Trinity

The following is a complete work of fiction. Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is completely coincidental. Please do not copy or distribute the story without the author's permission.

Disclaimer: The following story may contain erotic situations between consenting adults. If it is illegal for you to read this please leave now. If you enjoy this story please check out my other stories, City Of Dreams and Center Stage can be found in the Adult Friends section on Nifty, The Fifth Power can be found in the SciFi/Fantasy section, Popular can be found in the college section or all my stories can be found at my Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichaelPhilips or you can send me an email at Mikeyscribe@aol.com Please remember to include something about the story in the subject line. There is also a one shot (short story) available in the group called The Curse of the Romani, a story about a gypsy vampire hunter. Thank you so much!

Author's Note - This part of the Trinity Series is completed, and the story is posted in its entirety. There will be other parts in the series to come in the future.

Trinity: Isle Of Terror By: Michael Philips

Chapter One

The small man trembled with fear as he stood outside the inner office. His boss would not be happy hearing the news that he carried about another failed mission and another dead operative. The man wished that this message was not his to deliver, but wishing would not change anything. His hand reached out and softly knocked on the inner office door.

A deep, emotionless voice rang out in answer.

"Enter!"

The small man slowly opened the massive door and slid into the office. All the drapes were closed blocking any natural light from entering the room. A few standing lamps were placed at odd intervals throughout the office. The man could not make out the features of his boss' face, but the voice commanded complete respect and obedience.

"Give me the report on the Berlin Mission." The voice demanded.

"S...sir," The man stuttered. "The mission was not s...s...successful."

"Five of our top operatives were assigned to this mission. Failure was not a possibility. Explain." The boss said.

"It was," The man gulped in fear. This was the part of the message he was afraid to relay. "It was Trinity, sir."

"How many operatives are still alive?" The boss asked, his voice tight with hatred.

"Four operatives survived, sir." The man quietly replied. "They are on their way back to headquarters now. Their flight should be landing in a few hours."

"Send them to me as soon as they arrive." The boss said, obviously dismissing the small man.

The man quickly left the office, grateful to be away from his boss's wrath. The man behind the desk sighed as the office door closed. He reached out and picked up the phone on his desk. His fingers quickly dialed a number that only he knew. The call was answered after one ring.

"Yes." The man said into the phone. "Berlin was a failure. Trinity has struck again."

The small private airplane soared thousands of feet above the ocean. One of the two flight attendants on board just finished giving the passengers their safety instructions and headed back towards the small galley. The fight attendant pulled the curtain closed behind her where another woman was standing in the small kitchen cutting up sandwiches.

"How'd it go?" The woman with the food asked.

"It went ok, I guess." The first woman responded. "Jackie, can I ask you a question?"

Jackie stopped cutting up the sandwiches and looked at the other woman.

"Sure, Marie." Jackie said with a smile.

"I'm a bit confused." Marie said with a small smile. "I know this is only my first flight, but there are only four people out there. We had five passengers in the beginning. Is that normal?"

"Let me give you a piece of friendly advice, sweetheart." Jackie said. "Forget whatever you see or hear on these flights. If you want to live to see your next birthday, just ignore everything. Got it, hun?"

"Ok." Marie replied. "So, is what I heard true then?"

"What did you hear?" Jackie asked as the smile faded from her face.

"Well..." Marie paused. "I heard some gossip that this company...well... let's just say I heard I wasn't flying with the good guys."

Jackie stepped towards Marie, the knife suddenly in her hand. Marie backed into the corner of the galley as Jackie raised the knife in front of her.

"I'm not going to tell you again. Forget EVERYTHING you see or hear." Jackie's voice had become very cold. "You're getting paid a large amount of money so don't worry about anything else."

"Okay, Jackie, I'm sorry." Marie's body shuddered in fear and her eyes were wide as she stared back at Jackie. She reached into the cabinet and grabbed her purse. "I'm going to use the bathroom really quick and splash some water on my face."

"You do that, sweetie." Jackie replied with a smile.

Marie quickly walked around the galley's corner and into the small hallway that was there. Hallway really wasn't the right word for the space. It was a medium sized area with three doors: the door to the bathroom, the door to the cockpit, and the plane's exit door. Marie quietly stepped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Marie set her purse down on the small sink as she gazed at her reflection. Her blonde hair hung down until it almost touched her shoulders. The only imperfection on her smooth skin was a beauty mark that rested on her right cheekbone. A multitude of freckles were sprinkled across her cheeks and forehead. Marie reached into her purse and removed a tube of lipstick. She removed the cap and tossed it into the trash as she glanced at the bright red color that was showing at the top of the tube.

After setting the lipstick down on the sink, Marie reached above her head, pressing her fingertips on the low ceiling. Giving a sharp push, part of the ceiling lifted and she was able to slide it out of the way. Marie reached into the space and retrieved a small, wrapped bundle. She quickly moved the ceiling tile back into place and untied the package. Marie quickly stripped out of her flight attendant uniform and pulled on the skintight jumpsuit that was in the package. Once she zipped that into place she reached out for the only other item that was in the package, a parachute.

Marie looked back into the mirror and sighed. She grabbed a tissue out of her purse and quickly wiped her face off. The freckles that were so prominent before were now gone and her fingers quickly pulled the beauty mark off of her cheek. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. The blonde hair came sliding off of her head and Marie tossed the wig and the flight attendant uniform into the tiny trashcan. She shook her head causing her dark red hair to cascade down around her shoulder blades. It was obviously her natural color, a deep red that resembled a desert sunset that no box color could reproduce.

She picked up the lipstick again and pulled it out of the tube. She then rolled it into a small ball and pushed it against the side of the toilet. She snapped the bottom of the lipstick tube off, revealing a hidden detonator, and pressed it into the lipstick. Marie reached into one of the jumpsuit's pockets, pulled out some wire, and quickly connected it to the plastique and the detonator. Marie knelt down and placed her watch near the toilet. She pushed a button and set her watch for three minutes. She pressed another button and a small light blinked on the detonator to indicate that it was now set.

She quickly left the bathroom and headed back into the galley. Jackie did a double take.

"Who the fuck..." Her voice drifted off. Recognition dawned on her face. "Marie?"

"My name's Vanessa." Vanessa replied. She jumped towards Jackie, her foot lashing out and knocking the woman backwards. Jackie found herself up against the wall with her arms behind her back while her face showed her shock. Vanessa leaned in close to her. "Though you can call me Trinity."

She moved her one hand up, so her watch was visible to Jackie.

"Do you see how my watch says ninety seconds on it?" She asked. Jackie quickly nodded. "Good. That's how much time is left before this plane blows like a firecracker on the Fourth of July. You really should have thought about the type of people you work for; too late now."

Vanessa stepped to the side and tossed Jackie backwards through the curtain into the main seating area. As she took off towards the plane's exit she could hear shouts coming from the passengers. Her watched beeped; signifying only sixty seconds remained. Vanessa grabbed the handle and quickly spun it around. She heard the lock click and her foot shot out knocking the door open. A huge gust of wind blew through the opening. She leapt through the open doorway, without even a backward glance, and barely avoided a spray of bullets.

Vanessa kept her arms against her body and her legs tightly closed, allowing her to shoot through the air like a rocket. She heard the explosion seconds later. Her eyes searched the ocean and then a small dot appeared ahead of her. She pulled the cord on her pack, releasing the chute. She silently floated for the next few minutes as the dot became bigger and bigger. The dot became a large fishing boat and she expertly maneuvered herself onto the deck. The parachute floated behind her off the back of the boat. Vanessa took off the parachute and held the harness in her hand. She reached into another jumpsuit pocket and pulled out a small lighter.

With a simple flick of her finger a small flame appeared. She put the flame to the harness. The fire raced up the cords to the chute itself, which was coated with a thin layer of flammable gel. She watched as the chute burned and the ashes disappeared into the ocean. Vanessa pulled on a pair of overalls and a jacket that were sitting on the deck. She pulled a baseball cap out of the jacket's pocket and pulled her hair up underneath it. Vanessa walked up to the ship's bridge where a younger, attractive man was at the helm. He glanced up at her.

"You get to have all the fun." He said with a frown.

"Don't pout, Alec." She replied with a laugh. "You got to blow up that building last time, dear brother."

"It's not the same thing." Alec replied. A smile finally appeared on his face. "I take it things went well, sis?"

"The Berlin assignment went out with a bang." Vanessa said with a smirk

The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States is considered to be one of the most, if not the most, powerful spy agency in the world. A fact that is not known is that there is another organization more powerful than anything this world has ever seen. Its existence is shrouded in complete secrecy. It is called the Covenant. The Covenant pre-dates any other organization of its kind. The origin of the Covenant dates back to an area now known as Salisbury Plain, England. Salisbury Plain is also the resting spot for one of the greatest manmade wonders of the world, Stonehenge.

Stonehenge was completed centuries ago; its creation still shrouded in mystery. A group of Druid priests and their families visited the site on the night of its completion. There were a total of thirty people at the gathering, spread across six families. They discussed their own private matters, but soon the topic of war and violence was brought up. Rumors flew through the land of hatred and rage spreading across countries like a wild fire during a drought. The group quickly decided that something had to be done. They realized the pain and hatred that can be brought about by human hands.

These six families declared a pact with one another, a pact and promise to keep the world as safe as possible. Their purpose would be to rid the world of evil. These people were willing to do the unthinkable. They gave up their quiet, peaceful lives and integrated themselves into early society. They used their intelligence and determination to work up through society's ranks and claim positions of power and authority.

The Covenant was made up of people of great faith with an even greater courage. Their belief, and the belief of current members of the Covenant, is that mankind, overall, is good and deserves the chance at peace and happiness. Throughout the centuries the Covenant has successfully hidden from the world. This is, and was, due to the fact that only the members of the group knew of its existence. The only way to enter into the Covenant is through one of its members. The members were very, very cautious of who was brought into their fold, but to this day they have always been successful. Knowledge of the Covenant has never been leaked out to anyone. Another reason for its success is that the members' identities are held in secret. Even the members of the group do not know each other.

The group did need a way to recognize other members if needed, so each member wore a sterling silver pendant that represented their codename in the Covenant. A picture of Stonehenge was engraved on the back of each one, as a reminder of the group's beginning. It started with a small group of thirty people and has grown to the size of an army. The Covenant currently has over 300 active members, and is spread across six continents. The members of the group could be anyone from a world leader to the local kindergarten teacher. No matter their place in society, their mission remains the same, to bring about peace and safety to everyone and everything on the planet.

A fire red mustang convertible sped down the streets of the quiet New England town. It was a neighborhood of old money and manners. The people were a close-knit community, and were not very forthcoming with strangers. The sound of the car drew a few people to their windows, but they all recognized the car immediately. It belonged to Alec Romane. The Romanes were one of the first families to settle in the area, and their family had a great deal of respect within the community.

The mustang slowed down and stopped in front of a massive iron gate. The gate was completely done in scrollwork with a giant R that rested in the center of it. After a moment's pause the gate soundlessly slid open. The mustang drove up the scenic driveway and stopped in front of a large, old Victorian home. The house had been renovated a few years ago, returning it to its original awe-inspiring beauty. The sun was setting and it gave the property the look of a beautiful picture postcard.

Alec Michael Romane stepped out of the mustang, stretching his tall, solid body as he yawned. Alec was the most eligible bachelor in the community. Mothers in the neighborhood had tried to get him interested in their daughters for a long time, even some of the mothers went after him themselves, but it never worked. He always seemed to be too busy traveling for the family business. It was easy to see why so many people were after him. His six foot two frame was well built, with a body developed from genetics and time in the gym. Alec got his looks from his mother's Nordic heritage. His sun kissed blonde hair hung down just below his ears and his eyes were an icy blue. Alec was a kind and generous man with a maturity that seemed beyond his twenty-four years. He always remained calm and assured, no matter the pressure.

Vanessa Lynn Romane slid out of the passenger side of the vehicle. She was almost in equal height of her brother at an even six feet tall. Her lean, muscled body was as strong as any Olympic athlete, man or woman. Vanessa's beauty was an obvious reflection of their family's Irish heritage. Her copper hair hung down towards her shoulder blades. Vanessa's eyes were a deep emerald green that flashed and burned when she was angry. Most people did not realize that they were brother and sister or that Vanessa was older by a year. Her beauty made her appear younger than she actually was.

They walked around to the back of the mustang, and began taking their luggage out of the trunk. Vanessa and Alec made their way with the luggage up to the front door. Alec dug around in his pocket for a moment before finally retrieving the keys.

"Take your time, brother dear, it's not like these bags are heavy." Vanessa said with a sigh. "I'd really like to take a hot bubble bath and relax sometime in the next few hours."

"How is it that you can't hold some luggage for a few minutes, but you were able to hang off the side of a building for an hour? Unless you were lying about that time in Athens." Alec said with a smile as he unlocked the front door. "Don't take your jetlag crankiness out on me, Nessa."

They stepped into the foyer of the home. A massive staircase was off to the left leading to the upstairs. The living room was off to the right, a few steps down from the main entry of the home. The floor of the foyer and the hallway, which ran back to the kitchen area, was covered in a rich black and white Italian marble tile. Vanessa gently closed the door behind them.

"I'll handle it this time." She smirked at the brother. "You almost got us killed last time."

"Only because you pushed me." Alec muttered under his breath.

Vanessa stepped forward onto the tile floor. She slowly and carefully stepped across some of the tiles in a specific pattern. As her foot gently pressed down on the last tile a woman's voice softly echoed into the foyer.

"Security system disarmed. Welcome home, Trinity and Phoenix."

"Thank you, Muse." Alec responded to the disembodied voice. "Activity report, please."

"There was no breach or intrusion of the estate's perimeter during your absence, expect for the occasional wild animal. Each animal was scanned and verified as actual mammals. No bugs or other communication and tracking devices were found on their bodies. Mr. Clerick from the Foundation called with the list of this quarter's scholarship finalists. All pertinent information has been loaded into the house's mainframe, and is available at your personal computer as well."

"Well done, Muse, that is all for now, thank you. " Vanessa said with a yawn. " Please remind me why she has a British accent?"

"Because someone got totally infatuated with a British man a few years ago after a mission." Alec replied.

"That's right. William...I haven't thought of him in a long time." She replied with a grin. "If I remember correctly it's your turn to look over the scholarship list."

"Yes it is, but unlike you, I don't mind doing it." Alec replied.

Vanessa and Alec's great-great grandparents started the Romane Foundation over a century ago. The Romanes had always been a family of great wealth and riches. Their wealth included money, but it was not limited to that. The family was a caring and compassionate group of people, and their loved ones and friends enriched their lives. It is a little known fact that the Romanes were one of the original six families that founded the Covenant.

Through the years the Romanes gained great respect for their generosity and compassion for their fellow man. The family was always helping less fortunate people wherever they lived. The Romane Foundation was created to help people in times of need and to contribute to charitable organizations. The family name became so well known that there are major corporations that donate millions of dollars a year to the Foundation.

The Romane Foundation also provided Vanessa and Alec with their cover. They were able to travel away on 'business' anytime they needed. When they were not on a mission or assignment for the Covenant they worked on things for the Foundation. This time of year they were looking at college scholarship finalists. Vanessa's happiness at having Alec work on it was not that she didn't enjoy helping people, because she really did, but there was always so much paperwork to read. Alec was the one that enjoyed being immersed in that much information. He may look like the star quarterback of the high school, but he was really a library nerd through and through.

Alec and Vanessa took the luggage containing their clothing up to their respective bedrooms. Vanessa came back downstairs a bit later to find Alec waiting for her in the foyer.

"Please, tell me you didn't just dump your clothes back into the dresser." Vanessa pleaded with her brother.

"Nessa, why does it matter to you what I do with my things?" Alec smiled back. "I might not be a huge neat freak like you, but I at least keep my stuff in my room." He leaned down and picked up one of the two remaining bags. "Now, can we get the rest of this put away, please?"

"Of course." Vanessa sighed. "Tell me again why we don't have a butler or maid that's 'in the know' to help us with these things? Unpacking and packing all of this is what I hate most about our jobs."

"The only people that know are the members of the families." Alec said over his shoulder to her. "You know that, and this wouldn't be so bad if you didn't whine about it the entire time."

"I don't whine, Alec, I simply state my concerns in a different tone of voice to better accent the conversation." Vanessa sweetly replied.

The pair took the bags down the hallway and entered the first door on their left, the library. Vanessa was not kidding about Alec's love to read. Bookshelves filled the room from floor to ceiling. There were lamps and comfortable leather chairs placed throughout the room. A few desks were also located in there in case either of them was actually working. They maneuvered their way through the bookcases and made it to the back wall of the library placing their bags on the floor in front of the massive bookcase that was there. As Vanessa reached out and pulled on a piece of molding on the case, it slid open to reveal a hidden compartment that contained two empty slots.

Vanessa and Alec each removed the pendants from around their necks. It was the only identification they had to prove their membership in the Covenant. Vanessa's pendant was three circles entwined together, a trinity. The trinity represented her greatest features: intelligence, agility, and strength. Many of her adversaries learned the hard way to never judge a book by its cover. Her beauty may lead some to think of her as quiet and soft, but that was not reality. Vanessa had been involved in so many gunfights, explosions, and dangerous situations, that nothing really surprised her anymore. She pressed the back of her pendant into its matching hole.

Alec's pendant was a single flame of fire that represented the mythical firebird of legend, the Phoenix. He was given this codename because he had the knack for getting out of any situation, no matter the danger. There were many times that Vanessa thought her brother was done for the count, but he always prevailed. She drew her strength from him all the time, not that he was aware of that. Vanessa realized at an early age that the only constant in her life was Alec. He was her rock and her touchstone. He was the one she always turned to. Alex pressed his pendant into its matching slot.

The bookcase slid apart into the wall revealing a hidden stairwell. It was just one of the many passageways that ran throughout the house. Vanessa and Alec took the bags down the stairs and into a wine cellar. It was not a large space, but wine racks filled every available wall space. They each grabbed a bottle of wine that had the year of their birth on the labels. Vanessa and Alec gently pulled on the bottles. As the bottle slid back into place they pushed on the wine rack. The wall swung backwards on hidden hinges. Nothing in this house was really as it seemed.

They entered into the heart of their operation headquarters. It was an expansive area. A large video screen, bigger than most movie theater screens, was placed against the back wall above the communication and computer center. Alec took his bag towards a bank of storage lockers setup against a sidewall. He entered a sequence of numbers on a security panel located in the center of the lockers. After a confirmation beep the sound of lockers opening echoed throughout the space. Alec began to unload their weapons and ammunition from their recent assignment. Vanessa carried her bag back towards the computer center. She began unloading their communication devices and other gadgets. The pair had more technology than NASA and an arsenal that could equip a few countries' armies. After making sure all of the equipment was put away and charging she sat back in a leather office chair.

"I am so glad to be home." Vanessa sighed with content. "This was our third mission in a row. I am totally ready for some down time."

"You're ready for some time off?" Alec asked, sarcasm dripping off his tongue. "Try being stuck on that damn fishing boat for a week. I had to make my cover believable and got stuck out there, acting like I was fishing."

"That had to better than what I went through during the Amsterdam assignment." Vanessa threw back at him.

"You mean you didn't have a good time wearing that rubber, one-piece dominatrix costume?" Alec asked with a laugh.

"It was either that or that old business man that wanted to wear a diaper and have me burp him." Vanessa's body shook at the memory. "Why can't all the assignments be as much fun as this last one? I'll take jumping out of an exploding plane any day."

"You realize we have a very unique family don't you?" Alec asked. "Most families are sitting down to Sunday dinner right now, but we're unloading guns and spy equipment. Other families take vacations to amusement parks, but we end up crawling through a war zone in Siberia on vacation."

"I wouldn't change it for anything in the world." Vanessa said with a grin. Alec paused and looked at his sister. They weren't a traditional family, but what is considered traditional these days anyways.

"Me either, sis." He finally replied.

Vanessa stood up and stretched her lithe body. After getting a few muscle cramps out she went over to help Alec finish unloading the weapons. At least she started out helping him. It quickly turned into a competition to see who could clean and store the weapons the quickest. Their race came to a close finish. They each had one weapon left. Vanessa beat Alec but only because she gently nudged him out of the way at the last second.

"You realize I let you win, don't you?" Alec asked.

"You keep telling yourself that, tiger." Vanessa said with a smile.

Vanessa sat at the dining room table reading the morning's newspaper. The front-page story was about a small passenger plane that exploded over the weekend. The cause for the explosion was engine problems. She smiled as she took a sip of her orange juice. It was good having friends at most of the major newspapers and magazines. The Covenant was extremely resourceful. Vanessa glanced at the grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room. It was almost ten o'clock in the morning, but it didn't surprise her that Alec still wasn't out of bed. They both tried to sleep in when they were at home. There were times during assignments when sleep just wasn't an option.

It was almost a half hour later when she heard fumbling around upstairs. She heard Alec stumble into the kitchen and pour a cup of coffee. He was definitely not a morning person. Vanessa knew better than to say anything to him until he had at least one full cup of coffee. Though most of the time that didn't stop her. Alec walked into the dining room with a major case of bed head and grumpiness.

"Morning, sunshine!" Vanessa cheerfully said. She didn't get much of a response. It was just a few grunts in reply. "Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

Alec glared at his sister and rolled his eyes. He set his coffee cup and plate down on the table. He stretched one more time and yawned before sitting down to breakfast. Alec sipped his coffee while buttering part of his bagel. He could see Vanessa eyeing up his bagel from across the table.

"Try it, and you'll lose a finger." He growled at her.

"You're bark is worse than your bite, tiger." Vanessa giggled. "Besides, I already ate my breakfast. Check this out. We made the front page again."

She slid the paper across the table to her brother. As he picked up the paper she deftly grabbed a piece of his bagel. Alec glared at her as she popped it into her mouth. Alec grumbled a few choice words under his breath and checked out the front page. It was rare for their assignments to reach the front page of the newspaper, but a small passenger plane exploding does get everyone's attention.

"How much time do you think we'll have off this time?" Alec asked. "We were on the road for almost all of the last four months."

"I hope at least a month, but that probably won't happen." Vanessa replied. "Then again, we might get bored with that much time on our hands."

"You might have the chance to get bored, but I've got plenty of work to keep me busy." Alec said. "This year's scholarship competition is really close."

"Is that why you slept in so late?" Vanessa asked her brother. Alec nodded his head. "How late were you up reading last night?"

"I think I finally crashed around three o'clock this morning." Alec could see the concern on his sister's face. "Don't give me that look. We really don't know when the next assignment will come in, so I have to take advantage of our free time."

Alec stood and took his plate into the kitchen. Vanessa picked up the discarded paper and flipped through it to her horoscope.

"Be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing." She read aloud.

"Why do you even bother with that crap? You know none of it is true." Alec said to her as he walked back into the dining room.

"Do you ever have any fun at all?" Vanessa questioned her brother. "You can be such a stick in the mud. Why don't you try going out with one of those girls that are left on our doorstep all the time? You are severely lacking a social life."

"And you're just the belle of the ball, Vanessa?" Alec snapped back at his sister. "You know as well as I do that trying to date anyone outside of the Covenant is pointless. Besides, you aren't the social butterfly yourself, dear sister."

"At least I go out with friends when we have the time. You don't even do that. If we aren't on a mission you stay in the house and do nothing." Vanessa responded. She was concerned about her brother. "You need to get out more. I don't see the harm in taking one of those girls out for dinner. As long as you don't lead them on there shouldn't be any problems."

"Damn it, Vanessa, mind your own business!" Alec yelled across the dining room. Vanessa moved so quickly Alec didn't have time to react. One moment he was standing there, the next moment Vanessa had him pinned against the wall.

"We really need to work on your reflexives, tiger, you're getting a bit slow." Vanessa said.

A low growl rumbled in Alec's throat. Vanessa was always interfering in his life, and normally he just went along with it. It was different this time. She was getting too close to the truth, and it made him uncomfortable. Vanessa was saying something to him, but he wasn't paying any attention. Alec was trying to calm his mind and focus his thoughts, but he wasn't able to.

"I'm gay." Alec quietly revealed.

"What?" Vanessa asked in shock, her fingers immediately loosening their hold on his shirt.

A large sigh shuddered through Alec's body. He wasn't ashamed of being gay; that wasn't the problem at all. Admitting to his sister that he was gay would most likely turn the conversation to men, possibly one man in particular. Alec did not want to rehash the painful memories. Alec had attempted to have a relationship one time, and it failed miserably. He did not want to admit his failure to Vanessa.

"I'm gay." He repeated. Vanessa's hand made contact right across his cheek. It was a forceful blow, but his head barely moved. "What the hell was that for?"

"You deserved that for lying to me these past few years and for making me force it out of you." Vanessa calmly said to him. She could tell that there was something more to the situation, but she would push more about that at a later time. Just getting Alec to admit this was a good first step. "I'm your family, Alec, your older sister, don't you think I would have figured something out. I'm not stupid, you know."

"I never thought you were stupid. I just hoped that things had been too busy for you to notice. I'm sorry." Alec mumbled.

It broke Vanessa's heart to see her brother like this. He was always the strong and tough one, and to see his armor crack a bit like this was unsettling. She reached out and pulled him to her. She ran her fingers through his hair and murmured in his ear. After a few moments Alec pulled back from his sister and smiled at her.

"Thanks, Nessa, I love you." He quietly said to her. "Let's go get our daily training over with. I've got to get back to that paperwork sometime today."

"You're such a slave driver." Vanessa said in an attempt to lighten the moment.

"The harder we train, the better the chance we survive." Alec said over his shoulder. He was headed towards the study. "So, move your lazy ass, sis."

They made their way back down into their headquarters, or the dungeon as Vanessa lovingly referred to it. Across from the weapons' storage area was their training and workout area. A large, thick mat covered the area and there were different kinds of exercise equipment set up all over the place. The pair went through their breathing and stretching exercises before smoothly moving into their yoga routines.

Yoga helped to keep their minds focused and their bodies centered. Concentration and focus were two of the most important qualities needed in their line of work. They had to be able to react and make lightening fast decisions. One slip of concentration or one moment of lost focus could be the difference between life and death. Yoga also helped their bodies' flexibility. Flexibility helped with their speed and agility.

