Just as Katlian emerged from the prison gate, and was walking back to her jeep. A figure dressed all in black and riding a motorcycle comes speeding into the parking lot. The figure aims his sub-machine gun at Katlain and fires at her. The first shots miss her, but the next three shots hit her.

The bullets hit her left shoulder, right above her heart, and her right shoulder. She drops to the ground as the person rides off. She hears the guards sound the alarm as several guards come out to her.

Katlain tries to stay conscious, but finds it hard to do. She passes out from shock and blood loss. She opens her eyes temporarily and notices lights overhead, and passes out again.

The next time she wakes up, she is hooked up to a bunch of medical machines. A young woman is sitting next to her hospital bed. Katlain didn’t know who she was or why she was in her hospital room.

Kelli had gotten a message from Taylor about his cousin being shot. He was her emergency contact, but couldn’t come to the hospital where she was. So, he asked if she could go to the hospital and check on her.

Kelli didn’t mind checking on Taylor’s cousin. It was just another favor he owed her. She lied and said that Taylor was her husband and said he was unavailable to come.

She looks over at Katlian and notices she is awake. A smile appears on her face. “Well, welcome back to the living, Mrs. Zane.”

“Where am I?” Katlian felt a tightness in her chest.

“You’re in Bell Haven Hospital. You were shot three times; luckily for you, two of the bullets went straight through. Unfortunately, they had to remove a bullet from your chest area. You’re extremely lucky that the bullet didn’t hit your heart.” Kelli had spoken to the doctor who operated on Katlain.

“Who are you? And where is my cousin?” Katlain had no idea who this young woman was sitting next to her bed.

“I’m Kelli Hart, and I work for your cousins. They are paying me to be your bodyguard, and they said this isn’t negotiable.” Kelli had been given a breakdown on who Katlain Zane was.

“I don’t need a bodyguard. I’m capable of taking care of myself.” Katlain tries sitting up, but falls backward.

“Current events would suggest that isn’t true. Look, I know you’re a cop and a former car thief, but that is all and good. However, you seemed to have drawn the attention of a dangerous group, and they want you dead. Your cousins are concerned for your safety and don’t want their niece to lose her mother.” Kelli had heard rumors that Katlain was responsible for stopping a dirty bomb attack by a white supremacist group, bringing down a powerful drug leader down, and for jailing several corrupt police officers.

“Fine, since I don’t have a choice in the matter.” Katlain hated backing down, but her cousins and Kelli both had a point that if something happened to her, Katherine would be left without a mother. Katherine just lost a father; she couldn’t let Katherine lose a mother as well.

“So, what do you have in mind?” Katlain looks at Kelli for an answer.

“First, you’re going to heal up some before you go back out in the field. While you are healing here. Give me the information you have, and I’ll check into it while you recover here.” Kelli figures Katlain would be safe in the hospital.

“Okay. Take my jeep, it's lightly armored and will protect you. There’s also a weapons locker in the back compartment with a sniping rifle and a few other weapons, including grenades and flash bangs.”

“Where did you get…, never mind.” Kelli didn’t want to know where Katlain got the weapons she described.

“Good answer.” Katlain knew the paramedics would have put her items in the nightstand next to her bed.

“The keys should be in the nightstand with my other items.” Katlain looks over towards the nightstand.

“I thought with you being a former car thief, you wouldn’t use just a key.” Kelli opens the drawer on the nightstand.

“I don’t. There’s a hidden switch on the floor that looks like the old-style headlight switch. Most people have forgotten about those. You need to step on it for the jeep to start.” Katlain wasn’t going to tell Kelli she also had a kill switch app on her cellphone in order to cut her jeep off and lock the person in the car.

“That is sneaky.” Kelli forgot about the old floor switch used to flip the headlights from low beams to high beams.

“Oh, I have more tricks up my sleeve, but I’ll save those for later.” A smile appears on Katlain’s face.

“All right, now I need to know what you were going to do next.” Kelli knew that with Katlain being a cop and a former car thief, she would have connections.

“I need to talk with a friend of mine, who is a computer hacker, to find out who I’m dealing with. My contact in the prison said the contract was put on the dark web.”

“Who’s your computer hacker friend?” Kelli had a good memory and didn’t need to write anything down.

“He goes by his online name of Rat.”

“Rat? Seriously? Why Rat?” Kelli wonders why anyone would call themselves a Rat.

“Let’s just say, he isn’t very social. Also, I never bothered to ask him. However, once he befriends you, he cherishes that friendship.”

“Well, I will need to talk with him.” Kelli likes meeting people face-to-face.

“I’ll arrange it.” Katlain reaches for her cellphone, but winces in pain.

“Here, let me.” Kelli hands Katlain her cellphone.

“Thanks.” Katlain accepts it. She takes a picture of Kelli and texts Rat about meeting with Kelli. She sends the picture, so Rat will know what Kelli looks like.

Kelli notices what Katlain did with taking her picture. She figures it was for her friend Rat.

“I take it that was for Rat?”

“Yes, like I said, he’s not very social and doesn’t trust many people.”