Unknown Title ATM

Chapter One

Chapter One

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Albany, New York

She yawned and leaned back in her chair, stretching. Her back popped and she suddenly wondered how long she had been sitting there, staring at the film clips on her computer screen. A quick glance at the little clock in the lower right-hand corner of the screen told her all she needed to know.
         1:30 AM.
         Christ.
         She'd been working on this movie for the past 5 hours. And it was only suppose to be a 30 minute film. Perhaps it was time she took a break.
         Kate saved her work and pushed her chair away from the desk. She got up and walked over to her television set next to her bed, turning it on. The screen flickered to life and her ears were suddenly filled by a scream from outside.
         Her arms folded across her chest, she walked to an open window overlooking the surrounding neighborhood and glanced around. Not that there was much to see, of course. The overbearing darkness covered most of the viewing area.
         However, she could see something.
         A girl.
         Running.
         And screaming.
         Kate instinctively moved closer to the window, trying to get a better view of what was going on below.
         Someone was chasing the girl.
         But who would possibly be out this late? Unless –
         Kate flew through the window and onto the fire-escape in a matter of seconds. If what she thought was going on down there was, she didn't want to be blamed for not stepping in.
         She moved swiftly down the fire-escape and didn't stop until another thought crossed her mind.
         What if what she thought was going on wasn't.
         What if all they were doing was filming a movie.
         After all, most of the surrounding neighbors were the film academy's student body. What if she interrupted their filming and they had to do it all over again? She knew how much of a pain it was to redo certain scenes and thus she immediately stopped and waited.
         She was knelt on the second to last staircase, watching the girl run past.
         And then her pursuer ran by.
         He dove for her and grabbed her from around the ankles, pulling her to the ground. The girl cried out and tried to kick him, but it was futile. He had restrained her legs and was on top of her in a matter of seconds. His right hand cupped over her mouth, he pulled something out of his back pocket with his left hand. It's silver blade shined brilliantly even in the dull moonlight.
         A knife.
         Kate cursed and hurdled over the remaining few stairs. She landed perfectly on both feet and tore off running, trying to get to the pair before the man had time to do anything else. Her eyes were focused on the blade of the knife as she got ever closer. God, she hadn't thought they were that far away when she was perched up on the fire-escape.
         The blade was lowering slowly, almost daring Kate to speed up.
         She did.
         And so did the blade.
         She was about five feet away when the knife finally reached the girl's neck. That was when she realized that if she didn't do something more and quick, there was going to be a murder.
         Kate started yelling and screaming for others to come outside and help.
         The man with the knife glanced over his shoulder at Kate and narrowed his eyes on her face. Hatred was in his eyes and he turned back to the girl beneath him. Taking the knife, he slit her throat and jumped off of her, dashing away just as Kate dove forward.
         She skidded across the ground and stopped just next to the now dying young woman. Glimpsing at her and then in the direction of the woods, Kate knew what she had to do. Despite how much she didn't want to do it.
         She let the man get away.
         Moving fast, she pulled herself back up, along with the girl. She slung one of the girl's arms around her neck and started to half carry, half drag her back to the front of the apartment complex. The entire time she was doing this she was calling out for some assistance. Unfortunately no one wanted to step up to the plate.
         Fine.
         If that was how it was going to be, so be it.
         Kate dragged the girl to a parked car sitting in front of the steps leading to the main doors of the building. She opened the passenger side door and helped the victim in. Closing the door quickly she moved to the other side of the vehicle, a nice sized black SUV, and climbed into the driver's seat. She didn't bother to fasten her seat belt, instead she went right ahead and started the car, pulling out into the street and driving as quickly as she could without getting stopped for a ticket.
         Every so often she would glance over at her passenger, who appeared to be okay, all in all. Well, as okay as she could be giving the circumstances.
         "You're going to be okay. Don’t give up, yeah?" Kate smiled slightly at the girl beside her as she pulled into the hospital parking lot. "Look, here we are. I'm going to get you inside and everything is going to be fine. I promise."
         She parked the car in a no parking zone and hurried to get the girl out. As she pulled her out, she took a chance and looked at the girl's neck.
         Bad move.
         There was so much blood. She began to sway and it took every ounce of her not to pass out right then and there.
         Don't think about it. Get her to the emergency room and let the doctors handle it. God, how could one little cut produce so much –
         Stop. Thinking. Now.
         She sighed and shook her head, pulling her eyes away from the wound. She slung the girl's arm around her neck once more and carried her in through the emergency room doors.
         Panic swirled through her as they entered.
         There were so many people there already, no way would she be able to –
         "Christ. What the hell happened?"
         Kate jumped and refocused her gaze on the male nurse in front of them. "She was attacked by some guy. He had a knife and - "
         "Shit." The nurse promptly turned away from the pair and ran down the hall, trying to find a free doctor and paramedics. In the meantime, Kate sidled up to the front desk to sign in.
         The clerk sitting at the desk barely looked up as she handed Kate the new forms and policies and told her to have a seat somewhere. "Have fun finding one."
         "Gee, thanks," exclaimed Kate dryly.
         She glanced around the packed waiting room until she finally found two empty seats close to the main doors. She dragged the girl to the seats and was just about to sit down when five or six paramedics, along with the male nurse, came rushing in with a stretcher between them. "There. By the door!" He pointed a lean finger at the girl Kate had struggled to get there and the team of paramedics hurried to her.
