The soft hum of the radio playing was the only sound in the white and beige-coloured room. The view from the window was the same: mountain peaks, snow, rivers, flowers ... it had been years since he had been anywhere else. It was not as if he was forced to stay in the compound; he sometimes roamed the lands for days during rest and relaxation periods and never left the family lands. It was different for work assignments; he had gone on work assignments but returned to the family lands and compound immediately after every debriefing. It was some time since he had seen a city he wasn't working in or visited friends. He was grateful that his family had saved his life, but he regretted leaving the woman who held his heart, even now, behind. Looking down at his hand, he took in the woman cradling an infant. Turning it over, he read the words he had read a thousand times or more over the past years. "I named him after you. He has your eyes."

Swallowing hard, he sighed; he had a family … out there … without him and over the years, he had come to regret now insisting they go with him.

"She named him after me," he whispered, "where is he? Why didn't he come to me when he grew up?"

It had bothered him for years; he had a son who had grown up with those people in a family that stood against everything he believed in and grew to value. What would he be like? What had they done to him?

"Your mother never wanted you to be part of that world," he whispered to the child in the photo, "did she get a chance to tell you who your father was and where you came from?"

A knock at the door drew his attention, "Enter."

A man in black fatigues with a shortcut hairstyle appeared; he looked nervous, uncomfortable and worried.

"What is it?" the man frowned, noting the unusual emotions from the man.

"There has been a communication," the man said, shifting, clearing his throat before continuing, "it came from Jason."

"Josiah's son?" the man asked, frowning, "Is there a problem?"

"The communication …." he swallowed hard, "… was for you."

Narrowing his gaze, he stepped away from the window, tension filling his athletic frame, "Tell me."

"He has sought refuge," the man repeated.

"Is that all?" he asked, confusion running through him.

The man at the door shook his head, glancing away before meeting his eye and sighing, "The complete message is …" inhaling, he spoke in one breathe as though he needed to get it out quickly, "…. he has sought refuge and means to end it even if it ends his life."

"Oh my ...no," he spluttered, "I need to get to Jason before any more happens."

Nodding, the man waited, "There will be a boat waiting at the cave dock in twenty minutes to take you there."

Pausing in the middle of packing, a pile of shirts in hand and looking over his shoulder, "How is this?"

"The Nisim gave orders before she left," the man said, "I think she foresaw the possibility of what may happen."

Nodding, he returned to packing quickly, zipping the case shut and turning to find the man still in the doorway, "Is there more?"

Shaking his head, the young man stepped into the room, "I hope you find your son, Sir. I cannot imagine that kind of loss ... I don't think it can be any less than if you had known him; no matter what people say, there is a bond, and emotion has to be felt even though you've never met him."

"Thank you," he smiled tightly, "I'll be at the dock in five minutes."

Nodding, the young man left. Glancing around his small suite, he acknowledged that this would be the last time he may ever be in the place he had called home for two decades. A sense of anticipation and excitement grew within. Nodding resolutely, he left the room, heading for the armoury. First, his weapons and then to do what he should have done years ago.

Glancing over her shoulder, Candy checked that Eitan was still slamming his fists into the bag before entering the kitchen, where Jason made himself a sandwich.

"He has a lot of rage," she said, keeping her voice low,

"Can't blame him," Jason said, "I don't know if I'd be any better in his situation."

Nodding, Candy checked they were alone before continuing, "I got a response; he's leaving in five and will be here in twenty."

Nodding, Jason moved to the kitchen door with his plate piled high with roughly eight sandwiches. He headed for the round table, taking two smaller plates with him. Candy followed, surprised to see that Eitan was closer than before, wiping his face; his eyes lit up when he saw the pile of sandwiches and followed Jason to the table, helping himself after the silent invitation.

"Feeling better," Candy asked, wiping off an apple from the fruit bowl and biting into it.

"I am," Eitan said, smiling, "you were right about the punch bag."

She watched him bite into a sandwich and chewed, "What did you overhear?"

Jason glanced sharply at Candy before looking across at Eitan; how she knew these things was a wonder. He waited, letting Candy take the lead in this area, closely monitoring the other man's reactions.

Eitan finished his mouthful before answering, "Something about someone arriving in twenty minutes. Will I get to meet Josiah?"

Candy shook her head, "I'm sure you will, but I don't think it will be until all this is over. Someone else will be here in twenty minutes...is all."

Eitan nodded, glancing between the siblings, "What aren't you telling me?"

"A lot," Candy said, "but we're not in a position to and …" she frowned, looking at Jason, "… how does Mom put it?"

"It's not our story to tell," Jason supplied, nodding.

"What he said," Candy said, biting into the apple.

"Whose story is it to tell?" Eitan said, tensing slightly.

"The person arriving in …" Candy checked the wall clock, "… fifteen minutes."

Eitan stared at her unblinkingly, "Has this person got something to do with me?"

"Yes," Jason said, selecting another sandwich, "want to tell me how to finish your sister?"

"It won't be easy," Eitan said, "but I'm not going to play her kind of ... games … as she calls it."

