The night before...

"Alisha! I need you to pierce my ears!", Jan called out as she checked her lipstick in the mirror.

"Why'd you wait so long?", her friend and roommate asked from her bedroom.

"I almost forgot!" Jan was in a big hurry. She'd been running late all day, but her date never ran late. "I'm coming in", Jan announced and opened Alisha's door.

"You've never had your ears pierced?", Melissa inquired from the living room.

"Umm, yeah, I've had them pierced before", Jan said to stall. She didn't want to have to explain this. Melissa didn't know about Jan's ability to heal, or didn't remember that she knew. "My ears close up every time." Jan decided to tell the truth, just without any explanation.

"You should leave the earrings in there longer", Melissa offered.

"That was a disaster", Jan muttered under breath as she sat down and tilted her head so Alisha could get a good look at her right ear. Alisha got a needle and wash cloth from her dresser drawer. She grabbed Jan's earlobe and took aim. "Hey aren't you supposed to clean that thing first?", Jan asked.

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Why, to keep you from getting an infection?" Alisha stabbed Jan's lobe with the thick needle. "Hand me the earring." Jan handed Alisha both of them. Alisha poked it through the hole and wiped the one drop of blood to keep it from getting on Jan's beautiful new dress. Sara came in while Alisha was doing the other ear.

Jan took a breath after it was finished. She straightened her lacy pink and black single strap cocktail dress. "How do I look?", she asked her friends.

Alisha was about to say something, but instead she touched Jan one more time and took another good look before she created a life sized image of Jan in the center of the room. "That's how you look." Jan looked at Alisha and smiled. Sara closed the door so Melissa couldn't see any of this. As far as Sara's cousin's fiancee was concerned, Jan, Sara, and Alisha were just normal college students. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Jan studied the image and fixed some of the curls on her freshly styled hair. The hairdresser had put it up mostly, with curls in the back and on the sides. Jan's boyfriend like her hair up because it showed off the sweep her of neck. Jan just wanted to look her best for him. Her stylist had also added some blond highlights to Jan's hair which irked Alisha, but she had to admit that it looked good. Alisha adjusted Jan's image in real time as things changed. "Can you spin it around, so I can see the back?"

Alisha spun the animated image.

"This beats any mirror ever made. How do I look, Sara?"

She nodded. "I like it."

"Is that all you've got to say?"

Sara frowned. "I mean guys fall all over you when you're wearing sweats. How do you think you look when you actually dress up? It looks like you dressed up."

Alisha laughed causing her projection to falter before she straightened it out.

Jan turned towards Sara and inhaled to fuss, but Sara held up her hand. "You look great", Sara finally admitted.

Just then there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it", Avery, Sara's cousin, called out. "Good evening. Come on in. She's about ready", Avery drawled in his south Louisiana accent.

"Oohh, he's here!", Alisha squealed. Sara and Alisha pushed Jan out.

She walked down the hall to the living room where former MOSSAD agent Avraham Ben-Ami was waiting. "Hey", he greeted her simply. His face brightened with a smile that started in his heart and ended on his face.

"Hey to you", Jan said. They met in the middle of the room.

He had to stretch a little to kiss her. Jan was a vision standing in front of Avi in her dress. Her make-up was perfect; her hair was perfect, and she was wearing some wonderful designer t-strap shoes that were made for that dress. There was only one problem with them; they were four inch heels. Standing barefoot Jan was almost two inches taller than Avi, but with these shoes she could see the top of his head. He didn't care. He was more than man enough. "You smell wonderful and look even better", he whispered in her ear.

"Thank you", Jan whispered back. "You're pretty handsome yourself."

"Thanks for noticing", he teased and lead her out to the waiting car. Avi was in America on official business for his government so he only had one day with Jan before her birthday, but at least he was being chauffeured around town in a consulate car with a consulate driver and a security officer.

"How was your flight?", Jan asked after they were on the freeway.

"Long", he answered immediately. "But I'd fly to the moon in a Cessna just to see you."

Jan smiled then laughed. Avi leaned in for another kiss. They had been apart too long. Messages could only go so far.

Avi took Jan to her favorite place in town, a restaurant and club named Jonathan's. He walked into the place with Jan on his arm. Heads turned as soon as they entered. Many of the people in the club knew Jan because she played there on weekends. They were happy to see her with the boyfriend that she talked about all the time. The other people were just looking at her. Jan had been blessed with an intensely beautiful face complete with her radiant blue eyes, and a body that she had worked very hard to sculpt.

They got a seat near the stage. Louis, a friend of Jan's, was on the stage with his quartet working though his own brand of melodic jazz. Louis' playing and voice were perfect for the mood Jan was in. Once they were seated, she and Avi held hands across the table and were silent for a while. They had so much to say to each other, but they had to get over being together after being apart for so long. Avi lived and worked in Tel Aviv while Jan went to school in Atlanta. They planned on making the most of their time. By the time the meal arrived, they were carrying on normally.

"This red fish is quite good", Avi commented after downing a piece. He washed it down with a sip of wine. "So", he said after eating a little more fish. "did you have time to look at any more art after you'd finished dispatching the terrorists from the Revolution?" He grinned and took another forkful. Jan had already told Avi about her time as a hostage a few days before.

She looked down at the table with a grin before she replied. "I'm pretty cold, but not ice cold enough to enjoy the paintings after being a hostage. Besides, they had taken most of it off the walls by the time the fighting started."

"I understand the Revolution had a buyer set up for some of the art. They were going to raise lots of cash by selling that art. What they didn't want they were going to destroy to make their points."

"It just goes to show that you never have to dig too deep into a grandiose scheme to find money as a motivation."

"Speaking of motivation... I heard that your father allowed the company's new light scattering technology to be used in the rescue."

Jan raised an eyebrow. "Avi, I don't know what you're talking about", she replied with a straight face.

"You know what I'm talking about Jan, the devices that turn day into night. I heard it was a complete success, that it saved plenty of lives." Avi had some more wine.

Jan took a sip of tea then grinned. "Avi, you have to give me more credit than that. At least try and trick me into giving out information."

He shrugged his shoulders in a show of innocence. "What do you mean? I no longer work for Intelligence and Special Operations. I am a Foreign Affairs man now." He smiled at her, and tried to trap her in his gaze.

Jan narrowed her eyes. "Just because you're hatich doesn't mean I'm gonna spill the beans."

Avi smiled at Jan's Hebrew and at her compliment. "I promise, I'm not trying to get information. Matter of fact I'll give you some." He leaned in. "As soon as the testing phase is over, my government is going to order five compete sets of those damned things. Do you know how much that's going to cost us?"

"Not admitting that I know anything of what you're talking about, I can only imagine that it'll be enough to make my dad, and the stock holders very happy."

Avi laughed then smiled showing all his teeth. He had a wonderful smile. "Can you please talk to your father or uncle. We are a small country, we can't afford to pay the same price as big countries like the US."

Jan tisked. "I'm sorry Avi, but its a public company. There's nothing Dad or Uncle Drew could do to help you."

"Well, played Miss Caufield", Avi grinned and took a bite. "You could at least throw your boyfriend a bone. I flew halfway across the world just to see you."

Jan grinned. "You're looking aren't you?" She flicked some hair out of her face, and for some reason that action made Avi really excited.

He gently wiped his mouth. "Speaking of looking, I have something for you to see." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He held it across the table. "Happy birthday, Jan. I know its a few days early, but I can't wait."

Jan took the small box and opened it immediately. The two diamond earrings sparkled even in the low light. Jan felt faint. It was the exact reaction Avi wanted to see.

"My God Avi, these are beautiful!" She was a little loud, but she didn't care. She was so glad that she'd pierced her ears earlier. "My goodness, these diamonds are so clear. Avi, you didn't like spend too much on these did you? These are some of the nicest diamonds I've seen."

"I'm glad you like them. Don't worry how I got them. Only the best for you."

Jan pulled one of them out of the case, and held it up. "Avi, girls know diamonds like guys know steaks. These are very very nice. Just tell me, or I'll be worried about it forever."

Avi grinned and took Jan's hand. "It sounds like the set up to a joke, but I have a cousin on the diamond exchange board in Brussels who owed me a favor." Jan held the diamond earring up to the light with a look of wonder on her face. "A very big favor."

"I'm going to put these on. I'll be right back."

