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Description
Elenore kept looking over her shoulder as she and Laetitia walked home from the park. She had noticed a blue compact car following them when they had left, so she keeping an firm but gentle grip on Laetitia she had managed to themselves hidden within crowds of people. When the pair had made it the one street they had to cross in order to get home Elenore looked nervously to see if the car was still following. She felt her heart pounding but she managed calm herself by looking at her young charge.

As soon as the walk signal flashed Elenore picked up Laetitia and started to run across the street. When she was half way across she noticed the blue compact car was speeding toward them regardless of the traffic signal. Laetitia had the presence of mind to start running when Elenore had released her as they both ran. The car barely missed them, and then it stopped long enough for someone on the driver’s side to pull out a pistol and start firing. The first bullet went wide; the second had grazed the area of her left arm where she had gotten shot two and half months earlier. She grabbed her wounded arm just as the third bullet grazed her mid torso but the shock had brought up flashbacks as she began to fall. Her life began again to flash across before her eyes as she fell. It all came rushing back to her; the jungle, Gazth-Sonika, the soldiers, the field, Friday Monday and Margaret, and the falling...

As Vanessa Rene drove into the Gazth-Sonikan night she was troubled. Granted joining up with Madlax and Limelda Jorg had its risks but she considered it pay back for what the pair had done in finding the evidence to exonerate herself and her parents. Throughout the entire mission Madlax seemed distracted by something that made her seem distant and that almost got the three of them killed. She looked in the rear view mirror see Madlax sleeping in the back seat; it reminded her of Margaret on that trip to the resort a few months ago.

"She's still asleep?" Limelda asked in her usual terse tone. "Seems that way. I wonder what’s bothering her. I don't think I've never seen her so distant. Vanessa replied though she thought it a small miracle that they were even speaking never mind working together, she could thank being dead, reuniting with her parents and then being resurrected to change her point of view to forgive Limelda and help undo the damage that the twelve year false war had produced.

Limelda glanced in the rear view mirror; she could barely make out Madlax's face in the dim light but even she saw she was sad, almost frightened of something. As she turned back to facing front she heard Madlax saying in her sleep; "Oh please don't die. You promised to stay with me forever."
Both Limelda and Vanessa glanced at each other in bewilderment and concern at what Madlax had just said. "Okay that was unusual." Limelda piped glancing back at Madlax before turning back and trying to get some sleep. Vanessa on the other hand was genuinely concerned, she had heard those words somewhere else before but she wasn't sure who had said it, though she had her suspicions.

When they had finally had gotten back to the demilitarized zone, Madlax woke with a look on her face as if she had witnessed something terrible. "I need to get home." She said groggily.
Limelda looked at Madlax then at Vanessa. "We'll be back home in an hour. Any reason why you want to get home right away?" Vanessa asked trying fathom what was going on with her till Limelda turned to Madlax and in an accusatory tone asked; "What the hell is wrong with you?! You've been acting really spacey lately and it almost got us killed!"
Madlax looked up at Limelda and replied in an somber tone; "Something horrible has happened and I feel helpless to do anything."
"Like what?! Tell me!" Limelda asked.
"Did it have something with the dream you were having? You said something not dying and a promise." Vanessa interrupted hoping that she could get an coherent answer out her and keep Limelda from escalating the situation. "It wasn't me who was asking but I still feel saddened; I didn't want her to die."
"Who didn't you want to die? Vanessa asked then added "Limelda or me?" to offset any snide remarks from Limelda.
"I couldn't tell who it was but I knew it was someone I know." Madlax replied still trying to wake up and still at unease. It was after midnight when they finally reached the rooming house they were staying at.

Madlax found a note shoved under their door. She picked it up, and when she read it the look of unease intensified.
She handed the note to Vanessa. It was written in a man's handwriting which she recognized as the manager of the rooming house.
The note read as followed;
V. Rene
Margaret called. Call back ASAP
Urgent
Vanessa looked at the note and wondered why Margaret would call. She knew if something did happen that required her assistance Elenore would call, unless something happened to Elenore. Vanessa's mind flashed with one worst case scenario one after the other. She took a deep breath and took a moment to calm herself.

