A faint snore drifted into the small kitchen from the living room, and Christine smiled to herself as she cleaned the dishes. The clock on the stove read 9:30, but Mama Valerius was already asleep.

Soft-footsteps padded into the living room, "Come to bed Mama," Christine whispered to the eighty-nine year old woman napping in an overstuffed chair.

"Of course dear," Mama Valerius yawned, "I was just resting my eyes."

Christine nodded affirming the older woman's white lie while she helped Mama to her feet. As Mama Valerius shuffled off down the worn carpet hallway, Christine herself stifled back a yawn. Working at the bakery all day had left it's toll on her slight frame, she stooped over slightly from the exhaustion of beginning her day at 4:30 am and not having a moment to herself since then. She had been working 4:30 am to 8 pm all week. Rent was due soon, and Mama needed to go to the doctor for her flu shot. Rubbing her temples, Christine collapsed into the chair. Ever since she had graduated high school two years ago Christine had done nothing but work. Her dream had been college, but that wasn't an option. Papa had died six years ago, while he left her with his gift of music, he had also left her with all his debts. Mama Valerius had taken her in and helped for several years, but the woman was beyond working years. So Christine has put her dreams aside to take care of Mama and pay off the debts. A sigh escaped her lips as Christine thought about waking up again at 4:30 tomorrow. Lifting herself off the chair, Christine headed down the hallway to her room and changed into her pajamas, a faded Atlanta 1996 Olympics! shirt. Drained, she crawled into her twin bed relishing the chance to lay down. The bed squealed as she shifted to her side, pushing her long curls over her shoulder. A soft quietness settled throughout the room, and Christine began her nightly ritual of praying for her father to watch over her. Soon soft breaths filled the room as she fell asleep.

—

At 2:06 AM a masked man sat in a car across the street from a dilapidated apartment building on the south side of the city. A wrist watch ticking faintly was the only sound. tick-tick-tick. There was an energy about the man, not a nervous one, but more so of faint excitement. One could compare it to a jaguar hiding in the brush, waiting, for its prey to be caught. When the watch ticked to 2:10 AM this man excited his vehicle and slipped into the darkness of the night. If anyone had seen him perhaps they would note how he seemed to glide as he walked, but perhaps the most interesting thing a person would notice were his amber eyes that burned behind a black mask. A lock clicked, such a faint sound no one would hear it, and the man entered an apartment. Down the hallway, second door on the left, a girl lay sleeping. She was awoken by a handkerchief being held over her mouth and nose. The adrenaline rushed as her hands flailed to grasp her assailant, but within seconds she went limp. A gloved hand brushed her face, pushing the light brown strands to the side. Swiftly, she was scooped up and gone. The man had no intention of her ever returning to that apartment again.