BOOK II. Middle Game.

- o - o - o -

The Senator and Scott breathed a long, hard sigh of relief as the 
pursuing Guild agents ran past.  They heard a brief exchange of gunfire 
and then silence descended on them.  After the violence of the past few 
hours the silence was welcome, and yet disquieting.  The Senator 
wanted to peer outside the door but Scott warned against it.  So far 
they had been forgotten and they might just stay that way.  So they 
waited in silence, almost afraid to breathe.  

A loud cheer shattered the quiet as surely as any gunshot and this made 
Scott nervous.  A few minutes later the same Guild agent who'd sent 
them on their mission walked thru the door.  His catsuit was torn but 
the gleam in his eyes said it all.  He was on the winning side. "Thank 
you," his voice boomed.

"What?" Scott queried.  

The agent's voice had a sound of triumph "Your efforts helped us secure 
Hassan's personal office.  From there we could issue false orders and 
thus hasten our victory.  You are heroes.  We are sorry for your friend 
but her death had meaning.  Her sacrifice will be talked about in the 
Guild for a hundred years.  Once we have cleaned up here you are free 
to go, we will give you the papers you need to get back to your country 
and we will arrange a flight back to New York."

Scott's heart soared, at last he was getting out of this hell hole and back 
to his loved ones.  It seemed almost a lifetime ago that the evil Dr 
Bexley took him.  In reality it was a lifetime ago that his life had 
changed, maybe for good.  Scott was starting to feel a little depressed 
again as his thoughts wandered back to his wife when the Senator 
grabbed his delicate hand and said "Come on, cheer up, we're going 
home."

The Guild agent interrupted and said, "Not just yet.  You are to go to 
this address in Manhattan and wait.  You are not to talk to your family 
or friends until you go there.  If you do not do this you will never be 
back to how you were before."

Scott grew angry at this response, "Who the hell do you think you are? 
Telling me what I can and can't do.  Who will we meet at this place 
that'll help us."

The Guild agent ignored the first part of the threat and simply replied 
"Dr Elizabeth Bexley will meet you there.  That is all I know."

Ignoring Scott's evil glare the Guild agent fished inside his catsuit and 
gave the Senator a folded piece of paper and a key, he then turned and 
walked out.

- o - o - o -

The Guild commander stood over the sobbing Matthew and looked at 
Elizabeth's limp form, "She died well," was his only comment as he 
turned away and started to survey the damage around him.

Matthew couldn't believe that Elizabeth was dead.  He knew that each 
change used a lot of energy and that sooner or later she would hit the 
limit of what her body could stand but this was unreal.  It wasn't like 
Elizabeth to have miscalculated something this big, not like her at all.  
His mind flashed back to the conversation they'd had in the 
communications room.  What was it she'd said, ' With what I have 
planned next I might not.  The only thing that can kill me is myself.'

Matthew sighed once more.  Elizabeth had known something like this 
could happen.  That's why she'd told him to go to New York and wait 
for Salah.  In her last few moments alive she'd given him the chance to 
be turned back.  She had fulfilled her promise, and now in death she had 
redeemed herself the only way she knew how.  

There was still a nagging doubt at the back of Matthew's mind, maybe it 
was disbelief or maybe it was something else.  People like Elizabeth just 
didn't die.  She'd have had a backup plan for just this contingency, her 
changeling organ was too perfect and she was too fastidious to let 
herself be killed by overloading her system.  Besides during the Fury 
she'd covered every aspect of her plan and built in multiple failsafes.  It 
was only a lucky break that had eventually stopped her.  When, he 
decided Elizabeth was in control of a situation then very little happened 
that she didn't wish to happen.  She would KNOW the state her body 
was in.  She wasn't some amateur in the use of changeling organ.  She 
knew every aspect of it and every way it could be used.  After all she 
was nothing if not, inventive in using it.  Creating wings for herself to 
fly out to him, the poison dart weapons, being able to heal major 
wounds without effect to herself, and finally the four armed killing 
machine that had ripped it's way thru Hassan's elite forces like a hot 
knife thru butter.  Elizabeth didn't give up, didn't slow down she was 
inexorable and when push came to shove a survivor.  A thought struck 
Matthew, and he gently placed her body on the ground and stood up.

"Hey, someone get me a doctor," he called out.

Matthew repeated the call for a few minutes when the Guild commander 
came running in. "What is it?" he demanded.

"I want Dr Bexley checked by a doctor.  I need to know if she is really 
dead," Matthew asked.

"I will see what I can find.  We owe her much," the commander said and 
walked away.

Matthew had to wait for two hours, not knowing if he was right or not.  
He stared at Elizabeth's seemingly lifeless body, looking for the slightest 
sign that she was alive.  To the naked eye, and to the touch Elizabeth 
appeared dead.

Matthew's train of thought was interrupted by a tall lanky figure walking 
into the room.  With him he carried a large bag marked with a Red 
Cross and he had the air of command about him.  He bent down and 
said to Matthew, "Quiet, I need to listen."

Matthew waited with baited breath as the doctor examined Elizabeth in 
great detail.  The doctor then gave a nod and stood up.

Unable to wait any longer Matthew asked, "Is she?"

The doctor's brown eyes looked right into Matthew's and said, "She is 
alive but barely.  See! She is still warm to the touch.  I can detect very 
little heart rate, maybe one or two beats per minute, and her respiration 
is almost non existent.  She is in a state of almost complete metabolic 
shutdown; it's as though she is clinging onto life as by a thread.  She 
needs more help than I can give her.  Wait with her.  We will get her to 
a hospital."

Matthew was stunned, he was so sure that he'd detected no pulse at all.  
One beat a minute! That WAS no pulse at all.  What the hell was going 
on inside Elizabeth? 

The doctor picked up on Matthew's confused look and explained, "I can 
offer no explanation for this, only that she needs proper treatment.  
Now wait here.  There is no time to drive her to a hospital, we will have 
to fly her.  We owe her much, now we pay some back."

Within twenty minutes Matthew and Elizabeth were in a chopper flying 
towards Adelaide General Hospital.  

- o - o - o -

"You can't be Kat?" Tina exclaimed.  

"Why not?"

Tina eyed Salah suspiciously, "Because you're dead.  Cathline and 
Matthew Stephens saw you die.  Besides you had cancer."

Kat sighed, "Just because I look like Salah doesn't mean to say I am 
him.  As to what happened to me during the last year.  That is, shall we 
say a long story.  Besides it's time we blew this joint and get outta here.  
If all's gone well then Elizabeth's time bomb is about to go off and the 
Guild will be finished.  With all due respect, I want to go home.  
Coming?"

Tina smiled, somehow she felt drawn to this mysterious stranger known 
as 'Kat' ,"What about Cathline? She needs medical attention"

"We'll take her to the local ER and then we go to New York.  There's 
someone coming there, who I've been waiting to meet," tears formed in 
Kat's eyes as she thought of seeing Matthew again.

"You're talking about Matthew Stephens right?"

Kat nodded, "Yeah.  It seems we have spent more time apart than 
together.  We've been married for nearly five years and only a week of 
that has been 'normal'.  Still it's nearly over.  Come on give me hand 
with Cathline, I'm sure she's put on weight since I last saw her."

"She'd thump you for saying that," Tina smiled.

"She would too," Kat smiled back.

- o - o - o -

The stretcher team was waiting at the helipad as the chopper came into 
land.  As soon as the wind from the spinning rotors had died down they 
rushed in and put Elizabeth's seemingly lifeless body on a gurney, 
attached an oxygen mask to her face, and wheeled her away from the 
chopper.

Matthew ran after them and was about to go into the ER room when he 
was stopped by a nurse, "I'm sorry miss, you can't go in there."

"Why not! She's very important to me.  I need her, hell the whole world 
needs her."

The nurse sighed, it'd been a long day, "Please, can you give me her 
name She looks a lot like Rachel Martin but she's been missing for 
months."

Matthew really didn't want to open up this can of worms but it had to 
come out sooner or later. "She's not Rachel Martin.  Her name is Dr 
Elizabeth Anne Bexley, and mine is Matthew Stephens."

The nurse raised an eyebrow.  Either the young woman standing 
opposite her was stark raving mad or she was telling the truth.  Mind 
you the young Woman did look familiar but why would she be bringing 
Dr Bexley in for emergency treatment? They were mortal enemies as far 
as she could remember.  The nurse decided to call the police after she'd 
dealt with the woman in front of her.  Her response was simply, "Ok.  
Why don't you sit down over there  The doctor will call for you when 
he's ready."

Matthew saw a free seat in the waiting area and sat down.  At least 
Elizabeth was still alive, albeit only just, but that was enough for 
Matthew.  His spirits rose as he thought that he was now free of the 
Guild and on his way home.  Matthew refused to allow himself to hope 
that Kat was alive -- he felt that if he dwelt on that too much, then all 
the pain and hurt of the last year would come flooding back.  Memories 
now dulled by time would become razor sharp once more, and would 
only serve to break his heart once more.  The same went for Elizabeth's 
promise to turn him back, he did believe her intent.  But would she have 
the know-how?
 
Instead, his thoughts wandered back to the Guild.  By now Elizabeth 
would have uploaded the entire Guild database to the world and slowly 
but surely the purging of Guild agents from their positions of power 
would begin.  All around the world such and such a figure would be 
asked to step down, face prison or worse.  The full extent of Guild 
atrocities over the past few centuries would be exposed for all to see.  
Matthew allowed himself a smile, Elizabeth was right, the Guild WAS 
finished.  Sure, a few would get away but like the Nazi party after the 
Second World War their numbers, and influence would slowly dwindle 
away.  When they got the disks to the government and the truth and 
motives behind the attack on Tel-Aviv were exposed the Guild would 
have nowhere to hide.  Matthew once again marvelled at Elizabeth's 
plan.  She was a Trojan horse within a Trojan horse.  While working to 
get rid of Hassan she'd been working towards the Guild's downfall.

A worrying thought struck Matthew and his good mood was shattered.  
The Guild would soon know about Elizabeth's double cross, and boy, 
would they be pissed.  He had never met this Salah, who Elizabeth was 
in league with but he was sure he wouldn't take betrayal lightly.  He'd 
seen the Guild in action against each other and knew that he'd have little 
chance against even one of them.  Elizabeth, assuming she lived thru 
this, might just win, but where would that leave him? 

Matthew thought a little longer and then realized that Elizabeth must 
have thought all this thru.  The destruction of the Guild would take 
months, if not years to work thru and she couldn't count on being able 
to hide all her 'friends' for that long.  Whatever Elizabeth's solution was, 
it was probably already in place and only she knew about it.  The 
answers Matthew wanted to know were laying in a hospital bed, near to 
death and unable to help.  Yet again, Matthew was at the mercy of Dr 
Elizabeth Bexley.

- o - o - o -

Kat looked at the ER doctor, concern showing in her face, "Is she ok?"

The doctor nodded, "Yeah Rachel Martin will be just fine.  It's a fucking 
shame about her eye though.  Whoever patched it up didn't do a bad job 
considering."

Tina interrupted, "When can we speak to her?"

The doctor turned to Tina and replied, "She should be awake in a 
couple of hours.  We've administered a sedative and put her on a drip to 
help her body recover.  Speaking of such you really ought to get 
checked out yourself."

Tina shrugged, "I'll be fine, say, when will the cavalry be here?"

"If you mean the feds? Oh about an hour."

Tina nodded her satisfaction and turned to see Kat's anxious looking 
face, "I'm sure it'll be ok.  You did rescue us after all."

Kat paused for a few moments and then replied, "Yeah I know.  It's just 
that we're on a tight deadline here.  I'm not sure if we can afford to be 
grilled by any passing FBI agent.  We still have Israel to stop and 
millions of lives depend on us.  Now I was never privy to what Hassan 
and Osman were scheming, but I do know that what happened to Tel-
Aviv was just the catalyst.  We will wait until Cathline is able to walk 
and then we go.  This isn't over yet, not by a long way."

"Are you always so upbeat?" Tina asked.

Kat gave a smile, "I used to be, now I see only what will be.  We have a 
week at the most before it all goes straight to hell.  When it's all over 
then I'll be upbeat again."

A few things puzzled Tina.  Why did Kat pretend to be Salah? What 
was Dr Bexley really up to, and more importantly was Scott still alive.  
Kat caught her circumspect look and guessed what she was thinking. 
"I'll explain everything later on.  Just let's say that I trust Dr Bexley and 
that I'm sure Scott can take care of himself.  In the meantime I'm Salah 
to anyone but Cathline and yourself."

- o - o - o -

Scott and the Senator boarded the plane and sat down in the non-
smoking section.  Scott still felt alien in his new body, the clothes felt 
strange, the voice was strange, and every man on the plane gave his 
comely form the once over.  If the senator was concerned he didn't 
show it.  However the relief of going home was shared by both of them.  
The plane took off an hour later and soon was cruising at altitude.  
Scott gave a deep, womanly sigh.  Home was only ten hours away.

For his part the senator was deep in thought.  Clearly, he and Scott 
were pawns in a larger game, but who was the grandmaster now that 
Hassan was gone.  He suspected that this Salah was behind it, but 
clearly this Dr Bexley had some influence on proceedings.  More 
worrying was the Guild activities with the changeling organs.  Of course 
if he had been his normal self he could have gone right back and 
exposed the whole thing and been taken seriously.  Now, in his 
secretary's body -- with no easy proof to say he was who he said he 
was.  The task was much more difficult than he first thought.  The 
president would believe him and that, he decided was the only chance of 
exposing the whole deal.

- o - o - o -

A tap on the shoulder interrupted Matthew's introspective thoughts.  He 
looked up to see two cops standing above him, one man, and the other a 
smaller brunette woman.  The woman cop was saying, "Excuse me miss 
, we need to speak to you."

This threw Matthew a little but he then realised that the nurse must have 
called them. They did have Dr Bexley in custody after all.  All Matthew 
could say was "Sure?"

"We'd like you to come to the station to help us understand what is 
going on," The man demanded.

"Why? I want to stay here, with Elizabeth," Matthew replied.

"From what the doctor tells me she's not going anywhere.  Hey you can 
relax, you haven't done anything.  We just need to know how come 
Matthew Stephens is suddenly Dr Elizabeth Bexley's best buddy in the 
whole world."

Matthew sighed, he didn't really have any choice so he stood up and 
went with the two officers.  The station was about a half-hour drive 
away and a burley cop showed him to the interview room.  The door 
was closed and Matthew sat down to wait.

