I can see the hurt on Kade's face, "Tan, you were a prostitute in Chicago, did they force you to do it?" He asks.

"No. I didn't have a dime. This guy kerb crawled me, flashed me his cash and I made a rash decision to play along, with the intention of snatching the cash. And that's what I did, I had no idea he was a Government official. Just my luck, hey," I say, feeling bad for not telling him sooner.

Kade remains silent.

I remain curled up, like a kid not wanting to face the day.

"Say something, Kade."

He says nothing.

Instead, I feel his hand on my back. He rubs it gently.

"Please, say something," I repeat.

He continues to gently rub my back, "Shouldn't we go get ready for our date day, or are you gonna bailout on me?" He whispers.

His words soothe me and lift my spirits, "No chance," I say, sitting up and feeling suddenly wide-awake.

......

It's a beautifully blue skied, crisp day, with the kind of light that makes London glisten and glimmer like an emerald city.

"Days like this make it so great to be alive," I say, spinning around on Waterloo Bridge. "And in love," says Kade, grabbing me and giving me a full on passionate snog in the midst of a snaking crowd of morning commuters.

When he breaks for air, I can see the annoyance in the faces of those whose way we're blocking. "Go get a room!" Shouts one harassed man in a suit. "Rooms are for losers, we'll be getting a suite, sir," shouts Kade. We both laugh as the guy gives us an angry finger without looking back.

......

We see a beautiful old hotel on The Strand and enter.

A man in top hat and tails stands inside the door, "Do you serve full English Breakfast?" Asks Kade. "Certainly sir. The dining room is down the hall and on your right," he says, with a polite smile.

The room is stunning. It's like stepping back in time to a bygone age. High ceilings decorated with ornate golden cherubs and vines. On the walls hang mammoth portraits of important looking ladies and gentlemen in period clothes. "This is breathtaking, isn't it?" I say, looking around the room.

"Yes, you are," says Kade, taking my hand and bringing his face close into mine. I can't help but laugh, "Why are you being so cheesy?" I ask. He brushes his nose against mine, "I'm being happy," he says, smiling wide.

The white-gloved waiter pours coffee from an ornate silver pot, into delicate china cups. "I thought you were gonna be real mad with me for not telling you about the guy in Chicago," I say.

He takes a sip of coffee, "I was mad when I saw the CCTV images. Then when you told me what happened, I got sad."

"Why sad?"

"I had the image of you on your own, all frightened, vulnerable and desperate. Like the day I first saw you on the street in Chicago." He takes another slurp, "Then I got proud as hell. My girl sorted that slime ball out big style - that's my gal!" He says, punching the table, causing the other diners to turn and look at us.

"Careful, you'll get us evicted," I say, with a smile the size of London town. I take a glug of coffee, "Yeah, I surprised myself by how swiftly I took him out." I take Kade's hand, "But I was so focused on getting back to you, that I just had to do it - you were my motivation." I sigh, "And now I'm a freaking fugitive."

Kade's alerted by his cell, "It's mom - she never - no scrap that - can't call," he says, perplexed.

"Take it, she may have sorted her speak activation technology," I say.

He thrusts it to his ear, "Hello. Oh, hi mom, this is a surprise."

"You did; that's what Tan said, how great is this."

I can always tell the nature of the conversation by the looks on Kade's face. Right now it's deep with concentration and concern.

"Really, well can't you tell me now?"

"No mom, Tan and I are staying in the hotel suite this evening, we need quality time together."

His concern turns to slight irritation.

"We will mom. Tan and I have eyes in the back of our head. We'll be extra careful and we'll see you in the morning."

He brightens up.

"And hey mom, it's great that we can call each other. I gotta go now, our breakfast's arrived." He shakes his head, "Seriously mom, we won't be needing our flypacks, we'll be extra vigilant - love you mom."

"What was that all about?" I ask, tucking into a hearty breakfast of: fried eggs, sausage, bacon and toasted sour dough bread with butter.

"Mom and Tony have discovered some intelligence from The Lady's camp, she wants to discuss it with us tomorrow," he says, eyeing up his breakfast and wondering where to start.

"Like what?" I ask.

He starts with the sausage, takes a bite; leaving me in suspense while he chews and swallows, "They're out to get me, as revenge for your escape. Apparently they've got something real nasty planned for me - and us," he says, taking a break to eat more sausage.

I put my knife and fork down, "Kade, I don't like the sound of this. Let's go back and find out what they've discovered," I say, concerned.

He picks up my utensils and hands them back to me, "Absolutely not. We're having our time; they're not gonna encroach on it. That'd mean they're in control, they're not. It just means we've to be extra vigilant," he says, attacking his breakfast with a hungry vigour.

"Did she give any idea what they plan?"

"No, we'll find out tomorrow. But it'll be some kinda nasty surgical shit." He puts his fork down, "You know, I'm kinda happy mom's told me, normally she tries to protect me from stuff like this. So in a way, this is progress, it makes me feel secure, which is ironic, given I'm not," he says, busting the yolk of his egg with the second sausage.