         In no time at all the girl was lifted up on to the stretcher and rushed out of the waiting room and into a nearby operating room. Where there would be blood.
         Lots of it.
         She clasped a hand on her mouth and ran back up to the front desk. "Where's the restroom?" Her question came out muffled but the receptionist nonetheless managed to understand her.
         "Down the hall to the right. There's a giant sign, you can't miss – "
         Stares followed her from the awaiting patients as she jogged out of the waiting room and made her way down the nearby hallway. As she hurried along the corridor, glancing at the signs on the doors, she began to panic.
         There wasn’t a bathroom.
         The stupid old hag had told her wrong
         "I ought to report her," she mumbled under her breath as she began to near the end of the hall.
         She came to the end of the hallway, glanced around once more, and then started to amble back to the waiting room once more. Her stomach had calmed a little and she wasn't thinking about the blood.
         As she entered the waiting room once more, the nurse from before was in there again, looking for someone. She smiled weakly at him and started to walk back to her seat by the door.
         His lips parted and he hurried over to her, his hand gripping her upper arm.
         She glanced at him over her shoulder.
         "Sorry, miss, but the doctor needs to see you. If you'd please come with me..." He lead her back out of the emergency room and into another hallway, which was filled with operation rooms and, yes, blood.
         A chill ran through her and she wrapped her arms around her as they approached a man standing in front of one of the emergency rooms.
         He was well built, probably mid thirties, if she had to guess. Well trimmed, too, and she couldn't help but notice his gorgeous brown eyes. He was wearing a white surgical smock and there was a glum look upon his face.
         The reason why soon became all too clear.
         "Here she is, doctor. The girl who brought in the victim."
         The man nodded. "Thanks, Giles. That'll be all."
         "Yes, sir." Giles offered her a small smile and he hurriedly turned from the two, moving along the corridor and out of sight.
         "I'm going to be straightforward with you because I don't think you actually knew her, do you?"
         Kate reluctantly shook her head.
         "No, I didn't think so. Okay, well, that makes telling you this a little bit easier... As for her friends and family, that'll be a challenge." He shook his head. "We did surgery with low expectations; we didn't figure she was going to make it either way. And sadly, we were right. I'm sorry but the young woman in there is dead."
         No. She couldn't be. Not after everything Kate did to try and save her. "You're sure?"
         "Positive."
         Dammit all to hell. She'd failed again.
         Her eyes squeezed shut and she turned away from the doctor, walking back into the waiting room and out of the hospital. The entire journey back home all she could think about was that girl.
         And how she had failed her.
         Just like she had failed Mama all those years ago.
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No, dad, I'm okay. I told you, he wasn't after me. He was after - "
         "Michelle Lewis, I know. I know. I just don't like the thought of you being so close to a murderer. You could have gotten hurt, Kay." He was frustrated.
         But so was she, dammit. Why couldn't he see that she had to do what she did or else a lot worse could have happened to the girl? She answered her own question.
         He was protective. Sometimes overbearing. And didn't want to see her dead.
         "I did what I had to do."
         He shook his head. "No. You did it because you knew it would upset me."
         She stiffened. "You couldn't possibly mean that, Brad." Brad. How long had it been since she'd called him that? At least a year. Maybe more. But it didn't matter. His comment had hurt her and she couldn't bring herself to call him her father. Not that it mattered anyway, after all he wasn't even technically her father. She just called him that because she had been with him since she was eight.
         His hand was on the handle of the apartment's door and he started to turn it. His expression dark, he said, "You better believe I do. I’ll talk to you later, Kate." Brad opened the door and turned, storming from the room and making his way down the hallway to the elevator.
         Naturally Kate followed him.
         "Damn you, Brad. Don't walk away from me. Why would you ever think something like that? You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. Never." She folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at him, leaning against the wall beside him.
         He looked at her and for the first time in the many years she had known him, she saw a flicker of... what? Tiredness? Worry? Old age? Those were only to be expected, though, especially from a man his age. He was fifty-four years old and wasn't getting any younger, and every story she told him lately didn't seem to help any. Just the other day she was telling him about this man she was seeing and how much she really liked him and about how much she thought he really liked her. It couldn't have been easy for him to hear her talking like that.
         And now with this added story of how she tried to save that Michelle Lewis girl it was a miracle he hadn't gone insane with worry.
         Brad sighed and shook his head. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. He stepped in, pressed the "close doors" button, and said, "I'll call to check up on you later. Good day, Kate." The doors shut once more before she got a chance to reply.
         I'll call to check up on you later.
         He had acted like she was the victim in this whole thing, not Michelle Lewis or her family. Well, to hell with him. She'd be damned if she were just going to sit around and twiddle her thumbs while the police tried to figure out who the attacker had been. Because even though he hadn't hurt her, there was something about the way he had looked at her when he heard her coming. It was as if he had expected her to come, anticipated it even. Then thought crossed her. What if the girl had only been killed to get at Kate?
         No. Don't be ridiculous. There was no way someone could be that horrible, no way.
         Still, she couldn't help but wonder what if.
         Kate sighed and went back into her apartment. She grabbed a coat and was about to walk back out when her cell phone rang.
         "This is Kate... Yes. No, don't worry about it. I was on my way out anyway. I'll just swing by and.. What?" She sighed, listening to the voice on the other end. "Son of a bitch. Alright. No, I'm on my way." She hung up her phone and hurried out the door, locking it behind her.