The two officers who'd brought him in stood watching Matthew from 
behind one way glass.  The man turned to his partner and said, "Jill, I 
dunno, she sure looks like Matthew Stephens."

Jill shrugged, "Me too Shane.  We'll soon know.  If she's got tattoo's all 
over then it's him, and if not we hold her until we find out."

Shane looked at Matthew for a few more seconds and then asked, "Who 
do you think she really brought in?  It can't be Dr Bexley can it?"

Jill's face looked blank, "No idea.  The last anyone heard of Dr Bexley 
was that she was swimming around in the Indian Ocean.  If it IS her we 
need to hold her until she can be deported.  Have you contacted 
INTERPOL yet?"

"Yeah, I've got her complete file coming thru in about an hour, but from 
what I heard she's one nasty bitch."

Jill thought for a moment.  They couldn't hold Matthew Stephens, if it 
was him, indefinitely.  They would either have to charge him or let him 
go.  First things first.  Check if it really was Matthew Stephens or an 
impostor. "I'll go in and check her story out.  We can hold her for 
impersonation if she's lying."

Shane agreed.  It was the best plan they had so far.  

Jill went to her desk and picked up a tape recorder, checked that it had 
two tapes in and that it was in working order.  She then signed the chit 
giving her responsibility for it.  She walked around to the heavy cell 
door, unlocked it and walked inside.  From his vantage point, behind 
one way glass, Shane could see and hear everything that went on inside 
the cell.  

Matthew was by now getting a little bored.  He'd been waiting around 
here for what seemed like an age and was getting nowhere fast, so when 
Jill walked in it was a relief.  Of course this was all part of Jill's strategy 
but then Matthew didn't know that.

"Hello again," Jill said plugging the tape recorder into a nearby socket.

"Hi.  Look when am I getting out of this place?" Matthew demanded.

"Hold on a sec," Jill fumbled with the tape player until it started 
recording. "That's better.  This is inspector Jill Spencer serial number 
165432 interviewing a woman who claims to be Matthew Stephens.  
The purpose of the interview is to determine her identity and to 
ascertain if the woman currently being treated at Adelaide General is 
indeed Dr Elizabeth Bexley."  The set piece delivered, Jill became more 
relaxed.  It was important to get the subject at ease.  Matthew just sat 
opposite and waited.

Jill brushed her blonde fringe back from her eyes and started to speak, 
"First things first.  I need you to prove to me that you are Matthew 
Stephens.  According to news reports you've been missing for some 
weeks."

Matthew thought for a second, "That's easy.  When Dr Bexley was 
turning me into her she made me have a large hydra tattooed over my 
body.  I can show you if you want."

Jill was happy at this.  The woman had passed the first test with flying 
colors, "Please."

Matthew undid his catsuit top to reveal his full, firm bosom.  Just above 
the cup on each breast Jill saw the head of a dragon like creature.  The 
work was exquisite with the colors still vivid and the patterns intricate 
and detailed.  This came as a shock to Jill.  She'd been expecting to find 
nothing and therefore dismiss the woman as a fraud.  However this new 
turn of events turned the whole thing upside down.  Hell, it really was 
Matthew Stephens sitting in front her.  If she was telling the truth then it 
really was Dr Bexley in intensive care.  Jill collected her thoughts and 
for the benefit of the tape said, "The woman has just shown me a very 
detailed tattoo of a hydra.  In my opinion this confirms her identity as 
Matthew Stephens."

Matthew had just finished dressing himself and interrupted, "Satisfied, 
now can I go please."

"I'm sorry, not just yet.  Now tell me how you came to be here and why 
you think that the woman you brought in was Dr Elizabeth Bexley?"

- o - o - o -

Kat too was seated in a police interview room and was finding the 
attention uncomfortable.  For her part Tina was out of her depth, she 
was on the receiving end of the interrogation for a change.  Tina knew 
the drill, they'd play one against the other and try to find holes in their 
stories, and then slowly dissect them until one of them broke or made an 
error.  Tina heard the handle on the cell door turn and in walked her 
inquisitor, a tall athletic woman with brown hair and a sharp and 
determined look about her.

"Hi Detective Cox.  My name is Detective Sandra Wilson.  I'm not 
going to play games with you because you probably know them all 
anyway."

Tina smiled, "I know.  Let me guess, you're going to ask me what the 
hell went on in between getting kidnapped at the New York Hilton and 
now.  How come Rachel Martin lost an eye, where Detective Scott 
Harris is, where Marcel Devereux is and who's the rag head who came 
in with us?"

Detective Wilson gave a knowing nod, "Hmm, I think you about 
covered it there."

Tina took a long deep breath.  She decided, that Salah's true identity 
was one particular fact she didn't want to mention, after all things were 
confusing as it was.  Instead she sat back on her chair and said, 
"Detective Harris and myself were assigned to look after Rachel Martin.  
Rachel had requested our presence as she suspected that Dr Elizabeth 
Bexley had somehow returned from her exile."

Detective Wilson raised an eyebrow, Dr Bexley was involved, that was 
just the perfect start to what would turn out to be a pretty shitty day.  

- o - o - o -

The Senator stretched out his long shapely legs and looked over 
towards Scott.  He was still asleep and seemingly relaxed, The Senator 
on the other hand found it impossible to sleep on a plane at the best of 
times.  He thought about waking Scott, just to have some company but 
then decided otherwise, Scott needed his rest.  The large TV screen in 
front of him came to life and CNN news appeared.  A smartly dressed 
TV reporter stood outside the UN building.  Behind him flew the flags 
of several nations, one of which was at half mast.  The reporter started 
to speak.

	"Hi, this is Matt Dillon for CNN world.  Tensions in the 
	Middle East grew today at the news that Israel has put its 
	forces on war readiness.  Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Libya, Saudi 
	Arabia, Iraq and Iran have done likewise while Pakistan has 
	offered to ship part of it's nuclear arsenal to Egypt should 
	Israel's invocation of the Fury Directive be approved.  The US, 
	British, French and Russian governments have all condemned 
	Egypt's actions stating that use of the Fury Directive is entirely 
	justified.  Great Britain and the US in particular voiced their 
	outrage at Egypt's attempted assassination of the British Prime 
	Minister.  For it's part Egypt continues to vigorously deny any 
	involvement in the genetic warhead attack on Tel-Aviv nearly 
	just over three days ago.  In spite of the evidence presented to 
	the UN the Arabic nations continue to support Egypt's stance."

The Senator took a deep breath. "Fucking hell," he swore.  This was 
serious news.  From the sounds of it the Middle East stood on the verge 
of war and it looked as though at least two nuclear powers were going 
to get involved.  Things would get very messy, very quickly indeed.  An 
even more worrying thought crossed his mind.  He'd speculated that the 
Guild had developed changeling technology and were somehow going 
to use it.  This attack on Tel-Aviv using genetic weapons was just too 
close to the Guild's knowledge for comfort.  Furthermore Egypt was 
one of the more benign states, and there was little chance that they 
would pull a stunt like this.  The Senator sighed, for the first time since 
his transformation he felt utterly helpless.  He desperately needed to get 
back to the Senate and try and stop the coming war.  On reflection, he 
decided there was nothing he could do until the plane landed and he'd 
met with the infamous Dr Bexley in New York.  The Senator fiddled 
with his seat position and tried to get some sleep.

- o - o - o -

Matthew was about to go into the finer details of the Guild's civil war 
when there was a sharp staccato knock at the door.  

"Yeah," Jill called out.

Shane's voice was muffled thru the solid door "You gotta minute."

"Sure.  Inspector Jill Spencer pausing the interview at," she checked her 
watch, "19:25." Jill reached over and pressed pause on the tape.

"Now what?" Matthew asked.  He was getting tired of this 
interrogation.  It brought back those nightmare memories of his first 
trial and subsequent imprisonment.

"Don't worry.  Back soon," Jill offered, she stood up and made a rat-tat 
knock on the cell door.  Matthew heard a key being turned and Jill went 
out.  The key was turned and Matthew was alone once more.

Outside of the cell Jill saw Shane holding a large brown folder.  She 
could just make out the words 'Dr Eliz" before the rest was covered by 
Shane's hand.

"I take it that's Dr Bexley's file from Interpol," Jill nodded.

Shane nodded, "I've had a quick read and thought you needed to read 
it."

Shane handed the folder to Jill who looked around until she could see a 
free desk.  Jill walked over to the desk and sat on a beaten up old swivel 
chair.  Shane followed and grabbed a nearby swivel chair and sat down 
beside her.  Jill spent a few moments scanning the document and then 
sighed, "Fuck!"

Shane nodded, "Why us? As you can see the file confirms what we 
know of her.  We could be out of our league here."

Jill read out parts of the file, "IQ is 160 plus. She's fluent in five 
languages, a Medical doctorate, and degrees in Bio-chemistry, and 
genetics.  She's a smart bitch isn't she?"

"That's not all.  Read on," Shane said.

"Umm.  She ran the TG-Gen lab back in the US.  She's prone to 
sociopathic behaviour with aspects of schizophrenia or MPD.  Wow, 
the guy who did this has classed her as 'Lethal'," Jill exclaimed.

"Never heard of that one," Shane admitted.

"I read about it.  Part of Interpol's new classification's I think.  Put it like 
this, your average serial killer or terrorist carries around an 'Extremely 
Dangerous do not approach, classification.."

"I know that," Shane retorted.

"Well 'Lethal' is a few notches above that.  It means that everyone who 
comes into contact with the felon is either dead or maimed afterwards.  
In other words contact with Dr Bexley seriously damages your health. 
She's probably the most dangerous woman on the planet!"

Shane thought for a few moments, "So now what do we do? Matthew 
claims she's all better now thank you very much and she's needed to 
stop a new war in the Middle East."

"Dunno.  All I know is that Dr Bexley is responsible for the deaths of 
eighteen people in the US, countless kidnapping's, and continued 
genetic research in outlawed areas.  I think we should get her on a plane 
as soon as we can.  She's the yanks problem after that," like Shane Jill 
just wanted out.  This was bigger than both of them.

"You believe her? Matthew that is," Shane asked.

"Yeah, I do.  We've sent units to the place where Matthew said they 
were held.  We should hear from them in an hour or so.  I think we'll 
keep him in until they check his story out.  He's then free to go, and if 
they find this Guild Matthew has gone on about, then we'll know the Dr 
Bexley bit's true as well."

- o - o - o -

"So Dr Bexley was behind the attack on Tel-Aviv," Detective Sandra 
Wilson confirmed.  

"No not behind it.  The Guild used her technology to do it.  She was in 
league with them.  She helped them in return for them helping her turn 
back from a mermaid."

"Do you know Dr Bexley's whereabouts?"

"Sorry, no.  Look, I've told you all I know, I want to get back to the 
hospital to see how Rachel Martin is," Tina complained.  This had been 
going on and on for around 2 hours and Tina was getting frustrated.
 
"I'll find out for you.  Let me just get this one thing straight, this man, 
Salah, he helped you to escape?"

Tina nodded, "Yeah.  He broke us out, we owe our lives to him."

Sandra took a deep sigh.  She'd wanted to implicate Salah in the 
kidnapping but both Tina's story and Salah's matched, "It's ok, he's in 
the clear.  They'll probably give him a medal or something.  Shame 
about Rachel Martin's eye though." 

"Yeah it was," Images of Cathline's bloodied, eyeless socket came 
flooding back to Tina.  'Shame' was too mild a word for what Cathline 
had gone thru at the hands of Osman.

"Look, I have a few things to clear up.  As far as I'm concerned it's 
over.  The feds and our SWAT teams are on their way to this Guild 
stronghold you talked about so no doubt we'll be able to confirm things 
then.  You should be able to go in an hour or so."

"But just don't leave town for a while," Tina finished off.

Sandra nodded, "Got it."

- o - o - o -

Jill was at her desk, filling in her report.  She'd left Matthew to stew for 
a bit as she wanted to put a little pressure on him.  Jill had adopted the 
habit of doing paperwork as she went along rather than leaving it until 
the end as Shane did.  Her concentration was broken by her phone 
ringing "Inspector Jill Spencer," she answered.

"Hi.  This is Dr Gates at Adelaide General.  You NEED to get up here 
as soon as you can."

"Is it about the woman claiming to be Dr Bexley?" Jill asked.

"Yeah.  She's not dead if that's what you were going to ask.  Put it like 
this you NEED to get up here and bring the other woman along with 
you."

"Ok we'll come.  See you in a bit," Jill sighed and put the phone down.  
She had a hunch what the doctor had found.  However she didn't really 
want him to have found it, as it made things much more complicated 
than they already were.  

Jill sighed, and put her pen down, and went into the cell to break the 
news to Matthew and Shane.

Adelaide General Hospital was just like any other modern medical 
facility.  All gleaming white on the outside, and plastic and sterile on the 
inside.  After checking at large, pine reception desk Jill, Shane and 
Matthew waited for Dr Gates to show up.  They didn't have to wait 
very long as some 20 minutes later a tall gangly man in a white coat 
walked over to them and extended his hand, "Hello My name is Dr 
Gates.  You must be Inspectors Spencer and Jackson."

Matthew interrupted, "How is she doctor?"

The doctor shrugged "Matthew Stephens I presume.  I was hoping 
you'd tell me.  But I've an even better idea, I'll show you, please follow 
me."

They followed doctor Gates thru a winding series of almost identical 
corridors.  After taking an elevator up a couple of floors they were 
shown into a large room.  In the middle of the room was a bed 
surrounded by electronic equipment that continued to emit a beep every 
so often.

Laying on the bed, attached to multiple drips lay Elizabeth.  Her eyes 
were still closed, and as far as Matthew could see there was no change 
in her condition.  Matthew walked over to Elizabeth, hoping to see 
some sign of life but he was disappointed.

Dr Gates went over to a nearby desk and pulled some X-Rays from a 
brown envelope.  He attached them to the viewing light on the wall 
before calling Jill, Shane and Matthew over.

"What are we looking at doc?" Jill asked, pointing to the outline of a 
skeleton and various white fuzzy blobs that were being shown on the 
viewer.

"These are various X-rays, ultrasound and CAT Scans taken of the 
woman brought in us today.  They show that her anatomy is very 
different to that of a normal human being.  She seems to have a 
secondary heart where her womb should be, and this seems to be able to 
take over the instant the main one fails.  A lot of her internal organs 
have similar failsafes build in.  In her abdominal cavity, and sharing 
space with her second heart are a smaller liver, kidney, and even a lung.  
Now, it looks as these new organs can't support the body for extended 
periods of time, but they do look capable of stepping in while the main 
organ is repaired."

