Changes

Fanfic by: NekoSama (aka Chris) and Geonn

Email: nekosama@ix.netcom.com and geonn_c@yahoo.com

Catagory:Angst/Humor

Rating:NC-17 for sexual content.

Pairing: Bobbie Hobbes/Darien Fawkes Clair/Alex Monroe

Warning: Slash

Summary: Sequel to `The Demon Within' and response to a challenge from Logan

Standard disclaimer: The Invisible Man and all the characters are not ours and are used without permission. We are not getting paid for this.



CHANGES
By NekoSama and Geonn

Claire rolled over, blinking into the early morning sunlight that was pouring through her bedroom window. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and she smiled, thinking about who was under the stream.

She threw the blankets off and stood, shocked to discover she had fallen asleep naked. That had only happened one other time... at Oxford. She smiled at the memory before quietly opening the bathroom door and peering in.

Alexandra Monroe stood in the shower stall, her back to the door as she shampooed her hair. Claire slid the door open just far enough to slip inside, then began to rub Alex's shoulders.

Alex moaned, falling back against Claire. "I missed you," the superagent murmured.

"Have we been apart long enough for you to miss me?"

Alex turned, embracing Claire. "Definitely." They kissed softly under the running water. Claire felt Alex's tongue run across her lips and she knew that she had made the right decision sneaking into the shower...

---

Darien Fawkes sat up in bed, his heart beating wildly. For a moment, he had been Whirlwind again. The dream had been a vivid one.

He was standing in the Agency hallway over the brutally murdered bodies of Eberts, Alex, Claire and the Official.

At the end of the hall, Arnaud stood with a gun pressed against Bobby Hobbes' forehead. Darien began to run, but Arnaud simply cackled and lowered the gun.

Bobby then turned and kissed the Swiss terrorist's face, stroking his chest lovingly.

Arnaud smirked, "Tough luck, Fawkes. Looks like you waited a bit too long."

Bobby raised his revolver and said, "See ya, partner."

Darien had been jolted awake by the gunshot. He crawled out of bed and went to his fridge, rummaging through the shelves for something alcoholic.

Behind him, the door to the bathroom slowly opened...

Darien took a sip of his beer.

A figure slipped out of the bathroom...

Darien turned and saw the intruder. The beer can fell to the floor, spilling all over the linoleum. He rushed across the apartment and grabbed Bobby, holding him tightly before capturing his mouth in a deep, long kiss.

Hobbes smiled. "Hey, partner. Love that morning breath."

Darien smiled, stroking Bobby's face. "I thought... I thought it had all been a dream."

"No dream, partner. I love you." They kissed again.

Darien pushed Bobby back against the wall, letting his hands roam over his partner's chest.

Bobby groaned into Darien's mouth, then pushed the younger man away. "We don't have time to get distracted, partner."

"We don't have the agency today. Do we?"

Bobby picked up his black jacket and said, "Uh, no." He put his hands on Darien's shoulders. "The funeral?"

Darien sat on the bed. It was all coming back to him in a flood. "Kaitlin...."

Bobby sat next to Darien and wrapped his arm around him, holding him. "It'll be okay, partner. We just have to do this one thing and then we'll put this whole thing behind us. It'll be like it never happened."

Darien looked into Bobby's eyes. "We won't put...EVERYTHING behind us... will we?"

Bobby smiled. "No. Not everything."

They kissed once more before Darien stood to get dressed for the funeral.

---

Alex watched as Claire got dressed for the day, admiring the pink panties the Keeper had chosen for the day. Claire half-turned and smiled. "What are you smiling at, young lady?"

Alex arched an eyebrow. "Nothing... just imagining how fun it will be to rip those off later in the Keep."

Claire smiled. "In that case, I better wear a skirt."

Alex stood, wrapping her arms around her lover's waist. "Mmm, and wear those leather boots that I like... those drive me crazy..."

Claire smiled as Alex's hands lazily trailed up to cup her breasts. She could feel Alex's lips tracing a line down her bare shoulder and reluctantly pushed the amorous agent away. "We have to get ready. The Official is expecting us at the Agency."

Alex sighed. "Why does the fat man expect us to give up a Saturday? Saturdays are custom-made for sleeping in and snuggling."

Claire smiled and said, "Well... I'm free tomorrow, if you'll take a rain check."

"For you," Alex smirked, "Anything."



CHAPTER 2

Darien was very quiet on the car ride to the church. He still hurt inside from losing Kaitlin. She had been his best friend and like Kevin, she had died in his arms. He was comforted by the knowledge that she and Kevin were together, happy, and would always be with him.

Bobby pulled into the church parking lot and lined up behind the hearse. He sighed as they placed the purple 'funeral' flag on the hood of the car.

Darien and Bobby would be pall bearers along with Kaitlin's brother and uncle.

"Come on, partner. We can get though this," Bobby said softly placing a hand on Darien's shoulder.

Darien nodded as they went inside the church.

---

Alex sighed as she looked over the file on the new case the Official had given her.

It was a routine assignment. They would stake out the office building to see who the drug suppliers were. Darien would be sent in 'under the radar' to take evidence photos.

Alex got up and stretched like a cat. She looked at her watch and smiled. 'I'll just go see how Claire is doing in the lab.'

Claire finished typing in her data as she heard the door to the Keep slide open.

---

"You hungry, Darien?" Bobby asked as they drove away from the cemetery.

"A little. What did you have in mind?"

"I know a little Italian place not too far from here," he smiled hoping to lighten Darien's mood some.

Darien let a small grin across his face. "That sounds wonderful, Bobby."

---

"Well, are you done for the day?" Alex asked as she ran her fingers through Claire's golden hair.

"Yes. I'm ready to go," she purred giving Alex a soft kiss.

"So, how about a little dinner?" Alex added after they broke apart.

"Sounds great. What did you have in mind?"

"There's a little Italian restaurant not to far from here. Very cozy, in fact," she said with a seductive smile.

"Well, let's go then," Claire laughed as she pulled Alex out the door.



CHAPTER 3

The waiter smiled when he saw Darien entering, but it faded slightly when he saw his hand tightly clasped in Bobby's. He covered it well, acting professional. "Welcome to Zig's. I'm Roberto, your waiter. Are we ready to order?"

Darien smiled and ordered a regular spaghetti and meatballs, while Hobbes ordered a fettucini Alfredo with a green bean casserole.

As Roberto hurried off, Bobby leaned forward. "What's his problem?"

"He, uh... he has a little crush on me."

Hobbes smiled. "I don't blame him." They kissed softly and quickly over the candle in the center of the table.

---

Claire and Alex necked as they waited for a table in the crowded restaurant. The waiter approached and cleared his throat.

Alex smiled over at him. "Table ready?"

"Yes, ma'am. My name is Roberto, I will be your waiter this evening. Would you like smoking or non-smoking?"

Alex sheepishly said, "Smoking."

Claire looked at her lover. "You don't smoke."

"I used to... it's just... the smell is like heaven to me. We don't have to sit there..."

"It's okay, Alex," Claire smiled. "Smoking, then."

Roberto led them through the restaurant, turning into the smoking section just before they would have crossed Darien and Hobbes.

---

Halfway through the meal, Darien dabbed his lips with his napkin and said, "I'm goin' to the little boys room, okay?"

Hobbes pointed a faux-suspicious finger at his lover. "You're anorexic. That's how you keep so thin."

Darien smirked. "I think what you're thinking of is bulimia, and I don't have either of 'em. Now, pardon me." He ran his hand over Bobby's bald head as he passed.

---

Claire checked her watch, then leaned across the table. "Do I have something in my eye?"

As Alex peered into Claire's eye, they both turned away from the bathroom. Had they looked, they would've spotted Darien going inside.

Alex said, "There's something in there..."

Claire said, "I'll be right back. I'll go flush it with water." She stood, lightly brushing Alex's lips with her own. She disappeared into the bathroom.

---

Darien exited the bathroom, rubbing his hands with a paper towel. At that exact moment, Claire exited the women's room. They froze, looking at each other. Finally, Darien broke the silence. "Uh... hi, Keeper.Claire." He glanced nervously at Bobby, who was seated with his back to them.

"Hello, Darien. Um... are you here alone?"

"No," he answered, before he could think. "I'm here with..."

He scanned the room for an alibi, then spotted salvation. "Alex!"

Claire frowned. "Alex?"

"Uh, yeah... we agreed to... talk about stuff. It's not really a, a DATE."

"I see," Claire said.

"So? Who're you with?"

Claire panicked and scanned the room as Darien had a minute earlier. "Um... Bobby," she said, hoping the bald man seated just outside of the smoking area was Bobby. If not... she had some explaining to do.

Hell, either way she had some explaining to do.

"Bobby? Oh... okay. Well, uh... have a nice dinner."

"You too."

They broke off and went to their respective wrong tables.

As Darien sat, he said, "You are a LIFE saver. I'll explain everything later, but right now just pretend to be on a date with me."

Alex looked confused, glancing over at the bathrooms.

Claire dropped into the seat and said, "Thank God it's you Bobby. Pretend we're on a date together."

Bobby frowned, glancing back at the bathrooms. He rubbed his face and muttered, "Aw, crap."




CHAPTER 4

Alex glared at Darien for a moment and then saw Claire sit down at another table with someone who looked very much like Hobbes. "Nope. I don't think so," she sighed calmly.

Darien returned the confused look he'd just gotten from her.

Alex got up and pulled Darien out of his seat. She hoisted his arm behind him and marched him forward before he could even yelp out a protest.