Avi smiled slyly. "Don't be long", he said, hoping all the while that she would be. He had planned this moment for weeks. In all that time, Jan had been on his mind.

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Downtown, FBI Agent Aaron Miles had Jan Caufield on his mind too as he looked over his shoulder the way perps did while they were committing a crime. Usually Agent Miles was the one locking criminals away, on this night he was becoming one. The lights were off as he sneaked his way into the underground file storage room beneath the Federal Building. He didn't have enough clearance to even look at the door of this room. Getting caught inside would not only mean the end of his career, but also a trip to prison. It was worth it though. He was being lied to by the men who were supposed to be the ones protecting the law. Instead they were protecting something else. He couldn't understand it, but he had a suspicion that the answer to his questions would be locked away in this storage room. It wasn't hard to get inside with the rest of the field agents running around like rats chasing the crumbs that the supervisors threw their way. Miles had taken the key card from the desk of the chief forensics guy who owed Miles a favor. He hoped to get the card back before the forensics guy got in trouble. If Miles did get caught he promised to keep the chief in the clear. Miles was willing to take his chances. He'd joined the Bureau to find the truth. He was going to find it, even if it ruined him.

Miles held a small flashlight between his teeth while he worked the filing cabinet lock with a simple folding knife. For all the security on the outside, the cabinets were junk. He had it open in no time. Miles grinned around the flashlight. For the first time he felt the thrill of committing a crime. He had been gathering his own evidence for days, so he knew what he was looking for.

He found the folder from the armored car robbery that Jan Caufield had reportedly thwarted, and the unidentified print from the door of the armored truck. He matched it against a print he had lifted from a soda can that Jan had used. It was a match to her left index finger. He smiled and kept looking. There were mountains of evidence from the terrorist attacks on the Art Gallery. Miles had been the first agent on the scene. After the assault to free the hostages, he'd been inside while the crime scene guys collected raw evidence, but the report had huge gaps. The report Miles had read didn't even mention the pool of blood on the upstairs floor. It hadn't mentioned the guy downstairs who looked like he'd been run over by a steam roller, and it didn't even mention at all that the terrorists had been strong enough to lift doors that weighed a ton. All of those things were true. He had seen them with his own eyes, and now the FBI was saying none of it had happened.

It had something to do with that Caufield girl, and he knew it. He had almost been willing to take their line of bullshit about her being innocent and pure, but no more. "Ahh", he said out loud when his fingers found what they'd been looking for. He pulled this file out and opened it. It was thick with the missing data. His eyes narrowed as he read the truth. The large pool of blood on the upstairs floor didn't belong to any of the terrorists because it came from a female, and the tissue stuck to the piece of art was a match to the blood pool, but there wasn't a hostage who had wounds consistent with either the pool of blood or the skin gouges. He read further. The blood sprayed all over the wall from the shotgun blast was also a match to the blood pooled on the floor and to the tissue stuck to the piece of art, but there was not one reported case of a hostage having a shotgun wound.

He put it all together in his head. There was one hostage who had lost more than a pint of blood, who'd been partially flayed by a piece of iron, and who'd gotten shot at close range by double ought buck, but this hostage hadn't gone to the hospital or the morgue. Miles checked his memory for the hostage list. There was only one hostage from the second floor who hadn't visited any doctor at all, and it was the same one who Miles had seen wearing blood soaked cloths. It was the same hostage who'd been hailed as a heroine by every single hostage from the second floor. It was the same girl who Miles had been bared from investigating. There was only one person from the second floor who's story was missing from the official report, Jan Caufield.

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Jan rushed to the bathroom holding Avi's presents. She had her own earrings off before the door had even closed. She looked in the mirror as she donned the her gifts. When she took out the other earrings, she could feel her body wanting to heal the holes in her ears, but Jan could control this part of her power. She turned it off completely. A couple of women in the bathroom looked on with envious glances as Jan put on her present and went out. Her head was full of stuff to say to Avi when she got back to the table, but Avi's chair was empty. She looked to her left towards the door and didn't see him. Then she heard something from the stage. Her face fell in surprise.

Avi was sitting in a chair on the stage accepting a vintage '52 Gibson ES-5 from Louis who winked at Jan then stepped off the stage. Avi grinned as Jan sat down with the look on her face that he had hoped to see. "Good evening everyone, my name is Avi Ben-Ami, and it is very nice to be here", people turned to the source of the voice and got a good look at Jan's green eyed boyfriend. "I would like to thank Louis for allowing me to be on stage. This is for a special person. Her birthday is soon, and many of you have seen her on this very stage playing for the audience, but this time, Jan, the song's for you."

Avi strummed a full lush chord to start his song. It was the sort of chord that Jan loved to play at the start of a jazzy blues song like this was turning out to be. She listened as the band started in with Avi before he leaned close to the microphone and sang, "I have a sweet little angel, and I love the way she spreads her wings/ when she spreads her wings around me/ I get joy... and everything."

Jan melted as she listened to Avi's surprisingly rich voice sing this BB King classic. People glanced at Jan, and she floated as she was serenaded from the stage. Avi knew that this was a gift that Jan would treasure even more than the earrings. Louis clapped from the side as Avi and the small band finished the song strong. The crowd applauded enthusiastically.

"That was wonderful!" Jan gushed. "You were great!" She leaned in they kissed once again.

"Only the best for you, Jan. I worked hard on it." Avi was still nervous. It had been a while since he'd played in front of a crowd that was actually paying attention, and it was the first time he had played for someone like Jan who was so special to him. Their relationship had grown into something more than either had thought that it would. It was strange since they lived on opposite sides of the world.

Not long after Avi had sat back at the table Louis came down. "Great job", he said after shaking Avi's hand. "Hey, I've had some requests. Would you mind going up and doing another couple of songs?"

Avi looked apprehensive. "I don't know too much in this vein." He looked at Jan, who frowned.

"Avi, get your butt back up on that stage before I throw you up there."

He grinned and let go of her hand. "If you insist, but don't expect much."

Jan listened to Avi work his way through a song with Louis at the vocals and he playing a mix of lead and rhythm. Avi wasn't a jazz player, he had been in a rock band in his younger days, but he was holding his own. Jan loved every second of it.

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Outside of Jonathan's, Agent Miles sat in his car with a cup of coffee and a camera. Jan Caufield was in that club. He couldn't talk to her. He'd been forbidden, but he could tail her. He wanted to catch her with her guard down and prove to his bosses than Miss Caufield was a fraud who had pulled the wool over their eyes. Her father Jack was rich, powerful and well connected. That wouldn't help his daughter when Miles exposed her.

He watched in the dark across and down the street when he saw a guy walk into the building. He was out with his girl to have a good time. Miles wished he had a chance to get a girl and have more of a social life. At the moment his life consisted of going out for a few drinks after work with buddies from work. Maybe one day he'd have more time, but for now he was the only agent in Atlanta looking for the truth. Miles wondered who that Caufield girl was in the club with. He found out quickly.

Aaron Miles was a trained federal agent, but he hadn't seen anybody near his car until he heard the knock on his passenger side window. He turned away from the building and looked. A medium sized man in a dark suit was looking back. Mile was startled for an instant. He settled on a course of action when he heard a voice through his driver side window. Two men had sneaked up on him in that short a time.

"Why are you watching that club?", the man by the driver window asked. He had a middle eastern accent. Miles brain searched for the origin.

"Official business. Get the hell away from my car", Miles answered.

The man didn't budge. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to move", he told Miles.

Miles moved his hand towards his pocket quickly. He didn't even notice that the man on the passenger side had his weapon drawn in a flash. Miles pulled out his wallet instead of his gun. He opened it so the man on the driver side could see his badge. "F.B.I. Now get the fuck away from my car."

The two Israeli Foreign Affairs men looked at one another and walked away. Once they were away, they called Avi to tell him that there might some trouble on the outside. Avi didn't answer. There might be some trouble on the inside too.

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Avi shrugged his shoulders as he came down from the stage. "How did I do this time?", he asked sheepishly. Jan started giving him pointers, but before she could finish, Jonathan Thibeaux, owner of the club, came to the table to wish Jan a happy birthday. He brought a bottle of Korbel even though it was a still a few days before Jan's 20th birthday, and she was more than a year from being legal. He wouldn't tell if she didn't.

"Great playin", he told Avi. "I almost went in my office when you were playin that last number."

Avi looked confused. Jan grinned and explained, "See Jonathan is a trumpet player from the Vieux Carré. When the band's hitting just right, he'll jump on stage and join in."

