A dark, mysterious person walked into the home at near midnight. The door was unlocked. He had his dark hair cut short, and the sunglasses he wore hid his gray eyes. The long coat he wore hid his stature, though he looked like a tall, slight man, good at moving about. There wasn't an apparent weapon of any sort on him, but he looked almost as if he should have something. The door closed behind him and inside he was greeted lovingly by a beautiful woman with a baby in her arms.

"Faon, you're back. Finally," said the woman. "I was worried sick about you, love." Faon gave her a smile, taking off the sunglasses and hooking them over his t-shirt. He took the baby from her arms and held him up.

"Arlei, what's Salik doing up this late? Shouldn't he be sleeping?" Arlei shook her head.

"He was waiting for his father to come home and tuck him in. I couldn't do anything." Faon laughed lightly, cradling the child in his arms.

"I'll put him to bed," he said, walking towards the stairs to the second floor.

"You do that. And make sure he has his blankie," Arlei called up after him. He pushed open the first door at the top of the steps with his toe and stepped in, laying the half-asleep baby in the crib in the middle of the room painted with angels and animals.

"Dad-dee!" the little boy reached up to Faon's face, and he leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. The child giggled and Faon walked out of the room, turning the light off and closing the door.

"Arlei, your boy is entirely too cute. I think we have to shave him bald and dress him in ugly clothes." Faon grinned as he walked downstairs and into the den. Hearing no reply, he turned the corner into the dining room. "Arlei?"

What happened is hard to say. Faon felt his arms being grabbed and his coat pulled off roughly by two huge men, about a head taller than himself. His sunglasses fell off his shirt and onto the floor, only to be stepped on in the struggle. He barely noticed as his arms were held behind his back and tied with thin cord that cut into his wrists when he tried to pull at it; his eyes were only on one woman, Arlei, hands tied in front of her and sitting on a dining-room chair, looking about with utmost fear in her eyes. The other woman, light hair tied back in a neat bun, red dress cut low, stood with a hand on her hip, watching. Faon found that he'd fallen on his knees, but ignored it. "Arlei! What's happening?!"

"Faon, where's Salik? Is he OK?" Faon nodded absently, and looked at the other woman. She seemed like the leader of these people. Two other men like the ones holding Faon where he was were standing around, and the woman nodded to one, who disappeared into the hallway and Faon heard his footsteps going up the stairs. "NO! Salik!" Arlei yelled, standing up only to be pushed back down by the other woman.

"Quiet, girl. Your yelling annoys me to no end." she looked over at Faon. "Ah, Faon Rahir. Famed Bounty Hunter and government informant. Finally I've found you." Her eyes went past Faon to the man who had just left upstairs, returned with a bundle in his arms. The bundle was crying.

"Salik! Salik!" Arlei yelled, and the other woman glared at her. "Faon, he has Salik!" Faon just sat there, eyes on the woman.

"Shut that kid up, Oran." She turned her gaze back on Faon.

"Who the bloody hell are you? What do you mean by coming into my home like this?!" Faon glared at the woman.

"I'm surprised you haven't heard of me, Faon, when I know all about you. The name is Sev Marinas. I'm the founder and head of the underground network of spies and assassins. You should know by now that I own half of Liverpool," she shook her head. "And I thought that you were a professional. Stand up, you pathetic thing. I won't have my workers kneeling on the floor like that." Faon felt two hands under his armpits picking him up and setting him on his feet.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"You'll find out soon enough, Faon." Said Sev, walking to the door holding Arlei's arm. The younger woman's face was stricken with fear and worry for her child who was still crying loudly in the man's arms. Faon was guided in much the same way, the two men each grabbing one of Faon's arms and pulling him after Sev. He had no other choice but to go along, racking his brain trying to think of the name 'Marinas'. Nothing came to mind. She could be using an alibi, but he couldn't think of any underground network.

They walked outside, and Faon saw a long black limousine parked on the street in front of the house. Arlei and Sev were already inside, and when Faon got in, the two men planted him directly on the seat across from Arlei and Sev. The man who had Salik got into the passenger seat up front. There was no way for Faon to get comfortable with his hands behind his back; he was practically sitting on them. But he didn't care. He kept on trying to turn his head around to see through the dark window to the front, trying to see if his kid was all right. After a bit of this, Sev snapped her fingers in front of his face and he flinched back, startled.

