Chapter One:

“Well, what happened to them?”  Bill growled at the young tech, Simmons, that was his name, he thought.  The young man shook his head, looking decidedly green.

“I’m not sure sir.  We were doing a routine update and then somehow the files were flushed somehow, I think.”  Buchanon sighed.

“Where’s Chloe?”  He asked the tech, who looked at him, a puzzled look on his youthful features.  ‘I remember being that young once, but I don’t think I was ever that dumb.’  “Well?”  He barked out.

“Sir, Miss O’Brian went on vacation.”  Bill stared at him.

“Chloe?”  The tech nodded emphatically.

“Yes’sir, it was about an hour before you started your shift sir.”  Bill blinked.

“Chloe?  On vacation?  Right, yes, of course.”  He nodded at the tech.  ‘Chloe hates vacations.’  “Get back to work Simmons.”  He spoke quickly heading up to his office. 

“It’s Simons, sir.”  The tech sighed as Bills back retreated quickly, the correction unheard by the older man.  Simons went back to his desk, dumping the files onto his desk.  Johnson looked up at him and nodded at the files.

“What’s all that?”  Simons sighed.

“Hardcopies of the flushed files.  I guess I’ll have to re-enter all the data, unless you…” the other man laughed.

“No way, man.  Data entry is for idiots who can’t even debug a subroutine.  Perfect for you really.”  He laughed and returned his attention to his computer screen, missing the death glare Simons directed at his left ear.

Up in Bill Buchannons office the air was turning blue, as he let out a string of curses.

“Answer your damn cell, Chloe.”  He muttered before hanging up.  Fine.  He though, I’ll try her apartment.  The phone connected and then he got a busy signal.  “Damn it.”  He tried again five minutes later.  Busy.  He tried the cell again.  “Out of service.”  Bill ran his fingers through his hair, then picked up the phone again.

“Nadia, can I see you in my office.”  The young woman nodded.  “Sure.”  She quickly hung up and pushed back her chair, she flicked off the screen and headed towards Bills office.  She stopped next to Simons desk.

“Are they the hardcopies of the flushed files?”  Simons nodded up at her.  “You’d better enter them from the most recent.”  She walked off, and Simons sighed, closing the top file he’d just opened.  Then, grabbing the stack of files, he turned them over and dumped them back on the desk.

Five minutes earlier……

Chloe opened her front door and headed towards her bedroom.  She paused, her hand resting on the handle.  Images of Morris and her flashed through her head.  She blinked back tears and then frowned.  There was something wrong with the picture in her head, something off.  “For gods sake, stop over analysing, of course there was something wrong with that picture, it involved my husband screwing yet another skinny idiot with a large bust and a bad dye-job.  Well, at least it wasn’t Audrey.”  She laughed bitterly as she pushed open the door.

Glancing at the rumpled bed she moved towards the desk in the corner of the room.  Opening the top drawer she took out a metal box.  She quickly dialled in the combination to the lock, ‘the day we met’ she thought to herself sadly.  ‘The best day, and the worst day of my life.’  She sighed, grabbing the passport and the wad of cash under it.  ‘Today definitely counts as that rainy day.’  She slammed the lid shut, turned the dials out of habit and placed the box back in the drawer.

She glanced across at her closet.  “Right, clothes.”  She stopped.

“Chloe, we need to talk.”  Morris’ voice echoed through the house.  “Bastard.”  She muttered.  She picked up the phone by the bed, ‘It’s engaged.’  She frowned.  ‘I’ll use my cell to call the cops, she thought, rummaging in her bag quickly.  No cell-phone.  What the hell?  “Chloe, are you here?  Baby, I need to explain.”  His voice was coming closer.  “Shit.” 

Glancing around the room she smiled then quickly ran across the carpet.  Opening the window she heaved herself through just as the bedroom door began to open.

“Chloe!”  He shouted, running across the room and attempting to grab her as she slipped to the ground.  Morris caught hold of her jacket but his grasp was fleeting as she pulled away and ran around to the front of the house.  He turned quickly heading for the front door.  He yanked it open, and ran into the street, not noticing as he did so, the small cell-phone, lying on its side, vibrating like crazy.

He watched as Chloe screeched past him in her car.  “Damn it.”  He fumbled in his pocket for his keys and headed over to his car.  He turned the key and began to pull the door open.

“Where are you going, lover?”  He turned around to face the blonde standing behind him.  He started to speak but before he could get the words out he noticed the gun in her hand, pointed at his stomach.  “Not that I really need to ask.  I feel so used, don’t you love me anymore?”  She smiled at him then pulled the trigger.  The single shot echoed through the air.

Morris slumped back against the car, clutching his stomach and looking up at the woman only an hour earlier he’d been having sex with.

“What, are you, doing?”  He gasped out, pain lacing his words.  She looked at him blankly. 

“I don’t kiss and tell.”  She said, before squeezing the trigger again and firing a second shot into his leg.  She bent down and kissed him on the forehead.  “Bye sugar.”  She straightened up suddenly as a car pulled around the corner.  She glanced at the vehicle, then at her victim, lying by the side of the car.  ‘No-one will find him in time.’  She nodded to herself, throwing the gun into the bushes as she headed up the street.

The headlights illuminated her face as the car drove slowly down the street.  She reached her car, opened the door, and after a moment or so pulled out into the road.

She flipped open her cell-phone.  “It’s done.”  She said firmly, then she listened to the other voice for a moment or two.  “Yes, I understand.  The tracker is on her. I’ll catch up with her before she reaches the airport.”  She nodded her head as she snapped the phone closed.  “Not a problem.”  She said, thinking of the small woman she was following.

Meanwhile……

“Vacation.  No, she never mentioned it.”  Bill nodded.  ‘That’s what I thought.’

“Okay, Nadia, I need you to do a trace on all the calls Chloe received in the last three hours, on her cell and at her desk.”  Nadia frowned.

“Am I looking for anything specific?”  Bill nodded.

“The one and only person who would make Chloe head out of here like the world’s going to end.”  Nadia looked thoughtful for a second.

“Jack?” 

“Jack.”