MAIZE

They continued driving for another straight hour, per Maize's instructions, but by two she was telling them to ditch the car and to grab whatever they thought they would need for the remaining way. The rest of the trip would be off-road from there on forward.

There had been mild incredulous comments—not to her surprise, but it seemed they knew better than to argue with her. And so they had carried on into the woods on foot.

Another hour and it seemed the only one who had any sense of where they were was Maize herself. The terrain differentiated from soil to thicker roots to rock and then back, the further they ascended. The trek was tiresome, to say the least. None of them seemed all too conditioned for this type of environment when compared to the easy paths and roads of the city. Fortunately, she didn't hear any complaining, that was, if you excluded the annoyingly persistent question of 'are we there yet'—coming from Kishan, and more than once from the detective.

Also, quite frankly—though she didn't let it slip in her expression—she wasn't sure if she would be able to answer.

Truth was, she was struggling to navigate through the rough terrain of endless trees she had led them into, and at this rate, she wasn't even sure whether they would be able to make it to their location before nightfall—which wasn't an option. Without someone who knew what they were doing, a tracker, getting stuck out in the open woods at night was not an option. Especially when that was the time the time the things with teeth and claws came out to play.

Damn it. Maize was both mentally cursing herself and the difficult terrain. The only real directions she had to go on had been something she remembered being told once.

North as far as you can. Then from the point you see the fang-waterfall, head north-east from thereon. From there, you'll know where to find me.

Of course, that information had been given to her over two years ago. And while she was sure the location itself had not changed, the route to get there was a different story. The earth was constantly changing, and over the course of time that had passed, that could mean a lot for an environment such as the one they were in.

But it wasn't like she could do anything else. She followed North.

The fang-waterfall—or rather, the marking point in her only route instructions—was a slight sized cliff of rock that jutted out from the side of the mountain that gave way for the raging flow of water that poured from the mouth of the cliff in—as the name goes—a fang shape, and pooled at the base into a large river of mountain water. And they had passed that point nearly twenty minutes ago, and counting. Because she was counting.

And from her calculations and past memory, they should have been getting close by now.

"Holy shit, Maize, I thought you said it was a house," West breathed after a few more minutes, his gaze fixed wide-eyed ahead of him.

She stopped walking and looked forward with both relief and a hint of pride.

"I never said house..." she returned as she glanced at his expression.

Finally. They were here.

The four of them stood where the trees opened up to a large clearing, almost as if someone had taken a huge brush and ploughed a space within the terrain of trees. Resting in the centre, was a three-story fortress—almost military grade style.

The exterior walls were a dark metallic gray that gave off the illusion that the entire structure was built of pure iron. Besides that, however, the place had the basic structure of a modern-day cabin. Just, about seven times the average size.

Here goes, Maize thought as she calmly walked up to the few front steps and not-so-gently began to pound her fist against the front door. She had to use force. She worried the interior was so large that her knock might not be heard otherwise.

"Hey, it's me! Open up!"

Quite honestly, she was a little hesitant to reveal that it was her at the door. Granted, only a select handful of people—not even enough to count off a whole hand—knew this fortress existed. And even less knew how to actually find it. So it wouldn't come as that much of a surprise that the person knocking was her.

However, to sum it up simply; she felt she and the owner hadn't exactly left things well.

That mostly had to do with the fact that she let him trust her with his life and then when she went clean she didn't say so much as a single word to him before she disappeared off the radar. New identity and everything.

Even for a man with his particular set of...skills, when it came to finding people—far superior to her own—she hadn't left a trace behind. She said nothing. He probably didn't even know if she was still alive.

And now she shows up at his doorstep.

The consequences of doing so hadn't vexed her mind at the time two years ago, but it certainly was now.

What if he's pissed?

The thought did certainly occur to her. And quite frankly, she didn't know if she would blame him if he was. But nevertheless, she continued to knock.

For the next five minutes straight.

"It's quiet. Maybe it's time to consider that no one's home," Alec pointed out as he stood at the bottom step, watching her efforts despite the utter silence she was being rewarded with.

"Either that or they're purposefully ignoring me," she gritted back.

Alec raised an eyebrow at that, picking up something in her tone. "Is there a particular reason they would?" he asked slowly, and from the voice he used she could picture him raising an eyebrow at her back.