Vanessa and Alec decided to work inside today, since they just returned from the field. Normally the pair worked out in the woods that were located on the back part of the property. It didn't matter what time of year it was, or what the weather was like. They had to be prepared to operate in any type of climate or circumstance. Living in the New England area was a great benefit for them. They were able to train in different temperatures and climates, though working out in two feet of snow was not high on their list of favorite things.

After thirty minutes of yoga Vanessa and Alec moved into their martial arts training. Their bodies moved with precision and beauty as they punched and kicked through their routines. As the routines were coming to an end Vanessa lashed out, kicking at her brother. Alec smoothly stepped to the side and went into a defensive crouch. Their sparring was always as close to full out fighting as possible. It didn't do their reflexes any good if they were holding back. Vanessa stepped forward again and attempted a roundhouse kick at Alec's head with her right foot.

Alec swiftly dropped down and swept his leg underneath Vanessa, successfully knocking her leg out from under her. She fell to the mat with a loud thump. Alec quickly kicked out with his left foot, but Vanessa somersaulted backwards and hopped to her feet. Alec stepped towards his sister, her left leg lashed out towards his head. This time Alec grabbed her ankle, stopping her forward motion.

Vanessa gave her brother a sweet smile. She leapt into the air, her right leg swung up and over her left leg, which was still in Alec's hand. Her foot made contact to Alec's head with a sickening crack. He immediately let go of her foot and fell to the ground.

Vanessa's body continued it's forward motion and she barely landed on the balls of her feet. Her body immediately sprung into a defensive mode, but the attack she expected never came. Alec still remained on the ground. Vanessa was not going to fall for this trick, well not again at least. She walked over and gave a swift, but easy, kick to his right side. Alec's body didn't move or react. He was sprawled out on his stomach Vanessa quickly shook her brother's shoulder.

"Alec!" She called out.

He didn't respond. She very carefully turned him over onto his back. A mistake she regretted almost as soon as she had done it. As soon as Alec was on his back his hands shot out and grabbed Vanessa's arms. He planted his feet into her stomach and flipped her over his body so they were almost laying head to head. Alec allowed his body to continue to roll backwards. He rolled back onto Vanessa's body, his knees pining her shoulders to the ground.

"I thought you said you always let me win?" Vanessa asked with a laugh.

"False sense of security there, sis." Alec smiled back at her.

Alec stood up and helped his sister to her feet. They both toweled the sweat off of their foreheads and had a drink of water. They continued working out for the rest of the afternoon, except they used the weight machines to build up their strength. There wasn't much conversation during their workouts. There really wasn't any need for it.

Life at the Romane home quickly fell back into its normal pattern. Alec took his time and was able to select the finalists for the scholarships after a few days. Vanessa met up with some old friends, and ran some errands for the Foundation. Vanessa tried to hook Alec up on some blind dates, but he always dug his heels in and refused. Their lives had begun to feel normal again, though they should have known it wouldn't last.

Vanessa lounged in the luxurious hot water that filled the bathtub. The foamy bubbles wrapped around her body, easing her tense, cramped muscles. It was quiet moments like that that she cherished the most, moments where she could let down her guards. Times where she could just be Vanessa, not Trinity. She was able to allow her focus to drop and her thoughts could roam freely. During assignments she had to be on top of her game. She couldn't allow for any wandering thoughts or feelings to interrupt her concentration, but in her own home she could relax. Her thoughts focused on Alec, as they normally do. Alec seemed happy on the outside, but Vanessa knew her brother better than she knew herself. Something had been bothering him, and she hadn't been able to pin down exactly what it was right away. Vanessa kept a close eye on her brother, though not close enough that he would suspect something.

It wasn't until Alec was older that she suspected he might be gay. They were both too busy through high school, mainly due to training, to really date anyone. She thought things would pick up for Alec in the dating scene once they had more free time. Things never did pick up though. Numerous women came calling to the house trying to get Alec to date them, but none of them were ever successful. Once Vanessa started paying closer attention to him she realized that his gaze always slid past the women, but would sometimes linger on an attractive man. The longer he remained single, the more Vanessa felt that her suspicion was true.

She hadn't planned on confronting Alec the other day in the dining room. It just kind of happened, a total stroke of luck. Alec finally took her into his confidence and revealed his sexuality. She was happy that he could finally trust her with his secret. Vanessa didn't feel any remaining anger towards Alec for keeping it from her for so long. She had no idea what that had to feel like, and was just grateful to finally have that piece of the puzzle solved. Her new mission would be to help him find a man.

She relaxed in the hot water for a few more moments before her mind focused on other thoughts, thoughts she usually held at bay. Thoughts of her parents floated through her mind. Anna and Sam Romane were two of the most loving and compassionate people, and parents, in the world. Alec and Vanessa were the center of their universe. They did whatever was necessary to ensure their children's happiness. They were away on business from time to time, on assignments, but whenever they were at home all of their time was for their children.

Her mind took her back into time, a night almost seven years ago, the night her parents were taken away from her. She and Alec had been practicing their martial arts when there was a knock on the door. Thunder and lightning crashed through the sky, giving the knock on the door an ominous sound. Vanessa opened the door to find Mr. Clerick, from the Foundation, standing there. Their parents were away on assignment and an earthquake had totaled the city they were in. Anna and Sam Romane's bodies were found within the rubble. Time seemed to stop completely that night for Vanessa. It wasn't until months later that she began to feel alive again. Alec had kept a close watch over her almost every minute of the day.

Vanessa pushed these unwanted thoughts away and focused instead on her childhood. They had had a pretty average childhood, with a few twists. Alec and Vanessa were a part of sports teams and other school clubs, but they had other interesting extracurricular activities as well. Martial arts training started for both of them when they entered into kindergarten. By the time Vanessa and Alec started high school they had each obtained high ranks in several martial art forms.

They both also took gymnastics throughout the years. It aided them with a great deal of agility, balance, and flexibility. Their parents also enrolled Alec and Vanessa into yoga to give their minds the same precision and agility their bodies had obtained. Weapons training was soon incorporated into their after school training sessions. Either of them could practically use any object as a weapon, and could handle almost any weapon on the market.

All of this training didn't just help them towards their futures; it also enabled them to excel in their schoolwork. Their training provided the pair with a great deal of focus, patience and determination. Vanessa and Alec both graduated at the top of their high school classes. Once they were old enough to understand, their parents explained about the `business trips' they took. Alec and Vanessa were amazed by the revelation and were very excited to step into the fray to help out. Their parents completely understood their enthusiasm, but they were very adamant about their children going to college.

Anna and Sam's death was not part of the plan though. Their passing took away two of the Covenant's greatest members, and Alec and Vanessa were forced into filling their parents' shoes. Years of training and education had prepared them for their official entrance into the Covenant, but they would both prefer to have their parents back. Vanessa lifted the trinity symbol off of her chest and brushed the bubbles off it. She kissed it once and pressed it back against her chest. Her eyes looked upward.

"I hope I'm making you both proud." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Trinity, Phoenix, please report immediately to the dungeon." Muse's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"It took them long enough." Vanessa mumbled as she began to dry herself off. "It's show time."

Alec pulled the flannel blanket closer around his shivering body. A chill night wind gently wrapped itself around the house. He was sitting on the balcony that was outside his bedroom. Most of his time at night was spent on the balcony looking up at night sky. There seemed to be a thousand points of light spread through the velvety blackness. His thoughts were also focused on his parents. Alec really didn't have the chance to mourn for them. His mission was to make sure that Vanessa was okay. She might seem hard and tough, but he knew Vanessa better than that. Their parents' death ripped them to their very cores.

A soft, musical twinkling sound echoed in the wind. His eyes trailed over to the dark spot in the corner where a wind chime hung. It was too dark to see it now, but he knew its spot from memory. Alec was frightened of the dark as a child, a fear that Vanessa still teased him about, and his parents gave him the wind chime to help calm his fears. They said that the beautiful music it made would scare off all the evil things he believed were hidden in the darkness.

His gaze returned to the night sky, searching out one star in particular. Alec's eyes finally found the star, one of the brightest in the darkness. His eyes filled with tears, tears he refused to shed. Every time his parents went away on business they pointed out that star to Alec and Vanessa. They told them that anytime they were afraid to look for that star and know they would be looking at it as well. This way no matter how far apart, they were still linked together.

Alec closed his eyes as his body shuddered; fighting back the pain was becoming more and more difficult. After almost seven years the pain did not lessen in any way. He knew that he had to deal with it, but he had to remain strong for his sister. Alec knew how much Vanessa relied on him, even if she would never admit it. He thought back to his coming out earlier in the week. It certainly didn't go the way he planned, but everything was out in the open now. Well, almost everything at least.

The one thing that Alec could never tell Vanessa about was Joey. Joey had been Alec's best friend through most of grade school and high school, `had' being the operative word. Alec made one of the biggest mistakes any gay man can make; he fell in love with his straight best friend. He then made the second biggest mistake by telling Joey how he felt. Joey was the only person that Alec had let know the real him, besides his parents and Vanessa. Joey did not react very well to Alec's profession of love at all.

Joey knew about Alec's martial arts skills and knew there was no way in hell he could beat Alec's ass. Since he couldn't attack Alec physically, he attacked him mentally. His words cut through Alec's heart and soul. The worst part, if it could even get any worse, was that the falling out occurred barely a week after Alec's parents were killed. Their death made Alec realize he had to tell Joey about his feelings. He didn't want to regret losing Joey and having him never know how he felt.

Alec refused to let anyone in ever again. There was too much risk involved, and Alec dealt with too many risks and dangers already. He felt very fulfilled with his life though, even if there was no romantic aspect to it. After Joey's outburst Alec never saw him again, which Alec felt was for the best. After having his heart ripped out and shredded to pieces he didn't think he could ever forgive Joey for that. It was one thing that Joey didn't return his feelings, but Alec thought he knew his friend better. Alec never thought for a second that Joey would push him away like that and say so many hurtful, evil things.

His self-induced seclusion was also the reason for other things, like his virginity. Alec knew early on in life that girls didn't interest him at all. He never dated to throw off suspicion though. He was always so busy with activities that no one ever questioned his single status. By this point Alec had masturbation down to a very fine art form. With his twenty-fifth birthday rapidly approaching Alec didn't worry about sex anymore. He had given up worrying about it a long time ago. Besides, he was giving himself a great deal of pleasure and didn't have to be concerned about letting his guards down.

Alec's job had quickly become the `man' in his life. He could always depend on another mission to come in, another assignment that would require his full attention and focus. Down time had become one of the hardest things to deal with. Most people would welcome the time to relax, not Alec. His mind wandered around too much when he had free time on his hands. Alec was always grateful for assignments, giving his soul a rest from the demons that plagued him. Almost as if reading his mind, Muse's voice echoed through the open balcony doorway.

"Trinity, Phoenix, please report immediately to the dungeon." Alec sighed in frustration upon hearing `the dungeon' part of Muse's message. He made a mental note to not let Vanessa help with Muse's programming. Alec stretched his long frame, tossing the blanket back onto the chair. He took one last look into the night sky and found their star. The wind chimes still played their haunting, beautiful melody. * * *

Vanessa and Alec rushed across the dungeon to the communication center. The screen had come to life the moment Muse called for them. The trinity and phoenix symbols slowly rotated on the screen. Muse's voice echoed throughout the cave-like room.

"Incoming transmission from Covenant Headquarters."

"Make sure the communication is on a secure line, and play when ready, Muse." Vanessa commanded as she sat down.

"The transmission was broadcasted over a secure line, security level Alpha. I am decoding and unscrambling the information." Muse replied.

"Level Alpha?" Alec's eyebrows rose. "I didn't think we'd get top level assignments for another few years. We must be doing better than we thought, sis."

"Our last few missions seemed to be a bit more intense than in the past." Vanessa looked over her shoulder at her brother. "Level Alpha would probably require both of us to have major roles. Looks like we might finally get to work as an actual field team, bro, and one of us won't be playing backup for once."

"That could prove interesting..." Alec began.

"Decoding complete." Muse's voice interrupted. "Transmission now playing."

The trinity and phoenix symbols faded from the screen and were replaced by an image of Stonehenge, the Covenant's main symbol. The transmission was given by Muse herself, this helped protect the identity of the current leader of the Covenant. Secrecy was all-important to their organization.

"Good evening, Trinity and Phoenix, I hope this transmission finds you both relaxed and well rested, you'll need it. The President of The United States will be attending the grand opening of a new family resort." The Stonehenge image disappeared from the screen. A world map appeared in its place, a small red box appeared over a part of the Pacific Ocean. The screen zoomed in on the selected area and a small chain of islands was brought into view. "You are looking at the Terror Islands, a chain of three Pacific Islands that were bought by Terror Incorporated. TI is one of the leading amusement park companies currently in the world. They have created an amusement park on the largest of the islands. The park is called Isle Of Terror. Only one of the other two islands is being used. It is currently housing all of the park's staff and the park's storage facilities are located there."

"This sounds kind of interesting." Vanessa mumbled. Alec hushed his sister and she shot him a dirty look. The transmission continued to play.

"It has come to our attention that there will be an attempt on the President's life during the grand opening. Our contacts have been unable to find out what the exact plan is, but we need both of you to stop the assassination attempt."

"HOLY SHIT!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"Would you just shut up already?" Alec snapped at his sister.

"More information will be provided to you as it becomes available. You will be going in as part of an added security team for the park. This will enable you to have complete access to everything and anything in the park. You will need the normal equipment. There will be a contact for this mission, Backdraft. Backdraft will rendezvous with you when you disembark on the island."

"What the hell?" It was Alec's turn to be shocked.

"Would you just shut up already?" Vanessa asked Alec with a sweet smile on her face.

"This does not mean that the Covenant doubts your abilities in any way. This mission will be covering a large scale and will require three field agents." The transmission continued over the siblings. "We have full faith in the both of you, and that this assignment will be successful. May your strength and determination prevail as it always does. Good luck, Trinity and Phoenix. All traces of this transmission will be deleted and purged for security purposes."

The screen faded back to the trinity and phoenix symbols. Alec and Vanessa looked at each other in silence. They had tough missions in the past, but they both knew that this would go far beyond anything they had attempted so far. Their shock was quickly replaced with pride, pride in knowing that the Covenant believed they were the best agents for this mission.

"Looks like playtime is over, Phoenix." Vanessa grinned.

"You're damn straight, Trinity." He replied with a grin of his own.

"Looks like you finally got your wish, tiger." She said with a wink.

"What are you talking about, Nessa?" Alec asked in confusion. "We are finally getting that amusement park vacation you were talking about." Vanessa giggled.

Vanessa walked over to the ammunition storage and began packing. Alec glared at his sister's back.

"Bitch." He mumbled as he got their other gear ready.

"I heard that, Alec!"

Chapter Two

"What do you think about disguises?" Alec questioned his sister.

"I think it might be better to forgo any type of disguises this time, Alec, it's too much upkeep for a mission like this." Vanessa replied. "Disguises work for a short amount of time, but over an extended period, I don't think they really work that well. This is the biggest assignment we've ever been assigned, and I don't want something stupid, like a wig being on crooked, to blow our covers."

"Don't worry, Nessa, that was exactly what I was thinking." Alec grunted out as he lifted the weapons' bags and headed upstairs. "I think using our names, well, first names at least, will make things easier as well. We need total concentration, and trying to remember what name to answer to will just throw us off. I am totally confident that we are going to be able to pull this off without any problems, sis."

Vanessa picked up their remaining gear and followed her brother up through the house. Her mind had been racing at a million miles per hour since Muse revealed their mission earlier this evening. Vanessa had expected fear to be coursing through her by now, but that hadn't happened. Instead, excitement and energy flowed through her body, and she realized that she had to be a total adrenaline junkie. Her mind had already begun going over strategies and plans in preparation for their assignment. She knew that this assignment was just as important to Alec, and it actually might even mean more to him than it did to her. Vanessa had been in the forefront of practically every mission, and this time Alec had an opportunity to shine. It was a chance for him to show just how good he was at his job, and Vanessa knew he was one of the best.

They stepped out of the house and the cold fall wind whipped around them, sending chills through their bodies. Their gear was safely and carefully stored in the mustang's trunk. Transporting gear for missions had become a problem when security in airports had become very tight. The Covenant had a private plane for Vanessa and Alec's use, and had built a small runway and hanger outside the local airport. This was all accomplished with the help of some highly placed Covenant members, who took care of things like getting federal approval for the airstrip and other intricacies. Vanessa and Alec didn't have to worry about airport security, their plane being late, or any other airport inconvenience.

"Remember to take some clothes to change into on the plane, Alec, so we don't walk off the plane onto a tropical island in winter gear." Vanessa reminded. "Let's just hope neither one of us gets sick from the drastic temperature change. That's all we would need, to be in the middle of our biggest assignment and have the flu."

After making sure all the gear was properly stored in the trunk Alec and Vanessa headed back into the house to get their remaining luggage. They went to their bedrooms and began finishing up the packing, making sure their clothes were comfortable, but also appropriate for their work. The clothes had to enable them to blend in with everyone else, but still have the flexibility for quick movement and comfort. A majority of their clothes had to be as close to form fitting as possible because loose fitting clothing could either slow them down or be too bulky for movement. Alec and Vanessa had solid, muscular bodies, and wearing the tighter fitting clothing didn't bother either one of them. In fact it helped them sometimes because they had encountered a few people that focused more on their appearance and found out the hard way what a mistake that was.

Alec and Vanessa met in the foyer with their packed bags and looked around at the house. It was becoming a routine for the pair, and even though they had every confidence in their abilities, they never knew if this would be the last time in their home. They took a deep breath through their noses, taking in the scent of the house that was filled with so many memories. Alec easily took Vanessa's hand, their fingers entwining with a practiced ease.

"Looks like we're ready to go, Trinity." Alec murmured with a grin. "We're finally going on that dream vacation, eh?"

"You know it, tiger, I plan on finding you a man on this trip. Of course, that would be after I get all my hours of sunbathing in." Vanessa said with a laugh. "Muse?"

"Yes, Trinity." Muse's voice echoed throughout the downstairs.

"We are leaving on assignment, Muse, please secure the house under security level Alpha Bravo." Vanessa requested.

"Institution of security level alpha bravo will require double clearance." Muse responded. "Trinity, please provide your security clearance code."

"Trinity clearance Vanessa Lynn Romane, access code seven eight six nine." Vanessa stated.

"Phoenix, please provide your security clearance code." Muse requested.

"Phoenix clearance Alec Michael Romane, access code one seven one two." Alec replied.

"Clearance codes have been confirmed. Security lock down under security level Alpha Bravo will be complete in two minutes. Please leave the premise immediately to avoid defensive measures. Be safe on your mission and return in once piece, Trinity and Phoenix." Muse confirmed.

All the lights in the house suddenly went out and the sound of doors locking echoed throughout the halls. Alec and Vanessa quickly stepped out the front door with their luggage and pulled it closed. As they got into Alec's mustang the house continued with the security measures. Steel plates slid into place behind the curtains in all the windows and were also lowered behind all the doors leading to the outside. Invisible laser beams crisscrossed over every inch of the property, scanning and searching for anything out of the ordinary. The house and the surrounding property had become a virtual fortress. Muse would only initiate defensive measures if it sensed a danger, like the weapons and tools in the backseat of the mustang. That is why Alec and Vanessa had been warned to leave before the two minutes were up. If Muse felt any need to defend the home or its perimeter it would contact either Vanessa or Alec on their cell phones and confirm the situation.

The mustang shot through the iron gate at the end of the driveway just as it was closing. The car quickly sped down the streets to get to the main highway as soon as possible. Vanessa and Alec were anxious to get on their way and begin their assignment because there were only seven days until the President's visit at the Isle Of Terror amusement park. They had to incorporate themselves with the park's employees and memorize every square inch of the park. Knowledge of their surroundings and the people in it were one of the most important things in their line of work. It was one of the things that separated them from others in their field. Vanessa and Alec spent a great deal of attention to every detail when they were on missions. They made sure that everything that they said or did fit in perfectly with their surroundings, unless of course their cover required them to do otherwise.

"What was with the Alpha Bravo lockdown, Nessa?" Alec quickly glanced at his sister. "We've never used a security level higher than Charlie when we left on assignments, but this time you requested the highest level possible. What makes this one so different?"

Vanessa glanced out the passenger window, refusing to meet her brother's gaze. She hadn't thought about using that lockdown until the words had already left her mouth, and by then it was too late to change the request. Vanessa's stomach was still a bit knotted from the situation, but she had gone with her gut instinct and trusted in it.

"Mom and Dad were on the biggest missions of their career when that earthquake hit, Alec." Vanessa's voice was so soft Alec could barely hear her over the sound of the engine. "We were there to step into their places whether we wanted to or not. We are on the biggest mission of our career, tiger, and if something happens there is no one to pick up the pieces. There is too much information and other things in that house for it to fall into the wrong hands, Alec, that I had to make sure it was secure, just in case we...."

Vanessa's voice broke off and she took a deep breath. Vanessa knew they had to look at both sides of the coin, no matter how confident she was they were going to succeed. She had to make sure that she was prepared for the worse because there was always the possibility it could happen. It was dangerous to be too self-assured or confident in their line of work. Vanessa tried to always make sure both of her feet were firmly planted in reality, otherwise, one or both of them could end up dead. She knew that Alec followed the same line of thinking that she did. There were times when she felt more like Alec was her twin, even though she was a year older than him.

"You did the right thing, Nessa, we have to be prepared for anything and everything. I'm glad you thought about that." Alec's strong baritone voice gently carried throughout the car. He knew where Vanessa's mind was and he wanted to try and keep her spirits up. "Have you thought about what last name we should use on the island?"

"I've been trying to brainstorm ideas, but I keep drawing a complete blank." Vanessa sighed, even though a small grin appeared on her face. She knew what her brother was up to, and she definitely appreciated the effort. "We're so used to only going by first names that it's pretty odd to have to pick out a last name. Have you had any ideas?"

"I was doing some reading last night about Lewis and Clark, and I thought maybe we could use one of those names." Alec replied as he changed lanes.

"You were reading about Lewis and Clark last night?" Vanessa chuckled. "Why don't you read something that isn't non-fiction for once, brother dear? You have to have some type of imagination in that thick head of yours somewhere."

"Forgive me, sis, if I don't get into the steamy romance novels the same way you do." Alec snapped back. His voice may have sounded rough, but Vanessa knew he was trying to rile her up.

"There is nothing wrong with reading about a lonesome, hunky cowboy who just inherited his family's ranch and ends up falling in love with the beautiful land developer from the city who shows up to build a mini-mall." Vanessa playfully snapped back at her brother.

"I never said there was something wrong with that, Nessa. We just have different tastes in books. You can engross yourself in all of that love at first sight crap, but leave me to my books about facts and truths." Alec replied.

"What do you mean crap? Love at first sight is totally possible, Alec. You can't tell me that you never experienced that in your entire life?" Vanessa asked in amazement. She knew that her brother wasn't into the dating or bar scene, but she would have never guessed he didn't believe in love.

"I just don't see how you can feel this instant love for someone after only seeing them once, Nessa. The only thing you can experience at first sight is lust, not love." Alec responded. "It takes time for feelings like love to exist between two people."

"That's what you think, brother dear, and I hope I'm there when you finally experience love at first sight." Vanessa said. "You know I just love telling you 'I told you so."

"I don't see why you love it so much, Nessa, it's not like you really ever get to do it that often." Alec said with a grin.

"Here's comes the turn off for the hanger, Alec, you don't want to miss it, again." Vanessa said with a giggle.

Alec sighed as he turned on the right turn signal. It seemed at times that Vanessa's mission in life was to harass him. It never bothered him though; well at least it didn't bother him that often. Vanessa had been teasing for as long as he could remember, and he didn't see her stopping anytime in the future. The car turned off onto the almost hidden entrance to the hanger. He had called ahead and made sure that it was fueled up and supplies were stocked for the flight.

"I'll be Lewis and you can be Clark, Alec. That way you can have the whole alter ego thing going like Superman." Vanessa grinned at her brother.

"Here's an interesting thought, you wacko. Why don't you be Lane and I'll be Kent. This way we can really play up the superhero thing." Alec said jokingly as he parked the car.

"That's a great idea, tiger!" Vanessa's face beamed. "You do have some good ideas every now and then."

She was already out of the car and unlocking the trunk before Alec could say anything else. A long, frustrated sigh slipped from his lips and he rubbed his temples. Would he ever learn to be careful when talking to Vanessa? Sometimes his sister could just take something and run it into the ground. Alec had a feeling this was going to be a very, very long flight.

Vanessa and Alec's plane touched down in California a few hours after take off. Their trip taking much shorter than a normal flight since the plane had Concord-like technology, courtesy of the Covenant. Their plane landed safely without any problems. Vanessa and Alec quickly unloaded their luggage and gear onto a cart and made their way over to the helipads.

It wasn't a possibility to land a plane on the island, so they were going to take a helicopter out. Terror Incorporated had a fleet of helicopters to take employees and guests from the mainland out to the island. There was the option of taking a ship, but traveling that way took almost a full day of time. From the long line of people waiting, they knew they had a few hours to kill.

"Alec, you wait here with the luggage. I'm going to look around inside, and do a little reconnaissance." Vanessa smiled at her brother.

"You mean you're going to do some shopping, Vanessa. I'm not stupid." Alec put on his sunglasses and pulled a book out of one of his duffel bags. "You go ahead and have fun. I'll be waiting right here."

"You could be on the look out for some hot guys, stud, and maybe you'll get lucky and have a hot island fling." Vanessa giggled to her brother. The look of death he shot her was enough of a clue for her to get going. "Fine, have it your way. All work and no play..." Her voice trailed off as she walked away from Alec. She really had to find him a man, and she hoped some opportunity would present itself. Vanessa picked up her carry on bag as she made her way towards the airport terminal.

Vanessa had a game plan in mind; she just hoped that there was enough time for her to pull it together. She walked around the concourse and finally found what she was looking for. Her eyes twinkled as she walked into the shop and heard the sound of hairdryers and scissors. Vanessa stepped up to the receptionist desk, where an attractive, younger woman was sitting.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" The woman asked.

"I'm hoping that you can." Vanessa leaned on the counter giving the woman her most brilliant smile. "I'm here on vacation and trying to be a bit spontaneous. I want something completely different, but I only have about an hour. Can you fit me in?"