"I'm sure everything is alright. It's just unusual for Margaret to call." Vanessa said to Madlax but herself as well trying not to think the worst. "Still, you should call." Madlax added with same look of unease etched on her face. Vanessa wanted to lie down for a couple of hours but the look on Madlax's face and her own conscious told her otherwise.
"I'll give her a call to find out what's going on. It should be middle of the day in Nafrece." She added noticing that Limelda had already gone in and got into the shower. Madlax felt a little relieved as she picked up the rest of the gear and walked in after Vanessa.
Pulling out a small black book from her bag she looked up Margaret's number. Once she had found it she dialed. The phone rang three times, then a fourth and then a fifth time. Vanessa began to worry as the phone kept on ringing as she knew the answering machine would've kicked in by now. She wanted to believe that they were all out and forgot to turn on the answering machine but she knew that wasn't like Elenore to forget a simple thing like that. The phone rang a couple more times and Vanessa was about to give up when someone answered.

"Hello" Margaret said with the same tone of unease as Madlax.
Vanessa was glad someone picked up but worried at the same time. The feeling of dread she was feeling came back stronger as she imagined the same worst case scenarios combined with her own flashbacks she stood there as she tried to regain her sense of the here and now.
It was Margaret's second hello that brought Vanessa back. She took a deep breath and in a calm as she could manage tone answered; "Hello Margaret."
"Yes it's me. I just got home and I just read your message. What's going on?" She asked starting really wonder where was Elenore.
She heard Margaret crying over the receiver. A feeling of dread washed over her she felt the bottom of her stomach tighten.
A few moments pasted till Vanessa snapped to get Margaret's attention. "Margaret!
Margaret stopped crying long enough between crying fits to say; "Please...come home..."
"Let me speak to Elenore, Margaret. Is she there?" Vanessa said hoping that Elenore was there.
"Please come home...Elenore." Was Margaret's reply.
"Margaret! Stop and take a deep breath. I know you can do it...deep breath." Vanessa said as she heard Margaret taking deep breaths though she did wish Margaret would hold the receiver away from her mouth when she did so.
When she felt that Margaret had calmed down enough she asked; "Slowly, tell me what happened?"
She could hear Margaret taking a couple more deep breaths before she answered.

The answer floored Vanessa; "Elenore was shot." Margaret said trying to keep herself from crying.
"When was this? Who shot her? Did they catch who did it?" Vanessa said in a bewildered state.
"A week ago. There was somebody following her and Laetitia home and they drove up and shot her. I don't know if they did. I've had to call the police in last few weeks." Margaret sadly replied.
"Why did you have to call the police?" Vanessa asked noticing that the expression on Madlax’s face had turned from unease to anger. "There was a couple men who followed us home after the Pride parade and they yelled insults when threw rocks through our windows" Margaret replied.
It was starting to make sense to Vanessa; she knew that Nafrece had legalized gay marriage and it sparked some violence that ended in a lot of cases; death. She did wonder why they would go to a Pride parade. "I didn't know you went to Pride." Vanessa said hoping to get some answers.
"We went because Elenore wanted to talk to a couple ladies that knew her parents. And then we marched with them in the parade."

Margaret's mind flashed back to that day; it had been sunny and a bit warm. Elenore had made sure they were all covered with sun block. As they walked to where they were going to meet the women who knew Elenore's parents she noticed the all floats and the people in costume. She took it all in with a childlike wonderment and she noticed Laetitia was silently was looking at Elenore with a curious look.
"Isn't this exciting? This is going to be our first Pride parade." Margaret said ecstatically. Laetitia just looked up at Margaret and shrugged being more focused on Elenore for some reason. "This all may be confusing to you. You if have any questions, I'm sure Elenore will be happy to answer."
"Speaking of ourselves are we?" Laetitia said in her usual distant tone. Then she added; "Why are we here? This isn't our place." That statement made Margaret stop in her tracks. She guessed that being around this many people may have frightened the formerly isolated Laetitia and this was her way of coping. So she thought of a response before anything she said caused trouble. Bending down to Laetitia's eye level she said; "We're here to support Elenore and we get to be in a parade. Besides Vanessa used to march with the people we're marching with." This seemed to put her somewhat at ease when they both noticed that Elenore had gone ahead of them. They walked a little further down the block till they saw Elenore talking first with a tall ginger haired woman then a blond and an Asian woman. She remembered Elenore introducing them to her but some reason she couldn't remember their names.