Jonathan grinned and patted Avi on the shoulder. "Almost young man, almost." He started to leave. "Happy Birthday Jan."

Avi poured his girl a glass. They enjoyed a couple of glasses before Avi's phone rang again. He answered it reluctantly. He said something in Hebrew then looked at Jan. "That FBI agent is out there staking the place. Do you want to leave?"

Jan frowned and thought about it. After a moment she looked up. "Screw him."

Avi laughed. "I concur." He poured her another glass. They would drink the entire bottle before they left. When they did walk out, the driver and security official already had the car ready. They drove towards Avi's hotel, but Jan had other ideas.

"Stop here", she told the driver as they got close to Avi's hotel. He slowed, but didn't stop. "Yeah, let us out." He looked at Avi.

Avi looked at his girlfriend and grinned. "It's probably not a good thing to make her ask a third time." The car stopped in front of Olympic Park. Avi helped Jan from the car. They walked hand in hand through the gates. The park police would be closing it soon, but she and Avi had time to enjoy this little oasis for a while. Lit up at night, and mostly quiet, this park was pretty romantic. They stepped onto the grass near a lovely winter flower garden, and Jan's heels sank into the soil. Jan reached down and pulled off her t-strap shoes. The damp grass felt crunchy under her feet. She held her shoes in one hand and Avi in the other.

They looked out of place in the park, she in her cocktail dress, and he in his chic Italian suit. They walked with each other until Avi couldn't take it anymore. His passion had been building all night. He spun Jan around. He paused only a moment to admire her beauty before he pressed his lips to hers. Jan crossed her arms lazily across Avi's shoulders and ran her long fingers through his buzzed hair. He inhaled her scent again, and admired her.

A park police officer waited in a shadow several feet from the couple, waiting on a chance to act. He didn't know that the former Israeli spy and former Treasury agent knew that he was standing there. After their latest embrace, he moved in. "Park's closing", he told them as gently as he could. They were certainly a lovely couple, but a job's a job. They looked at him and smiled.

Jan and Avi went to his hotel. The elevator was full so they went up the stairs to the second floor. She held his hand as they went up the carpeted steps, but Avi was more interested in looking at Jan's legs as she negotiated the stairs. He couldn't take his eyes off of her calves as they bunched and sharpened with each step. She walked up on the balls of her feet giving those wonderful calves no rest. They went from lightly flexed to hard. His eyes wondered up her body to her thighs and up to her ass. He could see the muscles of her hamstrings tighten. He watched her hips swish from one side to side. It was hypnotic and erotic. Jan's body was an unequaled mix of genetics and hard work. He wondered if she knew how sexy she was. She turned around and shot him a look as they came to the top of the stairs. Avi smiled. Yeah, she knew.

They came to his room still holding hands. Avi opened the door, and Jan pulled him inside. They held each other for a while. "The night was wonderful", Jan told Avi, her voice soft in the moment.

"You're wonderful", he said quietly. He gently pulled her close. He needed to feel her next to him. They had been apart for so long. He felt the heat from her smooth skin. He ran his hand up her arm feeling the hardness of her muscles and the softness of her skin. He tickled the fine hairs as he slowly swept his hand up and over her shoulder. He traced the sweep of her elegant neck. She was too much. He nibbled Jan's neck. She moaned, and her head rolled back. Avi went at it harder. Another moan escaped her lips. It was soft, airy, and full of passion. Avi's lips, tongue, and teeth worked down her neck then down to the center of her chest. Tingles followed. She rubbed her hands across Avi's masculine shoulders and back. His affections increased. She pulled the jacket from his shoulders. Jan raised her leg as she took his head in her hands and pressed her lips to his. She worked his lips lightly with her tongue almost innocently and hesitantly. Avi pressed forward. He took a step towards the bed. Jan grinned and pushed Avi to the bed. He bounced and settled on his elbows.

The lights in the room were low, and the brightest one shined behind Jan, bathing her body in a mix of shadow and light. She moved slowly in that shadow, reaching behind her to the zipper. Avi agonized as she slowly freed herself from the dress. Jan was a lot of things to a lot of different people. She was both a hero and a villain, powerful and vulnerable, a great friend and a dangerous enemy, but when she was with Avi, she was just a woman. She didn't have to be anything else. All of her defenses could fall away, and they did, leaving her naked in front of Avi even before her lacy pink cocktail dress hit the floor. A touch of self consciousness and nervousness crossed her face as she stood wearing only her diamond earrings.

Avi looked on with a mix of lust, affection, and awe. He had never seen another woman with a body like hers. He didn't need to say a word. His face said it all. He reached his hand to her, and Jan reached out to him. He pulled her onto the bed. She straddled him between her long legs as she climbed above him. Her hair fell down like an earthly halo. Their eyes met. "I love you", she said softly.

Avi kissed her quickly. "I love you Jan Caufield." He put his arms around her back and rolled quickly. Jan smiled up at him as she rolled. She was ready for him. His eyes swept Jan's body from head to toe. His hands followed, touching her where she needed to be touched. Jan squirmed and moaned as Avi worked his magic. Nobody could make her feel the way he did. She floated at the edge of pleasure before he finally send her over that edge, slowly sometimes and sometimes with immediacy. It wasn't magic. Avi could see the nerve endings inside Jan's body, and he stimulated them. After only a few minutes, wave after wave of pleasure racked Jan's body, and Avi was just getting started. He would make it last. Jan wouldn't have had it any other way.

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The next morning, Agent Aaron Miles was up bright and early. He had planned this day carefully. It had a purpose. He was going to get closer to the truth, or get the truth to come to him. He had his ammunition and his targets. Once he got the information he was looking for, maybe he could convince a couple of agents who were sitting on the fence to help him.

He showered and shaved with this plan in his mind. He dressed with this plan in his mind. He ate breakfast with this plan in his mind. He got into this FBI sedan on this sunny Saturday morning and headed towards the main campus of Emory University. He glanced down at the list of people he was going to question. All of these people were known associates and friends of Jan Caufield. He would start with a kid named Brian Pronger, and go from there.

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Sara woke up early and stretched then looked at her clock. About this time of morning, Jan would be getting back from her morning run, but she was in her bedroom. It had been a late night with Avi, who had to leave for Washington. Sara had heard them come in, but she hadn't been nosy enough to stay awake and listen to their entire conversation. Sara guessed that she would get the lowdown later in the day. She went to take a shower. It was going to be double shift for her today at the Cherry Glen Long Term Care facility. After her shower and a bowl of Wheaties, Sara got dressed in a set of multi-colored scrubs. She threw an Emory pullover on and started for the front door. A sleepy-eyed Alisha was in the hallway in her tight sleeveless t-shirt that showed off the exaggerated pinup proportions of her body. She wasn't wearing a bra and her impossible breasts were pushing that shirt out making the elastic have to work overtime.

"Did you talk to Jan", Alisha asked, her face full of mischief even though her eyes weren't fully open.

"Nope. I have to get to work. I'll expect you to get all the juicy details and have them by the time I get back."

Alisha snapped to attention and gave a mock salute. "I'll make sure to get a list of every orgasm."

"You know I can hear you both, right?", a coarse voice called from the other side of Jan's door. "My strength may be messed up, but my ears work just fine."

Alisha frowned. "A little too fine", she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that too." Jan opened the door wearing only a robe. Her face was serenely satisfied. It must have been a really good night for Jan to have that look on her face, but something was wrong. Jan's eyes were red, so was the area around her nose. She pulled the robe tighter as she stepped into the hall.

Alisha and Sara looked at each other, confused. They both formed a thought then dismissed it until Jan inhaled quickly and sneezed.

"Bless you", Alisha said before she even thought about what had just happened.

Sara frowned and touched the back of her hand to Jan's forehead. "Oh my, Jan you have a fever. How do you have a fever?"

Jan sneezed again.

"Ok", Alisha began. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I must have gotten a cold last night. I left my jacket in the consulate car when we got out at the park."

"A cold!?!", Sara and Alisha both yelled at the same time. "You can't get colds! Why isn't your power healing you?"

Jan's smiled and sniffled. "Because I've turned it off." She seemed satisfied with herself. "I've pushed my healing back so I could wear these." Jan reached into her room and retrieved the earrings Avi had given her.

Alisha and Sara both gushed over them until Jan nearly sneezed on them.

