Coward

Looking across the room at her sister who was unable to return her gaze, whose eyes bore holes through the floor, Brin felt two steady arms guide her towards the interrogation room.

One Day Prior.

It had been ten years since Brin had last seen her sister, Scarlet. As she opened her P.O. box, she noticed a particular letter that stood out from her other bills. The letter was addressed, "To Brin. From Scar." Flipping the letter twice over, there was no sign of a return label. With a pounding heart, Brin quickly shut her P.O. box and rushed outside to her car, avoiding the startled glances from those she had bumped into. Once safely inside her car and away from the public eye, she tore the letter open and read.

Brin,

They're onto us. I'm going to turn myself in. Maybe they will have leniency if it's done this way. I advise you to do the same. They know you're in Colorado.

With love,

Scar

If she thought her heart was pounding before, surely it was going to explode out of her chest now. As thousands of thoughts raced through her head, she quickly pulled out of the parking lot, and without noticing, backed into someone's car. A man, slightly taller than average with a strong build, gets out of the black suburban she just hit. He has dark, shaded sunglasses on and his messy brown hair makes it look as though he's gone a few days without showering, although his choice of wardrobe says the opposite.

"I am so sorry, I was distracted and I didn't notice your car." Brin states, her voice in pure shock. The man chuckles, taking off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of piercing blue eyes.

"Hey, it's alright. It happens right? I do need to ask if you have insurance though. And an I.D.. That dent isn't going to fix itself." The man says in a cool tone, pointing towards his car. Right off the bat, Brin notices the D.C. license place. A little weird for someone in Colorado right?

"I do, let me just grab them from the car." Brin states, walking back towards her car, still wondering why someone would drive their car all the way from D.C. to Colorado.

"Here you go. Insurance and my I.D. feel free to take a picture of both." She says as she hands them both to the man.

"Here, you can take a picture of mine too, just to be safe," He says, handing her his wallet and insurance. As she opens up his wallet, the first thing she notices is the large F.B.I. stamp on his I.D.. Trying to play it cool, despite her heart skipping a few beats, she asks, "F.B.I. huh? What are you doing way out here in Colorado?"

"Currently? Trying to find the identity of and track down a suspect who's responsible for the murders of 7 couples in Nebraska that happened about a decade ago," He says slyly, "But, I'm here in this parking lot hoping I can take you out for a drink." He finishes with a smirk on his face.

Brin smiled. Underneath that smile, however, there was a whirlpool of emotions. "I'll consider, but what would you be doing looking for a woman in Colorado for the murders of couples in Nebraska?"

The man looks taken aback at something she said. Did she say something wrong? "A woman..." He questions, now eyeing her with suspicion. His face changes and the smirk returns. He laughs. "Sorry, I can't tell you anymore, it's an F.B.I. case. Protocol." He hands her back her I.D. and insurance and she does the same.

"My numbers on my insurance papers if you want to take me up on that drink." And with that, that gets back into his car and drives off.

Shit. He never mentioned the woman was a suspect had he? Now she had really messed up. After ten years with not a single trace of evidence, had she really slipped up now? Her mind felt as though it was going to explode. If it had not have been for Scarlet going to the cops, she probably wouldn't be in this situation at all.

Hours later, Brin was finally getting into bed. Her whole apartment was packed up and she would be leaving in the morning. She had no idea where she would go; Mexico, maybe. She just knew she wanted to be able to live the rest of her life somewhere other than jail. As she drifted off to sleep, the memories started to creep back in.

"Brin.. Brin! Wake up! Please!" A voice sobs. "Please Brin, he's coming back." Slowly opening her eyes, Brin sees her sister peering over her, her face covered in tears and her lips quivering. "Remember what we talked about? It has to be now!" Scarlet sobs. Scrambling out of bed, Brin reaches under her bed for the box she placed there earlier. Pulling it out from under the bed, she quietly opens it to reveal a gun. The two sisters look each other in the eyes, one engulfed in tears and the other hard eyed. "Okay. I'll lay in bed and pretend to still be sleeping. When he comes back, just give into what he wants, okay? Once I feel like it's the right time, I'll roll over and... finish him off." Brin states firmly. Scarlet bites her lip and nods. They both clamber back into bed and wait. About five minutes later, the door creaks open. Brin, facing the wall and away from her sister, hears her dad climb into bed with her sister. She shuts her eyes tighter. In the bed beside her, Scarlet quietly whimpers. Three... Two... One. BANG! Both girls swiftly get out of bed and glance at their lifeless father on the ground. Scarlet quickly reaches for the gun from Brin's hand and runs out of the room. "Scar! What are you doing!" Brin whispers, but it's too late, her sister has disappeared from view. Less than a minute later, another gunshot echoes throughout the house. Brin winces. Both her parents are dead. With a flushed face, Scarlet returns. "I had to. She knew... She knew what he was doing and she never did anything." Brin nods in agreement. Fast forward to a year later, gunshots echo through Brin's head again, this time in their foster house. Two months later, more gunshots. Four months, gunshots. Seven months. Nine. One Year. Bang!

Sweating, Brin wakes up to her alarm. She glances over at the clock, 6:20 A.M.. She has to go now, before it's too late. She gets out of bed and brings her bags down to her car. Nobody is outside when she brings the first set of bags down. Walking back up the stairs, she grabs the second set of bags and brings them back down to the car. Still, not a soul is in the parking lot. Brin walks back up the stairs to grab the last set of bags from her apartment. She stops and glances at the empty apartment. Surely it will be searched by the cops soon, or maybe even the F.B.I. agent from yesterday. She sighs, not ready to leave behind the life she rebuilt for herself, not ready to become a fugitive. Leaving the key on the kitchen table, she turns around and grabs the last two bags to bring down to her car. This time however, the parking lot is not empty.

There are two cars parked in the middle of the parking lot. She recognized the first. A black suburban with a dent in the back. Standing in front of it, two F.B.I agents, the one from yesterday and a girl, as well as two local cops. The man from yesterday slowly moves his hands and places his gun on the ground.

"Hi Brin. I'm going to need you to drop the bags and put your hands where I can see them."

Eying the three guns still pointed at her, she knows there's nothing she can do now. She sets the bags down and places her hands behind her head. The man swiftly walks over to her and turns her around, bringing her hands to her lower back and securing them with a pair of handcuffs.

"You never told me your name." Brin states, her voice revealing no emotion. She feels his cool breath on her neck, and knows he's smiling.

"Derek." He whispers, "But you can call me Agent Warren."

The ride in the squad car seemed to last forever. Her thoughts had finally slowed down. Her mind was empty. Once they got to the station, Agent Warren was the one who came to get her out of the squad car. He grabbed one arm while one of the police officers, a big burly man, probably in his 50's, grabbed the other. Together they escorted her through the doors. The second they entered the station, Brin saw her. Both men holding onto her stoped, giving her a chance to talk to her sister one last time. Scarlet was sitting across the room, also handcuffed, her eyes covered in tears. She was talking to another F.B.I agent.

"Scar!" Brin shouted across the room. However, Scarlet did not look up. She slightly turned her head towards her sister's voice, but she was too afraid to make eye contact. Looking across the room at her sister who was unable to return her gaze, whose eyes bore holes through the floor, Brin felt two steady arms guide her towards the interrogation room. That was it. The last time she would ever see her sister and she didn't even get a proper goodbye.

Coward.