* * *

Where is he?" asked Kate as soon as the door had been pulled open. She took a step inside and started looking around the area.
         "Hello to you too," came the reply. She turned around and merely smiled at the young man closing the door. He glanced at her and sighed, seeing her expression. "He's in the kitchen. But be careful! He's eating!" exclaimed the young man as Kate walked down the hallway.
         She passed many different doors before finding the one that lead to the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and pushed open the door.
         The room was a nice size; not too big, not too small – just right. It had a joint dining room in the back with a well-dusted glass chandelier hanging in the center of the room's ceiling. That actual kitchen part, with the stove and refrigerator and other customary kitchenware, was much smaller than the dining room. It consisted of just the necessities – a dishwasher, stove, oven, microwave, toaster, and refrigerator. The cabinets which held all of the silverware, plates and cups were in the dining room, along with a newly-bought oak-wood table.
         A young boy was perched on top of the table, his hand stuck in a large cookie jar.
         "Nicholas Lee Scott. What on earth do you think you're doing?"
         He jumped and nearly fell off the table. When he saw who it was, however, he sighed a breath of relief and continued digging in the jar.
         "I'm getting a cookie. What's it to you?"
         Kate's gaze narrowed on him. She'd always thought he had a pompous attitude, even if he was only eight, and God only knew how much she hated it. "It's a lot to me. Why are you back? Where's your father?"
         Nicholas lifted his small shoulders as he pulled his hand out of the jar finally, a large chocolate chip cookie grasped firmly in his grip. Of course he didn't know; he never knew. His father was a big shot lawyer who didn't give two dimes about the boy and got rid of him at every possible turn, claiming he had to go off somewhere for work. Work which would, naturally, keep him away for months at a time; Kate blamed this for the boy's selfishness and king-of-the-world attitude.
         He bit into the cookie and stared at Kate as if waiting for something.
         She stayed where she was, her arms folded across her chest, and her foot tapping against the hardwood floor. "Off the table. Now."
         "No. It's not your house, and I'm not your kid; you can't tell me what to do," he said with an air of defiance. The very same defiance that she'd known him to have even when he was half the age he was at this point in time.
         "This may not be my house, but it's not yours either. Get off the table, Nicholas. Your father would not at all be pleased to hear you misbehaving, now would he?" She paused. "Then again, he probably wouldn't care, would he? He doesn't seem to care much about you at all, if you ask me." She threw out the father crack just as an experiment – she hadn't really expected him to react since his father wasn't much apart of his life.
         But he did.
         And it wasn't going to go unnoticed, no matter how hard he tried to pretend it hadn't stung.
         "He does care about me! You don't know anything. You never did! You're dumb and mean and just leave me alone!" Having said this, he leapt off the table and ran across the room. He tried to get passed her, but she stopped him, grabbing hold of his shoulders firmly and glaring down at him.
         "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'll leave you alone, sure, as soon as you straighten up your attitude."
         He glared up at her, struggling under her grip. "What makes you think I'd do anything for you?"
         She smiled. "Because I know for a fact that if you don't, your precious father is shipping you off to a boarding school. Or worse, boot camp."
         His eyes widened at this possibility and he quickly shook his head. "No he wouldn't! You're lying! That's all you ever do! Lie, lie, lie!" He ripped out of her grip and shoved passed her, running out of the room and down the hallway, disappearing up a flight of stairs.