I nod knowingly, "I know what you mean." I take a slurp of coffee, "Hey, it makes me feel kinda good to; it means I'm wanted by the cops and you're wanted by the crazies," I say, taking in a crunchy slice of toasted sour dough, which tastes buttery and delicious.

......

The fresh air slaps us as we hit the street. Kade takes my hand, "That was real good. Now, how bout we work that bad boy breakfast off by walking all the way to Regents Park, building browsing as we go," says Kade.

"Let's go," I say, pulling him forward.

Kade's fascinated by the old architecture in London and I take pleasure in watching him look in awe and wonder at the architectural splendors that populate these streets.

But while Kade marvels at the beautiful buildings of Regent Street, my eyes are peeled for any suspicious signs: people staring overly long at us, vehicles slowing by us, familiar faces from Darby & Associates, guys with Topknots - literally anyone who lingers on us for too long I regard with suspicion.

But it's not a person that alerts me, it's a building. "Kade, look over there, at that store," I say, pointing over the road.

"Jeez, didn't take them long to invade our day, did it?" Says Kade, disappointment clouding his face. He puts his arm around my shoulder, "Come on Tan, let's ignore it," he says," twisting me away.

I resist, "It's on our route, we may as well stop by, have a look around, ask a few questions. We're still in control of our day, just means we're getting a little work done in our leisure time," I say, encouragingly.

He concedes, "I guess you're right. Let's go check out the Imps in the Toy Store," he sighs.

......

The Toy Store's entire front is covered with images of kids and Imps, with the slogan: GET AN IMP, YOUR FRIEND FOR LIFE. COMING HERE SOON.

"They're not here, it's just the advertising campaign," says Kade, a relieved look on his face.

He pulls me away. But I resist, "No, come on Kade, we need to have a look inside, talk to the staff, see how they've been briefed to sell these monsters," I say, pulling him into the store.

......

'SIDE BY SIDE, OR EVEN APART, AN IMP IS FOREVER CLOSE TO YOUR HEART.' The cheerful song greets us as we enter the store, accompanied by huge advertising posters - everywhere.

I stop a girl wearing the store uniform of white pants and purple sweatshirt with matching baseball cap, "Excuse me, on what floor can we find the Imps?" I ask. "They're not in store yet, they arrive just before Christmas," she smiles.

"Oh, ok. Can we like, place an order, put our names down on a list or something?"

She gives us a kinda disappointed look, "I'm afraid they'll be sold on a first come, first served basis. But if you come to the desk I can take your email details and we'll inform you of arrival dates so you can be in with a good chance of getting one." She looks us over, "I should say, that priority will be given to customers accompanied by their children," she says.

Kade winks at me, "That's no problem, I'll bring my father along with us." She looks at him weirdly, as he continues, "He's devastated, his Imp died, just this morning." I hit his hand, "Excuse my husband, his humor's a little surreal," I say, following her to the desk.

At the desk Kade gives the girl his safe and Secret Service approved email. As she inputs it into her terminal, she looks at Kade, then the email address, a bemused look on her face, "Is there a problem?" He asks. She smiles and nods her head, "No, no. It's your name, it's the same as a new Doll we just got in." She shakes her head again and laughs, "And this is so weird, but it looks really like you," she says.

"A Doll - I look like a Doll?" Asks Kade.

She laughs, "Go and have a look, it's on the second floor," she says, pointing to the escalator.

On the way Kade stops in front of a uniformed store guy, "How can I help?" He asks. With a deft hand, Kade swipes off the guy's baseball cap, then swiftly puts it back, "You can't, your bald," smiles Kade, leaving the guy looking puzzled.

"Stop being crazy," I chastise, as we both chuckle onto the escalator.

......

I see it before we even reach the top of the escalator - a whole wall full of guy Dolls.

We both grab a box and ogle the guy Doll in skinny black jeans and a white t-shirt, "It does look like me," says a grimacing Kade.

The text along the top reads: 'FROM KADE...' and when you turn over the box...'TO KEISHA.' THE WORLD'S FIRST TRANSEXUAL DOLL.' A picture of a hyper feminine, female Doll, accompanies the words on the back.

Kade reads out the smaller text, "You are Kade's mentor and Surgeon as you prepare and carry out his full transition from Kade to Keisha..." he shakes his head, "This is actually quite sick, I mean is there even a market for this kinda toy?" He asks, incredulous.

He looks around and sees a guy staff member, "Is this for real?" He shouts over, holding up the box. The guy shouts back, "Well, it's in your hands, so it's not a figment of your imagination."

I look around, "Is this store for real?" I focus back on Kade, "Have I done it again, walked us both right through their doors and into their plans?" I ask, my blood running cold.

Kade throws the doll back on the shelf, "Let's see who tries stopping us as we walk right back out," he says, grabbing my hand.

......

The biting, sharp slap of cold wind against my face is most welcome.

"Phew, I thought we'd been duped and caught, again," I say, relieved to be back on the busy, bustling London City Street - safe.

Kade shakes his head, "Come on," he says grabbing my hand.

"Wait, Regents Park's that way," I say, pointing up the road.

"I know. But first - I wanna go buy one of those Dolls, to figure out how you switch it from Kade to Keisha," he says, leading me back into the Toy Store...