Sharia bed in the letter for what had to be the hundredth time.

Dear Ms. Mathews,
You are cordially invited to join myself and a small group of other individuals, much like yourself, for a short vacation in my cabin hidden away in the woods of southeast Missouri. Please bring 5 days worth of clothing, your swimwear (if you'd like), and anything else you might want or need for the stay.
If you agree to come (which would be in your best interest Ms. Mara) please be at the Cape Girardeau Reginal airport between 10 am and 3 pm two Fridays from now.
Signed Mr. X

'How does he know that I am Mara Lewis, and not the body that was burnt to a crisp in that accident my sister arranged.' she wondered as she sat outside the doors where people could pick up new arrivals with her chocolate Lab, Gypsy. She had made the 6 and a half hour drive, stayed in a hotel, and gotten to the airport 30 minutes before 10. Now she was just waiting.

5 minutes later a man showed up with a set of signs, and the one facing out had her name on it.

"Excuse me, Sir. I'm Saria Mathes." She told him.

The man nodded, and told her to wait where she was leaving her sign with her. He then went in to look for others.

Bob was writing up a report on a recent case he worked. He was now on his way to being a detective, and he wanted to work hard for it. A rookie approached his desk. "Hey Bob, you got mail." he said, and left. Bob looked at the envelope which contained no return address.

Dear Mr. Skuller,
You are cordially invited to join myself and a small group of other individuals, much like yourself, for a short vacation in my cabin hidden away in the woods of southeast Missouri. Please bring 5 days worth of clothing, your swimwear (if you'd like), and anything else you might want or need for the stay.
If you agree to come (which would be in your best interest, as I'm sure you don't want to run over my generosity ) please be at the Cape Girardeau Reginal airport between 10 am and 3 pm two Fridays from now.
Signed Mr. X

He read it again, and he immediately felt something fishy about the letter, especially since the words in bold meant something to him. They reminded him of the girl he saw run over by a suspect he let go. His thoughts finished processing, and he figured he must go to this Mr. X, whom obviously knew what happened. Bob wanted to know why he sent this letter, why he asked Bob to meet.

Bob filed for leave, which was immediately approved, and soon, Friday came. He landed at the airport and saw a man carrying a board with his name on it, and he approached him. "Hey. I'm Bob Skuller." he said, and the man nodded. He asked Bob to follow him, and Bob was brought and left to an area where a woman stood.

"Hey," Bob said. "Are you going to Mr. X's too? I'm Bob, by the way. Bob Skuller."

Lucy was checking the mail, as she did every day. She was expecting a letter from her best friend who lives in Australia. Her friend always decorated the letters so nicely, with cute stickers, deco tape and some characterized stamp. Of course, no luck, today. The letter had not come in the mail. But another letter did. It was enveloped differently, oddly. Earmarking this letter, Lucy opened it first after entering her apartment.

"Dear Ms. Lucia Estuert,

You are cordially invited to join myself and a small group of other individuals, much like yourself, for a short vacation in my cabin hidden away in the woods of southeast Missouri. Please bring 5 days worth of clothing, your swimwear (if you'd like), and anything else you might want or need for the stay.
If you agree to come (which would be in your best interest, calculating the math, this may be a geometric assignment you will not want to miss) please be at the Cape Girardeau Reginal airport between 10 am and 3 pm two Fridays from now.

Signed Mr. X"

Lucy immediately put the letter down, dumbfounded. Math, geometry? Her mind quickly raced to her freshman year in high school. How did this person know? Was it just a coincidence? No, something, someone was--black mailing her.

She hesitated for the first week, debating whether she should take this letter seriously or just let it flop into the trashcan, never to be seen, again. The person sounded so serious.

Lucy was still skeptical by the second week, but decided to go, on a whim. This was serious. It had to be serious. It was only one person! Maybe, that one person was just the wrong person to have as a client. She did manage an A for the semester, whether she completed all the work or not. .

On the second Friday, she arrived at the airport promptly at 10AM. If this was to seek forgiveness, she was game.

