Justin’s new criminal defense attorney, David Nowak, was tall, thin, well-dressed and distinguished-looking. That was the greying hair at his temples. Looking at his face, though, Karen figured he was probably younger than he looked, maybe in his mid- to upper-40s. That was fine with her. As long as he got Justin out of jail while they waited for the cops to finish their investigation, he could have looked like a troll and been as old as Methuselah.

Leigh chose the one woman out of the three lawyers Mark had recommended, Adele Vance. She was about 5'6", blond, and dressed as nicely as Nowak. But instead of the calm, distinguished demeanor that Nowak exhibited, Vance had an aura of fierceness about her that gave Leigh the impression that no one would fight harder to get Reg off completely.

Leigh called her and told her that she’d meet her at Reg’s room that afternoon, as soon as Reg was conscious and able to talk with her. “Have the police spoken to him yet?” Vance asked Leigh.

“Not that I’m aware of. There is a uniformed officer posted outside his room, though.”

“That’ll be my first official duty, then. I’ll be calling the Livonia department and making it clear that they are not to talk to him without my being there.”

Frank had made himself scarce as soon as the Livonia cops let him go the day before. He wanted some uninterrupted time to find out all he could about Thomas A. Anderson and what he’d been doing for the past year. But he kept his ears open and kept track of what the others were doing, as well.

The first interesting thing he found was that Mr. Anderson’s Social Security number belonged to a dead man. Not surprising that someone with Reg’s computer skills could pull that off. There had been no credit cards issued to Mr. Anderson; he cashed his paychecks at one of those payroll-advance places, and his cell phone was a pre-paid disposable. All the out-going calls appeared to be to businesses, mostly take-out food joints. So unless he was leaving coded messages in his take-out orders, it was pretty innocuous. And nobody called him.

Leigh had gotten to Reg’s room a few minutes before the lawyer, so she went in to sit with him. When Vance got there, she showed the cop her ID. “I’m here to talk to Mr. Morrison.” He opened the door and let her into the room. Reg was just waking up.

“Hi?” he said, looking up at Leigh. “Where am I?”

“Mr. Morrison? I’m Adele Vance. Mrs. Sorenson has hired me to defend you. Is it OK if I talk with you in front of Mrs. Sorenson?”

“Leigh? What happened?” Reg asked.

“Like I told you the last time...Weeping Sparrow will be OK. You took a scalpel to her,” Leigh told him.

“Um, I guess from the handiwork...” Reg said, looking down at his chest, “...Justin?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I’m still alive.”

“We didn’t want you taking a scalpel to anyone else. I’ve hired Ms. Vance to defend you.”

“I assume I’ll be facing criminal charges, then?”

“Assault with intent to commit murder, most likely,” Vance told him. “Or maybe attempted murder. The presence of the scalpel shows some intent. On the other hand, you didn’t track her down or go to her house. I expect there will also be charges in the case of one Running Elk.”

Reg looked to Leigh for an explanation. Leigh looked surprised that Vance even knew about that. She must have really done her homework in the hours since Leigh had hired her. “You, uh, stabbed him, too,” Leigh told him.

“What do you need from me?” Reg asked the lawyer.

“Start at the beginning.”

“I’ve been having blackouts. I’ve lost about 10 and a half months total, so far. The blackout periods last anywhere from a few days to the 9 and a half months of the first one.”

“What are the last things you can remember?” Vance asked him.

“I remember leaving my sister’s house on Boxing Day. I was heading for the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Then nothing certain until I woke up in here.”

“You don’t remember being at Justin and Karen’s house Wednesday night?” Leigh asked.

“Vaguely. Weeping Sparrow was there, too, wasn’t she?”

“Does the name Thomas A. Anderson mean anything to you?” Vance asked him.

Reg shook his head.

“You’ve been working on and off here, in the hospital kitchen, for most of a year. Mostly off, but you’ve been on for the past 3 weeks.”

Reg looked up at Leigh, panic in his eyes. Leigh’s eyes had gone cold, almost dead.

“What are you saying?” Vance asked, looking from Reg to Leigh. “That wasn’t a very subtle exchange just now.”

The two said nothing, exchanging another glance.

“People who lie to their attorneys do not have very effective defense.”

“You may up and leave,” Reg warned her. He paused and she sat there waiting patiently. “I may have been involved, during these blackouts, with procuring, cooking and serving...human flesh.”

“Do you have any physical evidence to prove this?” Vance asked calmly.

“The soup he was cooking yesterday was thrown on the floor,” Leigh told her.

“So it’s cleaned up and gone.” Vance sighed. “What makes you think this is what’s been happening?”

“That’s more Weeping Sparrow’s area. She’s kind of sensitive, psychically-speaking....”

“I doubt I’ll get you off completely, given the evidence and witnesses against you. But I think a nice quiet place will be better than Jackson.”

Leigh had been shifting anxiously in her chair ever since Reg mentioned serving human flesh. Now she leaned forward earnestly and said, “It may have something to do with what happened last summer. I was visiting an archaeological dig that a friend was running in the UP, and a student there may have been killing people and cooking them, and serving them to the dig crew.”

“Why haven’t I heard about this case?” Vance asked her.

“Because it was kept quiet, because it was so strange.”

It was clear from Vance’s face that she had been taking everything Reg said with a huge lick of salt. She wondered what Leigh’s purpose was in mentioning this case now. “What’s the connection? Were you fed human flesh with the others, up north?” she asked Reg.

“No,” Leigh told her. “It seemed to stop when he got there.”

“How does this connect with now, then? What makes you make this leap?”

“I didn’t bring it up,” Reg objected. “Leigh did. But if you look at the longest missing period, about 9 and a half months, it was when I was on a plane that went missing on its way from Cancun to California. I returned. My companion didn’t. And I came back very lean and trim, but certainly not starving. My only memory of that period is of my companion being dead...hopefully in the crash...and I think I ate him for lack of better food.”

“And you remember doing this?”

“Only in fragments.”

“I will want to establish, if we can, the time-frames of all your blackouts, and all we can ascertain about them. It is your belief, then, that you’ve been feeding people in the hospital cafeteria human flesh?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, my. Let’s not mention this to the police until we investigate this further. It doesn’t look good on my record if you go away for life. Do you believe you’re guilty?”

“I have no recollection. But my friends think so.”

“Even the one who put a hole in your chest?”

“I must have needed it.”

“Then you don’t want to press assault charges?” Vance asked.

“No.”

“What about civil charges?”

“No.”

“This is the most interesting case I’ve had in my career so far....” That was the last thing Reg heard her say before he floated away on a cloud of morphine.

Tony arrived back in town late Friday afternoon, ready for a relaxing weekend at ‘home.’ The safe house was empty when he got there, which wasn’t uncommon. So he called to see if Justin wanted to get together for a beer that evening. The call went straight to voice mail. “Well, if Justin’s busy, den so’s Karen. Hmmm.... Let’s see if Frank’s aroun’.”

Frank saw Tony’s name in the caller ID and grinned. “Not it the face! Not in the face!” he hollered, when he opened the phone.

“Hey! Dat wasn’t my fault. Justin zigged when he should’a zagged. So what’s shakin’?”

“Maybe. But it started off a really bad month for Justin.”

“Whadya mean? He wuz in da hospital last I saw ‘im.”

“We really shouldn’t talk about it over the phone,” Frank told him.

“Meet’cha at da usual place, den?”

Frank agreed. Tony was already eating Coneys and Vernors when Frank got there.

“So? What’s up?” Tony asked around the bite of Coney dog.

Frank brushed a fleck of ejected crumb off his coat.

“Sorry ‘bout dat,” Tony apologized, wiping his mouth with the napkin.

“Right. So, Justin got out of the hospital...and shot Reg.”

“Why?”

“Because Reg opened Weeping Sparrow’s throat with a scalpel.”

“Where’d ‘e hit ‘im?”

“Center of mass, left lung.”

“Wow! He wasn’t kiddin’ aroun’! How’s Reg?”

“Recovering.”

“He’s still in da hospital? Can’t sign himself out, can ‘e? Is Aiden his doctor?”

“No. And Justin is in the Wayne County Jail.”

“Should I go pick ‘im up?”

“Karen and their lawyer are taking care of that.”

“Clear-cut case of public defense, right? Da time I helped out a little ol’ lady, I got stuck in the Army. But at least da little ol’ ladies sure felt safe aroun’ da neighborhood after dat. So...how’s Leigh takin’ it?”

“She’s making sure Reg doesn’t get up and leave. There’s a police guard outside his room.”

“Well, why don’t we go see if Karen needs any help gettin’ Justin out?” Tony suggested. Frank figured he’d gotten about all he was going to get from his research for the time being, so he agreed and the two headed over to Justin and Karen’s.

The judge banged the gavel, and David Nowak hustled Justin out of the courtroom, with Karen on their heels. “Don’t talk to the media,” Nowak said to Justin in a low but intense voice. “Don’t talk to anyone but your wife without me present. And under no circumstances should you talk to the police without me present.” Nowak turned to Karen. “Here’s my card. My cell number is on the back. Call me immediately if you need anything or have any other information I should know about.”

“Do I have do sday away from Reg?” Justin asked plaintively.

“That would be advisable.”

“Bud I wan’ do abologize. Id wasn’ his fauld. He wasn’ himself.”

Nowak shook his head and gave Karen a look that said, “Do whatever you have to, to keep him away from Mr. Morrison.” He turned and walked out of the courthouse.

Karen glanced over her shoulder and caught Evan’s eye. Earlier that afternoon, after she finished cleaning the spare room where Running Elk had been stabbed, but before it was time to leave for Justin’s arraignment, she took Fran back to Receiving to stay with Running Elk. Now she had Evan ‘guarding’ her again. Jimmy had refused to leave Weeping Sparrow. He claimed it was easier duty than watching Running Elk or Karen.

But a few more guys were on their way down from the reservation to help out, so that all three could get some rest soon. And Aiden, with help from the tribal doctors, had already arranged for Weeping Sparrow to be moved up to Mt. Pleasant. She would be getting a med-evac ride up there first thing the next morning.

Karen drove home, with Justin in the passenger seat and Evan directly behind her. She knew that it drove Justin nuts to be a passenger. But he looked like he hadn’t slept much last night, and the doctor at the county jail’s infirmary had returned less of Justin’s pain pills than Karen had dropped off. She wasn’t sure when he’d last had them, but she preferred they all get home in one piece, even if the trip made Justin uncomfortable.

The three had barely settled in when there was a knock at the back door. Only friends came to that door, so Karen ignored Justin signing her to take a gun. Evan followed her anyway. At least someone else was concerned about her safety, Justin thought to himself.

It was Tony and Frank. “Yo! What’s shakin’?” Tony said, striding into the living room and dropping his coat on a chair.

“Whad? No Coneys?” Justin asked him.

“Da las’ time I brung ‘em, all’a youse guys yelled at me for it.”

“Congratulations on making bail,” Frank said, settling onto the couch. A moment later, the phone rang.

Leigh had left the hospital when Reg’s lawyer did, to let Reg get some rest. But she didn’t feel like going home alone to an empty apartment. She’d tried Aiden and Angie’s home phone first, hoping to give Justin and Karen a little time alone. But there was no answer. She didn’t bother leaving a message. She tried Justin and Karen next.

“Hi, Leigh.” Karen answered the phone.

“Is Justin...?” Leigh asked.

“Yeah. We just got home about 20 minutes ago. Evan, Tony and Frank are here, too.”

“Do you mind if I...?” Leigh hesitated. Karen sounded as tired as Leigh felt right now. She didn’t want to burden her more than she already was, but....

“Sure. No problem. I’ll have the tea kettle warming up.”

Leigh had just put the car into Park in Justin and Karen’s driveway, when a set of headlights pulled in behind her. It took her a second to recognize Aiden’s truck from that angle. The three walked to the door together, and Evan let them in. Karen was bustling around the kitchen, getting out food and drinks for everyone. Leigh took off her coat to help.

Aiden went to the living room and collapsed into one of the chair without even taking off his coat.

“You gan use one ‘a da sbare rooms if you wan’,” Justin told him.

“Ha ha. Not a bad couple days’ work, if I do say so myself. I’m happy to report that Running Elk not only gets to live, he gets to keep his insides. Weeping Sparrow will be on her way home in the morning, getting her away from all the electronic equipment. And Reg...well, he’s gonna live, too, though it appears that the only reason he’s alive is pure luck.”

Angie slid onto his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I wasn’ drying do.... I mean, I was agding on insdingd,” Justin moaned. “I didn’ mean do hurd him. Bud id habbened so fasd....” Justin pushed himself up from the chair and hurried toward the bathroom. He brushed past Karen and Leigh, who were bringing trays of finger food into the living room. He looked kind of ill to Karen. He was making himself sick thinking about what had happened, blaming himself, and she wished there was something she could do to take away the pain. The women heard the water come on in the bathroom.

“I’m surprised he aimed fer center ‘a mass,” Tony mused.

“It’s not like he had the time to think about it,” Karen said, defending her husband.

“At least Terri wasn’t there,” Frank said. “And they didn’t find the silencer.” He looked directly at Karen.

“It’s in the safe. And cleaned,” Karen told him, as Justin came back into the room.

“Dat’s why I married her. She’s one smard lady,” Justin said. He grabbed Karen around the waist and hugged her before sitting back down. Drew appeared from under the couch and leapt onto Justin’s lap, and Justin started petting him. Drew always seemed to know when his help was needed.

“Reg is of the impression that if you shot him, it was for a good reason,” Leigh consoled him. “He also told the lawyer about maybe feeding people people,” she told all of them. “And I let slip about the whole UP thing.”

Karen let out a little gasp, then sucked back a mild curse. It wasn’t Leigh’s fault, really. She was only doing everything she could to help Reg. And in the stress of the moment, bringing that up must have seemed like a good idea. But she may have just opened a huge can of worms. All of them had been involved in that case, including Terri. But they’d managed to keep it quiet. If it was going to get linked to this one, people might start asking questions that were better left unasked.

“His lawyer is talking about going for an insanity plea,” Leigh finished.

“Well, of course,” Angie agreed.

“His lawyer needs ta make sure he gets sent ta da federal pen,” Tony commented. “My uncles and cousins always said dat da federal pens are better’n state an’ local joints.” Tony grinned.

“So...what’s our plan now?” Frank asked the group.

“Find out if Reg is possessed or a split personality?” Leigh suggested.

“Have youse guys tried exorcism yet?” Tony asked. “Maybe we oughta get an exorcist.” He pulled out his phone and dialed Fr. Colin’s number. It went straight to voice mail. “Hey, Fadder C! It’s Tony! Gimme a call; it’s impor’int!”

“Sounds like either way he’s goin’ up the river,” Angie said.

“I’m jus’ goncerned aboud him gedding glean before he dies,” Justin said. “I don’ wan’ him goin’ da Hell. We need do find oud whad’s wrong wid him. And if he’s irredeemable, den we have backhoes and some embdy broberdy up nord.”

“Yo, maybe if we do dat, we could plant an ID on ‘im wit’ Jimmy Hoffa’s name,” Tony suggested.

“That would never work,” Karen disagreed. “It’d be far too easy to tell it wasn’t Hoffa. Reg looks nothing like him.”

“But if he wuz just bones....” Tony argued.

“The bone structure would still be all wrong,” Leigh said.

“The only way you might pull it off is if the bones were burned and crushed, in that order,” Karen told him. “And even then, you’d have to do a pretty good job, because you can still tell a lot from really small fragments.”

“So, how do we ged da Tommy bersonalidy do come oud, so dat we can bob a Sphere?” Justin asked.

“I think Frank is our expert there,” Aiden told him, waking suddenly after having dozed off. “I didn’t pay that much attention during that rotation.”

“Should you maybe go see Weebing Sbarrow?” Justin asked. “You know, do do whad you do?”

“I already did see her yesterday, but I guess seeing her again tonight couldn’t hurt. But I already know that I can’t Heal her. I figured that out when I tried on Running Elk. Since the damage was done by Reg, and not something Unknown, it doesn’t seem to work.”

“Garen, do you dink she might use a labtob, you know, if she’s having drouble sbeaging?”

“I don’t think so , hon. She’s already annoyed by all the monitors and stuff. Paper and pencil are working fine.”

“Da area where Reg’s blane wen’ down.... Dony, did you habben to see anyding about any Soud Amerigan weendigo draditions?” Justin asked. “I mean, mosd culdures musd have sdories lige dat, ya know, like dey all have flood sdories an’ sduff.... Righd, Garen?”

“I don’t really know. I haven’t done as much work with the Central and South American native groups as I have with the North American.”

Tony thought for a few seconds. “Naw, nuttin’ like dat.”

“Actually, I think the plane went down in the Caribbean, anyway,” Frank said.

Aiden had dozed off again, and now a thought woke him. “So, Frank, Reg’d be a pretty rare case, if he does have a true split personality, right? I mean, it’s usually triggered before age six, isn’t it?”

“One in about 40 million are triggered as adults,” Frank confirmed. “But something like having to eat Ramon to survive would be the kind of trigger it would take. Reg might be insane. That’s the best case. Possession...”

“Or having gone over to Evil,” Karen interjected.

“...or having gone over to Evil...are worse,” Frank continued. “At least right now he’s under pretty close observation.”

“That’s what we thought Wednesday night,” Karen murmured.

“So, does hypnosis work wit’ multiple personality disorder?” Tony asked.

“It’s actually one of the best ways to work with it,” Frank told them. “That or putting the person in a triggering situation. But that’s generally unsafe.”

“Well, if we’re going do hypnodize Reg, I need a shower,” Justin said. He lifted Drew off his lap and set him on the floor beside the chair, then stood and headed for the stairs.

“We’ll need permission from Reg’s attorney, if I’m going to consult with Reg,” Frank told Leigh. She got out her phone and called Vance.

Justin had gone about halfway up the stairs, and now he came back down a couple stairs and leaned over the railing. “We’re going do see Weebing Sbarrow an’ Running Elg, too, right?”

“Running Elk is in the ICU, and will be sleeping for the next six hours, at least,” Aiden told him, “since he was supposed to be getting a dose of sedative about now if he wasn’t going to sleep on his own. And I don’t have privileges at St. Mary Mercy, so I don’t know if they’ll let us in to see Weeping Sparrow at this hour.”

“I don’t either,” Frank said, “but they let me into the OR.”

“You had your hands in Weeping Sparrow’s neck,” Aiden countered.

“Ms. Vance said you can see Reg,” Leigh told them, closing her phone. “She said she would call the hospital and let the officer on duty there know that you’re to be allowed in. I think she’s hoping that you’ll confirm that Reg is crazy before she calls in an outside expert to examine him.”

“I was thinking that maybe Tony and I can keep an eye in Reg, you know, out of body, when you hypnotize him,” Karen said. “Then we can see if the thing I saw in the cafeteria is the same thing I see when Reg is Tommy.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Frank agreed.

“I’ll go first,” Karen told Tony, “since I’ve seen ‘Tommy’ already. Then I can let Frank know, and you can go keep an eye on ‘Tommy’...or Reg.”

When Justin was ready to go, they all piled into the casino van and headed up to Livonia. Along the way, Frank insisted they stop past a pet store. They ended up at Meijer, and Frank came out with some plastic tubing and a bag of water. “Algenated water,” Frank explained. “Used in tropical fish tanks.” He held up the tubing. “To put in this, to make a water necklace for Weeping Sparrow. It might help alleviate the stress of all the electronics.”

Karen smiled. He was more thoughtful sometimes than he normally let people know. That was the kind of thing that made psychiatry not as strange a line of work for Frank as she would have expected given the rest of his behavior.

“That reminds me,” Leigh said, lifting the box she’d been cradling between her knees. “I found this online, and found a local supplier.” She opened the box and showed Karen a small terrarium. “It’s a completely sealed environment, like a Bio-Sphere. I thought we could smuggle it in to Weeping Sparrow.”

Karen nodded and smiled. It was nice how much all her friends liked Weeping Sparrow. She appreciated the kindness they were showing her in this difficult situation.

They got approval for everyone to see Weeping Sparrow, but no more than two at a time and for no more than a few minutes each. Frank went in first, as both a physician and friend, along with Tony. Frank looked over her chart, while Tony held her hand and said a few encouraging words in his own unique way. She smiled at Tony and squeezed his hand. Then Frank gently looped the ‘water necklace’ around her neck, and she gave him a small smile as well.

Karen let Justin and Leigh go in next, since Justin hadn’t seen her since she’d been wheeled into the hospital from the parking lot the day before. He was surprised at how pale and wan she looked. Her eyes were closed when they went in, and her eyelids seemed as thin as crepe paper. Justin knelt beside her bed. “I’m sorry,” he told her, putting a hand on her arm to boost her energy.

She opened her eyes, raised one eyebrow and waggled a finger at him. Then she picked up the paper and pencil she’d tucked under the edge of her pillow. “Not your fault, Moose. You saved my life. Thank you.”

Justin blushed a little when he read the message, and Weeping Sparrow patted him on the head, careful to do it on the uninjured right side.

Leigh showed her the terrarium and she seemed pleased by it, and touched by the gesture. It was small enough that it was hardly noticeable when Leigh nestled it under the blankets, where Weeping Sparrow could keep a hand on it or lift the blanket to look at it if she wanted.

When the two came out of Weeping Sparrow’s room Leigh headed over to check on Reg through the window. He appeared to be sleeping. Then she joined Frank and Tony in the waiting room.

Karen went in with Jimmy and Evan next, and each gave the wise woman a gentle hug. The two men were going to stay a few more minutes and do a quiet healing chant. Karen went out to join the others.

As she came out, she spotted Justin trying to persuade the cop to let him see Reg. The officer was obviously not going to be swayed, but Karen went over there anyway. “David will kill you,” she hissed in Justin’s ear as she grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled him away from Reg’s room. Justin looked chagrined, but let his wife drag him away toward the waiting room. Aiden and Angie were waiting in the hallway for Jimmy and Evan to come out, so they could see Weeping Sparrow next.

Frank was getting ready to go into Reg’s room when Karen and Justin got to the waiting room. “I’ll go see what Reg looks like before you get started,” Karen told Frank as she got as comfortable as she could in one of the chairs. “And I’ll let you know as soon as I see ‘Tommy.’” Frank nodded, and headed over to Reg’s room. Justin sat beside Karen, holding her head on his shoulder as she slipped out of her body. Leigh stood by the door, both to warn Justin if anyone was coming, and to watch for anything that might happen in Reg’s room.

