan had used with her during training. Thank God she'd phoned Leon when she'd made a break to the toilets, Ryan had insisted on checking her ID, smiling a little smugly until her identity had been confirmed.

Worse than that for him, one of the agents at the field office had asked for him to put her on the line, under the guise of having a friendship with her. Bless Mercury's extensive staff! Bless Leon for saving her hide, again! And bless the end of Ryan's shift, which was finally almost here.

She smiled her first genuine smile in hours thinking of Leon. That old man had trained her in the information side of things while Logan had focused on her physically. Together, laughingly they told her that James Bond would be a mere patrol officer compared to her, Wonder woman would look like a hack and the Incredible Hulk, well she'd cut them off not liking the comparison to a big green genetic mutation.

If Logan was the brother she never really wanted, Leon was the closest thing to a father figure she'd had in her life, he was the only person who she loved on earth.

Ryan watched Lizzy's reflection closely; she was facing the window of his office and on the pale copy of her face he could read near exhaustion. All day he had tagged along after her, and then forced her to come on his call-outs. And all day she had remained the ever optimistic, loud laughing bimbo from New York. He couldn't see any difference in her now compared to this morning, it was pointless after his call to the FBI, and maybe Lizzy was really Lizzy.

Just as he was turning to tell her she could go, her features changed; it was barely perceptible and if he hadn't spent the day studying her he'd never have noticed. As he watched with breath held, she became the same serious woman he'd seen in the cafe with that strange couple. Slowly a smile lit her features, it wasn't a fake one like the smile she'd been flashing all day, and it was obvious in her eyes.

God, she was beautiful!

Just as soon as it was there it was gone, Ryan was shocked at the disappointment he felt. He knew that she was the mysterious Julie now, or she was a mental case with split personalities.

The day was drawing to a close and if he didn't figure something out "Lizzy" was going to go back to New York.

And irritating as it was he did NOT want Lizzy or Julie going anywhere.

“I don’t know what the heck is going on here, but you can bet your sweet…uh…fanny, that I will find out,” said Ryan. “For now you can go but don’t leave town. I’m sure I’ll have more questions for you real soon.”

Dismissing Julie, Ryan grabbed a file and opened it. As he read it he waited for her to leave his office.

Julie's eyes narrowed as she slowly stood up. He’d brought her in here and had asked all kinds of ridiculous questions that she knew wouldn’t get him anywhere and now he was dismissing her as if she were a child! Who did he think he was? She was always in control of her emotions so she was shocked to register a real urge to jump Ryan's desk and teach him a lesson. No one had EVER talked to her with that level of disrespect, how dare he! If he was at the agency she'd of had him thrown out for that.

She was going to give him a piece of her mind, and then she saw what he was doing. Wow, he was good, better than anyone she'd met in a long while. Baiting her was not going to work!

As she reached the door of his office she debated letting him get away with it eventually her temper won out. Turning to him and waiting until he looked up at her, fakest sweet grin she could muster plastered on her features she said.

"Thank you for your time Detective, if I require anymore of your services, and I severely doubt I will, I'll contact you. I'd just like to say good luck with your cases, based on my assessment of your skills today you'll be needing it."

Without waiting for a reaction Julie stepped out of his office, then high tailed out of the building. She had work to do.

Pulling her mobile out of her pocket she pressed a quick succession of numbers.

"Leon it's me, could you get me a list of all the lab facilities we have in the greater New Orleans area? Great, zap them to my palm pilot. And before I forget Happy Birthday darling, I think that you'll find a little something for you in my top drawer. Don't be to naughty, enjoy your day!"

Suddenly Meghan’s head came up. Danger! She had to find Logan. The Tracers had found them. She closed her eyes and sat very still. She opened her mind and let her senses loose. Her mind followed the trail her senses took, out of the room, in the lobby and out of the Hotel.

There! Two blocks away, she could here the clang of their boots as they marched. They stopped and suddenly removed they glasses. Meghan gasped as if their red eyes had pierced her heart. She closed off her mind and swiftly jumped off the bed and got dressed.

She grabbed a large satchel from the closet and began filling it with Logan’s clothes and food. The items on the nightstand the special phone, her crystal weapon and Logan’s gun and extra clips. She grabbed the keys and flew out the door. She raced to the elevators and pressed the button.

“Come on, come on,” she whispered impatiently.

The door slid open and there stood Logan.

Meghan dropped the satchel and threw herself into his arms.

“Thank god!” she cried. “I thought you were gone,” she leaned away from him. “We have to get out of here! The Tracers are coming!”

“I know that’s why I came back,” he said as he picked up the satchel. “You got my keys?”

Meghan nodded and handed them to him.

“We’ll go out the back way and circle around to the Jeep.”

