DURABLE (completed)

The Trap Closes

I watched with apprehension as Mrs. Winspere approached Nicolette, her eyes glistening once again. "Nikki, oh my dear, I wish I had good news, but your father and I are at a loss. Your tests results are beyond us. We have come up with a way to stabilize your remaining cells and make them harder to die, but, they will die my dear.

We shouldn't give up hope though. There is a doctor who specializes in rare genetic diseases. She is the best of the best. Your dad had a brilliant idea, so he made a phone call just a bit ago hoping to talk her into seeing you. Unfortunately, she is retired and can no longer do house calls.

You will have to go to her, and it has to be at night. She suffers from a rare disease called Xeroderma. It doesn't allow her to go out during the day."

Everything Mrs. Winspere said sounded reasonable. There was just one problem: the glint of unnatural gleefulness deep in her eyes. I had a feeling that wherever she was sending Nikki it wasn't some reclusive doctor but somewhere far more dangerous.

"Okay, how soon can I see her?" Before I could voice my concerns, Nikki was nodding in agreement with her mom. Grinding my teeth to stop from blowing up I pasted a smile on my face and hugged Nikki in celebration just as her mother came over with a relieved look on her face.

"This is for the best Nicolette. The serum that we developed...we can't say how long it will last and don't want to give you any false hope. Dr. Wilson is the best person for the job."

I was extremely grateful when they gave Nikki a case of the serum they had developed and told us to wait for their call. I felt as though we were escaping the lion's den.

We had barely sat in the car when I started to share my concerns with Nikki about her parent's behavior. I watched her face closely and knew that she couldn't hear me. This was all she had ever wanted her parent's attention and love. There was nothing I could really say at this moment to convince her that her decision to go anywhere with them especially at night was terrible.

She was practically glowing, with a heavy sigh I stopped talking. I knew that if I pushed her too much I would come off as the bitter women who was trying to come between a happy family reconciliation.

Fear slithered up my back as we walked into the hotel, someone was watching us and I could feel the hostility in them. I turned to ask Nikki if she felt it but she still had a happy senseless look on her face. I had a feeling that we were deep in the lions den and only second away from being eaten.

*****

I was screwed! Ever since I had breached the security at P.O.A.H headquarters, I was being followed. There was no doubt about it, there was someone else running P.O.A.H, and I had gotten onto their radar.

I was in the middle of buying a ticket to Boston when my private work phone went off. There was a new target available on the dark net. I typed in my password and froze when my face popped up.

I was toast! There was a $2 million dollar bounty on my head. Swearing up a storm, I logged out of my account and went into clean-up mode.

I always knew this day could come. With several quick keystrokes, I systematically began destroying everything that made me Josiah Walker. It had been ten years since I assumed that identity and although I had become attached to it because it brought me, my mate, I had no choice but to get rid of it.

Within five minutes all electronic traces of Josiah Walker disappeared, and all apartments linked to him went up in flames both literally and figuratively. There was only one cell phone I held onto and it was the one with the number I gave to Nikki, It was fairly new so I shouldn't be traceable by it for a few days. By then I should be by her side.