She didn't reward his question with an answer.

Maybe they in there, or maybe they really weren't. Either way, she wasn't going to stand around as the sun fell waiting for them to return.

Biting back her annoyance, she rolled up her sleeves, pulling back the leather as she began to draw out something in one of her smaller pockets, so glad she hadn't managed to lose it in the chaos they had been through the past week or so.

"Ok...what are you doing?" Alec asked, sounding edgy as she sensed him watching her actions.

She ignored him, again, as she bent down and crouched in front of the door—or more accurately, the lock. She studied it for a few moments, taking note of the design to determine which set of picks she would need to use from her little case.

Back in Brooklyn, each lock in the city varied in type, model, or age, but each were always similar one way or another; the fact that it was easy to get in—when she wasn't just kicking down the door. Granted, with a house like this, the lock was going to be a bit more of a challenge to work around. Difficult, sure, but not impossible.

She began to pull a chosen set of metal picks and began to adjust them into the finger-sized holder. At a glance, her tool might look like nothing more than a pocket screwdriver, but for her, it was much more useful.

"Seriously," the detective deadpanned with a hint of impatience that she was ignoring him, but his tone was mostly confused, "what are you doing?"

She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Do you ever get tired of asking that question?"

"Almost as tired as I get not receiving answers."

Maize rolled her eyes. "Remember that argument we had—" she began.

"Which one?" the detective interrupted sarcastically.

"About how I let myself into your apartment," she said, recalling.

"You mean when you broke in," he corrected bitterly.

Maize couldn't help but think, as she worked, that there was some irony to this situation, somewhere.

She twisted her picks into the lock and turned once, rotating clockwise, then counterclockwise, listening carefully until she heard a faint click. Smiling, she stood, turned the handle and the door opened easily.

Glancing back at Alec she answered, "You wanted to know how I did it. That's how."

"You broke into my house with a packet of hairpins?" the detective deadpanned as he stared.

"For your information, Detective," she mocked flatly, "it's a titanium-lock-pick, not a packet of hairpins—as you so un-inspiringly put it. A little difficult to find on the streets, but as you can probably imagine, it comes in pretty handy for my work."

Alec shot her a scrutinizing look. "Last time I checked, breaking into my place wasn't a part of your 'work'."

"And last time I checked it wasn't my fault your apartment had such a shitty lock. I barely had to use this thing," she countered as she began to tuck the tools back into place in her small case.

The air around the detective seemed to change for a moment, with a hint of hesitation before he spoke, regarding her with that same peruse look of his. "I always wondered but never asked...How did you get into hunting to begin with? It's...how do I put this without you biting my head off...Not on the list of most appealing professions," he said, to put it kindly.

Maize smirked a bit at that and threw a sly glance over her shoulder. "It requires a special set of skills that not everyone's got," she replied.

"I'll bet," he said, still waiting for an answer.

"Let's just say it was a convenient job and suited my preferences..." she stated, trying her hardest not to sound too vaguely. But it wasn't something she wanted to get into, not with him, and her finishing tone said that she was going to leave it at that.

Lucky, the detective was being smart enough at the current moment to note and not press any further.

She thought he was about to open his mouth and say something else, but before he could he was interrupted.

"So, is this friend or whatever of yours going to be as, uh, civil with you breaking into their house as Alec was?" Kishan's voice cut in from behind, where he had come up and was now gesturing blatantly to Alec with not a hint of shame and a touch of amusement in his tone.

Alec shot him a glare in response and Maize had to resist the urge to smile and she shrugged and threw a glance through the open door. "Not sure. Let's find out," she suggested as didn't wait and strolled though the door as if she was walking into her own place, leaving the others to follow more hesitantly.

She looked around and noted quite a few things.

The interior of the place was slightly upgraded from the last time she had been there, but everything—at first glance—looked relatively the same. The inside opened up to a spacious home-like hall that fed into a space with an oak-wood table to the right and an even larger hall to the opposite side.

Despite the outer appearance, this place seemed as much a home as any.

Or at least, it was designed to look that way.

The walls were all painted a similar modern light gray. And while they bore no paintings or personal photographs, there was a particularly large rack jutting out above the dining table, displaying a lone carbine sniper rifle like an old trophy.