"I'm sure we can fit you in." The woman said with a smile. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Vanessa's smile got even larger, if that were possible, as she explained her idea to the woman. The woman led her towards the back of the shop to get her hair washed. Alec was definitely going to have kittens when he saw her. Vanessa couldn't help the giggle that slipped from her lips. She was certainly going to be having some fun on this mission. Vanessa made sure not to look into a mirror until everything was done. It just a little over an hour later when the stylist turned her chair around and Vanessa was able to see the finished look.

Vanessa's face lit up with a disarming grin. The stylist did an amazing job, and Vanessa was impressed. If she hadn't known any better, Vanessa would have thought this was her natural appearance. She generously tipped the woman and made her way towards the airport bathrooms. Vanessa slipped into a stall and opened up her bag. She was ready to complete her transformation and started removing everything from the bag.

A tight, black mini-skirt slid soundlessly up her long legs. Vanessa slipped on a pair of knee-high black leather boots and pulled a tank top with the word `Princess' written across it in silver glitter over her head. She put the discarded clothes into the bag and stepped out of the stall. Vanessa placed the bag on the bathroom's sink and began to reapply her make-up, putting it on a bit heavier than normal. Once her make-up was done, to her satisfaction, she retrieved a pair of sunglasses out of her bag and headed off towards her last stop.

Vanessa usually walked with a calm, confident ease, but that changed with her new look. Her hips swayed a bit more with each step and accentuated her long, muscular legs. Vanessa was used to turning a few heads, but her new appearance brought her a lot more attention than she expected. She entered the gift shop and saw that the only person inside was the young man standing behind the counter. His eyes practically burned a hole right through her. If there were any opportunity to try out her new look, it was now. She sauntered right up to the counter and leaned across it, her shirt dipping a bit to reveal a good amount of cleavage.

"Hi, I was hoping you could help me, Evan." Vanessa read the guy's name off of his nametag. Her voice purred like a kitten. "I'm dying for some gum."

"Sure...it's um...on the rack right behind you." He stuttered and tried to not look down her shirt.

Vanessa looked over her shoulder and saw the candy rack. She looked back at Evan, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Thanks, I can't believe I didn't see that before." Vanessa allowed a giggle to escape past her lips. She walked over and selected a pack of pink bubble gum from the display. She set it down on the counter and began to dig through her bag. "Oh shoot, I must have left my purse in the car, damn it." Her lips turned down into a sensual pout.

"Don't worry about it, miss, I'll take care of it for you." Evan beamed at her.

"I couldn't let you do that, Evan, I don't want you getting into trouble over me." Vanessa purred.

"Don't worry about anything, ma'am." Evan practically forced the pack of gum into her hands. "It's not everyday I get to treat a beautiful woman to something, even if it's only a pack of gum."

"You're too sweet." Vanessa grinned back at him. She reached over and ran her finger over Evan's cheek. "I'm in your debt, and I won't forget this." Vanessa tossed the gum into her bag and started out of the gift shop. As she walked through the doors she glanced back at Evan. He was in the process of memorizing every inch of her legs. When his gaze met hers she lowered her sunglasses and winked at him. Evan's face immediately flushed and Vanessa giggled and headed back out to where Alec was waiting.

Her new look was a complete success, though she wasn't planning on playing the seductress on assignment. She had a few other ideas and couldn't wait to see Alec's reaction.

Alec ran his hand through his blonde hair and glanced at his watch. Vanessa had been gone for over an hour, and God only knows what she was up to. He felt like he was the older sibling most of the time. Vanessa was always on his case about relaxing and having more fun, but it was difficult for him to do. Alec had to be in control as much as possible, and letting go was not easy for him. Ever since his parents died he preferred things to be as routine as possible. His eyes turned back to his book, but a few moments later the sound of snapping bubble gum caught his attention.

Alec looked up to see a long-legged blonde woman strutting towards the helicopter area. He rolled his eyes as he read the word `princess' written across her too tight and small shirt. If Vanessa had been here this woman would have become fodder for some her jokes. He tried to ignore the woman and returned to his book. Unfortunately, the gum-popping princess was headed right towards him.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?" The princess asked him.

"It's just about two o'clock." Alec tried to keep his frustration to himself. The woman sounded like her head was inflated with air.

"Thanks, I like totally appreciate the help. I must have totally left my watch in my car." The woman replied with an inane giggle. Alec felt a hand slid up over his bicep. "What's a big, strong man like you doing out here all by himself?" She flirted with him.

"Look princess..." Alec looked up to politely tell the woman to leave him alone, but the words died in his throat. His eyes gazed into a pair of emerald ones that he knew so well. "What the fuck did you do, Vanessa?"

Vanessa's laughter rang in his ears as she twirled around. Her beautiful red hair was gone and a bright, blonde color was in its place. His eyes took in her transformation and he was amazed. She could have walked right past him and he would have never had known it was her. Hell, she walked right up and had a conversation with him and he didn't have a clue.

"Do you kiss your sister with that potty mouth, mister?" Her voice still had that airhead quality to it. "Do you like?"

"I'm in shock, Vanessa, I didn't know you dreamed of looking like a pop tart." Alec sweetly replied.

"Bite me." Vanessa said as she placed her bag back onto the cart. "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, Alec."

"You're right, there are a thousand other reasons to hate you." He shot back at her.

They playfully argued with each other until it was their turn to fly out to the island. Alec ended up loading their luggage onto the chopper himself because Vanessa was flirting with the pilot to the point he was completely distracted. She was definitely playing the part of the stereotypical blonde to a tee. Finally, Alec was able to get into the chopper and climbed into his seat. Somehow, Vanessa had managed to talk herself into the co-pilot's chair. He didn't bother putting on the headset to block out the sound of the whirling blades. Alec was happy to have the distraction and focus on his own game plan.

He took in the beauty of the Pacific Ocean and was amazed by the colors. The water looked so refreshing and the sky was bluer than he could ever imagine. He felt a peacefulness engulf him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Alec hadn't felt this calm or relaxed since his parents' passing. Something down in the water caught Alec's eye and he leaned closer to the window to investigate. A pod of dolphins were frolicking and swimming in the ocean far below him. Dolphins had always fascinated Alec because of their intelligence and playfulness. The animals looked so free down there in the water. Alec wondered what it must be like to be like that, to be so free. What would it feel like to have that weight lifted off of his shoulders for once? To have all the burdens he'd been carrying around for years disappear?

Was it possible that Vanessa was right? Was he too uptight? Alec reflected on his life for a few moments and realized that Vanessa did have some valid points. He really didn't have fun anymore or allow himself to just relax and unwind. Vanessa teased him about being a bit of a slob sometimes, but that was just one of Alec's quirks. He didn't allow many things to be out of his control in life and being a bit messy allowed him to give up a bit of control. It may have sounded stupid or even on the verge of insanity, but Alec had somehow gotten himself into a very controlled routine. Alec glanced towards the cockpit and could see Vanessa's blonde hair floating in the slight wind inside the helicopter.

He decided that maybe it was time for him to have a little fun. Alec didn't think he could be as flamboyant about it as Vanessa, though he was ready to have some enjoyment. He planned on keeping his eyes open, and who knows, maybe he might find an attractive guy on the island to have a fling with. He knew having a relationship was out of the question, or was it? He definitely had a lot to think about.

Alec could see Vanessa waving back at him out of the corner of his eye. She was pointing to something in front of the helicopter. Alec moved forward so he was right behind her seat to see what she was pointing at. The horizon was nothing but water before, but now there was something new to see. The Terror Islands had come into view and it was an impressive sight. It looked like there was a volcano on one of the islands, which immediately gave away which island the park was on. As the helicopter got closer to the islands Alec could make out the tops of different park rides towering above the tree line. All three of the islands appeared to be covered in jungle.

A large sigh of frustration escaped from Alec's lips from just looking at the terrain. All of those trees were definitely going to cause problems because it provided way too many hiding places. It was going to take more time than he expected to cover that much ground. Alec moved back to his own seat and went over things in his head. It was going to take a lot of concentration and patience to just deal with this new ditzy version of Vanessa besides having to deal with the mission as well. He had to enjoy the peace and quiet while he could because he didn't see it lasting very much longer.

The helicopter gently touched down on the main island, its blades slowly spinning until they stopped. The pilot rushed around the side of the helicopter to help Vanessa out, which caused another sigh to slip from Alec's lips. As the man helped Vanessa down she allowed her body to rub up against him as much as possible.

"Thank you so much, I like totally appreciate the help. People are never nice these days." Vanessa allowed another girlish giggle to flow from her lips. This was turning out to be more fun than she expected. "You must be pretty strong to lift me down like that."

"Not a problem, ma'am, anything I can do to help." The pilot replied, with a touch of pride in his voice. His chest was puffed out and he was definitely trying to show off his muscles.

"How late do these helihoppers fly?" Vanessa asked as she twirled some of her hair around her finger.

"They're called helicopters, ma'am, and the last run back to the mainland is at ten o'clock at night when the park closes." The pilot grinned back.

"Thanks again for the ride, mister, it was totally fast and a little rough. I really like it like that." Vanessa winked at the pilot and moved around the helicopter to help Alec. When she walked up to Alec the sight that greeted her actually made her miss a step and stumble.

"You'd think all that air in your head would stop you from tripping, Vanessa." Alec lazily smiled at her.

Vanessa didn't even hear what he said to her, she was too focused on his appearance. Alec was normally pretty conservative with his clothes, even though he had a body that made most men jealous. His shirt was unbuttoned completely, exposing practically every muscled inch of his upper body. Alec's hair was normally well kept and perfectly styled, though now it had that purposely messed up look to it. At some point he must have changed shorts on the trip over because at the airport he had on a pair of jean shorts that came down to his knees. Alec had on a pair of jean shorts now, but the shorts were mid-thigh length. He was definitely showing off some skin, which was totally not like him.

"What's with showing off your pasty skin, Alec?" Vanessa asked as her eyes trailed over his body. She could see the slight flush on his neck and face. "Don't get me wrong, stud, you look great. I'm just wondering what caused this change?"

"I'm just following someone's lead on blondes having more fun, and since I'm the natural blonde, I figured why not." Alec grinned at her.

"Well, it's about time!" Vanessa exclaimed. The pendant on Alec's chest caught her eye as the sun reflected off of it. She quickly pulled her pendant out and made sure it was visible. "Now let's just see if we can find our contact." She added quietly so only Alec could hear.

They scanned the crowd, without being too obvious about it. A lot of people were milling about the park's loading entrance, but no one really caught their eye. Alec and Vanessa were getting a lot of attention, from both men and woman alike, though neither of them noticed. They stood there for about twenty minutes before frustration started to kick in.

"This is getting ridiculous, Alec, I haven't seen our guy yet. I hate it when people are late." Vanessa complained. Her foot started impatiently tapping the ground. "Talk about unprofessional."

"Well, it's not like we were able to call ahead and give our arrival time." Alec sighed. "You really have to learn some patience." Vanessa was about to respond when something caught her eye. There was a woman standing towards the back of the crowd, and her eyes were definitely looking for something, or possibly someone. Vanessa almost dismissed her until she saw something reflecting light around the women's neck. It was too far to tell, but Vanessa would have bet money it was a pendant.

"Looks like our thinking that Backdraft was a man was way wrong." Vanessa quietly said to Alec. He gave her a questioning look and she pointed out the woman without being too obvious. "Let's try to initiate some contact."

Vanessa and Alec weren't going to have to do that though. The woman in the crowd had already stopped looking around and was headed their way. She was around five foot eight inches with midnight black hair that was bobbed at chin length. She moved with a grace that any ballet dancer would envy. Vanessa looked at the woman; she seemed petite even though she was pretty tall.

The woman gave Alec an appreciative look as she approached, but had dismissed Vanessa almost immediately. So it was going to be like that? The woman was lucky she was their contact; otherwise Vanessa would have kicked her ass. Vanessa tossed her hair back and couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face. She was still going to have some fun with this woman, contact or no contact.

"Welcome to the Isle Of Terror, I'm Sabrina McKnight. I couldn't help but notice that you two looked a bit lost. Can I help?" The woman asked.

There was something about her though that rubbed Vanessa the wrong way. It might have been the hungry look she was giving Alec. One would think that this Sabrina hadn't had a decent meal in at least a month by the look she was giving him. While Sabrina was busy drooling over Alec, Vanessa had the chance to get a good look at the pendant. She knew instantly that it was Covenant issued. It was difficult to describe, but from what Vanessa could tell it resembled an exploding fire.

"My name is Alec Clark, and this is my associate Vanessa Lane." Alec said with a grin. "We're new employees on the security team, so we're just waiting for our park contact."

"Well, that makes my job a lot easier." Sabrina's laughter bubbled. Vanessa's shoulder tensed at the sound. Sabrina was definitely grating on her nerves. "You're both with the security force?" Her eyes wandered over Vanessa questioningly.

"That's right, Sabrina, we put the secure in security." Vanessa said with sweetness dripping off of her tongue. "That's a gorgeous pendant you have there. Where did you get it?"

Sabrina's hand wrapped around her pendant without thinking, which Vanessa understood. They were both very protective about their pendants as well. Sabrina's hand shifted a bit and opened revealing the back of the pendant. The image of Stonehenge was clearly visible to the both of them and that was all the confirmation they needed; they had found Backdraft.

"It's been passed down through my family for generations." Sabrina said as she eyed their pendants. "It seems we share the same good taste in silver."

Alec and Vanessa's hands reached for their own pendants and gently flipped them over, acting like they were adjusting them. Sabrina saw the image on their pendants as well and barely nodded her head. She grinned at both of them and motioned to them to pick up their luggage.

"Why don't you get your bags and I'll show you to your room. I hope you don't mind, but you'll both be sharing a room. The park is a little short on staff quarters right now." Sabrina smiled.

"That's like not a problem at all, Sabrina, we'll be totally cool sharing a room, won't we, Alec?" Vanessa was back into airhead mode. She turned her back to them and bent down to pick up her bags, allowing her skirt to ride up a bit. Unfortunately a man was walking by and saw her. He didn't pay attention to where he was going and walked right into Sabrina, almost knocking her to the ground. Alec was able to catch her before she landed. "Hey mister, you better watch where you're going. That was like totally rude." It took all of Vanessa's strength to stop a grin from appearing on her face.

"Show us the way, oh fearless leader lady." Vanessa said with a crack of her gum.

Vanessa glanced over at Alec and could see he was trying hard not to laugh. Were her eyes deceiving her or was her brother actually having fun? Things were getting curiouser and curiouser by the minute. Backdraft turns out to be a woman, and then her brother was actually having a good time. Vanessa was pissed off that their contact was a woman because she was totally hoping for some hunky guy Alec could have some fun with.

Just as the thought crossed her mind a hot guy in nothing but a pair of board shorts walked past. The guy had muscles in all the right places with hair the color of melted chocolate. Vanessa was just about to point the guy out to Alec, but she saw Alec's gaze linger on the man. Before Vanessa could say anything Alec looked over at her and winked.

"Damn, Vanessa, I could suck him dry in a New York minute." Alec whispered to her.

God damn it if she didn't almost choke on her gum. Vanessa stumbled for the second time that day. Alec was turning out to certainly be full of some surprises today. Sabrina gave Vanessa a look over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. Vanessa was itching to knock that bitch's lights out. She totally understood what real blondes had to go through and made a vow to never make fun of blondes ever again, well except for Alec.

Sabrina led them down a path that ran around the outer edge of the island. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. The jungle trees and foliage were lush and fragrant. As they were talking they could hear different animal noises echoing from deep within the jungle. Vanessa looked over at her brother, realizing they hadn't known about the animals. This could make things even more difficult.

"Sabrina, what types of animals are on the island?" Alec questioned.

Sabrina dropped her pace back so she was walking in between Alec and Vanessa. A huge grin erupted on her face, though it didn't really reach her eyes Vanessa noticed. Sabrina seemed intent on acting like Vanessa wasn't there, not that Vanessa minded. Sabrina glanced around to make sure there wasn't anyone else in hearing distance.

"There aren't any animals loose on the island." Sabrina quietly said. "It's all sound clips that are broadcasted through hidden speakers. Isle Of Terror does have animal habitats, but the broadcasted sounds make the jungle feel more realistic. The island also has another special animal exhibit, but I'd rather show it to you. Besides, words can't really describe it. Just wait until you see it."

Sabrina led them to a small docking station where a small boat was waiting. She helped load their luggage on board to save time. After a few moments the boat was leaving the main island and was headed towards the closer of the other two islands. Vanessa figured that that must be the employee housing and storage site. It made sense since the third island was further away from the other two islands. Vanessa could see that Sabrina was still sneaking glances at her brother. That woman was going to be in for a rude awakening. Vanessa leaned against a railing and smiled. She couldn't wait to see Sabrina's face when she learned that Alec was gay.

Sabrina had left Vanessa and Alec to unpack their things and would return in a little bit to give them a tour of the main island. Alec was impressed with the setup the park had for its employees. The employee housing was just that, large houses set up like a small community. All the buildings were ranch style houses that could house up to three employees.

"I still say kicking Sabrina's ass isn't a good idea, at least not until the mission is over, Vanessa." Alec said to his sister with a sigh. Vanessa had been ranting for the last five minutes about how she thought Sabrina was a total bitch. "You were the one that decided to go with the whole valley girl persona. I guess you'll take time to think things through a bit more in the future before making this type of decision." "You're just defending her because she's falling all over herself to impress you. My God that woman has as much tact as a hooker trying to land a trick." Vanessa practically snarled.

"Someone sounds a bit jealous that she isn't getting all the attention." Alec grinned at her.

"That's hardly the case, Alec. I'm glad you're getting some attention." Vanessa sighed. "I just wish that you were getting some attention from someone of the male persuasion. By the way, Alec, when did you start sucking people dry?"

Vanessa thought that the comment would cause her brother to blush hard enough to cover every inch of exposed flesh. Alec surprised her by giving her his trademark grin.

"That's classified information, miss busybody. I thought you wanted me to find a hot guy for some island fun." Alec replied.

"I still do, even if that means me getting stuck dealing with miss stick up her ass all by myself." Vanessa giggled. "I wonder if I can pry that stick out and beat her with it?"

Their conversation was ended by a knock coming from the front door. Vanessa and Alec's body went into defensive mode automatically. Alec walked over towards the door and glanced back at Vanessa. She was already leaning in one of the doorways with her left arm behind her back to conceal the pistol she was holding. Alec reached for the doorknob as he pulled a gun out of the vase that sat on a table right by the front door. He slowly opened the door to reveal Sabrina standing there.

"Hello again, Trinity and Phoenix." Sabrina smiled at them as she saw the weapons in their hands. "My, my, you two are very good at your jobs. That's great because it's going to take the three of us to pull this off. We are going to have to work as a team to make sure everything goes smoothly, but before we start getting a game plan ready I thought you'd both like to have a tour of the main island."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Backdraft, doesn't it Trinity?" Alec asked. He could see that Vanessa wanted to give him a look of death, but she couldn't do that with Sabrina standing right there.

"It sounds like a totally freaking awesome idea." Vanessa smiled sweetly. "Just let me grab my purse and some gum."

The ride back to the main island went much faster than the way there. On the first trip they were riding against the ocean's current, but on the way back they sped quickly across the water. The group quickly disembarked and headed into the park itself. Sabrina explained that the park's hotels for the guests sat at the bottom of the dormant volcano, but she would take them over there tomorrow to check out the buildings. The rest of their day today would be going over the park layout. Sabrina picked up two park maps from an information booth and handed them to Alec and Vanessa.

"This will give you the general layout of the park and where all the rides and attractions are at." Sabrina said. "The overall layout is pretty basic, so it shouldn't take you much time tonight to memorize it."

"I see there's a new attraction opening at the end of the week: Journey To The Bottom Of The Sea. What is that all about?" Alec asked.

"That's the attraction I was talking about before when you heard the animal noises. I can't wait to show it to you. The President will be here at the end of the week for the grand opening of that attraction." Sabrina revealed. She glanced around to make sure they were alone and lowered her voice. "The Journey attraction is most likely where the attempt will take place. Joshua Finnegan, the CEO of the park, will be meeting us there shortly to give us an all access tour."

"How much information does Joshua have about us being here?" Vanessa quietly asked.

"He doesn't have any knowledge of who the two of you are, except that you are part of an undercover security team for the President's visit. You'll be given regular park security uniforms, but don't worry about having to deal with any guests." Sabrina explained. "The security force here is large enough to deal with any of the park's problems, you two are to focus on the mission."

"What's your cover, Sabrina?" Alec asked.

"Currently I'm the park's human resource director. I've been in place for about three months. This way I've been able to keep an eye on all the new hires and have information on everything that's going on in the park." She replied.

It took the group about three hours to tour all the rides and attractions in the park. The pathways and walkways through the different attractions were wide enough to handle a lot of traffic and were very well lit. This was a bonus for the team because it would enable them to move from area to area pretty quickly. Sabrina glanced at her watch.

"We better head over to the Journey attraction, it's about five minutes to six and Joshua will be meeting us there are six o'clock sharp." She said.

The group made their way across the park and towards the east side of the island. The entrance to the attraction was almost right on the edge of the island. While they were walking Vanessa and Alec kept their eyes open and scanned all of the surrounding areas. They tried to memorize as much of the area as possible. They finally saw the entrance to the Journey To The Bottom Of The Sea attraction and it looked like the entrance to a subway station. A large sign above the entrance showcased the attraction's name with different underwater creatures swimming through the letters. The exit to the attraction was located a few hundred feet away from the entrance. It wasn't the entrance that drew Alec's attention though, it was the man standing there waiting for them.

Joshua Finnegan was certainly an attractive man. Alec calculated that he was probably an inch or so shorter than himself, most likely around six feet tall. As they approached Sabrina introduced him and Vanessa. Joshua shook Vanessa's hand with a polite smile. Alec reached out to shake Joshua's hand and it felt like electricity shot through his body.

Joshua had a masculine, chiseled face with eyes that were so blue that they almost looked gray in color. It was difficult to tell what color hair Joshua had because he had on backwards baseball cap. His white t-shirt had the park logo on it and it definitely showed off his hard, muscular chest. He was wearing a pair of jean shorts that were faded and tight in all the right places. Alec couldn't understand what was happening. It was difficult to breathe and he couldn't take his eyes off of Joshua.

"I told you so." Vanessa quietly muttered for only Alec's ear. Alec could see that she was trying to hold back a pretty big grin.

"Please forgive me for my appearance, Alec and Vanessa, but I'm off duty and it's a real pain in the ass to be wearing a suit in this weather." Joshua's deep bass voice made Alec's knees turn to water. "I hope Sabrina has been showing you our beautiful island."

"Definitely beautiful." The words were out of Alec's mouth before he could stop them. He prayed that they thought he was talking about the park and not the gorgeous man in front of him. Joshua and Sabrina seemed to think that, but by the look on Vanessa's face she knew what he had meant. Alec could feel his neck and face start to flush.

"Well we've certainly saved the best part of the tour for last." Joshua said with an amazing smile. "Journey To The Bottom Of The Sea is the largest attraction of its kind in the entire world."

"What exactly is it, Joshua?" Vanessa asked.

"It's a mile long tunnel that runs underwater and allows you to view all of the ocean life in the area. It's shaped like the letter `U'. That's why the exit is pretty close to the entrance. Would you like to go down and have a look around?" Joshua asked.

"Abso-freaking-lutely!" Vanessa exclaimed.

Sabrina gave her a frustrated look as they headed down the steps of the attraction's entrance. Vanessa maneuvered herself behind Alec, so this way he was right behind Joshua. Alec couldn't help it as his eyes focused on the round, firm ass in front of him. He could feel his body responding to the view, and he tried everything he could think of to make himself relax. Nothing was working though and he was afraid his arousal would soon be very obvious.

They finally made it to the entrance of the tunnel, which was blocked off by two massive steel doors. There were two circular windows in the middle of each door that allowed them to see into the tunnel itself.

"What's with the massive doors?" Alec asked.

"These are airtight, water proof security doors. We have them in place in case there are ever any problems with the tunnel. Although the tunnel has been reinforced a hundred times over, I don't foresee any type of problem like that, but the doors are in place at the entrance and exit for safety purposes. Let's go into the tunnel and check it out." Joshua walked over and entered a code into the security panel located to the right of the doors. The doors slid open barely making any noise at all. "Be careful though because the sun is setting and we are still finishing up getting all of the lights installed. So make sure to watch your step."

It only took a few steps into the tunnel for it to take Alec's breath away. It was completely amazing to see everything that was going on underwater. There were multi-colored schools of fish swimming by, and all other kinds of underwater activity. Joshua was explaining about the different creatures that lived in that area of the ocean, but Alec barely heard a word he was saying. His concentration wasn't broken until he heard Vanessa humming. Joshua had mentioned something about sharks, and Vanessa was walking along humming the theme song to the movie Jaws.

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it Alec?" Joshua asked him. Alec had been facing the wall of tunnel and never heard the man come up behind him. He was so startled he spun around and lost his balance. Alec pitched towards the ground, but Joshua reacted quickly and caught him. "Easy there, buddy, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

Alec tried to answer him, but his mouth didn't seem to be working. Joshua's arms were holding him upright and his body was concentrating on the heat from the contact. No one, not even Joey, had ever had this type of effect on Alec and it was freaking him out. He stepped back out of the man's partial embrace and shook his head a little bit.

"I'm fine, Joshua, I think I'm just a bit jetlagged from the trip and everything. The time difference is catching up with me I think." Alec quickly tried to cover.

"It has been a pretty long day for us, so maybe it's time for us to head back for the night." Vanessa added in.

Alec was grateful for her help with the situation, for once Vanessa wasn't trying to embarrass him. The group made their way back through the entrance, pausing a moment to let Joshua close the security doors again. Joshua was going back towards the hotels and made plans with the group to meet again at his office to go over security plans. Alec hopped that tomorrow's meeting would be less embarrassing for him than today was.

Joshua stood and watched the group head back towards the docks to catch the boat to the other island. He waited until they were out of his line of vision before retrieving his cell phone from his jean pocket. Joshua opened up the phone and pressed one of the speed dial buttons.

"Hello? The meeting is over and everything went as planned...no, they don't have any clue of what's going on. The woman is a bit of an airhead, though the guy is definitely a looker." Joshua paused and listened to the voice on the other end. "I know this isn't the time or place for it, but you can't blame a guy for noticing these things...don't worry, Sabrina will keep an eye on them...no, they won't get in our way...nothing is going to ruin our plans...I know, I know...failure isn't an option. Everything will go perfectly, trust me. If they get in our way then we'll take care of them...I'm on my way now...goodbye."

