Canon Chronicles I: Chapter 4 of 6

    Liam sat on the sofa, and watched her as Alexa stood in front of the window. She looked like she was in some sort of trance as she watched the blizzard outside.

    "The Ortega case started a year before the trail happened," she said, chuckling darkly to herself, "It all started with a fly."

    "A fly?"

    "One of the members of the ring was sitting in the house, and he saw a fly. All he wanted to do was kill the fly. He hit the table a little too hard, and a gun resting on the tabletop went off and killed one of the other members," she explained, "There was some sort of fight, no one was sure what started it, but it turned into a massacre."

    Liam frowned.

    "The police ruled the whole incident as a terrible accident, and a prime example of how crazy people get with a couple snorts of cocaine in their system. Well, some people got pissed off, and drive by shootings started around the city. It was too late before detectives realized that it was all related. In the whole mess, another member of a different drug ring was shot and killed, and a underground civil war started, lead by Ortega himself. He directed all the assaults, planned all of the murders...it was horrible. So many innocent people were caught in the middle," Alexa rest her head on the glass, "I was brought into the mix when he was picked up for an overdue parking ticket and they discovered a body in the trunk of his car."

    "God."

    "That opened the door to everything. At first no one in the group would admit to anything, and then Ortega's right-hand man came forward. He contacted me directly, and that was then that I learned the body in the trunk was his brother," she continued, "He was a Russian, and spoke to me because I could speak Russian as well. He told me everything I needed, even volunteered to testify against his boss in revenge for his brother. His name was Ivan. When I asked him why he was telling everything to me, he said it was because I reminded him of his sister, who had been killed the previous year by the same man he worked for."

    She would remember Ivan as long as she lived. He was the first person that had opened her eyes to true evil.

    Liam was quiet a moment, "What happened to him?"

    "He was murdered in his cell a day before the trail. We still had all the evidence we needed, but Ivan was dead anyway. It was my fault," she said, "At the trial, all the evidence pointed to Ortega as having all the blame. He was guilty, and the jury was inclined to agree. He was worried about them casting a guilty verdict, and on the last day of the trail, members of his group burst into the courtroom and began to open fire."

    A tear ran down her cheek as she rubbed the center of her chest. It was hurting her so badly that she could almost remember the punch when she had been shot.

    "Ortega shot me himself. He just grabbed a gun, found me, and shot me square in the chest," she said, "He told me I was too free-spirited, and that it was an disgusting trait for a woman. He stared down at me on the courtroom floor as I lay in my own blood, and told me that I would rot in hell for what I did to him. I told him that if I went to hell, I would drag him with me and be content spending the rest of eternity watching him rot for what he did."

    Alexa smirked slightly at her comment. The look on his face at her response back then would have made her death almost worth it to her, "My brother Mikhail arrived on the scene first, he was the one who shot Ortega. Apparently, Mik tore through the guards at the front, and took out a few of Ortega's men to get to me," Alexa chuckled to herself, "The NYPD suspended him for a week for defying orders, and then gave him a medal when he came back honorable duty."

    Mikhail had barely left her side, he had struggled to keep her alive until the EMTs arrived. In the end, five people had died, six including her had been injured, and everyone had earned everlasting memories of that day. Since then, she and her brother shared a bond that they didn't have with anyone else. No one in their family complained about it, nor did they even comment about it. Mikhail had saved her life, and that was that.

    "When I got out of the hospital, and I just couldn't stand to be in New York. It was too crowding, so I took some time off and came here," she said, "I just had to spend a little time away to let the memories settle."

    It was hard to believe that the fragile looking woman in front of him was the nationally recognized, spit-fire lawyer that had a high success rate. Alexa Canon had graduated from Harvard with full honors, and had worked her way through criminal law. She was one of the most prominent attorneys in the country.

    Now she was standing in front of the window, tears streaming down her cheeks, and looked completely lost. Liam stood, and wrapped his arms around her. Alexa froze in his grasp, unused to the gesture. Her brothers had held her numerous times, but she had never been held by a man like Liam before. When he felt her settle against his chest, he allowed himself to forget a few moments of the suffering that he had recently gone through, and the men that were out to kill him.