         Kate sighed and shook her head. As much as she couldn't stand him, she couldn't help but feel a little hurt by his accusations. After all, they were true. How many times did she have to lie to her friends and teachers and even counselors during her time in school? Too many to count, for sure. And even now, at age twenty-five, she was constantly finding herself lying to new people about her parents and her life up to that point. She hated to do it, but she’d been doing it for so long that it was like a second nature to her, and she couldn't stop.
         "He doesn't mean it, you know."
         She was stirred out of her thoughts by the same voice which had welcomed her into the home to begin with. Kate turned and smiled at the familiar young man.
         "You might not think so, Riley, but I know he does. He wouldn't say it if he didn't."
         Riley shook his head. No, believe me, he doesn't. He's just upset and confused and – "
         "Oh for Christ's sake, Riley, stop making up excuses for the boy. He's eight years old - "
         "Exactly," he interrupted, a hint of irritation shining through his voice. "He's only eight years old and barely able to comprehend a simple addition problem. Do you honestly think he knows, let alone believes, what he's saying?"
         Kate simply stared at him.
         Unbelievable.
         Of all the people, she had expected Riley to understand Nicholas the most, and here, she was finding that he knew nothing at all.
         How remarkable.
         "Of course he does! He may only be eight, but he knows the difference between right and wrong and that every action has its consequences. Which corresponds hand-in-hand to meaning everything that you say and never say something that you don't mean. He knows that, dammit, and don't try to tell me that he doesn't."
         He stared at her in bewilderment, obviously unprepared for the words she'd slung his way, and it took him a moment to recollect his thoughts. Once he had, however, he started again. "Listen to what you're saying, Kate. You're saying, no - assuming, that he knows that. But give me one example of where he shows this knowledge. Just one and I'll drop the whole thing."
         She shook her head and brushed passed him. "Drop it anyway, this whole argument is ridiculous. Where's your father at?"
         He sighed. In relief? wondered Kate as she walked steadily in front of him. Probably. She knew he had always been afraid of her, even if he never admitted it directly, and it was that fear that made him dread arguing with her. Not because she was fierce, but because she was determined. Determined in making her point made and having the last say. Which she'd gotten in the encounter just a few seconds ago.
         When he didn't reply to her question, she glanced over her shoulder with a raised brow.
         This seemed to bring him out of whatever state he was in and quickly pointed to the left with his thumb. "He's in the library. I think he shall be pleased to see that you came."
         "Why didn't he - "
         Riley gave her the "I don't know" look and shrug and walked passed her, disappearing into a different room near the front entrance.
         Kate shook her head and stopped in front of a pair of large, oak-wood doors. She gripped their brass swirl handles and pushed down, releasing the locks from within. She hesitated, however, in opening them. It'd been a while since she'd seen him and she didn't know whether or not she ought to savor the following moment. Thinking it over, she thought it best to just take a deep breath and wing it – which is exactly what she did.
         With a deep breath, she pressed down on the handles once more and pulled open the doors and walked into the large spacious room, not having any idea as to what the meeting could be about. Unless it was about Nicholas. Then she had an idea and it wasn't a very pleasing one at that.
         As she made her way across the room, the chair she had been staring at swivelled around and a man appearing to be around Brad’s age, stared back at her with such intensity as meant to scare her. She shook it off, however, and continued walking until she met up with his desk.
         With a small, seemingly forced smile, he spoke calmly and indicated with an open palm, "Sit."
         Kate glanced around for a moment before seeing an open chair behind her. Quickly she sat in it and pulled it up to the desk, ready for whatever her acquaintance might have to throw at her and even more ready to throw it right back.