"Nothing she does is a game," Candy said, "she's…."

Eitan waited with raised eyebrows as Candy floundered, looking for a suitable word. Moving his questioning gaze to Jason, he shrugged.

"Candy doesn't like talking badly about anyone, so she tries to find words that convey what she is saying without being mean," Jason explained.

"Oh, there won't be one for my sister," Eitan said, "she is a power-hungry, inhumane narcissist that gets her kicks and orgasmic pleasure out of other people's pain and suffering, plus she gets off on and totally enjoys killing people. I think somehow it feeds her sick, sick soul."

Candy stared at Eitan, "But you were the family enforcer."

"Not by choice," Eitan said, "it was the only way I was able to get my mother to a hospital … I was never able to find out if she lived or died."

"Eitan, what happened?" Candy whispered.

"The man I always thought to be my father beat her if she so much as had a thought of her own," he sighed, "she took so many beatings I think my mother gave up … wanted to die, but I was still a child, and she protected me … a lot. I was away from home the last time, and when I got home, I found her unconscious in the living room. I was on the way to the car with her when … he … stopped me, manipulated a promise from me in exchange that I could get her medical help."

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Candy gasped, covering her mouth at the horror of the event.

"Held you at gunpoint," Jason whispered, sighing when Eitan nodded, "brutal, bloodthirsty and cruel."

"That sums up the entire family," Eitan said, "I was able to get my Mother to the emergency room, but while I was waiting, my father's men arrived and … forced me to leave … they were prepared to kill everyone around me if I didn't do as they said."

Candy shook her head, "Were you ever able to find out about your Mom?"

Eitan shook his head, "I was monitored every moment of the day, never left alone, never able to have a moment of peace. I wanted to join law enforcement but was given this story about how the family were being persecuted …" he shook his head in disgust, "… like an idiot I swallowed the lies and thought I was protecting oppressed people when in fact …" he closed his eyes tightly, grimacing.

"You were the one enforcing the oppressors," Jason finished for him, "yeah … I'd be angry about that as well."

"I'm not angry," Eitan said.

"Oh ...what are you?" Jason asked, biting into another sandwich.

"Enraged, furious, livid," Eitan said, frowning before answering, "murderous."

"That is definitely more than angry," Candy said, "so … how do we stop her?"

"With a bullet," Eitan said without hesitation or emotion.

Candy stared at him, blinking surprised, "Just like that."

"Yes," the cold eyes that looked at the siblings ran shivers down Candy's spine, "just like that. It's like putting down a deranged animal."

"You hate her," Jason said, his eyes never leaving the other man's face.

"I have never liked the family," Eitan said, "my mother refused to raise me with the rest of the children as is the way with this family. She said I came from better stock."

"Perhaps you did," Jason said, "how long have you known you were being an enforcer for them?"

"I've suspected for nearly three years but only found the proof a few hours ago," Eitan sighed, "I haven't killed anyone for them since I started suspecting I was being used."

"What did you do with the people?" Jason asked, frowning.

"Ask your Dad?" Eitan said, "I delivered them to the dock I came in on, and he took them …" he waved his hands in the air, sitting back in the chair, "… wherever he took them."

"How did you find out about my father?" Candy asked.

"I was going through some of my mother's things that I had put in storage after her … supposed death," Eitan said, "I found letters from someone with my name telling my mother about a man called Josiah and that he had a place specifically for keeping hunted people safe."

"And you simply made contact," Jason said, "my father took your word for it."

Eitan shook his head, "Not at first," he sighed, "it was only when I showed him the letter that he … got this strange look on his face and decided to help me."

Candy and Jason looked at each other before Candy frowned, "You don't think …" she didn't finish, but Jason nodded. "Oh boy," she sighed, "plus he works for … well … you know who he works for."

"What are you two talking about?" Eitan asked, looking between them, "Oh, is this the person you can't talk about but is on the way here."

"That's the person," Jason said, "and he should be here sooner than we expect. So, apart from a bullet, please give us more information to stop your sister."

Eitan sat silently for a moment before meeting their eye, "The best way would be to take away any kind of leverage she has on the people she has a hold on."

"You mean those she's manipulating into working for her," Candy said, "how do we do that?"

"Blow up the damn building she has been obsessed with and free everyone in the basement," Eitan said, "it won't be easy, but it can be done."

"We've never done easy," Candy said, "the question is … how do we free the people in the basement?"

"She went down there every now and again," Eitan said frowning, "there has to be a code or switch that gets her in without blowing up everything as she claims there is."

"There is a way, but it's not a code or switch," a mellow, slightly accented voice spoke from the doorway Eitan had arrived through, "it's a tunnel, and we can get everyone out without detection."

Everyone turned to the voice. Jason and Candy stared before looking at each other and looking at Eitan.

Eitan pushed out of his chair, staring at the man in the doorway. He had seen that face every morning in the mirror, but it was younger, unlined and less weathered. He parted his lips to speak but said nothing, closing his mouth again. He shook his head, closing his eyes and finding the man still standing before him when he opened them.

