The Author: (That would be me)Would love to hear what you thought.Comments and gushy e-mails proclaiming how wonderful I am can be sent to xenickz@hotmail.com

Funny how I haven't got any yet.

Kidding,I'm just kidding.*Grin*

A hand slipped out from under the blanket,feeling the surface of the bedside table until it found what it had been searching for.It brought the watch back under the blanket.A pair of forest green eyes peered sleepily at it,then they popped open in alarm. She jumped up,staring at it in disbelief. "Bloody hell!I'm late again!"she exclaimed,wincing as she remembered her vow to tone down on the cussing.That hadn't lasted long.

She leapt out of bed frantically,not realising the bed covers had tangled around her legs until it was too late and she found herself on the floor.She took a deep breath and sighed.It's going to be a long day.

Casting one last longing look at her warm bed,she scrambled to her feet.

On the way to the bathroom,she caught sight of what looked like,she squinted,the remains of the alarm clock she had thrown against the wall earlier that morning.Correction,it's going to be a very long day.

She ran into the kitchen ten minutes later,brushing her hair with one hand and trying to pull on her shoes with the other.As she passed the coffeepot,the rich aroma wafted up and she paused,wondering if she had the time to indulge in one little cup.She glanced up at the clock,yelped and ran for the door.

Her neighbour shook his head fondly as he watched the familiar sight of the young blonde woman racing out her door."Practising your hundred meter dash again,Jules?"he asked,laughing. "No time to talk today,Mark,"Julia replied as she slammed the door behind her and raced towards her car.

She checked her appearance on the way up in the elevator,finger combing her blond hair and applying her lipstick deftly.As the elevator gave a soft ding,she walked briskly into the office and towards her desk,ignoring the knowing smirks of some of her colleagues.

Please don't let him be here yet.,please,please,please.I swear,I'll buy another alarm clock,I'll sleep an hour earlier,I'll stop eating tacos as late night sna…

"Miss Taylor,".

Rats.

She turned around,a charming smile already fixed on her face. "Mr Peters,"she said,putting as much enthusiasm into her voice as she possibly could.Her boss took a glance at his watch and turned an even deeper shade of fuchsia. "Sir,"she added,rather weakly.Her boss ran a hand through his already thinning hair and sighed wearily. "All right,Julia.Why are you late this time?"

Emerald green eyes widened with just the right touch of surprise. "Late,sir?What are you talking about?I'm not late,"she pooh-poohed.Her boss rolled his eyes,for reasons unknown,not appreciating the sterling performance she was putting on for him.

"Oh no?Then perhaps you could enlighten us exactly how you could walk into this office two hours after everyone else and still not be late?"

That's a good question,she answered silently.Her boss looked at her expectantly as she groaned inwardly.Think,Julia,think.Then it hit her so suddenly that she was momentarily floored by her own brilliance.

She smiled the smile many had learnt to fear,the one she gave just before she buried a person. "Well,I was working of course.On a story,".

He raised an eyebrow.

"Big story.Big,big story,"she proclaimed,suddenly inspired. "I had a lead so obviously I had to go check it out even though it was very early.Very,very,early,I might add.But of course,no sacrifice is to great for my job,".She briefly considered going on but the why me? on her boss' face deterred her.Just then the phone rang.Her boss looked at it,then back at her.She smiled ,her expression innocuos,as though to say See?.He threw his hands up in defeat and strode back to his office.She allowed herself one quick triumphant grin before scooping the phone up. "Julia Taylor," The sound of static filled her ear.

"Hello?"There was no answer. "Hello?"

"I have some information you'd interested in.Be at the abandoned warehouse on 21st Grant Street at 8 pm tonight.Alone,"a muffled voice said.Then there was a click and the dial tone.

She looked at the receiver and frowned as she replaced it,deep in thought.She scribbled on the address on a piece of paper and jammed it into her pocket.

"Care for some java?"

Julia looked up into twinkling brown eyes. "Elaine,you just about read my mind!".She accepted a steaming cup of coffee from her friend. "You won't believe the morning I've had,".

"Trust me,I can guess,"Elaine chuckled. "You are so bad,".

Julia smirked before taking a sip. "On the contrary,my friend,I am very very good,".

Julia leaned back in her chair and took in the busy scene around here.It was lunch hour and she was at a nearby deli-one that served a mean expresso.She nibbled on a ham sandwich,still thinking about the phone call she had received earlier that day. Exactly what kind of information was she going to find at an abandoned warehouse?she wondered,sipping her expresso.