---

Claire's eyes pleaded with Bobby to cooperate.

Bobby just laid his face in his hands and groaned.

"Please, Bobby..." she started just as Alex walked up behind her pushing Darien forcefully.

"Uhhh...Claire..." he tried to warn her.

Alex cleared her throat loudly. "Well, Robert, our dates seem to have sat down at the wrong tables."

Bobby just suppressed a giggle. He wasn't sure which was funnier, the fact that Alex and Claire were dating or that Darien and Claire had tried to cover it up like this.

Darien and Claire both looked at each other sheepishly. They were both going to have a lot of explaining to do when they got home.

---

"So what now?" Bobby asked Alex.

"Well, I guess it's along these lines; we'll keep your secret if you keep ours."

"I think that's fair," Bobby nodded.

"I suppose we could also work something out later if we're in danger of being caught," Alex brought up.

Darien just sat silently. He'd never thought that Claire and Alex...of course he guessed it was the same for what Claire was thinking about him and Bobby.

Claire shifted in her seat nervously. She felt awful about doing that to Alex, but she never would have dreamed that Bobby and Darien... 'Well, I guess you learn something new everyday,' she thought to herself.



Chapter 5

The next day, Sunday, was Claire's official sleeping-in day and they took full advantage of it. They had stayed up late to watch Saturday Night Live (which they had quickly bored of) and then moved on to... other things.

When they woke around noon, Claire sleepily decided to christen her new DVD player that night. Alex murmured in her sleep and cradled the pillow. Claire sighed and went to the hallway. She dialed Darien's number on the hall phone and waited for an answer.

"Mm.. yello?"

"Darien! Alex and I were wondering if you'd like to come over here tonight. I just got this wonderful DVD player and thought we could have a little movie marathon. What do you say?"

"I'd say, uh... sounds great. Around seven?"

"Actually, I was thinking six?"

"Okay... we'll see you there."

Claire smiled and hung up, going back to the bedroom to rejoin Alex in bed. Six hours until Darien and Bobby were going to show up. What WOULD they do with all that free time?

---

Darien drove in the car, deciding to give the van a rest.

Bobby tugged at his jacket and said, "Why did I have to wear a nice shirt? Look at you," he complained.

Compared to Hobbes' nicely buttoned shirt and jacket, Darien was wearing a pair of khakis and his Barfly T-shirt.

"You'll be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if they dressed up, you know."

They arrived at six on the dot, finding the front door already standing open. Darien poked his head in. "Hello? Claire?"

"In the kitchen," came the muffled reply.

They entered and headed for the kitchen. Bobby stooped to pick up Pavlov and ruffle the small dog's hair. They turned into the kitchen to find Alex and Claire cooking dinner. Claire was dressed as informally as Darien had ever seen her. She was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with holes in the knees and an ancient T-shirt that read "Don't Play Stupid With Me; I'm Better At It."

Alex was dressed, if possible, even more casual. She was wearing a pair of plaid boxer shorts and her bra.

Hobbes muttered, "Dressed up, huh?"

Alex smiled. "Hi, guys. We're almost done with dinner. Why don't you go look over the movies and see what you wanna start with?"

Darien went back to the living room, looking at the brand-new DVDs Claire had apparently purchased within the last few days. "Gladiator", "The Matrix", both Jurassic Park movies, and both "Mission: Impossible" movies. Darien picked up Gladiator and said, "I haven't seen this one yet."

Hobbes called back into the kitchen, "We found one!"

"Good," Claire said. "Put it in."

When they finished cooking dinner, Bobby set the table while Darien poured the wine.

Alex went upstairs to find something suitable to wear while Claire served the food out.

Alex came back downstairs, turning on the CD player as she passed it. They sat and began eating at around six-thirty.

Claire tapped her glass, interrupting the chit-chat and conversations that had already started. "I'd like to propose a toast," she said, lifting her wine glass. "To love... wherever it may sneak up on you."

Alex leaned over, kissing Claire softly.

Darien copied the move, kissing Bobby.

The two couples kissed for several minutes, then broke apart, perhaps remembering there were other people at the table.

Alex said, "Now... we don't have anything to hide from everyone. I feel so... liberated," she laughed.

---

Eberts entered the Official's office, a file cradled under his arm. "Sir," he stated, "We have a problem."



CHAPTER 6

Darien and Bobby stayed over at Claire's until about midnight. They would have loved to stay longer, but they all had to be in early tomorrow. Especially since Darien and Bobby had just both had about two weeks of down time.

They drove back home in really good spirits. The evening had been great for Darien to help distract himself from the awful time he'd just gone through the past week.

Bobby unlocked the door to Darien's place. He had brought some of his things over here after they had gotten home on Friday night, and Darien had given him a key to his place.

Darien closed the door and flicked on the lights. He took Bobby's hand and led him into the bedroom. He pushed Bobby down onto the bed and kissed him passionately.

Bobby kissed back enjoying the warm sweet taste of Darien's mouth.

Darien unbuttoned Bobby's shirt and ran his fingers down Bobby's well muscled chest.

Bobby growled softly and shivered under Darien's soft touches.

"Make love to me, Bobby," Darien whispered as they broke apart.

Bobby smiled and nodded. He slid his shirt off and then took off Darien's shirt as well. He stood up and kicked off his shoes and moved to removes his pants as well.

Darien followed his movements and took off his shoes and shorts. He pulled Bobby into another kissed and moaned as his erection pressed against Bobby's.

Bobby laid Darien down on the bed and opened the drawer to the nightstand removing the tube of lube. He trailed small kisses down Darien's neck and continued down his chest.

Darien groaned as Bobby got to his erection and brushed his lips over the tip. "Ahhh....Bobby...."

Bobby opened the tube and spread some on his fingers. He gently inserted one into Darien's tight opening.

Darien writhed under Bobby's touch.

When he felt Darien was ready he added another and then one more stretching Darien and hitting the spot deep inside of him.

"Mmmmmmm...." Darien sighed and pushed himself onto Bobby's fingers further.

Bobby removed his fingers and put some lube on his erection. "Ready?"

"Oh yes. Now, Bobby," he purred.

Bobby pushed in slowly inch by inch until he was fully encased. "Ooooo...so tight, Darien," he groaned electrified by the white-hot grip. He pulled back almost all the way and back in creating a slow sensual rythem.

"I love you, Bobby," Darien murmured his legs gripping Bobby's waist tightly.

"Same here, Darien," Bobby kept thrusting increasing his speed. He'd waited so long to hear Darien say that, and he could never get enough of it.

Darien arched his back as he felt himself letting go. "BOBBY!!!!" he shouted as he spilled his seed between their bodies.

Bobby came convulsively as Darien's body spasmed around him.

He panted and rested for a moment before pulling out and laying next to Darien.

Darien pulled him close and hugged and kissed him. He broke away as he had a flashback to his dream from the night before.

"I'll never leave you, Darien," Bobby whispered noticing the slightly sad look on Darien's face.

"Promise?"

"Yes. I love you," Bobby reassured Darien.

"And I you," Darien replied. He held Bobby close to him and curled around his body as they fell asleep.




Chapter 7

As Claire closed the door behind Darien and Bobby, she sighed softly. She loved them both like brothers, but sometimes watching a movie with them was... a trial.

She turned the locks and felt Alex press up against her back, wrapping her hands around her waist. Alex softly whispered against Claire's ear, "I've wanted you all night."

Claire pressed into her lover, closing her eyes and smiling. "You could've had me any time... the boys would have understood."

Alex's hands stroked Claire's stomach, slowly traveling higher. Claire moaned as Alex's hands closed over her breasts, cupping them gently. "Let's go upstairs."

Claire turned. "You can wait that long?"

"No," Alex confessed, leaning forward to kiss Claire. The kiss was intended to be gentle, just passionate enough to get them up the stairs, but the second Claire's tongue passed over Alex's lips, all bets were off.

Alex's hands yanked at Claire's shirt, trying to pull the faded T over her head. Claire broke her kiss just long enough to say, "Rip it... it's old."

Alex smiled and gripped the shirt, pulling it apart. The joke split down the middle, turning it into DON'T PLAY WITH ME on one side. Claire wasn't wearing a bra beneath the shirt and her breasts were suddenly exposed to Alex's hungry gaze. She pushed Claire against the door as she kissed her way down her throat, pausing to unbutton Claire's jeans.

Her lips wrapped around first one erect nipple, then the other, moving down to her flat stomach. Alex hooked her fingers in the belt loops of Claire's jeans and pulled, dropping the denim down her legs. Claire's panties were soaked almost completely through.

Alex reached around, cupping Claire's ass and squeezing as she inhaled her lover's scent. Claire gasped, "Please, Alex... please..."

Claire ran her hands through her lover's red hair, pushing Alex closer to her wetness. Alex smiled, finally gripping the material of Claire's panties and sliding them down almost excruciatingly slowly. Alex pressed her face against Claire's waist, kissing the smooth skin next to Claire's pubic hair, teasing her.

Claire moaned low in her throat. "Alexxxx...," she hissed, rolling her head against the door.

Finally, Alex decided to have mercy on her lover and placed a soft kiss on Claire's glistening labia.

Claire's mouth opened wide at the contact, her eyes fluttering closed.

Alex continued to knead Claire's buttocks as she slipped her tongue into her lover. She looked up, watching as Claire rolled her head from side to side, panting harshly.