As she tried to remember she was snapped back to the present by Vanessa.
"Sorry about that. I was trying to remember that day and who Elenore was talking to." Margaret said sheepishly. "Which group did you march with?" Vanessa asked trying to make a possible connection between the men harassing them and with Elenore being shot.
In a matter of fact tone Margaret said one word; "Wangdoodles." That stunned Vanessa a bit; the coincidence that it would be the same group she used to march with knew Elenore's family was strange. "Did anything happen while you marched?" Vanessa asked regaining her composure making a mental note to question Margaret further on the subject later.
Silence followed on other end as Margaret remembered that day. "Other than Laetitia getting tired nothing bad happened during the parade." Margaret finally replied.
"Alright then. When did the men start harassing you and Elenore?" Vanessa then asked.
Then quickly added; "How long after Pride I meant to say."
It took a few more minutes before Margaret replied. Vanessa noticed while she was on the phone with Margaret, Madlax was on her phone talking to someone, most likely their employer Three-Speed. Madlax still had that angry look on her face.
"I guess a couple hours. We were having dinner when we heard shouting outside and then the rocks started to come through the window. When Elenore looked at the men she looked like she got scared and she called the police." Margaret finally said.
That made Vanessa pause; she knew Elenore would've been out there confronting the men regardless if they were armed or not. She wondered what was about them that frightened the usually plucky Elenore?

"Did they try to break in at any time?" Vanessa asked trying to keep herself calm.
"No. But they still came around even when Elenore wasn't home. I had to call the police. I haven't seen them since the last time I called and that was a week ago...right...when...Elenore...got...shot."
Vanessa lowered her head fighting back the tears. "I'll be in Nafrece tomorrow and help with the funeral arrangements."
A confused Margaret responded; "Funeral arrangements? For who?"
"Didn't you say Elenore got shot?" Vanessa asked in surprise.
"Yes I did but I didn't say she died. Are you still coming back to Nafrece?" Margaret replied in return. Vanessa conceded the point to Margaret; she didn't say Elenore was dead but she had been shot. From the look on Madlax's face they we're going to Nafrece if they wanted to or not.

"Of course I am." Looking at Madlax Vanessa added; "Though Madlax and Limelda are coming with me, is that okay with you?"
With an audible sigh of relief Margaret responded; "Sure. Laetitia and I would be happy to see Madlax. Oh, I have no problem with Limelda either." Though Vanessa pondered, if Margaret was tolerating Limelda out consideration for Madlax and herself.
"Do you feel safe where you're at Margaret?" Vanessa queried.
"I don't see why not. If those men come back I'll call the police though I want to get take out. I'm having trouble making pasta." Margaret said sounding more like her usual self.
"If you need to; take a taxi back and forth. I don't want to make a prisoner in your home but I do want you both safe. When we get there, we'll talk about this more." Vanessa said before Margaret interrupted.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Margaret said before she hung up.

When she hung up the receiver she turned to Madlax but before she could say anything Madlax said in a determined tone; "I couldn't get a hold of Three Speed and I'm hoping he calls before we leave."
"Didn't you just leave a message on his machine to tell him we where we're going?" Vanessa asked. "I did. But I want him to set up us a safe house for us. I'm going to go looking for these guys and I don't want to lead anyone to Margaret and Laetitia, plus when Elenore gets out of the hospital we might have to hide her." Madlax replied in the same tone.
"Wait a second; I've never said Elenore was in the hospital." A surprised Vanessa said.
"I know you didn't, but I knew for some reason that she was." Madlax said nonchalantly. All Vanessa could do was sigh and then Madlax's cell phone rang.
Madlax looked at the number and pressed the send button. "It's me.
"I got your message Madlax. I have no problem with any of you going to Nafrece but what do want from me?" Three-Speed began.
"I need a safe house, guns, gear and any permits needed." Madlax replied.
"That's a tall order. Any reason you need all that?" Three-Speed balked.
"Enfant has been after Margaret Burton and they shot our friend Elenore. We're going to discourage them and get Elenore's shooters." Madlax slightly fibbed. Three-Speed was about to say something when Madlax mentioned Elenore and then a long silence.
"I'll see what I can do. Just give me a couple hours and I'll get back to you." Three-Speed said with a unusually saddened tone. "We still have to get cleaned up and Vanessa has to book the flight so you have time." Madlax said not noticing Three-Speed's tone.
"Got'cha. Talk to you in a couple hours." Three-Speed said before hanging up.
"You're serious about this, why?" Vanessa asked puzzled at the extreme Madlax was going at. "If Enfant has a problem with me, let them come at me. They crossed that line when they shot Elenore."