"She has two hearts?" Shane exclaimed.

The doctor nodded, "Yeah that's not all.  She also has a large organ 
where the appendix should be.  At first we thought it was an inflamed 
appendix, but scans show it's internal structure is very different."

Jill was intrigued.  This must be the changeling organ Matthew claimed 
Elizabeth had grown inside herself, "Different? How so?"

"It seems to be similar to the pancreas both in form and function.  As far 
as we can tell it's sole job is to produce enzymes and proteins.  In other 
words it's the biological equivalent of a chemical factory.  It also seems 
to be directly attached to the spinal cord, which could indicate links to 
the brain or central nervous system.  I've no idea what it does and it's 
too complex to study unless we remove it.  It's so embedded in her that 
if we remove it she'll die, it's part of her."

Matthew glanced over to where Elizabeth was lying, "How is she doc?"

"She's alive and seemingly in a state of hibernation.  Her body has shut 
down everything except her smaller heart, a lung and her brain.  It's as 
though she on emergency power and even that looks as though it's 
starting to fail.  She's on glucose and saline drips to help her recover, 
but given the unusual state of her anatomy I've no idea if that'll do any 
good.  But it's normal treatment for extreme exhaustion.  She needs to 
recover slowly and by herself.  She'll live if she wants to live is what it 
comes down to.  I must say that if I was trying to give my body the best 
chance of survival I'd do exactly what's happened here.  Keep oxygen 
flowing to the brain and heart.  The rest of the organs can take care of 
themselves for a while.  The life support equipment is helping to take 
the strain away from her.  I'd love to know how she got like this and 
what in hell that organ is."
 
Matthew looked at Dr Gates and replied, "I think I may be able to help 
there."

- o - o - o -

The squad car drew up to the hospital where Cathline was being treated, 
and Tina and Kat emerged, followed by Detective Wilson.  They were 
shown to a side ward where a slim nurse met them at the door.

"How is she?" Tina asked.

"She's up and well.  The knife wound wasn't that serious and it 
penetrated the shoulder muscle.  It's just as well we got to her just in 
time otherwise it could've been much worse.  She's a little weak but 
there's no reason why she should be out of here in a day or so," the 
nurse replied.

"Any chance of it being sooner?" Kat asked.

The nurse shook her head, "I'm sorry sir.  Shock can have a delayed 
action so we'll need to keep her in overnight anyway.  Between you and 
me she's been a right royal pain in the butt.  She's keen to get out and 
get on with her 'critical mission' as she calls it.  We only shut her up 
after we threatened to sedate her."

Kat smiled, "Sounds like her.  Can we go and see her now?"

The nurse moved aside and gestured for them to go inside.  

Kat peered inside and saw Cathline propped up in bed, one arm in a 
sling and reading Newsweek with her one good hand.  Cathline heard a 
slight sound and turned to face them.  When she saw Tina she gave a 
little smile which then turned into joy as Kat walked into the room.  Kat 
gave Cathline a look that said 'keep my real identity quiet', and Cathline 
understood by saying, "Hi Tina, Hi Salah.  They let you out then?"

Kat nodded, "Yeah they're cool.  You can't keep a good man down.  
The nurse tells me you have to be in here for a while and that you're 
being a pain."

Cathline still couldn't really believe that it was her friend, alive, well and 
standing before her.  She wanted to stand up and hug her, tell her how 
much she's missed her, tell her that Matthew still loved her, and tell her 
all the events that she had missed.  For some reason Kat was still being 
cagey, probably something to do with that cop standing behind her.  All 
Cathline could reply was, "What else would you expect from Anne 
Bonny?"

Kat smiled, Cathline was using her old password from the Fury days.  
Tina was feeling a little left out, but she let it pass, this was Cathline's 
and Kat's moment.  She turned to Detective Wilson and said, "Hey these 
two got pretty close while we were in there.  How about some privacy, 
We can wait outside."

An incurable romantic at heart Detective Wilson agreed, with the 
proviso that they stand guard outside the door.

Cathline spotted this conversation and called out, "Hey, what are you 
two whispering about?"

"Just thought you two could do with some privacy.  We'll be right 
outside."  Tina said and turned to leave.

"Tina, Thanks," Cathline said softly.

After Tina and Detective Wilson had left Kat made sure that they 
weren't being observed before rushing over to Cathline and giving her a 
large hug. Tears formed in Kat's eyes and she moved to brush them 
away.  Cathline too was overcome with emotion and said softly, "I 
missed you.  You should have seen Matthew, it was so sad."

"I know what he went thru, I saw it all.  But that's later, come here," 
Kat said and went to hug Cathline a second time.  To Kat's amazement 
Cathline pulled away saying, "Kat.. I can't.  I don't dare.  Sorry.  Maybe 
later."

Kat ignored the rebuff and sat down on a nearby chair, "Cathline I've so 
much to tell you, so much to explain, and yet the most critical part is yet 
to come.  We need to get to my place in New York ASAP.  Elizabeth 
will be bringing the proof we need and more importantly Matthew's 
with her."

A flicker of anger grew over Cathline's face, "Elizabeth as in Dr 
Elizabeth 'I'll ruin you life forever' Bexley?  The same Elizabeth who got 
me, Tina, Marcel, and Scott kidnapped, the same Dr 'hell bitch' Bexley 
whose DNA technology just killed half a million people?"

Kat nodded softly, "That Elizabeth."

"I missed you, but if you're now in league with HER then I'll have to ask 
you to leave," Cathline said, her voice full of veiled menace.

Kat took a deep breath.  She understood exactly what Cathline felt but 
for the moment Cathline would have to trust her, "Look, I'll go into this 
when everyone's back.  You need to hear both sides of the story to fully 
understand.  Cathline, We, I need you.  Elizabeth has just effectively 
killed the Guild now we need to stop Israel making the biggest mistake 
in its history.  Cathline I need you."

"If it was anybody else but you asking I'd scream right now.  I'll go with 
you to New York and hear you out.  That's as far as I can go.  I don't 
know what's gotten into you I really don't I'll assume it's all that 
testosterone whizzing around inside you."

"Cathline, thanks.  Be ready at 8am tomorrow, we leave then."

Cathline's face grew angry once more, "Hey I'm not one of your Guild 
buddies, who you can order around.  I'll go when I'm ready to go."

"I've no idea what you are holding against me Cathline, but deal with it.  
I suspect it's to do with Elizabeth and myself.  If that's the case 
remember the saying, 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer'.  
Cathline, I still care for you and you are still like a sister to me.  Now 
please get some rest, I'll see you in the morning."  Out of force of habit 
Kat gave a single fingered salute and left the room.

Cathline was troubled.  Kat had changed a great deal in the last year.  
Sure Kat was still compassionate underneath, but there was an element 
of ruthlessness about her.  Kat hadn't said anything about the Guild 
members she'd sent to their deaths in that bitter and bloody battle.  What 
hold did Elizabeth have over Kat to make her so agreeable to working 
with her? 

Cathline had no easy answers -- only that she wasn't sure she liked, and 
more worryingly wasn't sure she trusted the new Kat either.  What was 
it Kat had said, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.  That 
Cathline decided was the best approach to take.

- o - o - o -

"Can I stay with her?" Matthew asked Doctor Gates.

"Fine with me, if that's fine by them," he said nodding towards Jill and 
Shane.

"We still haven't fully corroborated your story.  But what we've seen 
here is good enough.  Just don't go anywhere," Shane ordered.  

"Don't worry.  I'll be here," Matthew replied.

The changeling organ and Elizabeth's anatomy fascinated Dr Gates.  So 
he asked "Mind if I stay and ask you some more questions?"

Matthew replied "Sure," he was just as curious to find out Elizabeth's 
inner workings as Dr Gates was.

"We'll set up two officers outside, just to be safe.  They're there to make 
sure she doesn't get out," Jill said, gesturing to Elizabeth's still form.

"Whatever you say officer, but she's not going anywhere for a while," 
Dr Gates responded.

"Ok.  Look we've gotta go.  We'll catch up with you in a few hours," 
Shane said and walked out, followed soon afterwards by Jill.

When they'd left Matthew pulled over a nearby stool and sat down 
beside Elizabeth.  He took her cold, almost lifeless hand in his and sat 
there willing her to pull thru.  Without her, he would never see Kat 
again and hope against hope never be turned back into himself again.  

Dr Gates walked over to Matthew and queried, "I thought you two 
were mortal enemies?"

Matthew shook his head, "We were.  Then we realised that we'd both 
done stupid things.  She's making up for what's she done.  I just hope 
she lives to be able to do it."

Dr Gates walked over to the X-Ray's again, "She really is remarkable.  I 
didn't want to tell the cops this as I'm not sure about it myself, but if you 
ask me she's regenerating herself."

Matthew looked puzzled, "How?"

Dr Gates settled into his lecture mode, he reserved for pre-med 
students. "From what you tell me this changeling organ produces the 
DNA altering drug based on what the brain tells it.  It can replicate 
anything biological anywhere.  You also said each change uses up a lot 
of energy, I think that's an understatement.  Unless her body is much 
more efficient than ours is, which it could well be, each full body change 
burns the equivalent amount of calories as a fifteen mile run.  I think 
she's run out of energy, and she's in this comatose state until she gets 
enough to wake up again.  Like a battery on charge if you like."

"So she put herself into this coma?"

"I believe so.  She's got all these extra failsafe organs to take over if the 
main ones fail, she's keeping exactly the right things going to keep her 
alive and she's a brilliant doctor.  You mentioned something about 
healing bullet wounds?"

Matthew raised his eyebrows, "Yeah it was amazing, she took a bullet 
to the chest and it didn't even slow her down."

Still in his lecture tone of voice Dr Gates replied, "I'm not surprised.  
Her backup organs would kick in long enough for the main ones to 
regenerate.  Only a major head trauma, massive internal injury or her 
own choice could kill her."

Matthew was staggered, "So Elizabeth is very hard to kill.  What could 
kill her?"

Dr Gates nodded, "I dunno, a large calibre cannon shell to the head, 
decapitation, or anything that would cause instant death in 
microseconds.  I'd love to write a paper on her but others wouldn't 
believe me.  I'm only speculating here but as long as she could think 
'repair' and send the signal down to the changeling organ she'd be ok.  
The rest of her body would take over and she'd be back to normal.  Her 
body wouldn't wear out, grow old or maybe even die of natural causes 
unless she willed it."

Matthew thought for a few moments, "That's what's worried me -- in 
the past, when under great stress Elizabeth has shown suicidal 
tendencies.  For example, when I jilted her, and when her parents died 
she tried to take her own life.  She's since said she was better but I'm 
not so sure.  When we were being shot at she initially showed no sign of 
wanting to take cover.  She just stood there waiting to be hit, as if 
wanting to die."

Dr Gates voiced his thoughts out loud, "Hmm, if that's the case then she 
may want to die after all.  If that was the case she could simply tell the 
changeling organ not to repair the injuries and just to let her die 
naturally.  I suspect inside her right now part of her wants to die, and be 
at peace and the other wants to live and complete whatever tasks she 
had in mind.  You know her best, which way do you think she'll 
choose?"

Matthew shrugged his shoulders "If it were seven years ago I'd say she'd 
want to live.  But now after she's suffered so much and caused so much 
suffering to so many I'm not sure.  Maybe the world would be a better 
place with no Dr Elizabeth Bexley."

"Every time in history needs its boogy man," Dr Gates replied.  

"I guess.  Would you mind if I had some time to myself?" Matthew 
asked.

"No not at all.  I've some more tissue samples to run anyway.  See ya" 
Dr Gates said, and promptly left the room.

Matthew looked at Elizabeth's lifeless body.  Inside her, a battle was 
going on, no less fierce than the one she'd just faced, and just as 
important.  Matthew couldn't help but feel compassion for his once 
mortal enemy, she'd suffered so much because of him and he so much 
because of her.  He squeezed her hand softly and whispered sweet 
nothings in her ear.  Maybe it really was time to forgive and forget.

- o - o - o -

Kat lay awake in her hotel room.  Tina had left her, at her request and 
so she was alone once more.  Cathline's attitude puzzled her, why was 
she so hostile towards her? Sure she didn't expect a hero's welcome, but 
she was reacting as if she'd just seen her worst enemy.  Still, Kat 
speculated, shock can do strange things to a person.  She allowed her 
thoughts to wander back to the task in hand.  She was worried, 
Elizabeth should have called by now, and any delay could be disastrous.  
Already swords were being unsheathed all across the Middle East, and 
surely a catastrophic war must only be days away.  Kat's one source of 
hope was that, so far Elizabeth had come thru every time, only where 
the hell was she? and where was Matthew?

Still, Kat had left the Guild on the verge of collapse.  She'd ordered the 
Guild to destroy all the evidence of any battle and move to secret 
strongholds on the pretence that the forces of law and order would soon 
be upon them.  Of course if all went well about a hundred million people 
would know about these secret strongholds.   She'd told her second in 
command, Kismet that she would be going off to oversee the rebuilding 
of the Guild.  Kismet was a very capable man but not imaginative in the 
slightest. Under his leadership the Guild would surely fail.  The Guild no 
longer worried Kat -- Cathline and Elizabeth did however.  Much 
depended on Elizabeth, where the hell was she?

- o - o - o -

Back at the police station Jill was reading the reports from the units 
they'd sent to investigate Matthew's claims.  Whoever had been there 
had done a good job at covering up whatever had been there.  When the 
units had arrived they found a mansion with what could be a secret 
facility underneath.  The only thing was, that the entrance to this secret 
facility was embedded under several feet of freshly poured concrete.  If 
whoever had been there had thought to do this then, the actual complex 
would be destroyed by now, and very little would be left to corroborate 
anything.  They had found a small speck of blood on the floor of the 
entrance hall.  This was being analysed at the moment but it could be 
from anyone or anything.  

What Jill couldn't believe was the speed in which this whole operation 
had been covered up.  Whoever had been based there was good, very 
good, and all traces and leads to them would surely be gone.  Having Dr 
Bexley in custody was certainly a good thing and both her and Shane 
were bound to get commendations for finally snaring the elusive and 
lethal American doctor.  Still deep in thought she failed to hear Shane 
walking up to her desk.  Shane rat-tatted a knock on her desk and Jill 
looked up, "What's up," she asked.

"Only the biggest bust in history," he said casually.

Jill's curiosity was aroused, "How so?"

