From behind the tinted windows of the black sedan I was sitting in, I watched as Daniel walked out of the Heathrow Airport in London. Even from a distance, I could tell that his hair was flat and rumpled and his eyes were haggard. The boy looked absolutely exhausted and completely dejected.

He paused at the curb, gaze swerving around the parking lot. The sky was just starting to darken with nightfall, though it'd been overcast all day. I rolled my window down halfway, just far enough that he could see my face, and he started towards me with quick steps. The window went back up as Daniel walked around to the other side of the car and stepped into the passenger seat. He tossed his backpack over his shoulder, sending it flying into the backseat, and then turned to me.

"Melanie, I'm so sor—"

I held up a hand, stopping his progression. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Beat yourself up about this. None of it is your fault. This entire mess belongs to me and me alone."

Daniel shook his head as I started the car and peeled out of the parking lot. "You're wrong. You would have kept him safe."

"Yeah, well, I'm his big sister. It's kind of my job to keep that kid safe. Besides, I've been training for things like this. You haven't."

"Maybe I should have been." His tone was wry.

I glanced at him fleetingly but he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was staring out the window. The muscles in his back and neck were pulled taut. "Seriously?"

"Why not? If my parents really are CIA, you'd think that I would have some sort of basic training. I've got absolutely nothing. I never even took a single karate lesson."

"They were probably just trying to keep you safe," I pointed out.

"By leaving me defenseless?"

"By letting you have a normal life."

Daniel leaned against the window of the car and turned his face forwards. His expression was half-torn with grief and anger. "I just wish that I could have done more."

"I can guarantee that you'll feel that way until he's safe and with us again, but for now you just have to keep your head on straight and not let your guilt swallow you up. I need you here with me right now, Daniel. I can't have you off in another world."

"Right. I got it."

"Good." I started the car and went to pull out of the busy airport. A few moments later, we were on the main road, headed back into central London.

Daniel sighed. "So, what's the plan then? Just how are we going to get Wes back? Do you even know who has him?"

I shook my head. "No, and that's part of the problem. I'm working on it."

"How? What can I do to help?"

"Get some rest. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow and I can't have you collapsing from exhaustion. We're heading to a hotel here in London. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

"I thought you were staying in a safe house?" he asked.

"I was," I said in return. "But, that was in Manchester, which is over four hours away from here. There's no point going back there now, especially since we need to be here in the city tomorrow."

Daniel turned his head towards me. I could feel the weight of his eyes on the side of my face. "Why?"

I changed lanes, pressed down a bit harder on the gas pedal. "Because we're meeting with your parents and my friend's parents tomorrow night."

"What?" his voice was a harsh crack. "Why? I thought you said it was too dangerous to contact them."

"It was. But, the circumstances have changed. I thought I'd have time to figure this out alone but with Wes's life on the line, I'm not willing to take any chances. I need answers and I have a feeling that your parents might have some of them."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "What are the odds that members of the CIA end up living right down the street from a girl who went off to study at a school devoted to covert operations? It doesn't add up. Something strange is going on and I think they know more than they've been letting on. Just a heads up, though, your mother is under the impression that your life is in the balance."

"Mel, what did you say to her?" his voice was a quiet groan.

"Nothing too bad. Just that if she ever wanted to see you again then she had to follow my terms for this meeting. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you. It was just an empty threat."

"Why don't I believe you about that?" He glanced at me sideways.

I grinned, a manic sort of smile that comes from years of trying circumstance. "Because you'd be stupid to believe me. It just means the operative in you is coming out. Maybe I'll make a spy of you yet, Mr. Ortiz."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Very funny."

We didn't talk for the rest of the trip to the hotel. Daniel only stared out the window, absorbing every lamppost and pedestrian that we passed. I didn't think that he'd ever been to London and I guessed that it was a bittersweet moment for him. World travelling coming at the price of losing a close friend.

I pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot of a hotel a few blocks away from where the Grimes' apartment was. We'd head over there in the morning to set up and get ready for the meeting. For now, though, Daniel needed food and a good night's sleep. I called for room service while he showered and then we ate in silence, watching the news, before turning in.

I headed over to a comfy leather chair in the corner of the room near the window while Daniel took the bed. He'd argued with me over that one, ever the gentleman, but I knew I wouldn't be sleeping much. If anything, I'd doze on and off throughout the night, keeping watch as best as I could. It was unlikely that anyone would find us tonight. We'd paid for the room by cash and with fake identifications, but I wasn't taking any chances that someone could have followed Daniel from Oregon.

We made it to dawn with no incidences. There'd been no intruders or people trying to kill us, me, and it seemed as if we really were in the clear for the time being. Daniel woke up groggy, clearly disoriented from the time change. He blinked blearily at me and then shook his head like he was shaking off a bad dream. Then, he swung his legs out of bed and walked towards me. He leant against the wall and peered out the window as dawn broke over the city.

"What's the plan for today? Are you just going to hold a gun to my head and act as if you're going to kill me to get my parents to cooperate with you?" His tone was light, jokey. It was a considerable improvement over his attitude the day before.

I glanced at him out the corner of my eye, saying nothing.

Daniel's sea-green eyes went wide. Shocked. "You're not actually going to hold a gun to my head, are you?"

"It's crossed my mind once or twice."

He blinked at me, looking stricken. "Seriously?"

"It would be the easiest way to get them to help me," I confessed. "Threatening you is the only leverage I've got really. I don't have any kind of valuable information I can use for asylum and I did kill a CIA agent the night my dad died. I've got nothing except you."

"Do you honestly think that they would believe that you would shoot me? We were friends for years, Mel. Don't you think they might take into consideration that you're sentimental or something? What will you do if they call your bluff?"

Daniel's voice was honest-to-god curious. It was as if we were talking about a news report or the weather and not the fact that I was considering putting a loaded gun against his temple before using him as bartering tool to get what I wanted.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"But, you wouldn't actually shoot me, right?"

"God, Daniel. No, I wouldn't. Okay?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Got it." Daniel turned his attention away from me, eyes turned out towards the cityscape again.

I got the sense that there was something he wanted to say. "Just spit out."

Daniel sighed. "Wes told me that you'd killed someone before that man."

"That's right." My voice was strictly factual. No emotion required.

"He didn't say why."

"Because I didn't tell him."

"Is it that bad?"

I shrugged. "Is killing someone ever good?"

"Isn't it pretty much a part of your job description?"

I met his steely gaze. "I didn't go through all of this training and give up an entire life because I wanted to kill people, Daniel. I did it all because I don't like bullies. I don't like people beating up on those who can't defend themselves because it makes them feel stronger. The woman I killed...I only took her life because I didn't have a choice. If she had lived that day, tens of thousands of people would be dead right now. And while it's nice to live in a fantasy world where everyone can get their happily ever after, that place just doesn't exist for everyone."

Daniel nodded, absorbing this, suddenly very somber. "So, you want to make sure that people get their happy endings?"

"I want to make sure that people live long enough that they have the opportunity to try and have them."

"That's the first real time you've sounded like the Melanie that I knew before. I've heard glimpses of her when you've been talking about your brother but right there," he shook his head, "that's the Mel that I know." Daniel smiled, a slight upturn to the corners of his mouth. I returned it though I was certain that mine was nowhere near as hopeful as his. "And maybe one day you'll really tell me about what happened there with that woman you killed."

I nodded slowly, considering. "Maybe."

*~*

The Grimes' penthouse apartment at Aldwych Chambers was large and spacious. There were many different rooms and jutting corners, perfect for hiding behind in a firefight if need be. It was decorated with dark brown hardwood flooring and pale rose-colored walls. The windows were closed and the blinds drawn. The open laptop on the coffee table in the living room was showing the different camera angles from the security system that the Grimes' had installed around the building upon buying the apartment.