It took Karen no time at all to get to Reg’s room. Inside the greyish form of Reg’s body lying on the bed, Karen could see Reg’s spirit. He looked like himself, but with a big, muddy aura around him that Karen thought must be the guilt he was carrying around.

Aiden and Angie had already traded places with Jimmy and Evan in Weeping Sparrow’s room when Frank came into the hallway and showed his credentials to the uni outside Reg’s room. Since Vance had called earlier to let him know Frank was coming, the cop had no issue with letting Frank in to see Reg.

Frank checked Reg’s vitals, then pulled a chair over where he could sit beside Reg and still see the heart monitor. He intended to use it as a sort of lie detector. He could also see the window, to watch for Karen’s signal. Reg was watching his every move. “So, what do you remember, Reg?”

“Being at Justin and Karen’s a couple days ago, and going to sleep with Running Elk watching me.”

“Nothing since then?” Frank asked.

“Nothing.”

“So you don’t remember talking to Karen and Leigh yesterday? Or the police this morning?”

“No. Did I?”

“Fascinating. Yes. You even gave the police a statement.”

“So you and I are not the only ones in this room right now?” Reg asked.

“In a manner of speaking.” (If Karen had been able to make out what the two were saying, she would have found the exchange amusing. She continued to concentrate on Reg’s spirit.)

“Well, I hope something’s ‘on board,’” Reg said, “so we can get rid of it.”

“So you’re interested in knowing what’s going on?”

“Yes, so we can fix it.”

“Then you won’t resist if I try to hypnotize you? I think it’s going to be the most direct way to help you find out what’s going on.”

“Please do. I won’t resist at all.”

Frank pulled a coin from his pocket and began flipping it over the knuckles of his right hand, out where Reg could watch. “Watch the coin carefully,” Frank told him. “Relax and try to see every move it makes over my hand.” Frank continued to talk soothingly to Reg. But in spite of Reg’s willingness to go under, he just wasn’t.

Karen was beginning to worry that the process might take longer than she could stay out of her body. It had already been a couple minutes, and she was going to have to work harder to keep herself there much longer.

Then, suddenly, Reg’s face changed completely. It was the face Karen had seen in the kitchen yesterday morning... ‘Tommy.’

Karen slipped back into her body. “I just saw it happen. He’s Tommy now. I’m going to let Frank know. Can you go keep an eye on him now, Tony?”

“Sure t’ing!” Tony got comfortable and slipped out of his body.

When Justin started to follow Karen out of the room, she stopped. “Who’s going to watch Tony?”

“I will,” Leigh offered.

Karen nodded and continued over to Reg’s room. Frank had pulled the curtains partially shut, leaving a gap of about 6 inches. Karen stood at the gap and signaled Frank with a ‘thumbs up.’

“Lemme see for a segond,” Justin whispered to her. Karen stepped aside to let Justin peek through the gap. He was hoping he could see some outward sign that Reg wasn’t Reg anymore, something they could use when Reg was up and around. They couldn’t keep Karen and Tony dogging him in the astral plane all the time. But since Reg was looking away from the window towards Frank, Justin couldn’t get a good enough look at his face. And with one arm handcuffed to the bed and the other wrapped with IV tubes and monitor cords, he couldn’t tell if Reg was using a different hand than normal for things like adjusting his blankets or whatever.

“Would it be possible for me to speak with Mr. Anderson?” Frank asked.

“I thought that’s why you were hypnotizing me, Frank.”

“OK, well, you’re just not going under right now. Do you have any real ideas on how long these blackouts have been going on?”

“Since right after Christmas, in Cancun. I’m guessing that if they’re stemming from going down with Ramon.... What Weeping Sparrow figured out is that to survive, I ate him.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I may not have had much choice.”

“Why?”

“I couldn’t find other food? Or maybe he was just right there. He was pre-cooked.”

“So there was a fire in the crash.”

“Yeah. It was kind of messy.”

“Well, at least you had the.... Where’d you crash, anyhow? And how’d you get back?”

“That I don’t remember.”

“Fair enough. Let’s talk about the fire in the plane. Were you burned in the fire?”

“I don’t think so. I must’ve gotten out somehow. Maybe the convenient pool it crashed in....”

“Did you get out in the pool?”

“I came to in the pool. I had some lacerations and cuts, but nothing too serious.”

“So you were out of the plane when you came to. And Ramon was still inside, and the plane was burning.”

“It had burned out by then.”

“Was the water deep enough for you to swim away from the plane?”

“I was free-floating. The plane got caught up in trees.”

“Fresh water or salt?”

“Fresh.”

“Lucky for you that you got out and weren’t trapped.”

“It smelled really good.” ‘Tommy’ licked his lips at the memory.

“The water?”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, the water.”

“So how long did Ramon last? It sounds like he was a really big feast.”

“How many months was I gone? I learned to use the spear; and I’m pretty good with the throwing knife now.”

“What’d you learn to use the spear on?”

“Fish, I think.”

“So, obviously there was wood to make the spear out of.”

“Tree branches and rocks. I must’ve actually watched those survival shows Justin likes so much.”

“What did you secure them with?”

“Sinew.”

“Pretty good survival shows.”

“Well, you use what you’ve got.”

“So, did you like being on the island or wherever you were?”

“You know me. I’m a social being. Lonely as hell.”

“But did you like it?”

“Not really.”

“What’d you think of learning to use a spear and daggers?”

“Necessary. And they’ve served me in good stead since then. Throwing the spear the first time was interesting. And the first time I was playing with a knife in the kitchen, and threw it and it stuck in the wall.... Reg thought that was pretty cool...I mean...that was interesting.”

“I’d like to speak to Reg now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you don’t mind Mr. Anderson, I’d like to speak with Reg.”

“So, what’d you learn?” ‘Reg’ asked Frank.

“That Mr. Anderson does a good impression of you and has your memories. And he doesn’t want us to know when he’s out and about.”

“That wouldn’t be any fun,” ‘Tommy’ replied.

“No, I suppose it wouldn’t,” Frank agreed.

Tony saw Reg change, just that fast, from Tommy into Reg. He slipped back into his body, and rushed out to the hallway to let Frank know.

“What wouldn’t?” Reg asked.

“Fascinating.” Frank saw Tony waving through the window, but he’d already suspected that Reg had switched back. He’d seen Reg’s pulse rate jump on the monitor, and heard Reg’s breathing get catchy. While he was Tommy, the pulse rate stayed at a steady 60, and his breathing was slow and even. “I’ve got good news for you, Reg...sort of.... You’re nuts.”

As soon as they’d crashed to the ground, Jimmy grabbed Reg’s throat and began pounding his head against the pavement, oblivious to the gaping hole in Reg’s chest.

“Oh, God...no...” Justin moaned. Karen skidded to a stop beside him, as her brain tried to comprehend the scene before her. Then he stuffed the gun back in his holster and ran to Weeping Sparrow. His movement startled Karen back into action and she followed him.

Frank and Leigh ran to Reg, and Evan stopped in his tracks, stunned by what he saw. Frank quickly searched Reg for other weapons, as Leigh tried to pry Jimmy’s hands from Reg’s neck.

Karen saw her struggling with him and came over beside the group. “Stop!” Karen yelled, smacking Jimmy hard on the back of the head. The attack made him pause long enough for Leigh to get his hands open and Karen to pull him off Reg by the collar of his coat. Then Karen turned and watched helplessly as Justin tried to stop the blood from spurting out Weeping Sparrow’s neck by using one of her scarves to apply pressure to the wound.

“Evan! Get the soup!” Frank yelled, turning his attention from Reg as soon as he was sure there were no other weapons.

“Karen, ged da silencer off my gun,” Justin said quietly, his voice grim and his eyes never leaving Weeping Sparrow. She moved around behind him and lifted the gun from the holster. She unscrewed the silencer and slipped the gun back in the holster. Then she pulled off her gloves, shoved the silencer in one and stuffed it deep into her coat pocket. She took a step back and held her breath, as Frank joined Justin in trying to keep Weeping Sparrow alive.

Leigh knelt beside Reg and could hear his lung sucking air in through the hole in his chest. She pulled the wind breaker open and tore at the hole in his shirt to get down to the wound.

“Karen, go get doctors from the ER,” Frank ordered. Karen ran for the door Evan had gone in.

“Jimmy!” Leigh shouted. He was standing over her and Reg, still seething with anger...and fear for Weeping Sparrow’s life. “Go get plastic wrap from the RV, and tell Terri to get lost,” she ordered him when she was sure she had his attention. He blinked a couple times as his brain fumbled with the request, then ran over to the RV.

Evan was just coming back out the door from the kitchen, and Leigh turned to him, her hands pressed against Reg’s chest to slow the loss of blood and air. As she pushed down, she could feel his ribs dropping as his lung began to collapse. “Evan, get plastic wrap from the kitchen!” She wasn’t sure that Frank and Terri had any in the RV, and she didn’t want to waste any more time if they didn’t. Better to have too much.

Jimmy came racing back, a roll of Press-and-Seal wrap in one hand. Behind him, the RV rolled slowly away.

Karen ran through the kitchen, dodging appliances and kitchen workers. She burst into the dining room and looked around frantically, then ran toward the door to the lobby. She flung the glass door open and yelled, “I need a trauma team NOW!”

The security guard, who’d been standing by the information desk chatting with older lady sitting behind it, put her hand on the butt of her gun to steady it as she jogged over to Karen. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“Please...” Karen pleaded, grabbing the guard’s sleeve and pulling her toward the kitchen. “There’s two people injured in the parking lot! This way!” She led the woman through the dining room and kitchen, and out the back door.

As soon as the guard saw Reg and Weeping Sparrow on the ground, people leaning over them, and the slush around them turning red from their blood, she pulled the walkie-talkie from her belt. “”HQ, this is Cooper. I’ve got two people down in the south-west lot. Send trauma teams immediately!” Evan and Jimmy bracketed Karen, and the three stood silently watching Leigh, Frank and Justin work on their wounded comrades.

Suddenly, a crowd of doctors and nurses pushing gurneys piled with equipment came charging from the hospital toward the scene, followed by several more security guards. The trauma teams pulled to a halt and surrounded the two injured people, and the security guards went to Cooper for instructions.

“I’m a doctor,” Frank grunted as two of the ER specialists knelt beside Weeping Sparrow. They let him continue to help.

Leigh and Justin stood and backed away, their blood-covered hands shaking from the cold and the adrenalin. The other three came and clustered around them. “Dat wasn’ Reg,” Justin whispered, his eyes shifting from Weeping Sparrow to Reg and back. He was talking to Karen, though the others in that small circle easily heard him, too.“Dere was nudding of Reg in dat face...’xcebd maybe as he wen’ down.” Karen wrapped her arm around Justin’s waist and held him tight.

Cooper directed the other guards to begin searching the ground for weapons and any other evidence. Then she went around and asked to see the weapons each of the Envoys carried. Sniffing the muzzle of each one, it was soon obvious that Justin’s gun was the only one that had been fired; and she called in to the security office for evidence bags. Moments later, one of the other guards found the bloody scalpel that had flown from Reg’s hands when the bullet hit him. Both items were quickly bagged and carried inside.

“I’m Evelyn Cooper,” the guard told the five. “I’ll need you to come with me.” They followed her into the hospital. She took all their names as they walked.

She led them to a short hallway lined with doors, near the ER. “The Livonia Police have been called. I’ll need you all to stay here until they’ve cleared you to go.” She then put each one into a separate exam room, starting with Justin, then Leigh, Evan, Karen, and Jimmy. If any of them had bothered to check, they would have found the doors to their rooms locked.

Justin began pacing as soon as the door clicked shut behind him. “Oh, God...oh, God...oh, God....” He spotted the sink and nearly ran to it. He went to pull on the knobs then stopped, staring at the blood on his hands. After a couple seconds, he shook his head and used his elbows to pulled them; and water splashed around the counter and onto Justin’s clothes from the force of the stream hitting the bottom of the sink.

He rubbed his hands together under the water until the blood was washed off, then he pumped soap from the dispenser and washed some more. Steam rose from the sink, the water was so hot, but Justin didn’t seem to notice. When he was done, his skin was bright pink from the scrubbing.

He began pacing again and talking to himself. “I’m sorry, Reg. I can’d even brodecd my friends.... You’re supposed do brodecd your friends....”

A couple times, he stumbled over the chairs that sat against the wall because he wasn’t actually seeing the room or the things in it. All he kept seeing was that face, something else’s face where Reg’s should have been, as Reg turned toward Jimmy, the scalpel, spraying Weeping Sparrow’s blood, gripped firmly in his left hand. Was Reg right-handed or left? Justin couldn’t remember, and he wondered if any of them had ever even noticed before....

Justin tripped on one of the chairs again. This time, instead of putting his hand out to catch himself, he let his shoulder collide with the wall, then slowly slid to the floor, sobbing. With his back against the wall and his elbows on his knees, he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, ignoring the pain that shot around his skull from the still-bandaged left side and trying to blot out that face.

Leigh also went to the sink in her room and tried to wash up as best she could. But hers wasn’t the obsessive scrubbing that Justin’s was. She was careful and deliberate, and she stopped when she’d gotten her hands and wrists clean. Then she dampened a handful of paper towels and tried to blot as much blood off her coat and pants as she could.

Jimmy was pacing as well, furious with Reg for what he’d done, but just as angry with himself for not preventing it. It didn’t matter than none of them had foreseen that particular turn of events. He felt that, somehow, he should have been able to anticipate it and intervene.

Karen and Evan sat patiently. Evan worried about Weeping Sparrow. The blood spurting from her neck had been so red.... He worried about Running Elk, whose condition they still didn’t know. And he worried about Jimmy, the hot-headed one in the bunch, hoping that he didn’t do anything rash....

Karen worried not only about her mentor and all four of her guardians, but also about Reg and Leigh and, most importantly, about her husband. Before she’d even seen what had happened, she’d seen the horror on Justin’s face. He’d only done what needed to be done, what his instincts and training told him to do. But to shoot a friend? Karen knew that it must have gutted him, and she worried that it could break him. He already carried an almost overwhelming guilt over not being able to save all the guys in his unit back in Iraq. But to have been the one who actually caused the damage to...or maybe even killed a friend? She bowed her head and prayed that he’d be able to hold himself together.

When the adrenalin made it impossible for Justin to sit still a second longer, he pushed himself up and went back to the sink and began scrubbing his hands again. They were raw from the hot water and rubbing before he even realized what he was doing and stopped. Would they ever be truly clean again? Justin was afraid to think about it. He began pacing, trying to walk off the pain. And before long he was on the floor, his back pressed against the corner, sobbing again.

Karen checked her watch. It had been about 10am when Frank, Leigh and Evan had gone in to get Reg. It was almost 11:30am now. She wondered how long they would be stuck here, how long before she could see Justin....

There was a light rap on the door, and it was pushed open by a good-looking Hispanic man, in maybe his late 20s, wearing a not-terribly-expensive suit. When he held out his hand to her, Karen could see a badge clipped to his belt. “Mrs. Kazotchek? I’m Detective Stone.” Karen shook his hand, then he pulled the other chair around to face her and sat down. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Karen told him. “We’d come to find a friend who’s been acting kind of strange lately. Some of us were waiting in the parking lot, while others went in to find him. I was watching around the side of the building, in case he came out a different door. All of a sudden I heard a gun shot, and I saw Justin holding his gun and pointing at something. I rushed over, and when I came around the corner I saw Weeping Sparrow and Reg on the ground bleeding....”

“And why were you looking for this person?”

“Like I said, he’s been acting kind of strange lately. We were worried about him because he wasn’t himself, ya know?”

“Where are your cars parked?”

“I have no idea. We were dropped off by the building. So how are they?”

“Who?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “The two injured people....”

Stone flipped a couple pages on his note pad. “The old woman is in critical care. She could go either way. The gentleman,” Stone said this with a hint of sarcasm, “is in surgery.”

“That would be Weeping Sparrow and Reg Morrison?” Karen asked. She found it offensive that he would refer to Weeping Sparrow as just ‘the old woman.’ She was so much more than that to Karen. And to Jimmy and Evan. She knew they’d be smart enough not to hit a cop. But if he wanted them to open their mouths at all, he’d better not show Weeping Sparrow any disrespect.

“Right,” Stone said. “So, can you think of anything else that might be important?”

Karen thought for a minute. “No.”

“Well, here’s my card, if you do. And we’ll call you if we have any more questions for you. I’m sure we will. In the meantime, you’re free to go.”

“Is it OK if I just wait in the hall for my husband?”

“Sure. Just stay out of the way.”

Karen nodded. She’d spent enough time waiting for people in hospitals. She knew how to stay out of the way.

Stone had already disappeared into another room by the time Karen gathered her things and went out into the hallway. The room he’d gone into was Leigh’s.

“Mrs. Sorenson? I’m Detective Stone.” He shook her hand, and pulled the second chair over and sat facing her. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I just got back into the States, and I stopped to visit friends...the Kazotcheks. I’d heard that our friend Reg was acting a little odd, and the three of us and a few other friends came here looking for him.”

“How did you know to look here for him?”

“I’m not really sure how they knew. Anyway, Reg cut Weeping Sparrow, and Justin shot him because...well, what else do you do when someone goes mad and starts cutting someone like they’re the butcher of Fleet Street?”

Stone didn’t say anything, looking blandly at Leigh until she continued.

“Mr. Muelder and Justin were working on Weeping Sparrow, and I.... Is Reg going to be OK? And Weeping Sparrow? Are they going to live?”

“Mr. Morrison is in surgery right now, and Weeping Sparrow is in intensive care. It’s still touch and go.”

“Just pray to God that they both survive,” Leigh whispered, more to herself than to Stone.

Stone stood. “Incidently, I’m going to need your coat and....” He glanced down at her pants, which, in spite of her attempts at cleaning them, were still obviously bloody on the thighs and knees. “Someone will bring you something else to wear in a minute. Then you’re free to join your friend in the hall. Here’s my card, in case you think of anything else. We’ll contact you if we have any more questions. And, I’m sure you understand, please don’t leave town or the country. Thank you, Mrs. Sorenson.” He shook her hand again and left the room.

Karen watched Stone come out of Leigh’s room and go over to speak to a uniformed officer standing at the end of the hall. The officer disappeared, and Stone went into Jimmy’s room. A couple minutes later, a female officer came up the hall with an arm-full of clothes, and went into Leigh’s room. A few more minutes passed, and Leigh came out wearing scrub pants and a different coat. The officer followed her out, carrying two large paper evidence bags, and Karen assumed that Leigh’s pants were in one and her coat in the other.

“Heard anything more about Reg and Weeping Sparrow?” Leigh whispered to Karen. Karen always had thought that was funny, how people spoke in whispers in hospitals. Just one of those odd things about human nature.

“Just that Reg is in surgery and Weeping Sparrow is in the ICU.” Karen checked her cell. “Nothing from Aiden about Running Elk, either,” she whispered, very close to Leigh’s ear. No point in letting the cops know about that.

The two waited quietly in the hall. Shortly, Jimmy joined them, a scowl creasing his face, and Stone went into Evan’s room. About 15 minutes later, Stone and Evan came out. Stone went up the hall and out of sight, and Evan stood with the others. He and Jimmy exchanged glances, and the two maneuvered to bracket Karen as much as possible. They all wondered what was happening with Justin. They hadn’t seen anyone go in his room yet. What they didn’t know was that another detective had gone in while Stone was still interviewing Karen.

Justin was sitting on the floor, his back in the corner and his elbows on his knees, his head resting on his hands. He looked up when he heard the door open. An older man came in, maybe between 50 and 60. He had a full head of hair that was already graying, but his mustache was still dark. His suit was well-worn, the jacket hanging open, and it was not at all complimented by the garish tie. He wore a badge on his belt and a dyspeptic look on his face. Justin couldn’t be sure if the guy had indigestion or was just grumpy. He was very Caucasian, and looked like he’d spent his whole life as a Detroiter.

“Mr. Kazotchek, I’m Detective Phillips.” He looked directly at Justin’s hands, which were hanging limply over his knees. “I take it no one told you not to wash your hands?”

“Dey were govered in blood,” Justin said, using the wall to push himself up wearily.

“Also known as ‘Evidence.’ The security guard should’ve bagged ‘em. But whad’d’you expect from a ‘rent-a-cop.’”

“Id was Weebing Sbarrow’s blood,” Justin grumbled.

“So, what merits pulling out a hand cannon and blowing a guy away in a hospital parking lot?”

Justin hung his head for a second then stared the cop right in the face defiantly. “Draining.”

“You’re an auto mechanic. A very good one, I hear. Is that what they’re teaching mechanics these days?”

“No, soldiers.”

“You’ve been out for quite a few years....”

Justin shrugged. “He wasn’ agding lige him.”

“So he doesn’t usually go around slashing little old ladies?”

“No! He’s a good guy!”

“So what’s his beef with her?”

“None! He liges her!”

“So he slashes the throat of people he likes?”

Justin sputtered. It wasn’t like that. The cop was twisting this all around. Justin knew he was doing it to fluster him, and it was working. He had to calm down.

“OK. Start at the beginning,” Phillips told him.

“We came here do find him begause he’d been missing...”

“How long?”

“Since around Ghrisdmas or so...”

“And how’d you track him here?”

“I was sleebing,” Justin said, pointing his thumb at the bandage taped to the left side of his head. “I don’ know.”

“So, what happened to your face?”

“Id god gicged.”

“By who?”

Justin sighed. “Anudder friend.”

“What’s his name?”

“Nod dellin’ you, begause id was an agcidend. He meand do gicg anudder guy.”

“Why?”

Justin rolled his eyes and sighed again. He knew the cop was playing stupid on purpose, but it was still annoying. “Id was a fighd.”

“Do you get in fights often?”

“No. Nod any more dan any udder whide guy in Dedroid.”

“So, a lot. I assume you have a permit for that gun, and a concealed carry permit? I’ll need to see them.”

Justin put his right hand out, open flat, and reached around slowly with his left to get his wallet. When he had it out, he pulled out not only the gun permits but also his bounty hunter license, and handed them to the cop.

“Mm hmm. So you were chasing a bounty?”

“No, looging for a friend.”

“So you could shoot him?”

“No! And you gan guit rubbing id in. I know whad you’re doing.”

“Why carry the gun then?”

Justin pulled a folded piece of newspaper out of his wallet and unfolded it carefully before handing it to the cop without a word.

