I was due to head back home after the weekend leaving L.A. on Sunday around noon. I was staying until Sunday to have a little free time and enjoy the ...alifornia weather.It was early in the morning when the first shock of the day went out on the news. The story, as it developed, was bad for Florida but I knew no one in that state. I cared but had no personal stake in what happened. I went into work that morning. I talked with the home office in Richmond later and they had heard nothing to alarm. ] Oh my God, shut up! … God, help me! Don’t let me die here! Not like this! ‘Billy, where are you? Come here, Billy. Come to Daddy! I’ve missed you, Billy. I thought we might spend some time together, bond a little. Come here, I won’t hurt you.’ No, oh God no! He’s found me! [Sorry, kid, but this is gonna hurt like hell.] There he is! He sees me, and he’s got that look on his face! His hand is rubbing his pants, just like when he came after Samantha! Oh God, please no! ‘Heh heh, come here,. "At first," Jim continued, "my fear was that I'd freeze to death. The whole thing seemed kinda' dumb, being with this girl and a bunch of strangers. But I guess you were right—a sleigh ride is fun."Two brothers, talking in front of a slowly-dying fire. The younger one, Jim, almost fourteen. Just at the stage when he'd glare at you if you called him "Jimmy", but slow to react if addressed as "James" or even "Jim". Thick blonde hair, a bit disheveled, like his erratically changing voice often. ”“Look,” Aedan said, “we’ve got this. But it won’t work without you. Zev knows what he’s doing, and I’ll be watching too. But we need you on board. Are you with me?”Nathaniel sighed reluctantly. “Not that I apparently have any choice in the matter ... but fine. Let’s go.”The plan, such as it was, was simple. The problem was that it put Zevran in danger, and the worry made Nate’s stomach ache. Not that the assassin was weak or incompetent – he was a professional; Nathaniel just wasn’t.