Daniel and I were sitting in the living room, on the beige leather couches. He drummed his fingers against his jean-clad leg. Every few minutes his eyes darted towards the front door where his parents would inevitably come through.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Not at all."

"It's almost seven."

"I know."

"I'm sorry to have dragged you into all of this."

"I know that, too." He glanced over at me. "But, I'm not. I'm glad I found out about all of this." He waved his hand around at the empty air as if trying to conjure the words out of nowhere. "Even if it is a little insane."

I scoffed. "A little? I'm honestly surprised that you haven't gone nuts yet. Or run away."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you think so little of me, Mel? You think I'd run away from you? From Wes?"

"I don't know," I admitted truthfully. It'd crossed my mind a time or two. While I knew that he undoubtedly cared about my brother, he was under no obligation to stick around. This was a situation that he could do well without being apart of but he was still refusing to turn his back on us. "There are people with big guns trying to kill me. I'm surprised that anyone would stick around for that."

His lips pressed together in a firm line. "Speaking of guns, how's that wound of yours doing?"

My fingers unconsciously drifted to my side. I'd rewrapped it earlier as I was getting ready for the day. It was still stinging and the skin around the wound itself hadn't yet lost any of its bruising. It would be days before it started to fade and weeks before I was back in peak condition.

"It's okay," I said. "Still hurts like a bitch but it's getting better. I'll be fine."

"I know," he murmured. "You always are."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean by that?"

Daniel sighed. "Just that I knew you were having a hard time before you disappeared. I knew that some people didn't like you and I knew how much you were hurting." He looked away from me, dropping his gaze to the floor. Shame flitted across his face. "I could have done a lot more than I did."

I'd always assumed that he'd been oblivious to it all. That he'd never seen the way his admirers stared at me. Like I was no good. Like I was garbage that needed to be taken out to the curb. Like I had no business being in his life.

It could have been so easy for him to cut me. To move on with his life and forget about his nerdy neighbor who he'd been friends with in elementary school. And yet he hadn't. Daniel had stuck by me, never wavering in his friendship. While maybe he could have done more, he had done all that had been required of him in my eyes.

"Maybe," I said to him. "But, you've always been there for me. And for my family. That's what matters. Who cares what happened then? It was a long time ago."

"A whole other lifetime," he agreed.

Just then, a ping sounded from the laptop in front of us. I turned to it, watching as the facial recognition software picked up on Daniel's parents and the Grimes. There were only the four of them in sight and, from what I could tell, none of them were carrying weaponry. They were probably wearing some hidden beneath their clothing, but at least I knew they weren't storming the place with machine guns.

"I guess it's time," Daniel said. His breath barely shook as he exhaled but there was an undercurrent of worry blooming in his eyes.

"I guess so. Ready?"

He nodded and got to his feet. He walked over to the kitchen chair we'd set up in the hallway facing the front door and sat down. It was about twenty-five feet away from the door itself. I walked behind him and pulled the loaded gun out of the holster at my side. I had the safety on and kept my finger far away from the trigger as I held it towards his head.

"Don't shoot me, 'kay?" His voice was steady, calm. Like we weren't discussing the fact that there was a loaded gun an inch from the back of his head.

"You got it."

A moment later, the front door opened. I'd kept it unlocked for them. Brent Grimes was the first person I saw. He looked nearly the same as he had when I'd first met him in my bedroom in Oregon, though his hair had gained some grey, giving him that salt-and-peppered look. Lydia followed a half-step behind her husband. She was near-identical to her daughter with the same golden brown hair and blue eyes. Lia had gained a few extra inches of height on her mother, courtesy of her father, and her mother had gained more laugh lines in the past few years, but other than those subtle differences, the two were next to impossible to differentiate between.