Logan could feel nothing but a desperate need to get far, far away. It was awful, overwhelming him in a way nothing ever had. How long had Meghan dealt with this alone? How could a person find the strength to keep going, always running from these assassins if they were alone? Looking at the woman beside him as they jogged through the back of the hotel Logan felt a surge of pride. She was so strong and brave it amazed him.

As they reached the Jeep Logan's phone rang. He snapped it open and listened to Julie.

"Ok, I've found you a hidden lab, it was used for bio-research until the scientists were all killed by a division of the government that shall remain un-named. We've owned it for about a year and it's not in use at the moment. It’s just one of the millions of buildings that Mercury has far to many of. I'll zap the location to your Palm; it's in the bag I gave you. Meet me there in about half an hour, and make sure you aren’t followed."

Turning to Meghan Logan smiled; luck was on their side. Julie had called at just the right moment. How was Meghan going to take the news? She'd waited for this for so long, would he finally see her happy. He realized that all he really wanted was to see Meghan happy.

"WHAT?" Meghan yelled getting frustrated at Logan's silent celebration.

"We've got a lab,” he said. Watching her intently.

She screamed with joy. “That’s wonderful!” Meghan grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Logan returned the squeeze and drove around the corner.

“Did you put the bag Julie gave us in that satchel?”

“Yes. Do you need something in it?”

“Yeah, I need Palm. Can you get?

“Sure,” said Meghan as she twisted around and grabbed the satchel. She opened it and took out the Palm, which she handed to Logan.

Logan took it and punched in a series of numbers bringing up the route that would take him to the lab. He checked the street he was on and took a left.

Switching the Palm to off he gave it back to Meghan and out of the corner of his eyes saw her put it back inside the bag. She then put the satchel in the back seat.

Out of the blue Logan asked, “How do you deal with the pain you feel when the Tracers are close?”

Meghan turned her head toward him and replied, “I close my mind and block it out. With practice you’ll be able to do it too. It won’t take you long to learn how because you already have the basic principles down.”

“What do mean?”

“I mean that you’ve been shot, stabbed, beaten and almost hung. The years working for Mercury have taught you how to control pain. You’ve learned how to block out the pain your body feels. Now you have to learn how to block out the pain your mind feels when you open your mind to see the Tracers. When you use only your senses the pain is mild and bearable. But when you send your senses out to see the enemy the pain in your mind is worse and if you don’t block it out the pain becomes unbearable,” explained Meghan.

When Julie was growing up she’d had one near deadly weakness, speed. She’d pursued it endlessly because the faster she went the more alive she felt. Being who she was now, she fully understood that the high came from adrenaline, and the pure lust for it could kill her, almost did a few times. But she still missed the high and nothing she’d done since had ever quite matched it.

This being the case, Gaspard had no idea what a stupid mistake he’d made by assigning Julie a sleek black motorcycle as her transport while in New Orleans. He couldn’t understand why she’d never been assigned one in the past; Julie knew that was Logan’s doing. From Gaspard's point of view it was perfect for her, enabling a quick getaway from an easy to conceal vehicle.

These reasonable thoughts filled Julie’s mind for about as long as it took for her to claim the keys from the man who’d driven it to her hotel. Then the animal lust inside unfurled from its imposed hibernation and Julie saw the bike though its animal eyes. More powerful than any she’d ever ridden, it was a racing bike literally built for speed. She should walk away, call the man back and get a car instead, her on this was a really bad idea, but secretly she itched to ride it like a junkie awaits his next hit.

Wheeling the machine around the hotel to a well-lit position, she gave it a good going over. It was then she caught her own reflection in the foyer window. The pre-mercury Julie was back, that aimless rebel she’d been when she worked for the FBI and CIA. Her legs were encased in soft leather pants with boots reaching almost to the knee, a white T-shirt hugged her body outlining her curved form just a little too well, and her favorite black leather jacket fell to below her bottom covering her SIG handgun. She looked good! Pulling her helmet over tightly braided hair Julie had no idea how it transformed her. Suddenly she looked just as dangerous as she really was.

Mounting and starting her new toy she smiled, yes this is what she’d missed for years. This power beneath her was what she wanted. Guns were fun, cars were great but nothing would ever match sitting atop this raw power, that at hundreds of miles an hour was her only protection from oblivion.

It was good that Logan was the only one who knew of her addiction; with him out of circulation she could indulge herself. He chose to ignore that she was good; he ignored the skills she had on a speeding bike. She was way better than him; it was probably why he objected to her riding so strongly, stupid male ego! She knew when he saw her at the lab he was going to be enormously angry, as she revved the engine however she just couldn’t find it in herself to care. Speed limits were about to be broken.

At the lab, Logan was checking out all the security equipment and the lab facilities. Since the lab has been unused for quite some time, he wanted to make sure that everything was in working order.