"Oh come on Jan! Heal yourself."

"I can't. The holes will close up." She put the earrings back in, then coughed.

"Jan, I can pierce your ears again, but me and Sara can't afford to get sick."

"You'll pierce my ears when I want you to?", Jan asked Alisha just before she sneezed again.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Alisha jumped back.

Jan grinned. "Ok deal." She pulled out the earrings, took a breath and let it out. In that time, her eyes cleared up, her face cleared up, and her fever went away. "All better", she declared cheerfully and went back into her room, closing the door behind herself.

Alisha and Sara were left in the hall alone. Sara shook her head. "I can't take this. I'm going to work."

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"You're Brian Pronger?", Agent Miles asked slowly, building his intimidation. He stood close to the 19 year old maximizing his advantages. Miles was several inches taller and much bigger than Brian, plus he had a badge.

"Yes." Brian swallowed hard. He wondered what this was about. He'd had gambling problems in the past, but he was over all that.

"You're friends with Jan Caufield, right?"

"I sure am", Brian answered quickly and proudly. So this must be the agent who'd been hounding her. "If you're looking for her, I just want you to know that I haven't seen her since yesterday morning."

"That's because she spent all night with her boyfriend at a club." Miles grinned when he saw the reaction on Brian's face. He mistaked it for more fear; it was anger. This guy was following her. "Have you ever noticed anything weird about her?"

"Weird how? Like she's six feet tall, gorgeous, and she actually gives me the time of day. Yeah, she's really weird."

Miles wasn't amused. His voice showed it. "Don't get cute, young man, and don't try and hamper a Federal investigation. That's a crime all by itself. Now tell me if you have ever noticed Miss Caufield do anything out of the ordinary." This wasn't a question. It was a command.

Brian was scared. The man was intimidating for sure, but not enough to make him tell the truth. Instead he was about to lie to a Federal Agent, because he had seen Jan lift a car. He had seen her get crushed by a collapsing building. He had seen her get impaled by a ten foot long steel rod then pull it out like it was just an annoyance, but he looked up at FBI Agent Aaron Miles and said, "I sure haven't. Jan's just a normal student as far as I know, and I'm around her all the time, so I would know."

Miles knew the kid was lying, but he wasn't going to press him. There were other people on his list, other people who might break more easily. He went to the music building next.

He found that Jan was quite popular, but most of these kids only knew her in a social setting. He had to talk to someone who knew her more intimately. He would find that someone in a rehearsal room. Michael Hu was concentrating on the sheet music in front of him. The music flowed from his fingers. He was the best classical pianist on the campus and was practicing for another duet with Jan. Their first one had been such a success that they had been persuaded to do another. Michael wished that Jan was there to practice with him, but she had more of a life than he did. Instead Michael would practice alone until she got there. Miles turned the knob and opened the door, paying no attention to the music being played. Michael spun quickly when he heard the door.

"Can I help you?", Michael asked the man in the suit coat and dark slacks.

"You must be Michael Hu, from Sacramento", Miles said slowly.

Michael turned on his stool, but Agent Miles walked around to the side of baby grand piano. "I am. Who are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

Miles forced a chuckle. "Of course not." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge and id. "Aaron Miles, FBI." He relished the look of shock going across the Michael's fresh face. "I want to ask you a few questions, Mr. Hu. This shouldn't take long, and then you can get back to your music."

Michael swallowed hard. He was so nervous that he couldn't even think straight. Michael knew that he had too much respect for authority. He had never been in any trouble. He hadn't even been sent to the principle's office before.

"I... I'll try and answer you, sir... I mean Agent Miles."

"Good." Miles pulled out a notebook and turned a few pages. "So, Mr. Hu, how long have you known Jan Caufield?"

Michael looked confused. "I met her first semester freshmen year, but I didn't get to know her until maybe late March."

Miles wrote something in his book. Sweat appeared on Michael's forehead, and he rung his hands constantly. Miles made no effort to lessen the pressure on the young man.

"Has Miss Caufield ever scared you?" He looked at Michael closely. He could see the fear in his dark brown eyes. Fear was a powerful motivator, but so was loyalty.

"She can get intense sometimes, but Jan's never scared me. We're friends. I'm not a.. a tough guy, Agent Miles. I've never played football or won any fist fights. I get nervous watching old movies, but even when I get on Jan's nerves, she's never made me feel the least bit afraid for my safety." As a matter of fact, he wished Jan was here now. She wouldn't have been afraid of this agent. She wasn't afraid of anybody.

"That is not what you put in your statement a few months ago during an attempted armored car robbery near your job. You stated, and I quote, 'When I saw Jan running down the middle of the road after the explosion, I was scared. She was getting closer to me, and I froze from fear'. Sounds like you were scared to me."

"That's not what I meant! It's twisted. I was shaken up when I gave that statement. I'm not used to that sort of thing." Michael tried to calm himself now. He felt worse now than he had then. He had to make sure whatever he said would come out the right way. "I was afraid of the action getting close to me. Those men had guns and explosives. I didn't want to die, and I was afraid for Jan, not of her."

Miles wrote in his notebook again. He was going to have to ratchet up the pressure. "You said that you didn't see anything when that explosion happened"

"No, Agent Miles, I ran inside to get my cell phone to call 911. By the time I came out, Jan was chasing a car down the street. I don't know what she did to those guys, but I wouldn't have wanted to be them when she caught them."

Agent Miles was getting frustrated. This little music geek was scared, but not scared enough. Then there was the chance that he just didn't know anything. Miles would try one more tactic. "Your loyalty is admirable. Miss Caufield is able to build trust amongst the people she meets. It is a good trait to have, because she's been fooling you all. She's been lying. She's not who or what you think she is." He paused and stared into Michael's eyes until the student looked away. "She's killed before. Did you know that?" Michael's mouth dropped open.

"She nearly cut a man's head off in that Art Gallery. She dropped another man from 50 feet in the air."

"Why would she do that?", Michael was near tears. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was so awful.

"I'm trying to find out her game, but I need your help. She's smart, but dangerous. I have evidence to show that she's been involved in other crimes around Atlanta. She's ruthless. Do you remember the terrorist attack on the airport a few weeks ago?"

Michael frowned. "Yeah, a bunch of people died."

Agent Miles' grin spread like a plague. "Well, let me tell you what the evidence tells me...."

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Jan had driven around the parking lot twice only to find a spot really far from where she wanted to be. She turned her steering wheel to pull in when a truck came from the other direction. Jan gave her 350z a little gas and sped into the parking spot. She grinned and shut off her engine. The truck idled behind her car for a few moments. The driver was really mad, but after a while he started searching for another place.

"Good idea", Jan said under her breath as she got out of her car and started for the music building. She had practice with Michael today, and she was already late. Michael was there, and she knew it because she'd tried to call him. His cell phone was off. He usually turned it off when he played. He hated distractions. Jan looked at her watch again, then started jogging down the walkways. Maybe if she hurried, he wouldn't get upset with her.

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Michael's face was stricken. Miles had told him horrible things. It was hard for his mind to process it all. Miles stood up from the chair he had pulled close. This boy didn't have any information on Jan Caufield. He had told the complete truth in his statement. Miles just wanted some of Jan associates to know the truth about her. He would throw a rock into her still waters. Perhaps he could get Jan Caufield to come to the surface where he could catch her. "She might get angry or even violent because you talked to me." Miles handed Michael his card. "Call me if you need some help, or if you get some information that could help."

Michael took the card and nodded. He was so distraught and confused that he couldn't talk at all. Miles left the music building and headed towards the parking lot. He had been forced to park in a lot pretty far from the building, but he didn't mind the walk. It was a nice November day.

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Jan passed by her old dorm, but she didn't have time to stop and talk to anybody. She looked at her watch again. She was getting close, almost close enough to see the top of the music building. While she jogged, she called Michael again. Maybe he'd pick up. Jan could imagine him at the piano playing beautifully, moving to the music, in his own perfect little world. She was wrong, completely.

Miles was only a third of the way to the parking lot. This campus was bigger than he thought, even if it was nowhere near the size of the University of Michigan, his alma mater. Miles put on his shades and kept walking when a strange young man stepped out in front of him.

"Excuse me, Agent", the young man began. He had a worried look on his chubby face. "I heard you were asking questions about Jan Caufield", he uttered quietly.

"That's right. Are you one of her friends?" Miles couldn't believe that he'd missed one.