Dear Mr. piye
You are cordially invited to join myself and a small group of other individuals, much like yourself, for a short vacation in my cabin hidden away in the woods of southeast Missouri. Please bring 5 days worth of clothing, your swimwear (if you'd like), and anything else you might want or need for the stay.
If you agree to come (which would be in your best interest, as I'm sure you don't want to run over my generosity ) please be at the Cape Girardeau Reginal airport between 10 am and 3 pm two Fridays from now.
Signed Mr. X

Looking down at the letter scratching his head at the odd fact kas dared go to check out, a house out in the forest? he was just asking to get in some creepy stuff, but he couldn't say no, and the fact that it was so open for him assured kas that they planned the vacation around all of there plans, which brought him back to the others. He wasn't sure he would do to good with them, having to sleep with random people around creeped kas out, it took him years to get used to the maids at his house. Letting out a sigh he walked towards the food court, the trip had left him with nothing in his stomach, a feeling he was to used to and always ready to get rid of. Grabbing a quick fast food meal kas looked around, the others must be around somewhere. Taking another bite of his meal, Kas remembered the way he got the letter. (flashback)

Sitting at the desk in his room, he was busy dealing with the money his parent were trying to get from him, attempting to black mail and sue him for all he had, the fact he had to fuel money into the lawsuit made him grind his teeth, they never did anything for him. As a maid entered the room and laid a tray with a large omelet and piece of toast (that's what fancy people eat right?) they slipped a paper into his pocket, that was when Kas never met the girl before, the fact she could get in made chills go down his spin, and that he couldn't grab the large knife in his drawer made him even more spooked. Sighing as he looked at what she had reverse pick-pocketed into him, he found the note, and a large about of lint but that was common.

Saria saw the man, who had told her to wait, come out followed by another man she assumed to be another guest. She stood up as she watched them approach thinking, Great. Not only do I have to keep Mr. X from revealing my secret, but I also have to keep it from a cop.

Her sister had taught her how to spot an out of the uniform cop when she was little and they were still hiding after running away. She couldn't help but laugh at herself. oh, how old habits die hard. she gave the officer a friendly smile as Mr. X's associate put down Bob's sign and headed back inside to wait for the others.

Saria nodded when Bob introduced himself and asked if she wasn't going to the cabin. "Nice to meet you, Ofc. Skuller. I'm Saria Matthews, and this is my hiking and swimming partner, Gypsy." She said gesturing to the dog standing next to her. "And yes, I am going out to meet this Mr. X." she paused for a moment. "So, what do you think and this whole situation?" She asked frowning a little.

Back inside Mr. X's associate would be holding up three signs the best he could. Each sign contained a different name written in bold letters. Lucia Estuert, Charlie Jameson, Kas Piye

"Good eye, Miss Matthews. You're gonna have to tell me how you knew I am an officer, but right now, I'm not an officer, so just Bob would be fine." he said. He smiled at her and said, "Nice to meet you Ms. Matthews. " He looked at the dog and patted her head, "Nice to meet you too, Gypsy."

"About this situation, I think it's very fishy. Something just stinks, I just don't know what, or where. That's why I'm here, to find out." he said, as he continued to rub Gypsy's head.

"I doubt it will, but this could get dangerous. I hope I can count on you."

Kas Ran over to the man holding the sign, smiling as he attempted to ask about the whole trip, only for the man to merge with the crowd.Looking around Kas was pointed to a man and a woman by a man holding a sign reading, charles Jameson. With a nod he wandered his way over, constantly chickening out of walking over but gaining more courage as he walked away. After about the fifth he smacked himself upside the head, "this is a waste of time, if your going to be living with these people, you'll have to quit being a pansy and show yourself," he thought to himself.Taking in a deep breath, Kas ran through the crowd of people, yelling sorry with each step. Slowing to a walk as he neared the two he let out a final sorry before coming withing 5 feet of them. Looking up to the girl, kas began to blush. Her hair wasn't greasy and unkempt like the women he had seen in his old house. She had a petite build, something that just made him feel all the better, but he shut his mouth about it as he tripped and landed between them.

Saria smiled. "I would be glad to tell you, and, please, call me Saria." She said watching the people. "I agree. This whole thing is very fishy, but that's not why I came. I'm here to find out who Mr. X is." She watches a boy approach them and trip on something.

She offers to help the boy up. "Are you ok."

Just then the man with the signs came up. "Please fallow me, please." He said turning to lead the out to a waiting car.