Oddly enough, though it was an abandoned lab, it was brand new, equipped with the latest technological scientific equipment and gadgets. Other than that, the security is quite tight and impenetrable. With infrared rays at the front gate and all over the grounds, any unauthorized access would trigger an alarm that would immediately lock the gates, trapping the intruder within the grounds and a signal would be sent to Mercury Headquarters. To get into the Mansion housing the lab, a retina scan is required. Only Mercury agents' retina records are encoded in the system. From the Mansion, you can see what’s happening on the grounds and within the Mansion as many hidden video cameras were installed.

Whatever experiment or project had been terminated must be very important to warrant such tight security. It is like a fortress. Interesting enough, other than the lab and the living quarters, there is a paradise within - a garden lavatory with an open skylight, some sort of a green house in which you can star gaze too.

"Meghan, I don't really know what it is that the Tracers have that can eliminate your people. Can you tell me more about the serum or the poison that you call Waxen?" Logan asked.

“I can do better than describe it to you, I can give you a sample.”

Meghan pulled a small metal cylinder from her pocket. Gingerly she twisted it in three places pulling the top off with an audible sigh of relief. Noticing Logan’s look of confusion she grinned reassuringly.

“These are great little tubes, they’re everything-proof, initially designed by the army to survive a nuclear attack. About four years after invention they became an easy to get black market item. If you don’t twist them in exactly the right sequence removing the top will also remove your hands.”

“You mean it’s explosive?”

“Very explosive. Now the content of this cost me more than you could ever fathom. To be totally honest with you the Tracers know I have it and that’s why they hunt me, sorry, us, so doggedly.”

She pulled a small glass vial from the metal tube and handed it to Logan.

“This vial is of pure Waxen. It won’t kill you unless you accidentally get it into your blood. The Tracers’ method of choice is to shoot us with a sort of bullet, they call them darts, filled with the stuff.”

Logan walked to a near-by refrigerator opened the door and placed the Waxen inside. Moving back to his seat opposite Meghan he gave her a searching look. She was so different from everything he had first assumed, this woman was a warrior, a leader of people, willing to risk her own life to protect them.

“You knew I’d need it didn’t you? And not even knowing I'd say yes you risked your life to get it for me.”

Calmly she held his gaze; instinctively she'd always known that he'd say yes. Logan adored the hint of smug satisfaction that shone in her emerald eyes. Once more the air between them changed, slowly becoming electric, causing a heat that had nothing to do with the balmy New Orleans night.

Love Beyond Time Part 5

“Mmm…Well I’m gonna check out the garden you want to come?” asked Logan as he shoved his hands in his jeans pockets.

“Sure,” replied Meghan.

They walked across the lab to a hermetically closed door. Logan punched a series of numbers on the control panel and the door clicked open. They went through and stepped into the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. There were all kinds of flowers and herbs everywhere. There was even a man-made waterfall in the back of the enclosed dome.

Meghan looked up at Logan and saw the surprise on his handsome face.

“Weren’t you expecting this?” she asked.

Logan looked down at her and she saw the pleasure at seeing the multitude of colorful flowers and plants.

“I know Mercury has research labs all over the world but I never expected something like this. This is a scientist’s dream! My God! Would you look at that?

There’s Feverfew, which is good for migraine and headaches. Chamomile: which has relaxant, anti-inflammatory properties. And here is some Calendula it has anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties.”

Meghan walked further inside the dome and touched and herb.

“Isn’t this Bilberry?”

“Yes,” replied Logan as he came and stood beside her. “It strengthens blood vessel walls, especially those of the eyes and reduces inflammation.”

“I see you’ve found the garden,” a voice said.

Meghan yelped and quickly spun around. Logan had recognized the voice and slowly turned to face his once upon a time pupil.

“Hello Jules. You’re late.”

“Yeah well, I had to get rid of a pesky bug that’s been following me around since I got to New Orleans.”

Logan stiffened and his eyes narrowed as he approached Julie.

“And does this pesky bug have a name?"

Julie avoided Logan’s gaze and turned to Meghan.

“Yes he’s got a name but I can take care of him. I lost him didn’t I?”

Meghan smiled, held out her hand and shook Julie’s.

“Hello Julie. It’s nice to see you again. I love the leather. Do you think I could get some like it?”

Julie nodded, “When this is over I’ll take you shopping in New York.”

At the mention of leather Logan noticed how Julie was dressed and smiled sardonically.

“Jake doesn’t know you’re riding that monster again does he?”

"What Jake doesn't know won't kill him." Julie retorted as she placed her helmet on the aluminum counter, pulling the band from her plait and loosening her hair. The relief of setting her hair free was immense and she sighed as she shrugged out of her jacket.

"But will it kill you?" she heard Logan mutter as he examined a sinister looking plant.

"Leave her alone Logan, we have other things to focus on. Is Julie fully aware of the situation and of how imperative it is that we get this done as quickly as possible?" Meghan asked, distracting him as she kicked of her shoes.