"Not hardly", the boy replied quickly. He looked left to right then behind him. He could see someone jogging closer. That shape and graceful stride could only make it one person. He could see her hair flopping left to right as she ran. He turned to the FBI agent. "You've been asking the wrong people about her. You should have asked me."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Howard West. I used to be Brian Pronger's roommate last year, and I hate Jan Caufield."

"Why?"

Howard sighed thinking back on the incident that no one believed had happened to him. He took Miles by the arm and led the agent into the lobby of a building. "Let me tell you what Jan Caufield did to me."

Jan ran by the door just after it closed. Her head was down while she read then replied to a text from her friend Sandra in Maryland. She slowed for a moment when she smelled something familiar. She knew that cologne, but Agent Miles couldn't be the only guy to wear it. She kept going. She bounced down the stairs to the rehearsal rooms. Michael always picked the second one from the door on the left. She had a big smile on her face as she hurried to the door. She turned the knob, but it hadn't been closed all the way. She pushed it open. Michael was sitting in front of the piano, but he wasn't playing. His hands were folded across his lap. His head didn't even turn when Jan came in.

"Hey, Michael. You ready to go to the tandem room?", Jan asked, her voice showing no signs that she had run so far.

Michael didn't say anything. He just turned to face her.

"Oh my goodness, Michael." Jan rushed over to him and went to a knee. He looked terrible. She took him gently by the shoulders. "What's happened. Nobody's hurt are they, or sick..."

He shook his head and tried to clear it. "Its nothing like that, but its' bad", he grated through dry lips.

Jan reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She opened it and handed it to him. "What is it then?"

"Its about you."

She frowned. "What about me?"

Michael was scared. He had never been scared of her before, but he was now. She was so beautiful, but she was strong too. Even relaxed the muscles in her shoulders and arms stood out while she held him. He knew that if she used those muscles, she could break him in half. He wondered whether it was safe to tell her the truth. She was dangerous enough to kill in less than a second. The FBI agent had said so, and Michael knew that they didn't lie, but as he sat there looking at the very real concern on Jan's face, he told the truth. "An FBI agent came and talked to me. He told me all sorts of things."

Jan's eyes turned very angry, the look passed as quickly as it came. "What did he say?"

"He told me about you. He said that you've killed people, and that you might have been involved in the terrorist attack at the airport."

"You mean the one where the Treasury officers were killed?" She tried not to raise her voice. That was a horrible day for her old agency. Several men had been killed including Rodney, a friend of hers.

"He said you were a dangerous person who killed a man only a few days ago, and that you might have killed more than that.", Michael said as if he was reading it from a book. "Is that true?", he asked softly.

Jan sighed and took her hands off his shoulders. She sat down in the same chair Miles had been in only a few minutes earlier. She stared off at the wall, then answered, "Yeah, I killed a guy at the Art Gallery. He was a terrorist, but I guess it doesn't matter. He was someone's son or brother or father."

Michael started to cry again. "Aren't you sorry?"

Jan shook her head slowly. "No. He was trying to kill a little girl named Tyisha Miller. He was going to chop her head off with a machete. I couldn't let that happen." Jan paused and remembered it. "So I killed him", she said in a whisper. "I won't apologize for it", she said louder. "I don't apologize for stuff like that. I didn't make him do what he did", she shook her head, shaking off doubts with it. She faced Michael. "I didn't want anybody to know about that stuff. Miles is bastard and a liar"

"He was telling the truth about that!"

Jan sighed. "Yeah, but he didn't tell you why, did he?" She paused and Michael looked away. "Of course he didn't. He wanted to paint me as monster. He couldn't get to me so he wanted to get to my friends. Let me tell you some stuff about Agent Miles..."

Jan explained her run-ins with Miles. The entire time, she never lost her temper. There would be time for that later. She planned to talk to Michael for as long as it took to make sure he knew the truth. The more she explained, the more angry she got, but her anger was tinged with hurt. She was surprised at herself, but it actually hurt her feelings that someone thought so horribly of her. She tried to do the best she could, but there was an man who actually thought that she was capable of doing such horrible things to people. That feeling made her open up to Michael in a way that she probably wouldn't have if things had been different. It wasn't her explanations that finally won over Michael, and made him dismiss what Miles had told him. Miles had underestimated her, because by the end of the conversation, she had Michael laughing.

"I can't believe he had me scared. I had to make myself not flinch when you touched my shoulders." Michael chuckled from embarrassment.

Jan laughed. "What flinch like this!" She jumped at him, and he shrank back quickly. They laughed again. On the outside Jan was her normal self, but inside she was past boiling. She had to get at Miles. This had gone too far.

"So are we cool?", she asked.

One last tear went down Michael's cheek. "I'm so sorry Jan, but that guy was very convincing. He had me thinking the worst."

She wrapped her strong arms around his slumped shoulders. "It's ok. I'm not mad at you." She kissed him on the cheek. He looked up quickly to see her smiling face. "It's not your fault Miles is a bastard."

Jan walked with Michael back to his dorm, not once showing how mad she really was. It took all of her will power to keep her anger from exploding, but she did it. It wasn't until Michael was out of sight that it bubbled up, showing all over body. She pulled out her cell phone and called the only person who could help.

Sara was changing pillow cases at her job when her phone rang. "Hello", she answered cheerfully. Her day had been better than great so far.

"Where is he!", Jan growled.

The small hairs on the back of Sara's neck stood up. She'd rarely heard her friend sound like this. "Who?", Sara asked weakly.

"Miles! Sara, I want to know where he is!"

"Jan, I don't think its a good idea-"

"SARA! Tell me where he is right NOW!"

Sara exhaled and searched out with her power. Her mind spread all over the city. It wasn't long before she felt Agent Miles' mind. "He's having lunch at the Mexican place near campus. But Jan-" The line went dead. Sara didn't get a chance to tell Jan that Miles was with two other agents.

Jan pushed her car near triple digits on the city streets. Anger consumed her judgment. She passed cars and blew through red lights. Her keen senses were working hard to follow her commands as she hurried. She didn't want to miss Agent Miles.

She shouldn't have worried. Miles was just finishing lunch with two colleagues. It turned out that Miles wasn't the only field agent who thought that the official investigation was going in the wrong direction. Miles had put forth his theory that Jan Caufield was mixed up in some sort of cover up and conspiracy. Miles feared that it reached all the way to the top. He had heard of underworld groups that used legitimate people and organizations to do its bidding. He was convinced that Jan Caufield was one of those underworld operatives. She did the bidding of these organizations like a super spy. That was why she was always around their operations. She was the cleaner. Inside the Art Gallery, she had been there in case the situation went bad. When it did, she had been ordered to make sure the damage was contained. The two other agents were risking their careers and freedom to take up this case, but both men were leaning towards his way of thinking.

The three men came out of the Mexican joint with full bellies and full thoughts. Miles had done a good job of convincing them that this girl was probably the most dangerous person in town. Each man had seen pictures of the Caufield girl, but they were trying to form a real image in their minds when a 350z turned the corner going way too fast. It bounced into the driveway and sped up the short parking lot towards the three agents. It stopped only a few feet short. The three men backed away to keep from getting hit. Then the door opened and two agents saw a tall young woman with model good looks and an impossible body get out. Her eyes were fixed on the third agent. She stormed towards Miles. Agents Scales and Chambers stepped up to block her path.

"You're a fucking bastard!", Jan yelled.

Miles adjusted his jacket. He had to play this carefully. This was his chance, but this girl was dangerous. "I don't know what you're talking about. Why're you so angry?"

"You know why!", Jan bounced around and her fingers flexed as large amounts of adrenaline dumped into her system. "You told Michael that I was a terrorist! That I had something to do with the attack at the airport that killed Rodney! You're a fucking liar, and you know it!" Jan's voice was loud, and people peeked from the restaurant. Others were afraid to get out of their cars. Miles was unaffected. He had this girl right where he wanted her. This gave him a chance to let the other agents know what kind of person she really was. A little goading would set her over the edge, but he reminded himself to be careful. "You can stop with the show, Miss Caufield. Its not doing any good."

"Show!?!", she exclaimed. "You're so twisted." Her voice broke a little. She didn't know why he made her so upset. "You lied on me to get a reaction. It didn't matter what you said. Ever heard the name Rodney Cannedy?"

Miles just looked.

