-St. Peter's Medical Center, Oahu, 3:05 PM-

"The astoundingly close match ended just a few minutes ago... with Alex taking the upper hand on the last possible moment, and beating sumo wrestler Edmund Honda with..."

"Are you going to need a ride back to the hotel?" Victoria's attention was drawn from the television in front of her to the martial arts student fidgeting in clutches to her right. The tiny hospital room gave Sean little space to maneuver in his newly acquired companions.

"Um, no. There's this shop I want to check out. It's not far from here. But thanks." She smiled, and then blinked before adding, "You've never used those things before, have you?"

"Is it that obvious?" He continued with a smirk. "Have you?"

She grinned. "Only once." After turning off the TV and hopping off her spot on the bed, Enid slid Matsuda's gym bag strap over her shoulder. It wasn't heavy - Sean didn't bring that many belongings to the hospital - but it was the least she could do until he got adjusted to his clutches.

"Your sensei should be here any minute now. I'll walk down with you" Victoria said, patting her former tournament partner on the back before opening the door for him.

"Mr. Matsuda!" A woman's voice halted the two fighters just before they reached the elevators. Victoria didn't miss the sly smile that momentarily spread over Matsuda's face when he saw the source of the voice... a young Polynesian nurse hurried towards them, notepad in hand. Her thick black hair was pulled back into a neat bun and her white and blue uniform clung well onto her figure... too well, Victoria thought.

The nurse took a moment to catch her breath and then spoke. "I'm sorry to bother you Mr. Matsuda... but if you could just follow me? There is one last test we need to run."

"Test?" Sean asked, lifting a brow in an obviously confused manner.

Victoria interceded, speaking directly to her friend. "But I thought the doctor said you can go?"

"Yes but Dr. Manning must have forgotten to tell him that patients must go through a final check up before leaving. It's hospital policy." Victoria felt the other woman's eyes pierce on her, but her features were quickly conquered by a warm smile. "It will only take a few minutes." She added.

"But..." Victoria attempted to continue but was stopped by Sean, who from behind the nurse's field of view, made unsubtle gestures for Victoria to quit it. Enid inwardly rolled her eyes. So typical for men to think with only one head at a time.

"So if you could please follow me, sir."

Victoria took one step to follow the pair but was stopped by the taller woman, who turned to face her.

"I'm sorry. Patient privacy regulations prohibit anyone other than relatives to accompany him to the check up facilities"

Victoria pursed her lips slightly. "Right..."

"I'd be happy to take his bag" Much to Millan's irritation, the nurse smiled that annoying smile again.

After a moment of brief thought and suppressing the nagging feeling she had in her gut, Victoria handed the bag to the nurse's extended hand.

"Call me... if you need anything" She told Sean, before turning around and heading towards the elevators.

---

-Elsewhere-

The cell phone's ring tone battled with the loud rock music for attention. Its owner managed to hear it over the rumpus, and turned the volume down before reaching for the phone. Ken Masters studied the number, not recognizing it, as he simultaneously tried to keep his eyes on the road. After a moment of brief consideration he answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Masters, I am calling on behalf of Umbrella Corporation. There is something I wish..."

"I would appreciate if you tell me who you are." The Shotokan master interrupted.

"My name is not of importance, sir. Although the repercussions of your lack of cooperation might be of more interest to you... I've heard rumors on how susceptible you have brought your wife and son to be."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Please listen carefully. Your disciple, Mr. Sean Matsuda, has volunteered to assist in several of our research programs and..."

"Bullsh*t! Where is he?"

"...and we would be grateful for your discretion in this issue. This conversation stays between you and me, Mr. Masters, or the implications on both your family and your student will be severe..."

---

-Room #105, the Makai-

Slowly, a pair of gold-coloured eyes opens, as the sound of the hotel door opening reaches Freckle's ears, interrupting his sleep. Emitting a low purr, the cat rushes towards the door just as Jin enters the room, where it immediately reaches up to place both paws onto Kushina's thigh, using its hind legs to support itself as he stares at Jin with seemingly forlorn, innocent eyes.

"No, I'm not feeding you again," Jin says, gently nudging it off his thigh. He had already fed the cat a couple hours ago, in fact. "Your mother can feed you when she gets home" Whatever time that is... he adds silently.