"Why are you taking your shoes off, will that achieve anything?" he asked, smiling slightly but wanting to know. He shook his head wondering at all the things he suddenly found himself wanting to know about this woman.

"I can't think straight with them on, they’re restrictive." She explained, pushing the shoes in question aside with her foot when she had a sudden image of Logan stepping backwards and tripping over them. She was sorely tempted to leave them where they were, however, when she saw him role his eyes heavenward at her words.

Julie cleared her throat hoping to gain some semblance of attention, as both Meghan and Logan seemed to be staring each other out for whatever reason. Julie decreed that there was little time for such childish pursuits and tapped her toe on the floor when they didn't look her way.

"Oh, right." Logan was suddenly fully focused, annoyed at himself for being distracted. "Most you know already, unfortunately we have very little time and an antidote to develop. The Tracers are on our tail and I'm not sure I can do this with what we have." He drew in a quick breath.

"What do you need?" Julie inserted sharply, picking her jacket back up. "Tell me and I'll get it as soon as I can."

"Chemicals and some basics, I have all the plants we need here and I can extract most everything from them but I don't have any sugar, the water isn't running and aspirin." He sighed. "I have a splitting headache, blocking out pain is great in theory but it takes practice and I haven't quite got there yet." He grabbed a pen and began writing down a list of chemicals he would need. "See if you can ring someone and get the gas turned on, and the water," he ordered as he handed her the list. She snatched it from his hand, grabbed her helmet and disappeared.

"That was efficient." Meghan noted.

Ryan was tired of chasing the woman. Didn't she ever stop? It seemed she didn't. At the point he picked up the chase she’d already switched her car for a bike and was hurtling down the street faster than was legal. In fact he was sure he could have booked her on numerous accounts of traffic violation had he wanted to. He wasn't even sure how he knew it was she, he just did, and so the second he saw her he began to run, until it became apparent that he wouldn't catch her. He stopped in the middle of the road and did his best to act as a lamppost. Unfortunately most of the drivers hooted and swerved. He would have commended them had he not been in need of a vehicle. He cursed himself for deciding he needed to take a walk.

It was at that point that he found himself dangerously close to a black motorcycle helmet. He jumped into action, whipping his badge from his pocket and reeling off a spiel that had always appealed to him, he commandeered it.

Seconds later he was racing just as fast as Julie had been down the same street he had seen her take. It wasn't long before he caught sight of her, dodging the traffic by veering down an alleyway, he resolved himself to following close behind her, adrenaline pumping through his veins. It had been a long while since he'd been on a motorcycle and it hadn't taken but a few seconds for it to get back in his blood.

He was to arrest her; it was something he had to do. He knew it was drastic but if it would give him answers, then he knew it had to be done. He didn't know if Mercury was an underground terrorist group or not but he did know that if there was even the tiniest doubt in his mind about it then it had to be alleviated and Lizzy was going to be the one to do it, even if he had to cuff her to his side to get the information. He revved the engine louder as he sped to close the gap between them.

Julie checked her mirror and saw another bike right behind her. She turned her head and looked back over her shoulder. The biker had on a black helmet and dark brown leather jacket. She turned back around just in time to veer left and miss the car in front of her. The biker had rattled her. Who was he? Why was he following her? She couldn’t go back to the hotel with this character tailing her. Up ahead she spotted an off ramp to the right, she swerved right and took the exit at high speed.

She zoomed into a restaurant parking lot and cut the engine. Still sitting on her ‘cycle she removed her helmet and swung one leg around until she was facing the parking lot entrance. She didn’t have long to wait.

The biker swung into the parking lot, drove in a circle around her than came to a stop along side. He sat there his black helmet still on but didn’t say a word. Julie could feel his eyes piercing her through the helmet. She looked at him and suddenly her intuition kicked in and she smiled.

“My, my, Detective Harrison. Who would have thought you knew how to ride so well.”

Behind the helmet Ryan’s eyebrows went up in surprise. He hadn’t thought she would recognize him. He slowly removed his helmet and put in his lap. Bending over a bit he laid his arm across it and looked over at her.

“You’re lucky I’m not arresting you for driving so recklessly,” said Ryan.

“Am I?” she replied softly.

“You’re just lucky I’m off duty right now, or I’d be hauling your butt to the precinct.”

"So apart from your need to protect the general public from my reckless behavior, did this little chase have a point? You were breaking more than a few laws yourself to keep up with me."

She had him in a corner; his pursuit had been a spur of the moment desire, a reaction to his frustration about her mysterious identity. There was no way short of fabricating charges to actually haul her pretty little behind downtown. Thinking quickly he was reduced to using a time-honored cliché.

"I thought it was you, and I wanted to ask you to dinner. I was rude earlier; there was no need for my behavior. As a peace offering will you eat with me?"