"You remember this Guild that Matthew Stephens was going on 
about?"

"Yeah, seemed a little far fetched if you ask me," Jill said sceptically.

Jill could hear the enthusiasm in Shane voice, "They're real.  Someone 
just dumped what looks like their entire operation onto the Internet.  
Names, bases, financial stuff, a list of crimes the whole lot.  The Guild 
had thousands of agents across the globe and their scope of operations 
is mind boggling."

"What of our Dr Bexley, is she mentioned at all?" Jill said getting back 
to matters in hand.

"No idea.  There's tons of it to go thru, all I can say is that I wouldn't 
want to be a Guild member in a few months time.  This is equivalent of 
exposing the entire Mafia."

Jill gave a low whistle of amazement, It wasn't everyday an international 
crime syndicate was blown wide open.  
 
- o - o - o -

Matthew was shattered.  The silence of the room was disturbing but the 
only sound was the beep, beep of the life support equipment.  It was, he 
decided a good sound.  It proved that Elizabeth was still alive and that 
there was hope for her recovery.  In spite of his shyness he felt as 
though he had to let out his feelings towards her.  It was, he reasoned 
the best time to do it, when she was lying helpless and unable to strike 
back.  

"Elizabeth," he started and then paused, feeling a little self-conscious 
about taking to himself.

Of course there was no reply from the comatose woman on the bed, so 
Matthew continued, "So much has happened since we spent any real 
time alone.  I think the last time we did was the day before we were due 
to get married.  I find myself needing to tell you what I think and how I 
feel.  Whenever we've met it's always been you and how you feel, you 
never gave me the chance to explain.  True, I never gave you the time 
right after I left you, but I was so confused."

Matthew paused, thinking what to say next, "When you saved my life so 
long ago I reached out and grasped onto the hand that had saved me.  
You were everything I wasn't -- rich, beautiful and brilliant.  I felt as 
though I was the luckiest man alive.  I had a fiancée who had everything 
and who treated me like a king.  But I was never in love with you, it 
was the idea of being in love with someone like you I was attracted to.  
You knew my background, a simple country boy who left his hometown 
to find a better life in the city.  I never had a rich dad, a place of honor 
at Harvard or a cushy job earning mega-bucks.  It wasn't your fault I 
didn't love you Elizabeth, it never was; it was mine."

Matthew felt a tear form in his blue-gray eye and wiped it away with his 
slender feminine hand.  Then he gathered his thoughts, and he 
continued, "You will make somebody a wonderful wife, I know it.  I felt 
trapped Liz, I really did.  Your dad would've offered me a job, you'd 
have had millions and we'd never have to struggle again.  That isn't me 
and I think you realise that.  I wanted my marriage to be a struggle.  So 
that when we came out winning I'd really have felt as though we'd 
grown and worked it out together.  Being married to you would be like 
a permanent holiday, no need to work, no need to save, and no need to 
grow in our relationship."

Matthew looked down at his breasts and traced his finger around his 
nipple, "You could say I've had a struggle already, and life without Kat 
is the toughest struggle I've ever had to face.  I could cope with having 
tits and being a woman as long as she was there.  This last year has been 
hell and I'm just glad Cathline was there for me.  Sorry I digress, where 
was I? Oh yes, Please understand I could've been happy with you, I 
really could but how would we grow together, how would we have that 
spark that's needed to keep a relationship alive.  The answer is we 
wouldn't.  I had to leave you, I had no choice.  What would've happened 
when children came along huh?"

Elizabeth of course didn't reply back.  Matthew was in full flow now.  
The weight of seven years of pain was starting to lift, "I don't need to 
answer that do I.  Our marriage would've been a sham, an act for the 
world to see.  I don't want that and I thought too much of you to put 
you thru that kinda pain.  As I saw you walk down the aisle towards 
me, I saw my whole life stretch before me.  It was like a highway that 
had already been built and mapped out and I already knew every pot 
hole, yellow line and junction.  The only way to avoid this was not to 
get on in the first place."

Matthew wiped another tear away, somehow the chance of losing 
Elizabeth had focused his thoughts, "My love, my life, Kat was torn 
away from me and I know the pain that causes me.  I now understand 
what pain I must have caused you.  I can't say anything else but 'sorry'.  
I was naive and selfish and I am truly sorry."

Matthew gave Elizabeth's hand another squeeze and continued pouring 
his heart out, "I only realised at the last possible moment, what else 
could I do?"

Matthew's auburn hair brushed over his face and he flicked it back into 
place, "I've hated every second of being a woman.  Sure some of the sex 
Kat and I had was fun, but everytime I look down I see my failure and 
your fury.  People have said to me 'get over it, get a life' but after a 
while the physical aspect wasn't the problem.  You did this to me. You 
did this to me to ruin my only chance of happiness and you tried to 
destroy everything I held dear.  That's what I think of when I see myself 
naked in the mirror, that's the first thing that runs thru my mind when I 
feel the sway of my hips or the bounce of my breasts.  The fact that you 
tried to destroy me utterly and that I failed to stop you being hurt.  I 
tried to do the right thing Elizabeth I really did.  I hope you make it 
because I'm not sure if I can spend the rest of my life paying for one 
mistake."

"You say you saved Kat, and I've no idea if that's true or not.  I hope 
you did because I need her more than ever, and you're the only person 
who can help us.  I think I believe that you want to help, and I'm glad 
you didn't take advantage of me when we were pretending to be 
married.  I think if you had taken advantage of my 'conditioning', I'd 
know that I couldn't trust you.  I remember you sleeping on the floor, 
while I had the bed and that means a lot to me.  My fidelity to Kat was 
one of the most precious things I had.  I know she fucked Cathline 
before I got her back but her motives were right, she wanted to see if 
she could live as my lesbian 'wife'.  If she'd have found out she hated it 
with me I'd have been devastated."

Matthew fell silent, just listening to the beep of the life support machine.  
After gathering his thoughts once more he continued, "I'm glad that you 
see that Kat and I were right together.  It may seem like all roses and 
flowers but she could be a right royal pain in the butt when she wanted 
to be.  BUT I loved that, the fact each day was different.  Now all I see 
is the empty road of loneliness stretching before me."

Matthew paused and gathered his random thoughts into some kind of 
order, "What you did to me, to Kat, to Cathline and all the others was 
pure evil, and I've no other words to describe it.  You say you've 
changed and that you're sorry and I did believe you.  But thinking about 
it like this I'm not so sure.  When you ripped thru the Guild's elite 
forces, tearing bodies limb from limb, I could see signs of your evil 
returning.  However, it was the cool, casual way you disposed of 
Hassan that really struck fear into my heart.  You killed him without a 
thought or concern, as if he was some bug for you to swat rather than a 
living human being."

Matthew continued, "You seem to have forgotten about your revenge 
on us and transferred it to something else.  You say that you've changed 
and that human life is precious to you.  Before your assault on the Guild 
I believed that, but now it seems as if you're two people again.  One is 
the loving, caring Elizabeth who saved me from an icy grave and who's 
trying to save the lives of millions, and the other is the murderous 
monster of the last few years.  You are yin and yang, good and evil in 
the same person.  Your Rachel Martin body will be etched into my mind 
as the personification of all that is beautiful and kind about you, and that 
four armed killing creature you became will haunt my nightmares as 
your evil let loose on the world."

Matthew sat silent for a moment, listening to the hum of the machinery 
and then down at Elizabeth's comatose body, "The right thing do to 
would be to disconnect this machine and let you die.  The risk of your 
evil side destroying lives again would be too great."

Matthew stood up and walked to the power socket and the wall.  He 
bent down and took hold of the plug.  Just one simple pull and it'd all be 
over.  Just a quick flick of the wrist and the 'hell bitch' would be gone.  
Unable to keep himself quiet Matthew spoke out loud once more, "For 
once I'm going to do the wrong thing.  We still need you.  Millions of 
people in Egypt and the Middle East still need you.  We need your evil, 
your darker side to stop a greater evil being unleashed on the world.  
You've spent the last two years trying to come to terms with what 
you've become, and in some ways your fury has transformed you as well 
as me.  Who knew it would come to this? I'm sure you didn't when you 
first planned your revenge on me.  All I wanted was to live a quiet life 
and be happy.  Was that so much to ask? I guess you wanted the same 
things, maybe you still want them."

Matthew fingered the plug once more and then turning his head back to 
Elizabeth he walked away.  Part of him wanted to end it right here, to 
finish what he should have done in that airport so many years ago, and 
the other felt an enormous sense of relief as he effectively put aside his 
last chance of revenge, "It's over, Elizabeth.  I've given up my chance to 
kill you, besides, who made me judge, jury and executioner?"

Matthew sat down on the stool and took hold of Elizabeth's hand once 
more, "I guess the same battle is going on inside you right now, to die 
or to live.  Your good side is telling you to live as lives depend on you, 
and your evil side is telling you to die because you deserve to.  Or 
maybe it's the other way around, your evil side wants you to live 
because only then can you get the justice you feel you deserve, and your 
good side is telling you to die so that you can't cause anymore harm to 
anyone else.  I'm not sure which way round it is but I do know it's a 
decision only you can make."

Matthew looked at Elizabeth's unearthly beautiful face, hoping to see a 
sign of life but there was none.  He then looked down at his hand 
holding hers and continued to speak out loud, "I've rambled on a bit I 
know, and much of it won't make much sense but it's how I feel and 
matters of the heart are seldom orderly.  I do still care for you, you 
know.  We share more than just bodies don't we?  We had a great time 
together didn't we? Gurney races in the hospital, food fights, dancing in 
fountains, and the day I proposed to you was magical wasn't it? I've just 
thought of another reason for you to live.  You need to see that not all 
love is unrequited.  You need to be loved and to see that love is far, far 
stronger than hate.  Having friends around you that care for you is the 
start of that.  I'd have hoped you'd have seen that in Kat, and I after all 
you did to us but it wasn't you who learned that lesson, it was us.  So 
Dr Elizabeth Anne Bexley you'd better get used to having me around 
cus I'm here for the duration."

Matthew looked up at Elizabeth's face and nearly fell of the chair in 
shock.  Two bright blue eyes looked back at him and a weak, faint voice 
just said, "Thank you."

- o - o - o -

"Wake up sleepy head, time to go," Kat gently shook Cathline awake.

"Waaa, Go away, I was having a wonderful dream," Cathline 
complained.

Kat smiled, "You never were good at mornings were you? Look, you 
get your stuff and I'll get a doctor so you can discharge yourself."

Cathline sat up, her eyes still bleary from her nights sleep, "What if I 
don't want to go with you?"

Kat's face showed concern, "The doctor said you're ok."

Cathline averted her eyes from Kat's face, "What if I don't want to go? 
What if I want to rest here before getting back to being Rachel Martin?"

Kat sat down on a nearby chair and turned towards Cathline, "That's 
your choice but I'd have thought you'd have wanted to see this right 
thru to the end.  After all the pain we've gone thru these past few years 
I'd have thought you at least would want to know how it all ends."

Cathline interrupted, "I'll read the book or watch the movie or 
something."

Kat smiled again, "There won't be a book if you're not around to write 
it.  I hate to remind you but there IS no more Rachel Martin.  Not in the 
modelling sense anyway.  How many agencies will be interested in you 
now that you've lost an eye? It doesn't matter to me, it doesn't matter to 
your friends but it will matter to those money grabbing bastards who 
think that looks are everything."

Cathline couldn't believe her ears.  This wasn't like Kat at all, she was 
always sensitive and caring.  She'd never have mentioned her missing 
eye like that, "Where's the real Kat? What's your real name and why are 
you pretending to be her?"

Kat knew she'd hit a nerve.  Which was precisely what she'd intended to 
do.  She had to find out why Cathline was acting so frosty towards her.  
Now she at least had a clue, "I have always been me.  You don't spend a 
year pretending to be a Guild member, or working with the 'hell bitch' 
without picking up a few traits from them.  The old Kat died when she 
went into Hassan's palace over a year ago.  How I am now is what I've 
become after a year's worth of plotting, manipulating, and now killing 
people.  I hope someday the old, the real Kat will come back but until 
she does then I have to unlearn what I've become and go back to what I 
was.  I just hope my friends learn to accept what I've become and I hope 
that Matthew still loves me when I get back to him."

Cathline stared at the man sitting in front of her and said, "That's the 
most 'Kat' thing you've said since you've got here."

Kat grinned, "So you'll come?"

"I'll come," Cathline said softly.

Kat smiled, "Excellent.  Tina's downstairs in the car waiting for us.  I'll 
see you in reception once you've discharged yourself."

"Kat?"

"Yeah?"

Cathline was about to broach another subject but decided against it.  It'd 
have to wait until she saw Elizabeth again, "Nothing.  I'll see you down 
there."

- o - o - o -

The plane touched down at JFK and the senator and Scott breezed thru 
customs.  The new ID's the Guild had prepared for them had worked 
perfectly which, the senator commented didn't say much for US airport 
security.  It was also good of the Guild to provide them with a change 
of clothes, although as yet they had no idea what they were.  They 
walked towards the baggage collection area and waited, staring at each 
suitcase and holdall trundle pass.  

"So what next?" the senator asked Scott.

"Home I guess.  I'm not looking forward to telling Rebecca," Scott 
answered.

"You can't go home yet, remember.  That Guild guy told us we had to 
go this Manhattan apartment.  If we go there and get turned back then 
there's no need to tell Rebecca anything.  It'll all be sorted out." 

Scott thought for a moment, "I suppose."

"Besides, what harm will it do? You want to get your own back on Dr 
Bexley don't you? What if your partner's there?" the senator 
commented.

"I suppose I can be like this for a while longer," Scott said, gesturing to 
his shapely body.

"Wait a sec, there's our stuff," the senator pointed.

Scott nodded, "I'll go."

A few minutes later Scott and the Senator had hailed a cab and were on 
their way to Manhattan.  Eventually they reached the door and using the 
key the Guild agent had given them, they went inside.

- o - o - o -

Cathline, ignoring the complaints from the doctors, signed her release 
form, and walked over to where Kat and Tina stood.  By the looks of it 
she walked into what looked like a major discussion. 

"I thought Detective Wilson told us not to leave town," Tina was telling 
Kat.  

"I know but there's no time to mess around here.  Can't you vouch for 
us or something?" Kat asked.

Tina shook her head, "No, I'm implicated.  We have to stay here, 
otherwise there'll be hell to pay.  We do this by the book or not at all."

"Can I help?" Cathline interrupted?