Alex withdrew her tongue, rolling it across Claire's clitoris before dipping it back in. Claire began to gasp loudly as she gripped Alex's hair, pushing her head closer, if that were possible. She began to chant Alex's name over and over, raising her leg to wrap it around Alex's shoulder to draw her. Alex rolled her tongue as Claire finally climaxed, her juices pouring over Alex's face and down onto her chest.

As her orgasm subsided, Claire slid slowly down the door, trying to catch her breath. Once she hit the floor, Alex pulled Claire to her, cradling her in her arms. They lay together in the foyer for a long time until they both had the strength to make it upstairs.

---

Eberts placed the file on The Official's desk. "There seems to be a problem with Kaitlin's death."

The Official sighed. "I thought Fawkes explained it to the police?"

"Hedid, sir. As did Robert. But the family does not accept the police reports."

The Official shook his head.

"It appears they hired a private investigator in their hometown and he is flying out within the week to investigate the murder."

The Official picked up the phone, handing the receiver to Eberts. "Get Hobbes and Fawkes on the phone. Get them down here NOW!"



CHAPTER 8

Darien grumbled as he heard the phone ring. He looked at the clock. The red numbers glared reading 6:30 AM. 'Who the hell is calling me at this hour?'

Bobby groaned and rolled over trying to ignore the persistent ringing.

Darien grabbed the phone on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Mr. Fawkes. The Official needs to see you and Mr. Hobbes in the office right now," Eberts said in a crisp tone.

'What does he do? Live at the office?' Darien thought. "Why? What's wrong?"

"It's better if I tell you when you arrive. This matter is very urgent," Eberts insisted.

"Fine. I'll call Hobbes then, to come pick me up," Darien yawned into the receiver.

"I am capable..."

"Eberts, do you really think he's gonna react well to hearing your voice first thing in the morning?" Darien tried to make a point as Bobby stifled a laugh.

"I suppose not. Very well then. I'll see both of you here in a half an hour."

"Yea...see you," Darien laid the receiver back down.

"What's wrong?" Bobby asked propping himself up on one elbow.

"Don't know. Eberts wouldn't tell me, but the fatman is bugged about something so we need to get there ASAP," he sighed.

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't answer the phone then," Bobby smiled.

"Mmmmhmmmm," Darien grinned and kissed Bobby gently. "That is one person I really don't want to have to explain anything to."

"Yeah, the little pencil pusher gets on my last nerve," Bobby stretched and pulled Darien off the bed leading him into the shower.

"Pity we have to make this quick," Darien sighed. "I love it when you wash my hair."

"I know you do, but if we stay in here too long we'll never get to the office," Bobby added.

Darien nodded and turned the water on as they stepped in the shower.

---

Eberts paced back and forth behind the Official's desk.

"Eberts! Stop that!" he barked.

"Sorry, sir," Eberts said meekly.

The Official looked up as he heard Darien and Bobby coming down the hall.

Darien pushed the door open and they both walked in and sat down. "Mornin' boss," Darien smiled.

"Gentlemen, we have a serious problem," the Official sighed and motioned to Eberts to hand them the file on Kaitlin's case.



Chapter 9

"What's this?" Darien asked, picking up the file.

"The official report on what happened a few days ago. Kaitlin Finch's family believes that there was cover-up and have hired a private investigator out of Chicago to look into her murder."

Darien glanced at Hobbes. "So? What do you want us to do about it? Stop the plane?"

Eberts sighed. "We need to know the details about Ms. Finch's death. Everything leading up to and following the murder."

Darien glanced at Hobbes. "Everything?"

"It would help get the private eye off of the Agency's back," The Official said. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk blotter. "Now. Which one of you wants to start?"

---

Claire entered the Agency, sipping her cappuccino as she walked. Alex was still back at the coffeeshop, since they had agreed to never show up at work at the same time.

She entered the Keep and placed her files on the desk, humming quietly as she set up her work area.

Suddenly, Darien burst into the Keep, muttering under his breath.

"Uh-oh," she muttered. "What's wrong?"

Darien sighed. "The Offici..." He turned, making sure the door was closed, then continued in a whisper. "The Official wants to know everything that happened before and after Kaitlin's death. EVERYTHING."

"So? I mean... Oh... you and Bobby?"

"You got it."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him the file was right and we didn't leave anything out. He didn't buy a word of it. He says Hobbes and I are both on suspension until we decide to 'fess up. Which means..."

"No counteragent?"

"Bingo."

Claire went to the fridge and withdrew a small container. She handed it to Darien. "This will get you through two shots. Use it wisely."

"Why're you doing this?"

"I'm giving you time, Darien. Time to clear all of this up. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't DREAM of handing over counteragent." She put her hand on top of his. "You love Bobby. You shouldn't be forced to suffer for that."

Darien smiled. "Thanks, Claire."

Claire shrugged. "Like I said. I wouldn't do this under normal circumstances. But we can all agree these circumstances are rather... queer."

Darien winced. "Ouch... that was painfully bad."

Claire shrugged and Darien walked out of the Keep shaking his head.



CHAPTER 10

Bobby tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for Darien to come outside. He was upset that the fatman was doing this to them. Especially to Darien. Withholding Counteragent was cruel and unusual punishment.

Darien hopped into the passenger side and shut the door. He had a small smile on his face. "Why so cheerful, Darien?"

Darien pulled a container out of his pocket as Bobby started the van and they pulled away. "Claire gave me this," and he held up a vial of Counteragent.

"Really? Wow," Bobby marveled as Darien put the vial away.

"She said the we shouldn't be punished cause we're in love."

"I take it you didn't tell her the rest of the story that we can't explain either," Bobby asked.

"No. I mean, I was there and some of it still freaks ME out. How are we going to explain about demons and angels?" Darien fumed.

"I don't know, but we'll have to figure something out," Bobby sighed.

Darien nodded and put his hand on Bobby's leg. "I won't risk losing you again," and he placed his hand on Bobby's cheek.

Bobby kissed Darien's hand and looked at his lover. "We WILL work this out. Somehow."

---

Rubyn stared at Lucien. "What's wrong?"

"Something isn't right with Darien and Bobby. There is a big problem," he replied.

"Do you know what it is, love?"

"Not yet, but they will be contacting us soon," he said with certainty.



CHAPTER 11

Lucien stood in the terminal, tapping his foot impatiently.

He held a sign which read "PRIVATE DICKS" in sharpie marker on the front.

The door to the plane opened and he saw people start coming down the stairs, baggage in hand. Lucien cleared his throat. "Excuse me! I'm looking for a Mrs. Hillary Miser? Hillary Miser?"

An attractive blonde woman in a loose blouse and a light blue skirt approached. "I'm Hillary Miser. This is my partner Amy Walton. Who sent a car?"

"A Mr. Rucker, if I remember correctly. May I take your luggage?"

They handed him their bags and he led them through the terminal to the waiting limo. He opened the door and, once they climbed in, pulled a cell phone from his pocket. "Rubyn. We are under way."

He placed the phone in his pocket and walked around the limo to get into the driver's side.

---

Hillary sighed. "Okay, the Finches asked us to follow this man," she said, withdrawing a photo of Darien from her purse. As Amy looked over it, the entire limo shook, then slid to a stop. She climbed from the limo, which was stopped in the middle of the intersection. The man in the car that had hit them was approaching the limo driver, angrily shouting that the light had been green. He was wearing dark shades and had silver hair, streaked with red.

The limo driver was screaming HIS light had been green.

Hillary grumbled. "We have got to find this guy. Grab that cab!" They climbed in and Hillary said, "Department of Fish and Game, please."

The driver - a large man with gleaming red eyes - glanced at the two driver's arguing in the intersection and winked at them. They subtly returned the signal. "We're going to have to take the long way... lots of highway work."

Hillary sighed. "Whatever, just go."

The cab driver waved as they drove past. When the cab went around the corner, Rubyn and Lucien softly kissed each other. Rubyn smiled. "Excellent job, Lucien."

"Thank you, Rubyn."

They walked off, hand-in-hand.

Darien and Hobbes were off the hook... for the time being.



CHAPTER 12

Alex walked into the Keep near the end of the day. The Official had almost kidnaped her the minute she walked in the door.

He had a new case for her to work on and told her to put the one he'd given her on Saturday on the back burner. So she'd spent a large amount of time doing research for this project instead.

Claire smiled when she walked into the Keep. "Busy today?"

"Yeah, the fatman had a new case for me to do instead. I guess he must have given the other one to the boys to do," she sighed sitting down in the evil chair.

"Oh. He didn't tell you then," Claire grumbled.

"Tell me what?"

"Kaitlin's family is not accepting the police report and they hired a private detective to take over the case. He wanted the boys to give all of the details of what happened before and after the murder....ALL of the details," Claire stressed.

"Ahhhh...." Alex nodded.

"Darien told them the report was correct and the Official didn't buy it, so he put them both on suspension. Which means no Counteragent for Darien," Claire fumed.

"That officious son of a bitch! That is so unfair," Alex added loudly.

"I gave Darien enough Counteragent to last for 2 shots. They shouldn't be punished like this."

"I'm glad you did. That fat bastard needs to stop with the way he treats Darien," she said as she pulled Claire into an embrace.

"Well, I'm done for the day. We can wait till we get home to have fun," Claire purred.

"I'd rather not, but with things the way they are I don't want to press our luck," Alex agreed and went out to her car so Claire could shut down the Keep.

---

Lucien and Rubyn finally got back to their place and relaxed on the couch. By the time Ean would get done driving the two detectives around they would be so lost...

It would take them at least a day or two before they could track down Darien and Bobby.