Julie fought the urge to laugh out loud. It was obvious that Ryan didn't often engage in this sort of pursuit. 'Let him stew' she thought, 'teach him a lesson for being so unprepared'. Reaching around behind her head she gave her hair a quick tug to pull it tight, the ponytail quickly fixed at the lab had slipped under her helmet. Ryan began to frown and just as he went to speak again she cut him off.

"Yes I'd love to eat with you. But Ryan it's the middle of the night, where will we go?"

She knew the only possible answer was fast food or his place. She knew he had too much of a cowboy's respect for women to suggest the fast food. In her mind it became a test, would he do it? How far was he willing to take this lie?

" We could eat at my place. You don’t have to worry about me poisoning you, I’m a good cook."

Repositioning herself on her bike Julie nodded her head. She had a brief flash of remorse; poor Logan was going to have to find another way to deal with his headache.

She laughed, that'd show him, he never should have bossed her around the way he had.

"I need to make a call and then you can take me wherever you want," she said her voice toneless as she flipped the cell phone open in her hand.

"Hey Leon." She smiled as she spoke and Ryan wondered if she would ever smile that way at him. "I don't really have much time but umm...listen I need a favor." She stepped back thinking the slight action might put a bit of distance between her and the detective. Unfortunately he took a step forward and she had nowhere else to go. She sent him a tiny smile, one that didn't reach her eyes and continued with the call.

"Logan needs gas and water at the location, see if you can get someone to switch them on ASAP." She listened for a moment at what Leon was asking.

"Yeah, I have a list here if I zap them to you maybe you could get them couriered over to him." She listened again and smiled. Ryan was becoming increasingly exasperated with that smile, maybe because it was so rare.

And then she laughed. Really laughed. He had never heard anything so natural from her before and it almost blew him away. This time it was he who took a step backwards, a small frown marring his brow.

"You're a darling Leon, has anyone ever told you that? I'll call you later okay?" she said as she flipped the cellular shut.

"Boyfriend?" Ryan raised his eyebrows knowing he had absolutely no right to ask but unable to restrain himself from doing so.

"Not your business," she replied.

Of course, he should have guessed the answer before he asked the question.

"So detective, are you taking me to dinner or not?"

Ryan nodded, “I have to stop at the station first to get my car. Follow me."

Julie acknowledged with a nod and they both turned on the ignition. They roared out of the parking lot and were on their way.

Meanwhile back at the lab Leon had managed to get the gas and water turned on so Meghan and Logan were sitting in the dining room eating Gumbo and drinking wine.

“When will you start working on the antidote?” asked Meghan.

“It’s too late to begin now, I’m tired and this headache isn’t going away.”

“Want me to make you some Feverfew tea for that?”

“No, I just need some sleep. I’ll start breaking down the sequence of chemicals of the Waxen serum in the morning,” said Logan.

“Why not just start working on the antidote?”

Logan shook his head, “I can’t. I have to first know what the chemicals are and neutralize each of the components before I can even begin mixing chemicals for the antidote.”

Meghan understood and nodded. She got up and took her plate and glass to the kitchen. Logan followed with his. Together they clean their dishes and put them away. When she looked at him she noticed the pained look in his eyes.

“Here, sit down,” she said as she pointed to a chair. She stepped up behind him and started messaging his neck and shoulders.

“Ohm…That feels so good,” mumbled Logan.

His neck and shoulder muscles were so tight but he now started to relax under her soft touch.

A few minutes passed and he said, “You have great hands. Where did you learn how to do this?”

Meghan felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach at the sound of his voice. His hot skin felt wonderful under her hands.

She cleared her throat, “My mother taught me.”

“Is your mother immortal too?”

Silence followed his question and she dropped her hands from him. Logan turned around in his seat to look at her. Meghan’s face was pale. He grabbed her hand and pulled her around to sit on his lap. He closed his arms around her and pushed her head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry my question hurt you.”

Meghan started shaking and tears rolled down her cheeks. She wound her arms around his neck and cried.

“I miss her so much! It’s been so long since I’ve thought of her or talked about her,” she said.

“You can tell me,” said Logan as his hand ran down her hair.

“She died when I was 12 years old. She was a message therapist and at the time of her death she had been teaching me her craft.”

“How did she die?”

“She died of Cancer. My time may be very advance medically but we still haven’t found a way to eradicate Cancer.”

“When did you become immortal?”

“I was in a car accident that killed me when I was 27yrs old. I woke up and found this old man bending over me. His name was Boone Drake. He explained to me what I had become and offered me the opportunity to travel to the future with him. Since I had no ties to anyone here I accepted. He trained me in flight duty, combat, leadership and later became my Commander,” she explained to him.

“So how old are you?” he asked as he tightened his arms around her.

“How old do you think I am?” she asked teasingly.