Kat turned to face Cathline, "Tina here wants us to hang around here 
until the cops sort out our stories.  I would normally agree with her but 
there's no time to waste.  Each hour we delay brings the risk of Israel 
striking back.  We're trying to work out a plan that'll stop us getting 
arrested as soon as we leave town."

Cathline smiled, "So I could have stayed in bed after all?"

Kat gave Cathline an amused look, "That's not helping.  Wait a sec, why 
don't we put ourselves under NYPD jurisdiction.  That's where we need 
to go, and surely Tina's buddies will cut us some slack won't they?"

Tina thought for a few moments, "I think that'll work.  Yeah, it will do 
but we'll need to be escorted onto the plane and off again.  I think 
Detective Wilson will agree. I would."

Cathline quipped, "Besides, it gets us out of her hair."

Tina nodded, she'd thought the same thing. "I'll go make the call."

Cathline's face took on a worried look, "Last time we all tried to meet 
up Liz blew the fucking place up."

Kat nodded, "I did think of that too, but she's different now.  Besides, 
we're going to my place."

Cathline glared, "If I end up splattered all over Manhattan harbor, I'll 
come back and haunt you."

"I think Liz will too, as she'll be there as well.  Besides, if she wanted us 
dead she's had enough chances.  My agents tell me she behaved herself 
with Matthew and didn't try anything on with him.  So I still trust her."

Cathline couldn't think of anything else to say and so she walked over 
the call box where Tina was trying to convince Detective Wilson of 
their plan.  A few minutes later Tina said, "Thank you," and hung up.

"And?" Cathline answered.

"We have to leave right away.  A squad car will pick us up and see us 
off onto the plane. We'll be met at the other end, and we'll be taken to 
Kat's place.  If we need to go anywhere else we need to let them know 
where, when and how long for."

"So we're on parole?"

"If you like.  If you weren't Rachel Martin then we'd have had no 
chance."

Cathline nodded, "Let's go tell Kat."

Twenty minutes later a squad car took them to the airport and they 
were escorted onto a flight bound for New York.

- o - o - o -

Matthew recovered from his initial shock and said, "Thank you for 
what?"

Elizabeth was still weak, her face drawn and pale.  She managed to say 
in a weak, quiet tone, "For being here."

Matthew was about to reply when Elizabeth's eyes closed once more 
and she resumed her almost comatose state once more.  Matthew let go 
of her hand, and ran over to the emergency button and gave it a hard 
whack with his hand.  Within a minute Dr Gates and two nurses came 
rushing in.

"What's up? Dr Gates said breathlessly.

"She woke up, only for a few seconds but then she went like this again."

Dr Gates turned to the nurses and indicated for them to check the now 
unconscious Elizabeth.  While they were doing this he turned back to 
Matthew and asked, "Did she say anything?"

"Only that she thanked me for staying with her.  Is she going to be ok?"

The doctor looked at the results of the nurse's inspections and thought 
for a few moments, "I think so.  She's still very weak and needs a lot of 
rest, but I think there's light at the end of tunnel now.  Looks as though 
she wanted to live after all and that you tipped the balance."

Matthew reflected back on how close he'd come to killing her and now 
it seemed he'd been responsible for saving her.  Still, he reasoned only 
Elizabeth could answer the doctor's question accurately.  Instead of 
questioning the doctor he just asked, "How long before she wakes?"

Dr Gates thought for a few moments and then answered, "No idea.  
You'd better stay here and let me know if and when she wakes up 
again."

Matthew nodded his agreement and Dr Gates left the room, followed 
shortly afterwards by the two nurses.  Matthew took hold of Elizabeth's 
hand once more and started to talk once more, "Well, it looks as though 
you want to live after all, good.  I wonder if it was your good or evil 
side that pulled you thru.  I don't think it was me."

Much to Matthew's surprise Elizabeth said nothing so Matthew waited, 
just listening to the beep beep of the machines and the gentle hum of the 
air conditioning.  After a few minutes he continued once more, "It 
doesn't matter does it?  I just wish.."

Matthew's monologue was interrupted by a weak, faint voice saying, 
"Thank God for that! I thought they'd never leave." 

Matthew's gaze turned to Elizabeth's face, and two blue eyes stared 
back at him.  Matthew was about to run and get Dr Gates once more 
but Elizabeth gently shook her head.

"No, not yet.  I have to say a few things," Elizabeth started to say.

"Shhh not yet, they can wait," Matthew said softly.

"No.  I take it the police know about me?" Elizabeth's weak voice 
whispered back.

Matthew nodded.

"Thought so.  As soon as I'm well enough they'll deport me under lock 
and key and that will be that."

Matthew looked thoughtful, "I suppose."

"We can't let that happen.  If I'm arrested then millions are doomed!  
We have to get out of here."

Matthew shook his head, "But you're nowhere near strong enough, 
maybe in a week or so, but you've been at death's door for nearly a 
day."

Elizabeth let out a sigh, "I'll be ok.  Look, I need to get out here, 
otherwise I'll be on my way to death row."

Matthew looked concerned.  Elizabeth looked in no state to go 
anywhere.  He could see that her arms were thinner than they had been 
and the curved form under the sheets was too skinny even for ultra 
model standards, "You're not going anywhere.  We'll have our chance 
when we get back, you need to rest and recover.  Besides, once you've 
recovered you can use that changeling organ of yours.  If it can 
penetrate into heavily defended Guild installations I'm sure it can cope 
with anything the NYPD have to offer."

Elizabeth coughed a little and shook her head, "The changeling organ is 
useless now.  I worked it too hard and too fast for too long.  Don't ask 
me how I know, I just do.  Maybe in time it'll repair itself but who 
knows? Still at least I'm in my Rachel Martin form and not that 
monster!"

Matthew nodded his head.  Elizabeth was vulnerable now and 
furthermore unable to change form anymore, "How can you be sure?  
Maybe you're wrong?"

Elizabeth shook her head and bitterly replied, "I just know, OK." 

Matthew took a deep breath, "Now what? You're the genius, 
remember."

Elizabeth thought for a few moments and then replied, "It'd be easier for 
me to get out on my own.  Leave my escape to me -- I have a few ideas.  
Just wait outside the delivery entrance at 4am this morning.  If I'm not 
out by 5:30 go without me."

Matthew wasn't too happy about being cut out, "I want to help! I'm in 
this all the way now."

Mustering as much strength as she could, Elizabeth sat up and said, 
"You are helping.  Just that I can't do it with you around.  I know how 
hospitals work, remember and this one will be no different.  Just be 
there."

Matthew shrugged, "Ok.  Who shall I look for?"

"Me, silly.  Now sit down beside me.  I need to rest some more."

Matthew obeyed and shuffled his chair closer to Elizabeth's bed.  
Matthew was curious as to how Elizabeth was going to escape from a 
guarded room, as Rachel Martin and with no changeling organ to help 
her.  Still, he decided, knowing Elizabeth, he didn't want to.  Instead 
Matthew said, "What did it feel like, lying between life and death? Did 
you have any 'spiritual' experiences? See God? Or get a glimpse of 
hell?"
  
Elizabeth smiled, "Maybe hell's where I'll end up, probably as one of 
Lucifer's bitches, but no, nothing like that.   I just felt myself floating 
towards a tunnel of light.  It seemed so inviting and peaceful I just 
wanted to drift away.  I'd heard of similar things when people were near 
death, and I knew that entering the tunnel would mean I would die but 
it just didn't matter anymore.  I was just about to go inside when I heard 
your voice.  It was seemed to be coming from outside of me so I paused 
and listened."

"What did it say?"

Elizabeth turned her face towards Matthew, "It said 

	'You were everything I wasn't, rich, beautiful, and brilliant.  I 
	felt as though I was the luckiest man alive.  I had a fiancée who 
	had everything and who treated me like a king.'"

Matthew was about to interrupt when Elizabeth continued, "I didn't 
hear the rest but that was enough to bring me back from the brink.  The 
tunnel was still there, enticing me, enchanting me and seducing me but 
somehow I wanted to know more.  I've no idea how much time passed 
and then I heard your voice saying 

	'I now understand what pain I must have caused you.  I can't 
	say anything else but sorry.  I was naive and selfish and I am 
	truly sorry.'.

That was like Mozart to my ears the tunnel no longer seemed so 
enticing but part of me wanted to go there still.  Oblivion is what I 
deserved, I was alone, hated, and despised.  Death is what I deserve for 
all I have done.  I started my drift towards the tunnel once more but 
then you said

	'I do still care for you, you know.  We share more than just 
	bodies don't we? We had a great time together didn't we? 
	Gurney races in the hospital, food fights, dancing in fountains, 
	and the day I proposed to you was magical wasn't it? I've just 
	thought of another reason for you to live.  You need to see 
	that not all love is unrequited. You need to be loved and to see 
	that love is stronger than hate.  Having friends around you that 
	care for you is the start of that.  I'd have hoped you'd have seen 
	that in Kat and me, after all you did to us, but it wasn't you 
	who learned that lesson, it was us.  So Dr Elizabeth Anne 
	Bexley you'd better get used to having me around cus I'm here 
	for the duration.'
	"

Matthew was stunned.  Elizabeth had heard parts of his ramblings and 
they had helped her pull thru.  The only worrying thing was that she'd 
only heard parts of what he'd said, "Elizabeth, I can explain.," he 
started.

"You don't have to.  I know you love Kat and I accept that, but it was 
the memories you brought back and your commitment to me as a friend 
that convinced me to come back.  The tunnel held no power over me 
once I saw I had something to live for."

Matthew knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Elizabeth, "Which 
is?"

A tear formed in Elizabeth's blue eyes, "Friends, Matthew, friends.  If 
my once mortal enemy is prepared to stand by me until the end because 
he cares about me then I must be worth something.  You must see 
something in me that makes you want to stick by me.  I've no idea what 
it is because if it was left up to me I'd have walked thru that tunnel, and 
now I'd be dead.  Matthew I wanted to die, but you pulled me back."

"I must be honest I don't know what it is either, maybe I've a little more 
faith in you than you have.  Anyway you'd better rest now.  Do you 
want me to get Dr Gates now?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No.  Besides you were wrong about one 
thing."

Matthew cocked an eyebrow, "and that is?" 

Fresh tears formed in Elizabeth's eyes and she took a deep breath.  After 
pausing for a second she said softly, "All love is Unrequited, Matthew.  
All of it."

Matthew wanted to respond but Elizabeth had closed her eyes once 
more.

- o - o - o -

Acting Prime Minister Benjamin Dayan paced about his make shift 
office.  Since the destruction of Tel-Aviv, the Israeli government and its 
infrastructure was on the verge of collapse.  Only a few members of the 
Knesset had been out of town when the attack happened, and they were 
still in shock and bitterly divided.  Of the other areas of the government 
Mossad had been the worst hit with much of its higher command still in 
Tel-Aviv.  

Benjamin walked over to his window and stared at the courtyard below.  
Already the demonstrators were starting to gather once more, and soon 
he would have to give the order to disperse them.  The public, his public 
were crying out for blood and soon he would have to decide whether to 
give it to them.  His country was starting to tear itself apart as the 
factions within started to make their presence known.  These 
demonstrations were only the start, soon those who'd lost family and 
friends in that horrific attack would cease their mourning and turn their 
anger on those who'd performed it.  If he was to show any weakness 
civil war would surely follow as each splinter group tried to exert 
control over the already fragmented government.  

Benjamin stared at a group of demonstrators, who'd managed to find an 
Egyptian flag.  They waved it in the air before one of them reached 
inside his jacket, lifted out a lighter and set it alight.  The sight of the 
burning flag drew a crowd, which then started to chant even louder.   A 
single, solitary woman, about 30 years old caught his eye.  She was 
holding aloft a large sign with the phrase 'A voice is heard In Ramah, 
Mourning and great weeping.  Rachel weeping for her children and 
refusing to be comforted because they are no more.'

Benjamin couldn't help but stare at this single, solitary woman alone in 
the crowd,  her pain summing up the grief of an entire nation, her tear 
stained face showing the tears everyone felt inside.  She was, a symbol 
of Israel's pain.  There was no anger in her face, only loss and tears.  
Benjamin took a deep breath and turned from the window, the quote 
from the book of Jeremiah still echoing around his mind.  He walked 
over to his desk and sat down.  He and his fellow Knesset members 
faced an agonising choice.  Do they retaliate and kill an unimaginable 
number of people? Or rebuild and hope they could avert a civil war or 
invasion by those who thought Israel had become weak.  In a way he 
was glad that he had insisted the UN vote on it, it allowed others to take 
the decision for him, and he took solace in that.  His thoughts drifted 
back to the distraught woman with the placard and he pressed buzzer on 
his desk.   
 
A burley man walked in the room, the bulge from his gun ruining the cut 
of his Italian suit, "Yes Prime Minister?"

Benjamin stood up and walked to the window once more.  The crowd 
had grown larger and the burning flag was now only a smouldering rag.  
His eyes sought the woman out in the crown and he pointed her out to 
the burley man. "Ask her to join me."

"But sir."

Benjamin turned to the man and said, "It'll be ok.  Please fetch her."

The man nodded and walked out of the room.  Benjamin stood riveted 
to the spot, staring at the sea of people below.  He could feel the hate 
brewing down there, anger and confusion too.  Why me? why us? and 
why now? were the questions everybody wanted to know.  
Unfortunately he had no answers and even his own heart was confused.  
He watched his bodyguard escort the woman thru the crowd and back 
into the building.  Walking away from the window, he wondered why 
he'd asked her to come up? Maybe it was the desire to talk to someone 
other than the self-serving politicians, the war hungry generals or just 
someone who'd been directly affected by the catastrophe.  Benjamin sat 
down at his desk again and picked up his pen.  He wanted to create a 
good impression when she came in.

There was a knock at the door and the man walked in, followed by the 
woman.  Benjamin stood up and offered the woman a seat, "Please sit 
down."

The woman was a little overawed, sat down without making any 
comment.  Benjamin's bodyguard stood behind her, his hand inside his 
jacket ready to pull his firearm should the need arise.

Benjamin relaxed back on his chair and started to speak, "I guess you 
are wondering why I asked you here."

The woman just sat there staring at him, and said nothing in reply.

"It's ok, you're not in any trouble.  I saw you down there, and my heart 
reached out to you as I saw your sign.  I want to hear your story, to get 
the mood of those whose lives I will affect."

The woman breathed a sigh of relief and started to talk, "My name is 
Rachel Rogoff.  I lived in Tel-Aviv with my husband and four children." 
Rachel paused and fought back some tears. "I was away from town 
when they struck.  I lived, they didn't.  Can I go now."