"Pay attention to me, Faon," she said. "You don't want to miss what I say." Faon paused a moment, then nodded at her. "Good. Now, you're a skilled man. A fighter. A thinker. You can get out of tough scrapes easily, I hear. You've killed a man before. That's the kind of qualities I need. When I heard about you, I watched you a while. Then I decided I needed you. That's why I'm here today."

"And you couldn't just knock and say 'hello'?" Faon said coldly.

"Of course not. I knew you wouldn't work for me freely. I decided I'd snatch you up the same way I do the rest of this city. And I have the perfect position for you on my team. You're going to be my little go-fetch boy."

"Hell no." Faon said simply.

"You'll change your mind, my little go-fetch boy. Believe me."

Faon stood outside in the dark, in front of a two-storey house made of red bricks, looking at a piece of paper with words in Sev's loopy handwriting. The woman had been right two months ago when she said he'd change his mind. He'd gone inside a quaint little house with Arlei and Salik, and come out alone, ready to do whatever Sev told him. Sighing, he walked towards the side door. It only took him a moment before he had the door unlocked and was opening it slowly, carefully not making a sound.

The lights were all off, except for the kitchen, where Faon heard somebody closing the fridge door. A small knife seemed to appear in his right hand as he walked carefully on bent knees towards the lit room. Peeking around the corner into the room, Faon caught sight of a fourteen/fifteen-year-old boy in blue pajamas, drinking from a tall glass of milk as he walked towards the bounty hunter.

Faon flattened himself against the wall, making no sound at all. As the boy came into arm's reach, Faon slipped his hand over the kid's mouth, took the glass and set it on a nearby table, and in a moment he was pulling the kicking boy out the door. It was only after Faon waved his knife in front of the boy's face when he stopped struggling so much, and Faon could get him into the back seat on the black car he'd left on the side of the road. Tinted windows made it hard to see inside, and Faon climbed in with the kid, pulling a length of cord from his pocket and proceeding to tie the boy's hands together in front of him.

"Drink this, Xavier," muttered Faon, pushing a small flask to the kid's lips. Thick green liquid poured into Xavier's mouth and he swallowed it hesitantly, cringing at the taste. Faon knew it was bad, but necessary to get the job done quickly.

Hopping over the seats in front of the wheel, Faon turned the key in the ignition and the car headed off down the street. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Faon could see Xavier, eyes half closed, looking like he was about to fall asleep. Pulling into a motel parking lot, Faon parked the car in front of his door. It wasn't long until Faon was sitting on the edge of the bed inside with the kid zonked out beside him. He gazed at the boy for several minutes, thinking of his own Salik, then stood up and went to the bathroom to wash up.

"Why?" the young voice of Xavier cut through Faon's daydreaming as he lay on the small couch against the wall.

"Why what, kid?" he asked, lifting his head to look over at him.

"Why am I here? Why aren't I at home?" The kid's face made Faon have to look away, at the painting above him.

"Because. I want my wife and baby back. That's why. And I have to be a good little go-fetch boy until Sev decides to give me a break and give them back to me." He pushed his sunglasses up his nose with his thumb. The silence on the other side of the room made him look over at Xavier, who was tracing the pattern on the bed sheets with his finger, hands still tied together. Faon sighed and laced his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

"Where am I going?" Xavier asked finally.

"To Sev's." Faon replied simply.

"What am I going to do there?" Faon looked over at him again.

"Sit there and look pretty when Sev takes photos of you holding today's newspaper to send to your mother," he said, frowning.

"Why would I have to do that?"

"Because your mommy works close to the Mayor, and Sev likes to have an influence on those big politics guys." Faon shrugged.

"I don't want to go." Xavier muttered, and started pulling at his bonds with his teeth.

"Hey, stop it! You'll ruin your teeth that way, kid!" Faon jumped up to his feet and pulled Xavier's hands away from his face. "You're just trouble." he muttered.

"I don't want to go. What if I was your kid?! You would be sad to see me gone in the morning!" And the kid knew just how to get at Faon. He let go of Xavier's hands and blinked, staring at him.

"You're right." He muttered. After eighteen other people he'd kidnapped for Sev, this one kid makes sense in his head. How did he feel when Sev took away Salik? And Arlei?" Sitting down on the bed, a knife seemed to appear in Faon's hand. Xavier must have thought he was going to hurt him, because the boy flinched back and pushed himself away. "Come back here." Faon muttered, reaching out and cutting the cord around Xavier's wrists. The kid just looked at him, blinking.