* * *

Absolutely not!" exclaimed Kate for the hundredth time. As if to prove that her mind was made up, she pushed herself out of her chair and started heading for the door.
         She wasn't quick enough, however, and the man grabbed her arm just as she reached out for the handles.
         "Please, Kate. If you won't do this for me, do it for the boy!"
         God, was he really trying to play the guilt card on her?
         "He has no one to care for him anymore. His father doesn't want him and I have too much responsibility as it is. You're the last person who can help him and if you walk out on him, too, it'll only prove to him that there is not a single decent person on this God-for-saken planet."
         Oh yeah.
         He was.
         Leave it to good ol' Samuel Johansen to play the trump card.
         Kate sighed resignedly as she lightly banged her head on one of the oak doors. This action proved to be fatal.
         "Great! I'll inform Riley of the news and we'll have Nicholas's stuff packed up in no time at all!" He pulled her into a tight hug as he thanked her before releasing her. He hurried off quickly after, not waiting to hear any of her protests.
         Which she had plenty, rest assured.
         We'll have Nicholas's stuff packed up in no time at all.
         Great. Just what I need. Another pain in the ass annoyance to get in the way of my studies.
         Hoo. Rah.
         Groaning and thinking back to what had lead Sam to that awful decision, she walked out of the library slowly and leaned against it's doors as she waited for someone to tell her that it was all some kind of joke. That she wasn't going to be taking some snot-nosed kid home to stay with her for God only knew how long. But unfortunately that didn't happen.
         On the contrary. The exact opposite happened.
         Nicholas walked up to her, suitcase in tow, with a look of great indifference to the matter. It was almost as if this were no new thing to him, like he had to do this everyday, and it wasn't to be a surprise to him if he were to be dropped back off the very next day.
         Trailing behind him was his uncle and cousin, both of whom looked as though they couldn't wait to see the boy out of their house and into someone else's care. A sudden sadness overwhelmed her just then and she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the boy. That was quickly pushed aside, though, when he stated quite simply,
         "We can leave anytime now, Kate."
         She forced herself to take a deep breath and smile, before steering him lightly towards the door. She passed Samuel and Riley and gave both of them the ugliest looks imaginable; she'd never forgive them for doing this to her. They simply shrugged and shut the door after she had walked through it. To them, they had found a way to get rid of their biggest burden for a while and there was no way they weren't going to take advantage of that.
         The trunk of her SUV was opened as she walked down the steps to the driveway and she helped a protesting Nicholas with his suitcase. When it was out of the way of everything else, she told him to watch his fingers (to which he replied he wasn't a baby and didn't need to be warned of such silly things) and slammed the door shut.
         "YEEEEOOUUCH," cried Nicholas, holding his left hand gingerly, tears beginning to brim up in his eyes.Kate glanced sideways at him as she made her way to the driver's side of the vehicle. She said no words of comfort and in fact merely laughed at his pain as she climbed into the front seat. The vehicle was started and Nicholas climbed into the front passenger's seat, still doting over his fingers as they backed out of the driveway.



Riley watched Kate drive down the street from one of the windows in the library. After a momentary pause, he turned to his father who was sitting behind his desk once more, over looking some documents.
         "She didn't seem to keen on the idea of taking him, father," said he, a note of worry in his tone.
         His father barely glanced up at him. "Don't worry, my boy. It was for the best and you know it. We can't get anything accomplished around here when he's with us and she is the best tool we have to get him away. But we must hurry, nonetheless."
         "Why? What for? With him out of the way, we have all the time in the world, don't we, father?" It didn't make sense to him as to why they ought to be so pressed for time now, when the boy had been taken care of.
         "Because I said so, dammit! Now go, leave me to my thoughts and papers. I have many things to do and many people to talk to and I can't be distracted by the likes of you."
         Properly deflated, Riley sauntered out of the room and shut the doors behind him.
         When he was completely alone, Samuel Johansen finished scanning the documents in front of him and slowly drifted off into his own thoughts.
         The boy was gone and out of his hair, but that didn't mean he hadn't heard something, while either being with his father or even under his own charge. And who was to say he wouldn't leak whatever he had heard to Kate? Could he risk something so big as his current mission? The answer came simply and a lot quicker than he himself had expected.
         No.
         He couldn't.
         He wouldn't.
         He didn't.
         Samuel picked up the phone laying on his desk and punched in some numbers. He waited with much impatience as the line on the other end continued to ring, and he soon began to fear that he’d have to call back later. Fortunately for him and the sake of everyone else, the line was finally picked up.
         Without anything so much as a hello from the other person, he jumped right into his reasons for calling.
         "Johansen, sir. We have a problem."