It wasn't the FBI or the CIA. Those hacks from fed and state moved too slow and had too much red tape for what [i]she[/i] did. She told him once that it was less paperwork and more money-- that's about all it amounted to for her-- but he knew better. He knew the real reason why they ended up in Miami so soon after the last job went bust. Zero moved the ice pack off of his jaw where she had slugged him hard. Squinted at his refection in the mirror, and winced. [i]Not pretty.[/i] Maybe he should think about retirement. "Hey, ugly." she said, in what he might consider an affectionate tone, "I'm going down to the cafe. Do something useful and find us a place to live will ya'? We might be here a while." She paused at the doorway and scrunched her eyebrows together, "Zero? Something wrong?" "No more." "Huh?" "You heard me Deblin, I want out." "Not this again. Look, if it's about the money--" "It's not about the money. It's about [i]you[/i]." he braces himself as her green eyes widen with confusion. That didn't fool him either though. In fact, he had the sinking feeling this had been her plan all along. Fine. Even if it was her plan, he still wanted this to happen. "It's about you treating me like I'm a liability. So... s-so you can just take your stuff from this motel room and go elsewhere." He hated how his voice stumbled, it was supposed to be [i]his[/i] final declaration, dammit, he was supposed to be the boss of this moment. "Fine. If that's really how you feel..." she said softly, "but just know, Zero. Whatever they're paying you, it's not worth your life. " "What are you talking ab--" "Drop the act." she says flatly. "It's not working." "I seriously don't think you get what this is about." She holds up a cellphone. His cellphone. Zero watched her type in the number to unlock it with a bewildered expression. 9-8-7-2-0--- .. Her thumb hovers over the number 7. She stares at him a moment as if deep in thought. Mumbles something like 'fuck', under her breath when he doesn't make a motion to react. Taking the device between her fingers she slides the battery case open to reveal... [i]Shit.[/i] "See? It's just a regular cellphone. You're losing it, kid." "Zero-- I.. I'm really sorry... you have been acting strangely lately and I just thought that.. " [i]Tick. Tick.[/i] [b][i]Boom[/i][/b] ------------------------------------- [indent]The last thing I remember before going under is Zero's smiling face hovering over mine. "Think you're so fucking smart don't you?" he grins, "You never thought I could rig an entire minibar during a two minute shower, did you?" The outline of his face is blurred but I can smell the cheap cologne on his neck. Sensation in my fingertips go numb. [i]What the hell did he hit me with?[/i] I feel his lips press against mine and then I have one last thought before blackness: [i]Explosives experts... After the big bang it's all downhill from there...[/i] [/indent] -------------------------------------- It's dark when I wake up in the hospital. Whatever Zero hit me with wasn't enough to kill me-- I do a body check-- and then scowl. I'm fine. Zero wanted me alive so that I would chase after him. They clock says I've been out almost a day. I look over at the night stand. And sure enough. Flowers. Daises (my favorite). I rip the envelope that came attached to them and yeah, it's from who I thought it was. I read the note out loud. "Dear Deblin: I want to fuck you." Only the letter left out the word "I" and the part about him wanting to. Still, it was pretty damn obvious. There's the sound of shoes- women's non-slip size eight- shuffling outside of my door. I look up and a nurse comes in surprised to see me sitting up and smiling (I slipped the note under the mattress). "Hold on, I'll see if she's awake-- Oh! You're up? Good. Looks like there's a young man named Michael here to see you..."