"Well let's see, I know you look 27 because you told me. You traveled and trained for years, and then you went to war and from what you've said I think that's been going on a while. I don't know, this is hard... 50?"

She sighed. "You are so off the mark. If I tell you please don't get all funny about it. Promise me you won't."

Meghan's eyes pleaded with Logan's and he suddenly regretted asking. What if she was centuries old? Did he seem immature to her? What if she didn't want him because he was too young for her? Maybe her people had rules about age and relationships.

"Logan this is stupid, I knew you'd go weird on me." Meghan's tone changed from light-heartedness to one of tired reservation. She began pulling away from Logan, trying to get off his lap.

Logan clamped his arms around her waist; they were going to have to face this sooner or later.

"Sorry Meghan, I promise I won't overreact. If I'm going to be living and working with you I want to know who you are. Tell Me!"

Their eyes locked and she nodded.

Resigned, Meghan nodded, "I'm 147 years old and that includes my mortal life. I haven't had much of a chance to live though because over fifty years of that was training. Then I've been looking for you for well over two decades. Time is a strange thing when you can go anywhere in it, age doesn’t really matter any longer. In terms of life experience you've got more than me, I've been really sheltered."

She was explaining herself to his chest, afraid to look at his face and see his reaction. His fingers gently curled around her chin and he raised her face to his. Not a trace of anger or regret hinted on his features. Relief hit her like a physical entity, he didn't mind. She was amazed at how much it mattered to her.

Meghan's skin was super sensitive where he touched her face. She was acutely aware of how intimate her position on him was. Her breath caught as she saw his expression change. Why was she denying that she wanted him? He was so gentle, totally willing to accept her at face value. He was all she'd ever really wanted, someone to love her.

His thumb traced her jaw tenderly and Meghan relaxed into his body. Her hands slowly traveled into his soft hair, she pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.

"Do you want this?" Meghan sat back to look at him, a tiny frown creasing her brow, her worries reinstated with the recognition of the strength of her own desire. Perhaps she wanted him too much and he wanted her not enough.

"How can you ask me that?" He smiled slightly leaning forward into her, but she pulled away again, needing to speak.

"Because suddenly I need you. I've never needed anyone in my life but I need you." He voice shook and she was too emotional to restrain herself. She put a hand to his cheek and absently rubbed the pad of her thumb across his skin. She drew in a deep breath and picked herself up, walking across the room, hating herself for saying too much.

He stood too, the strength of her withdrawal reverberating through his body. "Don't do this Meghan. Not because you think I don't understand. I know it's hard but it's not going to go away. I'm not going away," he said. His words were strong enough to break the barrier she had automatically erected about her. She turned to face him then, a million questions reflected in her eyes and yet she only asked one.

"You promise?"

"I promise." He smiled and she strode quickly across the room to kiss him, her lips burning his with desire he tasted on them. And she was everywhere, kissing his eyelids, his ears, and his jaw...almost as if she wanted to drink in everything that he was.

The lab came equipped with a makeshift bed, it was she who backed him up against it and it was she who tumbled across him as he fell backwards onto the mattress.

They lost themselves in their need, neither could have stopped for anything and it felt like the most natural thing in the world for them to love each other. Ryan was glad that Lizzy declined a ride in his car because halfway home it hit him that she'd pulled his strings like a master. He could see her in his mirror, leaning her bike into a corner then righting it again as though she was born in the saddle. She had no right to look so wonderful when he was mad at her it was distracting!

Earlier in the day she'd visited a suspect's house with him. All the time he was questioning, she'd quietly watched the suspect’s reactions. As he searched the rooms she'd calmly sat with the known rapist, and when he'd finished his fruitless search she'd walked out the door with him.

Before he’d got into the car she'd pulled his arm and crept around the house to a window. Following her pointed finger he saw that the bathroom cabinet had been pulled off the wall, and their man was checking out a bloody knife that had been in the void behind it.

Later at the station he asked how she'd known the man would go straight to the hidden weapon. He recalled her smiling and saying if she studied anyone for long enough she knew what they'd do. If she watched them for longer she could also get them to do what she wanted. Her expression had been serious, intense enough to rattle him. Then as if she knew it 'Lizzy' had kicked back in and she'd given a fake laugh. "Nah," she'd chuckled, "I'm pulling your leg, people are basically predictable, and you’re a detective you know that."

He wondered now if she really could get people to do whatever she wanted. Who was he kidding; she'd pulled him all the way.

Following Ryan's car Julie pulled her bike into the driveway of an airy wooden house complete with veranda. It was nice, better than she would have expected on a cop’s wages. Pity it was dark and she couldn't see the garden.

The interior was sparsely furnished, front door opening directly into the lounge. Ryan paused in the doorway and watched Lizzy as she paced the perimeter of the room. She looked wary, watching her reminded him of a caged animal.

"Can I take your jacket?"