Her reverie was broken by the entrance of a stranger. A tall woman,with hair the colour of the night,wearing faded blue jeans and a white shirt.She walked as though she were claiming the room with every step, exluding undeniable confidence and grace.She reminded Julia of a panther she had once seen at a zoo.The woman moved the same way,slowly,unhurried,but covering a large distance.Julia could now make out well-defined features:high cheekbones,perfectly shaped eyebrows,a strong nose,full lips,a chiseled jawline.But it was the eyes that caught her attention.They were liquid blue,laced with silver.They were fringed by long dark eyelashes,captivating her.They caught her gaze,and the stranger's lips curled lazily into a smirk.Julia looked away,embarrassed.Still,she could not keep her gaze away for long and when she looked back,the woman was gone.Julia stood up,cup in hand,searching the room frantically with her eyes wondering if she had imagined it all.She had no idea what had come over her,only knowing that the woman was the key to a mystery she needed to solve.

Julia turned around and the next thing she knew,the woman was right in front of her,staring at her quizzically.It took her a few seconds to realise that her almost full cup of coffee was now totally empty,most of it now part of an intricate design on the woman's once white shirt.Now what is it doing there?

It took her a few more moments to come to the conclusion that she had crashed right into her.

Oh my god.

"I..I'm so sorry.I didn't mean…I had no…I..,"she stuttered,totally flustered and mortified.

She swallowed and looked into azure eyes,bracing herself for the woman's fury.Strangely enough,the stranger's face was expressionless,her lips twitching. "It's all right,"came the reply.

She was amused.The woman turned to leave.

"Um..wait!"Julia called.

She turned back.

"Would you…can I…get you a drink or a sandwich or something?" Julia asked hardly believing she was doing this,not wanting to know why.This woman could be anybody.She didn't even know…

Those lips curved into a quirky grin. "Why not?I'll pass on the coffee though,".

She watched the woman-Julia she corrected herself-talk.She had gotten over her initial babbling and was now talking faster than most speed rates in the country.It was understandable though,after all the woman was an investigative reporter.

One question kept reverberating in her head.Why am I sitting here,talking to a reporter?If Julia found out who she was,what she'd done…

She shoved the thought away and kept it locked up with all the other emotions she kept so tightly reined over the years.

She turned her attention back to the blond woman,observing the way her forest green eyes twinkled as she spoke.She couldn't help but feel that she knew this woman from somewhere.She smiled inwardly,remembering how at one point she had placed a cigarette in her mouth and Julia,almost absently,had plucked it out of her mouth and ground the cigarette into the ashtray.She'd then proceeded to give her a five minute lecture on the vices of smoking.

It was almost funny to think this woman worried that smoking was hazardous to her health.Her,the Destroyer.

Still,she could hardly remembered the last time someone had cared.

But why are you here?a little voice in her head mocked.

The only answer she could come up with was because she wanted to be.

And that scared her.

Julia paid the man and got out of the cab.She glanced at her watch.7.45. This was one meeting she wasn't planning on being late for.She surveyed the desolate street and shivered involuntary.

It was empty and silent,like a ghost town.There were no cars parked along,the street,no sign of people anywhere.An evening breeze stirred and she pulled her coat tighter around her,seeking comfort from it.Something was not right,her instincts were screaming bloody murder.As a reporter she had come to rely heavily on her instincts.Still,she knew she was not going to walk away from this one.Once given a lead,she was like a dog with a bone.She wasn't about to let it go until she was done with it.

She looked up into the night sky.It was a velvety black,an almost endless darkness.Not a single star was out.It reminded her of the enigmatic woman she had met earlier that day.For some inexplicable reason,there was something about her that seemed incredibly familiar.It was as though she'd finally found something she never realised she was looking for.And she never wanted to let it go.

Perhaps that's why it had left her so disorientated when the woman had left so abruptly.They had been talking-or rather,she had been chattering away while the woman listened-when the stranger had suddenly stood up;even the simple action was graceful and fluid.

"I have to go,"she'd said firmly,but gently.

"But..I don't even know your name,"Julia said.

The woman paused,as though fighting some internal conflict.

Julia blushed,flustered.For all she knew,the woman thought she was some sort of a psychopath. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wa..,"Julia began.

"It's Danni,"she interrupted,icy blue eyes dancing mischievously as they meet surprised green ones,as though they took some sort of pleasure from disconcerting her.

"Goodbye Julia,"she said softly,in a rich,velvety tone.A lop sided grin,a flash of brilliant white teeth and then she was gone,as mysteriously as she'd come.

Julia turned her attention to the warehouse,mentally pulling herself together.The moon cast a shadowy stream of light on it,leaving it eerie and gloomy.Suddenly,she noticed a light go on. Well,here goes nothing,she thought to herself,making her way towards the entrance,trying to make as little noise as possible.She slipped in silently,making her way towards the illuminated part of the warehouse.It definitely seemed abandoned;it was dusty and dirty.She leapt back as she felt something soft against her face,swallowing a scream.It was a cobweb.That did nothing to slow her pounding heart.Still,she forced herself to move forward,stopping only to dart behind a few boxes.