Benjamin sighed and softly replied, "Tell me about them, what were 
their names? What did your husband do?"

Rachel swallowed down a sob and looked away from Benjamin, "My 
husband was called Joel and we had two girls, Rebekah and Elizabeth, 
and two boys David and Daniel.  My husband worked in the central 
bank and I worked as a secretary for a real estate company."

"Were they good kids?"

New tears formed in Rachel's eyes, "They were great kids."

Benjamin asked, "What happened?"

"I was out of town with my boss, and Joel would have been at the bank.  
Our children would have been at kindergarten or with the sitter.  In my 
hurry I forgot to kiss my little Elizabeth goodbye, now I'll never have a 
chance to again.  Why are you asking me this?"  More tears streamed 
down Rachel's face.

"Because I have some important things to decide in the next few days.   
Do we go to war? Or do we just rebuild and carry on.  Do I give the 
order to kill millions more or do we roll over and accept this? Before I 
do this I need to know more than just numbers on a page or reports 
from my experts, I need to know personal stories of the people who's 
lives this will affect."

Rachel's eyes grew angry, "You want to pass the responsibility onto 
me?

"Not at all.  It's my responsibility, and mine alone.  What would you 
do?"

"I'm only a secretary, what do I know?"

"You know how things are in the real world, you've lost all that is dear 
to you, and you care enough to come here and demonstrate.  Now what 
would you do?"

"I wouldn't strike back.  Too many have died already.  Let us mourn our 
dead, we need to rebuild not kill more people."

"I wish it were that simple.  If we do not strike back then the world will 
see us as weak.  Our enemies will attack us and kill who knows how 
many more.  If we stay our hand then it gives others the power to use 
these horrific weapons against each other.  If we hit back and hard then 
others will think twice about using them."

Rachel thought for a few moments, pondering her reply.  In the end she 
simply said, "That is all if's and maybe's .  If you use nuclear weapons 
then millions WILL die.  If you do this, in Egypt thousands of ordinary 
people like me will be wailing for loved ones lost.  The only way to 
break this circle is not to enter it."

Benjamin nodded his head and adjusted his glasses, "Thank you"

Rachel stood up and was about to leave when she turned and asked, 
"What are you going to do?"

Benjamin replied simply "Wait and see," and reached for the phone.

- o - o - o -

The sun rose in a glorious blaze of red, gold, and yellow.  The pollution 
from the urban Washington sprawl creating infinite patterns of color and 
patterns.  Such beauty went unnoticed by the occupant of the Oval 
office who stood, staring out of the window at the hubbub of late 
twentieth century life.  The vapor trails of an airliner cut two white 
ribbons across the sky and were now starting to pass away.  

The changeling president walked away from the window and back to his 
desk.  The events of the past few days had troubled him greatly, and 
now he was confused about what to do.  He had read the CIA reports 
on the exposing of all the Guild's operations and had initially expected 
to be arrested at any time, but time passed and he assumed that his 
cover was safe.  Brief phone calls and messages to his colleagues in 
Britain, Russia, France and China had shown their cover was also 
secure and the operation was still on track.  He could only assume that 
the parties that had effectively destroyed the Guild were unaware of his 
mission or had no way of stopping it even if they were.  His confusion 
was whether to abort the mission and hide until the witchhunt had 
subsided or to continue even though Hassan and Osman were dead.  
Hassan's last orders were to carry on regardless and not to try and make 
contact with any other Guild members.  But if there was no longer any 
Guild left then what was the point, better to rebuild quietly and slowly 
than to go out in a blaze of glory.

A buzzer sounding on his private switchboard interrupted his thoughts 
and he reached over and answered it, "Yes Jane."

"The Israeli Prime Minister for you Mr President."

"Ok put him thru.  Oh ,and have the crisis team meet me here in ten 
minutes."

The president heard the phone beep a few times and then answered, 
"Yes prime minister."

The Israeli Prime Minister's accented English voiced sounded serious 
but calm, "I'm sorry to interrupt your business but I thought you ought 
to know that we have reconsidered our request to invoke the Fury 
Directive.  We are going to withdraw our request to the UN and try and 
rebuild our shattered country."

The president took a deep breath.  This was IT! This moment would 
decide the fate of the whole Guild plan.  Now the Guild was almost 
certainly doomed there seemed little point in carrying on.  However it 
seemed very likely that a small remnant of the Guild would survive and 
the completion of this plan would massively aid its recovery.  HE could 
be responsible for the Guilds continued survival, a hero in Guild history.

"Mr President?" the voice queried from the phone.

"Wait, Prime Minister I am considering my response," the president 
offered.

In fact the president had already met with his cabinet and teams of 
advisors in case Israel decided to withdraw from the Fury Directive.  
He'd seen aerial photographs of Tel-Aviv and been told that the cost of 
reconstruction would be in the billions of dollars.  At first he was 
puzzled by this huge amount of money, as the buildings had been left 
intact.  But he was told that there were a lot of people using stoves, gas 
stations, driving cars or trains, and just basically living.  When the 
people were killed these would still continue to run and cause fires and 
explosions, which with no fire department to resolve would go 
unchecked.  Besides, nobody knew how long the DNA warhead would 
remain active.  At the moment the only people allowed into Tel-Aviv 
wore full Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) suits.  The clear up 
operation would be huge.

The president remembered the heated meeting he'd had on this subject.  
He'd managed to argue successfully (and just avoided having to issue an 
executive order) that there were larger issues than just one city in one 
country.  He could hear the impatient breathing of the Prime Minister on 
the phone, so summoning up his most authoritative voice replied, "I 
hear what you have said Prime Minister, but I must insist that you 
invoke the Fury Directive."

"WHAT! How dare you order me around like some puppet state? I told 
you out of common courtesy and you treat me like this," the voice 
roared from the other end.

"I meant no disrespect Prime Minister, but please listen to me.  There is 
a larger issue here than just Tel-Aviv.  What we do know will set the 
precedent for the future.  If we do not act firmly and according to our 
treaties then the whole world is open to this kind of horrific attack.  My 
first duty is to the citizens of the United States as is yours to Israel.  
How would it look if we just held up our hands and said 'hey, it's ok', 
wipe out our cities we'll just scurry back and rebuild."

The Prime Minister was about to respond when the president continued, 
"I'll tell you.  It would look as though we didn't care, we'd be safe and 
the world would be held hostage to genetic weapons just as it was to 
nuclear ones.  I refuse to let that happen.  I have met with my cabinet 
and we are in agreement when we say, that if you do not invoke the 
Fury Directive then we will be forced to do it ourselves.  The money 
that was going to be used to help rebuild your country would have to be 
spent on providing defenses for our cities.  The weapons we would have 
given you to help fight off invasion would have to be diverted 
internally."

There was a stunned silence from the other end of the phone.  The 
Israeli Prime Minister couldn't believe what he was hearing.  The 
president of the United States was effectively blackmailing him into 
launching a nuclear attack.  He now faced an agonising choice once 
more, launch the attack or have Israel face financial ruin.  The president 
said that the USA would do it anyway, so those people would still be 
dead, only that their deaths wouldn't be on his hands.  He then had a 
flash of inspiration, "My country and your country have had good 
relations for years.  I would hate to have to go elsewhere for our trade," 
he answered down the phone.

The president had expected that one however, and ignored the veiled 
threat, "Why don't you go and think about it, rather than make rash 
threats that you cannot keep.  Good day Prime Minister."

Benjamin slammed the phone down in anger.  He refused to be bullied 
by the US and reached across to his phone and pressed the buzzer, "Get 
me the British Prime Minister." 

Two hours later Benjamin slammed the phone down once more.  The 
British had taken the same view as the Americans, as had the French 
and the Germans.  In desperation he asked for the Russian President.

A thickly accented voice answered the phone, "Yes Prime Minister"

"Mr president.  We have decided not to invoke the Fury Directive,"

Before he could go any further the deep voice of Boris Petcukocov 
boomed down the phone, "I am sorry to hear that.  I would ask you to 
reconsider your decision.  If it's help you are after then I am sorry, we 
can hardly afford to keep our own people let alone give support to 
another's.  If you decide to invoke the directive we will support you.  
Good day Prime Minister" 

There was a buzz as Boris Petcukocov put the phone down.  Benjamin 
could hardly believe his ears.  Every leader of a world power had 
refused him aid or help unless he continued to push for an attack on 
Egypt.  It was a helpless situation.  No smaller country would dare to 
offend one of the big five by lending Israel money, for fear of crippling 
trade embargoes.  The same went for the world banks.  

If he didn't attack, America would, and then the Arabs would strike 
back at Israel.  If he did attack the response would be the same.  The 
only difference being that if America was the force behind the attack his 
country would not get the money and more importantly arms that it 
needed to survive.  Israel had been using American military technology 
for years, and although in later years it had developed it's own, a 
significant amount was still American in origin.  In the coming war 
Israel would need every bullet, tank and aircraft it could get it's hands 
on, and should America refuse to help then Israel would certainly be 
destroyed.  He if did nothing and allowed America to attack a disastrous 
civil war and invasion would surely follow.  

So there then was the dilemma, he was trapped into killing millions to 
save his country.  There was no way around it, and no way to avoid it.  
The only thing he could do was stall for time and hope someone could 
find a way out.  He guessed he had about a week before he was forced 
to order the attack.  Benjamin stood up from his desk and walked to the 
window.  The crowds had swelled and the demonstration was in full 
swing.   His eyes sought out a certain sign, but the sheer number of 
people hid it from view or at least he thought so until he caught a 
glimpse of it being thrust high in the air, seemingly in triumph.  
Benjamin turned away from the window, sat down and held his head in 
his hands.  "I'm sorry Rachel, I did my best but I have no choice, no 
choice at all."

- o - o - o -

Matthew sat in his rented car with the engine idling.  His lights were off 
and he was sitting low in the seat.  It was now 5am and so far there was 
no sign of Elizabeth.  She was now an hour late.

Matthew's anxiety rose when he heard multiple police sirens rush past 
but they soon faded into the distance.  Matthew took a deep breath and 
settled down to wait once more.

- o - o - o -

"I never thought I'd see this place again," Kat commented as she took 
the elevator to her Manhattan apartment.

"Me neither.  Matthew visited here a few times when you were away.  
He never slept overnight though.  This place has too many ghosts, or so 
he said," Cathline replied.

Kat nodded, "I know, Tina, is it alright if we stay here? We don't need 
to check in every hour or something?"

Tina shook her head, "This isn't parole, but just make sure you don't 
leave me behind or run off."

Kat smiled, "Ever one to be in the thick of it huh."

"Guess so.  Say, this place looks pretty exclusive," Tina commented, 
noting the mahogany door and guilt handles.

"It is.  Anyway where'd I put that key," Kat fumbled in her pockets and 
eventually brought out a set of shiny keys.

Cathline looked at Kat suspiciously. "Kat, How come you managed to 
get your old set of keys back?  What about the money we used to get 
here?"

Kat gave Cathline a knowing look, "Hey, I'm the head of the Guild now, 
work it out.  Anyway, I'm getting fed up with waiting out here.  I'm 
going inside."

Kat gently turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open, tried to 
peer into the gloomy darkness of the room, but in the end gave up and 
fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on.  

Tina poked her head around the door and called out, "Anyone here?"

Cathline jumped as she heard a faint reply coming from one of the 
bedrooms.  They were not alone.

- o - o - o -

The clock in the dashboard of Matthew's car read 05:50.  Elizabeth was 
nearly two hours late.  This concerned Matthew, Elizabeth was never 
late.  Something must have happened to her but he'd seen no outward 
sign of the police.  He struggled to resist the temptation to go inside and 
look for her, but in the end decided against it.  His flight left in a little 
over two hours and there was no time to wait for her.  Besides, the 
tickets, and the car the Guild had supplied him with were for this flight 
only and as yet he had no access to his money, so he was stuck in 
Australia if he decided to stay.

Matthew sighed and started the engine.  As he drove off he repeatedly 
glanced into his door mirror, hoping that he would see the door open 
and Elizabeth would come running out.  However once he drove out of 
the car lot it was very clear that Elizabeth would not be coming and that 
he was once again on his own.  

The route to the airport was fortunately clear of traffic as the main rush 
hour had yet to start, and Matthew parked his car in the long stay area.  
Elizabeth had told him to leave it where a Guild member could come 
and dispose of it.  Matthew popped open the trunk and pulled out his 
bag, and walked towards the departure lounge.  After checking in and 
buying a newspaper he sat down on a large plastic bench and proceeded 
to wait.

Matthew was once again half expecting Elizabeth to waltz up to him 
and apologise for being late but she did not appear.  She could, he 
reasoned, have been lying about the changeling organ and could even be 
amongst the passengers, but there was something about her manner that 
made him doubt that.

So deep in thought was he that he nearly missed the last call for his 
flight, and after a long sprint to the boarding gate managed to get on 
board.  Matthew stowed his hand luggage in the space above his head 
and settled down to get some well earned rest.

- o - o - o -

"Who's that?" A nervous feminine sounding voice called from out from 
one of the bedrooms.

Tina was the first to reply, "Detective Tina Cox, Who's that?"

"Oh Tina, thank God.  It's me, Scott," the voice replied.

Images of Scott lying on the table slowing being feminized flashed thru 
Tina's mind.  Feelings of shame and betrayal soon followed and Tina 
found herself unable to reply.

"Tina?" Scott queried.  

"It's ok.  Listen, who else is with you?" Kat asked.

Scott's voice sounded suspicious once more, "Who's asking? Tina you 
ok?"

Tina managed to overcome her shame for a moment, "It's ok Scott, he's 
with me.  Now please come out we need to talk."

"Ok," the voice replied.

A few seconds later a tall woman with long blonde hair walked into the 
room.  She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a plain white T-Shirt.  
From the unladylike way she walked in Tina could see that something 
was wrong.  She carried herself all wrong, strode instead of taking 
smaller steps, and the way her hair was brushed back over her ears 
spoiled a perfectly stunning face.  Tina's jaw almost dropped to the floor 
but she quickly recovered and asked, "Scott?"

The woman nodded softly and then ran over to Tina and gave her a 
large hug.  Tina could feel the fleshy firmness of the other woman's 
breasts pressing against her own and inwardly she hung her head in 
shame once more.

The woman known as 'Detective Scott Harris' noticed none of this, and 
only whispered, "Thank God.  I thought you'd been killed or worse."