He saw her hesitate, it struck him suddenly that she was probably armed and didn't want him to know. Slouching out of his jacket he made sure she saw his gun secure in his hip holster, she smiled.

"So it's going to be a I'll show you mine if you show me yours kind of situation is it? Well my good detective you might not always like getting what you wish for."

"I'm fully aware that Bureau staff are armed and I've seen weapons before. That said, Elizabeth Jayne Simpson may I have the honor of taking your jacket?" As she peeled the dark leather off, Ryan couldn't help but gasp in shock, she was more than just armed she was a one-woman army.

Under her left arm was a personalized SIG pro, not even available publicly yet. Strapped to her left upper-arm was a small dagger and tightly bound to her right side was what looked like a Palm-pilot. All her weapons were strapped on the left and his detective's mind noted she was right-handed.

Worse though, was the empty loops attached to the leather straps. Indicating what he saw before him was a stripped-down version of her usual arsenal.

When she offered him the jacket he reached for it automatically. In stunned silence walking to the hall closet, hanging his jacket in it's usual spot, then putting the second clothes hook to use.

Taking a deep breath he prepared to face Julie then turned. It took a second to register, he hadn't heard a sound but she was no longer in the room.

Julie had not gone far. The truth of it was that there was absolutely no way she would have even contemplated leaving so quickly. He had her favorite leather jacket in his closet and she wasn't about to go anywhere without it. She had however felt a need to explore his kitchen. Mainly because he was about to prepare food for her and she had a basic enough knowledge of men's kitchens to know that if they were spotless the man couldn't cook and if they were filthy he would probably poison her.

Ryan's kitchen was obviously used, pots were scratched and dented, the cutting board was marred by lacerations, and when she opened the fridge it was well stocked. She was almost shocked to find nothing green and fuzzy lurking anywhere in there. Almost shocked. Her last episode had been in fifth grade when Kyle Peterson had tried to look up her skirt. Of course she'd quickly recovered and delivered a very swift kick to his shin. She smiled at the memory, seeing Kyle at her tenth anniversary high school reunion and hearing that he was married and had five children all under the age of seven.

She may have been distracted by memories but Julie was the best. And while she was thinking of Kyle Peterson and his flock she was fully aware of the exact moment that Ryan walked into the room. She sensed it, not only because she was trained to do so but also because there was something about him that appealed to her subconscious.

And she hated that.

"Do you see anything you like?" he asked with one brow raised. She turned to face him, totally unflustered and perfectly collected. That frustrated him. She had been snooping through his kitchen and she was the one looking at him as if he should feel guilty. It didn't work; he straightened his back and took another step forward.

"You have nothing gross in your refrigerator," she pointed out as if it were a bad thing. He made a motion to close the door and she stepped aside as he did so. Unfortunately the next motion he made brought him a lot closer to her, and while she tried to go backward she found herself trapped between the counter and his body. Again she refused to be flustered, she was absolutely calm. She was always calm. Until his lips met hers and she found herself floundering, almost completely lost to him.

Kissing Ryan brought it all back, the lust, the love, and finally the betrayal. As much as she wanted to let herself fall into his arms she couldn't. Gently Ryan freed her hair. She felt him tangle his fingers in the silky mass pulling her closer to him.

The innocent action transported her back four years; to the warehouse apartment she'd shared with HIM. It was raining outside when she'd received the call, the operation was coming apart, her cover was compromised she had to get out right away. He'd walked into the room it was all right because he was a fellow agent, someone she trusted, and someone she loved.

'We've got to go, there's been a leak," she'd said, "they're sending someone after us. They want us dead."

"Wrong sweetheart, they want you dead."

He'd smiled a half-smile, pulled out his revolver and pointed it straight at her. She'd dived for cover; the bullet caught her thigh, burning white-hot through her body. As she lay there bleeding he'd stood above her.

"Why? I love you, why?"

"I know you love me, it makes this even better. I let you fall so deep you'd never suspect a thing. I don't love you, no one could love you Julie! It's sick what you do, and you do it so well, too well. Face it; your whole life no one's wanted you, who could? You're insane, and now I'm going to make sure that you never get a chance to destroy this operation. It's taken me years to get this organized and although you're great in bed, you aren't worth three million."

As he talked above her she'd pulled a pistol from under the couch, a hidden weapon in every room was a precaution she always took. He finished talking and bent to touch her face tenderly, mockingly, a final insult to the love she had given him. Reaching between them she pushed the barrel to his body and pulled the trigger and watched him fall. She knew that she was never going to love again.

Ryan deepened the kiss holding her tightly to him; she was like a dream, soft and warm in his arms. Suddenly she pulled away, pushing him so hard he almost fell.

"NO!"

Although he could hear anger, it was the blind terror in her voice that surprised him the most.