The cop scanned it. The article explained how the names of the survivors from Justin’s unit had been leaked to the media. And how hits had been ordered on each of those people by name. The writer was unable to discover who had ordered the hits.

Phillips handed the article back to Justin, who carefully folded it back up and put it back in his wallet.

“Under the circumstances, you’ll have to be our guest downtown,” Phillips told Justin.

Justin sighed. “Gan my wife dage my bersonal effegds?” He had plenty of family members in law enforcement, and he genuinely liked most of the other cops he’d met over the years. He respected most of them, too. But he still didn’t trust them until they’d earned his trust.

“Yes. And I don’t think we’ll need to cuff you, will we?”

“No. Gan I ged some of my meds? My face is gilling me.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Are dey ogay?”

“Who?”

Justin sighed again. “Da beoble who were bleeding....”

“The woman...”

“Her name is Weebing Sbarrow,” Justin interrupted him. “...or Ma’am.”

“Fine. Weeping Sparrow is in ICU. It’s still touch and go with her. And Mr. Morrison is in surgery now.”

Phillips opened the door and ushered Justin out with one hand under his elbow. Karen took a couple steps forward, then stopped when she saw Phillips’ hand on Justin’s arm. “Gan I hug her?” Justin asked, glancing over his shoulder at the cop. “You gan frisg me afderwards.”

Phillips nodded and let go of Justin’s arm. Justin and Karen closed the distance between them, and wrapped their arms tightly around each other. They stood this way for a minute or two, with Justin’s face buried in the crook of Karen’s neck, and Karen gently stroking the back of his head. “Dell Reg I’m sorry,” Justin whispered to her before he straightened up. The two let go of each other. “Here, you need do dage dis sduff...” Justin said. He took off his watch and handed it to her, followed by his keys, wallet and cell phone, then some change and other random stuff from his pants and coat pockets. She dropped everything into the small front section of her bag.

Then Justin carefully slid off his wedding ring, placed it gently in Karen’s palm and wrapped her hand around it. He lifted her hand up and kissed her knuckles softly before letting go. She unfastened the chain that held Fr. Andrew’s crucifix, and slipped the ring onto it, so when she fastened it back around her neck, the ring hung with the crucifix at the center of her chest.

Throughout it all, Phillips watched them carefully. “I’m going to need his license,” he told Karen. Karen got Justin’s wallet, and pulled out the license. As she handed it over to the cop, he studied her hard, like a bug under a microscope.

“I guess dis is where I gall my lawyer, righd?”

“You’ll need a criminal one...unless you already have one on retainer.”

“Am I under arresd?” Justin asked the cop.

“Yes.”

“Lawyer.” Justin replied. From this point on, he wasn’t saying another word, at least not without a lawyer present. He nodded at Karen. She knew to call Mark and get his recommendation for the best criminal lawyer in town.

“Will I be able to bring him his pills, as long as they’re in a bottle labeled with the prescription?” Karen asked.

“That’ll be fine. Here’s my card, in case you have any other questions. I will be needing to speak with you at some point. Will you be going home?”

“I...I don’t know,” Karen told him. “I’ll be staying here at least until I find out how Reg is and can see Weeping Sparrow.” Phillips nodded, then led Justin up the hall toward the ER lobby.

As soon as Phillips was gone with Justin, Karen motioned the others closer. “So, what happened to Frank?” she asked them in a whisper. “He was with the doctors....” The others shrugged and shook their heads. No one had seen Frank after he came into the hospital.

Evan borrowed Karen’s cell and went outside to call the Rez. He wanted to let everyone know about Weeping Sparrow and Running Elk, at least as much as he knew at the moment.

Stone stuck around, waiting to find out if Reg would make it. That would be the difference between charges of murder or attempted murder against Justin. Leigh, Karen, Evan and Jimmy split their time between the ICU waiting room and the surgery waiting room. At least Stone wasn’t dogging their steps, though just knowing he was around made them all careful about what they said.

Justin was taken to the Wayne County jail and put in a ‘private’ cell. They took his belt and bootlaces, and had no choice but to give him an orange jumpsuit when they took most of his clothes as evidence. Though they weren’t exactly friendly with him, they weren’t at all unpleasant to him either. In fact, they were even careful to serve him only soft foods at dinner time, because of his wired jaw. Mashed potatoes and gravy, applesauce, pudding.... It wasn’t the healthiest dinner he’d ever had; but it was nice that they hadn’t brought him a peanut butter sandwich or brick-hard meatloaf.

About that same time, Leigh realized that no one had checked that all Reg’s soup was really gone. So she went down to the cafeteria. On the ‘hot table’ where the soup would have been was a sign, “No Soup Today.”

Leigh returned just as a nurse came out to let them know that Weeping Sparrow was conscious. Karen, Evan and Jimmy would be allowed in to see her, but only for five minutes. They were also told that she probably wouldn’t be able to speak. Leigh told them she’d meet them down in the ICU waiting room.

Jimmy was the first one through the door; and as soon as he was inside, he leaned over Weeping Sparrow and engulfed her in a hug. The astonishing thing was that he didn’t disturb even a single one of the tubes or wires attached to the woman. “I’m so sorry, Grandmother. I should have been there to protect you, Grandmother,” Jimmy told her in Ojibway.

Karen and Evan could see his back shake as he sobbed silently into Weeping Sparrow’s shoulder. She patted Jimmy’s back and tried to speak, but no sounds came out; her throat was still too sore and swollen. Karen could read her lips, though, as she mouthed, “It’s alright. I’m fine. Quit worrying.”

After a couple minutes, Jimmy sniffled deeply and straightened up, again not disturbing any tubes or wires. Weeping Sparrow made a writing motion with her hand, and Jimmy went immediately to the nurses’ station for paper and a pencil.

Evan went to the wise woman next. He took her hand gently and squeezed it. She squeezed back and smiled at him.

All four of the young men may have held done the same job for her; but they were each as different from the others in their personalities as they were physically. Evan’s simple gesture conveyed as much love and guilt as Jimmy’s sobs and hug. And Weeping Sparrow responded to each with the same affection, in the way that each man needed most.

Jimmy came back at as fast a pace as the short distance allowed, and handed Weeping Sparrow the pad and pencil. She scrawled a few words and turned the pad for Karen to see it. “Not Moose’s fault.” She smiled at Karen.

“I know, Grandmother,” Karen said, also in Ojibway. “And I think Justin...Moose,” Karen grinned, knowing how disappointed Justin had been at not yet having an ‘Indian name,’ “knows that in his heart, too. But it may take him time to accept it in his head.”

Weeping Sparrow nodded. Evan took the pad of paper and flipped the top page, then handed it back. “I will live,” she wrote. “Go home.”

“As soon as I know how Reg is,” Karen told her. Evan flipped the next page.

“Thank you.” Weeping Sparrow turned the pad to each of them. She knew that they had all done their parts in saving her life, and wanted each to know that the sentiment was meant for all of them.

The nurse came in to shoo them out, and they left willingly after each gave the seriously-injured woman another quick hug. They could see that just the few minutes of visiting had worn her out and they understood she needed to rest.

In the hallway, Evan and Jimmy locked eyes. It was like an invisible ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ to see which of them would get to stay to guard Weeping Sparrow. After a moment, Karen could feel the tension subside, the two nodded at one another, and Jimmy went to the waiting room for a chair. He sat on it beside Weeping Sparrow’s door, where he could see her through the window but still be out of the way of the nurses and doctors. Evan simply nodded at Karen, and followed her to the surgery waiting room.

“How’s Weeping Sparrow?” Leigh asked as the two came into the room and sat beside her.

“Weak...but alive and determined to stay that way,” Karen told her. “I think the electronics surrounding her are kind of bugging her, though. I wish I could bring her a plant or something, but I know the ICU has rules against that. Partly so the items don’t bring in germs or anything, and partly so they don’t get in the way or get lost when they ‘step’ the person ‘down’ to a regular room. Have you heard anything more about Reg?”

Karen no sooner asked, than a tired-looking, very young-looking woman in scrubs came into the waiting room. It seemed odd that someone so young would even be in med school, much less done and doing surgery already. But Karen had no doubt that people thought the same about Aiden. If she didn’t know him, she’d have probably thought that about him, too. “Are you the family of Reginald Morrison?”

“I’m his girlfriend,” Leigh told her. “His family hasn’t gotten in from California yet.” Leigh didn’t mention that was because his family hadn’t even been told yet.

“It was touch and go in surgery,” the surgeon told them. “It was a serious wound. The bullet did a lot of damage, and there was a great deal of internal bleeding. But we think he’s going to make it. We’ll be taking him to ICU and you can wait there, though he may not be awake for a while.” She turned to leave, then turned back in the doorway. “I’m not sure who did it, but that plastic wrap probably saved his life.” She turned again and disappeared down the hall.

Leigh’s heart leapt. She wasn’t sure what made her think of the plastic wrap. Luck? God? Whatever it was, it made the difference for Reg. Now, if they could only get some inspiration regarding why he kept doing such awful things....

Karen pulled out her cell. She’d turned it off while she was in with Weeping Sparrow, and when she turned it on now, she found a text message from Frank. “Fine. Will call U. F.” Karen told the others. Then she called Receiving to find out if Running Elk was going to be OK.

She wasn’t surprised when the operator said they couldn’t tell her anything because she wasn’t family. She’d forgotten about that when she called. But it wasn’t a problem. “Could I speak with Dr. Aiden Carter, then?” she asked. The operator put her through.

“This is Doctor Carter,” Aiden answered.

“Hi, Aiden. It’s Karen. How’s Running Elk?”

“He’ll be fine. But he’ll need some rest for a while. He’s in the ICU for now, but he can have visitors whenever you guys want to come over to see him. I kind of figured you’d have been here before now.”

“Well...if we weren’t at St. Mary Mercy in Livonia, without a car....”

“What...? Who...? If someone else is hurt, why didn’t you just come here?”

“Because it happened here. Reg and Weeping Sparrow. And Justin is in county lock-up. I can’t really explain more than that on the phone. But let Fran know that she’ll be fine.”

There was a pause as Aiden told Fran and Angie that something had happened

“Fran is about to explode, but I’ll be right there...”

“You might want to bring something other than your truck. I don’t know if we’ll all fit.”

“Well, who’s there?”

“Me, Evan and Leigh. Jimmy’s with Weeping Sparrow. I don’t know where Frank is, but he tm’d me that he’s fine. And you might want to leave Angie there with Fran for now.”

“OK. I take it the casino van is still at your place?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure who has the keys, though. Ask Fran. But I think Running Elk was the last one to drive it. We’ll be in the ICU waiting room.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Aiden hung up and asked Fran if he had the van keys. Aiden made sure that Fran had been given everything from Running Elk’s pockets before he’d gone into surgery. The keys were there, along with Running Elk’s wallet and watch (an old-fashioned wind-up watch, without a battery.) Aiden took off.

When Karen was done on the phone, the three started up to the ICU. They got off the elevator just as Reg was being rolled by, on his way from Recovery to his ICU room. His eyes were open, and Leigh and Karen walked along with him on either side of the gurney. Both tried to sense if there was an Unknown presence near or in Reg, and felt nothing. Reg looked up at Leigh.

“Weeping Sparrow will be OK,” she told him, taking his hand.

“What happened to Weeping Sparrow?” Reg asked weakly.

“You...went a little crazy,” Leigh said. “The police will be in to talk to you, but don’t let them scare you by telling you she isn’t OK.”

“And Justin says he’s sorry,” Karen told him.

“Yeah...it was a good shot,” Reg admitted.

“I haven’t called your dad yet,” Leigh said.

“We probably shouldn’t,” Karen added, looking across Reg at Leigh.

“No, he won’t understand,” Leigh and Reg said almost in unison.

As they passed Weeping Sparrow’s room, Jimmy glared at Reg. His rage was apparent, and he’d have done worse than choking to Reg if he’d thought he could get away with it.

They reached the door to Reg’s room, and Karen and Leigh and to step aside to let the orderlies push him inside. Leigh gave Reg’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go. Several nurses followed the gurney in, and shut the door and pulled the curtain while they hooked him up to all the monitors and oxygen, and moved his IV bags.

Karen, Leigh and Evan went to the waiting room. Karen took a moment to call Mark for recommendations on criminal defense lawyers there in Detroit. Mark gave her three names, all lawyers he had dreaded having to face in a courtroom when he was with the county prosecutor’s office. She planned to make appointments with all three in the morning, to meet them before choosing one.

About 45 minutes after Karen called him, Aiden arrived at the St. Mary Mercy ICU. He gave the three in the waiting room a quick wave, and headed straight for the nurses’ station. The three could see a couple of the nurses greet him right away, as if they knew him. A third nurse crept up behind him and hugged him from the back after she came out of Reg’s room.

Eventually all four nurses were standing there, and he appeared to be flirting with them. The last one to come from Reg’s room, who didn’t seem to already know Aiden, was eventually swayed by his charm, and she handed him Reg’s chart. Aiden looked through it. Reg was feeling well enough to wave at Aiden, so Aiden went in to check him over. He was clearly not feeling up to having a conversation, though, and Aiden came out when he was satisfied that Reg would recover.

He went into the waiting room. “I think it would be OK if you wanted to see him now,” he told Leigh. Leigh nodded and headed toward Reg’s room. A nurse stopped her just outside the door, and Leigh was afraid they were going to turn her away because she wasn’t family. Instead, the nurse told her that she’d have to put scrubs over her bloody clothes before going in. It didn’t matter than the blood was Reg’s own. They couldn’t take any risks of infection or contamination while his condition was so weak.

When Leigh was suited up, she was allowed in. Reg smiled up at her, and she pulled a chair over so she could sit with him. She took his hand, and he responded with a small squeeze. But he wasn’t feeling very chatty, and they settled for sitting quietly together for as long as the nurses would allow. But something about Reg still felt ‘off’ to Leigh, though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Just in case, she raised both a Sphere and a Shield before leaving. Reg stared at Leigh’s back, all the way out the door.

She went over to see Weeping Sparrow, but the wise woman was sleeping. Jimmy assured her he’d let Weeping Sparrow know she stopped by. While he’d been sitting there quite quiet and still, it was obvious that he was watching Weeping Sparrow like a hawk, attentive to any movement or signal that might indicate she needed something.

While Leigh was gone, Karen filled in Aiden about what had happened, careful to change the subject whenever anyone passed by the doorway. “So, I take it you know the nurses?” she asked when she’d finished.

Aiden grinned. “I did a little moonlighting here, before I took my position at Receiving. So, how are you holding up? You know, it’s OK for you to fall down sometime. You’ve been through a lot, too.”

“Actually, I’m doing surprisingly well, considering Justin’s in jail, Weeping Sparrow, Running Elk and Reg are in ICUs and we have no idea where Frank and Terri are. Don’t worry. I’ll fall down when I have the time...maybe when I get Justin out....” Karen smiled tiredly and shrugged.

The last time she’d let herself just give up and collapse was when Fr. Andrew died. This current situation may have been a crisis of epic proportions, but no one was dead yet. And Justin was fully justified in shooting Reg, and there were plenty of witnesses would could vouch for that; so she had no fear that he’d be kept any longer than it took her to get a lawyer to work on his case.

“OK. I’ll take your word for it. I’m going to go in and check on Weeping Sparrow for a second, then why don’t we get out of here?” Karen, Evan and Leigh nodded agreement. There wasn’t much more they could do there tonight.

While Aiden was in with Weeping Sparrow, a uniformed Livonia police officer arrived and took up a position outside Reg’s door. There was no sign of Stone or Phillips, but they obviously knew that Reg was going to live, and they weren’t taking any chances.

Aiden’s eyebrows went up for a second, when he spotted the cop. He continued on into the waiting room without a pause, though. “I got the name of the tribal doctor from Weeping Sparrow,” he said as he came in, “and I’ll be starting the paperwork to get her transferred to the hospital in Mt. Pleasant as soon as she’s out of the ICU.”

It was about 8pm, and the four headed for the elevator after letting Jimmy know they were leaving. “Can we swing past the county jail on the way, so I can drop off Justin’s pain pills?” Karen asked Aiden. “Phillips said it’s be OK for him to have them.”

“No problem.”

“And I was thinking...if you don’t mind, Evan, maybe you could take over sitting with Running Elk, to give Fran a break? We could pick up Angie at the same time....”

Both men nodded.

Justin fell asleep a short time after the guard came to take away his dinner tray. But it was a restless sleep, filled with dreams sparked by what had happened that day. The dreams all started the same way. He was looking down the barrel of his gun, aiming at a friend. At first it was Reg, over and over, just like it had happened that morning. Each time, he tried to stop himself, tried to will the gun to fail. And each time, he watched the bullet fly out the barrel in a gout of flame and spin...and spin...until it plowed into Reg’s chest.

Slowly, the dreams evolved. Most of it happened the same way, but now his target was different. One time Aiden. Another time Leigh. Another time Angie. One by one, he felt himself pull the trigger and shoot another of his friends.

When the target was Karen, though, he woke with a gasp, barely stopping the scream from erupting from his chest. It seemed so real. Was that why he was sitting there in a jail cell? Had he really shot his beloved wife? He curled up in the corner and sobbed, his heart choking him like he’d swallowed a lump of red-hot iron. He had no idea what time it was.

Karen was going to run into the jail alone, to drop off Justin’s pills. But without a word, Evan climbed out of the van with her, and followed her to the door just behind her right elbow. Before she could even reach for the door handle, Evan was opening it and following her through. She supposed that Weeping Sparrow was used to that kind of service, but Karen thought it might drive her nuts having someone there ALL the time.

The officer she spoke to was very nice. When she explained why she was there, he called to have the staff physician come down to take the pills personally. The doctor asked if she wanted to see Justin briefly.

Everyone was being so solicitous that Karen began to wonder if Justin was OK, or if maybe the cops felt that he was a danger to himself and were keeping him for his own protection. She nodded, and the doctor waved over a guard. “I have to check these into the pharmacy,” he told her, holding up the bottle of pills, “but this officer can take you to the visiting room and I’ll meet you both there.”

When Evan started to follow Karen to the visiting room, the guard stopped him. “Each prisoner can have only one visitor at a time. I’m sorry, but that’s regulations.” He actually did sound apologetic.

Karen smiled at Evan. “It’s OK. You wait here. I won’t be long.”

Evan nodded, but the look on his face told Karen he wasn’t happy about having to let her go alone.

Justin was already sitting at a small table when Karen was escorted in. He stood, and the guard pointed at the sign that said, “No Physical Contact Allowed.” Justin and Karen nodded, and sat on opposite sides of the table. The guard stood unobtrusively by the door.

“They’re all going to be OK,” Karen told Justin quietly. He looked like hell, and she hoped the pain pills would help him get some sleep.

Justin nodded. “No one sdays alone,” he said firmly. He wasn’t about to tell her about the dreams. Not until he was home alone with her and she could hold him when he did it.
“It’s fine...” Karen started.

“I’m serious. No one sdays alone.” Justin’s voice rose ever so slightly in volume, and the guard looked over at him.

“Shh. Listen to me...no one is alone,” Karen said, trying to calm him down. “Evan is here with me, and Jimmy is staying with Weeping Sparrow. Aiden is out in the car with Leigh, and Angie is with Fran at Receiving until we can drop off Evan to stay with Running Elk for the night. Then Fran will stay with me. The only people we can’t account for are Frank and Terri, right now. And I think Frank can take care of himself. There’s even a cop with Reg.”

Justin relaxed visibly, and sighed as he nodded. He didn’t seem to see the irony of what he was saying, considering HE was the only one that wouldn’t have a team member with him tonight.

“Weeping Sparrow said to tell you that it isn’t your fault, ‘Mons.’ It means Moose.” Karen smiled; but Justin didn’t return the gesture, though he nodded. He ‘got’ that he finally had an Indian name. Somehow it just didn’t seem to matter much while he was in here.

“Did you dell Reg...?” Justin asked. “Wha’ did he say?”

“I told him as soon as I could, when he was being moved to the ICU. He said...he said it was a good shot.”

Justin cringed, then hung his head as he slumped further into the chair. Karen knew it hurt him to hear that; but she wasn’t going to lie to him. And it was the truth. Considering Justin didn’t have full use of his left eye yet, because of the bandage, he was still feeling the last effects of Weeping Sparrow’s medication and the pain pills, and he’d shot from the hip? It was an amazing shot On top of that, it was good in the sense that it stopped Reg, or rather Tommy, from doing any more damage

Reg may not have been himself when he cut Weeping Sparrow and when Justin shot him. But when he found out exactly what had happened, she was sure he would understand and forgive Justin. In the meantime, she would keep reminding Justin that he’d only done what had to be done, and that she loved him more for it since it allowed them to save Weeping Sparrow’s life, and Reg’s too. Now they could hopefully get Reg the help he needed, no matter what form that was going to take.

Just then, the doctor walked in carrying a paper ‘pill cup’ and a plastic cup of water. “Here’s two of your pain pills,” he told Justin, holding out the paper cup. Justin took it and tossed the pills back into his mouth. The doctor handed him the water, and Justin drank it, washing down the pills. He didn’t really need the water. He’d gotten used to taking pills without it when he was in the Army. But the guy offered.

“Just let the guards know if you need another,” the doctor said.

From the corner of his eye, Justin saw the guard come up behind him, a few feet back. “Time to go,” the guard said with a shrug. Justin and Karen both stood, and the guard escorted Justin out one door.

“I’ll walk you back up front,” the doctor offered to Karen.

“Thanks.” He held open the door she’d come in, and let her go through first, then walked with her back out to the visitor’s entrance. Evan stood as she came up, nodded at the doctor, and escorted her to the waiting van.

Aiden drove to Receiving, and all of them went in to see Running Elk. Then Evan stayed with him, and Fran and Angie went with Karen, Aiden and Leigh back to Justin and Karen’s house. Aiden and Angie decided to head home for the night. The first thing Karen did was close the door to the room where Running Elk was stabbed. She didn’t feel like worrying about it tonight; there would be time to clean it up tomorrow. She made up a room for Leigh, but Fran insisted on ‘guarding’ Karen all night, just like he would have for Weeping Sparrow, rather than staying in the posse’s usual room. Karen was too tired to argue with him, and she and Leigh headed straight to bed.

The next morning, Friday, Jan. 11, the first thing Karen did was call the department office to let them know she wouldn’t be in to work. Then she called all three lawyers and set up 15-minute appointments with each. She figured that would be plenty of time to decide which one she wanted to defend Justin. She invited Leigh to come along to the interviews, too. She wasn’t planning on discussing Justin’s case directly anyway, and then Leigh would be able to pick one for Reg without a special trip.