"Wait Madlax! As far as anyone knows; it was a couple violent homophobes going after Elenore. What makes you think that Enfant had anything to do with this? I don't know if you know that in Nafrece, gay marriage was made legal and some people taken to hatred and violence and sadly Elenore became a victim of it.
"I can't explain why I know but I know it's them. And don't give me that look." Madlax said not budging. Vanessa knew that she didn't know the whole story but to equate this to a plot of revenge from Enfant was a bit much, considering they were too busy tearing each other apart now that Friday Monday was dead.

Limelda popped her head out from the bathroom. "There's still hot water. Either of you going to take a shower? "I'm going to." Vanessa said heading to the shower figuring that was the best idea than to keep arguing with Madlax.

Meanwhile in Nafrece; a tall golden blond haired woman was checking her email when the phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hi Mireille. It's me. I know it's been awhile but I need a favor from you." The male voice on the other end spoke. "It has been awhile Johnny boy. You could've kept in touch; if you had you would've known that your niece got shot." Mireille replied said in an annoyed tone.
"It's why I'm calling..." John replied.
"I'm listening..." Mireille said in a nicer tone.

An hour later while Madlax was in the shower she heard her phone ring. "Always, when I'm in the shower. I swear he has the most horrible timing" Said in a very irritated tone as she was about to go out of the shower when Limelda picked up and started talking.
She heard Limelda laugh. "Yeah, she's in the shower. You want to talk to her? Okay." And Limelda walked up to Madlax who was still in the shower. With a grin Limelda turned on speaker phone while Madlax poked her head out. "Why must you always call me when I'm in the shower?" She asked in that same irritated tone. Madlax sighed and turned off the shower. Grabbing a towel then the phone she listened to Three-Speed's instructions. A couple hours later in the dawns early light they took the flight to Nafrece.

Description
Elenore kept looking over her shoulder as she and Laetitia walked home from the park. She had noticed a blue compact car following them when they had left, so she keeping an firm but gentle grip on Laetitia she had managed to themselves hidden within crowds of people. When the pair had made it the one street they had to cross in order to get home Elenore looked nervously to see if the car was still following. She felt her heart pounding but she managed calm herself by looking at her young charge.

As soon as the walk signal flashed Elenore picked up Laetitia and started to run across the street. When she was half way across she noticed the blue compact car was speeding toward them regardless of the traffic signal. Laetitia had the presence of mind to start running when Elenore had released her as they both ran. The car barely missed them, and then it stopped long enough for someone on the driver’s side to pull out a pistol and start firing. The first bullet went wide; the second had grazed the area of her left arm where she had gotten shot two and half months earlier. She grabbed her wounded arm just as the third bullet grazed her mid torso but the shock had brought up flashbacks as she began to fall. Her life began again to flash across before her eyes as she fell. It all came rushing back to her; the jungle, Gazth-Sonika, the soldiers, the field, Friday Monday and Margaret, and the falling...

As Vanessa Rene drove into the Gazth-Sonikan night she was troubled. Granted joining up with Madlax and Limelda Jorg had its risks but she considered it pay back for what the pair had done in finding the evidence to exonerate herself and her parents. Throughout the entire mission Madlax seemed distracted by something that made her seem distant and that almost got the three of them killed. She looked in the rear view mirror see Madlax sleeping in the back seat; it reminded her of Margaret on that trip to the resort a few months ago.

"She's still asleep?" Limelda asked in her usual terse tone. "Seems that way. I wonder what’s bothering her. I don't think I've never seen her so distant. Vanessa replied though she thought it a small miracle that they were even speaking never mind working together, she could thank being dead, reuniting with her parents and then being resurrected to change her point of view to forgive Limelda and help undo the damage that the twelve year false war had produced.