Not thinking, Tina blurted out, "They got you worse." 

Scott pulled away as if struck, "I know.  They won't even let me go see 
Rebecca.  If I do, then they won't turn me back or do they'll do 
something even worse.  I hate this, Tina.  I hate the way I look, the way 
I feel, and the way I know Rebecca will react when she sees me like 
this."

Cathline had overheard the last section of the conversation and she 
whirled to face Kat "This was your idea wasn't it?" she hissed and 
stormed off into the corridor, slamming the door behind her.

Bemused at Cathline's outburst Kat decided that formalities were in 
order and sat down on a nearby leather chair.  Summoning up her most 
persuasive tone she turned her head to face Scott and said, "Scott, 
please take a seat and let me explain as much as I can."

"I'd like to hear too," Another female voice sounded from another 
bedroom.

"Ahh, Senator Jameson I presume.  Please come in," Kat requested.  
Actually it sounded more like an order, a fact that went unnoticed by 
Kat.

The woman walked in and Kat cast a curious eye over her.  She was in 
her mid thirties, black hair in a ponytail and bright brown eyes.  Like 
Scott she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.  The woman walked, no 
strode to where Scott was now sitting, and sat down cross-legged 
beside him.

Scott nodded towards the door that Cathline had stormed out of and 
asked, "Did I miss something?"

Kat nodded, "You could say that.  She blames me for her and your 
current situation.  She, as you might say, only sees the small picture and 
an inaccurate one at that.  I'm afraid I can't tell all the details until 
Elizabeth gets here but I'll fill in what I can."

Senator Jameson stared at Kat in a mixture of suspicion and fear.  Kat's 
manner reminded him so much of one the Guild's high command, 
arrogant, aloof, and very much in charge.  He wondered how Scott's 
partner and Rachel Martin had gotten involved with this Guild leader 
and what hold he had over them.  His political training had got him used 
to forming an opinion about people, labelling and then probing their 
weaknesses.  He decided to play it cool, "And you are?"

Kat's answer however shattered the senator's categorisation of this 
Guild commander, "My name is Jane Stephens, but to my friends I'm 
Kat."

Scott's eyes widened, "You're Matthew's wife, umm husband? You 
were killed! Your funeral was all over the news a year ago.  How? 
why?"

Kat shook her head, "Sorry, how and why are questions I won't answer 
at the moment.  What I can say is that Scott, it was my idea and my 
command that keeps you from seeing Rebecca.  I know how painful it 
must be for you, but all I ask is for you to stay away for a little longer."

"You Bastard!" Scott swore at Kat and lunged towards her.

Kat neatly moved to one side and quicker than Scott could react had 
him in a neck hold, "I'm not doing this for my own enjoyment, or your 
punishment.  I'm doing it to try and save millions," she hissed.

Scott managed to say, "What do you mean?"

The senator interrupted, "He means the Fury Directive.  You mean to 
stop Israel bombing Egypt?"

Kat released Scott who fell to the floor gasping for breath and nodded, 
"Yeah.  This whole thing was set up to take down the Guild.  We've 
done that part but we've really got out work cut out for us now."

Kat heard a door open behind and whirled around, "Cathline you're 
back, great.  Take a seat."

Cathline glared at Kat and silently sat down on the floor, her face red 
with anger and betrayal.  Tina saw her reaction and asked Kat, "You 
want to sort this out first?"

Kat blinked back a tear -- she hated upsetting her friends, "Cathline, I 
promise you I'll explain everything when Liz gets here.  I can't do it 
until then.  You have to hear her side of the story or you'll never agree 
to help us.  Cathline I need your help more than ever, please stay."

Cathline's one good eye continued to glare at Kat but her manner was 
conciliatory, "Ok Jane I'll stay.  If only to hear you out."

Kat started to explain, "Good, Now let me try and tell you where were 
are, and where we're going."

Kat scanned the room, and noted with satisfaction that the others were 
paying attention.  She then started to speak, "I take it you all know 
about Hassan's attack on Tel-Aviv, and his deception in framing Egypt 
for it? We, that is Elizabeth and I tried to stop it. We failed."

Kat let that sentence sink in, half a million people killed because of one 
mistake "Elizabeth's brilliant plan of exposing the entire Guild and 
simultaneously getting rid of it's leadership has meant the Guild is dying.  
It'll take a while but it's inevitable.  Her plan also had the brilliant side 
effect of putting me in charge of it and thus I can ensure it's rapid 
demise, while using it's remaining resources to stop the attack."

Scott gave a low whistle -- he was impressed at Elizabeth's deviousness, 
"So all that fighting in Libya that was 'your side' versus 'the bad guys'."

Kat nodded, "Yep, but that's getting close to a question I won't answer 
yet so I'll move on.  As I'm sure you're also aware Israel is on the verge 
of launching a nuclear attack on Egypt, an incident that will no doubt 
start an almost unstoppable Middle East conflict.  This MUST not 
happen."

Cathline butted in, "So, mighty Guild leader, why did Hassan want to 
start a war in the Middle East? What'd he get out of it?"

Kat ignored Cathline's sarcasm and went on to answer the question, 
"We've no idea.  A war would make it very difficult for Hassan to 
operate.  We can only assume he would make a killing selling advanced 
American weapons to the Arab countries, and thus be in a much 
stronger position when it all blew over.  The answer to that question is 
hopefully on the disks which Elizabeth is bringing back with her."

"I have a another question?" Cathline asked.

"Yes?" Kat enquired.

"You keep mentioning Liz and the Guild but you've never once said 
you're looking forward to seeing Matthew again.  What's going on 
Jane? You used to miss him after only a day apart. Now it seems as 
though you can live without him for good.  Or was that the deal? You 
wanted to get rid of Matthew, Liz wanted him, so you let her have 
him?"

Kat said nothing and glared at Cathline.  Cathline didn't understand, she 
could never understand what had gone on in that Guild stronghold.  All 
Kat did was stand up and walk out of the room.

Tina turned to Cathline and spat back, "You were outta line there.  Go 
after her and say sorry."

Cathline shook her head, "No I'm right.  Look I knew her WAY before 
any of you guys, and I'm telling you that ain't Kat or if it is her mind has 
been screwed with big time."

"That may be, but she still cares for you.  Please cut her some slack," 
Tina replied.

Their argument was cut short by a short series of sobs from Scott and 
Tina turned her attention to the crying woman on the sofa.  She walked 
over to Scott and put an arm around him.

Scott sniffled for a few moments and said softly to Tina, "Why'd she do 
it? Why'd she let this happen to me and why won't she let me see my 
Rebecca again.  Tina I'm so trapped.  I'm used to being in control but 
this is way out of my league."

Tina thought for a few moments and pulled Scott close, "I don't know, I 
was hoping she'd tell us.  I've only been with Kat for a few hours but I 
do know she has a good heart."

Scott buried his face into Tina shoulders and started to cry once more, 
the pain, fear, and shock of the past few weeks was gradually starting to 
work their way out.

The senator had caught very little of what was going on and was deep in 
thought when a worrying thought crossed his mind, "They don't know 
how to stop it." 

Cathline caught the remark and asked "Who? Liz and Jane?"

The senator nodded, "Yeah.  That's why Kat wants us here. That's the 
real reason why she's waiting for Dr Bexley.  They don't know how to 
prevent the attack, they never planned for this."

Cathline whispered, "Oh shit!"

The senator caught himself fiddling with his pony tail once more and 
then guiltily swished it back behind his head, "Succinct and accurate.  
We're here to help them work out what to do next.  Kat hasn't said so 
yet, but I bet that's what she's thinking.  All this bickering amongst 
ourselves is screwing things up even more and the clock is ticking."

Scott lifted his head up.  The Senator's musings had brought him out 
from his self pitying mood, "So that's what Kat was talking about when 
she said that Cathline wasn't seeing the big picture.  Kat knows that 
millions of lives depend on her and especially Dr Bexley."

Unnoticed by them Kat slipped back into the room and stood by the 
door, just listening.

Tina added, "I don't think any of us are doing particularly well at the 
moment.  Cathline here is ready to rip Kat's head off, I'm feeling as 
guilty as hell about what happened to Scott, Scott's in shock, the 
senator's trying to take control of an almost uncontrollable situation, 
and it's clear to me that it's Dr Bexley who's got some kinda hold over 
Kat.  Not a good situation to be in."

Kat interrupted, "I think you about summed it up there, Tina."

The rest of the group whirled around and guiltily looked at Kat.

Kat strode over to where she had been sitting and sat down once more.  
Gathering her thoughts she started to speak, "We're not a good lesson 
in group dynamics are we.  It'll only get worse when Elizabeth turns up , 
as most of us here  have a desire to see her dead.  Yes Tina, you're right 
Elizabeth does have a hold over me.  But that's part of the stuff I can't 
talk about.  All I ask is that you put up with her and put your thoughts 
of revenge to one side.  I need her, we need her, and millions need her."

Cathline butted in, "It's Matthew, isn't it.  She's got Matthew and she 
won't let him go unless you co-operate.  I KNEW it."

Kat shook her head, "Cathline that's not it at all.  I trust Liz with 
Matthew, she won't harm him, she won't betray our marriage, and they 
are coming.  I've not let myself get too excited about it as I need to keep 
focused but, be sure of one thing.  I STILL love him more than anything 
or anyone else.  That has never wavered.  Now where was I?"

"You were about to tell us you don't have a clue on how to stop Israel's 
attack?" the senator asked.

"Yes we do, we need to get proof of the Guild's deception to the UN 
and to our government," Kat retorted.

"I hate to say this but that may be harder than you expect?" the Senator 
added.

"Why?" Tina asked.

"He's talking about the changelings.  We've no idea where they've gone 
or who they are, but we can deal with them, Elizabeth knows how.  
Now if you don't mind I'm bushed and we could all do with some rest." 
Kat suggested. She was feeling beat, and undoubtedly she wasn't the 
only one.

- o - o - o -

Matthew walked into the arrivals lounge at JFK at 02:30am Eastern 
Standard Time.  He only had his hand luggage with him and the Guild 
had thoughtfully given him his passport back so immigrations was 
straightforward enough.  

As he clutched his bag close to him, he could feel the disks containing 
the proof required to stop the impending attack.  The only thing against 
them now was the fact the information was heavily encrypted, and only 
the government had the necessary resources to read it.  Elizabeth 
suspected the encrypted files contained much more than just details of 
the Egyptian deception. She thought they contained locations, and 
motives of the Guild created changelings as well.  

Matthew still felt sorrowful that Elizabeth hadn't made it.  They sure 
needed her, even if her changeling organ was damaged, maybe 
permanently.  She had a lot of information that meant a lot to Matthew.  
She knew where Kat was, if she was alive, she knew how to turn him 
back, and she also knew the intimate details of the Guild.  On the way 
over he'd listened to the news, expecting to hear of her capture at any 
moment, but there had been none.  His heart had soared when he saw 
pictures of Cathline walking out of a hospital.  Although it looked as 
though she'd been injured she was otherwise unharmed.  Walking with 
her was a tall, Arabic man with a well toned muscular body.  The 
reporter had called him 'Salah' and apparently he was responsible for 
Cathline's rescue.  Matthew wondered if it was the same Salah that had 
sent Elizabeth the note, and was the driving force behind the Guild civil 
war.  Walking behind Salah and Cathline was a smaller woman.  The 
reporter had called her Detective Tina Cox, and she had been held 
captive with Cathline.  The rest of the news contained extended 
coverage of the ongoing crisis and speculation that the US had said that 
it would hit Egypt hard if Israel did not.  

As Matthew hailed a cab he felt himself drift off to sleep, it had been a 
long flight, and he suddenly realised, as often happens, that exhaustion 
had crept up on him.  His next memory was of the cab driver shaking 
him awake, "You're there miss.  That'll be 20 dollars."

Sleepily rummaging in his purse Matthew pulled out a fifty and told the 
driver to keep the change.  He walked nonchalantly passed the night 
porter and caught the private elevator to his condo.  Memories of 
happier times came flooding back to him, flashbacks to when Kat was 
alive and then of Cathline just holding him and stroking his hair as he 
cried for his dead wife.  The words of that song came flooding back to 
him 

	'Like the sun through the trees you came to love me
	Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away.'

The elevator stopped at Matthew's floor and he walked out into the 
brightly lit corridor.  He slowed down as he reached his door.  By now 
he could almost hear the music of the song out loud, as if the band was 
playing for him and him alone.

	A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes
	As if to hide a lonely tear
	My life will be Forever Autumn
	'cause you're not here
	'cause you're not here
	'cause you're not here'

Matthew managed to find his key and softly unlocked the door.  

- o - o - o -

Kat's eyes flicked open at the sound of the door being unlocked.  A year 
of living on the edge of discovery had made her a light sleeper, and her 
fear rose at the sound of someone walking into the house.  She crept 
past the sleeping forms of Cathline and Scott, and ducked down behind 
the bedroom door as she saw the lights in the living room flick on.  Her 
fear turned to joy as she heard a voice call out, "Hello, anyone there?"

She wanted to rush out and hug the figure that had just walked in but 
she felt herself unable to move.  A year of pain, A year of fear, and a 
year of loss weighed heavy on her mind.  She had fought long and hard 
to suppress the feelings that now welled up inside her.  Out of necessity 
she'd pushed down her feelings for Matthew for so long, and now she 
knew he was standing there she was apprehensive of seeing him again.

She felt her heart beat beneath her chest, just in the same way it'd done 
when he proposed to her, the same way, when he'd married her, and 
when she'd seen him walk into that office at TGEN after his escape from 
the police.  This time was different.  He thought she was dead, he 
thought her throat had been slit in the desert over a year ago and he 
didn't know what Elizabeth had done to her.  Still, they'd coped in the 
past and they'd cope now.  She felt her eyes wet with tears, and she 
stifled down a cry.  From her hidden position she could see Matthew 
walking towards the kitchen.  He'd put on a little weight, and his hair 
was as wild and unkempt as ever.  She saw him look furtively around as 
if he'd heard a movement.  

Kat held her breath but Matthew had turned back, and was filling the 
kettle.  He put it on the stove to boil and walked back into the living 
room.  He flopped down on the sofa, and laid back, unwinding from a 
long trip.  Kat saw her chance and crept out of the bedroom.  She'd 
thought long and hard about what to say should this moment ever come 
but she changed her mind about what she wanted to say.  She gathered 
herself against the barrage of questions that were sure to come, and she 
simply said, "Fancy a race?"