Before going to the meetings with the lawyers, the two went up to Livonia, so that Leigh could raise another Sphere and Shield on Reg. While she was doing that, Karen tried calling Terri. It had been almost 24 hours since anyone had seen or heard from her. The call went straight to voice mail, and Karen hoped that Terri was just trying to stay out of the middle of the case...especially since she was on a leave of absence from the DPD right now.

About the same time Karen was interviewing lawyers, Stone and Phillips were trying to interrogate Justin again. But he knew that Karen was working on getting him a lawyer, so he refused to say anything until his lawyer was present. He just hoped that Karen was working fast, because his arraignment was scheduled for late that afternoon.

Eventually, the Livonia cops gave up and sent Justin back to his cell. Their next stop was St. Mary Mercy. Weeping Sparrow actually gave them more trouble than Justin did. All she would say, when they asked her to describe what happened, was that it all happened so fast she didn’t know what happened. Followed by “I want to go home. I want to go home NOW.”

She stuck fast to that story, and nothing the cops said could shake her from it. After going in circles with her for a half hour, they decided to speak with Reg. But he was unconscious. “He’s very weak,” the nurses told them, “and he’ll probably continue to fade in and out for a day or two.” They left orders with the uniformed officer to call them immediately when Reg was conscious again, and left the hospital with less information than they’d been hoping for.

The uni called them twice that morning, and both times, Reg was unconscious again by the time they got there. Finally, Phillips left Stone there in the room with Reg, to wait for him to wake again.

Reg woke to find a handsome, young Hispanic man sitting next to his bed. “Mr. Morrison? I’m Detective Stone. I have some questions I’d like to ask you. Do you know how you got here?”

“Besides the orderlies? No. Someone told me I was shot. Did my associates tell you I was having blackouts?”

“How long do these ‘blackouts’ last?” Stone asked.

“They can be as short as a few days and as long as many months,” Reg replied.

“Do you know what today’s date is?”

“I have no idea.”

“How about the month?”

“Um, February?”

“And the year?”

“2008. I do know that much.”

“Can you tell me who’s president?”

“George W. Bush...unfortunately.”

“So you aren’t that ‘out of it,’” Stone commented. “How long did your longest blackout last?”

“About 9 and a half months. I was told I was shot by my buddy Justin. Is that true?”

“Yes. How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know...maybe I deserved it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know what I do during the blackouts. He’s a bounty hunter. So maybe I was inflicting damage on someone else?”

“Do you do that often?”

“Not if I can help it. Not if I’m Reg....”

“Who else would you be?”

Reg simply shrugged. He didn’t even know how to begin answering that one.

“So, how long have you been having these blackouts?” Stone asked.

“Since, uh, the beginning of last year, I guess.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“No,” Reg answered almost sheepishly.

“Do you usually kill someone during these blackouts?”

“I have no idea. I hope not.”

“Do you know...” Stone stopped and looked at his notes. “...Weeping Sparrow?”

“She’s an acquaintance.”

“How do you feel about her? Has she done anything to make you feel angry? Annoyed? Murderous?”

“Not that I know of.”

“So you know of no reason you would attack her?”

“In my right mind? No. Like I said, I’m having blackouts.”

“And you have no idea what causes them?”

“No.”

“Interesting.” Stone was studying Reg intently, wishing he could think of the right question to ask to get him to spill his guts. The guy was obviously hiding something. “I think I’m done for now. Don’t plan on leaving town...or the hospital any time soon.”

“Right. Do you do a whole stand-up routine? No, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know. But I had to say it. Anyway, the nurse is giving me dirty looks. If you need to call an attorney, I’m sure the hospital staff can help you.”

“So, I’ll need one?”

“On the good side, for you, it probably won’t be an attempted murder charge. The woman is unwilling to press charges.”

“She’s a wise woman in many ways,” Reg told the cop.

“I’m not sure we need her permission,” Stone warned him from the doorway. “Thanks for your cooperation.” Stone walked into the hall, letting the door shut behind him. Reg was left with the impression that the cop wasn’t buying his story. Not for any specific reason that Reg could put his finger on, though. He looked over and saw Stone staring at him through the window. When Stone noticed Reg looking, he walked down the hall and out of sight.

By lunch time, Karen had attorney David Nowak hard at work getting Justin out of jail. Just from Karen’s description of what had happened, Nowak was pretty certain that he could get any charges against Justin dropped, once the cops finished their investigation. He did recommend that Karen bring Justin’s passport along to the arraignment, though, since the judge would likely order him to surrender it as a prerequisite for being released on bail.

“Do you need the name of a bail bondsman?” he asked Karen. “I have several I could recommend.”

Karen assured him that she could come up with any amount of bail money the court demanded.

As Frank’s GPS program began searching for the five food delivery trucks, Karen remembered something. “You know...Reg still has that key to...whatever it’s a key to.”

“What key?” Frank asked, turning to look at her. Why was there always one tiny but important piece of information they always seemed to leave out?

“Reg had it in his pocket. We thought that maybe it was to either a locker or one of those Mailboxes, Etc.-type places. It had a serial number on it, and we found that there was one of those places on 5 Mile, only a couple miles from where we found Reg. But it was midnight, and we were all tired, and the place wouldn’t have been open anyway. And breaking and entering just to find out if the key went to a box there wasn’t real high on my list of things to be arrested for.”

“Bud id would’a been easy,” Justin commented. “Jusd ‘Loog ober dere, honey!’ and id wouldn’ be breaging and endering!”

“Right. With you all doped-up on the stuff Weeping Sparrow gave you,” she said to Justin. Turning back to Frank, she continued, “We figured Reg would be safe enough there, with all of us to keep an eye on him, until morning...and then we’d go check it out.”

Frank looked at her like she was the one doped-up on something. “You figured he’d be safe.... Uh-huh.” He shook his head, and Karen stared down at the scarf tassels she was stretching out of shape. He always made her feel like she was an idiot. It wasn’t her fault. At least she’d remembered the key. No one else did. And she’d just been woken from a sound sleep a couple hours ago

She took a deep breath. “Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could go stake out the mailbox place, in case he just got on the freeway instead of going to City Airport, while you work on tracking the trucks.”

“What’s the address?” Frank asked.

Karen grinned at her lap. So he didn’t think she was a complete idiot.... She gave him the name and address of the place, and Terri took the ramp onto the west-bound Ford.

Unfortunately, it was the middle of rush hour by now, and the Ford was at a crawl in both directions. But it was still going to be faster to get to Livonia that way than it would be to take surface streets.

Finally, about 9am, Terri eased the RV to a stop in the parking lot of the Mailboxes, Etc. The Malibu Reg had stolen was not in the lot or anywhere that they could see. Karen looked at Frank expectantly, waiting to hear The Plan.

But it was Justin who spoke up first. “Maybe someone could go in and rend a box, do find oud if da gey is da same as Reg’s...and if da numbers on da gey habe any relation do da box number.”

Everyone looked at one another. Well.... It was a pretty good idea. It would at least give them information they didn’t have now. And no one had a better idea.

“I’ll do it,” Karen said. She checked her purse. She had both cash and her credit card, depending on what the place required. That would tell them something, too, if the keys did match and they did require a card. She also made sure she had the fake ID Frank had made awhile back. She sure didn’t want to get the box under her real name, so ‘Susan Jones’ would be renting it.

“Hi! I need to rent a mailbox!” ‘Susan’ told the man behind the counter.

“OK...do you know what size you’ll want?” he asked her. Then he turned away and yawned widely. “Gosh! Excuse me!” he apologized.

“Well...I’m not really sure. I’ll be receiving some large boxes, but...what sizes do you have?”

The guy pulled out a sheet to show Susan. The box sizes were labeled ‘small,’ ‘medium,’ and ‘large.’ “But you don’t need to have a large one just to get large boxes,” the man told her. “If we get something that’s too large for your box, we just slip a note in that you have a package, and we hold it behind the counter for you.” He paused and yawned again.

“Sorry. I don’t know why I’m yawning so much. It’s been pretty busy in here this morning. I would suggest you get the box based on what kind of stuff you’ll usually be receiving and how often you’ll be collecting your mail. If you get mostly regular envelopes or pick up often, a ‘small’ one should be fine. A ‘medium’ one works good if you get larger envelopes, like 9 by 12s or small packages, or if you’re only going to pick up once a month.” He yawned again.

‘Susan’ studied the sheet, and looked at some nearby boxes. “I guess I’ll go with a medium one for now.”

“Great! And if you find that it’s too big or small for your needs, you can always change it later.”

“So, do you need a credit card, or can I pay cash for it and pre-pay for a few months at a time?”

“Either one works. If you pay with cash, we’ll just need a copy of your driver’s license or state ID, and your signature on the ‘signature card.’” He pulled out a couple forms, one for her to fill out and one that he was making notes on.

‘Susan’ filled out the form and handed the man her ID. “So, it seems kind of dead in here right now,” she said as he went back to make a copy of her ID. “It was pretty busy in here earlier, though, huh?”

“Kind of,” he told her, stifling another yawn. “‘Scuse me. Normally I don’t get anyone in here before noon. But you’re my second customer already this morning. About an hour ago, this guy comes in. He had his key, but he couldn’t remember his box number. So I had to look it up for him.”

“That seems kinda weird, that he wouldn’t remember his box number. That must’ve been kind of a pain in the butt.”

“Not really,” he said, handing back her license. “It actually happens a lot. I just had to pull his file.”

“What if he’d lost the key?” The guy was writing information on her signature card while they spoke. So ‘Susan’ leaned forward on the counter, as if she were bored and watching what he was doing, and she looked for any files that might be lying out. She couldn’t be sure that the guy who was there earlier was definitely Reg. But it was a pretty big coincidence.

“Here...I’ll need you to sign right here.” The man put a card on the counter in front of Susan, and pointed at a line with an X beside it. “You’ll have box number 247. And here’s your key. We keep a second one in back, in case you lose it.”

‘Susan’ looked at the card as she signed it. On it were both her box number and the serial number from the key he’d handed her. So that was the way to link the two! She leaned forward again as she handed the card back. Just sticking out the top of the only other file on the counter was a card. The serial number on it was the one from Reg’s key The box number was 333, and the name at the top of the card was Thomas A. Anderson. She couldn’t see the copy of his ID, but that had to be Reg!

“Seems pretty easy,” ‘Susan’ said. “So, I’d like to pay for 6 months up front. How much is that?” The guy went to the register and came up with the amount. As she got out the cash to pay him, she laughed, “It would’ve been funny if, after all that, that guy didn’t have any mail!”

He laughed, too. “Yeah, that would’ve been. But it looked like he got something, a couple packages maybe. If it’d been me, I’d’a been kinda bummed, if I’d come here and not gotten anything.”

“Well, thanks!” ‘Susan’ waved. “I’m just gonna see where my box is....” She disappeared around the corner and found not only the box she’d just rented, but also box #333. It wasn’t too far from her own. That was good, in case they had to get into it using hers as a cover. She waved again as she pushed the door open and left. “Bye!”

In the RV, Frank was just starting to get results on his search for the food service trucks. He turned and looked at Weeping Sparrow, who was huddled against a window that was open a small bit for her to get fresh air. The EMFs from all the electronic ‘toys’ in the RV were giving her a headache. “So, is Reg possessed? Or could he be suffering from something like multiple personalities?” Frank asked her.

“You’re the psychiatrist. I think that you’re probably better equipped to determine that. My poor skills haven’t been much help to me in dealing with him so far.”

Frank was about to turn back to the computer, when Karen burst into the RV, a huge grin on her face. “His name is Thomas A. Anderson, he rented box #333, and he was in about an hour ago. He’d forgotten his box number, and he picked up at least a couple small packages.”

“Terri...are there any traffic cams out there?” Frank hollered toward the front of the RV as he turned back to the computer. He pulled up Google and typed in “Thomas A. Anderson.”

“There’s one up at the corner that might catch the parking lot,” Terri hollered back.

Frank just grunted. He was scrolling through the results of the Google search. Then he let out something halfway between a laugh and a snort. “Right....” He turned to the others, pushing his chair back so they could see the screen. “Meet Neo....” There was text on the screen with a photo of Keanu Reeves. One of the links Frank had gotten was to a Wikipedia entry about the main character of “The Matrix.” Most of the others groaned at the bad joke.

“What? Who?” Karen asked. She looked at the others.

“You know...from ‘Da Madrigs,’” Justin told her. She stared blankly at him, lost completely.

“Neo is a character from a movie. His real name, in the movie, was Thomas A. Anderson,” Frank explained.

“Oh. OK. Never seen it.” It would take two or three lifetimes for Karen to see all the movies other people recommended that she hadn’t seen yet. Movies were never really her thing. She’d seen lots since she and Justin met, since he was really into movies. But it barely scratched the surface.

“Whad? I sthoughd we rended id,” Justin said. “Id’s priddy good. Lods of cool agshun seguences. We’ll....”

“Uh, yeah. The mailbox place has ‘security’ cameras,” Frank interrupted. “But I think we’d be lucky if they’re even saved to a hard drive in the office. They’re probably saved on VHS. And they’re definitely not wireless.” He typed a couple things into the computer. A couple minutes later he was pulling in the video feed from the traffic cameras in the area. He went back 3 hours and started scanning forward, watching the parking lot.

An ‘06 Malibu appeared in the lot at about 7:15am according to the time stamp. A couple shots later, and Reg was standing beside the open car door. The next few shots show him moving from the car to the front door. About 15 minutes later, he reappeared outside the front door with two or three small boxes. In the following sequence of shots, it looked like he opened the boxes, removed several small electronic devices–including what looked like a cell phone and PDA--and chargers for them, maybe turned the phone on, and stuffed the items in his pockets. He got back into the car. And the last few shots showed the Malibu leaving the lot and heading west.

“Can you checg dat cell phone?” Justin asked Frank. “Den maybe we could dracg da GPS.”

“Only if I pull in all the cell traffic from every cell tower in the area for the last few hours, and find the numbers that pop up about the right time, and weed out all the ones that were moving from one tower to another and thus couldn’t be him.... It’d take hours.”

Suddenly, Frank stopped talking and concentrated on the traffic cams. He backed up several times and ran them forward at slower speeds. At some point, the Malibu disappeared from the photos. Frank started working his way backwards through the shots, until he finally found the car again. It appeared that Reg went only a block before turning into the very full parking lot of St. Mary Mercy Hospital. He told the others, and every face in the RV fell. Was he feeding these people? Using the hospital as a ready ‘food’ source? Or both?

The hospital’s campus was on the south side of 5 Mile, between Levan and Newburgh. Frank enlarged the latest shot of the lot and pored over it until he found the Malibu. He went to the hospital’s website and got the visitor’s map of the campus. “There’s a cafeteria in the southwest corner of the main building,” Frank said.

Terri need to wait for ‘orders.’ She put the RV in gear and eased out onto 5 Mile. A couple minutes later and she was maneuvering around the building through the crowded lot, toward the southwest corner of the main building.

“We’re going to have to go inside to get him,” Frank suggested. “Maybe stake out all the exits from the cafeteria.”

“I suppose I oughda sday oud here, or dey’ll dry do corral me and sdicg me in a room,” Justin shrugged. He was disappointed. But with his head all wrapped up, his left eye still itchy, and the last of whatever Weeping Sparrow gave him not completely out of his system, he wasn’t sure he should be out chasing Reg through the hospital.

“Why don’t we see what we’ve got before we decide that,” Frank said. “Karen, why don’t you go in and find him, first.”

Terri had just put the RV in Park, and Weeping Sparrow was already opening the door. She needed to get out and get fresh air, and put her feet down on the bare earth, even if it was little more than a square of frozen ground around one of the poor trees in the center of the parking lot. Evan and Jimmy followed her out.

Karen looked confused. Why would she be any better at finding Reg inside the cafeteria than Frank himself? She pulled on her gloves and stood. Maybe Frank thought she could push him out using a Sphere...or maybe raise a Shield and get him to come out on his own....

“Um, I meant ‘out of body,’” Frank told her.

“OH! I thought....I mean...” She turned a little pink, embarrassed that it hadn’t occurred to her. She looked around for a comfortable spot. The front passenger seat would have been good...she looked at it wistfully... “except, I don’t want people being able to see me....”

She didn’t realize that she’d said that out loud until Frank replied, “Well, we can fix that, thanks to this mechanic I know....” He flipped a switch and the windows, even the windshield, darkened on their own.

“Audo-dind is an amazing ding!” Justin laughed.

Karen looked at the map Frank had showing where the cafeteria was, to get her bearings, then sat back and relaxed. She slipped out of her body before she even realized that she’d formed the thought. The moment she left her body, dozens of people turned to look at her. They were all sizes, shapes and ages. Some were wearing hospital gowns, a few were in scrubs, and there was even one in a doctor’s lab coat. He was carrying a clipboard with a chart on it. He looked at the chart, then looked around, confused...lost. He looked at the chart again, then disappeared through a wall.

Around the corner, two small children, a boy and a girl about 4 or 5 years old, sat on the grass and tossed a large plastic ball back and forth between them.

Karen headed for the brick wall that enclosed the cafeteria, and pushed through it. There were about 30 people sitting around eating. A few were wearing scrubs. Some were standing near what must have been the steam and cooler tables, getting their food. A grey-haired lady sat on a stool by the cash register, looking very bored. The kitchen wasn’t visible from where Karen was; but she could see lots of people in scrubs passing back and forth along the hallway on the other side of a wall of windows.

Karen didn’t see Reg anywhere, and she wondered if she would recognize him. Would he have disguised himself at all? Maybe as a doctor or nurse? She turned to study the people wearing scrubs. That was when an old woman carrying a cane clutched her arm.

“You must help me find my daughter!” she pleaded with Karen. “Please! I’m afraid she’s left me here!” Karen felt her ‘breath’ catch in her chest. This poor old woman had no idea she was dead. And she would never be able to cross over until she did. She had thin, wispy grey hair, and the wide-eyed look of someone suffering from dementia. And though her heart clenched with sadness at the thought, Karen knew she didn’t have the time to help this woman right now. She had to find Reg...so they could save him, and every living person here, from himself.

“I...I’m sorry. I can’t. I’m looking for someone, too.” The tears in the woman’s eyes were mirrored in Karen’s own. She wandered away from Karen, and over to a woman in scrubs. She clutched at the woman’s arm, but her hand went right through it.

Karen headed toward the back of the cafeteria, and spotted a man with a white coat carrying something through a doorway. He set his load on one of the tables, then carried something else back through the doorway. Karen assumed that it must lead back to the kitchen, and she followed him.

In the kitchen, Karen found 3 woman and 2 men. One was the man she followed back, but neither he nor the other man looked like Reg. However, the other one, by the stove, caught her attention. He was sharp-featured, and hollow-eyed, and very, very thin. Not just skinny. A muscular lean, kind of like Reg the last time she saw him. But this guy had an almost rapacious look in his eyes not at all like Reg’s. He was stirring a large pot of soup and looking around the room, not exactly bored but not terribly interested in what he was doing.

As he glanced around, Karen’s eyes met his. He didn’t outwardly react, and Karen wasn’t sure if he actually noticed her or not. He shouldn’t be able to; at least...Reg had never mentioned being able to see disembodied souls like she did. But the momentary connection concerned her. She couldn’t run, because if he did see her but didn’t recognize her, it might tip him off. So Karen looked around aimlessly, approaching a couple of the other kitchen workers, then drifted away as if she were just another lost soul trying to connect with this world. As soon as she was out of the man’s sight, she booked back to her body.

“I think I found him back in the kitchen,” she told the others as soon as she was back. “But from ‘that’ side, he didn’t look much like Reg. He was tall and thin, but the face was wrong. It was...it kind of reminded me of stories I’ve heard of what Weendigo look like when they try to appear human. His features were sharp and hollow-eyed and...hungry. And I’m not sure, but he might have seen me. Our eyes connected for a second, and I tried to act as if I was just another lost soul. He didn’t react at all, so I can’t be sure.... But we may not have much time, and I don’t know if he’ll still be where I saw him when we get inside.”

“Well, I’ll sday oud here,” Justin said.

“So will I,” Terri told Frank. “Because if I see anything, I would have to act in my official capacity. This will keep the ‘cop’ out of it.”

“Bud, aren’d you on bacation?” Justin asked.

“Just because I’m not on duty doesn’t mean I’m not still required to act officially if I see a crime being committed. And I’m afraid that I can’t just shut that part off.”

Jimmy was sitting in the doorway of the RV, his eyes on Weeping Sparrow and one ear listening to what was going on inside. “Ma’am?” he asked Weeping Sparrow, sure that she could hear the discussion perfectly well from where she was sitting.

“I will stay outside,” she told him, “but one of you may go in if you wish.” Jimmy exchanged looks with Evan. No one actually saw the two do ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors;’ but the others could tell that the they were working out some kind of deal.

“I’ll stay out here,” Jimmy finally said.

“OK if I come along inside?” Evan asked Frank, knocking the snow off his boots before climbing back into the RV.

“Sure,” Frank agreed. “So, Leigh...wanna go beat up Reg again?”

“Sure.”

“Right. There’re doors to the outside here and here,” Frank said, pointing to the visitor’s map. “I don’t want to create too much of a scene, so only Leigh, Evan and I will go inside. The rest of you be ready, in case he comes out one of those doors. Terri, keep the engine running, in case we need to get out of here fast.”

The others all nodded and followed Frank out of the RV. While Frank, Leigh and Evan walked around to the front doors, Justin, Karen, Jimmy and Weeping Sparrow took up positions around the southwest corner of the building. They spread out so that each could see at least one other teammate and at least one of the two doors. Weeping Sparrow was farthest north, then Jimmy, Justin at the corner of the building, and Karen around the corner. Then they waited.

Frank led the other two into the cafeteria and straight back to what was obviously the doorway to the kitchen. No one out front said anything as they strode into the kitchen. Neither of the male workers were visible, and two of the female workers just stared at the three. “Hey! I’m sorry, but you can’t...” the third woman started, stepping in front of them.

“We’re looking for Mr. Anderson,” Frank said in his ‘brook no argument’ Fed voice.

“Oh, you mean Tommy? He just went out back for a smoke,” the woman replied, turning to glance over her shoulder at one of the exterior doors. They could hear the door just dropping into place and latching.

She’d barely finished speaking, and Frank was already halfway across the kitchen, the other two on his heels.