CHAPTER 13

Hillary peered out the window of the cab. "Excuse me... are you sure this is the way to the Department of Health and Human Services?"

Ean half-turned. "You asked for Department of Fish and Game."

Hillary looked down at the paper. "Oh. Well, the man we're looking for USED to work for F&G. Take us to Health and Human Services."

Ean sighed. "That's way on the other side o' town."

Amy looked at her watch. "We're burning daylight, Hill."

Hillary sighed. "Fine. Just... make it quick."

---

Upon entering the house, Claire had led Alex to the couch and laid on top of her, kissing her softly.

Alex's fingers began working on the buttons of Claire's blouse, eager to get beneath to the pink skin she loved.

The blouse was off of Claire's shoulders and the bra was almost gone when the doorbell rang.

Claire muttered into Alex's hair, "Maybe we should ignore it..."

Alex chuckled. "Go on, hon... I'll be waiting when you get back."

Claire pulled herself up and rearranged her clothes. By the time she reached the door, she looked the picture of perfection. She opened the door to find...

"EBERTS!"

The hacker jumped, frowning at Claire's shriek. "Um... yes.

Agent Monroe has asked that you assist in her current case, but the Keep was locked when I attempted to drop off the files." He started to step inside.

"Oh," Claire said, "Why don't you COME IN, EBERTS! COME right on IN!!"

Eberts frowned at her. "Is there something wrong with your voice?"

Claire tapped her foot. "No. No. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I won't be here that long."

"Thank God," Claire whispered.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

"Well," Eberts said, laying the files on the hall table. "I suppose that will be all."

Claire put a hand on Eberts' shoulder and began to lead him to the door. "Well, it's been wonderful chatting with you. Don't be a stranger."

Eberts was shoved onto the porch and, by the time he had turned to say good-bye, the door was slammed shut.

"Hmm. Odd." He adjusted his suit jacket and headed down the walk to his car.

---

Hillary tapped the seat, glaring at the sea of cars that surrounded the cab. "Is there ANY way around this?"

Ean shrugged. "Look lady, we're completely locked in. The only way out is waiting for the light to change and all these losers to decide where they're goin'. It could take a couple hours."

Hillary rolled her eyes. "Great."



CHAPTER 14

Darien and Bobby relaxed at Bobby's place. They figured that the detectives would probably look at Darien's place first so they decided to NOT be there.

"This will probably only buy us a day or two at the most though," Darien sighed as he ran his hand over Bobby's head.

"Yeah, we need to come up with a plan. And one that doesn't include spilling the beans to the Official," Bobby mumbled. He curled up in Darien's arms.

They both looked up as they heard a knock on the door. "Grrrr... maybe if we pretend we're not here they'll go away," Darien grumbled.

Bobby contemplated that for a moment, but the knocking became more persistent.

---

Lucien and Rubyn had just sat down to dinner when someone rang their doorbell.

"Are you expecting anyone, love?" Lucien asked.

"No," Rubyn answered. He got up from the table and went to the door.

---

The next few minutes were pure chaos. Bobby stood, walking towards the door where the knocking had graduated to full-fledged pounding. As Hobbes turned the knob, the windows at the back of the apartment exploded inwards.

Darien jumped to his feet, immediately quicksilvering. Hobbes turned at the commotion, but the door was knocked open and he was grabbed by a pair of strong arms. "Darien!"

Darien turned, seeing Hobbes in the grips of Jared Stark. "STARK! LET HIM GO!"

The men who had entered through the windows raised adjusted their goggles. Once they spotted the invisible Darien with the infrared sights, they raised their guns and fired.

Darien looked down to see two red-feathered darts, seemingly hanging in mid-air. His legs went numb as he tried to launch himself at Stark.

It was no use. He fell to the floor, flaking. Stark pressed a hypo against Hobbes' neck and Bobby crumpled. Stark looked up, motioning for his men to evacuate.

Two minutes after the knocking had begun, the apartment was silent once more.

---

Rubyn leaned forward, peering through the peephole. All he could see was the red hat and jacket of a pizza delivery boy.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"DiGiorno Delivery."

Lucien stood. "DiGiorno doesn't deliver. It's DiGiorno."

Rubyn called, "We didn't order any pizza."

The delivery man said, "Aw, come on, man. If I have to take it back, I'm toast."

Rubyn sighed, then said, "Fine, what kind is it?"

"Canadian bacon and sausage."

Rubyn said, "Excellent!" He turned the lock and opened the door.

Instead of pizza, he was delivered with a shock of blue electricity. His arms shot out to his sides, shaking horribly.

Finally, the shock stopped and Rubyn collapsed in the doorway and the pizza delivery man stepped over him.

Lucien ran to the door, rearing his fist back. The intruder rose the pizza, flinging it at Lucien. The box hit him in the face, blocking his view for a second. When he looked up, the man was on top of him. The stun gun sparkled to life again and Lucien felt a spark of coldness on his neck.

Lucien slumped to the floor. The pizza delivery boy stood, breathing heavily. He picked Lucien up off the floor and carried him from the apartment.

---

Alex gasped, sitting up in bed. She was sweating, her hair matted to her face. Claire sat up next to her, rubbing her eyes. "Alex? What's wrong? Nightmare?"

Alex shook her head. "I just got a... a very bad feeling."

---

Darien slowly came to, feeling hardwood pressing against his face. He groaned, ordering his limbs to do what he said. Finally, he was able to roll himself over. He looked up and saw two fuzzy forms standing over him; a blonde woman and a red-head. He muttered, "Claire? Alex?"

The blonde knelt next to him. "Guess again, handsome. Name's Hillary Miser. I'm the private investigator sent to ask you about Kaitlin Finch's death."

Darien groaned, "Aw, crap..."




CHAPTER 15

Bobby woke up in a white room not unlike the padded room at the agency. "Where am I?" he called out loudly even though he knew perfectly well who had him.

"Calm down, Agent Hobbes," Stark's voice rang in his ears. "I just need to use you to get your partner to cooperate with me."

"Then why didn't you just take him then," Hobbes growled.

"Because last time I had him, you were able to liberate him from me. So this time I decided to change the rules," Stark laughed.Bobby paled a bit. He knew that Darien would come for him even if it meant working for Stark.

---

Rubyn hissed as he sat up. "LUCIEN!!!" he shouted noticing the damaged state of his home. He found a note tacked to the kitchen table.

-Tell Monsieur Fawkes that if he ever wishes to see his friend again to meet me tomorrow at noon with all of the Quicksilver notes. If he does not comply, well let's just say he'll have one less friend to care about.-

Arnaud DeThiel

There was an address scribbled at the bottom of the page.Rubyn grabbed the phone and dialed Darien's number.

---

Lucien opened his green eyes and looked around. He was tied to a chair and two large men were sitting at a table playing cards. Another man walked into the room. He was fairly tall and had green-grey eyes. Lucien would have thought he was rather attractive IF he wasn't his prisoner.

"Ah, good. You're awake," Arnaud spoke softly.

Lucien glared him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Monsieur Fawkes will be receiving my message shortly," Arnaud smiled.

Lucien shivered at that smile. He'd seen evil before and he could recognize it in this man's face.

---

Darien looked at the two women and sat up slowly. "I really don't have time for this right now," he groaned as he pushed past them and grabbed the note that was left on the counter.

"Well, you'd better make time," Hillary said with a sneer.

He read the note quickly. "Look, you see this mess...my partner has been taken and...." he was interrupted as the phone rang.

Darien grabbed the phone. `Great what now?' he thought. "Hello?"

"Darien, do you know someone named Arnaud?" Rubyn asked in the calmest voice he could muster.

"Yes, why?" Darien asked not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Well, he's taken Lucien and left instructions for you to meet him," Rubyn continued.

"Great..."



Chapter 16

Darien hung up the phone and turned. Hillary and Amy were both standing in the living room, blocking his way to the door. "Okay, fine. You're obviously not going to leave, so how about I get you something to drink? Soda? Lemonade?"

Hillary sighed. "I'll take a water."

Darien ducked into the kitchen. Hillary turned and examined the living room. "Hardly looks like the home of a cold-blooded killer, does it?"

Unseen by the two women, the kitchen door swung slowly open again, then swung shut.

Am shrugged. "Who knows who cold-blooded killers use for their decorators?"

The front door slowly opened, seemingly of it's own accord.

It closed once more. Hillary and Amy continued talking, waiting for their drinks.

---

Once outside, Darien unquicksilvered. He pulled the cellphone from his pocket and dialed a three-digit number he knew very well.

"Hello, police? There are two women in my house and I think they're trying to rob me. Could you please come check it out for me?"

He gave them the address and hung up. The cab was still waiting at the curb.

He jumped in and said, "Excuse me, could you..."

Ean turned. "Hiya, Darien. I'll have ya at Lucien's place in no time a'tall." He turned back around, pulling away from the curb.



CHAPTER 17

Rubyn paced back and forth waiting for Darien to arrive. He ran the name Arnaud through his mind. He knew that he'd heard it before. His mind went back to when they removed Whirlwind from Darien's body.

*from `The Demon Within'*

Ean, meanwhile, simply stared stonily at the demon.

Finally it giggled and said, "What are YOU doing here, Firestorm?"

Ean smirked and pushed his sunglasses into his red hair. "I should ask YOU what YOU'RE doing here, Whirlwind. You know it's against the rules to inhabit someone's body like that."

"I was put in here," the demon said with a pout. "By that Arnaud man. Well...he was feeling kind of evil and wanted something really bad to happen to Darien, so I came."