    "Alexa?" he turned his head and pressed his face into her neck.

    She said nothing. Alexa knew that if she said anything at the moment she would break.

    "You are an amazing woman," he said, "Most people, even seasoned lawyers, may never have had even half the experiences that you've had."

    Alexa scrubbed a hand over her face. There was something about his soothing voice that was calming her. Telling her troubles to him had already begun to lift a great burden off her shoulders. It felt like he was always meant to be there with her, and she felt like she was supposed to be standing in the living with his arms around her.

    "Alexa? Look at me."

    It was foolish to feel something for this man she had known for barely two days. But when she turned to see him, she felt no surprise when his lips found hers. Turning in his arms, she gripped the front of his sweater, tipping her head back to give him complete control. He tasted wonderful, and she couldn't stop herself from raising her hands and touching his face.

    When he stepped back, she stepped with him. There was a crack of the fire and crumble of a log from the fireplace, and Liam scooped her up in his arms, falling backwards into the sofa. She wiggled out of his arms to straddle his waist, sitting in his lap, and bent her face over to attack his mouth. He was clinging to her as if she was keeping him from falling over an edge. His fingers threaded through her hair, pulling it free of its ties and letting it fall freely down her back.

    She leaned forward and melted into him, then jumped as he grasped. Liam winced as the pain from his injured ribs slowly subsided as Alexa quickly drew back.

    "Oh god, you're ribs," she said, "I'm sorry, Liam, I forgot."

    He simply stared at her, his mind blank. Goddamn ribs. Of all the times for one of his 'on the job injuries' to hold him back, it had to be right then. What he wanted to do was drag her to the floor and have his way with her there, but his body had momentarily prevented him from doing so by reminding him of his adventures in the Colorado woods.

    "Alexa," he breathed, he was unable to do anything more at the moment.

    Her knowing eyes gazed back at him, and she smiled back, stroking his cheek, "It's getting late, we should go to bed. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

    Liam nodded, and then asked, "Would you stay with me?"

    She blushed, and thought a moment. It would be good to have company, and someone to keep away her nightmares while she kept his away.

    "Sure," she said, "Liam?"

    "Hm?"

    "What's your name?" she asked, “Your whole name?

    She was more perceptive than he gave her credit. "Gray," he told her, "Liam Gray."

    Alexa thought a moment, and then smiled again, "It suits you."

    "I'm glad you approve." he helped her to her feet, threaded his fingers through hers, and lead her back down the hallway.

    Alexa woke to find the bed empty. She sat up, pushing her hair out of her face, and glanced around to see where Liam had gone. For a brief second she thought that he may have simply left, and then heard the sound of wood chopping outside. Pulling a afghan around her shoulders, she slipped her boots on and opened the door.

    The sky was clear, and she breathed in the clean air. New snow blanketed the whole area, and she walked around the porch to find Liam on the side of the cabin chopping wood.

    "Liam?"

    He looked up, and smiled, "Hey."

    Han looked up at her from the other side of the porch, he had followed Liam outside, sensing Liam uneasiness as the storm let up. Although Han had needed the walk, he would have been able to pick up signs if anyone had been there more quickly than Liam would have.

    "Are you okay with that?" she asked, "Aren't your ribs hurting you?"

    "I wrapped them this morning. They're sore, but they're better than yesterday. If I don't move around some, I'll get too restless," he said, "There's coffee. I'll be back in a few minutes."

    "Um...okay."

    Liam glanced over at her standing on the top step. He strolled across the front, and kissed her from where she stood on the balcony.

    "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," he said, "I don't leave a woman after she saves my life and I drink her coffee."

    Alexa smiled, kissed him back, and went inside.

    Liam waited until she was inside to glance back at the forest. He glared at the tree line, knowing that he was being hunted at that very moment. Han pushed at him in the side of the leg and Liam reached down to pet him.