"Ex-military?" Alec questioned as he stood by it and studied the weapon, glancing back at Maize. She could tell he was trying to guess the owner of the house's background—since they were about to ask for help. But wasn't the one who should answer that question, so she merely glanced his way and shrugged as if to say she wasn't sure.

Besides, though it had never been disclosed to her directly, she knew the story behind the weapon in particular. It wasn't hung there because it belonged to the person now but because of the symbolic meaning it represented from the person who once owned it. But that wasn't her story to tell.

Speaking of, seeing how they weren't immediately attacked after entering, Maize assumed that meant the resident of the house weren't there.

In a place in the middle of the woods where you weren't expecting anyone to find you, it made sense that an alarm system seemed unnecessary—though Maize could have disabled it if there was one.

So, nobody was home.

Just as well. It would be easier to rest up from the trek up here before she had to deal with what would come when the owner of the house did return.

Though of course, she had no idea when that would be.

The sun was beginning to hit the halfway point past the horizon as far as she could see. The owner still hadn't returned.

Maize didn't offer an exclusive tour of the place, and no one asked for one, but she didn't protest to them venturing around freely so long as they didn't begin picking at things they shouldn't and stayed on the main floor. She had no idea on a scale of 1-10 how ticked off the owner would be if he came back to find his house invaded by 'intruders', but she didn't want to give him any more reason to lose his already known to be short temper with three law enforcement officers snooping around his house while he wasn't around.

It was lucky no one seemed in the mood for much looking around. They were all tired, the previous event of the attempted road-collision and the long walk through the forest it took to make it here beginning to take its toll. It seemed the two agents were content to stay in the living room, after Maize threw them each a water bottle from the kitchen fridge and another two for herself and Alec. It was clear from the looks they gave her that they were curious as to how she felt so comfortable letting them all in and taking things from a house that didn't belong to her, but no one said anything about it, probably figuring it was something to figure out later.

However Alec seemed to be the most scrutinizing observer, the look on his face reading as if something about her nonchalance somehow bothered him. But she didn't pay any mind.

The kitchen area was connected to the living room as any other basic house model, and the granite counters and nice appliance was enough to tell that the owner had a relatively good sense of home cultivation, not to mention stylish appeal. Plus, despite the offputting appearance on the outside, the inside of the house was all relatively modern.

The truth was, the house had only been built a little over seven years ago—when the one who now lived in it decided, in his own words, as she remembered; 'I'm done with people'.

Living in a house designed fortress in a random spot far up in the forest did make it quite painfully clear that the owner was not a social person by any means.

Maize herself wasn't always fond of everybody—but it was not nearly to this extent. Call it a character flaw of theirs or not. She knew he had his own reasons, much of it having to do with his particular background. And besides, who was she to judge? This place was ten-thousand times larger and nice than her own.

She left Kishan and Maria to rest quietly in the living room and small talk about their own personal matters while she decided to find her own space and went off towards the next room over, where she knew the backdoor led to the deck balcony. She felt she could use a bit of air.

She stepped out and instantly relaxed at the calming atmosphere the clear view of the tree ahead presented. The patio deck beneath her feet was made of wood, the work clearly handmade but not so obvious that it looked like an unprofessional had done it. The deck extended from the end of the side to around the corner where the front entrance was to get in—bigger than the last time she had seen it, which meant the owner had picked up again on the little house-project since the last she had come.

With her mind thinking of nothing in particular, she briefly wondered how long it had taken to finish with only one set of hands and no outside help. A random muse, but it kept her mind content before she heard the steps coming up behind her.

She faintly heard the sound of the door clicking shut behind her, followed by a pause and the release of a low whistle.

"I seriously wonder...how someone managed to get such a nice place smack-down in the middle of nowhere is beyond me," Alec said with a hint of dry amusement as he came to stand at her side, mirroring her position and leaning his forearms arms over the banister.

"I bet you've never seen anything like this back in Brooklyn," she stated with a hint of tease as they both stared ahead at the serene view of the sun setting fire to the forest as it slowly sank.

"No. But I've got to admit...it's nice."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah...it is."

"So, how did you even get acquainted with someone like this? I can't imagine living in a place like this they get very many visitors..." Alec commented with a light chuckle.

"It's a long story," she replied.

He frowned and lowered her gaze from the horizon to stare at her. He paused, and then said, "Why do I feel like you say that every time you want to avoid telling me something." It wasn't a question so much as a direct statement. And while his tone was still light, there held underlining that was close to accusation.