Limelda glanced in the rear view mirror; she could barely make out Madlax's face in the dim light but even she saw she was sad, almost frightened of something. As she turned back to facing front she heard Madlax saying in her sleep; "Oh please don't die. You promised to stay with me forever."
Both Limelda and Vanessa glanced at each other in bewilderment and concern at what Madlax had just said. "Okay that was unusual." Limelda piped glancing back at Madlax before turning back and trying to get some sleep. Vanessa on the other hand was genuinely concerned, she had heard those words somewhere else before but she wasn't sure who had said it, though she had her suspicions.

When they had finally had gotten back to the demilitarized zone, Madlax woke with a look on her face as if she had witnessed something terrible. "I need to get home." She said groggily.
Limelda looked at Madlax then at Vanessa. "We'll be back home in an hour. Any reason why you want to get home right away?" Vanessa asked trying fathom what was going on with her till Limelda turned to Madlax and in an accusatory tone asked; "What the hell is wrong with you?! You've been acting really spacey lately and it almost got us killed!"
Madlax looked up at Limelda and replied in an somber tone; "Something horrible has happened and I feel helpless to do anything."
"Like what?! Tell me!" Limelda asked.
"Did it have something with the dream you were having? You said something not dying and a promise." Vanessa interrupted hoping that she could get an coherent answer out her and keep Limelda from escalating the situation. "It wasn't me who was asking but I still feel saddened; I didn't want her to die."
"Who didn't you want to die? Vanessa asked then added "Limelda or me?" to offset any snide remarks from Limelda.
"I couldn't tell who it was but I knew it was someone I know." Madlax replied still trying to wake up and still at unease. It was after midnight when they finally reached the rooming house they were staying at.

Madlax found a note shoved under their door. She picked it up, and when she read it the look of unease intensified.
She handed the note to Vanessa. It was written in a man's handwriting which she recognized as the manager of the rooming house.
The note read as followed;
V. Rene
Margaret called. Call back ASAP
Urgent
Vanessa looked at the note and wondered why Margaret would call. She knew if something did happen that required her assistance Elenore would call, unless something happened to Elenore. Vanessa's mind flashed with one worst case scenario one after the other. She took a deep breath and took a moment to calm herself.

"I'm sure everything is alright. It's just unusual for Margaret to call." Vanessa said to Madlax but herself as well trying not to think the worst. "Still, you should call." Madlax added with same look of unease etched on her face. Vanessa wanted to lie down for a couple of hours but the look on Madlax's face and her own conscious told her otherwise.
"I'll give her a call to find out what's going on. It should be middle of the day in Nafrece." She added noticing that Limelda had already gone in and got into the shower. Madlax felt a little relieved as she picked up the rest of the gear and walked in after Vanessa.
Pulling out a small black book from her bag she looked up Margaret's number. Once she had found it she dialed. The phone rang three times, then a fourth and then a fifth time. Vanessa began to worry as the phone kept on ringing as she knew the answering machine would've kicked in by now. She wanted to believe that they were all out and forgot to turn on the answering machine but she knew that wasn't like Elenore to forget a simple thing like that. The phone rang a couple more times and Vanessa was about to give up when someone answered.

"Hello" Margaret said with the same tone of unease as Madlax.
Vanessa was glad someone picked up but worried at the same time. The feeling of dread she was feeling came back stronger as she imagined the same worst case scenarios combined with her own flashbacks she stood there as she tried to regain her sense of the here and now.
It was Margaret's second hello that brought Vanessa back. She took a deep breath and in a calm as she could manage tone answered; "Hello Margaret."
"Yes it's me. I just got home and I just read your message. What's going on?" She asked starting really wonder where was Elenore.
She heard Margaret crying over the receiver. A feeling of dread washed over her she felt the bottom of her stomach tighten.
A few moments pasted till Vanessa snapped to get Margaret's attention. "Margaret!
Margaret stopped crying long enough between crying fits to say; "Please...come home..."
"Let me speak to Elenore, Margaret. Is she there?" Vanessa said hoping that Elenore was there.
"Please come home...Elenore." Was Margaret's reply.
"Margaret! Stop and take a deep breath. I know you can do it...deep breath." Vanessa said as she heard Margaret taking deep breaths though she did wish Margaret would hold the receiver away from her mouth when she did so.
When she felt that Margaret had calmed down enough she asked; "Slowly, tell me what happened?"
She could hear Margaret taking a couple more deep breaths before she answered.