Ean frowned. "You weren't PUT in there..."

Rubyn shuddered. He sighed as he heard a car pull up outside.

He opened the door before Darien had a chance to knock. He waved at Ean and watched him drive off.

"Sorry it took me so long. I had to ditch the detectives," he panted as he stepped inside.

Rubyn handed Darien the note that Arnaud had left. "I take it you know what he wants," Rubyn inquired.

"Yeah...I'm sorry Lucien and you have gotten dragged into this mess," Darien ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well, evil has a tendency to pop up whether one likes it or not. And if Arnaud is evil enough for Whirlwind to think that he summoned him to harm you..."

Darien nodded. "It gets worse. Bobby was kidnaped by someone else who's just about as evil, so I-"

"You need my help," Rubyn finished.

"Yeah."

"Of course. I have a score to settle with Arnaud anyway," he smiled as his eyes glowed.

Darien wondered exactly how much damage a pissed off angel could do.

---

Stark sat at his desk and waited. He knew Fawkes would be contacting him soon. He had plans for the Invisible Man. And now he had a way to ensure that he would cooperate.

---

Bobby paced around in the room. He hated it that Stark was using him as bait. `I have to find a way to get out of here. I'm sure that once Darien has done what Stark wants him too he'll kill both Darien and me.'

The room flooded with gas and Bobby dropped to the floor. He looked up through the haze as a guard brought in a tray of food, set it down and then left.

He smiled to himself as he thought of a way out of this mess.



CHAPTER 18

Darien jogged up the stairs of Claire's house, trying to figure out what he'd say. He knocked on the door, waiting patiently for a response.

The door opened and whatever speech he may have had prepared flew right out the window. Claire was standing in the doorway, her hair mussed and covering half of her face, and wearing an old t-shirt that had several holes in... unfortunate places.

Her face softened when she saw him. "Darien? What's wrong?"

"Claire, I need something... and I don't know how to ask for it..."

Claire stepped back, crossing her arms across her chest. She was suddenly self-conscious about how much she was... or rather, wasn't... wearing. "What?"

"The quicksilver files. It's a matter of life or death, Claire. Please."

Rubyn approached. "He's telling the truth. Bobby's life is in danger."

Claire sighed. "The files are at the Agency. Give me a minute to get ready." She turned and jogged up the stairs.

---

Bobby looked at the ceiling as the gas began to pour in again. He lay himself on the floor and closed his eyes to a slit.

The door opened and the guard entered, kneeling to pick up the empty food tray. Once the guard took his eyes off of Hobbes, the agent pounced.

He slammed into the younger man, knocking him off of his feet. As they rolled, Hobbes grabbed the tray and brought it down across the guard's face. He turned, heading for the door. The second guard entered and Hobbes flung the tray like a Frisbee, hitting the man across the forehead.

Stepping into the now-empty hallway, he removed the wadded napkin from his nostrils and breathed deeply. Dropping the gas-blocking cloth, he knelt and grabbed the guard's gun. He was loose... and the bastard Stark was gonna pay.




CHAPTER 19

Claire changed quickly as Darien and Rubyn waited in the hallway. Pavlov padded up to Darien and wagged his tail.

Darien picked him up and scratched him behind the ears.

Pavlov licked his face. Darien sat him back down and Pavlov looked at Rubyn curiously. He laid down on the floor and rolled over whining to be petted.

Rubyn knelt down and scratched his belly.

Claire smiled as she came in. "I've never seen him do that to a stranger before," she commented.

"I guess I just have a way with animals," Rubyn replied.

Claire looked at Rubyn again as they climbed into her van. "Who are you?"

---

Bobby crept down the halls quietly. He ducked in a door as he heard someone coming down the hall. He waited for them to pass and then continued.

Stark sat in his office and typed something on the computer.

He looked up as someone opened the door.

Bobby pointed the gun at him. "Don't move!"

"I see you're more resourceful than I thought," Stark grinned.

"What's so funny?"

"Did you really think that you'd be able to get to my office unnoticed, Agent Hobbes?"

---

"But, we're not thieves!" Hillary insisted as the police placed cuffs on her and Amy.

The cops just shook their head and shoved them in the back of the car.



CHAPTER 20

"I'm a friend of Darien's and I knew Kaitlin. He called me after Bobby had been kidnaped, so I agreed to help him," Rubyn answered hoping that would satisfy her. He knew that Darien hadn't told anyone about him and Lucien and the extra details of what had happened.

Claire could tell there was something more to it, but she'd worry about it later when Bobby was safe.

`Thank you,' Darien thought to Rubyn.

`Anytime,' Rubyn thought back to Darien as he smiled

Claire glanced at the Agency door. "Okay, I can get in and get the files, but I need to be sure Eberts won't catch me leaving with them."

Darien nodded. "No problem. Rubyn and I will take care of that." He wrapped his arm around Rubyn's shoulder and quicksilvered both of them. "Give us two minutes, then come in," he said, his voice hovering a few feet away from her face.

The door opened, then closed behind the invisible duo.

---

Stark stood. "Hobbes, even a 'talented' agent such as yourself should have had more trouble getting into the office of someone like me."

Hobbes looked around the room. "So? Where are your goons?"

Stark chuckled. "Goons? We have no goons. Please, return to your cell, Mr. Hobbes. If your partner shows up, there will be no need for harm to come to you."

Hobbes leveled his gun. "But there'll be harm to you if he's hurt."

Stark rolled his eyes. "Fine. If you won't return voluntarily..."

A sharp pain pierced Hobbes' neck and he spun, trying to train his gun on the new arrival. He hit the floor before he completed the spin.

---

Claire counted off the final seconds on her watch, then headed inside. The halls were deathly quiet and made her a bit suspicious.

She made her way quickly to the Keep, sweeping her card through the electric reader.The door slid inside and she made her way to Lucinda's cage, pressing the hidden button and opening her file drawer. She pulled out the quicksilver files and turned...

...to find Eberts standing in the doorway. "May I ask where you are going with those?"

She looked at the files, then said, "I... read an article concerning special surgical techniques. I thought I'd do a bit of research on how to get the gland out."

Eberts opened his mouth to say something, but an alarm began blaring down the hall. Eberts spun around and looked in time to see Rubyn running towards the door. Eberts ran after him, screaming, "Stop right there!"

A second alarm began blaring down another hall. Eberts froze, confused. Finally, he decided to chase down the second alarm. As he ran down the second hall, another alarm began to blare. Security doors began to drop from their places in the ceiling, trapping Eberts in the hall he had run down.

Claire dashed towards the exit, barely making it out before the final door crashed down.

Rubyn was outside, leaning against the car. "Did Darien make it?" he asked.

"Right here," Darien said, flaking off next to the car. "Now... where are we supposed to meet this Swiss Miss Mother again?"




CHAPTER 21

Alex came downstairs after she heard the alarms go off.

Claire had taken a personal day because of a severe headache.

Normally Claire wouldn't have stayed home for a headache, but since Darien and Bobby were on suspension she figured the Official could go one day without her being there.

Alex would have stayed home too, but she DID have work to do and she didn't want to hint at the fact that she and Claire had a relationship.

Eberts passed her in the on his way to the Official's office. "Good Afternoon Ms. Monroe," he greeted her crisply.

"Hello, Eberts. What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. Have you noticed anything strange about the Keeper lately?"

Alex's blood went cold for a moment. "What do you mean `strange'?"

"I went over to her house last night and she seemed very jumpy. She called in sick this morning, but I just caught her taking classified files from the lab and leaving with him. I need to know what is going on," he continued.

"I really can't tell you anything. She seems fine to me," Alex stating trying to keep her voice calm.

"I need to report this to the Official immediately. Let me know if you see anything," he said and then turned down the hall.

Alex went back up to her office and dialed Claire's cell number.

---

Bobby woke up strapped into a chair which looked like the chair in the Keep. There was an IV hooked to his left arm. "What's going on? " he yelled to the woman typing on the computer.

She picked up the phone and her desk and dialed. "He's awake Mr. Stark."

"Very good. I'll be right there."

Stark came into the room and walked over to Bobby.

"Now what are you doing to me you son of a bitch!"

"Well, Mr. Hobbes, since you wouldn't cooperate I have to change my methods," he sneered at Bobby. "I knew if we put you back in the room you'd try to escape again."

"Damn right!"

"So I set up this arrangement instead," he took a needle from the table and injected the contents into the IV.

"What was that?" Bobby fumed.

"Just a little sedative mixed with a small amount of poison.

Not enough to kill you right now, but the longer it takes for Darien to arrive the more doses you will receive."

"Aw crap..." Bobby mumbled as he lost consciousness again.



CHAPTER 22

Hillary absent-mindedly rubbed the ink from her fingers as she paced the length of the cell, thinking about the case. "Why does it seem like we keep running into brick walls?"

Amy shrugged, lounging on the cot. "At least we got a pretty nice cell."

Hillary tapped on the bars, trying to think. "Okay, what do we have... a cab driver that takes us all over California before we get to the right address... We have a man who claims his friend was kidnaped who disappears on us the second we turn around... We have absolutely NOTHING on Kaitlin Finch's death... and to top it all off," she muttered, fishing something out of her pocket, "Our main suspect is one of the weirdest junkies I've ever seen."

Amy sat up. "What is that?"

"A canister I found in the kitchen. It's a bunch of blue water and some syringes."

Amy frowned. "How did you get that past the police?"

Hillary revealed the box she had hidden the syringes and water in. "TAMPAX." She smiled.