As of late, particularly since the incident at the bar, even seeing her felt like a novelty. It was like a cycle: she left early in the morning, while he was still asleep, to return back near the early hours of the morning, whilst he was deep in sleep. Sometimes the cycle would be broken, with her stopping in briefly during the days after all-nighters, yet their conversations rarely ventured beyond polite pleasantries before either one of them eventually left the room. By now, Jin had grown used to the situation, although he didn't exactly like it.

Leaving Freckle to growl at him in reaction, Jin heads to the bathroom and turns the shower knobs on, filling the room up with rising steam. Seconds later he steps in and allows the water to wash away his sweat. The pulse of heat from the water spray quickly alleviates aching muscles and joints, caused by today's 20-mile jog. He sighs.

It's a waste, this training, a voice inside him critiques. Training for a match as if there's going to be one, as if she'll suddenly change her mind.

She could, is his reply. A lot can happen within 3 days.

Perhaps so, the same voice says. But do you really expect her to show, considering what she said?

Jin lets the question go unanswered as he turns the shower knobs off and reaches for the nearby towel to dry himself off. Around 20 minutes later he was back to being fully dressed, decked out in a black pair of jeans held up by a black leather belt with gold buckle, brown shoes, and dark blue button-up short-sleeved shirt. The latter in this case was currently worn unbuttoned, exposing a light, black cotton T-shirt underneath.

With an invitation from Fei Long, Jin's plans for the evening would be spent in "Club Hawaii", a recently opened nightclub. Out of an owed favour to the club's owner, a close friend of Long, the actor's purpose was to turn up and conveniently allow the press to take pictures of him outside and inside the building. It was a common tactic employed by various club owners, paying big names just to arrive at their establishments as a means of promoting and boosting their business. Honda had also been on Fei's invite list, and most certainly would have turned up, had it not been for the extent of his injuries following his defeat against the Street Fighter Champion.

Kushina checks himself in the mirror for a second time, and then looks over at the nearby clock. The club wouldn't open for several more hours, he knew, yet he really had nothing to do until then. Maybe he could take a stroll around town for a while... and then, who knows? Stop at a bar for a drink or two, most likely.

As Jin is about to reach for the door to leave he suddenly senses Freckle trailing behind him, causing Kushina to turn around to face the pet. Eyes similar in colour to Jin's own stare back at him, displaying that same innocent-like gaze as earlier.

"You do this same trick to her as well?" Jin questions, strolling past the cat and towards the fridge. "No wonder she spoils you so much," he adds, retrieving a boxed carton of milk that he then pours into Freckle's bowl. With a pleased purring sound, the feline patters over to Jin's position where he rubs his head against his leg in appreciation before attending to his bowl. The courier merely observes the feline silently as he does this, reaching out to scratch behind his ears every so often with a tiny smile.

---

-Elsewhere-

Ahh, fast food. Not unlike a crack-whore, it was cheap, quick, easy and you'd probably regret having it later. Natalie's sleep deprived brain worked over the resemblance as she stood in line at a McDonald's, and eventually stepped up when she heard the lifeless, automatic greeting from the cashier.

"Yeah, I want two large fries, two double cheeseburgers and a medium drink."

As she paid for the meal, a familiar and unwelcome voice, "You're going to get fat one day, you know. Or have a heart attack."

She stepped aside to wait for her order, left brow already ticking. "That is if I don't die of stress or a mass of bullets first."

Natalie Wynshire turned to find Special Agent in Charge Kyle Parker, or SAC Kyle Parker. The "SAC" title spawned a slew of insulting nicknames in Natalie mind, for obvious reasons. Parker smirked at her in a way that let the Agent know he wasn't going to leave her alone for dinner.

"Don't be ridiculous, Wyn. So far, you've been too good to go out like that."

Something about that 'so far' bothered her, but she took her tray to the drink and condiment station and filled her cup with her selection.

"I don't guess it ever occurred to you that people need sleep."

In the last week, rather than the fifty-six or so hours of sleep most people got at minimum, Natalie had gotten a grand total of twenty and a half on a sporadic schedule. She was becoming used to it... her body wasn't. She wondered how much longer her skills would hold up before fatigue slowed her reaction times.

As a result of so little sleep, she also had an even more voracious appetite than ever. This was actually her second meal in three hours...

"You'd get time to sleep if you got rid of those pets of yours," Kyle said as he followed her to the table of her choice. When he sat down, she promptly got up and switched tables, shooting him an irritated glare when he followed to once again plop down across from her.

"What the hell do you want?" she snapped.