Reg poked his head out the back door and looked around cautiously. Then he stepped out...and practically ran into Weeping Sparrow. He backed up a couple steps like he’d bounced off her, and stared in surprise. Weeping Sparrow lifted her arm to point at him...

...but before she could say a word, there was a flash of gleaming metal, and Reg swung at her, and blood sprayed out from her neck.

Jimmy launched himself at Reg, and Reg turned to face him, the wet metal still glistening in his hand.

Justin saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. There was no time for conscious thought. The only way that Jimmy might be spared being stabbed with that knife was....

Justin’s arm was out, the gun steady in his hands, his finger tightening against the trigger....

Karen saw Justin turn and pull his gun, but the corner of the building blocked her line of sight. There was the quiet FWIP of a silenced round being propelled out towards its target....

Frank, Leigh and Evan burst through the door that Reg had come through seconds before, and saw Jimmy crashing down on Reg...blood quickly spreading across Reg’s chest...a scalpel clattering across the pavement...Weeping Sparrow falling, her hands clasped to her throat...Justin, arm up, the muzzle of his gun following Reg down...and Karen just rounding the corner of the building to see what Justin had shot at....

Frank wasn’t really tired, so he continued driving and let Terri sleep. They were almost to Detroit anyway. He’d been keeping an eye on the team by way of the internet, these first couple weeks since he and Terri had left on their vacation. Most of them seemed to be following their usual routines, but he was concerned about Reg. Reg had dropped off the radar just after Christmas, even before he and Terri left town. Frank knew that Reg was spending the holidays with his family, out in San Francisco. So it wasn’t exactly unusual to expect that he might cut back on his web usage. But this was different. Reg hadn’t logged on at all, not even for the few minutes it might take to check email, since Christmas Day. That made Frank uneasy. He didn’t want to alarm the others just yet, in case it was nothing. But he felt it warranted a quick visit back at ‘home base.’

Leigh was beat. The final leg of her trip back had taken 8 hours, from Amsterdam to Detroit. She’d had a wonderful time visiting friends and relatives all across Europe these past few weeks. But she missed her friends back in the States now...especially Reg. She’d tried reaching him several times. The last time she’d been able to speak with him, though, was to wish him and his family Merry Christmas. The roughly 9-hour time difference between western Europe and California did make contact a little difficult. But that didn’t account for the message she got when she called him two days ago to tell him that she was coming home. His cell number was no longer in service. That was strange enough; but he also hadn’t responded to any of her emails, either. Not since Christmas.

It was almost 6am when Leigh’s taxi pulled up in front of Karen and Justin’s house. The thought of going back to her empty apartment when she was so worried about Reg was unappealing. But Justin was usually up for his run by now. The taxi pulled in behind a large shuttle van with the Soaring Eagle Casino’s logo painted on the back and sides. It seemed a little odd; but Leigh knew that it was Weeping Sparrow’s tribe that owned the casino. Maybe she was here visiting. Leigh paid the driver and walked to the front door, pulling her luggage behind her. As the taxi drove away, she noticed a large RV driving slowly up the street.

Leigh knocked on the front door. There was a long pause, and she was startled when the door opened to a flannel-covered chest instead of Justin. It was Fran, one of Weeping Sparrow’s body guards. So she was here. Justin must have been out for his run already. Leigh knew that the four guys took turns guarding Weeping Sparrow throughout the night. Since she used the first floor guest room, that explained Fran being up to answer the door.

They were kind of a strange bunch, the four Native American young men that Justin and Karen had taken to calling “the posse.” Karen had explained as much of it as she could to Leigh once. There were only four at any one time. Each of them was chosen by Weeping Sparrow to serve a 4- to 6-year apprenticeship of sorts, as the wise woman’s guardians and helpers. Karen had no idea how they were chosen. Maybe it was something that Weeping Sparrow saw in each one, or maybe the choice came to her in a dream. In any case, Karen said the ones she’d known ranged in age from 17 to 25. When they finished their apprenticeship, they were free to move on to whatever life held for them next, be that shaman training, marriage and kids, college, whatever.

Fran was the largest of the guards, and maybe one of the largest men Leigh had ever met. He was not only tall and sturdily-built, but he worked out in his free time, so he was also extremely muscular. And while he could have easily used his size to intimidate people, he’d always seemed very kind when Leigh saw him. He very much fit the role of ‘gentle giant.’

“Would you like some coffee?” Fran asked Leigh, as he held the screen-door open with one hand and lifted her suitcase across the threshold with the other.

“Tea would be good, actually, thank you,” she replied.

Fran straightened and started to shut the door. Then he saw the RV pulling in behind the shuttle. It stretched almost to the corner. That had to be Frank and Terri’s. Karen had mentioned that the two were off to travel the country. He swung the door shut just to the point that the latch rested against the inside edge of the frame, to keep the heat in while he waited for the two travelers to come up to the house. “I’d better put on some coffee, too,” he commented.

“Why?” Leigh asked. She hadn’t seen the RV pull up.

“Because I’m the one that’s up,” Fran told her. “I go on duty in 45 minutes.”

“On duty for what?” she asked.

“It’s a long story,” Fran said. He waited by the door, his hand resting on the knob.

Terri woke and rubbed her face as she felt the RV stop. She sat up and craned her neck around the driver’s seat, to see out the large windshield. “I’m not driving this thing through downtown,” she told Frank, scanning the city skyline she could see a few miles off ahead of them. It took her a minute to realize that the skyline was Detroit’s, and that she recognized the view because it was the one she could see from Justin and Karen’s house. She grabbed her coat, and followed Frank down the steps and onto the lawn.

When they got to the door, Fran was opening it before Frank even had a chance to knock. Fran shut the door behind them and went to the kitchen to start the coffee and water heating. “So, did you get a call?” Frank asked Leigh as he and Terri took off their coats.

“No,” Leigh told him. She was puzzled. Why were Frank and Terri here? She thought they’d be a long way off by now, enjoying their freedom.

“This is a bad sign,” Frank mumbled. Leigh and Terri exchanged glances and shrugs as they followed Frank to the kitchen. “Where are we in the stages of the apocalypse?” he asked Fran, sitting down at the table. Terri and Leigh followed suit.

“Not full-fledged yet,” Fran told him with the hint of a grin. He set mugs of coffee and tea in front of the others, then sat down to tell them what he knew.

“We need to fix Reg...” Fran started. He paused. “OK. Lemme start at the beginning.... We came down to work some mojo on the house.” He looked at the others to make sure they understood which house he was talking about. They did.

“When we got there, Reg’s car broke down. We moved it a couple blocks away, but it still wouldn’t start. So the next day, Justin sent one of his guys from the shop to get it. This guy wacks out and kidnaps Marie under the influence of the house. Justin and Tony went in to get her, while Karen stayed with the little girl, Olivia, but somehow Justin got kicked in the head. It’s been pretty entertaining with his jaw wired shut.”

“Olivia and Marie?” Leigh interrupted.

“Oh, they’re fine,” Fran told her. “And Tony’s off blowing things up again. Anyway, Weeping Sparrow wanted Reg here for what she was planning next. That’s how we found out that he’d disappeared again, somewhere between California and CES.”

“CES?” Leigh asked.

“The Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas,” Fran said. “He’s been cooking....”

“Oh, no....” Leigh moaned.

“Yeah...long pig,” Fran confirmed. “We found him in Livonia, and Running Elk is upstairs on ‘Reg duty’ right now.”

Frank was already up out of his chair. He took the stairs two at a time. He slowly opened the door to the right of the stairs. Evan was sound asleep on the lower bunk. The next room was the master bedroom, so Frank skipped it. When he tried to open the door across from the bunk-room, it was wedged shut. He pushed harder but still couldn’t get it open. So he kicked just above the knob. His foot didn’t go all the way through, but he cracked a hole big enough to see through.

What he saw was disturbing. It was the top of Running Elk’s head, directly below the knob, his hair on one side wet and matted with what Frank thought might be blood. He wasn’t moving, so Frank turned the knob and pushed with steady pressure.

By now, Aiden, Angie, Evan, Jimmy and Karen had all come out of their rooms, drawn by the sounds of banging and cracking wood. “What the hell is going on?!” Karen shouted at Frank.

Evan crossed the hall and leaned his shoulder against the door to push with Frank. It took the two men a minute to push the door open, sliding Running Elk’s body in front of it. When the opening was wide enough, Frank slipped inside. It was worse than he thought. Reg was nowhere to be seen, and Running Elk had a shard of pottery sticking out his belly, in addition to the oozing cut on his head. Elk’s clothes were drenched with blood, and Frank recognized that he had little time to stabilize the man before it was too late. He started removing Elk’s shirt, careful not to shift the shard.

Aiden and Angie’s bedroom and Reg’s bedroom both had doors into the full bath that separated them. When they looked out in the hall and saw Frank and Evan pushing on Reg’s door, Aiden went immediately into ‘medic’ mode. He grabbed the med kit and came into Reg’s room through the shared bathroom. The door was locked, but it didn’t stop him long. Angie poked her head in and watched the two doctor’s work on the injured man.

“I’m three states away and I know something happened...but you’re right next door and you don’t?” Frank teased Angie, his head still bent over Elk’s almost motionless body.

Angie frowned and strode into the room to begin working out just what had happened in there. “Looks like he went out the window,” Angie announced, her head hanging over the ledge to look down at the ground a story below. The screen was tossed on the bed, and the emergency escape ladder was hanging from the sill. All Reg’s clothes were gone.

Downstairs, the commotion above him had woken Justin. Or was it the cat sitting on his chest and poking his nose? He wasn’t really sure which thing had drawn him into consciousness. He could hear voices coming down the stairway. He groaned as he strained to lift his head from the pillow. It felt like it weighed about 8 tons.

“Maow.”

“Dis mighd be easier if I didn’ hab a cad on my chesd,” Justin complained to Drew. Drew moved to let him sit up on the edge of the bed. “Ogay. Where’s my gun?”

Drew jumped to the floor and went to the door. Karen had gathered all the guns but her own and locked them in the gun safe, when Olivia and Marie were staying there. She’d planned to put them all back when the two went home, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. And when she brought Justin home still groggy from pain-killers, she figured it would be best to leave the guns locked up until he was back to...well, if not normal, at least not all doped-up on drugs. “Maow.”

“Fine. Where are my pands, den?”

Drew padded over to the pants lying on the floor, and sat on them. “Maow.”

“Can you drag dem ober here?”

Drew stood and stepped off the pants. He looked at the pants, looked down at himself, then looked up at Justin, as if to say ‘What? Are you joking?’ “Maow. Maow meow.”

“Fine. I god id.” Justin slowly stood and started to bend down to pick up the pants. He winced as his head began throbbing, and straightened. Then he carefully squatted and felt around for the pants without bending over again. When he had them, he sat back on the edge of the bed and shook them out. Drew took that as an invitation, and he crawled inside one pant leg. Justin shook the pant leg, but that only made Drew cling tighter.

Leigh waited at the bottom of the staircase while Fran took the stairs three at a time. Terri started up behind him, but rejoined Leigh when she saw the crowd at the top of the stairs. Fran almost ran into Evan. “Reg took out Elk,” Evan whispered to Fran. “Sounds like he beaned ‘im with a pot or something, then stabbed him with a broken piece. Then he went out the window.”

Karen was standing with Evan, Fran and Jimmy in the hallway. “I don’t want to drag Justin outside right now, so do any of you know how to track?”

“I do,” Evan told her.

“Then let’s go,” Karen said, heading for the stairs. Jimmy poked his head into Weeping Sparrow’s room, and a moment later followed the others down the stairs after getting her OK. The room Reg was in was on the back side of the house, so Evan headed out the back door to the yard, followed by Fran and Jimmy, while Karen told Leigh and Terri what had happened.

The three women were about to follow the guys into the yard when they heard “OW! Get your cat outta my pants!” from Justin’s temporary room.

Karen, Leigh and Terri looked at one another and stifled laughs, then Karen went to Justin. Terri followed the guys into the backyard, and Leigh waited at the bottom of the stairs, in case someone up there needed something. Karen knocked lightly on Justin’s door, then opened it slowly. Justin was sitting on the edge of the bed, one foot halfway down a pant leg. Just below his foot, a Drew-sized lump moved inside the bottom half of the same pant leg. “Your cat just nailed me in the foot!” Justin complained to Karen.

“Drew,” Karen said with mock severity. She had to cover her mouth so Justin wouldn’t see her grin.

The cat crawled out the bottom of the pant leg and looked up at Karen. “Maow?”

“Thank you for waking him,” Karen told the cat, “but you have to let him get dressed now. He can’t go gallivanting around in his boxers.”

“Maow.” Drew walked to the door, and looked up at Karen again.

“Yes, you can go now.”

“Maow.” Drew scampered out the door, his job there done.

“Where’s my gun?” Justin asked his wife. “And whad’s goin’ on?”

“Sorry,” Karen told him. “I’d put it in the safe while Olivia and Marie were staying here. I’ll be right back with it. Reg escaped. Evan is out trying to track him right now. He stabbed Elk with something, so Aiden and Frank are working to stabilize him. Oh, yeah, Leigh, Frank and Terri are here. They just showed up.”

Karen left the room to get Justin his gun, and Justin finished dressing. He went into the entryway, and found Leigh standing at the bottom of the stairs. After all the noise earlier, it was oddly quiet upstairs. “Help me upsdairs?” Justin asked Leigh. She pulled Justin’s right arm over her shoulder and started up the stairs with him.

“Where are YOU going?” Karen asked Justin from the bottom of the stairs, seeing him wobble slightly as he lifted his foot to take the third step up. She was just coming back from the gun safe.

“Do help Elg,” Justin told her.

“Can’t Aiden do that?”

“Nod da same dings I can gib him.”

Karen sighed and shook her head, helped him put on his holster and let Leigh take him up. Then Karen went out to find the posse.

When Justin and Leigh tried to open the bedroom door, it only swung a few inches then stopped against something.

“Hey! Go through the bathroom!” Aiden shouted. The door hit him just as he was trying to ease the shard out of Elk’s belly. But better to hit him than having it hit Running Elk. The guy was in enough trouble already. There was a significantly-growing lump on his temple, where he’d been hit by some blunt object. And the uneven shard of ceramic sticking out his belly had caused serious abdominal bleeding.

Once Aiden had the shard out, Frank rocked back on his heels and stood. “Guess I’ll hand over the urgent care to the urgent care physician now.” He joined Angie, who was studying the scene. It appeared that Reg had used a vase to do all this damage.

On the floor was a blanket, with the rest of the vase shards tangled in it. Reg must have wrapped the vase in the blanket to muffle the noise, then waited for Running Elk to check on him. When Elk came into the room, Reg hit him with the wrapped vase. That must not have put Running Elk down; so while he was staggered from the blow, Reg grabbed the biggest of the broken pieces and stabbed him. Reg wiped his hands off on the bedspread, moved Elk against the door, to slow down anyone who might have heard the attack, put on his clothes and made his escape out the window.

Down in the yard, Evan easily found Reg’s footprints in the snow. They went across the yard to where a wooden bench had been dragged over to the fence. Fran boosted Evan up, and he could see that the footprints continued across the neighbor’s yard to the back gate leading to the alley. Evan followed the prints; Karen, Fran and Jimmy went out into the alley from Justin and Karen’s yard, and Terri went out to the RV to get her cell phone.

Justin cut through the bathroom and into Reg’s room. “Here, led me do whad I can,” Justin told Aiden, lightly placing a hand on Elk’s leg.

“Anything you can do will help,” Aiden told him. “I tried Healing him myself, but it didn’t take. Probably because all this was done by Reg, not some Unknown creature.”

“Here...led me helb you ub,” Frank said, standing behind Justin. He put a hand under Justin’s arm.

“So, did you come bacg jusd do dease me?” Justin asked him, letting Frank help him up.

Frank grinned. “No. I came bacg to dease eberyone!”

Leigh had been watching Evan’s progress across the yards. He’d gotten as far as Burns St., which was the next street east of Iroquois. But from what she could see of him, it looked like he was having trouble picking up the trail there. Leigh knew the streets had already been cleared since the last snowfall. She’d noticed that when she got here. Maybe she could help Evan out by boosting his perception using her Art.

When Justin turned to ask Leigh to help him back downstairs, she was already gone. “Angie, can you help me bacg downsdairs?”

“While you’re down there,” Aiden told her, “send Fran up here. I need to get Running Elk to the hospital, but I’m gonna need a hand getting him downstairs and out to the truck.”

Frank followed the two down. While Justin got his coat and boots on, Angie ran out to the yard. She almost ran into Leigh. “Where’s Fran?” she asked Leigh.

Leigh had found Karen and the guys on Burns St. searching the wet pavement for any sign of Reg. She boosted their perception, and Evan was able to find a couple partial shoe prints in some oily residue near the curb. He tracked it to the corner of Agnes and Burns, but lost the trail again after the tracks crossed Agnes. It seemed like Reg was headed for Jefferson, and they all hoped he hadn’t gotten too far on foot.

Angie cut through the garage and down the driveway onto Agnes. When she got to the corner, she saw Evan, Fran, Jimmy and Karen a block away, still trying to pick up Reg’s trail again. “Fran, Aiden needs a hand with Running Elk!” she huffed, jogging up to the group.

“So, am I calling for a ‘wagon?’” Terri asked Frank, the phone open in her hand. When she’d gone to the yard after getting her cell, the guys were already gone. Rather than waste time looking for them, she went back inside.

Just then, Angie and Fran burst back in the back door. “They lost the trail a block over,” Angie told Frank and Terri. “But it looks like he’s headed for Jefferson.”

“I think Aiden’s taking care of it,” Frank told Terri. “Let’s go see how secure the neighbors keep their places....” Terri followed Frank out the back door. They jogged up and down first the alley, then Burns St. looking for security cameras that might have captured Reg’s progress. When they got to the tracking party, Frank told them he might have a better way to continue the tracking. They followed him back toward the house.

Angie and Fran bolted up the stairs. Aiden had prepped Running Elk as best he could for the trip to the hospital. He and Fran lifted Elk onto a blanket, and picked it up at the corners. Angie scooped up the med kit and moved ahead of them, opening doors and moving obstacles. They’d just finished tucking him into Aiden’s truck as Frank and the others passed the driveway. “We’re taking him to Receiving,” Aiden told them. Frank nodded. Concern creased Karen, Jimmy and Evan’s faces. But Running Elk was already getting the best care in Detroit. If Aiden couldn’t help him....

Frank and Terri headed straight to the RV. The others went into the house. Justin was bundled up and just about to go find them. Karen told him what they’d discovered. Jimmy and Evan ran upstairs to fill in Weeping Sparrow. They found her just coming out of her room, fully dressed and wrapped for going outside.

“I’m going to hate this, but I’m coming, too,” she told them. The guys didn’t even stop to question how she knew they were going somewhere. Even they hadn’t known that yet. But she had her ways.

Out in the RV, Frank booted up the laptop. Of the houses he and Terri had passed on Burns, about half had security cameras with at least partial views of the street. Of those, Frank was finding that about half were WiFi. He started searching for unprotected signals. As he searched, the others began filtering into the RV. Terri got a description of what Reg was wearing, while Frank hacked into the neighbors’ security cams.

Once he had the first few loaded, he transferred the signals to another laptop and had Terri move the RV slowly up Burns to access more signals. He hacked into the new signals, while Justin, Karen, and Leigh searched the downloaded video for Reg. When they finally caught a glimpse of him, they showed Frank. Reg had pulled the hood of his jacket as far over his face as he could, as if he knew Frank might track him this way. “So, I’m tracking the Unibomber again,” Frank grunted.

The whole process of hacking the signals and tracking Reg just to the corner of Agnes and Burns took them about an hour. But by then, they had the routine down, and they were able to move faster. Unfortunately, they had no idea how much more than an hour they were behind him.

Evan was absolutely riveted to what Frank was doing. They all had a feeling that once he was released from his apprenticeship, his first goal would be to have high-tech toys like Frank’s.

When they got to Jefferson, Frank was able to link into the DPD’s traffic cam system. This made tracking Reg even easier...for a short time. He had crossed the street, which wasn’t terribly busy yet, and begun checking cars parked along it until he found one that was left unlocked. It was at Henderson Park, one of a chain of small parks that dotted the riverfront. The owner was probably out for an early morning jog or walking their dog, and figured the car would be safe enough at that hour.

A moment later, the car pulled away from the curb, and started up Jefferson. When it stopped at a light, Frank was able to get the plate number and a description of the car, an ‘06 Malibu. They ‘followed’ it as Reg drove a couple miles up Jefferson, then turned left onto Connor.

Then they lost it as the traffic cams got more spread-out. So Frank hacked into the OnStar system. All GM vehicles since about '98 had been equipped with OnStar. He was able to get the VIN number from the plate registration, and asked OnStar to track it. It told him that the system was not currently operable in that vehicle. Frank was able to find out that the system had been disabled within the last hour. The last location it had for the vehicle was on Conner between Kerchival and Mack. Not only did Conner intersect the Ford, but about a mile beyond that was City Airport. And Reg knew how to pilot a small plane.

“Couldn’t we just put out an APB on him?” Karen asked.

“I suspect he’s already at the airport,” Frank said. He hacked into the airport’s security cameras and ran the feed through a facial recognition program. “Of course, we could always put him back on the government’s ‘Watch List,’” he added with a grin.

“Don’ we wanna keep dis below da radar?” Justin suggested.

“It’d be nice,” Frank replied. “But do we really want to have to catch a plane to catch up to him?” So far the airport cameras hadn’t picked up anything that looked even remotely like Reg...and Frank had set pretty wide parameters. He searched the airport’s records for the plane Reg had a share of, but it wasn’t currently logged-in there. And no planes had taken off recently, either. Frank checked that as far back as two hours, which was well before Reg could have gotten to the airport, given when and where the car’s OnStar had been disabled.

Frank started another search to find out just how, when and where Reg had come into Detroit. It seems his plane had landed at Metro early on the morning of Dec. 27th; and as far as Metro’s records were concerned, it was still there. “So he’ll need to get to Metro somehow, if he wants to fly out of Detroit. Or steal a plane.”

“That’s not so easy, though, is it?” Karen asked.

“No,” Frank replied. “Not since 9/11, anyway.”

The others said that Reg had been doing a lot of cooking somewhere since getting to Detroit, and he’d even been afraid that maybe he’d been making meals for SkyChef. Frank searched City Airport’s files. It seemed that the airport was served by several catering services; and five trucks had come and gone from the airport in the last couple hours. There was no indication that Reg had come in on one of them, but he certainly could have gone out on one. They’d likely have some sort of GPS device in them that the companies would use to keep track of their vehicles. Frank started running programs to find all five.

