#risla

Rafe had been staring at his laptop screen, trying to figure out new ways of getting into the government's offices without being detected when a small envelope icon flashed up on the screen. He didn't recognise the sender's address and was dubious about opening it.

Of course, it was from Control.

Rafe read the message and rolled his eyes. It was probably a trap and Rafe couldn't risk getting caught up in another of Control's games. But then again Control had never lied in their messages. They just omitted certain details. One detail in this message caught Rafe's attention. Someone needed help.

Rafe left the motel and quickly made his way to the offices on Wood Lane. It was quiet, eerily so especially for New York. This wasn't a good sign. All but one of the office buildings had their lights out. Rafe narrowed his eyes trying to make out if anyone was standing guard. He was surprised to not see anyone. So not a good sign.

He crept through the shadows and got closer to the building and even made his way through the entrance without anyone trying to stop him. He frowned as the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach grew. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was walking straight into a trap.

He managed to clear the ground floor of the building quickly, not finding a soul hiding anywhere. No damsels in distress here. Time to head up higher into the building. Despite this feeling like a trap, Rafe couldn't leave, or try to leave, until he was sure there wasn't anyone who needed his help. He climbed the stairs to the next floor and that's when he heard her voice.

Isla.

Friday the 13th January. One of the worst days in Rafe's miserable life. It wasn't just unlucky, it was down right depressing. This was the anniversary of Bethany Holloway's murder. The day Rafe wished his heart stopped beating, which it didn't. It kept on beating, no matter how much he begged it not to.

Now here he was, standing in the cemetery in which her remains rested, a large bouquet of her favourite flowers clutched tightly in his hand. His free hand was placed on top of her grave stone. He stared at her name craved into the stone until the letters become fractured and no longer made sense. None of this made sense.

He loved her, still does love her. He could never stand to think of her in the past tense. He could feel his heart ache as he counted back the years to when he last saw her alive. He had asked her to not go into work that day and call in sick so the two of them could stay in bed all day. She laughed at his suggestion, saying that while it would be fun, it wouldn't put food into their stomachs or keep the roof over their heads. If only she had listened. If only.

He laid the flowers down next to her grave stone carefully, making sure not one of the petals is crumpled, that each of them were perfect for her. He placed his fingertips over his lips, kissing them and placed his hand over her name. Tears rolled down his face, mixing in with the rain that was falling down from above.

He stood up and turned away from her grave to be see a figure standing off in the distance. The sight of the figure's blonde hair made him pause.

"Beth?" He knew he was acting foolish but something told him to go over to the figure. He followed that impulse, being careful to avoid the other graves as he went. But as he got closer, he wished he had ignored that impulse because he now recognised the woman. Why did it have to be her?

Rafe was going to do something foolish and because he knew how foolish it really was, he made a point of not telling the other members of the Resistance. If he got caught, he didn't want anything to lead back to them. All he did was leave a message on Chris's voicemail saying that if Chris doesn't hear from Rafe in 48 hours, Chris would be in charge.

For the last few days, Rafe had watched the building going through it's daily routine. He watched all the employees pour into the building in the morning, even recognizing a few faces here and there, and then pour out again in the evening. He counted the security guards as they went around the building, making notes of the times they each changed shifts and when they started their rounds. He noticed which offices stayed occupied after hours by workaholics. He watched the building until he knew how it ticked off by heart. He was then ready to break in.

Rafe waited until midnight, when it was almost guaranteed that the only other people in the building were the two of the laziest security guards he had ever seen were on duty. Neither of them would move from the front desk in the building's lobby until about 3am, giving him 3 hours to get in and get out which should be plenty. Using a security card he had stolen from an employee, he swiped his way into the building through the back entrance. This is where his super ability came in very handy. Being faster than the average human meant he could weave his way through the corridors, avoiding the security cameras easily. He found the stairs and headed up to the tenth floor. Using the swipe card again, he gained entrance to the offices. He took a moment to learn the office layout and noted the quickest exits in case he needed them. He then snaked his way in amongst the desks until he found one that sat in a security camera black spot. He sat in the chair and switched on the computer, praying the passwords Renee had given him would still work.