"Some people are saying you are too young for this job. Did you know that?"

"Yes, sir."

"But the director himself chose you for this."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't get too cocky. You're young, yes, and that's what we need. Your target himself is young and might present you with difficulties. You must do anything – anything -- in your power to succeed in this mission. Your youth is an asset in this case.

"Yes, sir."

"Remember, Kara. You must not fail. You cannot fail."

"Yes, sir."

She tried to hold on to those words.

"You must not fail, Kara."

But his kisses seared into her very soul.

Who would have thought this would happen? As a member of a secret unit of the System Police -- called the Guild by many of its members -- she had been trained to hold herself distant, to be incapable of such things as compassion. But who could have known that her quarry would be so darkly attractive? So seriously intense?

"This young man is extremely dangerous. You know he must die. He has killed innocents before."

Yet how could she believe that after he'd touched her with such gentleness? Was the Guild mistaken?

"Kara. Are you alright?"

His voice, thick with sleep and exhaustion, pulled her back to the present. She turned to face him in his bed.

Why had she told him her real name? "I'm fine. Why?"

"You just seem awfully quiet tonight. And distant." He rolled on top of her and kissed her. "Even when I do that."

She smiled absently and pushed him away. "I'm just tired. I'm going to sleep."

"Sorry."

"It's okay." She rolled over, her back to him. He pulled her close and she let him. In the two weeks since they had met, their lives had become so intertwined. Two weeks and she felt as if she'd known him forever.

Maybe there was a way out of this. She could tell him the truth and they could hide. It could be done, if they really wanted to...

She tossed the keys on top of the coffee table. The apartment was unusually silent. She sorted absently through his bills, wondering if he might be out. He kept odd hours and she didn't know where he went then. She had tried following him once but he had lost her quickly.

She opened the door to the bedroom and froze halfway inside.

He was there and so was someone else.

"Kara. We've been waiting for you."

The Guild. One of the Masters from the Guild. Kara stared at the man holding a knife to his throat as he knelt on the floor.

"Kenneth—"

"This man from the Guild – I'm sure you know him – came by and told me some interesting things."

The Guildmaster pressed the knife harder against Kenneth's throat. "Be quiet."

Kenneth's pale blue eyes gazed into hers. "Let her do it. Let her kill me. It's her job, after all. Isn't it, Kara?"

She gaped at them, speechless for a moment, before summoning enough presence of mind to talk. "Master. What are you doing here?"

"We were concerned by your delay, Kara. I came here to see if you required assistance. Apparently you require much more than that." He grinned. "Have you forgotten all your lessons, young one? Let me remind you. And the best way, I think, is to kill your lover right here before your very eyes."

She stared at him in horror.

"Will you let me kill him, I wonder? Or will you try to stop me and reveal yourself as a traitor?"

"I—I—"

"You what? You would have done it eventually? Is that what you're trying to say?"

Kara looked at Kenneth but his eyes were too cool.

"Take out your knife, girl, and prove it."

She couldn't move.

In that breath, that moment of stillness, Kenneth sprang into action.

He was too fast for either one of them. He was a dream weaver, after all, and in his reality, time moved as he wished. He spun and grabbed the Guildmaster's hand. With a twist, he broke it. With a blow, he knocked the man out.

Kara's breath caught in her throat when she felt him come behind her, pressing the knife against her neck. "I wouldn't have killed you," she told him steadily.

"I wish I could believe you," he murmured. He removed the knife and she sagged in relief.

Then there was pain, in her back, in her spine. Her body grew rigid and she let out a strangled cry.

She fell to her knees, blood warm on her skin. The knife fell to the floor beside her, stained red.

"You lied to me once. How do I know you won't lie again?" he said softly in her ear.

Darkness clouded her vision. She tried to speak but her tongue would not move.

"Your Guild took something away from me once. You won't take my life."

She was shoved to the floor and she heard footsteps cross the room. The door opened and closed. And then there was silence.