"The cops didn't want to touch it."

Amy smiled, then took the tube holding the blue water. "The question is... what kind of freak shoots up with Windex?"

---

Hobbes groaned. His arm was sore where the tube entered it and he could feel a burning sensation spreading across his torso.

Stark stood over him and said, "Darien will be notified with your condition. I hope he cares as much about you as you think he does."

He smiled and left the room.

---

Claire answered the insistent ringing of her cell phone as they pulled up in front of Arnaud's warehouse. "Hello?"

"Claire, hon... Eberts is asking questions about you."

"Oh, bloody hell. What did you say?"

"Nothing. I didn't tell him anything. Where are you? I want to help with whatever is going on." Claire gave her the address. "Hold on, hon. I'm on my way. I love you."

Claire's heart leapt in her chest. "I... love you, too."

She hung up, climbing out of the car. Rubyn glared at the warehouse and said, "This Arnaud guy... he's pretty bad?"

Darien nodded. "He's bad, all right."

Rubyn sneered. "I can be worse. Let's do this."

---

Eberts' computer screen lit up with Claire's phone log. It had been updated in the last few minutes. A 45 second call... from Alex Monroe. Eberts turned the computer off and left his office, grabbing his jacket as he went.




CHAPTER 23

Darien quicksilvered Rubyn, but he remained visible himself.

The plan was for Darien to enter with the files and try to stall Arnaud long enough so Rubyn could get Lucien. Claire remained with the van to secure their escape easier.

"Alright, Arnaud, I'm here," Darien shouted as entered.

Rubyn followed Darien silently and then spotted Lucien tied to a chair in the middle of the room. He rushed over to his lover.

"Do you have what I requested?" Arnaud asked.

"Right here," and Darien held up the file.

"Bring them to me," he ordered.

Rubyn undid the ropes quickly.

`Ru?' Lucien thought

`Yes,' Rubyn replied as he undid the last of the rope and they fell to the floor.

---

Alex pulled up behind Claire's van. "So, what's going on?" she asked as Claire embraced her.

"Arnaud demanded the quicksilver files, or he's going to kill Bobby.

"How long has Darien been in there?"

"About 5 minutes," Claire replied as she looked at her watch.



CHAPTER 24

Arnaud and Darien stood several feet apart. Arnaud held a gun trained at Darien's chest. "Extend your arm slowly... hold the files out towards me. And I swear to you, Fawkes, if I see any sign of silver I will put a bullet in your skull."

Darien held the files out and said, "Take them. TAKE THEM!"

His left hand was the one holding the files. He glanced at the tattoo. The sixth segment filled as he watched. He cursed himself for not grabbing the counteragent before he left.

Arnaud motioned at the floor. "Drop them. Easily..."

Darien released the files and they dropped with a thud.

Arnaud smirked and fired the gun. Darien flew back, grabbing his shoulder.

Suddenly, Lucien slammed into Arnaud's back, knocking the terrorist to the floor.

Rubyn grabbed the quicksilver files and rushed over to Darien. "Are you okay? Darien?"

The door opened and Claire rushed in, trailed by Alex.

Arnaud punched Lucien, knocking him to the side, and scrambled to his feet. He turned to the door and spotted Claire and Alex.

Darien pulled himself up, using Rubyn as a balance. The bullet had entered and exited through his upper right arm. He winced and said, "I hate getting shot."

Arnaud placed the tip of his gun against Rubyn's skull and pulled the trigger. And pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

Frustrated, confused as to why the gun hadn't worked, he settled for kicking Rubyn from behind, knocking him to the ground. Once the angel was down,Arnaud pistol-whipped Darien. Arnaud knelt and pulled the files from Rubyn's arms. "Good-bye, Fawkes," Arnaud said, kicking dirt into Darien's face.

He dashed towards the back of the warehouse where his getaway car was parked.

---

Hillary looked up as the guard returned, unlocking the cell. "You've been bailed out."

Hillary stood. "Bailed out?" She smiled. "Rucker came through."

"Nope. Not Rucker, whoever that is."

The women exited the cell and saw the person who had paid their bail money. Standing at the end of the hall was Kaitlin Finch's mother.




CHAPTER 25

Rubyn stood and chased after Arnaud before anyone was able to stop him. He now had Arnaud where he wanted him. As soon as he was out of sight of the others he teleported in front of Arnaud's car just as Arnaud was getting in to the vehicle.

Claire and Alex ran over to Darien. Lucien had propped Darien's head up onto his lap and was pressing his hands against the bullet wound. Darien had lost a good amount of blood so he'd lost consciousness.

"Let me see. I'm his doctor," Claire said sternly.

Lucien gave her a quick glare and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed as he concentrated on closing the wound. The torn flesh mended under his fingers.

Darien blinked and looked at Lucien. "Thanks," he mumbled starting to regain his senses.

Claire and Alex just stood there staring not sure about what they had just seen.

---

Stark sat in his office and smiled. He picked up his phone and dialed Darien's home number. He frowned as he got the answering machine. He tried Hobbes's number next since that was where Darien had been when they found him. He got a machine there too.

He went to the file he had on Darien and found Darien's cell phone number. He dialed that number as well.

"Hello..." Darien answered after the third ring.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fawkes. I just wanted to let you know that your time limit has changed. Your partner has been being `difficult' so I've had to find a new way to restrain him."

"Stark! You bastard! If you-"

"Let me finish. He's been receiving a sedative with a small amount of poison. He's gotten 3 doses already. If you aren't here within 24 hours he'll receive 3 more doses which will be fatal. So if you don't wish to receive a new partner..." he trailed off and hung up the phone.

"Aw crap!" Darien swore sitting up quickly.

"Darien! What is going on? You told me Bobby's life was in danger. And who are you?" Claire directed her question to Lucien.

"His life IS in danger. Stark has him and if I don't get there by tomorrow he's going to kill Bobby," Darien answered. He stood and held his head. He was going to need counteragent soon.



CHAPTER 26

Claire dropped to the floor, hitting hit hard. She ignored the impact and blinked mindlessly at the wall for a moment. How had everything gotten so screwed up so fast?

The whole Kaitlin Finch debacle. Her relationship with Alex and Darien's relationship with Bobby. Eberts and the Official watching every move they made. Arnaud. Stark and Chrysalis. Private detectives from Chicago snooping around. People healing in an instant just by a touch? And no counteragent.

Alex wrapped an arm around her lover, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay, hon?"

Claire shook her head slowly. "No... not exactly."

Darien struggled to his feet. He was disoriented and staggery enough for someone who had just fallen down... but he was WAY to active for someone who had just been SHOT in the shoulder.

Claire grabbed Lucien's shirt. "How did you do that? Who the hell are you?"

Lucien rolled his eyes. "You want a lesson in theology or you wanna help this good man's partner?"

Claire sighed and released him.

Lucien looked around the room. "Speaking of partners... where's Rubyn?"

---

Mrs. Finch led Amy and Hillary out of the station house, smoldering openly. "You cost me $100 a day, plus expenses, plus the retainer... and on top of it all, I get a call from a Detective Rucker in Chicago saying that I have to pay BAIL! What the hell are you doing to EARN this?"

"Ma'am, we encountered some problems with the suspect," Amy said. "He... slipped out on us."

The woman turned, clutching her pocketbook. "Slipped out?

What kind of private eye lets someone just slip out?" She turned her steely gaze on Hillary. "And you. Your husband assured me this case would be a snap. A piece of cake."

"My husband's kind of an idiot... and he's working another case in Chicago right now."

Mrs. Finch pursed her lips, tapping her high heel on the curb. "One more day. I'll give you one more day and then I'm firing you. I'll expect the retainer back as soon as I cut you loose."

Mrs. Finch turned, climbed into her car, and sped away from the curb.

Hillary sighed and said, "Looks like we just got a ticking clock put over our heads."

Amy shrugged. "You always said you worked better under pressure."

"When did I say that?"

"I dunno. But I bet you were under a lot of pressure at the time."

Hillary shook her head and looked for a cab. "We have 24 hours to find this Fawkes guy or the agency will be in the red again."



CHAPTER 27

Arnaud was stunned to see the man with long silver hair appear in front of his car. `What is going on?' Arnaud quickly grabbed a gun from his driver and shot at the man. The gun fired, but the bullet did not hit the man. He fired at his driver and killed him. "What the-"

Rubyn tackled Arnaud before he could finish his statement. He slammed Arnaud into the car hard.

"What are you?" Arnaud choked out when he caught his breath.

---

`Rubyn?' Lucien thought loudly.

`I'm busy right now,' he answered as he landed another punch into Arnaud's abdomen. V `Sorry to spoil your fun, but we need to go. Darien just got a call from the man who has Bobby and he needs to get to him soon or Bobby will be killed.'

`Fine,' he hit Arnaud in the head and Arnaud slumped over. He grabbed the files and hoisted Arnaud up and dragged him along.

---

Bobby's vision blurred as he received the fourth injection. The pain he was feeling was getting worse. "Why don't you just kill me and get it over with?" he snarled at Stark.

"Don't worry Mr. Hobbes. If your partner doesn't show after two more injections I WILL grant your request," he said and left the room.

Bobby winced as he lost consciousness.

---

Eberts went to Claire's home to wait for her to return there. It was better than chasing her all over town looking for her.



CHAPTER 28

Eberts sat on Claire's couch, staring at Pavlov. The small white dog was perched on the easy chair, watching Eberts anxiously. Eberts smiled and said, "Hello, doggy."