He clicked his tongue at her, "Mind your temper, Wyn. We're in public here."

When she didn't reply and instead dug into her unhealthy meal, he sighed. "I spotted your vehicle outside when driving by and decided to stop in, since you seemed to insist on not answering my calls."

"I didn't pick up twice, Parker. Pardon me for not always being in the mood for your bullsh*t." She glared at him, daring him to go into another 'you don't have a choice' speech. He didn't.

"Your match is in three days... a bit ironic who you would have been up against, hmm?"

She hated his smile. Hated his eyes, hair, basically his entire face, though she kept her expression deceptively cool when she replied, "I was thinking about going, actually."

He chuckled, running a hand through lightly gelled hair. "You won't have time. You've got two reports to file and an assignment to complete."

Slender brows drew down as she frowned. "I completed my assignment yesterday, you should have gotten the report this morning and the other two will be done by tomorrow..."

When he chuckled again, she had the distinct urge to pluck her straw from her drink and see how far she could shove it into his eye socket. She knew what he would say before he said it.

"I got it, and it was satisfactory I suppose. But there's been a recent death, thus your new assignment is another investigation."

The senior Agent took a small sense of satisfaction from the brief crestfallen look on those pretty features. It wasn't that Natalie had ever done anything personally against him to deserve his disdain, only how she came to be in the position she was in. Had he his way, some freak-killer of a girl would have stayed behind bars where she belonged. Despite her completing her twenty-one weeks of training well ahead of most in almost every aspect of field work, Natalie's supposed 'skills' were questionable at best in his eyes. He'd worked hard to gain a place in the Academy, even harder to get through it and work up to where he was today. And here she was, handed what amounted to a full pardon for triple homicide in exchange for service in a prestigious branch of government law enforcement. Not only that, the ungrateful brat didn't even want what had been given to her. Resentful and spoiled only began to describe her according to his opinion.

What irked him more were his superiors' high opinions of her performance, despite her many shortcomings when compared to conventional, veteran agents. Natalie was one of a few chosen in the first experimental wave of recent 'acquisitions', the details of which Parker knew little of himself. She was the only forced-cooperation Agent he'd ever met, and it stung to know more like her were elsewhere. And likely ungrateful bastards, all of them.

Had Natalie known just how much her natural abilities disturbed her superior, she might have used them more often in the open, but Kyle was a master of controlling the front he presented. Only some of the smile he now presented to her was genuine. "So you see, you'll be quite busy."

Natalie's own expression was coldly blank as she affirmed, "Yes, sir."

Inside of her was the sinking feeling that she would never be rid of this job, that it would destroy her. A little more of the carefree, spontaneous girl who'd resided in Japan with her fiancé in a generally happy life disappeared with every confirmed kill, with every night spent alone mired in work rather than 'home' at her lover's side. A lover she was now at odds with more often than not, she reminded herself, and all due to constraints placed on her by this job. Without his understanding, and without the time to visit much with any friends she'd made, the fighter who fans knew as "Mien" was quite alone indeed.

"Good," Parker replied and pulled a folded bunch of papers from his jacket pocket. He handed them to her and she pocketed them quickly. "There's the details to get you started. Now, if you don't mind, I was on my way to a meeting."

He stood and clapped her lightly on the shoulder as he passed. "Be thankful, Wynshire. I just saved you a trip to the office."

Suddenly not hungry anymore, Natalie sat and stared at her food, mulling over questions of how her life had become a cycle of so much work, so much fighting and so little sleep.

---

-The Makai-

In a smooth motion, Jin coolly slips past the elevator doors just as they close behind him, choosing one of the lower floors once he's inside. Before leaving his room, the courier had decided on killing some time by catching the highlights of Honda vs. Alex, on top of anything else playing on screen, in the hotel's bar lounge before travelling out to Club Hawaii. The stroll around town idea still lingers into Jin's head, but for now his concern shifts to thoughts of the bar lounge area, which is about 8 floors down from where he is.

Ding! The elevator doors slide open about two floors down and Jin shifts to the side to give space to the young woman who steps in and selects her floor. She flashes a friendly smile at him, which he returns with a polite nod. Both of them now travel down in silence, until he suddenly feels a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me," the woman starts. "But I was wondering... you're Jin Kushina, right?"

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken," Jin quickly replies, trying to avert her gaze and focus on something else. Of course, with the both of them being in an elevator the courier isn't given many options, but the last thing he wanted was to be heckled by a fan or reporter.