"Melanie," she said as soon as she spotted me and my name was almost like a sob coming from her lips. Lydia Grimes had been more than Lia's mom to me for she'd been like a second mother to me from the moment I'd met her. Seeing her and Brent now brought out an ache in my chest, like I'd been holding my breath for too long and was only now able to take in a gust of air.

I smiled at her though I was certain it looked like a forced motion. "Hi." The word came out breathy.

Daniel's parents followed on Lydia's heels. I hadn't seen either of them in years and it was strange to see them now and know that they were part of the team trying to kill me. His mom was a small woman, a good foot shorter than Daniel and his father, with dark red hair and green eyes. His father was a man with hard, angular features and midnight black hair that was just starting to turn peppery. The door closed behind them with a click, leaving us all inside of the apartment.

"Daniel!" Grace Ortiz called out to her son.

"Hey, mom," Daniel said, voice still serenely calm. It was almost unnerving how well he was taking this situation.

Her eyes fell to the gun in my hand and then her gaze darted to me. "Please," she begged. "Please, Melanie, don't hurt him. He's your friend, remember that? Daniel and you are friends."

"Were friends," I enunciated, making use of the past-tense to throw her off balance. Daniel and I still weren't exactly friends again but we were amiable with each other. Maybe one day we'd be able to be friends again. For Daniel's sake, I hoped we never got there. "If you think I care about what happens to him now then you clearly haven't read up on my file."

She looked stricken. Beside her, Malcolm Ortiz, Daniel's father, looked as if he were going to be ill. He stared at his son as if it was the last time he might ever see him.

"Mel," Brent Grimes called my name. I glanced over at him. His fatherly eyes were centered on me. He was reading my movements, trying to decipher what I was thinking, and attempting to figure out if he could stop, or help, in whatever it was that I was planning to do. "Don't hurt the boy. Let him go."

"I have no intention of hurting Daniel so long as everything goes exactly how I want it to go."

"Okay," he said. "Good. You called this meeting, kiddo, and we're with you. You should know that by now. Everyone here has your back." He met my gaze with a steady one of his own and I saw complete truth in them. It was what I had assumed anyways. Brent and Lydia were with me. That just left Grace and Malcolm.

"Someone is trying to kill me," I told them all.

"We know," Lydia said.

"I think some of them are from the CIA," I added with a hasty look at Grace and Malcolm.

They stared steadily back at me, giving nothing away.

Lydia nodded at me. "We know that, too."

I stared at Daniel's parents hard. "Are you trying to kill me? Answer honestly." I pushed the barrel of the gun against the back of Daniel's head. He winced theatrically even though I'd done little more than tap him.

Malcolm shook his head hastily. "No. No, we'd never."

"Your parents—" Grace began and cut off abruptly as Brent and Lydia shot her a hard look.

I didn't waver my attention from her. "My parents, what?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, Brent sighed. "Your parents aren't who you thought they were."

"Because they weren't really my parents, were they?" I asked.

Shock briefly flitted through Lydia's eyes but it was gone a second later. "How did you know?"

I ignored her question, not wanting to drag Lia or Max or Tasha into this. I'd already risked them enough. "My parents. Who were they really?" No one said anything. They all just stared, sharing looks between themselves quietly. "If you give me something, then I will let Daniel go and put the gun away. We can sit down and discuss this like reasonable people. How's that sound?" I bartered.

"Briar," Grace said immediately. "Your parents' names were Jack and Elizabeth Briar."

Brent looked to her murderously and then turned back to me with a pointed gaze towards the gun. I looked down at Daniel's head and then moved the gun away, tucking it back into its holster at my hip. I kicked his chair and he got to his feet, walking towards his parents with guarded steps. His mom pulled him in for a hug while his father clapped him on the back. Daniel's movements were rigid, like he wasn't quite sure that he was doing the right thing. He was confused and a bit angry with them, I thought, for keeping such a big secret from him.

Then, it was five facing one.

"Who were they?" I asked. "And who the hell were the people that raised me."

"Your aunt and uncle,"