Her mother at her side, Sarah walked briskly down the street. She ignored the stares she got from the handful of New Yorkers that recognized her, focusing instead on the building looming on the corner -- the Baxter building, where James Raddison's office was located.

"Thank you for coming back for this, Sarah," Lili said coolly.

Sarah shrugged without looking at her mom. "It's alright. Dr. Wight and Omega were busy with some other business, so I was able to take a day or two to come back to New York."

Lili frowned, creases lining her aging face. "Omega?"

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut over the slip-up.

"Omega? He's in Philadelphia? You've been working with Omega?!" Lili's statement was one of complete and abject horror. "Sarah!" the woman exclaimed, "You stupid, stupid girl! Haven't you seen the news?!"

Sarah's jaw hardened as the pair stopped on the street. Turning to face her outraged mother, the young heroine shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen the news. They're wrong -- he's innocent, mom. I know him -- he didn't kill those people."

"Oh for -- Sarah, you dense, naïve girl. You have as much intuition about these things as a... a... as I don't know what! You don't know him -- you don't know anything about him! You think because you have a schoolgirl crush on him that you know all about him, about who he really is?!"

The pair was starting to get looks from other pedestrians -- quite a feat in New York City. "Mom, I don't have a crush on him. I'm his friend, and when he told me he didn't do those things, I believed him. The media is wrong, mom. They're wrong. Someone's setting him up -- it's all part of this
case we're working on."

"This case," Lili spat the word, "-- I've heard more than enough about this case. Who do you think you are, Sherlock Holmes? Nancy Drew, perhaps? You didn't finish high school, remember, Sarah? It's not like you're a brain surgeon, dear. I'm sure that little Mr. Wight can solve the case all on his own, without your bubble-headed interruptions. For Christ's sake, Sarah, how can you be so dumb? And even if the media is wrong-- "

"They are."

"Even if they are wrong, it doesn't matter. Don't you understand yet? It's all about public perception, Sarah. Why do you think we fixed all your teeth? Sent you to a speech therapist? Or had a team of plastic surgeons working on you for two years straight? So you could be a detective? Not hardly. If
the public thinks Omega is a bastard prick cold-blooded murderer, then that's exactly what he is. You associate with him, your career is over. I won't let you ruin your life on this, Sarah -- I just won't."

Sarah drew a deep breath, then leveled her watery gaze at her mother as best she could. "Mom, it's under control. I know public image is important. I know all about the sacrifices you and dad made. I told you already -- I'm doing this because I'm helping people."

"Not anymore you're not," Lili said curtly. Looking at her watch, she set off at a brisk walk. "End of conversation. Come on. We'll be late if we don't hurry."

Her cheeks burning, Sarah fought back tears as her mother walked away from her. Slowly, she fell into step behind the smaller woman and bit back the harsh words forming in her throat. She knew even then, though -- she would go back to Philadelphia.

"Sarah, are you alright?"

Looking across the desk at her agent, Sarah nodded. "I just have a cold," she sniffled.

James Raddison looked briefly at Lili, then continued. "As I was saying, Mr. Krane wants to meet with you this week to set up some rehearsals."

"Rehearsals?" Lili wondered aloud. "I thought the film didn't go into production until after the New Year."

"It doesn't. But J. D. Krane is not your typical director. Most of his experience is on Broadway, and he's a firm believer in method-acting and pre-production rehearsals."

"I can't meet with him this week," Sarah said quietly but firmly. "I'm going back to Philadelphia, and expect to be there until the end of the week."

Lili's back straightened like a board and her head swiveled towards her daughter.

"What?"

Sensing the immediate and palpable tension, Raddison raised his hands. "It's okay, Lili. It can wait. Bruckheimer's not totally pleased with the idea in any case. He doesn't think Krane should be spending time and money on this sort of thing when the script isn't even finished yet."

"It's still not done?" Sarah asked.

"They're still revising it. There are some loose ends. Don't worry, Sarah, they'll be ready. We need to make sure you are."

Sarah shrugged. "I'm ready."

Raddison sat back in his chair. "You've gained a little weight these past few months, Sarah."

"A little. Maybe five pounds."

"Eight pounds," Raddison corrected, glancing through a file containing information from a recent medical Sarah'd had.

"Have another donut," Lili muttered.

"Lili--" Raddison began.

"What? I can't watch her twenty-four hours a day. When I'm not around, she eats whatever she wants. And on this current case, I'm sure she's not exercising."

"I'll lose the weight," Sarah managed through ground teeth. "Most of it is muscle in any case -- I've been working out at Musselman's gym a fair amount."

"Sarah, we're not trying to be cruel. But the camera can be, and you need to be in tip-top shape before filming begins. Blur will be, and you don't want to be upstaged by her."

"But she's the star--"

Raddison raised a finger. "Doesn't matter. We need to make sure you blow her away, on-screen."

"But she has more screen time, and--"

"Doesn't matter," Raddison repeated. If you play your scenes right, you can steal every one you're in. That's our goal, Sarah. And don't think Blur won't be trying to do the same thing."

Sarah leaned back, amazed that Raddison and her mother could take something she was actually looking forward to and twist it so badly. Blur had seemed really nice when she'd met her -- was this really going to be so competitive and cut-throat? Standing up, she picked her jacket up from the
back of her chair and turned to go. "Call me when you find out when Mr. Krane wants to meet with me. I should be back by Friday."

Speechlessly, her jaw clenched, Lili watched her daughter leave.

As a dull, gray winter dawn broke, Sarah sipped at her coffee and adjusted the temperature in her car, a red 2000 Mercedes SLK230 Kompressor. The German machine drove like a dream, but Sarah had thought it stupid to spend almost fifty thousand dollars on a car when finances were so tight. Raddison and her mother had their way in the end, as they had with everything. Sarah looked in the rear-view mirror at her cosmetically altered nose and cheekbones, then scowled. Thus far, they'd gotten everything they wanted. Not this time. Sarah pressed the accelerator closer to the floor and smiled as the convertible responded saucily.

Despite her troubles with her mother, despite knowing she was heading for another encounter with Hack, and despite being severely over-tired, Sarah's mood was good. She'd spent the night prior with Alex, and what had started out as a quick date for a soda had turned into a truly magical evening. That, coupled with her burgeoning confidence at having successfully disobeyed the authority figures in her life meant that she made it to the doorstep of Dr. Wight's old brownstone in record time.

"You look tired, Sarah. Have you been having trouble sleeping again? More nightmares?"

Sarah rubbed her bleary eyes. "No, actually I've been doing pretty good the last few days. I was just up really late last night."

Wight busily moved about his study, dropping this and that into a worn leather satchel. "Oh? Getting into trouble, were you?"

"You might say that," Sarah grinned. "There's this guy--"

"I presumed as much. Mr. Champion is out of the picture, then?"

"Tommy?" Sarah's statement fell a little. "Uh... Tommy and I are just really good friends. Besides, we hardly even see one another."

A knowing look glinted in Wight's eyes, and he shrugged. "Life is sometimes complicated," he commented.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed, thinking of her love-life, "it is."

Picking an ornate, silver-tipped cane from its stand by the door, the diminutive doctor rapped his metal hand on the wall and beckoned. "Come, Sarah. It's time we put an end to this ugliness... today we find Hack."
 

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