Max's heart thudded in his chest. They were being spied on. He didn't know if it was some strange 'Peeping Tom' in the middle of the preserve, or if they had been discovered, but he knew he had to react. Ideas sped through his head. How could he confront the situation without worrying or endangering Ess?

"I think I should get a little more firewood." Max headed for the door, grabbing the poker from the fireplace before he went.

This sudden decision to end their conversation and leave the cabin bewildered Ess. Not only was there more than sufficient firewood stacked along the wall, but what use could a poker be in collecting extra?

Max opened the door only just enough to let himself squeeze through, while remaining as nonchalant about it as he could. This move did not give him the opportunity he would have liked to check his surroundings before exposing himself, and before he could shut the door behind him, he was thrust back inside by whomever it was that he was attempting to confront. He crashed to the floor, hitting his head on the thick rough leg of the wooden table as he went down. That was the second blow to his head in the last sixteen hours, and it was really going to start throbbing soon.

Ess let out an abrupt scream of surprise when the intruder entered, and sunk back into the stiff couch as much as she could. She saw Max hit the floor, and her fear took her once again. She had been shocked and frightened so much lately that her body was no longer cooperating with her head. Instead of fleeing like she wanted to, she was frozen in panic.

Max struggled to get back up, but before he could strike back at the intruder, the man had a gun drawn on him. Upon seeing this, Max had wits enough to freeze. It took a moment for the situation to register, but he suddenly recognized the figure in front of him.

"Oh, shit," was all Max could exclaim at that instant.

"Max," The man spoke. "You are a hard man to find. We've been looking for you all night." He glanced over at Ess, who was still panic-stricken on the couch. Her eyes were on the gun. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you."

Max looked at Ess. The expression on her face showed her confusion and annoyance. She didn't understand what was going on, and she struggled to conclude if this stranger was a good guy or a bad guy.

"She doesn't belong to anyone." Max answered. His disgust was obvious in his tone. Ess was being spoken of as though she was an object. With this realization, the gravity of the situation struck her. This intruder was not here to save her. He must be Angoli or one of his henchmen.

Max took a step closer. His goal was to remove the gun from the situation. Then, the advantage would be gone and he would be able to attack his enemy on equal terms. The man saw the intensity with which Max eyed the gun, and noticed that Max was poised to strike. He wasn't about to give him that advantage, though. He raised the gun from Max's chest to his head and cocked the trigger.

Ess inhaled sharply in her fright. The man glanced over at her, distracted for only a moment, but Max reacted quickly. Grasping the opportunity to assail, he bounded and lashed out towards the gun, hoping to knock it out of its possessor's hand. The gun was removed from its target, but the man did not drop it. He accidentally pulled the trigger, and the bullet grazed the wall above Ess's head. This resulted in a scream from the woman as she finally recovered her senses enough to leap away from the couch.

Max's anger elevated at the close call. He lowered his head, and charged the man, knocking him back against the wall. The man was surprised by this force and was unable to prevent Max from wrapping his hands around his neck. Regaining himself enough to drop the gun, the man attempted to pry Max's hands from his throat, but was astonished to find that Max's strength seemed nearly inhuman.

Ess ran for the door in an attempt to escape. While the man continued his struggle for breath, he managed to flail his foot outwards as she ran by him, kicking her in the shin with enough force to trip her. Ess fell hard. Her wrists, which were still sore from trying to catch her previous fall the night before, roared in pain as she landed on them again. She let out a whimper of agony.

The man, satisfied that he slowed her down, looked back into the face of his choker and saw the impossible anger intensify all the more. Max looked like a madman. They both felt the squeeze increase around the intruder's throat, causing a painful coughing reaction. Meanwhile, Max was so intent on wrenching the air from the man's lungs that he left himself open to his enemy's limbs. When the man raised his knee to Max's groin, the effect was immediate. Max's eyes watered and his strength diminished from his hands. A moment later, he was doubled over on the floor in misery.

The man gave himself a moment to catch his breath. The rushing return of blood and oxygen back to his head apparently caused him some momentary dizziness. He came back to himself abruptly when he noticed that Ess had pushed back to her feet and was stumbling out of the doorway. He grabbed her roughly by her injured wrist, and pulled her towards him. "You're not leaving without me, are you?" His question didn't warrant a response, but elicited a scowl from Ess nonetheless.

Her weak attempts to pull away were useless. The man just pulled her closer to him, invading her space completely. She pushed against his chest to no avail.

Forcing her to bend down towards the floor with him, the man quickly repossessed his gun and aimed it at her face. Ess ceased her struggles at that point. Finally, she looked down at Max. He was writhing on the floor, trying to get up, but still unable to overcome his pain.

The man spoke in her ear. The closeness was sickeningly intimate, making her shiver. "Do you have rope?" She didn't reply so he twisted her wrist until she cried out in pain. "Huh?" He shouted in her face. "Do you have rope?"

"I – I don't know." Did Max pack rope? What did this man want it for? She certainly wasn't enthusiastic about being tied up again.

The man tossed her towards the bags that were on the floor by the kitchenette. "Find some." She looked up at him with a glowering glare. He simply pointed his gun at her. "Either you find some rope and tie him up," He shifted his arm to aim the gun at Max. "Or I'll just have to shoot him." With a smile, he explained, "We can't have him following us now."

Ess, afraid of what this lunatic was capable of, dug through the bags for rope. She pulled out a roll of clothesline, not sure what Max's foresight in packing it could have been. When she held it up to the man, hoping it would appease him, he instructed her to tie Max's hands and feet together.

She looked up at him in disbelief. Her eyes were begging, but before she could protest, the man cocked the gun for the next round. Slowly, and regretting what she was about to do, Ess unraveled the line, and began to wrap it around Max's feet. Max stopped his struggles on the floor, and let her do what she had to do. When Ess's eyes met Max's gaze, she lowered them in shame, and hoped that he knew she was doing this in order to keep him alive.

Max wanted to reassure her, but when he whispered, pain was still evident in his voice. "It's okay, Ess. Do what you have to do." When she got to his hands, he noticed that she was making her best attempt at keeping the bindings loose without drawing the attention of the gunman looming over them.

Before she finished, Max whispered again in an lower octave, "Don't let him get you to Angoli's estate if you can, but don't let him hurt you, either." She nodded slightly. "I will come for you. I'll get you out of this." Before Ess could respond, the man pulled her to her feet, and yanked her towards the door, giving Max a rough kick in his side on their way out.