There were four men in all.One of them was wearing a dirty pair of pants and a wrinkled plaid shirt.His eyes bloodshot,his hair uncombed,unshaved.He was gesturing wildly as he spoke to a man who was wearing a dark suit.

The other two men stood behind him,both of them well dressed and powerfully built.Bodyguards of some sort,she realised.This looks like it was right off the set of a gangster movie,she thought to herself,stifling a nervous giggle.

Dirty Pants continued to talk rapidly,running his hand through his hair.Dark Suit definitely did not look happy.In fact,he looked downright furious.He held his hand out and Dirty Pants handed him a black briefcase.She noticed Dirty Pants kept glancing around warily,especially at the exit.Dark Suit snapped open the briefcase,then turned to one of his bodyguards and said something in a low tone.

The bodyguard was a big man;it surprised her how fast he could move when he wanted to.One minute,he had been standing behind Dark Suit,the next minute he was in front of Dirty Pants,who was on his knees.For a man his size,he was very agile.

Julia held her breath as she watched him pulled a knife out of Dirty Pant's stomach,the blade dripping with blood.Her body trembling,she placed a hand on one of the boxes to try and steady herself.To her horror,she saw it begin to fall.She froze and watched helplessly as it toppled to the ground with a resounding crash.She sensed rather than saw the the men turn to her direction,the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.They stared at her as though they had never seen a woman in their entire lives.One of them blinked,then reached inside his coat.She spun around,not wanting to wait for his next move and began to run.She heard the sound of voices shouting,the pounding of footsteps behind her but she continued running,until she heard nothing but the pounding of her blood in her ear, felt nothing but the burning in her lungs.

She ran out of the warehouse and raced down the street and still he pursued her.She could almost feel the warmth of his breath on her neck.The image of the man on his knees burned in her mind and her imagination went into overtime as she wondered what he would to her should he catch her.Shoot or stab?Stab or shoot?Decisions,decisions…

The last thought sent adrenaline coursing through her veins and with a final burst of energy she pushed forward and she did not stop until she was positive that she was safe.

Antonio Fabroni threw the door open and strode in.Idiots! he raged.Stupid brainless idiots!

"Bad day?"a silky voice inquired.He stopped dead,his eyes falling on the source of the voice,and found the Destroyer sitting on his chair.At his desk.

"How did you get in here?"he asked,partly impressed,partly galled by her arrogance.

She gave him a slow,cocky smile. "I have many skills,"she drawled,twirling a lock of raven hair around her index finger.

He straightened his silk tie. The suit fit his tall frame well.He had inherited his father's build and his mother's looks.With jet black hair,olive skin and chiseled features,few could resist the lethal combination of his charm and his appearance. "What are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow,mocking him silently. "Now,now Antonio.Don't play coy.It's definitely not you,"she said,her voice syrupy slow. "Word on the street is you require my…assistance,"she stressed the word,fully aware of how much he hated to be indebted to her.

"And if I do?"he nearly snarled,losing his legendary cool.Something about her riled him.What infuriated him was that she knew it too.

"Tsk,tsk,"she shook her head,a gleam in her impossibly icy blue eyes. "Don't get your thousand dollar suit in a twist,Tony,"she smirked,knowing he hated being called that. "I'll be glad to be of help.For a price of course,".

He stroked his goatee,trying to regain his composure. "Of course,".Eyes as black as coal fixed on hers in a battle of wills. "I wouldn't have it any other way,".

She stared right back,not intimidated in the least. "So,"she said subtly. "What did you screw up this time?"

He looked as though he didn't know whether to laugh or be insulted. "You haven't changed at all,".

"And why should I?"she shot back angrily,letting her emotions show.A cold fire raged in her eyes at his remark.

He opened his mouth to speak,but then thought better of it.He still needed her help,he reminded himself.There would be time for this later.He looked away,conceeding the battle.

"Let's just say a...business transaction didn't go off as smoothly as planned.A little problem cropped up,".

"Well,that's what I'm here for,to solve your problems,"she said indifferently,her emotions under control again. "I notice you haven't mentioned my fee yet,".

"That's because I know I can pay it,"he said adopting a bored look.

"Don't be too sure,"she smirked. "For you,the usual.Of course I will take fifty percent upfront.A show of faith,if you will,"she smiled,showing perfect white teeth.

He nodded,scribbling on something,then handed her a check ."I need the problem solved as soon as possible,".

"I aim to please,"she said with a cold smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she took both the check and the file he held out to her.Flipping the file open,she felt her blood run cold,as she looked at in the picture.Making sure her expression revealed nothing,she took in the familiar blond hair and green eyes.Her eyes flicked down to the name.

Julia Taylor.