A/N- Be proud of me guys! I was able to get this update out before I had to. I have a reminder set for 1:00 that I usually ignore, but I'm being productive today. Plus, I wrote a lot!

___

The second I heard the door open, I jumped to my feet and practically ran the the living room. I got there so quickly that Ced hadn't even closed the door yet. I studied him for a second. By his grim expression, whatever had happened at the warehouse, whatever he had seen, wasn't good. I opened my mouth to speak, but Ced beat me to it, answering my yet to be said question.

"I checked everywhere. There were no guards, so I was able to slip in undetected. There was no sign of Isa anywhere. Not even a hair. The warehouse seems like some kind of store house. I found guns and drugs, but nothing else. MacQuoid is some type of gang leader or drug lord, or has a deal with one. So whoever helped kidnap Isa, because she wouldn't be taken by just one man. Even though she's small, she knows enough moves, whoever it is, they're probably a gang, or at least an organized group," Ced explained.

I groan in frustration. We were almost back to where we started. "Well, we're back to having no leads, since all we have is a name. This is reassuring," I say sarcastically, starting to pace around the room.

"Well..." Ced starts, before trailing off, watching me as I circle the room.

"Well, what?" I snap.

"We do have one lead," he says simply. My head snaps up, and I stop pacing.

"Enough with the cryptic shit," I say, demanding he explain.

"There is that address Sage found. I'm a little wary about it, but right now it's the only choice we've got, if you want to find Isa," Ced says in a sharp tone, probably annoyed at being ordered around.

"That could work. This time, I'll go. I want to do something productive, and sitting around here is not helping, especially when Isa is out there, probably scared out of her mind," I say, desperately.

"No." Ced shoots me down. "But, do you have a client?" He asks. I nod. "Well, if you don't want to stay here, go do your job. I'll scout out the house Sage found."

That was better than nothing, but I still wanted to be the one to search the house. "No." I argued. "How about you take the job, and I go search the apartment."

Ced shook his head. "Think about it this way. If you do the job, you'll be showing Isa's kidnappers that you aren't shaken, that you're going on with your life as normal. Also, remember what we talked about before."

"Fine," I sigh, conceding. "It's around midnight. I'll go get changed and and go. Are you going now, too?"

Ced nods. "Yeah. If it is where they're keeping Isa, more people will be asleep now, less if I go during the day. But before you go, did you eat?"

I nod. "Yes, I did. You don't have to baby me."

"Just making sure," Ced says. "Go do your job. I'll see you later."

I walk to my room, glad I had at least thought to bring my knives. I had some spare clothes here, since Ced insisted on it, so I changed into black leggings, a black long sleeved shirt, since it was getting cooler at night, and a belt with knife holders. Slipping the knives, or daggers, as I sometimes thought of them, into their sheaths on my belt, I walked out of my room, slipping a spare key into my boot. Ced hadn't left yet, so I called a quick bye to him, before walking out. I looked at my phone, quickly finding the route to my target's small condo.

It was an easy job, and I got it done quickly. There was a police car that drove through every 10 minutes, since this was a crucial witness I had just killed, but I easily avoided the officer.

I was back at Ced's place in around two hours. He wasn't back yet, which worried me a little. I decided that if he wasn't here in the morning I would go find him, and hopefully Isa too.

___

That morning I woke up to clunks and bangs coming from the kitchen. That didn't sound good, what if there was an intruder? I grabbed my favorite knife from under my pillow, and walked out to the kitchen cautiously. There stood Ced, surrounding by pots and pans. He was rubbing his head, and I snorted, instantly realizing he had knocked these down from the upper cabinet, and one had hit him. He saw me standing there, laughing at him, and rolled his eyes.

"Stop laughing and help me," he said, annoyed. I shook my head. "You're on your own, and while you clean them up, you can tell me what you saw at the house last night," I replied, any humor draining out of my voice at the last part.

"Isa is there. I didn't see her, but I eavesdropped on some people who I think were supposed to be guards. They kept talking about "the prisoner" and "Scarlet's girlfriend," which gave me a pretty good idea who they were talking about," Ced explains as he restacks the pots and pans and puts them away.

I feel a grin spread over my face. We had found Isa! "We'll break her out tonight," I said, a plan already forming in my head. "Were there cameras?" I asked. "A security system?" Ced nods.

"Okay. Then we'll pay Sage to hack into them, and you go a few minutes ahead of me. You'll knock out the guards, and pick the lock. Then I'll arrive and find Isa. You get her out of there, And I'll stay behind to find Oscar. He wants to talk to me, he'll talk to me all right," I explained, my lips curling into a small snarl as I thought of MacQuoid.

Ced nods, actually agreeing. "That's a pretty good plan. As long as Sage agrees, it should work. And if not, I'll find another hacker to do it. Lots of people owe me favors."

We eat breakfast quickly, and I text Sage. She answers, saying she's able to help. CEd and I both change, before driving over to Sage's office.

"So how can I help this time?" she asks as she closes the door behind her.

"So we found where Isa is," I say, and her eyes widen.

"Really? Where is she?"

"That house, the address you found yesterday. We're breaking her out tonight. The problem is, They have cameras and a pretty advanced security system. We need you to hack into it," I answer.

Sage smirks slightly. "Sounds fun," she says. "Now, I want to know how you found out that Isa was being kept there."

So I tell her. I explain how I found Oscar McQuoid's name, how we found the warehouse, and how Ced scouted out both places. When I was done, Sage spoke up again.

"I've done work for him before. He's a small gang leader, not super powerful, but very rich. He has some past business with you, though. Any idea what it is?"

I shake my head. "Not a clue. I'll find out tonight, though. Thanks so much for your help."

Sage smiles. "No problem. I hope Isa's okay. I like her. You, too, Tala, now that I know you're not an asshole like i first thought."

I snort a little at that. Ced clears his throat. "As nice as you two making friends is, I'm still here, you know."

Sage and I both laugh at that. Soon enough, though, Sage shoos us out of her office, since she has other clients coming soon. She tells us to text when we need her to do the hacking, and wishes us luck on getting Isa back. Even as I walk away, I have a small smile on my face, that grows wider when I think about seeing Isa again, being able to hold her.