"I don't," she said defensively, perhaps a tad too defensive as she whipped around to face him.

He didn't move and stared back calmly. Their eyes met for a moment, and he seemed to gaze into her, searching for something. He didn't find it. Or maybe he did. Either way, a moment later he sighed and shook his head.

"Sure, Maizey, whatever you say."

She rolled her eyes at his tone and complained, "Don't you ever get tired of that nickname? I know I do," she muttered.

Alec shot her a coy look. "You don't like it?"

"Last time I checked, nobody liked getting the hell annoyed out of them," she said pointedly.

"But that's just even more reason to do it," he responded, his expression turning into a slight smirk, "Maizey."

She rolled her eyes and made a clear gesture back towards the door. "Do me a favour and hit your face on your way back inside," she retorted with finality, expressing that he leave.

"Gee, you really know how to sweet-talk a guy," Alec answered with absolute sarcasm dripping from his tone, though there was a touch of humour that she didn't know whether to be annoyed at or play along with.

"You have no idea," she decided to playback, turning to send him a daring look. "Too bad you wouldn't be able to handle it."

Alec tilted his head and stood straight, regarding her with amusement. "We'll see about that, I think you'll find I can handle more than you think," he murmured closely.

For a moment he was close enough that Maize could smell the scent that wafted off him, and despite the long walk they took to get here, he smelt good. Then he backed up, leaving her staring up at him.

"But I didn't follow you out here for no reason. I'll be a gentleman and grab us something to drink, but then we need to talk." Something about the disguised edge in his voice told her they were no longer bantering fruitlessly. He had turned serious.

Of course, leave it to him to ruin her fun, just when she was enjoying their playful tease.

She sighed as she listened to him walk back inside and let the door shut softly behind him. No doubt he had something to talk to her about regarding the assassins from earlier that day. If there was anything she picked up about Alec, it was that the detective side of him never did quite shut off.

Not that she hadn't been thinking about it as well. It was a pressing matter.

Two high league assassins. After realizing that the whole 'power in numbers' thing wasn't working for the gang as far as catching them went, it seemed their boss had raked in enough cash to hire the real-deal.

Just how badly did the gang boss want the rogue agents terminated?

And if so, why had they been left alive today?

Things didn't add up.

Maize liked to think of herself as smart, but she was no detective. She would have preferred to punch the answers out of someone.

However, the only people that had been around had escaped. So that was a no-go.

She was occupied distracting herself with her musings until something startled her to alert. She heard something, the scratch of pounding steps rattling against the wood deck as it approached. And it wasn't human.

Maize turned to face the direction of the oncoming entity and stared down, meeting a pair of large black eyes not even four feet off the ground. A shepherd, as large as a small bear with the appearance of one as well, with paws as large as her hands and jet black fur all over.

She didn't react fast enough as the dog charged at her. A second later she felt the crushing weight of the 100-pound beast as it slammed into her, nearly knocking her over completely. She only barely managed to catch herself on the banister as she tried to fight off and away from the large slobbery tongue that had begun attempting to attack her face.

"Down!" she ordered at once, pushing the dog back onto its forelegs. It obeyed immediately and sat, jaws parted open and tail swishing back and forth as large black eye searched hers.

She brushed the hair from her eyes and recovered the breath that had been knocked from her lungs at the force of the unexpected slam. She glanced down at the animal as recognition took over her features and in response he wagged his tail a little faster, seeming to await his next command.

Oh how she had missed this dog.

"Aw, come here boy," Maize smiled with joy as she dropped down to one knee and began to rub the soft fur of his ears as the canine came forward.

And here I was worried he wouldn't remember me, she thought to herself.

The dog licked her face.

"How have you been, Kota-boy," she mused as she scratched behind the soft fluff of his ears.

So, if his canine was back it must mean that he was back as well—from wherever it was he they had been these past few hours, Maize thought as she continued to pet the dog.

He was...back.

"Oh, shit," Maize muttered as the realization hit her.

Where was he then?

Suddenly voices rose up from inside and she felt like she got her answer. Neither sounded happy. Maize quickly stood and glanced down at the large shepherd with a cringe on her face.

"That's not good," she muttered.

To previous-version readers ;) Hehe