"This …. is the person," he said, glancing at Candy and Jason, "I take it."

Jason stood, moving toward the man, "Are you Eitan Nissim?"

"I am. Your father said I must tell you we met at the Cambridge," the older man said, "apparently that means something."

"Yes, it does," Candy said, stepping forward, "please come in."

"Thank you," Eitan Snr said, closing the door and entering the room.

"Do you need something to drink or eat?" Candy asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Eitan Snr said, his eyes fixing on the younger version of himself.

"You're my father, aren't you?" Eitan asked.

"I believe I am," the man said, pulling a photo from his pocket and handing it to Eitan, "is this your mother?"

Eitan moved toward the older man, taking the photo and looking at a picture of a much younger version of his mother. Absently drifting his finger over the surface of the image where his mother's face sat. Silently, he nodded, swallowing the sudden emotion clogging his throat. Blinking rapidly, he cleared his throat roughly.

"Yes, this is my mother," he whispered, returning the photo to the man, pausing as he spotted words on the back, "she told you."

"Yes, I tried to find where you two had been moved to," the older man sighed, taking the photo, "but it was in vain, my one lifelong regret."

"You looked for us?" Eitan asked.

"Yes, they would not allow us to marry even though we both wanted that more than anything," Eitan Snr said, "they constantly moved you two around, so I couldn't find you or get you away from them. I heard from a contact that you mother was forced to marry someone they controlled …" he swallowed hard, "… I was heartbroken."

"But you gave up," Eitan said, angry, "you abandoned us."

"No," his father whispered, shaking his head, "it is in our nature never to do either. I heard that you had brought your mother into the hospital, but I got there too late to stop them getting you in their clutches …" he paused as he fought the emotion crashing over his face, "… but not too late for your mother."

"Mother is alive?" Eitan asked as hope sprung to life in his eyes.

"The last time I saw her," Eitan Snr said, "I have seen her a few times, but the last time she insisted I no longer visit."

"Why? Where is she?" Eitan asked, tensing as he stepped toward his father.

"The last I heard, Josaih had her moved into a facility somewhere on this land," Eitan Snr said, "the reason she gave me for terminating my right to visit was that it was too hard to look at me because I remind her of you."

Eitan stared at his father, not wanting to believe him, but the truth shone strongly in the same coloured eyes as his own. Turning, he walked to the window, blindly looking at the view of the river; his mother was alive but in a facility. Why?

"Why is she in a facility?" Eitan asked, not turning from the window.

"She has trouble moving around by herself," Eitan Snr said, "partly from the last beating and partly because they tried to finish her off in the hospital."

"You saved her life," Etian said, suddenly understanding his father's strange words, "you got to her just in time."

"Yes," Eitan Snr whispered, "but I don't think she was happy to be saved considering the consequences."

"How can you say that?" Eitan asked, turning to look over his shoulder.

"She told me," Eitan Snr said, "on my last visit to her … she said … I should have let her die. She may have loved me once, but I realised that day my actions in saving her turned whatever she felt about me into hate."

"But you still love her," Eitan said, sighing.

"Until my last breath," Eitan Snr said, glancing down at a pocket on his cargo pants, reaching in as a buzzing continued, "I have to take this."

Moving into the kitchen, he answered the phone. Eitan watched him go before turning to Candy and Jason.

"We have a tunnel to get them out," he said, "he can take a team in while I deal with my half-sister."

"Do you think that is wise?" Candy asked.

"Why do you ask that?" Eitan asked.

"You have a twisted view of your sister," Jason said.

"Half-sister," Eitan said, talking over Jason's words, "there is nothing twisted about it at all."

"You don't think so," Candy said, "and we do understand more than you know, but she killed your girlfriend, the love of your life. She helped them manipulate you into staying … who knows, perhaps she was getting a kick out of watching you twist in the wind doing her bidding. It's not Something we can put past her."

Eitan sighed, propping his hands on his hips, "You have a point; she does seem to have a way of pressing my buttons."

"You think," Jason said, shaking his head, "if I had to watch that footage, I would be angry enough to end the person who did that without question," he shook his head again, "but this is more than just getting rid of the head of your crime family … this is ending this tyranny that has lasted longer than it should have."

"He right," Eitan Snr said, "I have been advised I have a team available to free the hostages … with lethal force if necessary. Once they are free to clear the rest of the buildings and level that block of buildings."

"Level it?" Eitan said, "That is nearly four city blocks in the middle of an industrial area."

"The order was clear," Eitan Snr said, "the buildings need to be levelled; if she gets away, there can be nowhere for her to hide … ever."

Father and son stared at each other for two thudding heartbeats before the younger nodded, "Well then, we have work to do."

Candy released a pent-up breath before whispering to Jason, "That was a close shave."

"Too close," he said, nodding, "but I think it was navigated safely enough."

"We'll see," Candy said, turning to her station and checking the logistic and operations requests as Jason moved toward the two men discussing strategy at the table. Glancing over her shoulder, Candy took in the younger and the older faces. Years separated them, but they were still mirror images. She hoped they could make amends … for all their sakes, not just for their family.