"I didn't think you had", she paused and wiped a tear. "He'd just turned 25 when he was shot during that airport attack. His widow's pregnant with his child. I bet you didn't know that either, and don't give a shit. His child's never going to know his father, and you want to blame me for his death. You're sick. That's what you are."

The two agents glanced at Miles. This girl didn't act like a terrorist. She didn't even seem all that dangerous. She looked like a teenaged girl with very hurt feelings. They were starting to think that perhaps Miles was completely wrong.

"Can we talk in private?", he asked. The two other agents stepped away. "Look, you gave me no choice. I know the official investigation is bullshit, and so do you. Good agents are chasing ghosts. There've been feats of strength. Destruction that no human could possibly cause", Agent Miles told Jan in an urgent whisper. "The only shred of evidence I have is your finger print on a 400 pound door, and lots of your blood on that Art Gallery floor. You're wrapped up in this, and I want to know what's going on!"

Jan turned to look Miles directly in the eyes. "Whatever I have done, I've done to help people. I'm not a murderer, and I'm not a monster."

"So you're admitting that you can lift a 400 pound door?", he asked a little louder, loudly enough for the other two agents to hear.

"You didn't listen to a word I said", Jan began angrily, but then her face softened. He'd asked the wrong question. "No. There is no way I can lift a 400 pound door. Can you?" She paused and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "There might have been some strange feats of strength, but you're looking at the wrong person. I can't do any of that."

Miles looked at Jan for a long time. He was pretty good at reading people, and he believed that she was telling the truth. This still didn't answer his questions. "There's more isn't there?"

"There might be. Maybe if you had asked me instead of hounding me, but you'll never know.

Now Miles started getting heated. "Stop playing with me. Tell me what you know."

"What if I say that I can't." Jan could see the heat rising up Miles' neck, but she didn't care. He needed to be as pissed off as she had been.

"Tell me!", he screamed. The other agents stepped a little closer.

"I can't. And I wouldn't anyway"

Miles' terrible temper flared up. "Then I won't stop." He scowled at her, but Jan wasn't intimidated. "I took it easy on your friends at school today, but screw with me, and I'll ruin you", he threatened.

A bomb exploded in Jan's head. She pulled her hands back and shoved Miles hard. His back hit the side of his government issued car, and Jan took two big handfuls of his jacket. A smile spread across his face. This was great. "That's assaulting a Federal agent. You're under arrest." Jan's face went completely dark with anger.

The other agents stepped in then. One came to her right side and another stepped up behind her. "Come on miss, you don't want to do this", Agent Scales, the agent to her right, said soothingly. He stepped up to take her by the shoulders. He admired her body as he came in. She was so long, lean, and strong. He had no idea who he was dealing with. Jan's body spun 90 degrees in an instant. She drove her left shoulder into Scales' chest, stunning him. She took two good grips, and her triceps flexed, powering him towards the agent who had been behind her. Agent Scales' feet left the ground. He fell into his friend and both men stumbled. Jan was on the other agent then. Chambers tried to catch him, but they both went backwards, bumping against a car setting off the alarm. Chambers straightened in time to see Jan take one long stride. Her left foot hit the ground and a forearm followed. She drove her forearm into Chamber's sternum. He rocked back against the car. She took him by the collar and at the hip. She roared and threw Chambers into the side of Miles' car. The entire car rocked side to side from the impact.

Miles stepped forward. This was going too far. He had to restrain her. She had put all her strength into tossing Chambers, and it had turned her body. Miles came from the side. Jan planted her foot and drew back her fist. Miles moved into her range. Raw power was stored in Jan's coiled arm. Her muscles were packed tightly and bunched. Her biceps and delts ached with the stored fury, until Jan released it. Her punch had been a blur, and its effect awesome. Miles had never felt this girl's strength until now. He would forever respect it. This punch busted his lip instantly and spun his head round so quickly that it had hurt his neck. He went down to a knee spitting blood. Jan's left fist was already loaded. The first drop of blood had barely hit the ground before she sent another jarring punch to the side of Mile's head. He went down completely.

Agent Chambers was on his feet. Jan turned when she heard him behind her. He took a fast step towards her. Jan narrowed her eyes on her target and her long leg lashed out. She hit him in the middle of his stomach like the crack of a whip. Chambers stopped cold. He had never felt a blow like that, but she hadn't even kicked him really hard yet. He went to a knee. The hard kick came now. She twisted her face as the kick began. Her eight pack abs generated the power that went through her hips and into her leg. The tip of her cross trainer hit Chambers in the pit of his stomach. Her power and his full belly didn't mix. Vomit spewed. He put a hand down to the ground as a mix of pain and nausea overcame him. Jan turned to find Miles. She should have turned the other way.

Agent Scales took her under the shoulder with his left arm and quickly used his other arm to gain control of her other shoulder and neck. He squeezed to gain control, but he didn't lock in his hold. Jan gritted her teeth, and her lats flexed out from her sides. Scale's eyes bucked out as he watched Jan's back hardened and landscapes of perfect muscle shapes appeared across her body as her muscles flexed up. She turned up the power and got a rush as she felt this man's finger's sliding apart. He had nothing to counter her. He wasn't strong enough to stop her. Jan's flexing muscles could have broken the hold, but she was explosive. One quick burst of power broke his hold. The shocked agent was thrown back when her arms shattered his hold. Jan spun on an axis punched Scales in the kidney. The sharp pain cut right through him. Jan didn't let up. She hit him again, then kicked him in the chest. He bounced against a car setting off the alarm.

Miles wiped his mouth, leaving a trail of blood along his sleeve. His own anger shot off the charts. He reached down, snatching a handful of Jan's hair. He roared as he snatched her back by her locks. Jan yelled, and Miles raised his arm straight up before bringing his elbow down on the side of her forehead. Jan gasped a little, and Miles locked his fingers into a fist and punched Jan in the jaw. The force of his punch knocked her from his grip. She staggered. "You want to fight like a man, fine", Miles said through busted lips. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time." He took Jan by the neck and pulled her hard. She nearly left the ground as he whipped her body towards his car. She hit the left front and bent backwards over the hood. Miles threw a hard right. Jan's arm came up and blocked it. He threw another and another. The punches hit her arms. She threw a quick jab that landed on the bridge of his nose. He moved his head like he'd been taught in boxing class. Jan was waiting on that. Instead of throwing a punch, she reached out with her long arms and clenched her hands behind Miles' neck. He tried to free himself for a moment before his eyes met hers, just for an instant. She didn't have to say a word. Miles already knew he was in trouble. Jan's biceps flexed, pressing in on his cheeks, but it wasn't those shredded beasts that did the damage. Jan's abs flexed again. They were beautiful to behold, shredded, cut, deep, and harder than coffin nails. The power she generated was tremendous. Her foot left the ground and her knee bent. The point of her knee went straight to Miles' chin. The impact made people in the restaurant cringe. Miles saw stars. No sooner had her right knee hit, than her left knee struck. Miles' legs were jelly. Jan's bis flexed harder, peaking at 15 inches of pure muscle. She couldn't let him fall, not yet. She had more damage to do. She kneed him again and his eyes rolled in his head. Gravity wanted him to fall, but Jan didn't. Her body hardened again. She kept his 200 plus pounds up, just long enough to knee him again. He finally started down. He fell in slow motion in Jan's mind. She would have looked at that forever, but a sharp pain to her back and shoulders brought her back to reality.

Agent Scales had ramped up his tactics, pulling out his extending baton. He hit Jan across her shoulders and then in the bend of her knee. Instead of going down in a predictable way, she rolled away from his blows, towards the driveway of the parking lot. He turned to attack again, but she was too far for a good strike from his baton. Jan was on her back, right where she wanted to be. She kicked Agent Scales in the hand with her long leg. The baton flew from his hand and rolled under a car. He turned to look at it for only an instant, planning to either grab it or turn back to the Caufield girl. He was too slow. Jan bounced from her back to her feet.

She had been taking it easier on the other two agents, but not now. They wanted it rough, so she'd give it to them rough. She braced the right side of Agent Scales' face with her hand. The shock of it made him turn his head. Jan's hand helped speed it up. She threw a hard elbow with her right arm. His face hit her elbow like a car collision. It rocked him to his feet and back up. A welt rose on his face instantly and a trickle of blood ran from his nose. A quick left hook sent Agent Scales reeling.

