Oh,the joys of sleeping in…Danni sighed contentedly.She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so well,or woken up with such a sense of peace.Most nights she woke up in a cold sweat,her heart pounding against her chest,shivers running down her spine.Then she would spend countless hours pacing up,waiting anxiously for the dawn,hoping desperately that it would arrive soon. The night always seemed to take on monstrous proportions,stretching on endlessly as she despairingly tried to retain some visage of calm until the ribbons of morning light laced across the sky.

Sleep,to her,was something of an indulgence.Undisturbed sleep anyway.

But today…

Except for the Besides the fact that her feet were freezing,she felt pretty damned good,she realised. All this and I haven't even opened my eyes ye , she thought smiling inwardly.

Allowing the outside world to fade into oblivion,she burrowed blissfully into her soft pillow.

Her soft,warm pillow,which was moving up and down,like the gentle bobbing of a boat,and emitting strange gurgles periodically.

She frowned as the pillow in question let out another gurgle.

She opened one eye cautiously and looked downward.

Why,she wondered,does my pillow have Winnie the Pooh on it?

She pulled herself up on an elbow and looked downward.

Why, she asked herself with forced calm, has my pillow turned into Julia's stomach?

She gently disentangled herself from Julia and sat with her back against the wall,thoroughly shaken. What is happening to me? she wondered.She felt as though she had emerged from deep water,or from another world;she couldn't think straight.

Usually she was uncomfortable around people.She was someone who required her own…space and heaven help the person who intruded on it.She didn't like people touching her;that would make her tense up tighter than a bowstring.And here she was treating this total stranger who she was supposed to kill like a goddamned teddybear.

She felt confused and lost and utterly vulnerable.

And her feet were still cold.

What are you doing Danni? she asked herself. What the hell are you doing?

Do you really want to screw up your entire life for someone you don't even know?

Finish it.Finish her.

She let her gaze rest on the sleeping woman. If she looked young when she was awake, in sleep she looked positively angelic. Her blonde hair framed her face carelessly,her eyelashes fluttering against her skin gently as she sighed in her sleep, one corner of her mouth curving ever so gently in a ghost of a smile.

She's not Lucas.Lucas is dead,gone and there's nothing you can do about it.Kill her now,you still can salvage this deal.Kill her,get the hell out of here and lay low for a while.

She didn't even bother taking out her gun.She knew she couldn't do it.She hadn't been able to do it before.She couldn't do it now.She didn't want to.

She wasn't going to kill Julia anymore than she was going to put the gun in her own mouth and blow off her own head.

Well,not now anyway,she thought dryly as her sense of humour asserted itself.

The thing was,she had changed.

She had laughed more in the last six hours than in the last six years of her life.She'd been constantly surprising herself lately,doing things she never thought that she would ever be brave enough-or foolish enough-to do.She'd changed…and she'd discovered that she liked it.

Somewhere between yesterday and this morning, the Destroyer had disappeared.

A part of her that had been dead for a long time seemed to have woken up and suddenly she was Danni again.The Danni who loved horses and walks on the beach.The Danni who'd cried like a child over her brother's dead body.The Danni who had thrown up the first time she'd killed someone.

The cold-blooded murderer who would gladly look you in the eye while stabbing you in the back-both literally and figuratively-was gone.

For now.

Maybe the change wouldn't be forever. But until then…until then.

In the meanwhile,she had a drug lord to overthrow. This was not going to be easy.

Have you considered the possibility that you might be in over your head here,hotshot?

She sighed.

The thought has occurred to me once or twice,yes.

"Hey,".

Danni looked down at Julia.That hadn't worked.She tried again.

"Hey,"she said a little louder,this time prodding the younger woman with her foot.

Julia stirred,stretched slightly…and went promptly back to sleep.

Danni plodded into the bathroom with a sigh.

I tried,she said to herself,filling a bucket underneath the tap. I honestly did, she told the bucket sorrowfully,suppressing a faint grin.She picked it up and walked over to the sleeping woman and tipped the icy cold water over the sleeping woman.

"Arrgh!"Julia screamed,leaping upwards in a way that would have made Michael Jordan envious.

Danni rearranged her features into an expression of extreme innocence.She sat herself on the bed,twiddling her thumbs and whistling to herself.

Julia pushed her wet hair out of her face and glared at the older woman sourly. "You!"she growled menacingly.

Danni's eyes widened,silently protesting her innocence.

"Oh,don't give me that!"Julia barked. "What was that?"