Ryan jumped around ready for action, he knew with a horror scream such as Lizzy's someone had to be behind him! His heart was racing he could feel the sweat beads already popping up on his body. Blocking Lizzy with his body he swiveled around, to his surprise no one was there. He looked back to her to see where her eyes were focused and found her eyes closed.

“Lizzy what is it? What's wrong? Did you see or hear something? Talk to me! Tell me!”

When her eyes slowly opened he could see no emotion there, she had already masked her fear. But she didn’t fool him, something was terribly wrong with this picture and he was going to find out!

Her small hand came up and pressed his chest. He felt himself step back to the snack bar. With a cool calm voice as nothing had happen she said, “Hey I thought we were going to have dinner? I’m starved!”

She opened the refrigerator once again and all Ryan could see was her back. He was stunned. What was up with her? He’d felt her melting in his arms just now. Was he mistaken over his own feelings?

No, it felt right and he wasn’t going to let her blow him off. He grabbed on to her arm and swung her back around to face him.

“Lizzy?”

Her eyes now showed some human form, confusion, sadness and Ryan could see she was scared for the first time since he met her.

“Lizzy did I offend you with my kiss?”

He held on to both her arms so he could see into her eyes. She didn't say anything; their eyes were locked on one another.

“Lizzy let me kiss you again. I really want to kiss you,” he didn’t wait for her to answer and his lips came down on hers.

With a sigh she allowed him to kiss her. His lips were pure silk. She felt her body fusing with his. His arms encircled her, pulling her even closer. Why was she doing this? Because, it felt so wonderful! She wanted it as much as Ryan did. ‘I need to pull away… yes pull away… just a minute more and I will! Just another minute... Never before have I been kissed like this! HMMM… how much better could it get?’

Ryan moved his lips ever so lightly back and forth, teasing gently with his tongue. His moist lips creating such a rush for her, feelings she hadn't felt in such a long time. A moan escaped him from deep in his throat and he knew if he didn't stop now, there would be no help in stopping him on going further.

Julie felt her world floating by her as she drifted higher she had to get her feet back on the ground before she lost all control.

“Ryan stop! I have no desire to kiss you!”

Ryan felt like he was just slammed in the chest and the air pulled out of his body. How confusing this woman is! What a tease!

“Oh I see it's your feelings for Leon! Sorry Lizzy I shouldn't have kissed you. Your right lets find something to eat.”

Ryan wasn't about to show his hurt emotions. Once long ago was enough for him and he learned his lesson well.

“So how about I whip you up a New Orleans treat?”

He'd play it cool. If that kiss didn't affect her then I sure wont let her see it affected me.

Ryan was an excellent chef. The food was delicious but Lizzy hardly touched her food. Pre-occupied with memories of the past and her conflicting feelings about Ryan, she was awakened out of her reverie by a tickling sensation at her feet. She peeked underneath the table and was surprised to find a cute puppy investigating her feet.

"What have we here? Who's your owner, little fellow?"

Lizzy couldn't resist herself and picked up the puppy. The puppy happily licked her face all over, causing Ryan to laugh and diffusing the tense situation caused by the earlier scene.

"This is Roger, my bloodhound. Come here boy."

Roger looked back and forth between the two adults and seeming to like Lizzy better, continued licking her.

"You little rascal, defecting to the enemy camp." Ryan gently scolded Roger and tried to lure him back with a steak.

Roger remained unmoved and unaffected. Lizzy, amused with both owner and puppy, displayed a genuine smile.

"Well little Roger I'm glad that you like me, I value faithful friends."

Ryan watched as the puppy stilled, face upturned, watching intently for her next words.

Lizzy curled her fingers around the pup's ear and Ryan got the distinct impression that for her and Roger he was no longer in the room. Her movements were tender, her voice soft and loving, the accent different from the one she'd used all day. Dark hair falling in waves and framing her face she lost the hard edge he associated with her and instead began to look like a lost child. Her dark eyes were sad when she continued.

"You already trust me don't you little man? It doesn’t matter who I am, what I've done or why I'm here. You just throw your little body in my arms and trust me with your life. Unconditional love."

Something in her last two words reverberated in Ryan, she longed for love like she'd never been given it. It was crazy but he wanted to give it to her, reaching across the table he touched her hand.

She pulled back, breaking the spell and gently placed Roger on the floor.

Julie could have kicked herself, in the last few hours she'd broken about every self-preservation rule she'd ever followed. Leon and Logan would be horrified at her behavior! It was the proximity to Ryan that was causing her carelessness. Her foolish little heart leapt at his touch but her mind knew that falling in love would kill her. Ryan was a man she could easily fall for, but he had too many questions.

Only one real option remained, putting as much distance between her and Ryan as was humanly possible for the remainder of her time in New Orleans. Taking one last look at Ryan she stood. It was better to leave now when it only hurt a little.

"I should get going now, thank you for dinner it was really good. I'll see myself out."