She turned back to Miles who had made it halfway up. Her blinding anger came back at seeing him. She wanted to pummel him into nothing. She started for him, but Chambers came at her from the side like a linebacker. He tackled her, and they tumbled to the asphalt. Jan's bare arms scraped against it while they struggled for position. Agent Chambers ended up on top. He smiled. From here he'd be able to use his leverage and greater size to finally keep this girl down. He sat on her chest and took her wrists in his hands. He pushed her arms to the ground. A wave of relief passed through him.

"I got her!", he tried to call to his fellow agents, but his stomach hurt too much for him scream louder. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Jan's legs came up enveloping him. She crossed her ankles just below his chin. When she was locked in good, she flexed her lower body. Agent Chambers found out that the muscles in her legs were as impressive as her arms, but even stronger. His wide eyes took in the transformation of her thighs, from shapely and toned to rock hard and cut. Jan powered the agent back until he was leaning away from her. He strained with all his might to keep from being rolled over. His face was showed the effort. Jan's face was set in the struggle too, but she was winning. Her legs were so long that Chambers had no leverage to fight her. Instead he put his hands on her legs to push her back. All he felt was steely hardness. The heads of her quads rose up over knee forming a deep muscled tear drop. The veins that ran up the inside of her thighs throbbed as her heart pumped more and more blood into her muscles, swelling them and fueling them. Chambers growled and pushed against her with all he had. He stopped going over and even righted himself a little. His entire body shook from his output. It wasn't enough. He was shocked as Jan went to full power. Muscles split and divided into hard striated ropes that tightened around Chambers like a noose. A quick grunt from Jan and a quick flex sent Chambers over. He went down hard. The back of his head hit the ground, and Jan jumped to her feet. She saw Agent Scales on a knee trying to shake off her elbows to his face, but she couldn't find Miles until a sharp pain exploded in the small of her back.

She tried to turn, but his next blow was to the side of her face. She spun from Miles' punch. He hopped back and kicked her in the chin. Her neck went back. She stumbled against a car putting her hand out to catch her fall. Miles' punches hurt, but she was still seeing clearly. Miles was a little quicker than she thought he'd be. She planned to slip his next punch, but it grazed her cheek. The back of her head hit the hood. Miles growled and took her by the shirt. He lifted Jan off the ground in his rage and threw her to the ground. She hit hard and tried to roll away, but he kicked her in the side. She rolled onto her back. Miles raised his leg high, and brought it down with all the force he could manage. Through the haze of his punches, she saw him and tensed her abs. Miles almost hesitated as he watched the muscles of Jan's midsection gather like storm clouds then stiffen like boulders. He had never seen anything like it. Her muscles had set like eight armored blocks. He knew his stomp would fail, and it did. The sole hit the pit of Jan's stomach. The power of the blow forced Jan's shoulders off the ground, but his foot had smacked against her skin like he'd hit cement. There was so little give in Jan's abs that he lost his balance. She rolled and used her arms to push herself up.

She stood her ground as the three agents got to their feet and dusted themselves off mentally. This girl had just wiped through the three of them. She looked like she'd been in a fight, but they felt like they had been run over by a bus. There was a moment in each other their minds where they asked was it worth it. Two of them were about to waver, but not Miles. His anger hadn't abated. It took more than pain to shake him.

"You are under arrest", he told her, as if that would make her cower.

Jan slowly raised her fists into a fighting position. "First one to get handcuffs on me gets a dollar." Her lips smiled, but the rest of her was all business.

Miles yelled and charged her like a ram. She stood ready. The other agents came in a split second later. Miles arm raised high, and he threw a hard hooking right towards her head. Jan raised her arm almost lazily and blocked his punch. Her right cross was already flying. It hit Miles on the cheek. He took it and threw another hook. It grazed her temple. He followed it low hook to her midsection. He knew he shouldn't have thrown it. His fist bounced off her razor sharp obliques. She threw a quick elbow to his cheek. She tried to throw another, but Chambers and Scales came at her. One went high and one went low. Jan ducked Chambers' punch to her head, but she couldn't escape the kick to the side of her knee. A punch to the chin put her against Miles' car. Chambers and Scales went for her arms. Each man stretched her arms out, pinning them against the roof. Her muscles were flexed to bursting as she resisted their hold. Both men sneaked in punches while they had her arms pinned. Then Miles attacked. Jan smiled. He came in ready to throw a solid punch to her face. Jan pulled her legs up. Her feet came off the ground while Chambers and Scales held her to the car. Miles wasn't nearly close enough to reach her, but her legs were plenty long enough to reach him. She let him run into the soles of her shoes, then straightened her legs like she was trying to leap over a building. Miles and his 200 pounds flew towards a car. His back hit hard enough to break the window. Chambers lost his grip. Jan's left arm was free, and that was bad news for Scales. Two quick punches open a gash over his eye. He lost his grip. Jan was free, but didn't get far. The three men attacked her, and fists flew.

A small crowd had gathered at the front door of the restaurant to watch the brawl. A couple of guys had even bet on the outcome, but the owners of the restaurant weren't so happy. No one was walking out the door, and more importantly, no one was walking in. The police had been called more than once. After a few minutes the owner, Alvra, heard the sirens. She stood on one of her chairs in order to look out the window. She'd never considered herself a feminist, but she smiled when she saw that two men on the ground, the third man reeling, and that tall girl holding the extending baton standing in the middle of them.

The side of Miles' face throbbed. He turned his head to see her bringing the baton up again. He shouldn't have tripped her, and he shouldn't have reached for his gun. She'd grabbed the baton from the ground and hit his shooting hand with it. She'd been unarmed when he reached for his pistol, but now she wasn't.

Jan picked out a nice unblemished part of Agent Miles' face. She was just about to lower her boom when cop cars surrounded her. Five Atlanta police officers and two sheriff deputies got out with their guns drawn. They all yelled at her to put the weapon down. Her first thought was to ignore them all, but one voice called her by name.

"Jan, for God's sake put that down before you get shot!", Sgt. Jim Brucks called out to her. He didn't know Jan well, but he'd interviewed her a year earlier when a classmate of hers had been raped and murdered. She turned towards him. The former Jackson State left tackle was hard to miss. Jan focused in on his face. He was concerned.

There was a moment, perhaps one heartbeat or two, where Jan thought about hitting Agent Miles one more time, not in the face or chest, but at the base of his skull. She had a good angle, and she was pretty sure that she was strong enough to do the job. One blow, that's all it would take to kill him, and all it would take to make her a murderer. She blinked away a little sweat and grime to get a good look at all the guns trained on her. She actually chuckled. That much lead flying would hurt like hell, but it wouldn't kill her. Just like she wasn't going to kill Agent Miles. She opened her fingers, and the baton clanged to the ground. The officers moved in, but Scales was there first.

"On the ground!", he yelled through swollen lips. He took Jan by the wrist and the back of the neck. He twisted her arm around while he reached for his cuffs. They weren't there. They'd fallen off during the fight, but Miles had his. He took over.

"I've got you now." Miles pushed her against a car hard. Jan gave a quick grunt, but didn't complain. He roughly put the first bracelet around her wrist.

"You're so lucky they came here", Jan shot back.

Miles snorted. "You're tough, but you're in more trouble now than your rich daddy can get you out of." He clicked the bracelets again.

"Hey those are tight", Jan complained and wiggled her hands.

"Are they now?" He clicked them again.

"I hate you", Jan yelled at him. He responded by taking her by the front of her shirt and throwing her across the way, slamming her into the side of his car. She couldn't even protect herself from the impact. Her head hit the side of the roof and her eye started to swell.

"I don't approve of that sort of treatment", Sergeant Brucks told Miles.

"Piss off", Agent Chambers began. "You didn't just get your ass kicked by her. She's handcuffed, but her kicks are worse than punches."

Brucks and a couple of cops laughed. "Any of you guys married?", Brucks asked. The three agents shook their heads. "Figures. You guys need to learn how to talk to a woman." He stepped past them. "Jan, please get in the car. I don't know what the hell this is about, but we'll get it straightened out", he said where only she could hear. Then he stood up straight, standing taller than 6'1" Jan, and 6'3" Agent Miles. "And if any of these Federal agents lay a hand on you during transport, I'll look into it personally, and the city of Atlanta won't take it as easy on them as you did. I can promise you that."