"What say you we get you home?" Faon said, standing up, and the knife disappeared. Xavier nodded, standing up after him. "You're a good kid, Xavier." Faon said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And you make good sense. I'm sorry."

"Call me Xav." Faon ginned.

"You WHAT?" Sev pounded a fist on her desk, glaring at Faon. "I told you to bring that kid to me, Faon. Where is he?"

"Safe at home," he replied coldly. "Probably in bed right now with a nice glass of milk on his night table."

"I want you to go back there, Faon, and get me that kid. I need him to get higher control, rather than just the police department. The mayor has influence." Sev glared at Faon.

"No." he said simply.

"No?"

"You heard me. No." Faon crossed his arms. "I want my wife back, and my son. I want my old life back, and I want you out of it." Sev shook her head and sat down in her swivel chair behind the desk, fingers tented.

"If I let you see them, will you do as you're told?" she asked. Faon stared at her, thinking quickly.

Agree. Make sure they're all right, he thought. He nodded hesitantly, and Sev smiled.

"Good," she stood, walking towards the door out of her office, Faon stepping sideways to let her pass without getting bumped into. He followed; the two men who stood outside Sev's door joined them as they exited. Following a few hallways, Sev opened a door and motioned for Faon to follow her. He did, and in the middle of the room sat Arlei on a chair with her hands tied behind her, and her ankles tied to the legs of the chair. She looked up at him as he came in and smiled weakly.

"Faon. Can we leave, now?" she asked. His heart sank, and he looked over to the crib in the corner where he could see Salik sleeping peacefully. "I want to go home, Faon. Can we go home?" He sighed heavily.

"Yes, we're going home now, Arlei," he said, and looked at Sev, a light in his eyes that she didn't seem to like.

"You agreed, Faon. You can't go back on it." She said, glancing at the two men that followed them in. They each took a handgun from inside their coats.

"I'm taking them home, Sev, and you can't stop me." Faon didn't appear to notice the guns as he took a step towards Arlei. Sev grabbed the back of his coat and jerked him back. He stumbled, surprised, and turned, glaring at the woman. "I've done enough for you, Sev. Leave us alone." Then he spotted the two men, one aiming a gun at Arlei, the other walking over to Salik's crib and aiming his gun at the child.

"If you won't work for me, Faon, you won't get your wife and son back." She said firmly. Faon only looked on in horror. They always made him leave his knives and gun at the entrance when he saw Sev. "You've stood up against me far too many times."

"No! You can't!" Faon jumped on the man closest to him, who was aiming at Arlei. He was a bear of a man, huge and full of muscle, and he only shrugged him off. Faon fell on his rear on the floor, eyes wide. "Arlei!"

He heard two loud gunshots, and squeezed his eyes shut tight, trying to wake up from this nightmare. When he opened them again, the two men were at Sev's side, and he could see a small pool of blood on the floor in front of him, another a few feet away, in the corner. "Salik." he muttered, and looked up to see Arlei's limp form on the chair. "Oh God. Oh no." He looked over to the woman standing with her arms crossed, no hint of remorse on her face for a second. "How could you!? How can you just kill an innocent child?! How can you shoot a woman bound hand and foot?! How can you just stand there and watch it all happen?" His voice quieted after each sentence, and by the end, he was crying softly, hugging his knees up to his chest, and burying his head in his arms.

"Arlei. Salik. I'm so sorry." The muffled sobs continued as Sev and the two men left the room, Sev saying a quick and cold "you know your way out" as she shut the door.

All Faon could think about as he stood in a black suit in the rain, listening to the Pastor drone on, was what he could have done on that night, three days ago. Why didn't he try harder when he jumped on the man? Why did he let himself get thrown about like a rag doll? If he had tried to keep some of his knives when he was asked to leave them at the first office, he could have done more. He stared at the two headstones as the pastor walked up to him and muttered something that Faon didn't hear in his ear, and left.

His suit was soaked by the time he decided to leave the cemetery, but he didn't care, trudging along down the street towards his house with his hands in his pockets. As he walked, he silently vowed to himself to never kill another human being, no matter what, that he would leave the killing to police and murderers. He would spend his time and energy catching people like Sev and taking them to the authorities.

There would be no more dicking around.