The alley seems to last forever, yet it is only a short time before my captor and I pause, panting in anticipation of being followed. He wears a black...and white mask, demonstrative of lower status. I am in shock until our eyes meet, then familiarity eases my fear. He senses this and gives a small smile before taking my hand and rushing behind a red stone building. My back arches against the brick as his hands cup my face. I couldnt wait any longer – a brief attempt that hardly explains to those. Our son, Bobby, started college last fall and his sister, Carrie, will be joining him this year. We're in the home stretch now. Very soon we'll hit the magical time when the kids are grown and we can have our lives back again.I'm the regional sales manager for a large international exporting company. My life is very nine to five. I might send a lot of my salesmen on the road but I work out of the home office and rarely if ever have to travel. I've been squirreling away vacation time for over. I knew we'd reconnect as soon as he reached his destination.I did the best thing I could think of and sped off to his operating room. Being just slightly more experienced than him, I was there first. I even had to wait a bit for him. I was thinking speed, so I misted more quickly than Kim.He returned to hover over the operating table in the same position I'd initially found him. He formed the thought, "Thank God, I'm not dead," upon seeing the surgery team hard at work. They were working with. For anything and everything that would put me back into life again.What was I really doing here? The following day, I awoke feelingwonderful. All the aches that had been there the day before were no more and inthose drowsy moments before full consciousness descends, I wondered what Iwould try that day. Jumping Jacks? Push-ups?Sit-ups? More running? But mysmile faded as my nose picked up a scent that was unlike anything I couldrecall smelling. It was pungent, antiseptic almost. I jolted up and.