It was Jan. 9, and Karen thought she might finally be getting a break. The past couple weeks, she’d had hardly any free time to just sit around the house and relax. Marlene had woken up two weeks before. But they’d no sooner gotten the news than Karen, Justin and Tony had to run off to rescue Marie from Vinny...who’d kidnapped her, and planned worse, because he was under the influence of the Hell Mouth.

In the process of rescuing Marie, Justin had gotten kicked in the head, and spent the past two weeks in the hospital. Even Aiden, who’d gotten back from New York with Angie on New Year’s Eve, couldn’t get Justin sprung until Parker agreed to let him go. With Frank and Terri off seeing America, Aiden didn’t have a second doctor ready and willing to sign off on things like that.

So Karen had been spending most of her free time sitting with Justin, some visiting Marlene, and the rest with Marie and Olivia, who had been staying with her after the kidnapping, until Marie could feel comfortable in her own home again.

Sitting with Justin wasn’t bad, except that he was mostly sleepy and detached because of the drugs. So Karen took her laptop and whatever paperwork she had for her classes, and took care of that stuff whenever Justin faded out. When he was awake, there was an almost constant flow of nurses and aides coming in...mostly to yell at Justin for not behaving and lying still. Because the drugs kept him fairly comfortable and pain-free, he refused to believe that his injuries were as severe as they were. So he kept trying to get up...and arguing with the nurses to let him go...and trying to persuade Karen to take him home, all with a mouth that was wired shut to allow his cheek bones to heal.

Visiting Marlene wasn’t too bad, either, except that the visits were emotionally draining for Karen. She still felt somewhat responsible for Marlene’s condition, even though she and Justin had done their best to deflect Marlene away from the whole zombi problem. While Marlene was awake now instead of in a coma, she was nowhere near her old self. The nearly 2 years she’d spent in the coma had taken its toll on her body, and she was going to have to learn to do everything again, including walk and talk.

Her doctors were optimistic about her chances for a full recovery because her brain scans looked good. There was no evidence of physical damage to her brain or any of her other organs. But she would need lots of time and lots of therapy; and, for Karen, the visits were little more than regular five-minute reminders of what could happen to all of her loved ones should she fail to insulate them from the horrors that shared this world with them, the Horrors she and her friends did their best to fight.

Having Marie and Olivia staying with her also wasn’t exactly bad, except that it meant Karen never had a moment to herself other than the time she spent asleep in bed. It also meant that she had to be careful all the time of everything she said. With Justin doped-up, and all the other Envoys busy with their own lives, Karen had no one to confide in. Emailing Frank just wasn’t the same; and calling him with her sister-in-law and niece around was out of the question. She couldn’t run the risk of letting something slip out, especially when she knew that Marie would never let it drop until she had the whole truth.

Karen had forgotten how hard and how tiring it was to always be hiding things from the people around her. She had to hide her guilt about Marlene because she could never explain the truth behind it. She had to hide Justin’s condition to keep Marie from feeling guilty and to keep the whole family from knowing about it. She had to hide her concerns about what she’d do if some Unknown creature threatened Detroit when she was the only one around to fight it. When she finally collapsed into bed at night, she would have cried herself to sleep if she’d had the energy left. Her only consolation was that at least she wasn’t completely alone in the house. In some ways, that would’ve been worse.

But today, Justin was finally being released. He certainly wasn’t fully healed yet. His jaw would stay wired for probably another week. He was absolutely not allowed to go into work for at least a month. And Aiden had already warned her that she might want to have the first-floor guest room ready for him, at least for the first night or two that he was home, since he might be a little too wobbly to be going up and down the stairs.

That was fine with Karen. Marie had finally decided to go home again a few days before, and the house felt cavernous with no one in it but her and Drew. With Justin home, she’d have someone besides the cat to confide in, someone who could actually respond in English (or as close to it as was possible with wired jaws), someone who could sympathize with her fears and concerns.

The orderly was threatening to strap Justin to the wheelchair when Karen got to his room. Justin was insisting that he could walk out by himself. One look from Karen was all it took. Justin sat right down and let the orderly push him out. He didn’t even bother asking to drive home. He no longer had to wear the sling to keep his left shoulder still, but he still couldn’t turn his head far enough to either side to check for traffic. And while the swelling around his left eye was down significantly, he still couldn’t open it far enough to have binocular vision.

So Karen drove. And she pushed him into the house in a wheelchair they’d gotten on loan from the hospital, helped him out of his coat, and moved him into his recliner in front of the TV. Then they sat and watched a movie. And every time Justin nodded off, Karen would pause the movie, so they could start it back up when he woke up. Not that it would’ve mattered much to Justin. He’d been weaned off the morphine; but Parker had given him a shot of a different painkiller before releasing him, the same stuff he’d prescribed for Justin to use at home. Justin probably wouldn’t have noticed if Karen had popped in a completely different movie each time he woke up.

It was late afternoon and Justin was awake when there was a knock at the door. “Is da doorbell brogen?” he asked Karen. With his jaws wired shut, Justin had a hard time with certain sounds. If he spoke slowly enough, he could say “th” and “k.” But when he spoke at a normal speed, they came out like “d” and “g.” He kind of sounded like Tony. But Karen didn’t tell him that.

The doorbell wasn’t broken. “Weeping Sparrow!” Karen replied, hopping up from her chair and heading for the door. They hadn’t seen the wise woman since she’d extracted Justin’s promise that he wouldn’t go back near his old house again until they figured out how to deal with the Evil. She wondered if her mentor had come up with a answer.

Karen opened the door and Weeping Sparrow came in, trailing ‘braves.’ Each of the guys was carrying a large box, and each box was loaded with food. There were soups and stews, some still warm in their crock pots. There was meat braised almost to the point that it melted into the cooking liquid, and fruits and vegetables roasted until they were perfectly soft. And there were baked goods...even fry bread. Under Karen’s direction, the posse sat the boxes on the kitchen floor and began pulling out the contents, covering every flat surface with pots and dishes and trays.

Justin started to stand, and with only a look Weeping Sparrow made him sit back down. “I just wondered if da guys wanded a beer,” he told her. “Do dey dring?”

“Not if I catch them,” Weeping Sparrow replied.

Justin shrugged. “I can’d dring id righd now anyway.”

Weeping Sparrow stood directly in front of Justin’s knees. She leaned forward and grasped Justin’s chin between her thumb and forefinger and turned his head so she could study the left side. She touched the side of his face and head gently, trying not to cause any pain. She pried open his eye, so she could look at it. She parted his lips and checked his teeth and gums and as much of the tissue on the inside of his mouth as she could see or feel. Basically, she looked him over thoroughly, double-checking that he really was well enough to be home, in her own medical opinion. “How do you feel?”

“Ogay, I guess. Id doesn’d hurd doo much. Bud da bacg of my eye idches. I don’ care whad dey say...dere are nerbes bacg dere.”

Weeping Sparrow lifted her bag onto the coffee table and rummaged around in it. She pulled out a small squeeze bottle. “Open.” When Justin opened his lips, she stuck the nozzle into the small straw-hole in the bite splint that kept his lower jaw immobile, and squeezed. The liquid that flooded his mouth tasted like dirty feet smell. But when he tried to turn his head, she only told him, “Finish it all. It will help the itching.”

That was all Justin needed to hear. The itching had been driving him crazy. But every time he’d lifted his hand to rub at his eye, Karen stopped him. At least the stuff wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever tasted. Jagermeister was worse. So was that fluoride rinse at the dentist. And that stuff Weeping Sparrow made Reg drink.... Justin hadn’t had to taste it, but if it tasted anything like how it looked, it couldn’t have been good.

It didn’t take long before the concoction went to work. Soon, the itching was replaced by a pleasant numbness. It didn’t put him totally out like the morphine did; but he felt kind of floaty and relaxed.

By now, Karen and the posse had gotten the food as put-away as it was going to get, and they joined Justin and Weeping Sparrow in the living room. “Get out your cell,” Weeping Sparrow told Karen.

“Should you do dat in anoder room?” Justin asked, looking from Karen to Weeping Sparrow.

“I will tolerate it,” Weeping Sparrow told him. “Call your ‘hungry man,” she ordered Karen. “He needs to be here. I’ve been doing research and I don’t want to tell the story many times.”

“Who?” Justin asked, confused.

“Reg,” Karen said. She dialed his number.

“Hey, Fran,” Justin called. “In da junk drawer in da kitchen, dere’s a con-call hup. Id loogs lige a blacg box wid jacgs....”

Karen waved at Fran and stopped him. Reg’s phone was already.... There was only one ring, then a click... “Service to this customer has been discontinued,” a generic male automated voice told her. She frowned.

“Whad?” Justin asked.

“His cell service to that number is discontinued,” Karen told them. “Lemme check online. Reg changes his cell phone almost as much as Frank, though I guess it’s for a different reason. But he’s always online.”

Karen ran upstairs and brought down her laptop. She poked around online for a few minutes, then frowned again. “He doesn’t seem to be online at all...not under any of his aliases. I’m gonna call the place he rents over in Grosse Pointe.”

She opened her cell and dialed again. “Please leave a message at the beep, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can,” Reg’s voice told her.

“Machine,” Karen said, her voice tinged with concern. “I’ll try his dad.” Given Reg’s jet-setting lifestyle, and his strange disappearance last year, Karen and the others had insisted on having Phil’s number, just in case.

“Karen, hello. What can I do for you?” Phil answered.

“Phil, hi. Is Reg there at all? I tried his cell, but it said his service is discontinued. But I know that he likes to upgrade to the newest thing as soon as it comes out, so I wasn’t sure if he had a new number.”

“Hunh. He didn’t say anything about getting a new number. Hold on a minute and let me try it.” Phil put her on hold and dialed Reg’s number. He got the same message. He came back on the line.

“Gee, I don’t know, Karen. I got the same message. He should be in Vegas at CES this week.”

“CES?” Karen asked.

“The Consumer Electronics Show. The convention itself started on Monday, but Reggie headed down to Vegas right after Christmas. To be honest, I think he was getting a little worn out by all the kids and dealing with Claire. He’s never had that much patience with his sister.”

“Do you happen to know where he was staying?” Karen asked. Phil gave her the name of the hotel Reg usually stayed at when he was in Vegas.

“Maybe he got some new toy there. When you get hold of him, tell him to give me his new number, too,” Phil told her.

Karen did a directory search online and got the number for the hotel. “Could you put me through to Reginald Morrison, please? He’s staying at your hotel.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. There’s no one registered here by that name.”

“Could you give me the contact information for CES registration, then? He’s supposed to be attending the show this week, and I just assumed he’d be staying there like usual.” The receptionist put Karen on hold for a minute, then came back with the phone number. She called it immediately. “Mr. Reginald Morrison is supposed to be attending the show, but I haven’t been able to reach him on his cell phone. Could I have you page him, please?” she asked the woman who answered.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Mr. Morrison never checked in and picked up his ID. I can try paging him over the loud speakers, but he may not be here at all.”

“That’s OK. I’ll try him at home, then. Thank you.” Karen looked quite disturbed as she closed her cell. Even Justin could tell, though his sight was a little blurry. “Phil said Reg was supposed to be at CES this week, but he never checked into his hotel or the show.”

“Maybe Princess knows where he is,” Justin suggested.

“Enough of this,” Weeping Sparrow said. A quick glance sent the posse on their way out the door. Justin looked at her quizzically. “I need my things,” she explained. “We must get hold of your friend.”

“Where do you wand your dings pud?” Justin asked, leaning forward as if he were going to get up. “I’ll go show da guys....”

“Sit.”

“I can ad least hold da door....”

“Sit!”

Justin frowned, upset that she wouldn’t let him help in any way. As the guys trooped back into the house, Weeping Sparrow directed them straight out the back door, to set things up on the patio. One of the things they carried through was a very clean-looking firepit. A short time later, the glow of a fire gently lit the backyard. When everything was ready, Weeping Sparrow joined the boys outside. When Justin refused to sit still, Karen reluctantly helped him into the wheelchair and pushed him into the sun room, which had French doors that overlooked the patio, so he could watch the proceedings.

Running Elk opened a map of southeastern Michigan and laid it on the ground between Weeping Sparrow and the firepit. She knelt and held out her arm over the map, letting what looked like a dead spider on a string dangle from her fingers over the center of the map. The guys went to their places at the four directions, and began drumming and chanting quietly. As she chanted along with them, she carefully moved the spider back and forth in an elaborate pattern. This went on for about 20 minutes.

“Is dat a...dead spider on dat sdring?” Justin asked. He really couldn’t be sure that he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. The drug that Weeping Sparrow gave him made his head feel all light and empty.

“Mummified, actually,” Karen told him. She’d watched Weeping Sparrow do this before. It was similar to the ritual that she’d used back when Karen first told her about Justin’s house. Justin just shook his head, confused by yet another strange Native American tradition.

Suddenly, Weeping Sparrow dropped the spider. The guys stopped drumming immediately, and crowded around her to look at the map. They seemed to all confer for a minute, then Fran helped Weeping Sparrow up, and the boys began packing things up again. Weeping Sparrow came inside.

“I found your friend,” she told Justin and Karen. “We must go get him.”

Justin began to push himself up from the chair. “I’m going wid you.”

“You may come under my rules,” Weeping Sparrow told him sternly, standing in front of him so he couldn’t stand. “You will do exactly as I say.” Justin nodded eagerly.

“Get your coats,” Weeping Sparrow told Karen. When Karen and Justin were ready, Weeping Sparrow looked over at ‘her boys,’ who were waiting just inside the front door. “Fran?” she said. Fran was the biggest of the four body guards/aides de camp/warriors. He was easily as big as Justin, and looked like he spent every free moment in a weight room. Fran nodded, and went over to where Justin was sitting and picked him up like he weighed no more than Karen. The other three guys took their places around Weeping Sparrow, and went out the front door. Fran followed, and Karen brought up the rear, locking the house as she went out.

Parked at the curb was a large shuttle van with “Soaring Eagle Casino” painted on the side. Justin raised an eyebrow. “The truck broke down,” Weeping Sparrow said, as if she’d seen Justin’s question even though he was behind her. Running Elk helped Weeping Sparrow into the front seat, while Fran, Jimmy and Evan got Justin tucked in. They used the same care that Justin himself used when he fastened Olivia into her car seat. At one point, Justin tried to help, putting his feet down to shift himself over against the far side of the van. But his legs felt all wobbly and he was so light-headed that he willingly gave in and let the guys do their job.

“Why aren’d my legs worging righd?” Justin complained weakly.

“It’s the mashkikiwabo,” Weeping Sparrow told him. When Running Elk got the signal from Weeping Sparrow that everyone was in and ready, he pulled away from the curb. He headed downtown, got on the Lodge, then cut over to the westbound Jeffries. When he got to Plymouth Rd., he got off the freeway and headed west.

The drug and the gentle rocking of the van and the hum of the tires caused Justin to nod off. A bump woke him suddenly. “Ma’am?” he said to Weeping Sparrow. “I know dechnology inderferes wid you being in douch wid da eard an’ all, bud would you objec’ do newer dechnology dad isn’d elecdronic?”

“The things I use have served medicine men for many generations,” she replied. “I see no reason to change the way I do things. A wise man once said, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

“I was jus’ dinging dat dere’s an alloy dat cools fasder dan udder medals. For da firepid. You wouldn’ habe do leabe id sidding do cool down. Id’d be cool almosd as soon as you pud da fire oud.”

Weeping Sparrow smiled like she was dealing with a child. “Shhh,” she said, turning in her seat and patting Justin on the forehead.

“Uh, dat acdually hurds a liddle bid,” he complained.

“Then be quiet or I will pat you harder.”

Justin crossed his arms and looked away from her, mad that she wouldn’t even let him talk now. Soon he’d drifted off to sleep again.

Running Elk continued west, across Redford and into Livonia. Occasionally, Jimmy would lean forward, and he, Weeping Sparrow and Running Elk would consult the map together. Finally Running Elk pulled up in front of a small coffee shop, Marco’s Cozy Diner. “Do you want to come?” Weeping Sparrow asked Karen as the posse got out.

“I’ll stay here with him.” Karen nodded at Justin, who hadn’t woke when the van slowed and stopped. This time not even the doors closing woke him.

The boys surrounded Weeping Sparrow, and the five went into the diner in formation. Once inside, they spotted Reg immediately, sitting at the lunch counter. The boys broke ranks and Weeping Sparrow stepped forward. Upon looking at Reg, she grew pale. She almost looked like she might faint. Fran and Evan slipped their hands under her arms to support her.

Reg looked up from his coffee cup. “You’re not who I was expecting to pick me up.”

“Pay your bill and come with me,” Weeping Sparrow told him grimly.

“If someone would give me money,” Reg replied.

Weeping Sparrow glanced over at Jimmy. He stepped forward and took out his wallet. Weeping Sparrow turned, and Fran and Evan went back out to the van with her. Jimmy took a bill out of his wallet, then another, until Reg nodded that it was enough. Dropping the money on the counter, Jimmy and Running Elk bracketed Reg. He took one last sip of coffee, then stood and let the two walk him out to the van.

“What are you doing here?” Karen asked Reg as Jimmy guided him in behind the driver’s seat, then climbed in and shut the door. Running Elk turned the van around and headed east.

“I have no idea,” Reg told her, shifting to look over the seat at her. “I woke up this morning at the Super 8 across the street.” Reg nodded at the motel near the corner as they went by. He was wearing a navy blue windbreaker over a blue polo shirt and crisp new khakis. His shoes were a generic style of ‘cross-trainers.’

“Your father said you were supposed to be in Vegas at CES, ever since you left Claire’s on the 26th,” Karen told him.

“So you talked to my dad?”

“I had no choice. We couldn’t get hold of you. Your cell service was disconnected, you weren’t online and all I got was the machine at your place in the Pointes. We figured maybe you picked up a new phone at the show. I haven’t talked to him since I found out you never even checked in at your hotel there. So...did ‘it’ happen again?”

Reg knew what she was asking. Had he disappeared again, like he had last year? Reg wished he knew. At least this time he apparently had only been gone for 2 weeks. He shrugged. “I woke up with nothing but the clothes on my back again. And the motel was pre-paid through...well, at least through today, I guess.”

Justin stirred next to Karen. “Whad’s going on?” he asked, looking at Weeping Sparrow, and not even noticing that Reg was sitting in front of him.

“I don’t know,” she answered, through teeth clenched almost as tightly as his were wired together.

“Id’s freezing in here. Close da window,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself and shifting to lay his head back down on Karen’s shoulder.

Now that Justin mentioned it, it was freezing in the van. But none of the windows were open. Karen glanced up at the dash. The heater was on full blast. Fran handed her a blanket from the back seat, and Karen wrapped it around Justin, tucking it in under his shoulders. As she did it, she noticed that her hands were ice cold, too.

“It was a great effort to purge you,” Weeping Sparrow said to Reg, though she didn’t even look back at him. “And it’s all been undone.”

“Believe me...when we find what’s doing this, I’ll enjoy taking it apart,” he told her.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Weeping Sparrow told him, turning and locking his eyes with hers.

“Were you forced to eat your lover?” he asked her angrily.

“No.”

“Then don’t talk to me about anger!”

“I wasn’t talking about anger. I was merely cautioning you to be careful what you wish for,” she told Reg. Everyone got quiet. Karen pulled the blanket a little tighter around Justin. It hadn’t been this cold in the van before. Only since Reg got in. Was it his anger that froze the air around them? Or something else about him? She pulled on her mittens and stared out the window watching the buildings go by.

It was past 8pm when the van rolled up in front of Justin and Karen’s house again. Around the corner, they could see a familiar-looking pick-up in the driveway. Aiden was out of the truck and stalking over to the van before it had even come to a complete stop.

Justin’s head went up as Jimmy pushed the side door open. “What are you doing out gallivanting around?!” Aiden hollered at Justin. “I wouldn’t have vouched for you to get out if I’d known you’d be out gallivanting around!”

Justin snickered. “He said ‘gallibanting.’ Dwice. ‘Who dalks lige dat?’” he asked Karen, quoting a line from one of her favorite movies, “Real Genius.”

Aiden glared at Karen. She’d promised that Justin would be kept quiet at home.

“All the work’s undone,” she said quietly, directing Aiden’s attention to Reg with a tip of her head.

“Oh, fuck me,” Aiden groaned.

“Acdually, fucg him,” Justin corrected him.

“Don’t tempt me,” Reg said. Justin giggled.

“Oh, don’t even try,” Angie told him. She’d been right behind Aiden.

“Dey would mage a cude couple,” Justin said. Angie glared at him. “Oh! Did I say dad oud loud?”

Jimmy, Evan, Reg and Karen had already climbed out and were standing beside the van with Aiden and Angie. Fran came around the end of the seat and eased Justin over to the door. Then he got out and leaned in to lift Justin out. “See?” Justin said to Aiden. “I didn’ eben habe to walg!”

Jimmy closed the van, and Karen trotted ahead to the front door to let everyone in. Without a glance back at Reg, Weeping Sparrow pointed at a spot in front of the fireplace in the living room before she even took her wraps off. Reg shrugged, went over and flopped down onto the floor. Fran set Justin in his recliner. Everyone else got their coats off and got settled in the living room. Aiden and Angie cuddled up together on the couch. It seemed that over the holidays they’d gotten back a little of the spark that had been missing in their relationship since Angie’d ended her pregnancy.

Weeping Sparrow stood in front of Reg, about 3 feet away. “What have you done?” she asked him bluntly.

“I have no idea,” Reg told her. Weeping Sparrow raised an eyebrow. “Seriously,” Reg said, “I have no memory of the last two weeks. I woke up 4 hours ago. That’s all I remember.” Across the room, Angie’s eyes narrowed as she studied Reg.

“If Reg had been in condrol, he’d hab neber picged dose clodes,” Justin told them.

Running Elk laughed, then immediately looked guilty, as if he’d done something wrong.

“This is a little more serious than fashion choices,” Weeping Sparrow said, chastising them all.

“Are you saying he...ade...again?” Justin asked.

“That would seem to be the case,” she replied. “I’ve heard that some people find it...compelling.”

“I didn’t,” Karen said with a shudder. “And since Reg keeps forgetting, I don’t think he’s choosing to do it consciously.”