    "That's right, Han," he said, rubbing the dog's head and he gathered the firewood, "Keep a sharp lookout."

    Liam carried the firewood inside, and stacked enough for the next few days. Han followed him through the house as he washed up before heading to the kitchen. For the first time since he had arrived, Alexa had the television on. Liam had a feeling she had been avoiding the television before so she had not had to watch stories about her case.

    He was coming on the third day of living with her. She still didn't know much about him beyond his name. Looking at the abrasions on his wrist, the wounds were quickly fading. In a way, his time with Alexa was healing more than just the wounds on the surface. Liam couldn't even remember the last time he had allowed himself to simply sit and relax.

    Catching sight of the telephone in the study, he turned towards the kitchen.

    "I'll be right there."

    "Okay," Alexa answered back happily from the kitchen.

    Liam stepped into the study, and picked up the phone. It was time for him to return to reality.

    He began dialing numbers. Once he entered the phone system, there was a time frame that began that allowed enough time for a person to type in the appropriate codes before it would automatically cut the connection. Liam was used to it, even though it could be a pain, and effortlessly began punching in his designation number. There were a few more rings, and then Liam entered in the number for one of his co-workers. With all his luck, everyone thought he was dead and lost and already had a funeral for him. That would be the day.

    The rings stopped, and someone viciously cursed at him over the phone, "Goddamn it, Shadow, how many f*****g times have I told you to check in when your on the job? We thought you were dead. If you had waited any longer, we would have declared you MIA and started dragging out the bagpipes."

    Liam called the man on the phone 'Ice'. Ice was a fellow agent known for his particular ruthlessness and calculating personality. "I know, I know. Some things came up. It's kind of hard to check in when you've been captured and tied to a chair."

    There was a silence on the phone, "Oh s**t, they caught you?" there were another string of inventive curses in Russian, "I told him. I told that son of a b***h that we needed to send back-up after you."

    “The new director of operations still giving you grief?”

    “He's new and his knowledge extends only to sucking up to the right people, which means that he knows absolutely s**t about the actual job. I predict he'll last a month,” Ice sighed, “Where are you?”

    "I have the coordinates. It's in the Rockies. I managed to escape, almost turned into a hunk of ice in the process."

    There was a pause, "Where in the Rockies?"

    "Colorado."

    There was another uneasy silence, "Are you-"

    "Yeah," Liam smirked and leaned against the table. Ice knew where he was, and Liam had to swallow a burst of laughter that was threatening to come out of his throat, "Small world, huh?"
   
    "You're there with Alexa?" Ice asked him, "How is she?"

    "She's fine. Held up pretty good in the weather, he said, his face turning serious, "God, Ice, she's amazing. She dragged me in from that blizzard and saved my life."

    "Shadow-"

    "Don't worry, while I'm here she's under my protection," Liam replied, "Plus, I think...nevermind." he trailed off and scowled, finding it difficult to admit to Ice what was stirring in the back of his mind. It was silly too, since Ice was one of his best friends.

    "Think, what?" Ice glared into the phone.

    "Its foolish of me anyway," Liam shook his head, "I'll protect her, it'll be alright. I've got the coordinates in my head, you can send a team over there and bust them. I suggest ASAP as they'll probably pack up soon if they can't find me, they'll suspect I went to the authorities. The leader knew I was someone important, but I didn't confirm anything."
   
    "Roger that," Ice scribbled the coordinates down as Liam recited them, "I'll get a team together and pick you up on the way back. We'll set up a ride for you, something that causes the least amount of notice."

    Liam was quiet for a moment, and then he shrugged, "Alright."

    Ice detected the hint of distress in Liam's voice, but made no mention of it. Liam had to know that he would have to return to work. The world that Liam lived in was completely different then the one Alexa was in.

    "Shadow?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Get some rest, take it easy, and if you do anything to hurt Lexi, I'll kill you."
   
    "Yes, sir," Liam chuckled, rolling his eyes.

    "Watch your back, Agent Shadow," Ice warned him, "There's something going on here and I don't like it. The CIA can't afford to loose one of its best operatives."