Chapter Three

"I don't know why you're trying to deny it, tiger." Vanessa sighed. "You seem to forget that I was standing right there and saw the entire thing. The look on your face was love at first sight and the sooner you admit that to yourself, the easier it will be to deal with."

"That was not love, Vanessa, it was lust. I don't know why you seem to feel the need to keep going around in circles about this." Alec sat down on the couch with a sigh. They had returned from the main island twenty minutes ago and Vanessa had been going on about Joshua non-stop since Sabrina left. "Besides, how could you know what was going on between Joshua and me when you were too busy giving Sabrina evil looks."

"I told you, Alec, that there is something about that woman that rubs me the wrong way." Vanessa exclaimed for the hundredth time. "She was looking at you..."

"Like a piece of meat." Alec finished for his sister, his voice dripped with sarcasm. "It might be difficult for you to believe this, Vanessa, but some people actually find me attractive, believe it or not."

"Don't you even think about talking to me in that tone of voice, Alec Kent." Vanessa growled back at him. "If you don't stop I am going to be spending half of the night kicking your smart ass all over these god forsaken islands. I NEVER said you weren't attractive, Alec. You have to admit that Sabrina gives off a weird vibe and there's just something about her I can't put my finger on. It's almost like seeing something out of the corner of your eye, but by the time you turn around it's gone."

"First of all, you couldn't kick my ass all over the islands, and secondly, you don't like Sabrina because she easily dismissed you when we first met. You need to realize that there still are stereotypes in this world, and maybe this will make you think twice before you try pulling another stunt like this in the future." Alec lectured to his sister.

"So why are you so afraid of Joshua?" Vanessa asked to change to the subject.

"Who said I was afraid?" He asked her back, but the look on her face told him that he better start talking. "Fine, Vanessa, you win. Okay? There's only been one person, one guy, that I've been interested in..."

"Yeah, it was Joey." Vanessa interrupted.

"How do you know it was Joey?" Alec asked incredulously.

"I'm not as blonde as I look, tiger." She replied smoothly. "I was thinking about our past the other day after you came out to me, and I remembered the big falling out the two of you had. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. You and Joey used to fight like cats and dogs all the time, but it never affected your friendship. Then all of a sudden he was just gone."

"He made sure to do some damage before he left." Alec murmured.

"What did he do?" Vanessa demanded. She would hunt Joey down and kill him for whatever pain he caused Alec.

"Look it doesn't really matter, Vanessa. He hurt me, and made sure that it hurt badly. It's all over now and there is nothing we can do about it." Alec quietly replied.

"I think we should use our contacts to hunt Joey down and do insanely horrible things to him." Vanessa said with a vengeance. It was obvious Alec wasn't ready to talk about whatever had happened, but she had to try and pull him out of this funk. "We could find him and dress him up like a woman then let him loose in a prison where all the men have been in solitary confinement, and they haven't had any human contact in at least ten years and..."

Vanessa never got to finish her tirade because Alec's laughter interrupted her. She was happy to see him releasing some of that pent up emotion at least. He was laughing so hard that tears began streaming down his face, but after a few moments the laughter stopped and the tears did not. Years of pent up emotion broke through the surface and Alec couldn't stop any of it. He tried to hang onto any remaining control that he had, but it just wasn't possible. Vanessa quickly wrapped her arms around Alec and pulled him against her.

Alec's silent tears quickly became sobs, gut wrenching sobs that broke Vanessa's heart. In her entire life she had never seen anyone, especially Alec, in so much pain. Vanessa was disappointed in herself because she couldn't believe she never realized the amount of pain her brother was in. She had a feeling that there was more to his tears than just Joey, a feeling that was confirmed a moment later.

"I miss them, Vanessa, I miss them so much. Why did they have to die?" Alec asked through his tears.

Vanessa couldn't answer his question; instead she pulled him closer and rocked him back and forth. She couldn't imagine having all of that pain locked up inside and she was surprised that he was still mourning their parents' death. Vanessa hadn't seen Alec cry even once after their parents' passing, but she assumed he just wasn't letting her see him mourn. She thought he was putting up a strong front in front of her. Alec had always been there to support her through anything, and the tables had been turned on her. It was time for her to help and support Alec through his pain.

Vanessa's intentions were good, but she never had to comfort Alec before, and she wasn't really sure where to start. Vanessa continued to rock him and started to rub his lower back trying to soothe him. She suddenly remembered something from a long time ago; something she hoped would help calm Alec down. Vanessa quietly hummed an old Irish lullaby their mother used to sing to them. She couldn't sing to save her life, but she could at least carry the tune enough to serve its purpose.

Alec's arms tightened around her as his mind recognized the song. After a few minutes his breathing evened out and the tears had stopped falling. Alec felt better after all of that emotion finally burst out of his inner prison, but his mind still felt cloudy and confused. He relaxed in his sister's embrace for a few more minutes before he stood up. Alec leaned down and gently kissed his sister on her forehead.

"Where are you going, tiger?" Vanessa asked. She didn't want to let Alec out of her sight.

"I need to clear my head a bit, Vanessa. I'm going to go over to the park and do some more recon work." He smiled her concerned tone. "I appreciate you being here for me, but I just need a little bit of time to myself. Okay?"

Vanessa nodded her head and watched him head out the door. She wanted to warn him to take a weapon with him, but she realized he could handle himself. Vanessa felt a bit uneasy after what just happened. It wasn't every day her baby brother had an emotional breakdown in front of her. On one hand it unsettled her a lot to see it, but on the other hand she felt more connected with Alec since he let her in just a little bit more. Vanessa hoped he was able to find some of the answers he was looking for out there in the darkness.

There wasn't anyone running the boats from island to island that late at night, but it wasn't something that Alec couldn't handle. He quietly started up the small boat and deftly maneuvered the craft to the opposite shore. Alec hopped out and made sure that the boat was securely tied to the small dock. He paused for a moment to look at the scenery that unfolded in front of him. The air was crisp and clean as a soft, easy breeze circled the island. Alec thought that the jungle would have looked more intimidating at night, but it was far from that. It could have just been all the other situations he'd been in before, but he didn't feel any fear looking into the dark jungle.

Alec was still in shock about what happened back there with his sister. He always had careful control and made sure he kept all of his emotions in check. Alec didn't know what was happening to him. Everything seemed to be shifting and changing since he met Joshua hours before. Was it only a few hours ago that they met? Alec felt like he had been thinking about Joshua for a lifetime and maybe in some way he had.

Alec had imagined what it would feel like to be with someone for a long time. He didn't really focus on the sexual parts, though it did come up from time to time, but instead he focused his thoughts on sharing his life with someone. Alec thought about quiet Sunday mornings lying in bed and just watching his partner sleep. He thought about waking up on his birthday to find breakfast in bed waiting for him. Quiet nights of falling asleep together watching television also ran through his mind. He wasn't looking for a fling or a one-night stand because Alec obviously wanted something more long term than that.

Thoughts of Joshua floated through his mind and Alec tried to push them away, but couldn't make the images leave. Alec could see Joshua's firm, muscled chest and how his t-shirt had clung to the contours of his body. The jean shorts that hung down just low enough to reveal just enough skin to be sexy. Alec's demons plagued his mind, as they normally did when Alec found someone attractive. How could someone be in an honest, open relationship if their job is shrouded in so much secrecy? How could Alec go on missions and leave behind his heart, not knowing if he would return?

Alec took his time and walked along the paths between the rides and attractions in the park, his mind trying to memorize every step of the way and take in all the surroundings. Alec circled around the park in a matter of hours, though time wasn't a concern to him. He decided to check out what was off of the beaten path. Alec hopped over a fence and headed into the jungle itself. He was almost immediately overcome with a great calming feeling. It was therapeutic to be walking through nature's beauty and allowing his fears and frustrations to slip away.

Alec was a few hundred feet into the jungle when he heard it; the sound of rushing water. He didn't remember Sabrina mentioning anything about any rivers or creeks running through the island. Alec carefully made his way through the foliage and walked closer and closer to the source of the noise. Alec was beginning to feel like he was never going to find the cause of the sound when the jungle suddenly opened up and he was standing in a large open area, almost like a meadow. Alec gasped at what he saw in front of him and completely in awe of its beauty.

On the opposite side of the clearing, about two hundred feet away, stood a tall waterfall. The water cascaded down into in a large pool that formed at the base of the falls. The night air was sticky and humid, which made the water look very refreshing. Alec walked towards the water and gazed up at the falls. It didn't even compare in size to Angel or Niagara Falls, but it was a few stories tall. Alec sat down in the grass and watched the moonlit water drop from the falls' summit. He was mesmerized by the beauty and motion of the water. Alec leaned back on his elbows and looked up at the night sky. He could have been sitting there for a few minutes or for a few hours; time seemed to have stopped completely. The sky was amazingly clear, even more than it normally was at home, and his eyes automatically searched for his parents' star. It took only a few moments for Alec's eyes to focus on what he was looking for. He hadn't felt so calm and relaxed for a long time. Alec realized that getting out and being out here in the jungle allowed his mind to clear and regain its focus. A focus that was lost as the sound of a twig snapping shattered the silence in the clearing.

Alec immediately rolled onto this stomach and kept low to the ground. How could he have been so stupid to totally lose concentration and allow someone to sneak up on him? His eyes scanned the tree line trying to find the source of the noise. Dead silence had engulfed the clearing again and Alec's ears strained for any sound at all. His breath caught in his throat as a figure stepped out of the shadows and one word echoed through his mind. Joshua.

Vanessa's head bobbed in time with the music that was playing throughout the living room. She had found a stereo hidden away in one of the side cupboards and had been able to tune in a top forty countdown. The current princess of pop was singing through the speakers while a heavy dance beat descended around the room. Vanessa danced around the furniture that filled the room trying to release a little bit of steam. Her sweatshirt and pants hung loosely on her athletic frame. While it was hot on the island during the day, the temperature did drop at night.

"Having fun?" A dry voice asked from behind her.

Vanessa's back had been facing the door and she mentally berated herself for making such a mistake. Her thoughts had been too focused on Alec to concentrate. Vanessa was in the middle of doing a long forgotten dance move called the cabbage patch, which left her arms out in front of body. She slowly turned her right forearm clockwise until she heard a faint click. Vanessa turned towards the voice, her right arm dropping beside her. As her arm straightened out a small dagger slid out of her shirtsleeve into the palm of her hand and as soon as she felt the cold metal against her palm, her arm snapped, tossing the knife towards where the voice had come from.

Vanessa heard a woman's scream pierce the air and she finally was able to see the owner of the voice, Sabrina. She was sprawled out on the floor and looking up at Vanessa in shock. The knife was embedded into the wall and strands of black hair could be seen around the entry point. If Sabrina had ducked a second later the knife would have hit her right in the head.

"What are you, fucking crazy? You could have totally just blown you're cover!" Sabrina practically yelled at her.

"Sabrina! You totally have to be, like, a lot more careful." Vanessa sweetly grinned. She walked over to help Sabrina up, but the woman refused her help. "Besides, if you weren't like totally trained like me, then that knife would have plunged into your head instantly killing you. My cover wouldn't have been blown at all because you would have been totally, like seriously dead."

"Really?" Sabrina sarcastically asked.

"For sure!" Vanessa replied as she pulled the knife from the wall. The blade was so thin it barely left any recognizable mark in the wall. "So what's up girlfriend? What's the four-one-one?"

"The what?" Sabrina eyed Vanessa curiously. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're so far out of the loop, girl, you're on a straight line." Vanessa quipped to her. She could see anger and frustration spread across Sabrina's face. Vanessa was barely able to keep a smile off of her face. "I don't have time to really give you like the full and total rundown on the lingo. So, what's going on?"

"You could have just asked that in the first place." Sabrina said, though Vanessa heard her mumble 'airhead' under her breath. "I came over to see if the two of you had come up with any plans for tomorrow. Speaking of two, where is Alec?"

Sabrina practically broke her neck trying to look around for Vanessa's brother. At first Sabrina's wanton attitude towards Alec was amusing, but it really started to grate on Vanessa's nerves. She couldn't reveal Alec's secret though and that meant she had to keep Sabrina in her place.

"He was feeling pretty caged up, so he went to take a walk and look around the park. He'll probably have a shit load of ideas when he gets back, but I have no idea when that will be. So, if there's nothing else..." Vanessa got up and hoped to lead Sabrina out the door, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Actually, Vanessa, I'll just wait here for him. I'm sure you won't mind." Sabrina smiled sweetly at Vanessa, though it obviously was fake since the smile did not reach her eyes.

"That would be totally awesome! GIRLS' NIGHT!!!!" Vanessa squealed. She figured if she couldn't beat them then it was time to join them. The look of horror that spread across Sabrina's face was very satisfying. "I hope you don't think I was being totally rude before, but I didn't want to seem like a leech trying to hang out with you. We are going to get plenty of bonding time since you're going to wait for your wet dream to come back!"

Sabrina blushed at Vanessa's words and opened her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance. Vanessa rambled on and on about all the wonderful things they could do ranging from having facials to playing truth or dare. Vanessa smugly smiled to herself at how uncomfortable Sabrina looked. There was definitely something about the woman that made Vanessa uncomfortable and she was going to use every minute of this time with Sabrina to figure out what exactly it was. It was definitely going to be a long night.

Alec's breath caught in his throat as he watched Joshua approach him. At some point Joshua got rid of his hat, and his chestnut hair stirred slightly in the breeze as he eased his way through the clearing. Alec had found him attractive before, but in that clearing with the moonlight, Joshua appeared almost like a dream. A very hot and sexy dream Alec admitted to himself.

"I'm impressed." Joshua easily grinned. "I've never seen anyone move that fast before. Once you rolled over I could barely even see you and I knew exactly where to look."

"What are you doing out here?" Alec asked and immediately regretted it. It certainly wasn't his place to question the person in charge of the park.

"I come out here to think sometimes, Alec. It's an amazing sight isn't it?" Joshua answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "It's nice sometimes to just be able to get away from everything, and everyone, and step into paradise. Don't you think?"

Alec had stood up as soon as he recognized Joshua and being this close to him was still having an effect on Alec. He turned around to look at the waterfall and used the opportunity to take a few steps away from Joshua. Alec congratulated himself on the quick thinking, but that thought died swiftly as Joshua stepped up next to him. They stood practically shoulder-to-shoulder and watched the surging water in silence.

"So what are you doing out here, Alec?" Joshua's deep baritone quietly asked.

The timber of Joshua's voice was enough to make Alec start to harden in his shorts. Was it possible to have an orgasm just from hearing someone's voice? Alec thought it had to be true because he was almost on the verge of one. The proximity of Joshua's body and the sound of his voice were very intoxicating for Alec.

"I was just going a bit stir-crazy with Vanessa. I figured I would check out the park and learn the layout. It will help for the job later in the week." Alec explained. Sometimes the best lies were the ones woven with the most truth.

"This won't sound very nice," Joshua chuckled. "But I'm glad you were going stir-crazy."

"Why is that?" Alec was a bit confused. He shyly looked over at the gorgeous man.

"This way we can get to know each other a little bit, buddy. It will make both of our jobs easier if we are comfortable with each other. Right?" Joshua asked.

"You do have a point, I guess." Alec responded with a hesitant smile.

"Besides, it was getting a bit nerve wracking dealing with those two women. Or was that just me?" Joshua smiled.

"They are definitely a handful, that's for sure." Alec laughed.

"I don't think they like each other very much." Joshua looked back at the falls. "Come with me, Alec, I want to show you something."

Joshua headed closer to the pool of water and Alec had no choice but to follow. His eyes sought out Joshua's muscular ass and felt a stirring deep within himself, again. Alec was totally distraught and had no idea what to do. He had feelings, very strong feelings, for another man before, but compared to what he was feeling with Joshua was a thousand times more intense. He stood next to Joshua at the water's edge.

"Check that out, Alec." He said pointing towards the water. "It's so clear you can see right to the bottom."

"How deep is the water?" Alec asked. He leaned over to get a closer look.

"I think it's only about twelve feet deep, so that's not too bad. It's still dangerous though for anyone out here wandering around. It's a good thing we have those fences up to keep people out." Joshua teased.

"I think as a member of the security team I have every right to know every inch of the island, Mr. Finnegan." Alec couldn't keep the heat out his voice.

"I know that, Alec, I was only teasing you. Settle down, okay?" Joshua gave Alec another lazy grin.

"Sorry about that. I'm very serious about my job." Alec's eyes searched the heavens again out of habit.

"That's a good quality to have, Alec. Please though, call me Joshua." His eyes followed Alec's gaze into the night sky. "What are you looking for?" Joshua asked, his eyes still gazing at the stars.

"It's..." Alec paused. Should he share such personal information with this man? He barely even knew Joshua. It had taken him years before he would even share the secret of their star with Joey. There was that name again. "It was my parents' star. They were away on business a lot when I was younger, so we picked out a star to look at and this way no matter where any of us were at, we could look at the star and be together."

"Was?" Joshua gently asked. Alec could hear the concern in the man's voice.

"They passed away a few years ago." Alec smiled at their memory. "They were amazing people and really touched everyone that came into their lives. When I was little I was afraid of the dark, so they hung a wind chime on my bedroom balcony to ward off evil spirits and...I'm sorry, Joshua, I don't know why I started rambling." Alec's voice trailed off. He hadn't meant to just start rambling about his parents. My God, what was this man doing to him? Alec felt a deep blush spread across his face and neck and he looked away from Joshua in embarrassment.

"Hey," Joshua said as he stepped closer to Alec. Joshua reached out to turn Alec's face back to him. Alec's eyes met Joshua's, but the man didn't move his hand from Alec's face. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are when you blush like that?"

Alec didn't have any time to respond because Joshua stepped even closer to him. Joshua leaned over and captured Alec's lips in with his own. It was a kiss of pure need and passion. Any thought in Alec's head was suddenly gone as his head, and the rest of his body, exploded in pleasure. His breath caught in his throat and he felt dizzy. Alec reached out and grabbed onto Joshua to keep his balance. Joshua responded by deepening the kiss and pulling Alec's body up against his own.

Certain things are remembered for a lifetime and a first kiss is one of them. That kiss by the waterfall was the first kiss Alec ever experienced in his entire life, and he was fortunate to have his first kiss be so earth shattering. He couldn't stop the small moan that rumbled in the back of his throat as he felt Joshua's tongue slip into his mouth. Alec quickly regained his senses and realized what was happening. As much as he wanted this to continue, there was no way that he could allow that. Alec stepped back from Joshua breaking the kiss; his hand reached up to feel his now swollen lips.

"What...what was that?" Alec managed to gasp. Joshua's breathing was ragged and Alec couldn't describe the look on the man's face. The only thing he could tell was that it resembled confusion, but why would Joshua be confused?

"That..." Joshua paused and took a deep breath. "Had to be the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my entire life." He took a step towards Alec.

"Wait a minute." Alec said as he stepped back away from Joshua. He didn't have a chance to say anything else because he had reached the edge of the water. Without even realizing how close he was to the edge Alec stepped backwards and fell into the water.

"ALEC!" Joshua called out as his eyes scanned the water's surface. A thousand different things ran though Joshua's mind. He hadn't meant to kiss Alec, but sweet Jesus was he glad he did. Never in his entire life had he ever experienced a connection like that with someone so instantly. A few moments passed and Alec had still not broke back through the water. Joshua kicked off his shoes and dove into the water.

Joshua's body sliced through the water easily and he quickly looked around for Alec. He stayed under until his lungs practically burned from the lack of oxygen. Joshua quickly surfaced again and took a huge much needed breath of air. He was about to dive back underwater when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his body. Joshua jerked around to find Alec bobbing in the water next to him.

"Where the fuck did you go?" Joshua demanded. Fire and emotion exploded in the man's voice. "I was waiting for you to surface again and freaked out when I didn't see you."

"I surfaced on the other side of the pool, Joshua. I was trying to get my bearings when I heard you call, but I didn't have a chance to respond before you dove in. I swam over here as quickly as I could." Alec replied with a hint of fear in his voice. He couldn't believe how upset Joshua was getting. "This entire situation is your fault to begin with!"

"How the hell is it my fault, Alec?" Joshua asked angrily. "You were there one who fell into the water to begin with."

"That was after the first kiss thing you started!" Alec nearly shouted back.

"So you freaked out?" Joshua asked as they continued to tread water. "It was just a kiss, Alec."

"Maybe for you." Alec muttered and headed back towards dry land. He only swam a few paces when Joshua moved up beside him.

"What do you mean `maybe for you', Alec?" Joshua asked. By that time they had reached the water's edge and Alec was ready to take off, Joshua reached out and stopped him. Alec mumbled something unintelligible. "Damn it, what did you say?"

"I said it was the first time I've ever been kissed. OKAY?!" Alec yelled back.

Joshua's face betrayed his shock at Alec's words. Could it even be possible that a man as gorgeous and attractive as Alec could have never been kissed before? Alec looked away from Joshua for the second time that night in embarrassment.

"Are you serious?" Joshua asked Alec. Alec didn't look back at him, but slowly nodded his head, almost shamefully. "I'm sorry, Alec, I shouldn't have kissed you like that."

"Why is that?" Alec quietly asked.

"The way I kissed you was too forceful, too possessive." Joshua responded. "A first kiss shouldn't be like that. It should have been like this."

As soon as the words left Joshua's mouth he leaned into Alec for the second time. His lips carefully and gently brushed over Alec's. Alec responded quicker this time to Joshua's touch. His arms reached out and snaked around Joshua's waist, pulling the man up against him. The water brushed up against their legs at knee level. Alec's mouth opened up to Joshua invitingly and Joshua responded by slowly sliding his tongue in.

Alec thought the first kiss was enough to blow him away, but this kiss went even far beyond that. That first kiss ignited every nerve ending in his body, but this kiss was so different. It made his body feel like it was on fire, but this time he could feel sensations snake down into his heart. A thought quickly flashed through Alec's mind. Could it be possible that Vanessa was right? Was there such a thing as love at first sight?

Alec wasn't able to contemplate any further thoughts as he felt Joshua's hands slide down his back and cup his firm ass. Alec's back arched and he pushed himself up against Joshua's wet body. Their firm, taut chest muscles rubbed against each other and it turned Alec on even more. Alec was a little afraid of where things might have been going, but for once in his life he didn't care. He was ready for practically anything. Alec made the decision before he stepped foot on the island to go with the flow. Besides the fact that Joshua was so damn hot and Alec didn't think he could stop himself.

Alec's hands slid under Joshua's shirt and over his firm, muscled abs. Joshua's hands stroked Alec's face and ran back through his hair. Alec allowed his hands to run even further up Joshua's body until his hands brushed over Joshua's nipples. He arched at the touch and Alec continued his exploration. Joshua's tongue seemed to delve even further in Alec's mouth, and he didn't stop the moan that rumbled in his throat. Joshua broke the kiss, his gaze burning into Alec's.

"Who are you?" Joshua huskily asked, his voice dropping in timber. He didn't wait for Alec's answer and pulled them back into deeper waters.

"What do you mean?" Alec asked as the water rose almost to his chin. He didn't know why he was even still there with Joshua, but his heart kept telling him it was the right thing to do.

"I've never met anyone like you before in my life. You're so innocent, untouched." Joshua quietly replied. A piece of wet hair was stuck to Alec's cheek and Joshua reached out and brushed it off. His hand remained in place, gently stroking Alec's face. His words, a reminder of Alec's inexperience, caused another blush from Alec. "I don't mean it like that, Alec. It doesn't matter to me how much experience you have. What I meant was that you seem so...what's the word I'm looking for? Pure?"

"You're making me sound like a nun." Alec murmured as Joshua continued to stroke his cheek.

"More like an angel." Joshua's voice was a husky whisper.

He captured Alec's mouth again with his own. Alec pushed his body up against Joshua and wrapped his arms around him. It was Joshua's turn to groan from the intense feelings that wreaked havoc through his body. Joshua was glad that he needed some time to think and ended up at the waterfall that night. Otherwise he would have never had those moments with Alec.

Alec couldn't stop the desire and hunger that was rising in his body. In fact he had no urge to stop it, but to let the fire inside burn and consume him completely. He reached out and began to peel the shirt off of Joshua's wet, hard body. Joshua had no complaints and lifted his arms to help. Alec removed the shirt, but was unsure where to put it. They were still standing neck deep in the cool, refreshing water. Joshua solved the problem by taking the shirt and laying it across his shoulders.

"Follow me, Alec. I have something to show you." Joshua said and started to swim towards the waterfall.

Alec swam behind Joshua as thoughts of what could happen went through his head. His heart was beating so hard Alec thought it was going to burst right out of his chest. Everything was so new and fresh to him. His mind was telling him that it was simply a fling and nothing more, but his heart was telling him something completely different. Alec couldn't help being drawn to Joshua and he felt something stir deep within his soul. Vanessa's face drifted through his mind with the words `I told you so'.

He pushed the image and words out of his head as he saw Joshua go into the waterfall itself. Where the hell was he going? A bit of fear had begun to build in Alec's stomach, but he quickly pushed it away. He followed Joshua's lead and swam into the falling water. The force of the water was greater than Alec thought it would be and he was afraid he was going to be sucked underwater. Suddenly, he felt something grab his hand and pull him forward.

Alec broke through the wall of water to find Joshua hanging onto his hand. There was a ledge and what looked like a small cave hidden right behind the waterfall. Joshua helped pull Alec from the water and the sound of the falls surrounded them. The moonlight reflected off of the wall of water and gave the space some illumination.

"This place is absolutely amazing." Alec breathed out. He turned towards Joshua to find that the man had discarded his wet shirt. Alec's eyes took in the beauty that was before him. Joshua's chest was as well built as his own, and his eyes took in the peaks and valleys of the man's muscles. His breath caught in his throat. "You're...you're beautiful."

Joshua flushed slightly at Alec's words and it caused Alec's passion to grow. Was it possible Joshua wasn't as tough as he seemed? Alec smiled shyly and pulled his own shirt over his head and allowed it to fall to the ground. Joshua walked over to him and began to feel his body.

Their lips met again in a soft, gentle kiss. Alec pulled Joshua up against him and could feel the man's arousal. His body trembled at the intimate contact and he thought for sure he was going to lose it. Joshua stepped back ending the kiss and pulled his sandals off of his feet. Alec followed suit and removed his own socks and shoes. His hands reached down to unbutton his shorts, but Joshua's hands stopped him.