"Yeah, it is you," the woman confirms with widened eyes. "Those eyes definitely give you away." She holds out a hand towards Jin. "Pleased to meet you. My name's Andrea, I work-"

"Not interested." Jin interrupted bluntly. "Nothing personal, I just don't do interviews."

"It'll only take a minute..." Andrea says, pulling out a notepad from inside a small rucksack slung over her left shoulder. Despite being one of the most popular newcomers to the tournament-fighting scene, he was amongst the hardest to track down for an interview, let alone get one from. If she could somehow scoop such an exclusive spot...

"I already said, 'Not interested'," Jin reiterates, with some slight sternness in his voice.

"Would a dinner change your mind, perhaps?" Andrea offers.

"Tournament participants get free meals." Jin counters. He briefly finds himself wrestling with the idea of swiftly knocking out this woman and getting off at an earlier floor, before finally dismissing it. In fact, he could just do the latter.

"Does that count for alcohols, too?" Andrea blurts out, already knowing the answer to that question. While he indeed wasn't easy to get an interview out of, she was unwilling to give up on such an opportunity, either.

"Well, I prefer to buy my own drinks, actually," was the response. He reaches out one hand towards the elevator buttons...

"Wait, wait, how about we do a deal?" Andrea offers. "I'll buy you as much drinks as you like, and in return I get a few minutes of your time for an interview." Hopefully he doesn't drink too much, she thinks. Otherwise my boss will kill me.

Jin lets the offer sink into his head for several seconds, fingers inches away from the buttons.

Ding!

"Okay, you got a deal," he concedes. "Lead the way."

---

-Lima, Peru, 12:30 AM (local time)-

A few clicks on the mouse and several tapings on the keyboard led to the webpage he was looking for. Pablo stared at the shining monitor in front of him - the only light source in the darkened room - before slowly and with slight disinterest reaching for his glass of liquor.

His payment had been delayed, he noticed, studying the balance on his online bank account statement. For obvious reasons his current employer had not been pleased with yesterday's lack of success. Pablo grimaced inwardly. It's not like he needed any more money, but the events at the excavation site had been annoying to say the least.

Any sign of irritation suddenly turned into a smile that spread over his twistingly handsome face. Little coy Esperanza had defied him in the temple. Pablo's smile widened as his thoughts travelled back to Mexico and to his more enjoyable encounter with Esperanza. When he left Cozumel, the last thing he thought was that he would see the woman again. Now he was completely sure they would meet again, and as much as imagining the girl under his sheets once more turned him on, so did the thought of watching her releasing her last breath, if she were to get in his way again.

Several low thuds on his door woke him from his pleasurable thoughts. He took his sweet time to get up and open the door so much that, when his hand was already grabbing the handle, the knocking had turned into an exasperating pounding.

"Juli..." Pablo greeted. "Have you finally decided to be my entertainment for the night?" And then there was that slap-deserving grin again.

"F--k you!"

"I'd rather have you do it."

Juli's eyes widened just before they quickly deepened into an infuriated frown. She shoved what looked like an airline ticket into his chest. "We leave for England first thing in the morning. Get some sleep." The words were spewed out of Juli's mouth with an apparent tone of resentment. That said, she turned and left.

Veracruz took a moment to briefly admire his partner's rear end as she walked away, then stepped into his hotel room and closed the door.

---

-Diner Rocket's, Oahu, midnight-

Victoria went through her purchased items before setting the bag aside on the floor. Being the time that it was, the small 24-hour diner was pretty much isolated, minus for her and a handful of patrons. Only fifteen minutes ago, she had successfully reached Riq on the phone, who had surprisingly agreed they should meet. Victoria found that it was a miracle in itself that her sensei had taken her call.

Using a straw, she swirled circles in her water glass, sighing quietly and staring into nothing. Her encounter with Iwa the day before tugged her mind into bewilderment. Her former friend's psyche had felt like an impenetrable void and yet Iwa seemed completely conscious of her actions. Though just the thought about it hurt, it was obvious that Hoshi was acting out of her own will. It would have been easier, Victoria thought, to believe Iwa wasn't knowingly fighting for the enemy. And with Shadaloo's interest in the tournament, it became more evident to Victoria who Veracruz was working for.

"Would you like to order something Miss? Or would you prefer to wait for your friend?"

Startled, Victoria had to keep from spilling her glass of water. The waitress, a mature woman who seemed to be in her fifties, stared down at the young fighter, tray held up with one hand and several menus in the other.