Weeping Sparrow nodded. Then she began pacing around Reg, never getting closer than about 3 feet. Studying him. Evan had built a fire in the fireplace as soon as they’d gotten back, and Reg was pretty close to it. So it was hard to tell if he wasn’t giving off the same chill as in the van or if the fire was just dampening the effect. “Have you ever done anything like this before?” she asked him.

Reg shrugged. “Dere was da ding up nord,” Justin commented.

“Right...the whole thing with the Weendigo,” Karen agreed. “He was even captured by It, so It could take his place.”

“Did he eat any human flesh then?” Weeping Sparrow asked.

“I don’d ding so,” Justin answered.

“Reg pretty much stopped everyone from doing that once he got there, since he took over the cooking,” Karen said. “In fact, when he was It’s captive, I don’t think he ate anything at all.”

“I couldn’t,” Reg confirmed. “I was the one being eaten...by black flies in the Weendigo’s cave!”

“When we found ‘im,” Justin added, “he was wandering in da marsh, cobered in welds.”

Weeping Sparrow nodded. “For now, I will do what I can, if you are willing.” Reg nodded. The posse got up and headed out without any orders from Weeping Sparrow. Evan went out back to start another fire in the firepit, and the other three went out to get things from the van.

“We will need a spare bathrobe,” Weeping Sparrow told Karen. “One that you don’t care if it cannot be used again. And slippers.” Karen ran upstairs and got a robe and slippers from the linen closet. She handed them to Weeping Sparrow, who in turn held them out to Reg. “You must be naked under this.” Reg sighed, rolling his eyes, then grinned and nodded, took the robe, and headed for the half bath off the front hallway.

“Maybe we could figure oud where his clodes came from, while he’s oud of dem,” Justin suggested quietly to Karen, Aiden and Angie. They nodded agreement. “Karen, can you bring me my labtob?”

Karen turned to go get it, but Weeping Sparrow stopped her. “Sit still and be quiet,” she told Justin, “or I will find a way to keep you still.”

“Could you share that way with me?” Aiden asked, a gleam in his eye. Weeping Sparrow grinned.

“Yes, ma’am,” Justin said sheepishly.

Reg came back out of the bathroom clad only in the robe and slippers. “Alright, Reginald Morrison,” Weeping Sparrow said. “Please, come out back.” She led him out the back door.

Karen went to the bathroom, where she found Reg’s clothes folded and piled neatly on the edge of the sink. She brought them out to the living room. Every piece of clothing that still had its label was made in China. They were the kind of clothes you might get a Wal-Mart. Not necessarily poorly made, but certainly inexpensive. In an inside pocket of the jacket, they found a very generic wallet with $800 cash in it, but no ID. The bills were of various denominations, some old, some crisp and new. That was curious. Reg had given no indication that he even knew about it when he told them that he’d woken with only the clothes on his back.

They refolded the clothes and returned them to the bathroom exactly as Reg had left them. Just then, Fran came in to get Justin. Running Elk was right behind him, and he asked Karen if there was a bench or chair they could take outside for Justin to sit on. She got the wheelchair from the sun room, where it had been left earlier. Running Elk pushed it out first, and Fran set Justin in it out on the patio. Then the two went back in and gathered all the afghans and throws from the family room and wrapped them around Justin. When they were done, he was so toasty-warm that he began to doze off again in spite of the cold.

Karen, Aiden and Angie followed them out. Reg was standing out there in just the robe and slippers, his hands shoved deep into the pockets, as close to the fire as he could be without getting in Weeping Sparrow’s way. Weeping Sparrow tossed a pinch of something into the fire and watched the smoke rise. She muttered something, then walked 3 times around the firepit clockwise, chanting quietly as she went.

Reg pulled his hands out of the pockets and looked carefully at them in the firelight, then shoved them back in the pockets. He shifted from foot to foot, and the others weren’t sure if he was nervous or just cold. When Weeping Sparrow had finished her circuits, she tossed something else onto the fire, and again watched the smoke rise. Again, the results must have bothered her, because she began chanting and walking around the firepit, 3 more times clockwise.

While she was busy with that, Reg again pulled his hands from his pockets and studied them. This time, they could almost see Reg’s ‘wheels turning’ as he did this.

“Whad’s wid Reg’s hands?” Justin whispered up at Fran, who was standing behind him waiting for some signal from Weeping Sparrow.

“Shh.” Fran patted Justin lightly on top of his head.

Reg’s face went oddly blank, then completely pale as he quickly stuffed his hands back in the pockets. He looked kind of grey, and wobbled slightly, as if he might faint. Then he visibly pulled himself together and went back to looking at the fire and watching Weeping Sparrow.

Karen had noticed him going through this ritual, too. She sidled slowly over to Reg as if she were approaching a nervous, wild animal. “Are you OK?” she whispered to him.

“The question is whether all the people I’ve been cooking for are OK....”

“That would be...who? Phil and Audra and...?” Karen asked.

Reg looked almost sick as he responded. “No, that would be the people in the Ford cafeteria, the GM cafeteria, the Chrysler cafeteria....” He pulled out his hands and held them out to Karen. She studied them. They were chapped, as if they’d been washed too often; and they were covered with little nicks and scrapes...like someone might get if they were doing a lot of cooking.

“What makes you think you were cooking in a factory cafeteria?” Karen asked him as he withdrew his hands and shoved them back in the pockets.

“Because the place you found me...is close to factories of all the Big Three, not to mention a mall, and only about 15 minutes from Metro.”

Karen paled slightly at that thought. “Oh...Metro would be bad....” she whispered. “All those people going so many other places all around the world....”

“Yeah. And what about if any of the food was made for SkyChef, and ended up ON the planes....” Reg whispered back.

“I see what you mean.” Karen thought about this. Reg’s clothes were not just unfashionable. They were ‘blend in easily’ boring. He would have been just another guy working in the kitchen at any of those places, not interesting enough to draw any attention, even if someone happened to get sick on the food...or disappeared to become....

Finally, Weeping Sparrow had finished her preparations. She pointed at a spot across the firepit from where she was standing. Reg moved to that spot, and Karen went back to stand by Justin, Aiden and Angie. The posse took their positions at the four directions.

Weeping Sparrow picked up a small bowl from the table next to her, then dug a little pouch from her bag. She poured some of the powder from the pouch into the bowl, then disappeared into the house, heading straight to the half-bath. When she came back out, some liquid (no one wanted to speculate about just what the liquid was) had been added to the bowl, and Weeping Sparrow was stirring it into a paste.

She walked up to Reg, dipped her fingers in the paste and began painting symbols on his face. When she finished, she glanced down at the robe. Reg sighed, loosened the belt and dropped the robe off his shoulders. It fell into a pile around his ankles; but he didn’t seem to notice the cold. Weeping Sparrow began painting symbols all over his body.

When she finished, the posse began drumming and chanting quietly, with no visible cue from Weeping Sparrow. She went to the table and picked up the smudge bundle, and lit it in the fire. Then she began doing a simple step-dance around Reg, waving the burning smudge. The others could smell tobacco in the smoke, and Karen could pick out the smells of sage, for purifying, and a little sweet grass as well, plus other things she didn’t recognize.

Weeping Sparrow danced 9 circles, clockwise, around Reg. At the end of each circuit, she would pause and take a pinch of something from one of the many little bowls and dishes laid out on the table, and sprinkle it over Reg. Finally, she stopped, looked him up and down, and sighed. She gestured at the robe, and Reg picked it up and put it back on. “You can go ahead and take a shower,” she told him wearily.

The posse put out the fire and began gathering Weeping Sparrow’s stuff, and the other Envoys followed Reg and Weeping Sparrow into the house, Karen pushing Justin in the wheelchair. “So, who’s going to keep me from disappearing?” Reg asked, more of Weeping Sparrow than the others. She didn’t answer. That problem she left up to his friends.

“I’ll take ‘Reg duty,’” Aiden offered.

“Wouldn’t you rather take ‘Justin duty,’” Karen asked hopefully.

“Hey!” Justin objected. He was right there, and they talked about him as if he were an inanimate object

“I may have to kill him if he won’t sit still like he’s supposed to,” Karen continued. “He knows I’ll give in to him if he pushes.”

“No way,” Aiden said. “‘Reg duty’ is easier. He’s only possessed.”

“I’ll take ‘Justin duty,’” Angie told them, cracking her knuckles and grinning. She extended her hand toward his bandaged head, one finger pointing out, as if she were going to poke him there. Justin flinched. Angie chuckled evilly, and Justin frowned.

Aiden ran out to his truck and came back with a briefcase, then followed Reg up to one of the bathrooms. Karen met them at the door to the bathroom with a small bag. By now, one or another of them had repeatedly ended up at someone else’s house in need of a change of clothing. Usually, it seemed to be at Justin and Karen’s, or the safe house. It had happened so often that they’d all taken to keeping some spare, clean clothes anywhere they thought they might need them.

Reg took his bag of clothes, and the two men disappeared into the bathroom. Aiden sat on a small stool at the counter and opened the briefcase. He calmly began doing paperwork while Reg showered and dressed. He gave off an air of utter and complete calm which Reg found kind of soothing. There was no sense of impatience or judgment from Aiden. He was there to keep an eye on Reg simply because Reg felt he needed it, not because Aiden thought Reg did.

Downstairs, Weeping Sparrow had gone to rest in front of the fireplace. She moved slowly when she came inside, as if the ritual had been severely draining for her. Karen was worried about her. Weeping Sparrow had always seemed ageless to Karen. She was wise beyond her years, yet, in spite of her size, she could move as easily as someone half her age. But now, she seemed old when Karen looked at her. She moved like she’d aged 20 years overnight. Karen shuddered when she considered again how similar this was to Fr. Andrew’s condition, at the end.

When the guys were done packing their things back in the van, they joined Weeping Sparrow. Karen took them all mugs of hot chocolate, to warm up. Then she joined Angie and Justin in the kitchen.

“Dink we could lo-jacg Reg?” Justin asked.

“I was thinking more like those RFID chips they use on pets,” Angie said.

“Doo shord a range,” Justin told her.

“Well, we need to figure out something. We can’t guarantee that someone will be able to physically watch Reg all the time. We all have other things in our lives to deal with,” Karen said.

“What about one of those ankle bracelets?” Angie suggested.

“You mean like they put on people under house arrest?” Karen asked.

“Yeah.”

“Someding dat could send oud an alerd if he leabes his house....” Justin agreed.

“It also needs to be tamper-proof, though,” Karen said. “You know that Reg would be able to tinker with it and either get it off, or figure out a way to override it. And it has to have pretty specific parameters. This time, it seems he might have been hidden in plain sight, right here in Detroit. So it has to be traceable all over the Metro area or farther, in case he does leave whatever area he’s confined to. Besides, remember the extreme lengths Leigh was willing to go to, to get away when the Weendigo ‘called’ her? She dislocated her own thumb to get out of the cuffs, after beating the crap out of Reg. I’d rather not have to damage Reg to do this.”

Reg was just coming into the kitchen, with Aiden right behind him, as Karen said this. She flushed pink.

“I was just thinking that we’ll need to fix you,” Angie told him.

Reg’s eyebrows went up. “Uh....”

Aiden rolled his eyes, and Angie laughed. “Not like that! God!”

“Hey, Reg,” Justin said, “consider yourself hugged.”

Reg smiled and nodded. “Sure. Thank you.”

But Justin wasn’t satisfied with that. “Acdually...come ‘ere.” He held out his arms.

“Uh, are you sure you want to do that?” Reg asked, approaching Justin slowly. Justin waved him closer.

“Just hug to his right,” Karen advised. Reg leaned in, and got the weakest hug he’d ever gotten from Justin.

“So...we were kinda discussing how to keep you safe until we get this whole thing worked out,” Karen told Reg. “Got any ideas for keeping yourself found without having one of us tethered to you at all times? I mean...we know how well that worked with Leigh.... We were kind of thinking of one of those ankle bracelet tracker things, but I assume you’d know how to tamper with it.”

“Know the term CBT?” Reg offered. The others all shook their heads. It didn’t ring any bells. “A former lover was into some kinkier stuff, one of which was ‘Cock and Ball Torture.’ It involves....”

By now, both Justin and Karen had turned bright red, and it was clear that they didn’t want to hear any more.

“OK...so the other thing, off the top of my head...no pun intended...is a ‘Figure-8' brace,” Reg suggested. “It wraps around your shoulders and across your back in a figure-8. A friend of mine had to wear one when he broke his collarbone, to help keep his shoulders back while it healed. Because it wraps around the shoulders rather than the arms, it’s almost impossible to get off without help. You can’t just dislocate your shoulders to get out of it, like you could with something like a strait-jacket.”

“Maybe we could work out a way to link one of the tracker things to a brace like that,” Karen said.

“I certainly have easy access to a Figure-8 brace,” Aiden offered. “In fact, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”

“Ding id would be possible do reinforce id wid Keblar dape?” Justin asked. “Do keep ‘im from jusd cudding id off?”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” Aiden and Reg agreed.

Just then, Evan stuck his head around the corner. “Weeping Sparrow wants all of you in the living room.” They all followed him in and got settled around the room.

“Some of you have heard this story before,” she started. “Some of you haven’t. I will tell it again so it is fresh in everyone’s minds....”

“Long ago, when the Anishinabe first came to the place they now live–pushing out those who lived there before them, just as the white man tried to push out the Indian–the Earth was beautiful and fertile. The Earth had many animals for the People to hunt, the Sea had many fish for the People to catch, and the Sky rained on their crops to make them grow. In those days, the People would plant fish with their seeds as an offering, to help them grow better. And the crops did.

“But one day, a shaman wondered: if the crops grow better when a fish is buried with the seeds, how much better would they grow if I buried a man with the seeds? And so the shaman did this, killing a man and burying his body with the seeds instead of a fish. And his crops did grow better than those whose seeds were buried with fish. But the people of his tribe saw this, and knew his actions were evil, and they banished him from the tribe and commanded that no one should ever speak his name again. That is why even the stories do not tell of his name, and it is lost in the past.

“When the shaman was banished, he became angry and decided that he would prove his wisdom to all the tribes. And so, each spring he would sacrifice people, who were buried with the seeds; and each fall the crops he harvested were more plentiful than those of anyone else. Soon, others began to believe that his way was better, and they went to him, and he became their chief. And each spring, he would bury people with his seeds, and each fall his crops grew better than anyone else’s, and he grew powerful.

“The People saw this, and knew that his evil actions must be stopped. So they sent their bravest warriors to kill him. But he had grown powerful over the years, and when the warriors came, he killed them and buried their bodies with his seeds. Many years passed, and again the People decided they must try to stop the evil chief; and again they sent their bravest warriors to kill him. And again he defeated those braves, for he grew ever more powerful.

“Many times this happened, and each time the evil chief killed the braves. One day, a young wise-woman named Gentle Spring Rain said that she knew of a way to defeat the evil chief, and said she would do so. The others of her tribe laughed, for she was only a woman, and she had no weapons and was weaker than even the weakest of the braves. But she persisted, saying that she was stronger than any of the braves, for she would defeat the chief with Love.

“The People tried to stop her, saying the chief would kill her; but she went to him anyway, for she knew she would succeed. When she went to the chief’s camp, he asked if she came to join his tribe. She said that she had come to stop his evil ways, and he laughed. He took her hostage, and forced himself on her and treated her badly, but she continued to keep Love in her heart. He forced her to do many evil things, but still she showed him only Love. Then he tortured her cruelly, but she refused to give in to Hate.

“Finally he said, “You are, indeed, very powerful. So powerful that you will make the best sacrifice ever, and my crops will be the best and most plentiful of all, and all the tribes will know that I am the wisest and most powerful chief.” And so the evil chief killed Gentle Spring Rain, and even then she would not Hate him.

“But this time his crops did not grow, for his sacrifice made the Earth angry, and the Sky wept for the death of Gentle Spring Rain, and the Sea rose up and washed away the evil chief and all people like him. And the only People who were left were those who kept Love in their hearts.”

Weeping Sparrow smiled. “Of course, this is only a story. I thought it might explain what was happening at your house.” She glanced over at Justin.

“But I have been speaking with many storytellers all over this area since then,” she continued. “And I have collected many, many stories. And I’m thinking that I may have an idea of what is happening, because none of this is what I expected it to be or what I thought it was.

“Now...we call the First Man Nanabozho. He is the impersonation of life, the active quickening power of life--of life manifested and embodied in the myriad forms of sentient and physical nature. He impersonates life in an unlimited series of diverse personalities which represent various phases and conditions of life, and the histories of the life and acts of these separate individualities form an entire cycle of traditions and myths which, when compared one with another, are sometimes apparently contradictory and incongruous, relating, as these stories do, to the unrelated objects and subjects in nature.

“The conception named Nanabozho exercises the diverse functions of many persons, and he likewise suffers their pains and needs. He is this life struggling with the many forms of want, misfortune, and death that come to the bodies and beings of nature.

“In listening to these stories as told by other storytellers, I found what may be a clue to solving our problem. The storytellers in another tribe tell of Winabojo. That may be their name for the First Man or it may be the name of a different Manitou. This is the story I heard...

“Winabojo lived after the earliest Indians. He was married, a fact which is not generally stated. He took an Indian wife and had three children, one a baby girl. His wife's parents lived with them and the family lived a long time in the Indian Village.

“There was an old custom that when two bands of Chippewa played a certain game together each band put up a person for a wager, this person being adopted by the winning band. Once Winabojo's band lost in such a game and refused to give up the wager.

“One morning Winabojo got up early and went into the woods. He saw a great many men with clubs and asked what they were doing. They replied, ‘We are going to get the boy that your people wager in the game; you had better join us or you will be killed.’ Winabojo decided to do this in order to save his family.

“When they attacked the village he was so eager that he went right to his own lodge and began to kill his family. He killed the old people and the two boys and was about to kill the baby girl when some one stopped him. Then he was like some one waking from a dream and felt very sorry for what he had done.

“He took the baby and started to carry it to his grandmother. It was a long way but he reached there at last. The baby was crying, but he did not tell his grandmother what was the matter.

“She said, ‘Why did you bring the baby here? Is its mother coming? I can not quiet this baby.’

“Winabojo said. ‘I made a terrible blunder. I joined an attacking party and killed all my family except this baby.’

“His grandmother said, ‘It is no use for us to stay here. The people will come and kill us. They will know that you joined an attacking party.’

“This was the worst thing that Winabojo ever did, and he took his final departure from the earth at this time.

“He got some pods from the trees. They were shaped like little balls and he made them grow big. Then he put the baby in one and his grandmother in the other. He stood on the shore and tied them tight, then he put them in the water and asked the water to carry them all away. So they floated off and went clear across a great water to-ward the setting sun. There is another earth beyond this earth and Winabojo lives there now with his grandmother.

“Winabojo's daughter was named Abedabu, which means sight of day or dawn.” She was particularly attentive to the concerns of women, and would become enraged when they were mistreated. She would sometimes visit great misfortune on men who abused women, and the storms that accompanied her rages led many to call her Thunder Woman. She taught human women the art of midwifery, and her kindness to women is as legendary as her anger toward bad men.

“Winabojo’s daughter is also called the Weeping Woman, or Sky Woman. There is one version of the story about Gentle Spring Rain, very obscure, which I heard from only one storyteller. In it, when the maiden was tortured and sacrificed, she did not exactly die. Instead, it was told that Thunder Woman became enraged by the evil chief’s actions.

“In the moment of the maiden’s death, Thunder Woman rescued the maiden and took her away to her land. She told the maiden that the evil chief must be punished, beyond him and his people being washed away by the waters. But the maiden told Thunder Woman, ‘No. I forgive him, so you must, too.’

“Thunder Woman was not happy with this, and she berated the maiden. But she could not act against the chief without the maiden’s permission, since it was she whom the chief had wronged.

“Finally, the maiden told Thunder Woman, ‘I can no longer stay here with you. I will not give you permission to harm him, for that would mean giving in to hate, and I would become no better than him. But neither will you give up your anger. So I must go.’ And she left the land of Thunder Woman.”

“I am beginning to think,” Weeping Sparrow told them, “that it is the anger of Thunder Woman which causes some of the trouble. I had thought that the trouble would only be ended when a soul, innocent and untainted by hate, gives up him or herself in willing sacrifice. But perhaps that alone will not solve the problem. It may not appease Thunder Woman. I believe her rage will remain until she can either impose her avenging justice or be persuaded to let go of her anger.

“Maybe we must call Gentle Spring Rain back to face her. Maybe they need ‘mediation’ to solve their dispute. Or maybe Gentle Spring Rain must confront Thunder Woman directly. I do not know for sure. But I feel like there are still pieces of this puzzle missing, and those pieces may be critical to ending this trouble. The effects experienced by people in the area of your house do not seem like something caused by Thunder Woman's anger. If nothing else, perhaps the Maiden can offer us some wisdom in solving this, if we speak to her. Certainly this is not what she would have wanted.”

“I would like to see this done before my time is done,” Weeping Sparrow said. “All my training and experience has brought me to this point, to help you with this. You are a very strong Spirit Talker,” she told Karen, noticing the tears building in Karen’s eyes. “I believe that you can do this. But it may be the hardest thing either of us ever do.”

“So you ding we need do do a seance for dis maiden and Dunder Woman?” Justin asked. “Can you call dwo spirits, Karen? Didn’ you do dat wid Jane and her mom?”

Karen sniffled back her tears. “I only actually called Jane’s mom that time. Jane was already hanging around. All I had to do was invite her in to see her mom,” Karen answered.

“It will not be just a seance,” Weeping Sparrow clarified. “It will be a summoning. And you should never call that which you cannot put down. However, we are not done here, yet.” She turned and looked at Reg. He was still not being completely forthright. “What are you hiding, Little Bear?”

“Oh, you’re good,” Reg said, impressed at her ability to see past his facade. He pulled a small key from his pocket. Karen hid her surprise. She was sure that they’d gone through his clothes thoroughly, earlier; but obviously they’d missed this.

“Waid! He geds an Indian name already?!” Justin objected. It was the one thing that caught his muddled attention, having not quite followed everything Weeping Sparrow had been talking about earlier.

Weeping Sparrow smiled at Justin and patted him gently on the right side of his face.

“I don’t know where this goes,” Reg told them. There were some numbers etched on the top of the key.

“Maybe a safedy deposid box?” Justin suggested.

“Or a locker?” Angie offered.

“Or...maybe one of dose ‘blind drob’ places,” Justin said. “You know, dey habe posd office boxes, and pacgage locgers?”