Kas stumbled up, attempting to grab the woman's hand but missing widely. Looking at the man with the sign. He then remembered the people behind him and stuck his hand out to handshake, smiling brightly to the people, The girl looked very beautiful, thought with any girl he felt that way. In a normal instance he would attempt to look up her dress, but if they were going to be together for a week, still maybe if she was sleeping. Kas shook his head as he began to think of such dirty things.

"Hello, I take it you are one of the guest, my name is kash, but please call me kas, who might you be?" he said with his smile and and his eyes trying there best to stay on her face.

Bob agreed with what Saria said. Then a guy fell over and she helped him. Bob shook the kid's hand and stayed quiet, as the kid seemed fixated on Saria.

He took note of the traits of both of them and continued observing, ready to go at any time.

Saria smiled politely to the boy. "Nice to meet you Kash. I'm..Sarina." She says pausing for only a beat before giving the false name. She didn't trust the boy for some reason, and didn't like his fixation on her. "But everyone calls me Sari." She say directing the new nickname to Bob as well. "And the chocolate Lab is Gypsy." She said patting the dogs head. She then turned to follow the man with the signs. He had stopped a few feet away to wait for them to follow him. "I guess we're ready to go."

Kas felt a bit hurt at her calling him by his real name, but it was easy to see why she would, he was a stranger, and unfortunately he would stay that way. He wasn't the best at this, but he knew a thing or too about when people were trying to stay incognito. It may have only been A second but it was enough for Kas to understand she wasn;t sarina, thought he couldn't be sure. As he noticed the girl had moved, Kas snapped out of his trance as he followed the dog she called gybsy. It was a silly name, he had met gypsies before, they were not dogs, they were to prideful to be called such a thing. Sighing as he caught up with them he looked at the two.

"so were we headin'" Kash said smiling

"To the cabin, I reckon." Bob said. Remembering he didn't introduce himself to the kid, he did, then followed the man to the car wondering where the other people were. There were more names than there were people.

When they reached the vehicle the man helped Saria get Gypsy situated in the back. When the dog was comfortable the man opened the back door for them to get into the back two rows of seats. Gypsy was practically sitting in the third row of seats. Plus it looked to be a little cramped, so Saria climbed into the third row since Gypsy was hers and she was probably the smallest of the three.

There was a man in the drivers seat, and he didn't seem to be anymore friendly than the first guy. "So, how far away is this cabin?" Asked Saria as she buckled in. The driver looked at her in the rear view mirror. "A two hour drive. Then you'll switch to either horseback or Atv."

"Overkill, much." She mumbled shaking her head frowning. "Well, it sounds like you might get some good exercise today girl." She said patting the dog.

He got in the row in front of Sari and Gypsy.

"Cool, horses. I like horses." Bob said in a very generic, monotone way. He decided to engage Saria in conversation, as he thought of her as an ally because of their previous talk, which reminded him of something. It seemed like a good topic to open with.

He rested his arm on the seat's back and looked at Sari. "So, Sari. Long ride, might as well talk, huh? You were gonna tell me about how you easily knew what my profession was?" he asked in as friendly a way as he could. It was shady, how she could tell he was a cop, but he wanted to know because it's rare that a civilian could tell just by looking.

Kash opened the door to the car and swung in next the bob with vigor. Smiling as he buckled his seat belt and looking back to the dog and the girl. Something about being next to the man made kas nervous, he had a aura to him that felt dignified, powerful, and orderly. Kas inhaled deeply and high pitched as he heard the men explain there long ride. He now understood they were in the presence of an officer of the law. Breathing in deeply before looking at the the man and smiling again. "so I take you have some sort of government job mr. Skuller?" he said also wanting to know how the girl knew his profession. They clearly weren't all just random people, this mr.x had brought some people together for a reason, and they all seemed dangerous.