"Why don't you let me have the honors, Alec?" Joshua's voice still made Alec's knees feel like rubber. He couldn't find his voice to respond and simply nodded. Joshua smiled at him and lowered to his knees. "I've been imagining this since the moment I saw you."

He gently undid the button on Alec's shorts and slowly pulled the zipper down. Joshua paused for a moment because he hands were shaking a bit. Why did this man have such a hold over him? Joshua's hands reached up and began to pull the shorts down, which was more difficult since the water made it stick to Alec's skin. Finally the shorts fell to the ground leaving Alec standing in a pair of white, now practically transparent, boxer briefs. Alec's arousal was very evident and Joshua's eyes widened slightly. Alec definitely had a very ample package.

His hands gently ran over Alec's stiffness causing him to shudder and moan. It turned Joshua on even more knowing that he was the first man to touch Alec that way. His eyes locked with Alec's as he leaned forwarded and rubbed his cheek over the man's hard shaft. Alec's hands reached out and his fingers laced themselves through Joshua's hair pulling the man closer.

Joshua slowly moved his head up and captured the head of Alec's cock in his mouth through the wet fabric. He gently sucked and chewed at the thickness and groaned. Joshua could taste Alec's arousal and knew how turned on he was. His hands ran up Alec's thick, hard thighs and began to massage the man's bubble shaped ass.

Alec's body felt like it was jolted with electricity the minute Joshua's mouth made contact with his body. He had imagined what sex would feel like a thousand times before, but he hadn't even been close. Feeling and watching the things Joshua was doing was making him go crazy. He almost felt relief as Joshua began to pull down his underwear.

As soon as Alec's cock was free from it's wet prison it slapped up against his rock hard stomach. Joshua never took his eyes off of it as he finished taking Alec's underwear off. He leaned forward and captured one of Alec's long hanging balls into his hungry mouth. Joshua's tongue swabbed at the smooth orb as his lips sucked on it. Alec's body shuddered and Joshua had to help keep Alec standing.

"Maybe you should lie down. I don't want you to get hurt, baby." Joshua said and guided Alec onto the ground.

Alec was about to question Joshua about calling him baby, but just as he opened his mouth Joshua engulfed the head of his cock. The intense heat and wetness stopped anything from coming out of Alec's mouth except a deep groan. Joshua's tongue swirled around the fat head as a few inches disappeared into his mouth. Alec's toes curled in pleasure and he was barely able to stop himself from coming. His back arched and forced another few inches into Joshua's eager mouth.

Joshua reached up and gently massaged Alec's low hanging sac. He took a deep breath through his nose and swallowed the rest of Alec's cock. His nose buried itself into the slight bush of hair Alec had above his penis. Joshua never touched himself the entire time, which was odd for him. He usually had to keep himself aroused, but with Alec everything was different. He had to stop himself from jumping Alec in the Journey attraction earlier that night.

"Oh fuck, Joshua." Alec murmured. His entire body shook from the new, exciting feelings that raced through him. "I want to see you."

The sound of Alec's voice sent shivers down Joshua's spine. He really didn't want to stop what he was doing, but he wasn't going to let Alec down. Joshua slowly let go of Alec's cock and stood up. He took his time unbuttoning his shorts and pulling them down. Alec's gaze was like fire on his skin because Joshua could practically feel the heat from it.

Joshua stood before Alec completely naked, the waterfall cascading down behind him. It felt like a dream to Alec; everything was so surreal. Joshua moved towards Alec as he sat up. Alec's eyes focused on Joshua's impressive manhood. He wasn't as big as Alec, but Joshua was definitely a bit thicker. Alec tentatively reached out and wrapped his hand around Joshua's shaft. It amazed Alec that it felt so hard and warm, but it still felt soft and pliant at the same time.

It almost felt like he was holding his own dick in his hand but yet he wasn't. Alec slightly tightened his grip and stroked Joshua's cock. A bead of fluid appeared at the mushroom head and Alec expertly maneuvered his thumb to rub in the liquid. Alec might not have any sexual experience with someone else, but he certainly knew how to properly stroke a hot, hard cock.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" Joshua quietly asked. Alec's hand was like pure magic on his erection and he could feel his balls churning with need.

"I've never done it with anyone else, Joshua, but I definitely know how to stroke a gorgeous dick like this." Alec shyly grinned.

Joshua's eyes closed from the pleasure that throbbed through his body. Alec took advantage of this and leaned forwarded and cautiously licked at the head of Joshua's dick. He wasn't sure exactly what it would taste like, but whatever it was turned Alec on even more. He quickly moved closer and slid his mouth over part of the cock in his hand.

Joshua didn't think the pleasure could get any better, but feeling Alec's virgin mouth wrap around him practically sent him into orbit. His hands reflexively reached out and grabbed the sides of Alec's head. He had to stop himself from vigorously fucking the hot mouth in front of him. Joshua had to remember that this was Alec's first time and he didn't want to ruin this moment for the man.

Alec was so turned on he got completely lost in the new feelings he was experiencing. His hands reached out and began to massage and pull on Joshua's hot, smooth ass. Alec could sense the man was holding back, and he didn't want that to happen. He wanted Joshua to let go completely; he wasn't afraid of him. At Alec's urging Joshua began to slowly fuck Alec's mouth allowing him to get used to the feeling. It only took a few moments before Joshua was thrusting into Alec's mouth until his pubic hair was pressing against the man's nose.

Alec took to sex like a duck to water. It was like someone flipped an invisible switch somewhere deep inside of him. His body reacted and moved almost automatically. Who said all those hours of surfing for porn on the Internet wouldn't pay off at some point? Alec mimicked Joshua's previous movement by reaching up and massaging the man's heavy balls. An animal-like groan erupted from Joshua's mouth and Alec felt the man tense. Suddenly, Joshua pulled his cock out of Alec's mouth and lifted him to his feet.

"You are fucking incredible." Joshua growled and claimed Alec's mouth passionately. Their tongues battled for dominance as Joshua reached up and began to pinch and pull on Alec's nipples. Alec's body jerked from the intense pleasure that shot through his chest. Joshua felt Alec's reaction and ended the kiss. His head leaned down and captured one of Alec's hard nipples in his mouth. Alec soon found out that his nipples were directly attached to his cock. Every time Joshua's tongue slid over one of his nipples his cock would throb and twitch.

Alec's dick was steadily leaking and this allowed it to smoothly slide up against Joshua's stomach. His hips thrusted against Joshua as his nipples continued to get sucked and played with. He could feel the tip of Joshua's cock rubbing on the underside of his balls and it was driving him crazy. Alec felt his balls shift and he knew he was quickly approaching a very large orgasm. Joshua must have felt the change too because he suddenly stopped and stepped back from Alec, both men gasping and trying to catch their breath.

"Why the hell did you stop?" Alec breathlessly demanded.

"We were both getting way too close, and I'm not ready for this to end yet." Joshua softly replied.

Joshua turned and dropped down into the water. Alec laughed and quickly followed him into the water. There were a few feet of space between the rock wall and the falling water. The two men playfully grabbed at each other in the water for a few minutes to allow themselves to cool down. It wasn't long before they began to kiss passionately all over again.

Joshua drifted until his back was up against the wall to allow them more stability and control in the water. Alec floated along with him, never breaking their hot kiss. Alec's hands reached out and held onto the wall behind Joshua. Their kiss deepened and playtime was over. Passion had taken over control of their bodies and there was no stopping it.

Joshua's body arched up to get as much body contact with Alec as possible. He wrapped his legs around Alec to pull the man closer. Joshua had always been a physical person before, but he never felt the need to be so close to someone. His cock was trapped in between their bodies and the friction was causing an intense amount of pleasure. Alec began to lick and suck on Joshua's neck as he thrusted against his body.

Joshua tightened his legs around Alec causing his body to slightly lift. This caused Alec's cock to slide behind his balls and start to rub against his hot hole. Joshua had only bottomed once his life, but looking at the gorgeous man in front of him made his ass twitch eagerly. Alec's cock continued to rub and massage Joshua's ass and it made him crave Alec even more.

"I want you inside me, Alec." Joshua panted out.

"W...what?" Alec stuttered. He had heard Joshua, but he wasn't sure if the man meant what Alec thought he meant.

"I need that big cock of yours inside me." Joshua's eyes pleaded with Alec. "Please."

Alec felt Joshua's legs tighten even more around his waist and he could feel Joshua's hole twitch and pull at his cock. Alec continued to slowly rub his cock against Joshua as he thought about the request. He didn't have much more time to think about it because Joshua tilted his hips and the head of his cock pushed right into Joshua's hot hole. The entry should have been extremely painful, but between Joshua's need and the fact they were practically submerged in water there really wasn't any pain.

"Oh my God." Alec breathed out as he felt his cock slide into Joshua's body. It was like pushing his cock into a hot, velvety furnace. "You're so fucking tight and hotter than hell."

Joshua wasn't able to respond to Alec. His body had gone into sensory overload. His ass practically hummed around Alec's thick, hard shaft. Joshua responded by pushing his ass up to meet Alec causing almost all of Alec's cock to sink into his tight ass. He wrapped his arms around Alec's neck and pulled him into a fiery kiss.

Alec had been afraid that he wouldn't know what to do, but the minute his cock entered Joshua's hot ass his body went on autopilot. He started a slow rhythm and thrusted gently into the gorgeous man under him. So many new sensations rocked his body Alec wasn't able to keep track of them. Joshua's ass muscles grabbed and massaged Alec's cock.

Alec had intended to keep his pace as slow and easy as possible, but Joshua had begun sucking and nibbling on his neck. Alec couldn't help it as he began to push his cock deeper and faster into Joshua. Joshua didn't protest in any way. He knew that Alec had never done it before, but the man was fucking him like a pro. Every time Alec's cock plunged inside of him it brushed over his prostate. Electric waves of pleasure rolled through Joshua's body and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hang on much longer.

Alec could feel Joshua's body tighten and he knew that Joshua was very close to reaching an orgasm. Alec quickened his pace trying to get them off together. Joshua grunted out a warning and Alec felt the man's cock twitch and then explode against his body underwater. Joshua's ass muscles clamped down hard on Alec's cock and that was all it took to send him over the edge. Alec thrusted one final time into Joshua and felt his cock explode deep inside of Joshua's ass.

The two men clung to each other as they shared an intense, earth shattering orgasm. Their lips met instantly and they shared a sweet, soulful kiss. Alec felt his body stir again, but it wasn't his cock. It was his heart. He felt that they just shared a lot more than just their bodies with each other. Alec felt like their souls had connected in some amazing way, but did Joshua feel the same way?

Vanessa giggled as she looked across the table at Sabrina. They had been spending hour after excruciating hour with each other waiting for Alec to return. Where the fuck had her wayward brother gone? Vanessa had subjected Sabrina to every girly sleepover idea that came into her head. At the moment almost every hair on Sabrina's head was braided and a green mud mask covered her face.

"Are you sure you don't want to dance some more?" Vanessa cheerfully asked.

"I'm positive." Sabrina grunted with a sigh. "If you make me do the Electric Slide or the Macarena one more time someone is going to die, though right now I'm not sure if I'll shoot you or myself."

"There is no reason for you to be such a sour puss. We are totally having a great time. Doesn't every girl like to pamper herself?" Vanessa smiled.

"Why don't you just drop the game, Vanessa? I'm not nearly as stupid as you look." Sabrina sarcastically replied. "I know this blond thing is a total act. The only question I have, is why are you doing it?"

"I totally have no clue what you're talking about, but that was like totally harsh." Vanessa glared at Sabrina. "You obviously had a big ole glass of hater-aid for breakfast today."

"Have it your way. I'm going to wash this shit off of my face." Sabrina rolled her eyes and headed back towards the bathroom.

Vanessa stood up and went over to one of the windows. She gently eased back the curtain a bit and looked out into the darkness for any sign of her brother. Alec had been gone for almost three hours and she was starting to get worried. Vanessa had disliked Sabrina before, but that had changed during their time together. She decided that it was more than dislike; she hated Sabrina.

The woman was a condescending, arrogant bitch and Vanessa had to stop herself a few times that night from beating Sabrina senseless. Vanessa was sure that if Sabrina was to get laid that might kill the bug that was up her ass. Then again, that might not help at all because Vanessa figured any dick that got near Sabrina would freeze up and fall off. The woman was definitely a major ice queen.

Vanessa felt she might have to just pry the stick out of the woman's ass and just beat her with it. That thought of doing that at least brought a smile to Vanessa's face and eased some of her tension. If only Alec would get his ass here, she wouldn't have to deal with Sabrina much longer. Alec would be able to tactfully get rid of the pig. He was so much better dealing with people than she was.

Sabrina walked back into the living room just as her purse began to ring. She quickly walked over to the couch and retrieved her bag. Sabrina fished inside it for a few moments before pulling out a cell phone.

"Sabrina McKnight...where are you at?" She said into the small phone. "I'm on the employee island going over some business policies with the new security team. Yes, she is." Sabrina looked over at Vanessa and laughed into her phone. Vanessa's shoulders tensed and she took deep, calming breaths. "I don't know where he is. He told me that he was heading back to the office to finish some things up before turning in. Okay...I'll be here."

"Was that your boyfriend calling?" Vanessa's voice was completely sugar coated.

"I don't see how it is any of your business who calls me." Sabrina practically snarled.

"Testy, testy! You really need to calm down because you're like totally screwing up your aura." Vanessa giggled.

Before either woman could say another word the front door swung open. Vanessa pivoted her body and was prepared to toss her knife again when she saw who was standing there.

"It's about time you decided to return, Alec." Vanessa said shooting her brother an evil look. "Sabrina has been kind enough to keep me company the last few hours."

Alec saw the look of death on his sister's face and knew he was in for a world of trouble later, but he wasn't worried about it. He was too excited to talk to Vanessa about what happened back on the main island. Alec almost laughed out loud when he saw Sabrina's hair and there was some green crap stuck around her face in some places. Vanessa must have been putting the woman through a girls' night from hell.

"Did you two have fun while I was gone?" Alec asked with amusement.

"We had a wonderful time, Alec. I'm glad to see that you've finally come back though." Sabrina gushed. Vanessa wanted to throw up just from the fake sound that Sabrina's voice had taken. "We'll have time to go over some your ideas for the mission. We have to make sure we are all on the same page, otherwise we'll be going down in flames."

Vanessa had opened her mouth to interject something but was cut off at the sound of knocking on the door. All three of them looked at each other cautiously before Alec grabbed the doorknob. He could tell by the way Vanessa was standing that she most likely had a knife drawn and ready. Sabrina's hand was in her purse, most likely clutching a gun. Alec slowly opened to door to find a tall, beautiful blonde woman standing on their doorstep.

"Hi! Is Sabrina here?" The woman's voice had an easy grace to it. The woman looked past Alec and saw Sabrina standing on the other side of the room. She didn't wait to be invited in and walked towards Sabrina. "I've been looking all over the island for you. Thank goodness you had your cell phone on for once."

Vanessa and Alec surveyed the new woman to see if she was going to be any type of threat to their mission. They watched as the woman gave Sabrina a warm hug. Sabrina grinned at Vanessa, and it definitely made her uncomfortable.

"I can't believe I was so rude." The woman said as she turned back to Vanessa and Alec. "I barged in here and didn't even introduce myself."

"Let me do the honors." Sabrina sweetly smiled. "Vanessa Lane, Alec Kent, I'd like you to meet..."

"Sabrina, I am not an invalid. I'm perfectly capable of introducing myself." The woman interrupted Sabrina with a gentle laugh and a sweet smile. "It's nice to meet you both." She said as she extended her hand towards Vanessa. "I'm Paige Finnegan, Joshua's wife."

Chapter Four

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Alec asked hopefully. Alec's stomach knotted up as fear shot through every nerve in his body. There was no way possible that woman could be Joshua's wife. Joshua wouldn't have done those things with him on the island if he were married, or would he?

"I'm Paige Finnegan, Joshua's wife." She replied as she offered out her hand.

Alec numbly took her hand and shook it. His face was a sea of calm that did not reveal any of the inner turmoil that plagued his mind at that moment. Memories flashed through Alec's head and his heart forcefully pounded in his chest. His chest painfully constricted around his lungs making it difficult to breathe.

"I'm sorry, ladies, that I'm so out of it tonight." Alec quietly said with a warm, but fake, smile. "It must be the jetlag or the warmer climate throwing my body off. If you'll excuse me I'm going to turn in for the night."

Vanessa's eyes had been trained on her brother the moment Paige had revealed her identity. She saw fear, shock, and anger flash across his face before a mask slid into place hiding everything. She was not sure what exactly happened on the main island, but she was positive that something did happen. Vanessa knew that she would be having a very long, in depth conversation with her brother as soon as the other two women left.

Vanessa observed the other two women out of the corner of her eye as Alec left the room. Sabrina's eyes were transfixed on Alec's back until he disappeared down the hallway. Vanessa quickly glanced over at Paige and quietly assessed the woman. It was obvious from Paige's appearance that she most likely came from money, and based on her posture and poised stance Vanessa figured it was old money. Everything about the woman practically screamed good breeding and manners classes. Paige had a classic beauty that it made it appear as if she stepped right off of a movie set from the nineteen fifties.

There was one other thing about Paige that caught Vanessa's attention. The woman's eyes definitely had the spark of intelligence in them, and Vanessa made a mental note to not underestimate this woman. Vanessa had quickly learned that she should never judge a book by its cover.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Vanessa, and I hope we will be seeing more of each other." Paige said with what appeared to be a sincere smile. "If you have some free time from your job maybe we can do lunch or something? I'm sorry to rush off, but Sabrina and I have a staff meeting to attend at the hotel."

"Don't be sorry, Paige. I understand completely." Vanessa replied with a sincere smile of her own. "I just might take you up on that offer, Paige. Sabrina, make sure you stop over again really soon because I totally had fun tonight and can't wait to do it again!"

Sabrina reacted as Vanessa hoped she would and rushed Paige out the door as quickly as possible. Vanessa was definitely going to take Mrs. Joshua Finnegan up on her offer because it was the perfect opportunity to get more information; an opportunity that Vanessa was not going to let pass her by. She locked up and glanced out the windows to make sure there was nothing roaming about in the dark night. Vanessa grabbed something to drink and headed down the hallway towards Alec's room. She was definitely not looking forward to the upcoming conversation.

She knocked quietly on the door and waited for an answer, but there was no reply and Vanessa hadn't really expected one. She gently eased the door open and had to let her eyes adjust because all of the lights had been turned off. Alec was sitting on a window seat on the far side of the room with his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. Vanessa saw the silent tears that ran down his face.

It was almost as if she had been transported back in time. She couldn't count the number of times she had found Alec like this, shut off from the world and everything around him. Vanessa had to remind herself that this practically was Alec's first mission. He had helped on all the other missions, but he was more of a backup and her contact point. Alec had never really been in the field. His complaining at the end of their last mission was proof of that. Vanessa did remind him that he blew up that building, but he did that with a remote detonator. She was the one that set up all the explosives and equipment.

Vanessa wished that he had the opportunity to be in the field more before this mission came up. She watched him for a few moments before entering the room. He never looked up at her and continued to stare out the window. She knew what he was looking at, or most likely looking for, out into the night sky. Vanessa knew that Alec looked up at their star almost every night, and that night was no exception. Her heart ached in her chest as she watched him. Alec was so innocent, untouched, and it killed her inside to see him like that.

Vanessa hoped that he wouldn't lose that innocence as time went on, but she had a feeling that tonight was the beginning of the end of that. Alec might appear to be a strong, dominant man, and in many ways he was, but under the outer shell he was still a small, scared boy. Vanessa knew that he was looking for love, and she knew that that was partially from the loss of their parents. Alec was just one of those people that had so much love to give, but the death of their parents had scared him. Vanessa couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like to have all of those feelings locked up inside and no way to let them out.

"Hey tiger." She practically whispered as she finally moved towards him. "I thought I'd stop back and see how you were doing. I figured you might want to talk about it." Alec mumbled something, but she wasn't able to make out any of it. "What did you say?"

Alec's face lifted up to meet his sister's gaze and the look on his face made Vanessa's blood run cold. She had never seen such a hard, menacing look on her brother's face before. Vanessa knew her brother had a temper, one that he kept under strict control, but it was obvious he was losing control of the anger that was raging inside of him.

"I said..." Alec paused and took a shaky breath. "I am going to kill him."

"Who?" Vanessa asked.

"Don't fucking play stupid with me, Nessa!" Alec growled. "You know damn well who the hell I'm talking about. Joshua!"

Vanessa flinched back at his words because she wasn't expecting him to snap like that. She wasn't sure at that moment if she really wanted to know what happened on the island. Alec had never killed anyone, but Vanessa got the feeling that Joshua just might be his first. Vanessa tried to shield him from certain aspects of their jobs and killing was one of them.

"Someone seems just a little tense tonight, tiger." Vanessa teased, hoping to calm him down.

"A bit tense?" Alec's voice had begun to rise. "How would you feel if you lost your virginity; had one of the most intense experiences of your life; felt like you might possibly be falling in love; and then find out that the worthless self serving asshole is married? I had to go through that all in one fucking night!"

Vanessa's breath rushed out of her lungs in one fast gasp. He lost his virginity? Her brother was talking about falling in love? The island was obviously having a pretty damn interesting effect on her brother. She couldn't believe that he really had a fling. She thought about that for a minute and realized that this wasn't a fling. Somehow, someway, Alec had fallen in love or at least thought that he was. This was a huge moment for him, and Vanessa couldn't believe that someone had finally slipped under her brother's radar.

"You lost your what?' Vanessa finally managed to stutter.

A slight blush appeared on Alec's face, but it quickly disappeared as he gave her a play by play on what happened on the island. Vanessa was surprised because Alec did not spare any detail. He explained every single thing that happened, and he didn't leave anything out. Vanessa couldn't help the blush that appeared on her face as she heard the intimate details of his experience. There was one thing that caught her attention the most in his story.

"Who had the protection?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?" Alec asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you dare try to change the subject on me, Alec Michael!" Vanessa's anger was quickly building. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? How could you be so irresponsible?"

"Do you mean to tell me that you've never had unprotected sex, oh saintly one?" Alec asked with an eyebrow arched.

"This isn't about me." She replied indignantly. "We are talking about what happened with you."

"It's the exact same thing. The only difference is with my risk I can't get pregnant, but as I just said a minute ago I'm not the one who got fucked." He shot back at her.

"You might not have to worry about getting pregnant, but you do have to worry about other things." Vanessa argued. "You might not have got fucked physically, but I'd have to say you got fucked mentally and emotionally."

She regretted the words the minute she said them, but she couldn't take them back. She saw the anger fade from Alec's face and it was quickly replaced with pain. Vanessa couldn't help getting caught up in her own anger, but Alec had to understand the severity of what had happened to him. It was her responsibility to watch out for him, and she hated seeing him in so much pain. She stepped over to him and Alec fell into her arms.

"I'm sorry, tiger, for what I said, but you have to be very careful." She whispered in his ear as she tried to calm him down. "I'm proud of you for letting your guard down and letting someone in. I am sorry though that he turned out to be such a snake. I wish that your first time could have been with someone that truly cared for you."

"That's just it, Nessa; I really think he does care about me." Alec replied. "I could see it in his eyes under that waterfall. Even the way he touched me told me that he cared about me or at least was starting to. We connected somehow, but I just don't understand how. How could he do that when he was married?"

"It is tough to explain why people do what they do. If we could figure out a way to find out those type of answers we would be millionaires." Vanessa said with a small chuckle. "Unfortunately it is just one of those things in life we need to deal with. We do have a choice though because we can either let the pain and hurt take over our lives or we can learn and grow from the experience and move on. That is up to you to figure out."

"I hear what you're saying, Nessa." Alec quietly said as he hugged his sister close. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"That's what I'm here for, Alec. I'm sorry that your prince ended up having a princess." She said with a smile. "What are we going to do about the situation?"

"The only thing we can do." Alec looked up at his sister with a wicked grin. "We go on the offensive."

Alec didn't sleep much that night because he was haunted by dreams. The events of the day replayed through his mind and seemed to get worse as the night went on. He finally gave up on getting any real rest and was up for the day just as the sun was coming up. He groggily stumbled through his morning routine and made his way into the living room to begin his morning workout. Alec was surprised to find Vanessa already up and stretching.

"Morning, tiger." She said with a smile. "You're up early today."

"I could say the same for you." He smiled back. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I heard you tossing and turning last night and figured you'd be up early. I thought you might want some company. Besides, I can't have you working out without me. Who would toss you around?" Vanessa asked with a wicked grin.

She turned around and started to stretch again and Alec took advantage of the situation. He swiftly leapt over the couch and kicked with his right foot. It connected with Vanessa's back and she pitched forward. She planted her hands on the floor and easily flipped forward to her feet. Vanessa turned and her right leg swung around with a powerful roundhouse kick. She wasn't fast enough because Alec had already moved out of her way. He had dropped to the ground, swung his foot out, and easily knocked Vanessa's leg out from underneath her. She fell backwards to the floor with a slight thump.

Alec leapt towards his sister to 'finish' her off, but Vanessa somersaulted backwards out of his way. The minute her feet hit the floor she easily back flipped over the couch and stood in a defensive position. The pair eyed each other as they circled the couch.

"It would seem that someone woke up with a whole lot of focus this morning." Vanessa calmly replied. "Though attacking me with my back turned really wasn't fair, was it?"

"Who said the bad guys will fight fair?" Alec asked with a grin. "Didn't you always tell me to be prepared for everything and anything?"

Vanessa didn't reply, but a huge grin lit up her face. Alec was definitely starting to get the hang of things. Vanessa locked eyes with her brother and twisted her arm slightly. Her arm snapped in a throwing motion and Alec ducked behind the couch to avoid the knife he thought was going to be coming, but it never did. Vanessa had faked him out and quickly moved towards him. She stepped around the couch and was prepared to strike, but Alec wasn't there. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see where he was, but she never got the chance.

A solid blow struck her in the middle of her back and she tumbled to the floor for the second time that morning. She had been slightly prepared for the first one, but she was completely off guard that time. Vanessa hit the ground and the air rushed out of her lungs. Alec swiftly reached down and flipped her onto her back. Vanessa felt cold steel press against her temple and her eyes opened wide. Alec stood above her grinning like a mad man. She could see that the safety on the gun was on, and he didn't even have his finger on the trigger. His point was made loud and clear though.