The answer floored Vanessa; "Elenore was shot." Margaret said trying to keep herself from crying.
"When was this? Who shot her? Did they catch who did it?" Vanessa said in a bewildered state.
"A week ago. There was somebody following her and Laetitia home and they drove up and shot her. I don't know if they did. I've had to call the police in last few weeks." Margaret sadly replied.
"Why did you have to call the police?" Vanessa asked noticing that the expression on Madlax’s face had turned from unease to anger. "There was a couple men who followed us home after the Pride parade and they yelled insults when threw rocks through our windows" Margaret replied.
It was starting to make sense to Vanessa; she knew that Nafrece had legalized gay marriage and it sparked some violence that ended in a lot of cases; death. She did wonder why they would go to a Pride parade. "I didn't know you went to Pride." Vanessa said hoping to get some answers.
"We went because Elenore wanted to talk to a couple ladies that knew her parents. And then we marched with them in the parade."

Margaret's mind flashed back to that day; it had been sunny and a bit warm. Elenore had made sure they were all covered with sun block. As they walked to where they were going to meet the women who knew Elenore's parents she noticed the all floats and the people in costume. She took it all in with a childlike wonderment and she noticed Laetitia was silently was looking at Elenore with a curious look.
"Isn't this exciting? This is going to be our first Pride parade." Margaret said ecstatically. Laetitia just looked up at Margaret and shrugged being more focused on Elenore for some reason. "This all may be confusing to you. You if have any questions, I'm sure Elenore will be happy to answer."
"Speaking of ourselves are we?" Laetitia said in her usual distant tone. Then she added; "Why are we here? This isn't our place." That statement made Margaret stop in her tracks. She guessed that being around this many people may have frightened the formerly isolated Laetitia and this was her way of coping. So she thought of a response before anything she said caused trouble. Bending down to Laetitia's eye level she said; "We're here to support Elenore and we get to be in a parade. Besides Vanessa used to march with the people we're marching with." This seemed to put her somewhat at ease when they both noticed that Elenore had gone ahead of them. They walked a little further down the block till they saw Elenore talking first with a tall ginger haired woman then a blond and an Asian woman. She remembered Elenore introducing them to her but some reason she couldn't remember their names.

As she tried to remember she was snapped back to the present by Vanessa.
"Sorry about that. I was trying to remember that day and who Elenore was talking to." Margaret said sheepishly. "Which group did you march with?" Vanessa asked trying to make a possible connection between the men harassing them and with Elenore being shot.
In a matter of fact tone Margaret said one word; "Wangdoodles." That stunned Vanessa a bit; the coincidence that it would be the same group she used to march with knew Elenore's family was strange. "Did anything happen while you marched?" Vanessa asked regaining her composure making a mental note to question Margaret further on the subject later.
Silence followed on other end as Margaret remembered that day. "Other than Laetitia getting tired nothing bad happened during the parade." Margaret finally replied.
"Alright then. When did the men start harassing you and Elenore?" Vanessa then asked.
Then quickly added; "How long after Pride I meant to say."
It took a few more minutes before Margaret replied. Vanessa noticed while she was on the phone with Margaret, Madlax was on her phone talking to someone, most likely their employer Three-Speed. Madlax still had that angry look on her face.
"I guess a couple hours. We were having dinner when we heard shouting outside and then the rocks started to come through the window. When Elenore looked at the men she looked like she got scared and she called the police." Margaret finally said.
That made Vanessa pause; she knew Elenore would've been out there confronting the men regardless if they were armed or not. She wondered what was about them that frightened the usually plucky Elenore?

"Did they try to break in at any time?" Vanessa asked trying to keep herself calm.
"No. But they still came around even when Elenore wasn't home. I had to call the police. I haven't seen them since the last time I called and that was a week ago...right...when...Elenore...got...shot."
Vanessa lowered her head fighting back the tears. "I'll be in Nafrece tomorrow and help with the funeral arrangements."
A confused Margaret responded; "Funeral arrangements? For who?"
"Didn't you say Elenore got shot?" Vanessa asked in surprise.
"Yes I did but I didn't say she died. Are you still coming back to Nafrece?" Margaret replied in return. Vanessa conceded the point to Margaret; she didn't say Elenore was dead but she had been shot. From the look on Madlax's face they we're going to Nafrece if they wanted to or not.