"I think I'll wait thanks" Victoria finished her reply with a small smile.

"Alrighty. Let me know if you need anything, hon." The waitress said as she went off to attend to other customers.

Looking up, Victoria caught the sight of Enrique entering the diner. A moment later he spotted her position and made her way towards her table. A tinge of nervousness crawled up her spine, the feeling catching Victoria completely off-guard.

"Hi." Was the one simple greeting Enrique voiced as he slid into the booth seat across the young woman.

"Hi." She replied with a smile. Of all the people Victoria had met, the man sitting in front of her was by far the hardest to read but she hadn't missed the elusive gleam that lit his eyes for one split second. She smiled again and was happy to see him too. Deep down Enid had to admit that she missed being around him. She studied him for another second. One thing was for certain: he looked really, really tired.

"Anything to drink sir?" The waitress handed Riq a menu.

"Coke, please."

The waitress took off and a short silence ensued, suddenly broken by Riq much to Victoria's surprise.

"I ran into your stripper friend yesterday."

"Stripper friend...? What?"

Enrique almost chuckled at the visibly baffled young woman. It didn't take much effort for Riq to discover who the "stripper" really was. In fact, he had felt rather foolish for not being able to recognize her immediately.

"You'd think that a woman who has her own hotel chain wouldn't have to resort to a side job as an... exotic dancer."

"Oh no." Victoria's face literally sunk into her hands.

"Here you go sir, let me know when you're ready to order." The waitress placed both soda and straw on the table, to which Pierantoni nodded appreciatively.

"I owe her big time." Victoria mused, more to herself than to her companion.

"So how have you been?" Riq spoke up.

"Ok, I guess." Victoria gripped the glass between her hands. "And you? Busy I bet..." She took a deep breath. "Working for the government and stuff... it's definitely eating up your time."

Enrique merely looked at her, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest. His silence only urged his student to continue.

"I mean I get it. Your job... there isn't a lot you can talk about. But it's frustrating to feel out of the loop when it involves people you care about." There, she said it and suddenly felt like a load was lifted off her shoulders. It'd been quite sometime since she'd told someone how she really felt.

Riq tilted his head forward and rested his forearms on the table. "Victoria..."

"I spoke with Iwa yesterday..." Enid interrupted. "She's working for... that man. And I know you know that Pablo guy is working for him too."

Enrique thought for a moment before speaking. "Look, Victoria. The less involved you are the better."

"I am involved!" Victoria spat back, only to lower her voice at the sight of the waitress approaching. "I'm here... I'm involved"

"Yes and you should have never come". Riq argued.

"Are you two ready to order?"

"Coffee, no cream" Riq handed the menu back to the waitress, not taking his gaze off Victoria.

"Ok... and for you Miss?"

"I'm not hungry anymore" The words came as a weak whisper.

"Pardon?" The older woman's brows furrowed into a puzzled frown.

"Just... more water"

Riq waited for the waitress to leave, which she did quickly after sensing the tension. Once she was gone he leveled green eyes at Victoria with a typically serious expression.

"This isn't something you can't handle. You being involved..." His jaw tensed slightly as he sought for a way to put his thoughts into words. He settled for the simplest that came, "... it complicates things. And things are plenty complicated without you." His tone had returned to the cool, even manner of before.

"Riq..." Victoria paused. After a moment she continued, her fists now tensing at her sides. "It's not my intention to complicate things. Whatever your investigation is, I don't expect you to put it at risk because of me. But you never told me you knew about Veracruz. You never told me about Iwa..." her voice marred, hurt clearly in her tone. "She was my friend."

"Did it ever occur to you that there's a reason I haven't told you?" he asked with hard eyes. Her tone pricked at him more than he'd have liked, but his firm resolve remained. "Whoever she was when you knew her, she's not that person anymore. And Veracruz is an entirely different breed." His tone was hushed on those words, but no softer. "When your part in this tournament is over, you'd best go back home. You've probably gotten into enough trouble as it is." He didn't want to be harsh, but if that's what it took to get her off of this dangerous path she was so determined to follow, he'd do it.