The three agents were beyond pissed. Miles loaded Jan into his car, grazing her hurt left eye on the door. He leaned in to make sure she was comfortable in the seat just before he clicked the handcuffs even tighter. "You fucking asshole!", Jan yelled and kicked the seat backs. The pain was shooting up her arms. The cuffs were restricting blood flow. Miles grinned and slammed the door shut.

Agent Chambers drove her downtown. Miles couldn't see clearly enough to drive. He rode in a car with Agent Scales. Jan was quiet. She had to let her anger bleed away. Most of it did, but not all of it Every time they hit a pot hole or uneven pavement, the cuffs dug into her skin. She could feel a little blood running down from small cuts. She just let her anger stew.

Once at the Atlanta PD headquarters, Jan was chained to a bench next to others waiting to get booked including three guys who looked like they had been in a fight of their own. After an hour she was fingerprinted but not photographed. She was trying to occupy her time by thinking of things she could do to Agent Miles. Then he came around a corner, smiling and laughing with a cop that Jan didn't know. "How the hell don't you have two camera operators?", Miles asked. The bruises on his face had been tended to, but he still looked like he'd been beaten by a pack of hooligans.

"Budget cuts", the cop quipped. The two men stopped in front of Jan. "Looks like we're going to have to put her in lock up."

They separated Jan from the group and lead her towards the cells. About halfway there, Miles took over the transport. He took her by the cuffs and squeezed them. Jan had an inhuman pain threshold, but even she hated pinpoint pain. She sucked in a breath after he squeezed.

"You like that? That's just the beginning. I've got you on charges two pages long. You're going to tell me everything. If you don't want to spend the next 30 years in prison." He rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. She pulled away from him. "You're a beautiful girl, but 30 years in prison would fade your looks too."

Jan snickered. "You couldn't even arrest me. What makes you think you could get me to prison."

"You can't take on the world."

"If I was the way I used to be, you'd at least be in a coma but probably on life support."

It was Miles' turn to snicker. "You can talk as tough as you want, Caufield." He pushed her inside an open holding cell and removed the cuffs. "Because you're in there, and I'm out here. I think I'll go interrogate your friends at school again. This time you won't be there to protect them, or maybe I'll talk to some professors." He waited for Jan's anger to return. He could see it creeping up her neck until her face was bright red. "Close it!", he yelled and the bars slammed shut.

Two hours later the door at the far end of the holding area opened. Jan didn't even try to turn her head. It was probably another inmate coming, but then she heard the voice. "Thanks for lettin me down here", Sara drawled. Her shoes barely made a sound as she walked quickly down the corridor. She stopped in front of Jan's holding cell and shook her head.

Her friend's face was bruised, but clean. Her clothes though were beyond repair. She was sitting on the floor atop a couple of blankets with her long legs stretched out. A couple of women were sitting behind her. One of them was finishing a braid.

"You look comfortable", Sara called out.

Jan huffed. "My eye hurts, and my wrists hurt, but Doris was nice enough to fix my hair." Jan hadn't known what sort of reception she'd get in jail, but she explained that she'd beaten up three FBI agents. Most of the inmates didn't believe her until they got a glimpse of the three of them together. After that her reception had been rather warm. One of the other women in the tank even offered to fix her hair. It had gotten really messed up during the fight.

"Almost finished, hun", Doris told Sara.

"Its okay. Take your time", Sara replied in her genteel Mississippi accent.

"Easy for you to say, you're not in here."

"I should have known you'd end up in here from your phone call", Sara told Jan with a thought.

"I was mad", Jan thought back.

"Oh, you were mad. Is that an excuse to act like a spoiled baby. You should have known better. Sure you can beat up three grown men. Everybody knows that Jan, but you have to use your head instead of your muscles sometimes."

"Why don't you wait until you know the whole story before you start in on me", Jan thought back.

"I don't have to, Jan. This isn't the first time your temper's gotten you in trouble."

"And it probably won't be the last!", Jan yelled out loud. The other inmates looked confused. Jan didn't care what they thought. "Look Sara", she continued out loud. "If you came down here to lecture me, then you can drop it now. I don't want to hear it."

"Fine." Sara folded her arms and decided to change the subject. "Cassie called today."

"What did she say?", Jan asked, still upset.

"She's going to be in town on your birthday. They're opening the new Redwine's Steakhouse in ATL. Lots of her family is going to be there. It's the toughest invite in Georgia next week, and we're invited."

Jan smiled. At least that was good news, then her smile went away. "My family's coming down, and isn't your dad coming, and Alisha's parents are coming."

"We're all invited. She said they'd bump the mayor's group to another table to make room for all of us."

Time to smile again. "Well that should be nice for dinner on my birthday."

"Got another early birthday present for you", Sara told her friend.

The far door opened again and Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta FBI Field Office Nicholas MacCallum walked down the corridor. "Open the cell", he ordered the officer.

The bars clanged as they moved. "Damn it Jan, you get in more trouble."

"Please don't, sir. Sara's already dug into me."

MacCallum laughed. "I was going to say you look like hell, except maybe for the hair."

"I can thank Doris for that." The woman smiled and finished Jan's hair. "Ok, nice meeting you all", Jan told the inmates as she walked to her freedom. She hugged Agent MacCallum as the doors closed.

They took a couple of steps before an angry Agent Miles came storming towards the group. "What the hell, sir!", Miles yelled. Agents Chambers and Scales were close behind. "What's going on?"

"Miss Caufield is being released", SAC MacCallum informed his agent.

"But she hasn't been booked or arraigned", Miles countered.

"And she's not going to be", MacCallum said angrily. He took a really deep breath and counted to ten before he spoke. "Chambers, Scales, I thought better of you. I want you two to apologize to Miss Caufield for detaining her."

The two men shared a pained look. "Umm, I... I'm sorry."

"Good, now take your sorry asses to my office and wait until I get there. I'll discipline you later." The two agents walked away like scolded children. Then MacCallum turned to Miles. "And you, give me your gun and badge. You are suspended effective immediately."

The inmates whooped and cheered. Miles' face turned a couple of shades of red. "I don't understand."

MacCallum took Miles by the lapels roughly. "You fucking moron! I have never had an agent more dimwitted than you! You just won't stop! I know about your break-in at the evidence room! Do you think I could get this far in the Bureau without keeping my ear to the ground!" He pushed Miles. "Give me your gun and badge, or I'll finish what Jan started!"

Heat rose from the base of Miles' neck working to the top of his head. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled his badge, then he pulled off his holster. He slowly handed them to his boss. "I'm sorry sir", Miles said.

"So am I", MacCallum told the suspended agent. "Now get out of here!"

Jan didn't gloat, although the inmates did. MacCallum didn't like that. He'd let his own anger get the better of him. He didn't want to dress down his own men in front of inmates, but he had. It would cost him.

Jan punched Sara lightly on the shoulder. "You didn't tell me you brought Agent Mac."

"Oh... Did I fail to mention I'd called him?"

The three of them started out. "Let's get you two out here."

"Yeah, I have a date", Sara announced.

"Oh cool", Jan began. "With who?"

Sara smiled, and they kept walking.

Outside, Miles stood alone in the parking lot. His eyes were still too blurry to drive. He thought about calling a cab, but he wanted to simmer in the cool air for a while. There was no rush. There were no cases to investigate and no bad guys to put away. Without the Bureau, Miles didn't know what he was.

Then a car pulled up to him. "Aaron Miles", the man on the inside called through an open window. Miles kept walking. "Sorry to hear about your suspension", the man yelled.

Miles stopped. "How the hell..."

"News travels quickly. Its a shame though that a man like you, only interested in the truth, would get suspended while there is obviously a cover up going on. Do you still want to know the truth?"

Miles shrugged in defeat. "What difference does it make? I'm never getting my job back. I'm ruined."

The man on the inside smiled broadly. His smile was perfect as was everything else about his face. "Your search was bigger than just the job, else you wouldn't have gone so far. Go ahead and get in." Miles debated, but it was true. He wanted the truth. He got into the lush limo.

"What's this about?", Miles asked.

"I think we can help each other. I need some information, and you can get the truth you want."

"I don't even know who you are."

This time the smile wasn't so broad and the face not so welcoming. "How rude of me. My name is Morgen Stern. Pleasure to meet you." Miles shook this man's hand, and knew instantly that his life was changed forever.

next part coming in a few days....

*If you want to know what Howard West told Agent Miles check out one my favorite chapters Power and Fury: My Little Secret*

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