Adona finished typing up the last report on her latest experiement and hit the save button. She leaned back in her chair and considered the results. Not very promising at all. In fact, she really hadn't learned anything new. Just another failure to add to the ever growing pile. With a sigh of resignation, she shut down the computer and stood to grab her coat, purse, and briefcase.

As she turned away from the desk to head out the door the phone rang. Frowning in confusion Adona answered it. No one should be calling her at this hour. Anyone who knew her would also know her schedule and would know she'd be leaving for the day.

"Quince, how may I help you?" She says with a slight note of irritation in her voice. She timed her nights precisely, giving herself enough time to drive home and get behind solid walls before the sun came up. A lengthy conversation would mean she would have to take up shelter for the day in the lab and it was not a very comfortable place to spend the long, hot hours.

"This is what happens when someone questions us, Miss Quince. Remember that. I hope you have paid your insurance premiums."

The line wnet dead and Adona went cold. What the hell was the caller talking about? Insurance premiums?

Suddenly she knew and a jolt of fear raced through her entire body. Without bothering to hang up the phone, Adona ran for the door. Her shoes squeaked on the polished floor as she made a mad dash for the back exit of the building. She didn't know how much time she had and didn't want to take any chances. Her only salvation now was to hope they had not rigged her car as well as the lab.

She burst through the back door and ran for her car. On the way, her briefcase bumped madly against her legs, causing her to slow. She dropped the case and the jacket then plunged her hand into her purse to find the keys. Thanking whatever diety might be out there, she found the keys and hit the unlock button before she'd even reached the car.

She pulled the drivers dorr open and threw herself into the seat, jamming the key in the ignition before she'd even gotten the door closed. She turned the key as she grabbed madly for the door and missed the handle twice before finally grasping it and pulling it shut. The car roared to life and she slammed the gears into reverse. She pushed the petal nearly to the floor then slammed on the brakes. Changing gears, she shot like a ball across a billiards board out of the parking lot and on to the dark streets.

As she reached the corner only fifty yards from the lab, the building exploded in a huge rush of noise and angry red flames. She missed the initial explosion but watched three smaller ones destroy the building from her drivers window.

Suddenly she knew what the caller meant. She remembered her discussion with an Alder Lord at the last Court. A discussion that had become quite ugly in a short amount of time. A discussion that had proven very embarrassing to the man she'd spoken to. And he had bombed her lab because of it. All of her work, her research, her successes and failures went up in flames, brocken glass, and scorched walls.

She warched the building burn for only a few moments before getting the car moving again.

"I believe now would be a good time to move." She spoke to the empty car as she made her way back to her haven, already packed and gone in her mind.