"It seems the pupil has surpassed the teacher, young one." Vanessa quietly said with a huge smile.

"I think it was probably just a little bit of luck." Alec smiled shyly back and offered her a hand up.

"Sometimes luck is the one thing that keeps you alive, tiger." Vanessa took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. "Your ducking around the couch was impressive. I knew you were fast, but not that fast, Alec."

The pair continued their morning workout in a comfortable silence and by the end of their session sweat was pouring off of their bodies. Their workout was harder and more intense than ever. The President's visit was only a few days away and they had to be prepared and ready. Their day was going to be filled with going over plans and doing more island recon. They had to be ready for a battle, if it came down to that. As they toweled off their bodies the pair stretched through their cooling down routine.

"I hate to inflate your ego any more than it already is, Vanessa, but you were right about what you said." Alec said without glancing at her.

"What do you mean more than it is?" Vanessa's laughter bubbled through the room. She glanced over at her brother. "I was right about what?"

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Alec glared at his sister.

"I just want you to clarify what exactly I was right about. From the way you talk it doesn't happen that often, so I want to cherish this moment." Vanessa said with an innocent smile.

"What did I ever do to deserve her?" Alec asked as he looked up at the ceiling like he was praying. Vanessa leaned over and punched him in the shoulder. "Why can't you hit like a girl?" Vanessa's fist pulled back again, but Alec raised his hand in protest. "Okay, okay, you win. You were right about love at first sight."

"You still feel that way even after everything that happened?" Vanessa quietly asked. She normally enjoyed being right, but she wasn't happy that being right that time meant Alec being hurt.

"Unfortunately." Alec meant for his laugh to sound upbeat, but it sounded bitter even to his own ears. "I can't help this feeling that there is something more going on and I just need to find out what it is. Is that just wishful thinking on my part though?"

"People always think the best of the one that they love." Vanessa gave her brother a sympathetic smile. "If it makes you feel any better, tiger, I get the feeling there is more going on here than meets the eye as well. It's kind of strange."

"Well, when there's something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?" Alec kept his face as smooth as possible to hide his amusement.

"Fuck you, Alec!" Vanessa snapped. "You know I hate that damn movie. It creeps me out."

"You do realize that most people wouldn't be afraid of that much marshmallow." Alec couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. He knew that Vanessa would freak out.

"It's not like the stuff was just laying around. It was walking and talking and crushing cars for God sakes and..." Vanessa's voice trailed off as she watched her brother howl in laughter. It had been a long time since she had seen him laugh like that. "Look, tiger, I don't mind being the butt of your jokes if it's going to raise your spirits, but in the future can we please not pick things that will freak me out?"

Alec simply nodded his head at his sister because his laughter was stopping him from verbally responding. He knew he needed something to make him laugh and teasing his sister was always a sure fire way to do that. As his laughter continued Vanessa flipped him the finger and went to take her shower. Even though he had made light of the moment Alec was also sure that something just wasn't right. As his laughter died down a plan formed in his mind and he smiled. Sometimes the simplest plans are the ones that work the best.

Later in the afternoon Alec found himself creeping up a back stairwell of the Mauna Loa, the largest hotel on the main island. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on the earth and Alec could understand why the hotel was so aptly named. The hotel was one of the most massive buildings he had ever seen and it had five smaller buildings attached to it. The executive offices for the park were located on the top floors of the main, central building of the hotel.

Earlier that morning Vanessa and Alec hacked into the park's security system and pulled up blueprints for all of the buildings. They were part of the security team, but for some reason they weren't given access to building blueprints. It didn't take them long to figure out where the executive offices were located. Alec looked over the schematics and determined the fastest way into the top floors without being detected. There were back stairwells and elevators for the maintenance team to use without being seen by the guests. Alec didn't want to walk up that many flights of steps, but if he took the elevator it would risk too much exposure.

Vanessa had come with him and was able to distract the employee in the maintenance office long enough for Alec to retrieve a pair of overalls and a hat from the storeroom. He had also picked up a toolbox on his way. There were heating and air conditioning ducts that ran throughout the building and as luck would have it there was an empty office located right next to Joshua's. Alec was hoping to be able to use the ducts and get some useful information.

Alec was able to get to the top floor and quickly moved down the hallway. He found the empty office and stepped inside before anyone saw him. Alec flipped the lock in place to ensure that no one would be walking in on him. He gently set the toolbox down and pulled the schematics out of his inside pocket. Alec spread them out on the empty desk and found the correct duct he needed. He removed a screwdriver from the toolbox and walked over to the wall that the two offices shared.

Alec had to remove ten screws before he could gently lift the panel from the wall. Thankfully the space was large enough for his massive frame to still fit inside. He quietly climbed into the space and headed towards the right where the vent for Joshua's office was. Alec took his time as he slid on the cold steel making sure that he didn't make any type of noise. It took a few minutes to get to his destination, but it was well worth the time because as he reached the vent he found that it was situated right behind Joshua's desk.

Alec wasn't able to see anything, but he was able to hear everything that happened in the office. Joshua was on the phone, but it was with someone from the park. The man was talking about media ads and other non-interesting things. Alec stayed in his place for nearly twenty minutes and was starting to give out hope that the plan was going to work. Just as he was about to throw the towel in he heard a knock on the office door.

"Enter!" Joshua's voice rang out.

"I thought I'd stop by and see how the morning was treating my sweet husband." Alec heard Paige's voice. For a split second he reconsidered the plan because he didn't want to sit through any cutesy husband and wife chatter. The office door closed with a quiet click and the atmosphere in the office changed dramatically.

"Paige, no one is around now so you can drop the husband crap, okay?" Joshua sounded irritated.

"You were the one who thought up the brilliant idea of me posing as your wife." Paige's voice had lost the warmth he had heard last night. "Don't get pissed at me for doing what you asked me to. I think someone is just a bit upset that his boy toy found out about me."

"Do NOT call him that, Paige, he does have a name." Joshua's voice was tinged with anger.

"Uh oh, it seems that I may have hit a sore spot." Paige's laughter echoed through the vent. "Don't look at me like that, Joshua Finnegan. I hadn't planned on meeting him. That nitwit Sabrina had been looking for me and calling my cell phone all night. I finally tracked her down and Alec happened to walk in."

"I should have known Sabrina had something to do with this." Joshua said with a long groan. "That woman is going to be the death of me. Why can't she just mind her own business? It is because of her that my chances with Alec have probably gone down the drain."

"What makes this guy so special, Joshua?" Alec heard Paige ask and it made his heart stop. "Don't get me wrong, the man is drop dead gorgeous, but you must realize the problems this could cause."

"I don't know what it is about him, Paige." Joshua replied. "I just felt drawn to him. There seemed to be some type of connection the moment our eyes met. He did things to me that I never let anyone ever do to me, Paige, and for the life of me I can't understand why."

"That would explain why you are walking a bit funny today." Paige said with a small laugh. "Look, Joshua. Under any other circumstances I would be ecstatic for you, but we have a problem."

"What are you talking about?" Joshua questioned her. Alec's breathing practically stopped. He was hoping that Paige was about to reveal something useful.

"Your new beau and his friend could cause us a lot of problems, Joshua. The President will be here in a matter of days and we can't let anything get in our way. This mission has to be successful. You know there is so much riding on this for us." Paige's voice had the hard edge of determination to it.

"I know how important this is, Paige. You don't have to remind me of that." Joshua's voice sounded tired and frustrated. "What does that have to do with Alec?"

"Alec AND Vanessa, Joshua." Paige stressed to him. "They are here to stop our mission. Joshua, they are from the Covenant."

Alec's eyes bulged and it took all the strength he had from not screaming a few choice words. How in the hell did Paige know about them? A thousand things rushed through his mind and he had to force himself to focus on what was going on in the office.

"Fuck." He heard Joshua mutter. "I can't believe this is even happening. I mean we knew that there was a possibility of it, Paige, but for it to really be a reality. We need to form some type of game plan."

"Agreed." Paige replied. "There isn't much time and we have to make sure everything is in place and ready for the President's visit. I will not allow those two to stop us. Are you going to be able to kill him, Joshua, if it comes to that?"

Alec's body turned to stone as he heard the words. He had been so foolish. It never entered his head that he might have to hurt Joshua in any way. He had let himself be blinded by his feelings instead of focusing on his job. Alec waited in anxious silence for Joshua's answer.

"I don't know, Paige." Joshua's voice was practically a whisper.

"Mark my words, Joshua. I WILL kill him and his little friend without even missing a step if I have to. I will NOT allow anyone to stand in our way, and if you can't take care of business, I will." Paige's voice rose in anger as she spoke.

Alec heard the office door being opened and then it slammed shut, obviously marking Paige's departure. He had to take a few deep, calming breaths to relax his body. Alec started to move backwards through the vent as quickly and as quietly as he could. He had to get back to Vanessa as soon as possible. Time had started running out on them and everything was unraveling. He quickly screwed the panel back into place on the wall and gathered up the toolbox and blueprints. He checked the hallway, and finding it empty, darted towards the stairwell.

"Son of a bitch mother fuckers!" Vanessa exclaimed. Alec had returned a few minutes ago and immediately began giving her a rundown on what he had heard. "I can't even believe this is happening. How the hell did they find out about us? I knew I was going to have to keep an eye on Paige. I'll keep both eyes on little Miss Annie Oakley now."

"Things might not be turning out as we would want them too, but at least we have a few advantages." Alec said in an attempt to calm his sister down. "We have the element of surprise now, Vanessa. They don't know that we know about them. Before we didn't have any clue who was behind the attempt on the President, but now we know exactly who we need to be watching. We just need to keep our eyes peeled and stay on our toes. We can do this."

"Thanks for being the voice of reason, tiger." Vanessa said with a warm smile. "You are absolutely correct. We now have the upper hand, thanks to your brilliant eavesdropping idea. So what do you think we should do now? Do we just keep an eye on them and stop the attempt or do we move in and take care of them now?

"I'm not sure, Nessa, but we have to make some quick decisions." Alec replied.

"I think we both want to get Paige out of the picture as soon as possible. I wouldn't mind going a few rounds with her right now, that's for sure." Vanessa said with a wicked grin as she cracked her knuckles.

"Here's another thing we have to look at." Alec said with a smile. "Do we fill Sabrina in on everything that has been going on, or?"

Before Vanessa could answer her brother there was a knock on the door. They both pulled guns out of hidden holsters in the back of their pants and moved into position. Vanessa went to answer the door and Alec sat on the couch that faced it. They were both ready for anything. Vanessa positioned her body to conceal the gun in her hand and slowly opened the door. A sigh escaped her lips as she saw who was standing there.

"Speak of the devil, herself." Vanessa moved aside so Alec could see Sabrina standing in the doorway.

"Good to see you too, Vanessa." Sabrina sarcastically replied.

Sabrina sauntered into the living room and rolled her eyes at Vanessa. As Sabrina set her purse down on the coffee table the brother and sister exchanged a knowing glance. Before they shared any information with Sabrina it was time for her to do to a little sharing first. Vanessa raised her eyebrow at Alec in question and he grinned wickedly while nodding his head.

"Hey girl, I have a question for you." Vanessa said as she turned on her airhead charm.

"What's that, Vanessa?" Sabrina asked as she turned towards Vanessa.

Alec didn't waste any time and took the opportunity that Sabrina had unknowingly offered. He quickly moved off the couch and stepped up behind her. Alec swiftly picked her up and threw her down on the couch.

"What the fu..." Sabrina's voice was cut off as the cold steel of Alec's gun pressed against her forehead.

"Alec!" Vanessa sounded upset and rushed up next to her brother. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's time for this bitch to start explaining a few things." Alec snarled as he flipped the safety on the gun to the off position. "I have a feeling we are being strung along and I don't like it."

Sabrina's wide eyes flickered back and forth between Vanessa and Alec. Alec could see a thin sheen of sweat break out on the woman's forehead. She was definitely scared and Alec pressed the gun a bit harder against her skin. He watched as Sabrina's breathing increased and she swallowed loudly.

"I...I don't know what you are talking about." Sabrina stuttered.

"Alec, put the gun down." Vanessa reached out and wrapped her fingers around Alec's wrist. She was finally able to get Alec to step back and Sabrina quickly sat up on the couch. Alec sat down on the coffee table next to Sabrina's purse, but he kept the gun trained on her.

"No quick movements, and don't lie to us." Alec's cold voice was the only sound in the now tense room besides Sabrina's labored breathing. "I won't hesitate to use this."

"What is going on?" Sabrina asked.

Alec opened his mouth to snap at her, but Vanessa placed a calming hand on his shoulder silencing him. Vanessa gently sat down next to Sabrina in an attempt not to frighten her any further. She smiled reassuringly at Sabrina and tried to make the woman a bit more comfortable at least.

"We need to know your connection with Joshua and Paige." Vanessa quietly stated.

"There is no connection with them." Sabrina's eyes widened again as Alec raised the gun and aimed at her head. "I swear it. I've been in deep undercover for the last few months. The only relationship I have with them is as their `employee'."

"The two of you seem pretty chummy, though." Vanessa said with a slight smile. "Last night Paige walked in here and greeted you like a long lost friend. She even contacted you on your cell phone before she showed up."

"You'll soon find out that Paige is all about appearances." A sudden heat had appeared in Sabrina's voice. "She may appear all sweet and sugary, but that woman is the queen viper in this pit. Paige uses her supposed charm and grace to get information out of people and pull them to her side. Joshua makes sure that she interacts with all of the employees and most of them are now under her thumb. She has my cell phone number because it was issued by the park. That bitch calls me at all hours of the night like I'm her personal lackey or something."

"I overheard a conversation today from some employees on the island that Joshua thinks you're going to be the death of him. What's that about?" Alec questioned.

"That's probably because I've been riding his ass to get as much information about the President's visit as I could." Sabrina sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Alec kept the gun steadily trained on her just in case she was trying anything. "I've used my position in human resources as an excuse to get as much information as I could so the groundwork for this mission could be smoothly put into place."

Sabrina paused for a moment and glanced at Alec. Her attention wavered and focused on the gun. Vanessa glanced over at her brother and signaled him with her eyes. Alec's face didn't reveal that he understood, but after a moment he lowered the gun but continued to glare at Sabrina.

"Joshua must have gotten tired of me because for the last few weeks I've had to go through Paige to get the information I wanted. I don't have much contact with him at all now." Sabrina continued with a sigh. "I have to act like I'm that bitch's best friend; otherwise I'd be dead in the water. She's never around when I need her so I normally have to call her cell phone a thousand times. That's how she ended up here last night. I had been calling her all evening trying to get more updated information about the President's visit and unfortunately she tracked me down at an inconvenient time."

"There was something about Paige that set an alarm off in the back of my head." Vanessa thought out loud. "I'm glad to see my instincts are still working."

Sabrina glanced at Vanessa with a bit of shock. Vanessa had unknowingly dropped her valley girl voice and for that split second the real Vanessa had leaked through. Alec could practically see the wheels turning in Sabrina's head and after a moment a look of revelation appeared on her face. Almost as soon as the light bulb went off in her head a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I obviously owe you a bigger apology than I thought, Vanessa." Sabrina quietly muttered.

"Why is that?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you, Vanessa, but I had to make it look like there was friction between us." Sabrina began. "If anyone saw us being too friendly with each other it might have raised suspicion."

"If that was your plan why didn't you fill us in on that?" Alec asked.

"Well..." Sabrina flushed again. "I had planned on it, but the more I interacted with you, Vanessa, the more agitated I got. You were way beyond the stereotypical dumb blonde and people like that get under my skin pretty quickly. I let my emotions cloud my judgment and I'm embarrassed about that. I'm truly sorry, Vanessa."

Alec and Vanessa glanced at each other and continued their silent communication. Alec could understand what Sabrina was talking about in regards to emotions causing problems. He knew in his head what he might have to do in regards to Joshua, but that didn't stop his heart from trying to change his mind. Alec flipped the safety on the gun into place and set it down next to him.

"We all make mistakes sometimes, Sabrina. Let's just be glad we cleared the air and we can focus on the mission." Alec said with a warm smile.

"Don't worry about anything, Sabrina. Apology accepted." Vanessa added with a warm smile of her own.

A look of confusion appeared on Sabrina's face as she looked at the brother and sister. After a few minutes she slapped her forehead and let out a fairly large sigh. Her laughter suddenly filled the air.

"I can't even believe this." Sabrina said as she looked back at them. "I didn't think the whole good cop/bad cop thing still worked. I was obviously wrong about that, wasn't I?"

"We weren't so sure about it either, but it's a chance we had to take." Vanessa laughed. "I have to admit though that Alec even scared me a bit, but that probably helped make it more believable."

"I can definitely see why the Covenant sent you two for this mission." Sabrina said with a smile. "You make a great team."

"I hope you understand why we did it." Vanessa studied Sabrina. "We had to be sure that we were working on the same team."

"I understand completely." Sabrina replied with a nod of her head.

"It's funny you should mention the Covenant." Alec said with a sigh. He glanced at his sister and she nodded her head in agreement. Sabrina was definitely on their side, and it was time to fill Backdraft in on the information they received that morning.

Alec took the next fifteen minutes explaining to Sabrina everything that he had heard. Since part of the conversation involved him he had no choice but to reveal what happened with him and Joshua. He wasn't as graphic with her as he was with Vanessa, but he made a pretty clear picture of what had happened. Sabrina sat for a few minutes in silence letting everything Alec had said sink in.

"Son of a bitch mother fuckers." Sabrina murmured.

"That was exactly my point." Vanessa said. "We have to form a game plan and fast."

"There is some information I have to share with both of you as well that will shed some light on why they know about the Covenant." Sabrina said with a sigh. "I received a communiqu from headquarters this morning. It seems that we have a bigger problem than the President's visit. It is still important for us to stop the assassination, but it is no longer our main objective."

Vanessa and Alec exchanged another silent communication. Things were already difficult enough, what else were they going to have to possibly deal with? It seemed as if they were being pushed out of the frying pan and right into the heart of the fire.

"Have either of you ever heard of an agent named Dreamcatcher?" Sabrina asked.

"I've heard bits and pieces before on other missions about Dreamcatcher." Vanessa replied. "It sounded more like whispers of legends or myths though. I never really paid attention to any of it."

"Dreamcatcher is no legend or myth, believe me. Dreamcatcher was one of the top agents in the organization. Dreamcatcher can handle any weapon and is an explosives expert. The Covenant used the agent mostly as an assassin because Dreamcatcher never failed in any assignment." Sabrina explained.

"What do you mean `was one of the top agents', Sabrina?" Alec questioned.

"Dreamcatcher went rogue a few months ago. It turns out that both sides were being played. Dreamcatcher is the first known mole ever in the Covenant." Sabrina said.

Alec whistled softly in shock. It was incomprehensible that anyone in the organization would turn to the other side, especially one of their top agents. Anger and rage bubbled through Alec and Vanessa. How could anyone betray the Covenant like that? The Covenant was like a close, but distant, family and no one messed with their family.

"So what does Dreamcatcher have to do with our mission?" Vanessa asked.

"The problem is that Dreamcatcher, the mole, is here on the island." Sabrina said with a weary sigh. "This is going to totally complicate things. We are going to be up against some fucking tough competition."

"Who is Dreamcatcher?" Alec asked.

Sabrina paused and collected her thoughts before answering. Vanessa already had a feeling of what the answer to the question was going to be.

"Alec, it's Joshua." Sabrina quietly replied.

Alec's blood turned to ice water at her words. It was one thing for the man to possibly be trying to kill the President, and Alec could just about deal with the fact that the man he was possibly falling for was a bad guy, but betraying everything Alec believed in went beyond anger.

"The sooner we take him and that bitch Paige out the better." Alec's voice was as hard as granite. "We need to isolate both of them. Sabrina, you can take care of Paige and Vanessa and I can handle Jos...I mean Dreamcatcher. This thing ends right here, right now."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Vanessa said as Sabrina nodded her agreement. "What's the game plan?"

"This might help things out." Sabrina said as she leaned past Alec to pull an envelope out of her purse. "I didn't open it. Joshua asked me to bring it to you. It seems like opportunity might be knocking for us."

Alec leaned forward and took the envelope from Sabrina. He turned it over in his hands a few times before opening it. Alec wasn't very sure he even wanted to know what was inside. He locked eyes with Vanessa and she nodded her head to encourage him to open it. Alec shook his head a bit to clear his mind and tore the envelope open. He quickly scanned the single page of paper that was inside.

"Alec,

We really need to talk and I have to see you again. I'm sorry about how you found out about Paige, but I promise you that I can explain. Meet me by our waterfall at eight o'clock. Everything will be clear then. Please don't worry about Paige. I'll take care of everything. Please come.

Yours,

Joshua"

"It seems that our plan is falling into place without us having to do anything." Alec said. "Here is what we are going to do. Sabrina, you can head over to the hotel tonight and track down Paige. Vanessa and I will head over to `our waterfall' and take care of Dreamcatcher. I think we should try to bring them both in alive. That way we can strip them of information that might be useful for the Covenant. By the way, how does Paige fit into this equation? Where did she come from?"

"She has to be one of his old contacts or something because she's definitely not in the Covenant. I had it checked out as soon as I got the message about Dreamcatcher. It's bad enough we have to go up against him, but to be going up against two rogue Covenant members would make things even worse. If we need to though I think deadly force should be considered if needed, especially if the two of you are going up against Dreamcatcher." Sabrina added.

"Whether she is in the Covenant or not, don't underestimate her. She must be good if Joshua has teamed up with her. We need to consider her just as deadly as him." Vanessa advised Alec and Sabrina.

The group finalized their plans and then Sabrina left to begin setting things up for later that night. Alec's mind was reeling from everything that happened. First, he thought Joshua was a deadbeat for cheating on his wife, and then he finds out that his marriage to Paige is a farce and that they are the ones planning to kill the president, and finally that Joshua is a mole and is trying to undermine the Covenant. There was only one thing that made Alec afraid. Could he kill Joshua if it came down to that?

"Don't worry about anything, tiger." Vanessa said as she stepped up behind him. Her arms wrapped around his waist. "We will make sure everything gets taken care of. I know what you're thinking."

"What's that?" Alec quietly asked.

"If you'll be able to pull the trigger if it comes down to that." Vanessa replied. Alec looked at her in shock. "I have been where you are at right now Alec, the point that you realize that you might have to take a human life. It's going to be even tougher for you because of your feelings for Joshua, but you need to remember one thing. I'll be there with you the entire time, and if the time comes and you can't bring yourself to do it, you know that I have your back, tiger."

"I know, Nessa, and I appreciate that so much." Alec's voice was thick with emotion. "If it comes down to that though I'll do what I have to. He somehow took my heart, and I'll take it back from him no matter the cost."

The sky was filled with red, purple, and orange colors as the sun set in the distance. The silence of the night was broken only by the sound of an outboard motor slicing through the otherwise calm waters. Trinity and Phoenix calmly maneuvered the small boat through the waters. A whispered conversation was shared between them as they sat at opposite ends of the boat. Small two-way radios were concealed in their ears and they were testing the equipment to ensure that it worked.

The boat finally touched down on the sandy shore of the main island and the duo quickly secured the boat to the dock. The last rays of light disappeared over the horizon as Phoenix led Trinity into the park. They were both dressed in what would be considered a classic spy look, head to toe black. Small, undetectable handguns were located under the arms and were concealed by the lightweight jackets they wore. The brother and sister team each had small knives stored in the inside of their boots. Phoenix and Trinity were well prepared and ready for anything.

Phoenix checked his watch as he led Trinity into the heart of the jungle. They only had ten minutes to get to the falls and get into position. It was only a few more minutes until the sound of rushing water broke through the night air. They had finally arrived at the clearing and Alec paused for a moment taking everything in. Nothing changed since the first night he was there with Dreamcatcher. He motioned Trinity over to some dense bushes that lined the clearing.

`Stay here. Keep an eye out. I know you'll have my back.' Phoenix quickly flashed to Trinity with sign language. They had no idea where Dreamcatcher was and they didn't want to risk making any unnecessary noise.

`You can do this. I have faith in you tiger.' Trinity quickly flashed back.

Phoenix nodded his head and circled through the jungle away from her. He didn't want to enter the clearing from her location because if Dreamcatcher was there it might give away her hiding spot. He walked about fifty feet away and then entered the clearing. The moonlight still gave the area an ethereal feel and it was almost if there was still some type of magic in the air.

He glanced at his watch and found it was eight o'clock sharp. Phoenix glanced around the clearing looking for any sign of his target. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins as his eyes scanned the area. He thought for sure that he would be nervous as hell, but an icy calm descended upon him and he was ready.

"Report Phoenix." He heard Trinity's quiet voice in his ear.

"All clear." Phoenix replied just as quietly.

He walked a few more times around the clearing as frustration started to set in. Phoenix stopped by the water's edge and glanced out towards the rushing falls. A cloud moved from its position from in front of the moon and allowed the moonlight to brighten and he could see movement behind the falling water.

"He's in the alcove behind the falls. I'm going to have to go in." He reported to Trinity.

"Get in there and get him to come out. I can't watch your back through a wall of water. Do you understand?" Trinity's voice echoed in his ear.

"Roger." He simply replied.

Phoenix reached down and untied his boots and removed his socks. He took his knife from the boot and placed it in the back of his jeans just in case he needed it. He removed his jacket but left the gun and holster on. He took one last glance around the clearing and inconspicuously flashed `I love you' in sign language to Trinity.

"Back at you." Her voice sounded in his ear.

He took a breath and dove headfirst into the water. Phoenix gasped for a breath as he resurfaced through the water. The water's temperature was much colder that night than it was the other night. As he got closer to the falls he could see that Dreamcatcher was in the water leaning against the rock ledge. Phoenix took one last huge breath and dove under the water. His prey was oblivious to his presence and that element of surprise would work in his favor.

Phoenix glanced up as he passed under the falls and could see the man's body relaxing and floating in the water above him. He reached down and pulled his weapon from its holder. Phoenix kicked towards the surface and was prepared to stare down the mole of the Covenant.

As he broke through the water's surface his gun was drawn and aimed right between the man's eyes. Phoenix's eyes locked with the eyes of his target and he felt his blood run cold. He quickly glanced around and saw that no one else was there with them. There were two large rocks sitting on the ledge and the body's wrists were bound tightly to them keeping it afloat.

"My God." Phoenix muttered.

