"You stay here with Ms. Walker. I''ll go find her for you," Yvonne said, then took the gear from one of the staff members. After a quick check, she headed out.


    Truthfully, Yvonne had been antsy for a while, eager to join the search.


    No matter what history she had with Queena, as a police officer, Yvonne could never disregard a human life.


    Yvonne had been trained in investigation at the academy. Leaving the vi, she followed the direction Queena wasst seen heading on the security footage, searching for any clues along the path. Eventually, she found herself entering a dense, undeveloped forest.


    The cell signal was weak in the woods, and Queena''s trail was faint and sporadic. Just when Yvonne would find a new clue and think she was close, the trail would


    vanish again.


    Following the intermittent tracks, Yvonne ventured deeper and deeper into the forest without realizing it. She searched for hours, until the sky began to lighten, but there was still no sign of Queena.


    Exhausted, Yvonne was resting under a tree when she heard the faint sounds of a fight in the distance.


    She got to her feet and instinctively moved toward the noise.


    There, she saw Bet fighting a masked man dressed in ck.


    The man was a skilled fighter, but he was clearly no match for Bet. With a powerful kick, Bet sent him to the ground, pinning him with a foot to the chest. "Who are you people?” he demanded, looking down at him. "What are you doing on this ind?"


    The man remained silent, his eyes darting around nervously.


    Bet watched him, then suddenly sensed a swift movement behind him.


    He ducked with lightning-fast reflexes. By the time he straightened up, several more men in ck had emerged from behind the trees, two dropped down from the branches above, and a few more rose from the undergrowth.


    They were all armed and looked like formidable opponents.


    Meanwhile, the man Bet had kicked down was being helped to his feet by his aplices.


    "Is everyone here now?" Bet''s gaze was cold and deep as he surveyed them. "What are so many of you doing hiding on my ind?"


    "Mr. Bet Thompson, it''s best not to know things you shouldn''t. You''ll live longer that way,” the leader of the group replied.


    "Big words. You''re the first to have the guts to cause trouble on my territory,"


    Bet said, his dark eyes radiating an intimidating pressure.


    He had stumbled upon these men while searching for Queena.


    One of them hadn''t hidden well enough and was discovered by Bet.


    He found himself locked in a struggle with several of the men, and for a moment, they were evenly matched.


    But there were more than a dozen of them. Outnumbered, Bet knew he''d have to pay a steep price to subdue them all.


    Just as a dagger lunged for his left shoulder from behind, Yvonne suddenly interverted, blocking the attack. In a seamless motion, they


    fell into a back-to-back stance,


    warily facing their enemies.


    Once, they had been partners who could trust each other with their lives. That trust,


    it seemed, was still there.


    With Yvonne and Bet fighting


    together, the men in ck were clearly outmatched. A few of the smarter, ones managed to escape, but several were captured


    Yvonne and Bet found rope in their gear packs and tied the captured men up tightly.


    Bet was pressing the leader for answers, but the man was stubborn. Even when Bet squeezed his wound, he gritted his teeth and didn''t make a sound.


    Yvonne moved to help, but as she approached Bet, she saw it-high in a tall tree nearby, the dark muzzle of a sniper rifle was aimed directly at Bet''s back. Content S