by Juliette Vincent

Created on: April 17, 2008

(An excerpt from an action/adventure novel that I'm currently writing called "She Dreams in Red". This scene takes place toward the beginning. Julie is a spy/merc who has been hired to infiltrate a vigilante trio. In an attempt to meet with her employer she leads them to the riverfront but insteads finds someone else she didn't expect.)

The four of them stood watching the crowd warily. People were everywhere, pressing all around them, but for some reason there seemed to be the tiniest bit of space between their group and the other dancers. Julie found it slightly odd, but put it out of her mind for now. A band played down at the edge of the crowd, between the people and the river, but the cheering and screaming of the people nearly drowned out their music. Julie closed her eyes for a moment and tried to push the buzzing in her head away. When she opened her eyes again, she scanned the crowd, looking for a certain, familiar face. Trey, Shawn, and Ryan also kept an eye on the crowd. Julie looked at Ryan. "Are you sure she'll be here tonight?"

"Yes," he answered, almost having to shout, just to be heard. She sighed and shook her head. Suddenly someone slammed into her left side hard, nearly knocking her over. Luckily Trey was close enough to catch her. Julie looked around, trying to find the person who had plowed into her so roughly, but everyone was simply dancing. Reaching up to push her hair back behind her ear, Julie realized that the ring she always wore, Scott's ring, was gone.

Her heart pounding, she searched the crowd, not knowing just who she was looking for. But then someone caught her eyes. Down by the ferry dock, a blonde woman stood talking to someone, but Julie's view was blocked. For some reason recognition nagged at her, trying to get her attention. Who is she? Julie thought, trying to figure out why she knew this woman. Suddenly the blonde woman jumped over the railing and into a waiting boat. Now Julie got a clear view of the other person.

Candice.

Julie didn't hesitate, she began to shove her way through the crowd. Ryan called out to her. "What is it?" She didn't bother answering and instead kept going. Her small form made it easier to slip between people. "Come on," Ryan said to the others. "We can't let her get away now." Trey and Ryan started after her, Trey in the lead when Ryan realized that Shawn was missing. He looked around and found him nearby, dancing with a cute redhead.

"Shawn!" he yelled and grabbed his arm. "Come on!" They took

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