"I fight Iwa in six days, Riq." Though she tried, Victoria couldn't hide the exasperating feeling that threatened to surface, product of being talked down to. "I know I can win and I know I can talk some sense into her." One deep breath later, she added: "And even if I don't win... I can't leave without trying to get through to her"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but some things have been going on with her and a lot of people. If those people can't get through to her, who from what I understand, have known her all her life, what makes you honestly think you can change her?" There was a scolding edge in his voice now, one not quite matching up to the stern look in his eyes. It was with some reluctance that he admitted what came in the next statement. "This group of fighters wasn't selected for simple entertainment, Victoria, you included. The farther you get from this, the safer you'll be. I don't have the time to look out for you, and as I said, this isn't something you can do on your own."

Of all the things Victoria could have said to counter her teacher's words, one concern voiced louder in her head. "And what about you?" Her hand moved to hold his wrist in a gentle grip. "Do you think I can go home... wondering whether or not you'll be alright?"

That he did not expect, though it shouldn't have surprised him so much. What was intended to be a glance at her hand on his wrist lingered as he tried to reform his argument. A slow, deep and quiet breath later he found his words again, this time without the harshness of his former tone. "Victoria.... I'll be fine. But if something were to happen to-" A sharp series of melodic notes sounded, and by the sequence Riq knew instantly who it was and sighed as he closed his eyes briefly.

Victoria watched Riq slowly reach for his phone before realizing that her hand still remained on his. She quickly pulled it back, almost reluctantly, certain that their discussion had pretty much concluded there.

"Pierantoni. Yes. Where are you?"

It was impossible for Victoria to make any sense of the one sided conversation, but before Pierantoni decided it was best to distance himself from Enid for the duration of the call, she managed to hear the unintelligible, stifled voice that came from the other line. It was a woman.

Several feet away from their table, and with his back turned to her, Enrique missed the scarlet flush on Victoria's cheeks and her downcast gaze. Riq's eyes abruptly darted in Victoria's direction, the reaction most probably provoked by something spoken on the other side of the line. And although he quickly diverted his gaze elsewhere Victoria had already caught onto his look of apprehension.

Something's wrong. The thought flickered through Victoria's mind as she began sliding off her seat.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Enrique turned around, ending the call, and directing his next words to Victoria. "I have to go. I'll call you a cab." His eyes averted hers as he produced several bills out of his wallet - enough to compensate the waitress for her trouble - and tossed them on the table.

"What's wrong?" Victoria asked, even though she knew he wouldn't provide an answer.

"You're going straight to the hotel" Pierantoni instructed, paying no heed to her question. He turned to leave, but was halted by the sensation of her fingers yet again, this time on his arm.

"Good luck on your fight tomorrow" Was all she said, before her hand slipped off Riq's arm. A small nod was Enrique's response. He left promptly, leaving Victoria to stare at his back as he exited the diner.

---

-Elsewhere-

The nurse turned the door knob and walked inside her tiny apartment. Only a moment later, she released the ponytail holder that held up her blonde locks and with tired motions massaged the back of her head. She slowly made her way into the bedroom, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, pale blue eyes looking back at her with a worn-out unreadable expression.

She sat on the bed and began emptying her pockets onto the nightstand. Some lose change, cell phone, keys, spearmint gum and one tiny device of which she only had to press a button if she were ever in distress. They would come immediately for help. At least that's what they assured her.

With a sigh, the nurse got up and sliding the curtain aside only slightly, she peered down the glass window at the police car that was parked across the street of her apartment building. They didn't make her feel protected at all for at this very second she still feared for her life. A wave of relieve ran through her cracking nerves at the thought of him knocking on her door and keeping her safe. Of all the people she had met in the past three days, for some reason he was the only one she felt she could trust.

"I hear you've been a very bad girl."

The nurse turned around and opened her mouth to release a scream that never came, for the man had already gripped his strong fingers around her throat. Struggling against the chocking sensations, the woman scratched her nails on the man's forearm and kicked frantically in an attempt to loosen the hold he had on her neck. The man's response was to simply lift the girl off the floor, making her reach for air more frantically.

The man smiled. He pushed her against the bed, not for one second releasing her throat. The nurse's eyes widened at the faint feeling of the man running his hand dangerously down her body.

"I hear... you've been making calls to our friends, the feds." His voice powered over the woman's desperate struggle for air. That said, the man only tightened his choke more, now with both hands. Tears ran freely over the woman's cheeks but it didn't take long for her eyes to shut in what could have otherwise been a peaceful slumber.

Sergei Rezlorn Romanav, the Crimson Phantom, ran his thumb over the woman's lifeless lips. Then in silence returned to wherever he came from.