Matthew shot up and whirled around, "Salah isn't it? What the hell are 
you doing in my house?"

No longer able to contain herself any longer Kat said, "Mat, it's me."

Matthew's eyebrow lifted in puzzlement, "Me?"

"Never mind come here," Kat said, and ran and gave Matthew a large 
embrace. "I missed you, You'll never know how much I missed you," 
Kat whispered.

Matthew felt tears against his face, and pushed himself away from Kat's 
embrace, "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Matthew it's me, Kat.  I know you don't recognise me, but it's true.  
Please come here and let me hug you.  I've waited a lifetime for this, 
please."

Matthew said nothing.  His mind and body were in shock.  It had to be a 
trick, a cruel joke played on him by Elizabeth or somebody.  He backed 
away from Kat and nearer the phone.

Kat saw the suspicion in his face and said, "Remember our first time 
together.  We'd tried at Cathline's house, but we were both too tired and 
too overcome.  Our first time was in Liz's house, our house.  I said 
'Hello My love'."  

Matthew whispered back, "and I said, 'I never dreamed our first time 
would be like this.'"

Kat nodded, "Then I replied 'Me neither, still at last we have chance to 
be alone.  Matthew I don't care if you're a woman or not, I want you'."

Matthew sank to his knees and started to cry, "Kat, Kat I missed you, I 
missed you more than life itself.  Please let it be you because I couldn't 
cope if it weren't."

Tears streaming down her face Kat walked over to Matthews sobbing 
form, and pulled him close, "I've always been me and I'm not going 
anywhere.  I love you."

Matthew lifted his head up and looked at Kat's manly, unshaven face, "I 
saw you killed, Why, how are you like this?"

Kat wrapped her strong arms around Matthew's waist and pulled his 
head towards her shoulder, "Shh later.  Let's not ruin the moment.  
We're together again and that's what matters."

Matthew pushed Kat away and stood up.  His mind was whirling with 
possibilities and emotion.  This man in front of him, he knew about their 
first time together as husband and wife but that could have been 
tortured from Kat before she was released.  Part of him wanted to 
believe it was her, and yet he was afraid to start hoping again. He was 
afraid of the hurt that would rise up and tear his heart apart once more 
and afraid of what this Salah was planning.  He thought back and 
remembered a moment, a special moment that only Kat would know.  It 
hurt him to remember it, and it brought back bitter and painful 
memories but it was the only way.  Not looking at Kat, Matthew said, 
"You remember when you were ill?  I think it was a few weeks before 
we flew out to Libya?"

"I remember.  I was in pain most of the time and only had a few weeks 
to live," Kat replied gently.

Matthew fought back the tears, the vivid memory of that painful 
moment flashed into his mind, and brought with it a years worth of loss, 
"You'd got up in the middle of the night.  I'd missed you and followed 
you."

Kat nodded, "I'd just been violently sick.  The cancer that was eating 
away at me was causing me to vomit blood and bile.  I'd missed the 
bowl and it was all over the floor.  I was so ashamed and fearful that 
you'd seen me that way I turned to walk away.  I changed my mind and 
simply said 'So now you know."

Matthew said nothing, and could control his tears no longer.  He rushed 
to where Kat was now standing and embraced her.  The bottled up 
feelings of a year of pain and despair babbled out,  "It's you! She saved 
you, she saved you!  My God you're alive! I missed you!  Kat my love, 
my heart, my soul, I missed you and I love you!  I never stopped, even 
when I knew you were gone I never stopped loving you." 

A tearful Kat returned his embrace, "I know.  I missed you too, my 
moon and my stars.  I've had to do some terrible things Matthew.  I had 
to push down my feelings of loss for our sakes, for everyone's sake and 
now I'm finding it hard to speak."

"Then don't, just hold me," Matthew whispered.

Kat did so and wished the moment would never end.  

Matthew was the first to pull away, "I've so many questions I don't 
know where to start."

"You and everyone else.  Liz should be with you, where is she?" Kat 
asked.

Still sniffling Matthew asked, "How much do you know?"

Kat thought for a moment, "Before they went into hiding my Guild 
contacts told me that Elizabeth was gravely wounded and that you had 
flown to the hospital with her.  They also said that she regained 
consciousness and was planning to leave with you." 

"She was.  She told me to meet her at a certain time and not to wait if 
she didn't turn up.  I waited until the last possible moment before my 
flight was due to leave but she wasn't there."

Kat's face suddenly looked worried, "Was she arrested? Maybe she 
switched forms and flew back with you?"

Matthew shrugged, "Dunno I don't think she was arrested, it'd be on the 
news by now.  She couldn't switch forms -- her final assault on the 
Guild nearly killed her and damaged her changeling organ beyond 
repair."

Kat's worried face turned ashen gray, "Oh no."

Now it was Matthew's turn, "What?"

Kat sighed, "With no changeling organ we're reliant on ourselves to 
fight the changelings.  Liz was confident she could beat one of them 
with her improved version.  Now if we have to face one we'll probably 
lose.  You've seen what they can do?"

Memories of Elizabeth slashing her way past the Guild elite filled 
Matthew's mind, "Oh fuck!"

Kat nodded, "Now, they can't match what Liz could do and they can't 
shift forms that many times, but they can repair almost fatal injuries.  
They are certainly better fighters than Liz and that makes them deadly."

Matthew heard a sound from behind Kat and he peered past Kat's broad 
shoulder to see a sleepy looking Cathline emerging from the doorway. 
"Cath, thank God your safe!"

A broad smile erupted from Cathline's face and she ran and gave 
Matthew a large hug, "You too old friend.   Bet you're glad you 
escaped from the hell bitch huh.  This's made my week."

Kat gave a small cough, as if to say 'excuse me I'm here now'.

Cathline ignored the cough and a stream of questions came rushing out, 
"How, why and where?"
  
Kat raised her voice, "Hey guys, one question at a time.  Mat, you must 
be shattered and it's still the middle of the night.  Cathline, go to bed.  
Mat and I will see you in the morning."

Cathline felt a little hurt at Kat's attitude but she took the hint.  Besides, 
even if she was unsure of Kat's mental state she owed it to Matthew not 
to spoil this moment for him, "You want me to clear out a room for you 
two?"

Matthew had never had feelings towards men before so as he looked at 
Kat's strong body and imagined running his fingers over its firm muscles 
he found it disquieting.  But it was Kat after all, and she'd given so 
much up for him.  He found he enjoyed the warm feelings growing 
inside of him and he could almost feel Kat's hands on his breasts and of 
her touching him HERE and THERE.  Strange how he seemed to recall 
doing that to someone else.  He tossed the thought aside, it was 
probably just a memory from a film or something.  

Kat looked at Matthew and said, "You look exhausted, we've plenty of 
time for this later."

Matthew shook his head, "Not a chance.  Cathline, there's no need to 
clear anyone out.  We'll go to a hotel, the honeymoon suite."

Cathline smiled, "You want me to write a 'just married sign for you'?"

Matthew smiled, "After five years? I don't think so."

Kat put her arm around Matthew's slender waist -- not believing it was 
really him she was holding close.  Matthew rested his head on Kat's arm 
and thought the same.  Matthew beckoned for Cathline to come closer 
and with his other hand pulled her beside him, the emotions of the 
moment overwhelming his ability to speak.  For a few moments the 
three friends shared a moment of reunion.  For her part Cathline was 
very uneasy about this being close to Kat.  She couldn't forget her 
misgivings, but she put them aside.  This was Matthew's moment again 
and she owed it to him not to spoil it.

Cathline was the first to let go and pull away, "You two had better get a 
move on or you won't be able to find a room."

Kat smiled, "Don't worry, we will.  See you at seven."

Matthew turned and whispered something to Kat who then smiled, 
"Make that eight."

As Matthew and Kat turned and walked out of the room Cathline said 
to herself, "I'd love to be a fly on the wall when they do find a room."
A memory from long ago of her and John's honeymoon came flooding 
back, and she couldn't help but feel the pain of loneliness once more.  
Sure her love for John had never been as deep as Kat's for Matthew but 
she had loved him.  Cathline didn't understand, she was supposed to be 
the most beautiful woman alive and yet she was alone.  

Cathline got up and walked to the window.  Peering thru the curtains 
she saw the hustle and bustle of a city that never slept.  Lurid neon 
colors stretched out towards the horizon, and the soft, white glow of a 
thousand streetlamps created a halo, which permeated the dark night 
sky.  The flashing red-green light of an airliner caught her eye and she 
followed it past the window until it could no longer be seen.

Somewhere out there, Matthew and Kat were find a place to 
consummate their marriage, a celebration of love lost and then found.  It 
was a thought that brought a fresh tear to Cathline's good eye.  Her 
feelings of joy were tinged with sadness.  The images of John's final 
moments came to her mind, of a traumatised, desperate Matthew taking 
aim and then firing.  In spite of the rumors and gossip Cathline had 
never had another relationship since John's death.  She and Matthew had 
kissed once but then she'd pulled away, afraid of spoiling a friendship, 
and she'd speculated she was afraid to feel once more.  They'd never 
spoken of it since.

Why was she alone? That question had preyed on her mind for a while 
now.  Did men see her as an unattainable wonder, as if no one could 
ever match or deserve to own somebody of such unearthly beauty? 
Before she'd become Rachel Martin she'd read that many of the world's 
top models found it hard to get partners.  That any potential partner felt 
intimidated and inadequate.  She'd always doubted that theory, until 
now.

But now her beauty was scarred, once again her eye had been burned 
from its socket, and she was faced with the prospect of never regaining 
it again.   Her shoulder would forever bear the scar of Osman's knife 
wound.  Kat was right, Rachel Martin's career was over.  In some ways 
she'd be glad to get back to Cathline Richards once more, and leave the 
world of stardom behind.  Maybe then she'd find someone, someone to 
love her, someone to pick her up in his arms and just hold her, someone 
to cry on, someone to laugh with, and someone who understood the 
pain she felt inside.  She felt a pang of jealousy over Matthew and Kat.  
Their souls had been reunited when all had seemed lost forever.   
Cathline switched the light off, plunging the room into darkness once 
more, and pulled over a chair and sat on it.  She sat there just watching 
the city go on living beneath her.  

Out there somewhere someone was meeting their someone for the first 
time, out there someone was proposing to their soul mate, out there 
love was being lost and found.  Cathline felt so empty inside, even her 
best friend had seemingly betrayed her.  Kat who'd stood firm against 
Elizabeth's evil was now an accomplice in it.  Was she the only one who 
saw Elizabeth as evil incarnate? She was sure Elizabeth had been behind 
the Guild attack on Tel-Aviv, she was sure that Elizabeth had done 
something to Kat during her captivity, she was sure that Matthew too 
had not emerged unscathed from Elizabeth's evil.  Elizabeth was like a 
black widow in a web of deception, of plans within plans, ulterior 
motives within ulterior motives and she, Cathline was the only one who 
could see things for what they really were.  But hanging over their 
heads was the ever present threat of Israel's attack.  Kat was right about 
that at least, that had to take precedence over any personal feelings.  

Cathline relaxed back on the chair and continued to watch the world go 
by.  For the moment she was willing to be a spectator and she found it 
strangely relaxing.  Soon, in spite of herself she was fast asleep.

Some hours later Cathline awoke.  She was still sitting down on the 
armchair and her neck hurt like hell.  The sun was starting to rise above 
the Manhattan skyline and the cloudy sky was tinged with orange of the 
new day. "Ohh Man," Cathline exclaimed feeling her aching limbs.

"Uncomfortable isn't it?" A voice behind her said.

Cathline's first reaction was puzzlement, the voice sounded exactly like 
hers.  Her second thought was how? By the time her third thought 
entered her head the voice said, "Sleeping in armchairs.  Very bad for 
the back Y'know.  I'd see a doctor."

Cathline shot up out of the armchair and whirled around to face the 
mystery voice.  Her eyes widened as she saw an exact duplicate of 
herself standing in front of her.  Sure this doppelganger looked thinner, 
more haggard, and was carrying a small bag but none the less it was 
Rachel Martin.  Cathline was still a little sleepy from her interrupted 
nights sleep and the thoughts wouldn't come straight.  

"Mind if I take a seat, lover?" the voice asked softly.

That last comment jolted Cathline's thoughts into focus "Hell Bitch!" 
She spat.  

"I used to be called that, now it's just Elizabeth," Elizabeth provoked 
and gently placed her bag on a nearby table.

With a loud scream of rage Cathline pounced at Elizabeth who, 
anticipating the move neatly side-stepped and caught Cathline round the 
throat.  Gasping Cathline swore, "Go on kill me, that's what you came 
here for wasn't it?"

"Cathline, all I have to do is twist and I snap your neck.  At best you'll 
die, at worst you'll be paralysed from the neck down.  Is that what you 
want? Is that what you crave?"

Cathline managed to find her voice and spat, "Let me go, Bastard."

"Not bastard, Orphan," Elizabeth said softly and released Cathline from 
her grip.

Tina heard the commotion outside of her bedroom and crept to the 
door.  She spotted what looked like two Rachel Martin's fighting.  One 
of them had, had the other in a tight grip around the neck.  It wasn't 
until they broke apart that Tina saw that one of them was Cathline.  
There was only one other person who could possibly be the other 
Rachel Martin, Dr Bexley.

Preparing herself against the worst Tina steeled herself and stepped out 
from behind the doorway, "Let her go," she demanded.

"She's not my prisoner.  Look, where's Kat, I need to talk to her?" 
Elizabeth asked.

"Safe," Cathline spat back.

Tina started edging towards the phone, hoping that Elizabeth didn't 
notice her movements.  She was going to call for backup sooner this 
time and not trust in her own abilities.  The last time she'd relied on 
herself Dr Bexley had wiped the floor with them.

Elizabeth sighed, she knew this was going to be difficult but it was 
necessary.  She turned towards Cathline and asked, "Tell me.  If I was 
out to get you how come Kat's still alive and showing no signs of the 
cancer that was killing her? How come Matthew's free? How come I've 
come here of my own accord when I knew you were here?"

Cathline stayed silent, she had no easy answers.  All she said was, 
"Elizabeth, you're nothing but devious.  I wouldn't put it past you to try 
and fool us and then pounce."

Still conciliatory, Elizabeth said, "True but why not let Kat die, she's 
about the only one who could ever think at my level.  With her out of 
the way my revenge would be much easier to take.  Excuse me," 
Elizabeth suddenly rushed towards the phone and with a hefty shove 
pushed Tina out of the way.

"Tina, please don