Alison:
The first man would close the door once the three were in, and as the car was about to pull away they would hear a girl shouting for them to wait. The driver stops as a girl in black pants and shirt come running up. She spoke to the first man for a second before he opened the door again so that she could climb in. Instead of getting in the back with Saria, like a someone else might have done, she instead climbed over Kas to the middle of the second row. She spoke to the driver for a moment before sitting down. She put her arms along the back of the seat behind each boy. "Hello boys. I'm Ali, and I have four or five things I need to tell ya." She said as the car pulled away from the curb. "First of all, I don't know if any of you thought of this, but This car is now bug free. When our driver got it there were a few hidden around, but he took care of that so we can talk freely. Secondly, I'm the one who delivered those letters you all received, but don't bother asking me about Mr. X. He hired me through a third party. Thirdly, I wasn't invited to this little get together, and I couldn't care less why you two were." She paused for a moment. "Actually, I take that back. I care if your secret puts others in danger. I'm only here for one, actually, two reasons. First off, I want to find out who Mr. X is. As I'm sure you do too, and secondly..." She turned around to face Saria. "How are you doing Little sister? It's been a while." She said with a big smile.

---

Saria:
Saria watched as the new girl came running up and climbed into the car. Something seemed very familiar about her, but she couldn't quite place it. She kept thinking about her sister, but she knew that wasn't possible. Her sister was dead....wasn't she? So, maybe her sister was still alive. She had arranged the death of Mara after all. Why couldn't she arrange for a false Elizabeth. She had known that the girl wouldn't climb into the back with her. It wasn't her style. She listened to Ali talk to the boys feeling more and more like this girl was her sister, and her suspicions were confirmed when she turned around and asked how she was. "Oh! Wow! It's so good to see you again. I thought you were dead. I've been doing pretty good. How about you?"

Kas smiled as the girlclimbed over him, Saria was enough for him but now her sister, his day was getting better by the minute, expecailly when she put he arm behind him, a strange schrek came from his mouth only to shut off as he heard he say the magic words. "I'm the one who delivered those letters" with a twitch Kas tried to remain his smile and keep his eyes from showing, the eyes he had when he became serious could send chills down a mad man's spine.

"aaah so you are the maid I take it, I sure wish you kept the outfit, you looked good in it, say your sisters? that's great"

"Yes, mister Kas. I am the president." Bob said, but not in a mean way, more like playful tone.

Soon, the driver pulled over and let a lady in. She said a bunch of things that brought light to the situation, even if just a bit, but the one that made its mark is that she wants to uncover Mr. X's identity. He wasn't sure if she could be trusted, but he was sure they could cooperate to do it. And then she said hi to her little sister. Bob thought it strange, but he didn't want to get between them. It was their problem. He kept quiet and just observed.

Alison:
She smiled brightly to her sister. "I'm doing pretty good myself, all things considered. I haven't got a real job now, but my boss seems a little weird." She said, fully knowing that her boss was sitting right next to her even though he didn't know it. "I haven't been able to bring myself to complete please leave in the underground. So, I also work as a delivery girl, and it I get a juicy enogh piece of information I'll pass it along to the police. I've been working with a really nice officer." She said, never giving a hint that the officer she was talking about was Bob.

"oh, that bright. I have some deliveries to make right now." She took a flash drive out of her pocket and dropped it into the cup holder by the drivers seat. She then pulled an envelope out of her back pocket and handed it to Bob. When he opened it he would find a letter from Chloe, his CI, telling him about a robbery that was to take place that weekend.

Then Alison pulled a couple of envelopes out of her hip pocket and handed them to Kas. "Camilla and some of the other workers from your house thought these looked like you should see them as soon as possible."he said with a smile.

She then pulled a bulging envelope from her bra and handed it to Saria. "This comes to you courtesy of my boss through my last paycheck."

---

Saria:
She is happy to hear that her sister has a regular job, and that she is even helping the police a little. She watches as Allison hands out her deliveries and takes the envelope her sister hands to her. "what? Nothing for Gypsy?"she asks with a smile.

She hadn't heard Kas'statement about Alison keeping the outfit, and she answered with a smile, "i'm sure she would have, except that dresses aren't her style."

She frowns a little when she sees that the envelope contains over $1000. "this isn't all from one paycheck is it?"

---

Alison:
She smiled as she pulls a rawhide out and her other hip pocket and tosses it to Gypsy. "and of course I wouldn't forget Gypsy, and no it's actually from the last two or three paychecks."

She turned it to Kas with a smile."she is right, dresses aren't my style. But, thank you for the compliment."