Glassy, lifeless eyes stared back at him and the corpse's lips were an unnatural shade of blue. He quickly felt for a pulse and wasn't surprised when there was nothing there. Phoenix tried to push down on the body's legs but they wouldn't bend. Rigor mortis had obviously set in which meant the body was most likely dead before it entered the water.

"Phoenix, report!" Trinity's voice echoed in his ear.

"I've got a body here." He replied with a sigh.

"Joshua is dead?" She incredulously asked.

"Not Joshua." Phoenix replied. "It's Paige."

Chapter Five

"What the hell is going on here?" Phoenix asked Trinity as he stepped out of the water. "None of this makes sense. Why would Joshua eliminate Paige from the picture when she was on his side? What did he have to gain by doing that?"

"I'm not sure, Phoenix." She used his codename hoping to get him to focus. As she looked at him a thought crossed her mind. "Maybe it's not a question of what he would gain, but maybe who he thought he could gain."

"You think he killed her to get to me?" Phoenix asked as his mind processed her statement. "I guess it's a possibility we have to look at. It might be something else though. Maybe she double crossed him or something."

Any further conversation was cut off as the team heard movement in the jungle. They drew their weapons and quickly stepped back into the cover of the jungle. Trinity and Phoenix were crouched down back to back to help cover each other. Their eyes scanned the dark jungle interior. Trinity's eyes caught more movement off to their left.

"Movement at nine o'clock." Trinity quietly whispered.

Phoenix turned and looked in that direction. He could see someone stepping into the clearing. He hoped that it wasn't Joshua finally showing up. Even with everything that was going on, Phoenix still held onto hope that Joshua could explain everything that happened. The figure came into focus as the person walked into the center of the clearing. It was Backdraft. Trinity whistled a birdcall to let the woman know they would be entering the clearing. Backdraft turned to look at them as they entered the clearing.

"What's going on?" Backdraft asked. "Where is Dreamcatcher?"

"No show." Trinity said.

"Damn it. Things are going our way for shit tonight." Backdraft exclaimed. "I wasn't able to find Paige tonight. I searched the entire hotel complex at least twice and still had no luck. I asked around and no one has seen her since this afternoon."

"They wouldn't have seen her." Phoenix quietly replied. Backdraft looked at him questioningly. "She's dead. I found her body tied to some rocks behind the falls."

"You're kidding me, right?" She asked.

"I wish we were. The body is still in the water if you want to have a look." Trinity replied.

"This isn't good. Not good at all." Backdraft said with a sigh. "Something must have happened to make Dreamcatcher eliminate his own partner."

"What if he knows that we are on to him?" Phoenix asked. "If that's the case then he would start tying up whatever he considered a loose end."

"Awesome point, Phoenix." Trinity gave her partner a huge smile. "He might have realized that the attempt on the President wouldn't work. It would make sense to clean things up and close up shop."

"If that's the case then we don't have any time to spare." Phoenix added. "He might try to leave the island. We need to mobilize ASAP."

"First, we need to take care of Paige's body." Trinity's words brought them back to the severity of the situation.

"I'll take care of the body." Backdraft finally said. "We were always seen together so it would make more sense for me to report it. I'll tell them that Paige demanded that I meet her here. I'll go in and untie the body and bring it over to the water's edge. If either of you were here, then it would make things look even more suspicious than it already is."

"Are you sure?" Trinity asked her. As Backdraft nodded her head, Trinity continued. "Phoenix and I will search for Dreamcatcher then. Time is running out and the sooner we find him the better. We can't let him escape."

"Agreed." Phoenix and Backdraft replied in unison.

Backdraft headed cautiously in the water and Trinity and Phoenix headed back into the jungle. They kept their eyes open as they made their way through the darkness. Trinity reached over and squeezed Phoenix's shoulders trying to reassure him.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" She asked.

"I'm just so confused." Phoenix replied. "I know that he's evil and a killer, but I still can't help feeling that there's more than what we are seeing. Just wishful thinking I guess. After seeing that body I have to push that type of thinking aside. We need to get things taken care of and I can't be distracted."

"It's only natural to think that way, so don't beat yourself up about it. I know that you have my back and you'll do whatever is necessary." Trinity softly said to him. "You're only human. It's ok to have those feelings, just try to make sure they don't affect your judgment."

"Thanks." Phoenix replied softly.

The pair walked the rest of the way through the jungle in silence. The short walk seemed to take longer on the way back after everything that had happened at the falls. The pair was still in a bit of shock to find Paige's body there. They had expected the possibility that there might be a killing that night, but neither of them had expected the bad guys to start taking out each other. Trinity and Phoenix finally emerged onto one of the park's lighted pathways.

"How do you want to do this search?" Phoenix asked as he pulled a park map from one of his pants pockets. Luckily his pants pockets zippered shut and were waterproof; otherwise the map would have been ruined.

"There is no guarantee that he's on this island." Trinity replied. "He knows about us, so it's possible that he could be on the other island."

"You take the park and I'll head back over to the other island. You move faster than I do...sometimes," Phoenix paused and grinned at his partner. "You'll be able to cover more ground here."

"You have your cell phone on you?" Trinity asked.

"Of course I do." He replied.

"We'll check in with each other every hour or as soon as we find something. Clear?" She asked.

Phoenix nodded his head and started to make his way back to the docks. He wanted to take the other island because it seemed more likely that Dreamcatcher would be there. He had a lot of questions that needed to be answered, and he wanted the opportunity to get to him first.

Phoenix untied the boat and quickly hopped on. He maneuvered the craft through the water, which had become a bit choppy. Phoenix looked towards the sky to find their star, but a thick wall of dark clouds began to roll in, blocking out all of the stars and the moon. The night darkened considerably and made the situation feel even more sinister.

Phoenix reached the other dock and secured the boat. He headed back towards their place to check that out first. If there were going to be any type of ambush, then it was likely to happen there. He reached their place and quickly searched it from top to bottom. Phoenix was frustrated when nothing was found. He had been sure that there would be something waiting for him.

He grabbed some extra ammo and a fully charged cell phone battery. Phoenix didn't know how long this search would take and he didn't want to have the cell phone die out. Trinity would have his ass for letting something that stupid happen.

It took nearly two hours to check out the rest of the island, and from their hourly phone calls, Trinity wasn't having any luck either. A downpour of rain had started over an hour ago, and his clothes stuck to him like a second skin. He decided to head back and change clothes before making a sweep through the storage facilities. It had been difficult going through the employees' lodging because so many of them were staying inside tonight due to the weather.

Phoenix entered their living room and shook some of the water off of his body. As he started towards the hallway he noticed that the kitchen light was on. He knew that light had been off when he was there earlier. He drew his weapon and slowly approached the room. Every muscle in his body tightened in anticipation as adrenaline rushed through him.

Phoenix stepped into the small kitchen and his eyes quickly scanned the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary in there. He took another step into the kitchen to ensure it was empty when he felt a blinding pain shoot through his head as something hit the back of his neck. Phoenix barely had time to turn around as another strike hit the side of his head. He felt the room pitch and sway as he fell towards the floor.

Unconsciousness was threatening to over take him and Phoenix fought as hard as he could to stay awake. He looked up towards the doorway to face his attacker, but he was only able to make out a large shape standing over him. There was no light in the hallway and the figure stayed partially hidden in the shadows. Phoenix still had his gun and aimed as best as he could. His vision was beginning to blur from the hit he had taken to the head. Just as he tried to fire a round, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg and realized that something was just injected into his body.

Phoenix desperately reached for his cell phone as he felt the drug rush through his system. He had been able to flip the phone open, but as he tried to hit the speed dial the phone was ripped from his grasp. Sleep began to overtake his body and he was barely able to keep his eyes open. Just before his world went black his attacker stepped into the kitchen and Phoenix's unfocused eyes were barely able to make Joshua out. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The drug had taken effect and Phoenix's eyes closed as a dreamless sleep overtook him.

Trinity snapped her cell phone closed in irritation. She had tried to contact Phoenix three times in the last twenty minutes, but he wasn't answering his phone. Her gut twisted as fear and stress wracked her body. It was not like him to not answer his phone or contact her if something was up. That left only one option; something had to have happened to him.

She raced down the park's paths towards the docks. Trinity tried to keep her anger at a manageable level, but it was nearly impossible to do that. God help anyone that would try to hurt her brother. If anything had happened to Alec the people responsible would pay for it with their lives. If she let them even have such an easy way out. Ideas of torture and pain filtered through her head as she raced towards the boats.

As Trinity approached the docks she saw a figure walking towards the boats. She yanked her gun from its holster and was prepared to take action. As she ran down the dock the person turned to see who was coming. She put her gun back into place when she saw that it was Backdraft.

"What are you doing here?" Trinity demanded.

"After I got done with the security team and they took the body, I rushed back to the hotel to see if Joshua was there." Backdraft explained. "The concierge had overheard Joshua saying that he was going over to the employee island to take care of some business. I rushed over here as quickly as I could because I knew Phoenix was over there. We have to warn him."

"We're too late." Trinity quietly said as she hopped into the boat. She put a hand out and helped Backdraft down.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Backdraft exclaimed.

"We were in phone contact every hour. He should have checked in thirty minutes ago." Trinity turned to start the motor. "Phoenix never checked in and I've tried calling him three times, but there was no answer. What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

No matter how hard she pulled the motor just would not kick over. She kicked the motor a few times trying to release some of her frustrations. Trinity grabbed the lever and gave it a few more forceful tugs, but the motor still wouldn't start. Backdraft stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me take a look at it." She said trying to ease Trinity's nerves.

Backdraft examined the motor for a few minutes. While she was working on that, Trinity pulled out her cell phone and tried contacting Alec again. She wasn't surprised when the ringing in her ear didn't stop. As she disconnected the line she heard Backdraft let out a satisfied noise.

"I found out what the problem was." Backdraft turned slightly to face Trinity. She was holding a small cord that was attached to the motor. "It looks like this somehow got disconnected." Backdraft leaned back down over the motor and a moment later it roared to life.

Trinity gave a brief smile to the woman and turned around to face the other island. Her brother was somewhere on that island and he was in trouble. She couldn't help that nagging feeling in the back of her brain that she was forgetting something. Trinity searched her brain for a few moments and finally something Backdraft said earlier that day clicked in her head. She spun around and looked at Backdraft.

"What's wrong?" She questioned.

"Didn't you say that Dreamcatcher was an explosives expert?" She couldn't help the slight tremor in her voice as she asked.

Backdraft nodded her head in answer. The two women's gazes locked for a moment before they both looked at the boat's motor. Almost as if it was answering their question the motor exploded with a deafening roar that threw the two women into the air. The night sky had been briefly illuminated from the fireball the explosion caused. The pair hit hard against the water's surface.

It took a few moments for Trinity to get her bearings before she launched her body to the surface. She gasped for air as she finally broke through the surface filling her lungs with some much needed oxygen. Trinity searched the water frantically looking for Backdraft.

"Trinity!" She heard a voice call out.

She quickly turned around in the water to see Sabrina floating nearby. Trinity quickly swam over to the other woman.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"My arm is definitely broken and I think I may have a few cracked ribs." Backdraft said with a wince. "What about you?"

"Just some minor cuts and bruises." She replied after a quick assessment of herself. "It seems that my luck worked for once tonight. Can you swim?"

Backdraft nodded her head and the two began a slow stroke towards the island. Trinity kept an eye on Backdraft since she was swimming with only one good arm. At least the explosion had thrown them towards their destination instead of back towards the main island.

"Dreamcatcher is definitely going to be getting the ass whooping of the century." Trinity's anger had returned with a vengeance. "I'm going to enjoy ripping every one of his body parts off. I might even feed him a couple."

They swam the last couple hundred feet in silence. The women were conserving as much energy as possible for the fight they knew was coming. Trinity reached the shore first and helped Backdraft out of the water. There was a jeep sitting a few feet from the docks and Trinity rushed towards it.

"I don't have the keys for..." Backdraft's voice trailed off as she watched Trinity smash the driver's side window and unlock the doors. She quickly walked around to the passenger side and hopped in. Trinity was working on hotwiring the jeep. "I'm sorry. My brain is obviously not functioning at the moment."

"Don't worry about it." Trinity replied as she gunned the engine. "We've found out in less than twenty-four hours that our `boss' killed the woman posing as his wife; he is a mole assassin that is now holding my partner captive; and he tried to kill us by blowing up our boat. I can see why your brain would be fried by now."

Trinity raced the jeep down the narrow roads towards the employee lodging. She figured they would check out their place first and go from there. She also wanted to stop there to pick up some more gear and ammo. The jeep roared down the quiet roads and squealed to a stop as Trinity pulled up at their destination.

Trinity was out of jeep almost before it came to a complete stop. She charged up to the front door and again pulled her gun from its holster. She paused as she saw that the front door wasn't closed all the way. Her blood ran ice cold as she used the muzzle of her gun to slowly push the door open. Backdraft was standing slightly behind her and was holding her weapon in her good hand.

Trinity's eyes searched everywhere at once as she stepped into the living room for any sign of Phoenix. There were no clues to be found in the living room. She headed towards the hall and flipped on the light. Trinity started to head towards the bedrooms when she noticed something lying on the floor in the kitchen doorway. She bent down and examined the object. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what it was.

A long iron crowbar was lying on the floor and one end of it was covered in what was obviously blood. Backdraft reached past her and flipped on the kitchen light. As light flooded the room it was obvious there was a struggle. Trinity walked towards the table and saw that something was scratched into the tabletop. Based on the scratches and the red smudges, she knew that the crowbar was used to etch the message into the wood.

"The Phoenix has fallen. Alec will sleep with the fishes tonight."

"NO!" Trinity yelled as she slammed her fist into the table.

"What do you think the message means?" Backdraft asked.

Trinity looked at the message and the words played over and over in her head. It only took a few moments for her to figure out. She did pause though because it was too simple. That could only mean one thing; it was a trap.

"He took Alec to the underwater tunnel." She quietly replied.

Sabrina looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Vanessa knew that she was surprised to hear her refer to Alec by his name and not by his codename. One of the first rules that were drilled into them was that secrecy was all-important and that codenames were to be used as much as possible.

"This isn't about the mission anymore." Vanessa's voice was as hard as rock and as sharp as a knife. "It's personal now."

Vanessa raced down the stairs that led to the underwater attraction. Alec had to be safe. He was strong, and she knew that he would hang on as long as he had to. They had overcome so many things together, and there was no way she was going to lose him now. As they got to the bottom of the steps they saw that the security doors were closed. Vanessa raced over to the keypad and quickly punched in the security code to open the doors.

"How did you know the code?" Sabrina asked.

"I kept a close eye on Joshua when he keyed it in." Vanessa quickly replied. "Everyone was intent on ignoring me so I made it a point to be close enough to see his code. Let's go."

The women raced through the tunnel as fast as they could. Construction was completed the other day, but there was still equipment lying about. The soft lights that were on in the tunnel gave just enough illumination for the pair to maneuver through the mess. They were a couple hundred feet into the tunnel and there was still no sign of Alec. Vanessa began to worry that maybe her instincts were off.

As they walked around a huge stack of boxes they found out that she was correct. Alec was lying on the floor against the tunnel wall. His hands were tied behind his back, and his ankles were bound together as well. She could tell that he had been drugged because he looked pretty out of it. Joshua was bent over Alec and had his hands on his shoulders. Vanessa reacted as quickly as she could.

"Get your hands off of him, asshole!" She yelled as she charged towards them.

Joshua spun around at the sound of her voice; his face was covered in shock, and he reflexively drew his gun. Joshua had paused long enough though to allow Vanessa to get closer to him. As Joshua raised the gun up in front of him, Vanessa leapt into the air and kicked out with her foot, connecting directly with his wrist and effectively knocking the gun out of his hand. The gun clattered to the ground with such a force that it slid down further into the darkened tunnel.

"Wait..." Joshua began to say, but Vanessa didn't allow him the opportunity to continue.

She swung fast and hard with her right arm and her fist connected soundly with Joshua's jaw. His head snapped from the impact and he stumbled a few steps back. Vanessa took a defensive stance to catch her breath. She watched as he felt his jaw and straightened himself. She heard Alec groan and her head quickly glanced in his direction. He was fully conscious and Sabrina was rushing over to him.

"Vanessa, he's getting away!" Sabrina called out.

Vanessa gaze snapped forward again in time to see Joshua taking off down the tunnel. Damn it!

"Stay here and take care of Alec. I'll be right back!" She called over to Sabrina.

Vanessa took off into the darkened tunnel. She was barely able to make out Joshua in the distance. Vanessa pushed herself as hard as she could and her leg muscles burned with the exertion. She was slowly gaining ground, but it just wasn't enough. Vanessa pulled out her gun and aimed off to Joshua's left. She didn't want to hit him at that point, but hopefully she would catch him off guard enough to stop him. She needed answers to what was going on and by God she was going to get them.

She squeezed off a quick shot and the slug slammed into a crate. The gunshot made Joshua stumble and pitch towards the ground. He was back up on his feet in a second, but it was just enough of a pause for Vanessa to gain the ground she needed. She continued her charge and stepped up on a nearby box. Vanessa leapt through the air in an impressive kick. Her foot stuck Joshua in his back and he once again fell to the floor.

It was almost like her sparring with Alec because as Joshua hit the ground he rolled forward and sprang right back to his feet. The two of them circled each other for a few moments. Different punches and kicks were traded between the pair, but everything was blocked with a practiced ease by both of them.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Alec." Vanessa growled at him.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Joshua demanded. "Alec's a big boy, Vanessa, and you can't pick who he decides to sleep with. Besides, I'm not even really married."

"Are you insane?" Vanessa looked at him in shock. "I'm talking about you bashing him with a crowbar and then tying him up."

"I'll ask you again," Joshua's voice sounded confused. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Don't play games with me." Vanessa snapped at him. "Next you're going to tell me that you didn't know Paige was dead either."

"What?" Joshua asked.

He had stopped moving and his hands even fell to his side. Vanessa paused for a moment taking in the complete look of shock that covered his face. He was really good Vanessa decided. If there was ever a performance that was Oscar worthy, it was definitely the one she was seeing right now. There was no way Vanessa was going to fall for it.

Vanessa quickly stepped forward and grabbed Joshua by the front of his shirt. She turned her body and expertly flipped the stunned man to the ground. Joshua was a bit heavier than she expected and as she tossed him his shirt ripped down the front. Joshua's body slammed into the ground knocking the wind out of him. Vanessa drew her gun again and pointed it at his chest.

"Get up you worthless piece of shit." Vanessa spat at him.

Joshua took a moment to catch his breath and then slowly got to his feet. He must have hit his head because he was swaying a bit and looked a bit out of it. Joshua surprised Vanessa by raising his arms over his head in a gesture of surrender.

"Why?" Vanessa demanded.

"Why what?" Joshua's voice was thick with emotion. "You keep asking me questions that I don't know the answers too."

"I can understand you killing Paige, Joshua, but why did you try to hurt Alec?" Vanessa asked.

"I did NOT try to hurt Alec. I would never hurt someone that I l..." Joshua's voice broke and paused and took a breath. "Why do you keep saying Paige is dead?"

"Because we found her body at your waterfall tonight. The same waterfall that you told Alec to meet you at." Vanessa took a step closer to him.

"Paige is dead?" Joshua's face turned white. "Wait a second, I never told Alec to meet me at the falls. I haven't seen him since we had that night together. I..."

"Just shut the fuck up!" Vanessa yelled at him. "I'm not falling for your games, Dreamcatcher. You killed Paige, you tried to kill my brother, and let's not forget that you betrayed the Covenant. You are the lowest human being I have ever met in my life, but I'm about to do the world a favor and take care of you. Right here, right now."

"Wait a minute!" Joshua yelled as he saw her finger begin to pull the trigger. "What did you just call me?"

"Dreamcatcher." Vanessa sighed and glared at him. "You didn't think we knew about that did you? Anything else before I kill you?"

Joshua's eyes widened at her words. Vanessa was prepared to fire before he even answered but as his body shifted the light in the tunnel bounced across his chest and was reflected back. Her eyes glanced down only for a moment to see what caused the flash, and her breath caught in her throat. Vanessa's eyes locked on the pendant that hung from his neck. She stepped forward and grabbed the pendant in her hand.

"Where the hell did you get this?" She demanded.

"It's mine, Vanessa." Joshua replied.

"No, it's not." Vanessa said as she looked at the pendant. She locked eyes with Joshua and her stomached knotted up. She saw something there she hadn't expected to see; the truth. "Oh fuck. This isn't Sabrina's. That means that you're..." Her voice trailed off.

"I'm Backdraft." Joshua said completing her sentence. "Did you say Sabrina said this was hers?"

Vanessa dropped her arm that was holding the gun as the two of them stared at each other. The reality of their situation dawned on them at the same time as they heard Alec's voice scream out in pain echo through the tunnel.

"Alec!" They cried out in unison.

Alec had watched as his sister ran off after Joshua. His heart was torn in two because he wanted her to be safe, but he wanted Joshua to be safe as well. The effects of the drugs were finally wearing off and his eyesight finally returned to normal. He groaned as he felt the pain in the back of his head throb, and he could feel the blood that was drying on his scalp. Alec tried to move but the ropes that were holding his hands and feet together were too tight. Alec had first thought it was Joshua that stood over him in the kitchen, but on his way back to the main island he drifted in and out of consciousness. During one of his more lucid moments he remembered hearing a woman's voice.

"Sabrina, help me get these ropes off." Alec requested. He waited a moment and then glanced up to see Sabrina sitting off to the side looking in the direction that Vanessa had gone. "Sabrina, I need help untying these ropes."

Sabrina snapped out of her daze and finally looked over at Alec. She shook her head for a moment and gave him a warm smile. Sabrina stood up and moved over to help him.

"Let's get you into a sitting position." She said as she walked behind him. "It will be easier to cut the ropes that way."

Alec groaned in pain as she gently helped him into a sitting position. He felt a massive migraine starting and the back and side of his head throbbed in agony. It took him a moment to regain his concentration from the intense pain. When his head cleared again he realized that his hands were still tied behind his back, and it was in that moment he remembered whose voice he heard; it was Sabrina's.

"What are you doing, Sabrina? Cut the damn ropes already." Alec snapped.

"Now, now, now, Alec. You're going to have to be nice, young man. You wouldn't want to upset me right now." Sabrina cooed in his ear. Alec stiffened as he felt Sabrina's arms wrap around his body. Her hands grabbed and groped their way over his chest. "Do you have any idea how much you turn me on?" She breathed into his ear.

Alec mentally groaned and couldn't believe the timing Sabrina had. It definitely was not the best time for her overactive imagination and sex drive to kick in on him. He tried to move away from her, but her arms tightened around him effectively holding him in place. Alec would have been able to take Sabrina in a New York minute before, but between the pain coursing through his head, and the fact that he was tied up gave her the upper hand. His body shook in disgust as he felt Sabrina's tongue snake around his earlobe.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Alec demanded. He couldn't stop the scream of pain as Sabrina yanked back on his head. Her hand pulled on the hair that surrounded the spot where he was struck earlier that night. "Why are you doing this?"

"Sorry, Alec, but it's not show and tell time." Sabrina laughed wickedly in his ear. "The only thing you need to know is that you're going to die, and it's going to be really soon." Sabrina ran her fingertips under Alec's top and he shuddered at her touch. Her fingers pulled his pendant over his head and she put it around her own neck. "You won't be needing this anymore, stud. I think I'll keep it as a memento."

Alec and Sabrina could hear footsteps running through the tunnel. Sabrina quickly stood up and tried to pull Alec to his feet. He was too heavy for her to lift without any help. She quickly pulled out her gun and pressed it to his temple.

"Get up now!" Sabrina yelled at him. Alec could hear the footsteps getting closer and realized that there was more than one person coming. Was it possible that Vanessa and Joshua figured out what was going on? The fact that both of them were alive gave him the strength to get to his feet. Just as he stood up Sabrina stepped partially behind him and pressed the gun to his temple. "Make these last few moments with Vanessa last, Alec, because your time is just about up."

Alec's thoughts were confirmed as he saw Vanessa and Joshua running towards them. They both looked like shit, and he figured that Joshua must be one hell of a fighter to have kept Vanessa from killing him. Vanessa and Joshua stopped a few feet from them as they saw the gun that was pressed against his head. Vanessa was giving Sabrina a look that would have made even the world's toughest person empty their bladder immediately. Joshua's gaze was focused on him though.

His eyes burned into Alec's and it was almost as if a thousand things were said at once. Alec kept his face void of any emotion because he still didn't know exactly what was going on. As Alec looked blankly back at Joshua he thought he saw tears well up in the man's eyes.

"I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance, Sabrina." Vanessa's voice was cold as ice. "Or maybe I should call you Dreamcatcher?"

"What?" Alec exclaimed.

"Well, I can see that someone wasn't doing their job properly, Miss Vanessa." Sabrina replied. "Otherwise you would have killed Joshua instead of having a little chit chat with him. I have to say that I'm very disappointed in you. Maybe you really are as stupid as I first thought you were." Sabrina reached into her pocket and withdrew two pairs of handcuffs. She threw them over to Vanessa and Joshua. "I want you back to back on the ground and handcuffed together. You have thirty seconds to do it or Alec here dies sooner than planned."

"I thought you had broken your arm, Sabrina." Vanessa calmly said as she noticed the arm Sabrina threw the cuffs with. "Too bad it's not true because now I'm going to have to break it for you."

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" Sabrina spat. "You have twenty seconds."

Joshua and Vanessa exchanged a look with each other. They weren't very sure of each other, but they had a common goal now. They were both willing to protect Alec at any cost. Joshua stepped carefully in front of Vanessa to pick up the handcuffs. He carefully bent down and picked up the cuffs. As he stood up his body blocked Vanessa enough to give her the opportunity to partially roll up the sleeves of her shirt.

"Ten seconds!" Sabrina's voice called out.

Joshua stepped back and turned towards Vanessa. Their eyes locked as she took a pair of cuffs from him. She took the lead and snapped one of the cuffs around her wrist making sure it was secured above the rolled material. Vanessa glanced at her wrist and back up at Joshua. His face didn't change at all, but his eyes conveyed his understanding. They sat down back to back as Sabrina ordered and snapped the other cuffs into place. Though it was difficult they were able to complete their task with a few seconds to spare.