Danni shrugged. "Leaking roof?"

Julia narrowed her eyes.

Guess not,Danni thought,her lips quirking.

"Tell me,"Danni said,her expression solemn, only the twinkle in her eyes giving her away. "Are you always like this when you wake up?"

"No.Sometimes I wake up in a bad mood,"Julia said bitingly.Then,with as much dignity as she could possible muster,she padded furiously into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Danni shut the door of the motel room behind her and made her way through the corridor.

That was bad of you,she admonished herself. Very,very bad.

Still,she couldn't help laughing to herself when she remembered the blatant shock on Julia's face when the water hit her.

"Good morning,Mrs Andrews,"she said cheerfully as she passed the front desk.

"Good morning dear,"the elderly receptionist replied with a smile. "You seem to be in a good mood,".

She was,she realised with some degree of surprise. "I guess so,"Danni said,deciding she liked the feeling.

"Oh and Jaime?"

She turned around,expectant.

"A man stopped by this morning,looking for you.He said he was a colleague,".

She paused,her smile freezing in place,thoughts whirling behind her calm expression like grains of sand in a sandstorm. "Right,of course.I was expecting him,".She forced herself to walk toward the counter. "What exactly did he say?"

"Well,he didn't mention you by name really.He described you pretty well though,".She smiled. "And your sister too.Such a nice young girl.What was her name?Anna?Alice?".

"Alberta,"Danni replied automatically. Shit.

"That's right,Alberta.I'm not too good with names,I'm afraid.Although,I should have remembered that one.My niece has got a dog named Alberta,".She frowned. "Or maybe it was Alexandra,".

"Mrs Andrews,did he say anything else?Anything at all?"Her tone was serious,alarmingly serious,judging from the startled look in the elderly woman's eyes so she smiled to take the edge off her question.

Her forehead furrowed as she tried to remember. "Not really.Well,except that he mentioned you were his colleague and to tell you that he had stopped by.He mentioned wanting to give you something,".

"Exactly how long ago was this,Mrs Andrews?"she asked,alarm bells going off in her head.

He was incredibly confident,arrogant even.With good reason.He had found them fast.Too fast.

"Only an hour ago I think,".

"Thanks,"Danni said,throwing a quick grin over her shoulder already striding towards the phone booth.Once inside,she pulled out her cell phone,dialing furiously.After several rings,a sleepy voice came on the line. "Hello?"

"Jack,"she said curtly by way of acknowledgement.

"Well,well.If it isin't Little Miss Sunshine,oozing happiness wherever she goes,".

"I need some info,".

"And all this time I'd thought you called because you missed the sound of my voice.I'm crushed,".

"I don't have time for this,"she hissed. "What's the word on the streets?"

"There's a lot of rumours around here,Danni,"he said,his tone suddenly sober. "Lots of speculation.You know these people,worse than a bunch of old ladies.I've heard some weird stuff about you,".

Bloody hell. She let her forehead rest on the wall of the booth. "That was fast,".

There was a pause on the other side. "You mean it's true?"he asked,surprise obvious in his voice.

"I guess it depends on what you've heard,"she retorted crisply.

He let out a soft chuckle. "I guess it does,".

"Can you meet me today,Jack?I need to talk to you,".

"Yeah.I can do that.One o'clock okay?"

"The usual place,".

"Of course,"he said,and she could practically hear the smile in his voice. "Heaven forbid you do something different for once,".

She nearly burst out laughing at that,but resigned herself to shaking her head bemusedly. "I just might surprise you one of these days,".

He snorted. "Yeah sure and I'm the Queen of England,".

"If you say so,"she returned lightly before hanging up.

She exited the booth,a smile on her face and made her way to a nearby restaurant.

She sat down at a table near the window and picked up the newspaper and pretended to read it.

She was being watched.She could feel it like sticky fingers across her back.

She got up to order herself a cup of coffee,taking the opportunity to scan the room.There…right there.The man in the business suit with his back to her.He was watching her through the mirror in front of him.She met his eyes in the mirror and he tilted his head slightly and nodded,as though conceding the point.His lips quirked into an arrogant smirk.

She returned the greeting with a cocky grin of her own,standing up,daring him with her eyes to follow her before striding out of the restaurant.,not stopping to see if he would follow her,knowing instinctively that he would.

Continued in Part 7.

That's Part 6.Once again,sorry for the delay.If you liked it,mail me.If you didn't,mail me anyway and lie.*grin* xenickz@hotmail.com