Pavlov barked once.

Eberts jerked, adjusted his suit jacket and cleared his throat. "Very well. You don't bother me, I don't bother you. Agreed?"

Pavlov made a noise that sounded like 'Har-umph'.

Eberts sighed and moved to cross his legs. The motion caused a stack of magazines and letters to tumble to the floor. "Aw..." He stopped himself before he said 'crap'. The last thing he wanted was to become more like Fawkes.

He knelt and began to replace the magazines, glancing at the covers as he did. He picked up a simple, folded sheet of paper and frowned at it. Unfolding it, he read the first line.

"Aw, crap."

*Dearest Alexandra,
I have absolutely no idea how to begin this letter. But fate... or destiny... God...whatever you want to believe in has intervened in our relationship. This tears me apart to say, but I think it would be for the best if our relationship returned to the way it was before. We cannot constantly worry about Eberts or the Official seeing us together or picking up small signals. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. The only other option we have is to quit and I don't believe this would be for the best. I love you more than words can tell. It breaks my heart to write these words, but I must. You have to underst*

The letter ended abruptly. In the final few lines, the handwriting went from structured and even to shaky and jerky. Whoever had written it - and Eberts had a pretty good idea who it had been - had probably been either shaking or crying or both.

Eberts folded the note slowly and put it in his pocket. He finished cleaning up the mess he had made, then sat on the couch.

After a bit of thinking, he stood and made his way up the stairs.

---

Darien sighed as he slipped into Claire's car. "Where do we go? Any idea?"

Claire shook her head. "Not a clue. You're the one who's been to Chrysalis before."

"Once... and we sorta blew that place apart."

Claire chewed on her lower lip, then said, "Mail!"

Darien, Rubyn and Lucien all said, "Huh?"

Claire turned to face them. "The mail! We find out where Chrysalis had it's mail forwarded. We get a fake package, try to deliver it to the old building and ask for the new address!"

Darien smiled. "Have I told you lately that I'm glad you're a genius?"

"I don't think you've ever told me that."

"Well... now I have. Drive."

---

Eberts entered Claire's bedroom nervously, looking over the unmade bed and at the clothing that littered the floor. He stepped inside, feeling like a common thief. He walked to the dresser and looked at several photos tucked into the side of the mirror.

One was of Claire and Alex at some sort of bar with a karaoke sign displayed behind them. Alex had her arm around Claire's neck and was laughing into the camera. Claire had a deep blush on her face and was trying to avoid the lens.

The next was of the two women lounging on a beach somewhere. Alex was looking out to sea and Claire was asleep on the towel next to her.

He continued to look at the photos; pictures of them walking, on the beach, at a concert, dining in a restaurant... In every photo, the two were no more than three inches apart. He looked closer. In every photo, they were holding hands, their fingers interlaced. In every last picture.

Eberts blinked, then turned and looked at the bed. Reaching into his pocket, he re-read Claire's note. Pavlov was sitting in the doorway, watching the intruder carefully. Eberts held the note up for the dog to see. "This," he said slowly, "is enough to prove an affair that goes against every regulation we have."

Pavlov sneezed, then shook his head.

"This note could destroy," he looked over the room, his eyes locking on the photos. "Love."

Eberts looked down at the note once more before wading it into a ball. He stuck the crumpled note into his pocket to dispose of later. He headed down the stairs, Pavlov hot on his heels. He opened the door and turned, glaring at the tiny pup. "I was never here."

Pavlov barked in response.


CHAPTER 29

Arnaud woke up in the back of Alex's car in handcuffs. He shivered as he remembered what had happened.

"What are you?" he asked Rubyn.

"Judgement," Rubyn replied as his wings billowed behind him.

Arnaud's eyes widened in fear. He stood petrified as Rubyn approached him and started pummeling him.

He looked up when Rubyn stopped for a moment and then the world went dark as he was hit in the head.

Arnaud pulled his knees up to his chest. He knew he'd never be able to tell anyone without them thinking he was totally crazy.

---

Bobby groaned as he woke up. There was no one else in the room with him right now. He felt awful. Every part of his body ached His stomach complained loudly. He dry heaved a few times. It was a good thing they weren't feeding him or he'd make a terrible mess.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He brought an image of Darien into his mind and he smiled. He loved everything about Darien.

His thoughts faded as another cramp raced though his body.

Tears came to his eyes. The idea of dying didn't scare him. He'd been `dead' once already. But this torture was unbearable. He didn't want Darien to betray everything just to save his life.

As if on cue, Stark came in and gave him another injection.

He left without commenting this time.

`Darien, I love you. Please don't worry about me. Remember what we had and--' his thoughts faded off a the sedative took effect.

---

Lucien went into the Tennison Building with a package. He went to the front desk and got the new address for Chrysalis' cover-up company. He went back to the car quickly. "Here it is," and he handed the address to Claire.

Claire nodded and headed for the address.

Rubyn frowned and looked at Lucien. "We need to hurry," Rubyn told Claire.

"I know that," Claire snapped.

Darien looked at Rubyn. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just know that you want to get there quickly,"

Rubyn replied. He knew Darien was already very worried and anything more might just push him over the edge.



CHAPTER 30

Claire parked down the street from Chrysalis' new address; under the front of the Taurus Corporation.

Alex pulled up behind them. Arnaud cringed in the backseat when he saw Rubyn.

Darien rolled his eyes at the sign. "First Cerebus, now Taurus? I guess next time we'll have to look for the Scorpio corporation."

Alex sighed, checking her watch. "Okay, we don't have much time. Here's the plan. Rubyn, you and Lucien make a diversion from behind. Darien, you will make your way in the front with Claire and I. You'll be invisible, of course."

Darien held his arm out. Two segments remained. "I'm not using the gland, Claire."

Claire sighed. "You have to, Darien. Just to get inside. I swear, we will have counteragent ready for you immediately. You have to trust me."

Darien sighed. "Okay. Okay, fine."

Claire said, "Okay, Rubyn and Lucien. Head off to..." She looked around. "Where did they go?"

Darien shook his head. "Never mind, they're in place."

Alex frowned. "If they can... just... ZOOM places like that, why don't we just... ZOOM them in to grab Hobbes and have them zoom back out?"

"We don't know where he is in the building," Darien explained. "They could zoom into Stark's office, for all we know. Let's get this over with."

--

Eberts entered the Official's office. The fat man looked up from adjusting his suit and muttered, "What?

"Weren't you at the Keeper's house?"

"I was, sir. Unfortunately, I found nothing of interest."

The Official groaned and opened a drawer, fishing for something inside. "Eberts, uh... have you seen a... a little brown bottle?"

"Yes sir, you told me to throw it out."

The Official cursed quietly and pulled himself up, using the desk to make his way to the cabinet.

"Sir? Are you ill?"

The Official opened his mouth to speak, then coughed and fell to his knees. Eberts rushed over, grabbing the phone. "Call an ambulance! The Official just collapsed!"

---

Hillary hung up the pay phone and said, "We're in luck. I asked the police to be on the lookout for any and all license plates associated with Fawkes. We got a call that one of the cars was spotted carrying four people. One of them was Fawkes."

Amy smiled. "Well, what're we waitin' for? Where were they going?"

"Taurus Corporation," she told the cabby. "Step on it!"



CHAPTER 31

Darien followed Claire and Alex into the building. He looked around and found out which floor Stark was on. He go into the elevator and took it to the top floor. He desilvered when the elevator doors closed. He paled as he noticed only one green segment left on the tattoo.

Stark was waiting for him as he got off the elevator. "So nice of you to join us, Mr. Fawkes."

"Where's Hobbes?" he growled.

"Right this way. We can discuss your new job on the way there," Stark sneered.

Darien winced as he felt the headache starting to pound at the back of his skull.

---

Rubyn and Lucien stood at the back of the building.

"Now?" Lucien asked.

"Now!"

They both went into the back setting off the security alarms.

---

Eberts paced back in forth in the waiting room. A doctor appeared and walked over to him. "How is he?"

"Not good I'm afraid. He had a massive heart attack and they've taken him into surgery, but there is a lot of damage. He might not survive the surgery," the doctor sighed.

Eberts nodded and sat back down.

---

Bobby's vision was very blurry as the door opened. He thought he saw Darien, but it had to be an illusion.

Darien grabbed Stark. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"I told you, we gave him injections with poison. He's already had five of the six injections, but now that you're here he won't receive the last one."

"Give him the antidote!" Darien shouted.

"All in good time, now release me or she WILL give him the last shot," Stark ordered.

Darien saw the woman standing next to Bobby with a syringe.

He let go of Stark.

"I'll give you two a moment and then we can get down to business," Stark said and he and the woman walked out of the room.

"BOBBY!" Darien rushed over to his side.

"Dar...Darien?" Bobby blinked trying to get his eyes to focus.

"Oh God, Bobby, I'm sorry," Darien hugged him gently. "Your skin is so warm."

"I'm ok..." Bobby coughed.

"Always the tough guy," Darien ran his hand over Bobby's head.

"Time's up," Stark cleared his throat as he walked back in.



CHAPTER 32

The cab deposited Amy and Hillary in front of the Taurus building. Hillary drew her gun and motioned for Amy to follow her.

They entered... and found themselves amid a scene of mass hysteria.

Fire and security alarms were blaring. Down the hall, she could see two odd-looking men throwing doors open and causing more alarms to go off. To their right, down a long corridor, she spotted two women fighting black-suited men.

Amy called over the ruckus, "Do you see Fawkes?"