Sabrina grinned maniacally at the trio in triumph. She kicked Alec in the back of the knees knocking him to the ground. The air rushed out of Alec's lungs as his chest slammed into the ground. Joshua growled and tried to move forward to break his fall but being handcuffed to Vanessa made that impossible. Sabrina leaned down and pushed Alec's body over until it rested just by the other two.

"Just lay there or I'll kill you." Sabrina's voice was cold. As she stood up Alec's pendant swung a bit from her neck. Vanessa's eyes locked on to it immediately.

"What are you doing with that?" Vanessa demanded.

"You mean this?" Sabrina asked as she palmed the pendant and tucked it under her shirt. "Alec was kind enough to give it to me. He's so sweet."

"You better enjoy it now you fucking bitch because I'll be taking it back in about sixty seconds." Joshua's voice definitely inspired fear.

"How brave of you! It's so romantic to see a man defend the person he loves." Sabrina cooed as she stood in front of Joshua. The color drained slightly from his face at her words. "Didn't think I heard you talking to yourself in your office? I just don't understand how you could think you loved someone after one quick fuck?"

"It would be pointless for me to explain something like emotions to a heartless bitch like you." Joshua snarled at her.

"Complimenting me won't be saving anyone's life tonight, Joshua." Sabrina's cold laugh echoed in the tunnel. She retrieved a small black box from her pants pocket. "All I have to do is press one little button and this tunnel is going to disappear in one very large explosion. I hope the three of you can swim."

"You aren't enough of a bad ass to just shoot us?" Alec groaned as he rolled into a sitting position. "You didn't seem to mind killing Paige."

"I didn't kill Paige." Sabrina's voice hardened as she trained her gun on him. "Sit up against your friends, stud. It's just about time to die."

Alec slid into place with his back against Joshua and Vanessa. His body tingled from the connection with Joshua. He felt a hand grip both of his hands. Alec realized that Vanessa and Joshua think alike because they each grabbed one of his hands. He couldn't tell though whose grip was firmer because it felt like both of his hands were going to break from the pressure on them. Alec felt one of the hands shift and felt an arm brush against his palm.

He wrapped his hand around the arm and felt a roll of material. Alec kept his smile to himself. Leave it to Vanessa to figure a quick way out of her cuffs. Alec took his time to unroll the material because he didn't want to make too much movement. Sabrina circled the three of them and was watching them intently.

"You're lying about Paige." Joshua's sexy baritone voice broke the silence. "I didn't kill her and I know Alec and Vanessa didn't. So that just leaves you."

"I told you that I didn't kill Paige!" Sabrina screamed at him. Her pacing stopped and she stood facing the group. Alec's back was to her, but he could sense the rage in Sabrina.

"You're so full of shit. You killed her and now you think you're going to take care of us." Alec growled at her. Alec's body tensed as he heard Joshua grunt in pain.

"Keep it up, smart ass, and you're going to watch your man die very slowly in front of you." Sabrina exclaimed.

"I'll kill you right now, bitch!" Alec yelled. He struggled to get up when he felt Joshua grip his hand even harder.

"I'm okay, Alec. It was just a punch to the jaw." Joshua's voice calmed him done slightly. "She's just like an annoying fly buzzing around. It's almost time to swat her."

"I still don't understand why you killed Paige." Vanessa's voice echoed in the tunnel drawing the attention to her. "Something must have happened for you to get mad enough to kill your partner. She must have been the brains of the operation. You don't strike me as intelligent enough to work on your own."

Sabrina lashed out and hit Vanessa in the back of the head. Vanessa allowed her body to rock forward from the hit. Alec had been able to unroll the material on one of her arms and the pressure of her body moving forward was enough to almost pull her hand free from the cuff. Luckily she hadn't locked the cuff as tight as Sabrina thought and she would have that cuff off in seconds.

"I'm sick of repeating myself." Sabrina's voice had started to sound a bit hysterical. "I did NOT kill Paige."

"Then whose body did I find at the falls?" Alec demanded. "We know that Joshua didn't do it. You can't work your way out of this one, Dreamcatcher."

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" A voice echoed from the tunnel's darkness.

All of their gazes snapped in the direction of the new voice. A figured emerged from the shadows behind a stack of crates. Alec's breath caught in his throat as his eyes widened in shock.

"I'm glad I'm not late for the party." Paige's voice was sweeter than honey. Her smile widened as she saw the shocked look on everyone's face. "Now what's all this talk about me being dead?"

Chapter Six

"No fucking way." Alec's voice mirrored the group's shock. "I saw you in the water at the falls. You were dead. There wasn't any heartbeat."

Paige stood before them obviously alive and well. She smiled at the group as she pulled a box towards them to sit on. She dusted it off with her hand and majestically sat down on it. It was almost like watching a queen holding court.

"Poor, sweet, impressionable Alec." Paige sounded like a mother dealing with an unruly child. "There was a heart beat, sweetie, but you just couldn't feel it."

"How is that even possible?" Joshua asked.

"I have one word for you. Atenolol." Paige sweetly replied. She seemed to enjoy revealing the information to the group. "It's a beta-adrenergic blocking agent. It helps to block the sympathetic nervous system."

"In other words, it lowered your heart rate to the point that it was virtually undetectable." Vanessa smoothly added. "You had to have combined it with other drugs though because it wouldn't have caused the paralysis that gave your body the appearance of rigor mortis, and you would need something to lower your breathing rate."

"I'm impressed!" Paige's laughter echoed over them. "I told Sabrina not to underestimate you, and I was definitely right. I did have to contact some of my friends in the pharmaceutical industry for some help. They were able to combine Atenolol with some experimental drugs that gave me the look I needed. I like to call it my cocktail of death. I had to use some professional special effects makeup to make my skin that pale and my lips so blue, but I think it was worth it."

"You're going to be wishing it did kill you by the time we get done with you." Alec growled at her.

"Normally such a strong man would turn me on, but since you're going to die soon I won't waste the energy." Paige's voice dripped with honey. "I'm surprised that Joshua didn't fill you in on just how dangerous I can be. Then again, the two of you don't really have a history of talking, do you?"

"Someone sounds just a bit jealous." Vanessa's voice was so calm that it impressed Joshua and Alec. The woman definitely had an amazing amount of control. "I take it you and Joshua have worked together before, Dreamcatcher."

"Yes, we have. My, my, Vanessa, you really are perceptive. What else have you figured out?" Paige asked.

Vanessa was quiet for a moment as a thousand things rushed through her mind. Suddenly all the pieces to the puzzle seemed to be right in front of her, and all she had to do was put them together. An idea started to form in her mind, but Alec beat her to the punch.

"You and Sabrina are here to kill the President." Alec stated quietly. "But why?"

"I don't think that really matters now since we aren't going to have the chance to kill him." Paige said with a sigh. "But if you really need to know I'll tell you. I've been offered a very prestigious position with one of the best terrorist organizations in the world. Because my position on the other team made them a bit leery about bringing me on board, they requested that I prove my loyalty. I must tell you that I couldn't think of any greater show of loyalty than killing my country's leader."

"You would think that your loyalty would be with the Covenant, and not against it." Joshua growled.

"I could see how you would think that." Paige said with a smile. "Unfortunately this group is offering a very lewd amount of money for my services and the Covenant is not."

"So you would expose the organization just for your own gain?" Alec asked in disgust.

"I didn't expose anything, Alec. They are under the impression I work for the U.S. government, and I didn't correct them on that." Paige replied.

"Why not?" Vanessa questioned. "If you're going to sell out, why not do it completely?"

"That's one of the better parts of my plan, Vanessa. I'm glad you asked." Paige's smile grew even wider, if that were possible. "Instead of just advising my new bosses of everything I knew, I thought it would be better to just play both sides. I'll know what activities are planned by the Covenant so I'll be able to warn my other bosses, and by keeping my knowledge of the Covenant a secret, it will make me more powerful in my new position. They'll have to come to me if they want to find out if the good guys know what is being planned."

"How do you think the Covenant finds out what the other side is up to Paige?" Vanessa asked. "We have people everywhere, and I'm sure there are people at your new place that will know exactly who and what you are. It won't be long before you're taken out, of course that is if you somehow manage to get away from us."

Paige reached into her pocket and retrieved a box that looked identical to the one Sabrina had. She set it down in her lap and looked at each of them in turn.

"None of you are going to be getting away. It would be better if the three of you just realized it now. It would make it easier to deal with." Paige said sweetly. "So Alec, any more thoughts on what happened?"

"We know that you and Joshua have worked together before..." Alec began thoughtfully. All of his thoughts seemed to suddenly focus and he realized what had happened. "You and Sabrina showed up here to take care of the President and unexpectedly ran into Joshua. He had worked with you before so he obviously recognized you. Since he's Backdraft he would have been expecting two people to show up to help him. He must have assumed that you two were his contacts and he explained the situation to you."

"Impressive." Paige gave Alec an amusing smile. "I realized of course that there were two more people coming. So I gave Joshua the same line that I had Sabrina give the two of you about a mole. Luckily he bought it hook, line, and sinker. I was able to talk him into not wearing his pendant since Sabrina and myself weren't wearing one either. I explained how easy it would have been for you two to spot them. This way we could be undercover and you wouldn't realize what was going on. I was able to get his pendant from the office safe for Sabrina to use that afternoon. Fortunately he had no clue what was going on."

"This is all my fault. If I would have kept my eyes open more maybe I would have caught something to tip me off." Joshua's voice mirrored the intense frustration he had.

"You had no reason not to believe them, Joshua." Alec gripped Joshua's hand as he spoke. "Who wouldn't believe a fellow member of the Covenant?"

"My point exactly, handsome!" Paige giggled as she looked at the trio. "The plan was just too perfect for words, however, I underestimated the power of attraction."

"Alec and Joshua." Vanessa's mind had completed the puzzle. "Their attraction was intense enough that Joshua started to doubt what you were saying about Alec. You had Sabrina help you stage your death and you were the one that sent Alec the note. You wanted it to appear as if Joshua had killed you. That caused the three of us to confront each other and gave you the opportunity that you now have."

"It was too difficult to believe that someone could act as innocent as he was." Joshua's voice washed over Alec's body. "I couldn't see him being an evil person. Just looking into his eyes was enough for me to start to realize that something wasn't right. There was no way that anyone could fake what I saw in him."

"Enough of the mushy shit, please." Paige's voice finally lost some of its sweetness. "No matter what you realize now it doesn't matter. Nothing is going to change the fact that all three of you are going to die."

Vanessa decided that it was time to end the game. She quietly popped her hand free of one of the handcuffs. She went to grab Alec's hand and wasn't surprised to find that Joshua's hand was there. That was all for the better because she was able to signal both men that it was time for them to do something. Vanessa forced each of them to open their hands, and she signed the word `basket toss' to them.

"Got it?" Vanessa asked out loud.

The men glanced at each other and recognition dawned in their eyes. What Vanessa had planned was a bit far out there, but it was crazy enough it might just work. They had to move quickly though because time was running out.

"Got what?" Paige demanded.

"Ready." Joshua said as he gripped his still locked hand with Vanessa's.

"Let's do this." Alec added.

Joshua and Vanessa quickly spun their bodies around and locked their hands together. Alec easily somersaulted backwards and as he finished his roll he positioned his feet over their interlocked hands. Joshua and Vanessa stood up and with a sharp lifting motion they launched Alec into the air towards Paige. As Alec flew through the air he tucked his body and was able to maneuver his hands to the front of his body. As he landed in front of Paige he allowed his body to somersault forward and he used the added momentum to launch his body at Paige. She was able to duck out of the way at the last moment and Alec went crashing into the ground.

While Alec was airborne Joshua grabbed Vanessa's wrists and nodded towards Sabrina. Vanessa nodded her head in understanding and grabbed his wrists in return. Joshua stepped to the side and Vanessa leapt into a flying kick. Joshua spun her body towards Sabrina so Vanessa's feet lashed out at the woman's head. Sabrina was able to jerk backwards in just enough time to miss contact with either of Vanessa's feet.

"Nice try." Sabrina said as she laughed.

Joshua locked eyes with Vanessa and nodded his head. As Vanessa landed she allowed her body to continue to turn and Joshua leapt into the air. Sabrina was not prepared for the second assault and his right foot caught her in the side of her head. Her body tilted backwards and she fell to the ground. Joshua landed as smoothly as Vanessa had.

"Awesome move, Vanessa. I didn't think you had the strength to lift me." Joshua said with a grin.

"Never underestimate a pissed off woman." Vanessa replied with a smile. She quickly unrolled her other sleeve and was able to pull her hand free of the cuff. She turned to see Alec trying to fend off Paige even though his hands and feet were still tied. Joshua noticed Sabrina taking off down the tunnel.

"You go help Alec and take care of Paige. I'll take care of Sabrina." Joshua said.

As soon as Vanessa nodded her head in agreement they took off in separate directions. Paige had pulled a gun out and had it trained at Alec. His lip was busted open and blood dripped down his neck.

"Paige!" Vanessa yelled.

Paige looked up and saw Vanessa running towards them. She quickly kicked Alec in the side and took off down the tunnel. Vanessa pulled the knife from her boot and quickly cut the ropes.

"I would have cut them myself, but Sabrina saw the knife in my boot and took it." He wearily replied. "Where's Joshua?"

"He took off after Sabrina. You and I need to go after the pig." Vanessa replied. She reached out and ruffled his hair. "Let's move. He'll be okay."

Alec nodded his head in understanding and they took off down the tunnel in pursuit of Paige. They could hear her footsteps echoing in the darkness. It was only a matter of moments before they were running up the stairs of the attraction and were back in the darkness of night. They skidded to a stop and glanced around in search of their target.

"You have a decision to make." Paige's voice echoed in the night and the pair frantically look around to find where her voice was coming from. "You can either try to follow me to kill me or..."

"Or what?" Alec demanded.

"You can try to kill me or you can try to save your boyfriend." Paige's laughter echoed through the still night.

"What are you talking about?" Vanessa asked.

As soon as the words left her a mouth the ground violently shook. The sound of a large explosion echoed through the dark night. Water shot into the sky above the ocean and the water's surface bubbled and hissed with intense heat. Alec's eyes grew wide as he understood what had just happened. Paige blew up the tunnel.

"I'll go after Joshua. You can take care of her." Alec shouted,

He ran back towards the tunnel's entrance and went down the steps two at a time. Alec rushed towards the tunnel itself, but the security doors were sliding into place. He tried to stop the doors from closing, but he wasn't nearly strong enough to stop them. The doors slammed shut with a metallic clang.

"NO!" Alec screamed and punched the doors. He pressed his finger to his ear and activated the earpiece. He just hoped that Vanessa had hers on. "Vanessa! I need the code for the security doors."

He could tell from her breathing that she was chasing after Paige. She was able to rattle off the number though from memory. Alec quickly opened the access panel and punched in the code.

"Security clearance is unable to be granted at this time." A computerized voice spoke.

Alec punched the code again, but received the same message from the automated voice. He pounded on the doors and tried to open them, but the doors wouldn't budge. Alec turned to run back up the steps to try the other side of the tunnel when he heard something hitting the door. He spun around to see Joshua's face in one of the small windows.

"The doors won't open!" He yelled through the glass. His heart started to break as he saw the blood that covered Joshua's face. There was a large cut in his scalp that he must have gotten from the explosion.

"I know. It's because of the explosion." Joshua hollered. Alec quickly glanced at the window to see if Joshua would fit through it if he broke it. Joshua could see the look on Alec's face and he shook his head. "I won't be able to fit through it. Alec, we don't have much time and you have to go after Paige."

"I can't leave you there." Alec screamed back. "Vanessa can take care of Paige. We have to get you out of there."

"There isn't any way. Once the tunnel locks down like this it can't be opened again for security purposes. You're going to have to go help Vanessa. Paige is dangerous, but first I have to tell you something." Joshua's face was a mask of pain. "I never meant to hurt you, Alec. I really thought that something special was happening between us. Somewhere deep in my heart I knew that you and Vanessa had to be good because...because..."

"Because why?" Alec's voice was raw with emotion.

"Because somehow, someway..." Joshua paused. "I could feel myself starting to fall for you. You're not like anyone I've every met. The way you made me feel at the falls was...was beyond anything I could have every imagined."

Joshua placed his hand flat up against the window. Alec could see something in his palm and he leaned closer to see what it was. Alec's chest tightened with emotion as he saw what was pressed against the glass. Somehow Joshua had gotten Alec's pendant back from Sabrina. Alec couldn't stop the tears that welled up in his eyes as he pressed his hand against the glass.

"I know what you are saying." Alec replied. "I've never felt this way about anyone, and even though it seemed to happen so fast, I wouldn't change it for anything. God damn it, I wish there was something we could do."

"I do too, Alec, I do too." Joshua sadly replied. He pulled his hand back and placed Alec's pendant around his neck. Alec went to say something else, but his eyes widened his shock. "What is it?"

"BEHIND YOU!" Alec yelled.

Alec watched in horror as pieces of the tunnel began to fall and a huge amount of water rushed towards Joshua. Alec began pounding on the doors and frantically looked around for something to pry them open with.

"Go help Vanessa, Alec." Joshua yelled to him. Alec shook his head. He couldn't leave Joshua there. "GO BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"

Alec took one last look at Joshua and gave him a weak smile. He knew that Joshua was right and as much as he didn't want to accept it, he knew that he had to go. Alec placed his hand on the glass one more time and turned and ran back up the steps. He could no longer hold back the tears that rolled down his cheeks. Rage rolled through his body as he raced to find Vanessa. He hoped that she hadn't finished off Paige yet. It was a task that he was more than happy to do himself.

"Vanessa, come in!" Alec called out as he rushed through the park. He pressed his finger harder against the earpiece trying to hear. Alec didn't hear anything but the sound of rushing water. They were back at the waterfall.

Alec pushed his body harder than he ever had. He had no choice in losing Joshua tonight, and he refused to let Vanessa go. His legs were on fire as he ran through the park. Tree branches and bushes scraped and cut him as he ran through the jungle. He had to get there in time. Alec slowed down as he reached the clearing and he could see Vanessa and Paige standing in the water. Paige had somehow gotten hold of a gun and was aiming it at her.

Vanessa was on the verge of exhaustion. She had chased Paige through the park and wasn't surprised when they ended up back at the falls. They fought long and hard in the clearing when Paige suddenly dove into the water. Vanessa followed her, but wasn't able to find the woman. Paige resurfaced with a gun in her hand. She must have somehow planted it in the water or by the falls somewhere.

"Any last words, Vanessa dear?" Paige sinisterly asked.

"Fuck you." Vanessa spat at her. She tried to keep her face as smooth as possible as she saw Alec enter the clearing. Her heart dropped though when she saw that Joshua wasn't with him. She had been afraid that he wouldn't have gotten the security doors open in time. "You make me sick, Paige, and I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer."

"I'm not the one that's going to suffer, Vanessa. Alec will be the one to suffer. First, he had to watch his boyfriend die, and now he's going to find your body floating in the water." Paige said with an evil smile. Alec dashed towards Paige, but the woman had heard the movement and she spun around. She quickly fired off one shot and Alec dropped to the ground.

"NO!" Vanessa screamed and began to move towards her brother. Paige spun back towards Vanessa and trained the gun on her.

"Looks like Alec changed my plans. Oh well, looks like you get to suffer then." Paige smirked at Vanessa.

"I'm going to kill you, bitch!" Vanessa yelled.

"This will be more fun though, Vanessa. At least you have a chance with me because you're tough and know what it's like to kill." Paige sighed. "Poor Alec probably never killed anyone before."

"There's a first time for everything."

Paige's eyes widened in shock and she spun around at the sound of Alec's voice. She glanced at him and realized that he wasn't bleeding at all. Her shot must have missed him, but before she could fire off another round Alec's fist connected with her jaw with a sickening crack. She felt her body pitch backwards, but Alec grabbed her before she hit the water. His hand reached out and yanked the gun from her hand.

"You couldn't kill me, Alec." Paige's voice still sounded sugary sweet. "Joshua wouldn't want you to kill me."

"Well, why don't we ask him?" Alec coldly asked Paige. He didn't wait for her to respond. "Wait a minute, we can't do that now can we? That's right. You killed him and now it's time I return the favor."

"Alec, we both know that you could never..."

Paige's voice was drowned out by the sound of the gunshot that echoed through the night air. Blood dripped from the bullet hole that appeared between Paige's eyes. Her body took one final breath as it fell backwards into the water. Alec turned to the side and emptied his stomach.

"Make sure she's dead." Alec's voice was hoarse and raw.

Vanessa watched as her brother stumbled towards dry land. She hated Paige for taking away Alec's innocence. Vanessa didn't kid herself in thinking that Alec would hang on to his innocence forever, but she knew that he had to have lost Joshua tonight. She could tell just from the look in his eyes that he wasn't able to save Joshua. Vanessa watched as Alec emptied what was left in his stomach once he hit dry land. She looked down at the woman floating in the water and her jaw tensed. Vanessa reached down and placed her hands on the woman's head and with one sharp pull she broke her neck.

"You're not coming back again, bitch." Vanessa spat.

Vanessa sat in their living room back at home and zoned out to the movie that was playing. It had been almost three weeks since they came back from the island and things weren't going well at all. She had expected Alec to be upset and possibly a bit withdrawn, but she hadn't expected him to lock himself away.

Upon their return to the house, Muse informed them that they were being given a three-month vacation because of their last mission. They had effectively stopped an attempt on the President's life, and they had eliminated two potential threats to the Covenant's safety. As happy as Vanessa was of their success, she wasn't happy about the effect it had on Alec.

He only left his room to train and to eat, and the training regimen he was working with was more intense than ever before. Alec had been well built before, but now his body was adding even more muscle on top of what he already had. He would barely talk to her and she wasn't sure how to reach him. Vanessa tried going to him a few times already, but she would just receive the brush off from him.

Vanessa could understand the pain he was going through, and she would bet money that this grieving process most likely involved their parents somehow as well. She knew that Alec was still dealing with their loss and having lost Joshua probably made that even worse. She didn't feel shutout from her brother like she thought she would. Vanessa realized that Alec was going through a lot and she was more than willing to give him his space. She hoped that he would come to her at some point.

Vanessa was shaken out of her thoughts as a huge clap of thunder echoed through the sky. The house shook from the force of the sound, and Vanessa pulled her blanket a bit tighter around her. Listening to the sound of the storm raging outside brought back memories. Her and Alec used to sit on his balcony and drink hot chocolate and watch the storms. The way the house was situated the rain never hit his balcony.

She made her way into the kitchen and started making the hot chocolate. She hoped that maybe this was her way to get through to Alec. Just as she was placing the hot mugs on a tray the lights in the house went out as a very loud crack of thunder echoed in the night. Vanessa turned around to grab a flashlight and she bumped into Alec.

"Damn it, Alec, you scared me!" She yelled at him and punched his arm.

"My sister, the big bad spy, afraid of some thunder?" Alec said with a small smile. He saw the tray and mugs on the counter. "Seems like we were thinking along the same lines. You want to head up to the balcony?"

Vanessa nodded her head and they slowly made their way up through the house. They pulled a love seat out of Alec's sitting room and put it on the balcony. The pair sat under a blanket sipping their hot chocolate and watching nature's beauty. They could see that the whole neighborhood was without power. The lights in their house remained off even though their backup generator kicked on within seconds of the power going off. Muse automatically kept the lights off during those times, otherwise it would appear odd that their house had power when the rest of the block was out.

"Are you okay?" Vanessa quietly asked.

"Yeah." Alec said with a sigh. "I'm sorry that I've been in such a funk, but..."

"It's ok, tiger." Vanessa jumped in as her brother's voice trailed off. "You've been through a lot, and I just wanted to make sure you knew that I was here. It's tough losing someone like that. Besides, you have to deal with your first kill."

"Killing Paige hasn't affected me at all, sis." Alec softly said. "Losing Joshua was a lot more painful than I could ever imagine. I know that something could have developed. I could feel it, Nessa, and with everything else that was going on we never even had a chance."

"At least you have some beautiful memories to remember it by." She gave her brother a wink and a large smile.

"You mean some unbelievably, hot, beautiful memories." Alec said with a laugh.

The pair continued to watch the storm for the next hour. The power had finally been restored and Muse gave a report explaining that all was well. Vanessa stretched as a strong gust of wind blew across the balcony. The wind chimes loud music broke the easy silence the pair shared. Alec glanced over at the chimes and then back to his sister.

"It could just be my bad mood, but do the chimes sound odd to you?" Alec questioned her.

"They definitely sound off. They sound almost dull." Vanessa agreed.

Alec sighed as he stood up and stretched his tall, lean frame. He walked over to the chimes and noticed they were all tangled up. He began the task of untangling the mess and a bright flash of lightning lit up the darkness. Alec's breath caught in his throat as the light illuminated the wind chimes. His fingers worked faster at untangling the strings. After a few moments he had been able to get it fixed and he gently lifted something from the chimes. He walked back over to Vanessa.

"What's wrong, tiger?" Vanessa was worried about Alec's expression.

He didn't answer her at all. Instead he reached out for her hand and opened it. Alec carefully placed something into her hand. Vanessa looked down and gasped.

"How did your pendant get here?" Vanessa asked. "I thought Sabrina had taken it."

Alec removed his pendant from Vanessa's hand and placed it around his neck. He pressed its cool metal against his chest. Alec's eyes filled up with tears and his breath caught in his throat.

"I don't know, Nessa. The last time I saw it Joshua had put it around his own neck." Alec's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "He must have found a way to survive. He's the only other person that knows about the chimes besides you. Joshua made it."

Vanessa hugged her brother hard against her. She was so happy for him. Alec seemed to be adjusting after his first difficult mission, and somehow, someway, the man he cared about survived the impossible. Vanessa did have one concern about the entire situation. Why didn't Joshua just give it back to him if he were alive? Why would he just leave it there instead of seeing Alec? She didn't mention any of these fears to Alec. No matter what happened, Vanessa would remain by her brother's side. Only time would tell what the future would hold for each of them.

The End

Author's Note - If you enjoy this story please check out my other stories, City Of Dreams and Center Stage can be found in the Adult Friends section on Nifty, The Fifth Power can be found in the SciFi/Fantasy section, Popular can be found in the college section or all my stories can be found at my Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichaelPhilips or you can send me an email at Mikeyscribe@aol.com Please remember to include something about the story in the subject line. There is also a one shot (short story) available in the group called The Curse of the Romani, a story about a gypsy vampire hunter. Thank you so much