## Part 1: Bathroom Kara stood, firmly planted in front of the cracked, stained and broken mirror in the small, tiled room. The grout around each tile looked moldy, almost moving and furry. The small space smelled strongly of air freshener and faintly of feces. Cramped, the stink of the place had no escape, save for the shoddy door, which allowed an uncomfortably large amount of new and equally pungent air in, around all sides. She stared at the large gray mark on her cheek. It was dark. Crusted. Dried blood? A bruise? She rubbed it with a wetted brown paper from the dispenser, now empty, but not all the gray would be moved. Only something black smeared the paper towel. Dirt? Heavy frightened breathing echoed in the room as Kara noted a dull pain broadcasting a periodic frequency of sharp stabs into the side of her face. The gray was probably old and dried blood, she decided. How long had she been out of it? The breathing, however, Jared. She turned to assess his wounds. There were none. “What the fuck is your issue,” Kara said coldly. “They’re going to kill you,” Jared whispered back, almost in tears. He seemed confused by her language. “How are you not panicking?” “Shut up,” she cut him off. “Stop being a pussy, it’ll be okay. I’ve got this all under control.” Her hands unshaken. Her mood, if nothing else, simply pissed about her reflection. “Says the woman with the face sized bruise…on her face!” So, that’s what it was, she thought as she turned back to the mirror. Adjust hair. Smooth skirt. Adjust top. Well, bruise plus some dried dirt and blood, she guessed. That makes more sense now. Probably a fist fight. Punched by her assailant in the heat of battle. She knew she had likely gotten the better of…whoever it was. “Yeah, about that,” Kara said. “Where are they now?” “Wh…who?” Jared said with confusion and a renewed sense of fear. “Who!?” Kara shouted, turning back to Jared in anger. “Are you serious? The fucker that punched me, who else?” “No one punched you,” Jared said with shock on his wide, pale face. “And stop yelling, do you want to get us both killed?” She stopped. Okay, what was happening here. Kara was usually completely in charge and “in the know” in every situation. Through the robberies. The getaways. The kidnappings. Hell, even when ordering lunch. Her stomach growled. Need to get some food, she thought. “Look,” she said, “I have someone ready to take over everything if this thing goes south. The social media accounts, the bank account activity, the schedule. It all keeps going, with or without…” “Jesus Christ,” Jared said with a gasp, cutting her off. “What are you even talking about? You are crazy.” He emphasized the word ‘are’, as if he had been debating the topic for a while. Kara figured he had been thinking that since they met. Damn right, she thought. But she knew she needed to help Jared keep his cool or she would end up a bloody mess. She took a step to stand near him. He was hugging his knees, on the floor, in the corner of the space. He was inches from the shit stained toilet lid that was hanging off to the right of the bowl. Kara wondered for a moment how it had broken. Did she hit her head on that filth? Is that how she got this damn ugly bruise? Also, how was the bowl and the water that sat in it so clean in this pitiful gas station bathroom? “Jared,” Kara said calmly, kneeling while balancing gracefully on her 6-inch heels. She needed his manhood restored in this moment. She needed to use her sultry voice. She needed to ignite his ego and his groin. Dr. Bell would be so proud of her for having these thoughts. “Kara?” Jared looked up, eagerness in his eyes. “Man up, and get your shit together. I need you to be strong,” she said with an angry mothers’ tone. “We will get through this, like always,” she finished. What did Dr. Bell know anyway? He’ll be fine, she decided. In fact, maybe this approach will help. Jared wiped his eyes quickly. Sniffed loudly, a little too loud. The echo of a sniff. Then again. Kara shook her head in simultaneous disbelief and knowing. “We need to leave and find a safer and,” she glanced around the room, “quite frankly, less shitty spot. Can your princess-sized balls handle that?” “Yeah. Yeah, sure,” Jared said, the whites of his brown eyes bloodshot and tight with fear. “I can do that. I’m just glad you’re here with me.” “Good,” Kara said as they both stood. “But first, one quick question.” “Yeah?” “Seriously, how did I get this bruise?”