Hillary pointed at the elevator and said, "I will in a second! Watch my back!" She ran to the elevator and prayed Darien had gone to the top floor.

---

Stark held the last remaining syringe; the one that contained either the fatal dose of poison... or the cure. "Well, Mr. Fawkes. It appears we have reached a sort of... impasse."

Darien leaned against the chair, grabbing Bobby's hand for support. "What the hell... are you talking about... Stark?"

"Your partner's life is in my hands. All you have to do is agree to come work for me. You owe me, after all. Before you, Allianora was a top agent. You forced me to eliminate her. There's a gap in the Chrysalis force, Agent Fawkes."

"And you want me to fill that gap?"

"Precisely."

The final segment glowed and became red and Darien gasped, grabbing the back of his neck. He fell to one knee, then looked up at Stark with blood-red eyes. "Fuck off," he growled, launching himself across the room.

He grabbed ahold of Stark and slammed the smaller man against the wall. The entire room shook with the impact. Darien hissed, "Where's the antidote? GIVE HIM THE CURE!"

Stark gasped, "There is no cure, Agent Fawkes!"

Darien spun, hurling Stark against the far wall. Stark slumped to the ground, groaning quietly. Darien picked up the syringe that he had brought in and jabbed it into the head of Chrysalis' throat.

Stark screamed as the burning poison entered his system.

Darien withdrew the needle, then pulled Stark to his feet. "The cure. NOW."

He shoved Stark to the door and hissed, "Go."

---

The elevator opened on the top floor and Hillary stepped out, watching all of the closed doors for movement. At the end of the hall, she opened a door and peered in, hoping to find Darien. Instead, she found...

...her office? She frowned. It was an exact replica of her office in Chicago. She turned, returning to the hall of the Chrysalis building... only to discover it was the hall outside of her office.

She was back in Chicago.

She looked down the hall in time to see the odd, silver-haired man she had spotted at Chrysalis. He smiled at her and waved before vanishing. Hillary lowered her gun and slumped against the door.

Neil exited the office, looking at her. "Hillary? What, uh... what're you doing here?"

She slid down to the floor and said, "It's, uh... a long story, Neil."



CHAPTER 33

Bobby shrank back in the chair as Darien turned his red eyed gaze on him. "Darien..."

Darien shook his head fighting off the madness the best he could. Without Whirlwind inside of him he was able to push the violent thoughts back some. It made his head ache even more but he didn't want to harm Bobby.

Bobby sighed with relief as Darien undid the straps on his arms and legs. Bobby yanked the IV line out of his arm.

Darien put the syringe in his pocket. He left a small amount of the poison in it so Claire could make an antidote. In case Stark decided not to stick around. "Can you walk?"

"Sure," Bobby groaned as he got up. His legs betrayed him and he landed on the floor. "I guess not..." Bobby smiled weakly.

"Don't worry about it," Darien said and he lifted Bobby up.

---

`Damnit!' Stark swore to himself. He rubbed the area where Darien had stuck the needle in. He went over to the service elevators and took them down.

He did not like that his plans had failed again. But he did have his pound of flesh. Without the antidote Hobbes would die in a day or two.

`We will meet again, Darien Fawkes. Next time one of us will not survive.'

---

Darien set Bobby down when they got into the elevator.

"I love you," Bobby whispered. His eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out.

"Bobby! BOBBY!!" he shook Bobby gently.

He quickly checked for a pulse. He found a faint pulse. He grabbed his head and screamed as another pain shot through his temples.

Claire and Alex saw the elevator doors open and heard Darien screaming. They rushed over to help him and Bobby.

"Here..." Darien gave Claire a syringe with a small amout of yellow liquid in it.

"What's this?"

"Poison...they gave it to Bobby...need to get him..." Darien couldn't finish his sentence as the madness took over.



CHAPTER 34

Claire's heart began pounding in her chest as Darien gripped the back of his neck and glared at them with madness-reddened eyes.

He grit his teeth and smiled at Alex. "Well, hello there. I don't believe we've met."

He leapt across the elevator car, slamming into Alex and knocking her back against the wall. Claire appeared behind him and began pulling on his shoulders. "Get off of her! Leave her alone!"

Darien ignored his Keeper and said, "You can call me Mr. Hyde." He ripped Alex's shirt, reaching in to rub the flesh. "Ooh... you're nice..."

Claire pounded on Darien's back. "Let her go! You have to save Bobby!"

Darien paused, cocking his head. "Bob... Bobby?"

"Yes! You love him! You have to save him! And we're your only hope."

Darien looked down at Alex. The woman was too terrified to even fight back. He sighed. "Too bad. I like it when they fight." He pulled Alex to her feet, then shoved her back against the wall. "You're lucky, bitch." He turned and faced Claire. "Will you save Hobbes?"

Claire nodded. "But only if you behave yourself until we get counteragent."

Darien smiled. "Oh, no no no, Keeper, dear. I'm not taking anymore of that blue shit. I want to lose control. I LIKE to lose control." He gripped her by the shoulders. "I feel like losing control right now." He pushed Claire against the wall, then lowered his face to hers, smothering her mouth in a long kiss. When he broke, he grimaced and said, "Hobbes is a much better kisser."

He was about to kiss her again when his face suddenly went slack and he began to scream. He dropped Claire and dropped to his knees.

Rubyn stood behind him, the counteragent he had taken from Hillary in hand. Rubyn sighed, then looked at Bobby. "Poison?"

Claire nodded.

Rubyn knelt next to Hobbes and placed his hands over the fallen man's heart. He grimaced. "So... much. He's hurt bad... LUCIEN!"

Lucien appeared next to Claire, surprising her. He slipped into the elevator car and placed a hand on each of Hobbes' temples.

Claire watched, fascinated, as a white glow began to spread over the three men. Suddenly, wings unfurled behind Rubyn filling the elevator car.

Claire backpedaled, finding herself next to Alex. They clutched at each other and watched the spectacular display before them.

The white glow eventually faded and Lucien stood. He was winded, but otherwise fine. He turned. "Get him back to the Keep and let him sleep it off. And get Darien some more counteragent. The small dose we gave him won't last very long."

Claire stood. "What the hell are you?"

"Hell? Wrong direction," Rubyn smiled. `At least in my case,' he added mentally.

Lucien blinked his eyes and smirked at Rubyn.

The two men led Claire and Alex outside, each of them carrying one of the fallen agents. They put Darien and Hobbes in Claire's car, then made sure Arnaud was still in shock in the back of Alex's car.

Lucien said, "You should head back to the Agency. Now. Big things are afoot."

Claire and Alex looked at each other, then got in and followed Lucien's advice.



CHAPTER 35

Eberts pulled up to the Agency and parked his car. He hung his head heavily.

The Official had died during the surgery and they were unable to revive him.

Eberts had made the call. He was surprised when they told him the he was going to be made acting head of the agency. He was the most qualified for the job and he had the necessary security clearance to take the position. Of course, they hadn't told him that no one else wanted the job either.

---

Claire got to the Agency and got a few agents to bring Darien and Bobby down to the lab. She didn't care about anything the Official would say to her right now. After what she'd just seen anything else would not phase her right now.

Alex arrived shortly after Claire and handed Arnaud over to be taken down to the padded room for holding.

She walked towards the Keep to see Claire. Alex raised an eyebrow at the quiet hush that seemed to have fallen over everyone.

---

Eberts went into the Keep right after Claire arrived. She'd just given Darien a shot of counteragent and Hobbes was sleeping on a bed next to the chair Darien was in.

"Claire, I need to speak to you for a moment," he spoke in a firm tone.

`Great, here it comes,' she thought.

Eberts led her into the hallway. "I have a few things I need to tell you," he started. "I'd like it if you hear me out before saying anything."

Claire nodded.

"First, the Official died this afternoon from a massive coronary," he paused as Claire drew in a sharp breath. "So, I've been made acting head of the Agency. Second, I know about the relationship between you and Ms. Monroe--"

"I can explain--"

"As I was saying, I know about it and I do NOT care. How or where ever you find love is your business and as long as you are happy, I'm not going to stand in the way of it," he smiled slightly noting the shocked look on her face and turned to walk back down the hall.



CHAPTER 36

Hillary sat at her desk, trying to avoid her husband eyes. He was sitting across from her, listening to Mrs. Finch screaming over the phone. "Yes, ma'am. Yes, I understand that you hired us to prove wrong-doing. Actually, I do think we deserve the money. Travel, time, expense. We did discover that Mr. Fawkes was truthful in the events surrounding the death of Kaitlin Finch. How?" He mouthed to Hillary 'how?!'

Hillary shrugged.

"We couldn't prove he had lied, which means he had to be telling the truth." He winced as Mrs. Finch's rebuttal scratched over the phone.

"Fine, we'll refund the bail money you put up in San Diego, but that's it. Everything else was earned. Yes, I do believe that.

I'm sorry to hear that. Good-b..." He looked at the phone and hung it up.

Hillary looked at him, wincing slightly. "Well?"

Neil sighed. "We'll never see her business again and she's going to tell all her friends that we're an inferior agency."

Amy reclined in her chair and said, "All of her friends, huh? We don't get too much Hellbeast business anyway."

Neil looked at Hillary and smiled. "Relax, hon. There was nothing you could do. For all we know, Fawkes DID tell the truth."

Hillary nodded, then said, "I just felt like he was hiding something and I just couldn't figure out what! Have you ever had the feeling that everything on heaven and earth was out to get you?"



The End<.center>

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