"Of course I am." Looking at Madlax Vanessa added; "Though Madlax and Limelda are coming with me, is that okay with you?"
With an audible sigh of relief Margaret responded; "Sure. Laetitia and I would be happy to see Madlax. Oh, I have no problem with Limelda either." Though Vanessa pondered, if Margaret was tolerating Limelda out consideration for Madlax and herself.
"Do you feel safe where you're at Margaret?" Vanessa queried.
"I don't see why not. If those men come back I'll call the police though I want to get take out. I'm having trouble making pasta." Margaret said sounding more like her usual self.
"If you need to; take a taxi back and forth. I don't want to make a prisoner in your home but I do want you both safe. When we get there, we'll talk about this more." Vanessa said before Margaret interrupted.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Margaret said before she hung up.

When she hung up the receiver she turned to Madlax but before she could say anything Madlax said in a determined tone; "I couldn't get a hold of Three Speed and I'm hoping he calls before we leave."
"Didn't you just leave a message on his machine to tell him we where we're going?" Vanessa asked. "I did. But I want him to set up us a safe house for us. I'm going to go looking for these guys and I don't want to lead anyone to Margaret and Laetitia, plus when Elenore gets out of the hospital we might have to hide her." Madlax replied in the same tone.
"Wait a second; I've never said Elenore was in the hospital." A surprised Vanessa said.
"I know you didn't, but I knew for some reason that she was." Madlax said nonchalantly. All Vanessa could do was sigh and then Madlax's cell phone rang.
Madlax looked at the number and pressed the send button. "It's me.
"I got your message Madlax. I have no problem with any of you going to Nafrece but what do want from me?" Three-Speed began.
"I need a safe house, guns, gear and any permits needed." Madlax replied.
"That's a tall order. Any reason you need all that?" Three-Speed balked.
"Enfant has been after Margaret Burton and they shot our friend Elenore. We're going to discourage them and get Elenore's shooters." Madlax slightly fibbed. Three-Speed was about to say something when Madlax mentioned Elenore and then a long silence.
"I'll see what I can do. Just give me a couple hours and I'll get back to you." Three-Speed said with a unusually saddened tone. "We still have to get cleaned up and Vanessa has to book the flight so you have time." Madlax said not noticing Three-Speed's tone.
"Got'cha. Talk to you in a couple hours." Three-Speed said before hanging up.
"You're serious about this, why?" Vanessa asked puzzled at the extreme Madlax was going at. "If Enfant has a problem with me, let them come at me. They crossed that line when they shot Elenore."

"Wait Madlax! As far as anyone knows; it was a couple violent homophobes going after Elenore. What makes you think that Enfant had anything to do with this? I don't know if you know that in Nafrece, gay marriage was made legal and some people taken to hatred and violence and sadly Elenore became a victim of it.
"I can't explain why I know but I know it's them. And don't give me that look." Madlax said not budging. Vanessa knew that she didn't know the whole story but to equate this to a plot of revenge from Enfant was a bit much, considering they were too busy tearing each other apart now that Friday Monday was dead.

Limelda popped her head out from the bathroom. "There's still hot water. Either of you going to take a shower? "I'm going to." Vanessa said heading to the shower figuring that was the best idea than to keep arguing with Madlax.

Meanwhile in Nafrece; a tall golden blond haired woman was checking her email when the phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hi Mireille. It's me. I know it's been awhile but I need a favor from you." The male voice on the other end spoke. "It has been awhile Johnny boy. You could've kept in touch; if you had you would've known that your niece got shot." Mireille replied said in an annoyed tone.
"It's why I'm calling..." John replied.
"I'm listening..." Mireille said in a nicer tone.

An hour later while Madlax was in the shower she heard her phone ring. "Always, when I'm in the shower. I swear he has the most horrible timing" Said in a very irritated tone as she was about to go out of the shower when Limelda picked up and started talking.
She heard Limelda laugh. "Yeah, she's in the shower. You want to talk to her? Okay." And Limelda walked up to Madlax who was still in the shower. With a grin Limelda turned on speaker phone while Madlax poked her head out. "Why must you always call me when I'm in the shower?" She asked in that same irritated tone. Madlax sighed and turned off the shower. Grabbing a towel then the phone she listened to Three-Speed's instructions. A couple hours later in the dawns early light they took the flight to Nafrece.