“Like Mailboxes, Etc.!” Angie agreed excitedly. This might just lead the to the person or persons who were snatching Reg, if they could find where the key went and stake it out.

Karen opened her laptop and did a quick directory search. “There’s a Mailboxes, Etc. on 5 Mile, in Livonia. That’s only a couple miles from where we found you, Reg.”

It was almost midnight by now, and everyone looked wiped out. “I would suggest that Little Bear stay here tonight,” Weeping Sparrow said. “Where there are other people to care for him.”

Karen bustled around and got rooms made up, apologizing to Weeping Sparrow for not being able to let her use the first-floor room.

“That is not a problem,” Weeping Sparrow told her. “I understand.”

The few people who were hungry ate some of the abundant food in the kitchen. And before they all drifted away to bed, the group made arrangements for everyone but Justin and Weeping Sparrow to take turns keeping an eye on Reg during the night. Tomorrow they would be able to work out something more reliable and less labor intensive.

It was the day after Christmas, and things seemed to be quiet in Detroit. Terri was at the precinct, putting the final touches on her files so that she could take a well-deserved and long-overdue vacation with Frank. Frank was putting the final touches on the motor-home, and seeing a few patients. Not counting the Envoys, most people needed him more around the holidays than any other time of the year. Leigh was still in Europe, and the team wasn’t expecting her back until after Twelfth Night. Reg’s whole family had gathered in San Francisco for the holidays. And Tony had taken a break from blowing up buildings in order to have a ‘blow out’ with his family back in New York.

The biggest surprise was that Aiden and Angie had also gone to New York, to Long Island specifically, to spend the holidays with Angie’s family! Angie suggested that she take Aiden to meet her mom, but she hadn’t really expected him to agree. “I’d love to meet your mother,” he told her. Then he had to help her scrape her jaw up off the floor. He even managed to get himself taken off the roster at the hospital...by agreeing to start back on New Year’s Eve. So the couple had a week and a half to spend back east.

Unfortunately, Aiden’s dad still refused to talk to him. He’d dug himself into a hole when he’d told Aiden after 9/11, “I just lost one child. If you run off to get yourself killed now, don’t bother coming back here. You’re no son of mine.” Now, in spite of the fact that Aiden hadn’t been killed, and that he’d come back to not only finish med school but to become one of the top ER doctors in Detroit, his dad refused to take back what he’d said that day six years ago. His ego wouldn’t left him give in and admit that he might have been wrong. Luckily Aiden had been exchanging surreptitious emails with his mom ever since the whole ‘werewolf’ incident a couple years ago. The two hoped that someday she would be able to talk some sense into his father and bring about a reconciliation.

Karen and Justin had spent Christmas Eve with Marie and Olivia, and Christmas Day with Cathy and Karen’s sibs and their families. Other than being much younger-looking...and very much richer, Cathy was finally becoming more like her old self. The presents she gave her children and grandchildren were still more extravagant than she’d ever dreamed of being able to give. But the tree and house were decorated by her and not ‘the staff.’ And though she decided to keep them on to help with the cooking and cleaning, the food was served ‘family-style,’ like Christmases ‘B.E.’ (Before Edward), and the ‘staff’ joined the family at the table.

Now, the couple was relaxing at home, finally spending some quiet time alone together. Between the food Marie sent home with them two days ago, and what Cathy gave them yesterday, Karen didn’t expect to have to cook for a few days, at least. So they slept in, and spent the rest of the day curled up together in front of the TV, watching movies and nibbling at leftovers. When the phone rang, they were almost tempted to let the machine pick up. But given the nature of their ‘other’ job, they never felt right ignoring what could be a call for help.

This time, though, it wasn’t exactly an emergency. It was Tony. “Yo, Karen! Merry Christmas! I jus’ landed at Willow Run.” Tony sounded like he was shouting, and Karen could hear what sounded like an engine roaring in the background. “I flew myself!”

“And I bet your arms are tired,” Karen said with a smirk.

“Ha! No, really! Dat’s what I been doin’ wit’ my free time lately. I figgered if one’a us could be da pilot, maybe we could jus’ buy a plane for da team. Maybe one’a dose old C-14 transports or sump’n. Anyway, I just’ wondered if youse guys were around and t’ought maybe I’d stop by ta see ya’s.”

“Sure, Tony. We weren’t planning on going anywhere. We’ll see you in a little while! Merry Christmas!” Karen hung up. “So...Tony’s coming over,” she told Justin.

“MmHm, I gathered. What’d you say about his arms being tired?”

Karen giggled. “Apparently he’s been working on updating his pilot’s license, and he flew himself back from New York. He’ll be coming in from Willow Run.”

About an hour later, Tony knocked on the front door. Justin let him in, and Karen started pulling food out of the fridge. Tony dropped his bag and coat on a chair in the living room, and followed Justin into the kitchen. The three chatted and ate, and Tony filled them in on his idea for getting the team a plane. Justin was making some espresso to go with the pannettone Tony’s mom made, when the phone rang. Karen grabbed the phone and headed for the living room, so she could hear. It was Marie.

“Karen, good news! The nursing home called; Marlene woke up! Why don’t you and Justin come over here and we can....” Karen heard knocking in the background. “Hold on a sec. Someone’s at the door,” Marie excused herself. Karen heard the click of the phone being set on the table in the entryway. The door opened, and a male voice said something that Karen couldn’t make out. Marie said something, then the male voice spoke, there was a rustling noise, and when Marie responded again, she sounded angry. Loud in her ear, Karen heard the tone of several buttons on the phone being pushed at the same time. There was a crash, and the sound of the phone being dropped; then cracking noises and the call was cut off abruptly.

Karen hung up as she ran to the kitchen. “Justin! We have to get to your sister’s RIGHT NOW! I’ll explain on the way!” She turned and headed for the front closet, to grab her coat.

Justin punched off the espresso machine without saying a word. His hand shook as he pulled out the kitchen drawer where he had a couple guns stashed. He slipped on one holster, then handed the other gun to Karen as they passed in the front hall.

“Yo, youse got anyt’ing bigger’n dat, I could use?” Tony asked, pulling on his coat.

“In the truck,” Justin answered, pulling his boot laces tight and double tying them, then tucking the ends neatly into the top of the boot. His movements were measured and deliberate because he knew that if he went as fast as he felt like going, he’d make a mistake or forget something.

The three went out the back door. Justin opened the hidden gun-compartment in the floor of the truck, and Tony grabbed the sawed-off 12-gauge. Then they all piled in. When they arrived at Marie’s, they found the front door standing open. The light fixture hanging in the center of the entryway was swinging in slow circles, making crazily moving shadows on the walls as Justin entered, his gun drawn. The shadows distracted Karen and Tony as they entered behind him and leap-frogged ahead to clear the living room and half-bath. So only Justin saw the tiny spatter of blood on the wall near the light switch.

The sound of plastic cracking on the floor under their feet made Karen and Tony glance down. It was the remains of the phone, broken into a hundred pieces. They continued ahead, checking each room and closet, and behind and under any furniture large enough to hide even a small human being. Whoever had done this was definitely solid and human and large enough to crush the phone.

Justin ignored the two and headed straight for Marie’s bedroom. The house wasn’t big enough for a real ‘panic room,’ but he and Mikey had reinforced the master bedroom’s walk-in closet years ago. The three had agreed back then that, if anyone ever broke into the house, Marie would take Olivia to the closet until Mike or Justin came and gave her the ‘all clear.’ Mikey might be dead now, but Justin made damn sure that Olivia knew that her mother’s closet was the place to go if she was afraid of someone hurting her.

Justin bent down and rapped firmly on the floor, so Olivia would know that someone was coming in. Then he opened the closet door and took a couple steps in, pushing clothes back to let in some light. He could just see the toe of one of Olivia’s slippers poking out between Marie’s shoes. Justin pushed back more clothes, then knelt in front of the slipper. The little girl had jammed herself into the farthest back corner of the closet, under a low shelf-unit, with her head down between her knees and her arms wrapped tightly around her lower legs.

Justin tapped her lightly on one knee. She unwound like a spring that had been compressed too tightly, cracking her head on the shelf and slamming her knees into the wall. A second later, she recognized Justin and launched herself at him with such force that she knocked him back onto his butt. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around him. He could feel her whole body shake with each sob, and she made a little hiccuping sound every time she took a breath. For the next couple minutes, all Justin did was hold her tight, rocking her, stroking her hair and rubbing her back. He trusted that Tony and Karen could handle everything else for the moment.

They did. They checked out the rest of the house, only to find that Marie was not in it. As far as they could tell, nothing in the place was disturbed beyond the mess in the front entry. There was no sign that the door had been forced open, which matched what Karen had heard on the phone. If Marie didn’t exactly know whoever she’d let in, then the person must have at least appeared to be someone she could trust, like a cop or fireman....

Finally, Justin came out into the living room, Olivia still clinging tightly to him. He looked grim, his eyebrows drawn down and his lips pressed shut. He’d grabbed the blanket off Marie’s bed, to wrap around Olivia. That was when he noticed that the quilt that was usually on top was gone. He looked at Karen. She shook her head. Whoever had come in took Marie, and wrapped her in that quilt before he left.

“Can you take her?” Justin whispered. “I want to take a look at something.” Karen nodded and slipped her gun into its holster. But when she put her hands on Olivia’s waist, the girl just held on tighter to Justin’s neck. The spot on his shoulder where her head rested was already wet with her tears, but she was not yet ready to leave the safety of her uncle’s arms. Karen knew the feeling. There was no point fighting with her; she’d already been through enough.

Justin continued to stroke Olivia’s hair as he walked over to where he’d seen the blood. Once he pointed it out, Tony was able to hold a flashlight on it so they could study it. It was only a small area, with a few drops of medium-velocity spatter. The three looked around but could find no other blood.

Justin went outside to look for footprints, wrapping the blanket tightly around Olivia. She was only wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, and one slipper had already fallen off as she’d been carried around the house. He didn’t want her to get cold.

In the meantime, Tony checked Marie’s purse and Karen called the nursing home to find out if they really had called Marie. Her car and house keys and cell phone were still in the purse, and there were no recent messages on the cell. The nursing home really had called to say that Marlene was awake, so that hadn’t just been a ruse to throw Marie off-guard.

Unfortunately, Justin couldn’t find anything that gave him a clue to who had come or how they’d left. There were no footprints, no tire tracks, and nothing dropped by either Marie or her attacker. When Justin came in and shut the door, Tony suggested that he’d like to ‘go out and look around.’ Justin and Karen both nodded agreement.

“I’ll stay with him,” Karen said to Justin, “but you should probably take her out of the room.”

Justin carried Olivia to her bedroom. He had no idea how long it would take to find Marie (and he couldn’t let his mind even consider any other possibilities beyond that), so they’d need some of Olivia’s things packed anyway.

Tony found no unquiet spirits in the area, and no residual of spirits having been there. He slipped back into his body and told Karen. She paused and concentrated on sensing if anything Unknown at all had been there. There was something...the scent of something she knew she ought to recognize. But it was so faint....

Justin came out of the bedroom with Olivia still clinging to his neck, and a small pink duffle bag in one hand. Any other time, the sight of Justin carrying a small, pink, girly-looking duffle bag would’ve made Tony laugh out loud. Not tonight.

When Justin saw the look of concentration on Karen’s face, a shiver went up his back and he knew that the situation was somehow tainted by the Unknown. He never questioned that little shiver; it hadn’t been wrong yet.

Karen sifted back through past encounters with the Unknown, testing each against the scent she smelled now. Not zombies. Not werewolves, either. Nothing so...solid. And yet, Marie had seen her assailant. So maybe something that was able to make a regular person do its bidding? There had always been that odor of the Unknown on Edward, a scent so faint that, while she could never really put her finger on it, it had raised Karen’s hackles from the moment she met him.

All of a sudden, the color drained from Karen’s face. She raised her hand to her mouth. “Oh, shit...” she whispered. Her eyes locked with Justin’s. “It’s the Hell Mouth.”

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Justin chanted very quietly. Olivia might be deaf, but she’d be able to feel the difference in his breathing and the tension in his body if he suddenly started yelling. Which was what he really want to do right now. But he had to stay calm, if not for her sake, then for Marie’s. They had to figure out who did this and where he’d taken her.

Could Jerry...? Justin knew his right-hand man had a crush on Marie, and that they’d gone out at least once or twice. But he didn’t know just how serious they’d gotten....

Justin dropped the pink bag and pulled out his cell. He flipped it open and speed-dialed Jerry before the thought had even finished. Machine. Shit. He flipped the phone shut. Wait.... How would the Thing under the house have gotten to Jerry? Who else....

Vinny? “Shit, shit, shit, shit.” This was all his own fault. He’d sent Vinny over there to get Reg’s car. How could he have been so stupid? He had no idea that Vinny had a thing for Marie. In fact, as far as he knew, they’d only met a few times. But how could he be sure? He flipped the phone open and tried Vinny’s number. Machine. Damn it!

Maybe Olivia had seen the guy? Justin stroked the side of Olivia’s face to get her attention. After a couple sniffles and a deep breath, Olivia raised her head. Her face was wet and her eyes red and puffy from crying. “Did you see what happened?” Justin signed to her.

“Bad man,” she signed back. “Bad man hit Mama.”

“What color was the man?” Justin asked. Olivia touched his cheek.

“What color was his hair?” Olivia pointed at Tony.

“Did he look like Tony?”

Olivia stared hard at Tony, then shook her head. “I never saw him before,” she signed.

“I think it’s Vinny,” Justin told Karen. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck....” Justin didn’t even realize that he was swearing out loud in front of his niece...who could lip-read.

At least, not until Olivia waggled her finger at him. “Geez, I’m sorry, honey. Don’t tell Mama....” Justin signed.

At that mention of her missing mother, Olivia let out a choking noise and began bawling again. Justin’s head drooped and his shoulders sagged. He just couldn’t do anything right....

Suddenly, Justin wrapped the blanket tight around Olivia again and ran out to the truck. He was pretty sure he still had a few somewhere in there.... There it was. The envelope in the back seat. He’d had some postcards printed up to send to customers for the holidays...with a picture of all the guys. Most of the guys had worn Santa hats, and a couple wore stuffed reindeer antlers. Vinny was the only guy not wearing something funny. So worried about his appearance. If anything happened to Marie, he’d be appearing dead soon.... He grabbed one and headed back inside.

When he got Olivia calmed down again, he asked her to look at it and tell him if the Bad Man was in the picture. She took it from him and studied it with a solemn look on her face. She knew that she was doing something important to help Uncle Justin find her Mama, and she wanted to do her best. After a minute, she nodded, then pointed to Vinny. Justin was about to begin swearing again, then stopped himself from doing it out loud.

“Can you get Weeping Sparrow down here?” he asked Karen.

“I’ll try.” They both knew that the odds of it happening fast enough to help Marie were pretty damned small. Neither said it. Karen opened her phone and put the call in to the reservation police department.

“Maybe Reg could get a message to her directly....” Justin suggested. He knew that Reg could send telepathic messages to people as long as he knew them....

Karen dialed Reg as soon as she finished talking to Joseph, up in Mt. P. But she only got his machine.

“So, where did he take her?” Justin mused aloud. He could’ve gone back to his place. Or...would he have been drawn back to the old house? Suddenly Justin’s face brightened. His cousin Teresa lived near Vinny. Maybe she could tell if his car was there or his lights were on? Something that might give Justin a clue whether or not Vinny had taken Marie there?

Justin pulled out his cell and scrolled through the phone book until he found Teresa’s number. “Hey, Teresa, it’s Justin.”

“Hi, Justin! Merry Christmas! Did you hear? Marlene woke up!”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, I’ve got a favor to ask. You know Vinny...works for me at the garage.... You can see his house from your back windows, right? Can you tell me if his lights are on? I tried calling him, but I just got his machine, and I need to know if he’s home before I head over there.”

“Yeah! He’s the cute one, right? Kind of ‘tall, dark and handsome’ type? No problem! I’ll just run over there. I’ll call you right back....”

“Wait! Teresa! You don’t have to....” CLICK. Damn! He really didn’t want another family member getting tangled up in this. If he did take Marie there, and Teresa interrupted whatever he was doing....

“Tony, we gotta get over there,” Justin said. “We’ll try his place first, unless Teresa calls back and says he isn’t there. Karen, can you take Olivia? Do you think your mom could watch her for a little while?”

Justin tried to hand Olivia over to Karen, but she clamped onto him again. It helped her lip-reading if she could see the person’s lips straight on. But she knew Justin so well that she didn’t need to in order to read his. He wasn’t going to leave her behind. She loved Aunt Karen and Gramma Cathy was really nice, but Uncle Justin was the only one she could trust to protect her right now. And if he was going to save Mama, she was going with him.

“I’m sure Mom would be happy to,” Karen told him. “But even if Olivia was willing to let go of you, it’d take too long to take her over there.”

Justin sighed. “Will you at least put on your coat and boots and stuff?” he asked Olivia.

“They’re in the front closet,” she replied, signing calmly.

“Tony, can you get the booster seat from Marie’s car and put it in the back seat of the truck?” Justin requested. Tony trotted out, doing his best to hide the shotgun from Olivia as he went by. Karen helped get Olivia bundled up, and the three followed Tony out a couple minutes later.

“I’ll sit in back with Olivia,” Karen told the guys. She climbed in behind Justin’s seat, and the two got Olivia buckled in. Tony sat in front, holding the shotgun upright between his knees. Justin threw the truck into reverse and squealed backwards down the driveway. Then he threw it into drive and floored it, leaving black skid-marks and the smell of burning rubber behind them as they peeled off down the street.

Karen pointedly cleared her throat. Olivia might not know exactly what Justin was doing, but she could certainly feel the way it was throwing her and Karen around in the back seat. The girl was already upset and afraid; Karen didn’t want Justin to make things any worse for her. Especially since she knew that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. He was pretty upset, too, and concerned for his sister’s life. Driving like that was a way of blowing off steam. But he needed to be calm, for Olivia’s sake.

Karen saw Justin’s shoulders tense slightly, then relax. He blew out a long breath. “I’m OK,” he told her. They were a few minutes from Vinny’s house when Justin’s cell rang. Teresa’s name showed in the caller ID. “Hi!” Justin tried to sound calm, like he’d just been sitting around waiting to hear back from her.

“Hey, Justin! I tried both the front door and the back door, but no one’s home. There aren’t even any lights on. Too bad, ya know? Oh well. So? Need anything else?”

“Nah. I’ll catch ya later. And thanks!” Justin shut the phone, and pulled the truck into a u-turn. “He’s not home,” he told the others. And he wondered if there was any way to find out for sure that he was at the old house before they went over there. Weeping Sparrow had been pretty adamant that they not go to the house. But Marie’s life might depend on it...if that was where he took her. “Karen, can you ask Olivia if there’s anything else at all that she remembers about what happened?” Justin asked. Then he opened his phone again and looked up his cousin Timmy’s number. Frank had tracked people by the GPS chip in their phones lots of times. Timmy was pretty slick with a computer. Maybe he could track Vinny’s phone....

Karen signed Justin’s question to Olivia. The girl thought for a minute. “The Bad Man was inside a cloud. It was all black,” she signed back.

Justin heard the click of the phone being picked up, then a pause. “Timmy? It’s Justin.”

“Wha’ the...? Do you know what time it is?” Timmy asked groggily.

Justin glanced at the clock. It was about 6pm.... Shit. It was so dark out that he forgot how early it still was. Timmy didn’t usually get up until about 7, since he did most of his work at night.

“Sorry, man. But this is kind of an emergency. I need you to trace a cell phone by its GPS chip. You can have anything you want.”

“That’s what you always say. But...I guess you do always pay up. What’s the number?”

Justin gave Timmy the number. “And...Marie’s missing.”

“Shit. Why didn’t you say that before? Look, this can take a little time. It’s not like this is legal for just anyone to do, ya know. But I’ll be workin’ it as fast as I can. I’ll call you when I get something.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll owe you big time.”

When Justin closed the phone, Karen told him what Olivia had said about the black cloud. She could almost see a similar cloud forming over Justin’s head. Every new clue made things look just a little worse than before. And it didn’t help that Olivia could still see auras. Karen knew that Justin kept hoping the child would outgrow her ‘abilities,’ though he was never less than fully accepting of Karen’s similar gifts.

It wasn’t too long before they were driving up Dequindre...and passing the old garage without even slowing down. Justin got almost to 10 Mile before he realized that he’d somehow driven right past his turn. He took a quick look around for traffic, then u-turned and headed back down Dequindre.

This time, he at least noticed sooner that he’d missed his turn again. He’d only gone a couple blocks past it, so he turned in at the next side street and started zig-zagging through the subdivision, back up to the house. He had one last turn to make when his cell rang. It was Timmy.

“Justin, I’ve narrowed the signal to within a 3-block radius of 9 and Dequindre. Is that gonna be close enough? ‘Cause I’m not sure I can get it any closer unless it starts moving.”

“That’s perfect, man. I owe you. Anything you want. I gotta go.” Justin hung up.

If he hadn’t had to stop at the corner when he got back to Dequindre, Justin might’ve missed the house completely again. Somehow, the Thing under it must have been deflecting his attention away from it. As it was, he missed the driveway. But that was alright. He didn’t really want to pull up right next to the house anyway.

Justin glanced back at the house. He didn’t see Vinny’s car, but there was a light on in one of the 2nd floor windows, the one for the back bedroom directly at the top of the stairs. Interesting, considering the power had been shut off for a couple years now. He made a left onto Dequindre and another quick left into the driveway of the old shop. That drive not only got you into the shop’s parking lot, but it went up the side of the shop and around to connect into the house’s drive.

Justin crept up the side of the building until he could see the back of his old house, and Vinny’s car parked behind it. He threw the truck into Park and turned it off. Just before the headlights went off, he could see the portable firepit left behind by Weeping Sparrow and the posse after their last visit here a couple weeks ago. He felt his stomach try to crawl up into his throat. He really wished he didn’t have to go near this place again with that Thing still living under it.

Justin and Tony got out. Karen slid over so that Justin could open the gun compartment without Olivia seeing everything. She could feel every hair on her body standing on end, and she shuddered, feeling the Evil that permeated the earth here.

“Karen, will you stay here with Olivia? And if anything happens....” Justin didn’t finish the sentence. He wasn’t happy about Olivia being there in the first place. And he’d rather Karen save Olivia than him, if it came down to that choice. He really hoped it wouldn’t, though.

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. Karen knew what he was asking. Part of her was actually relieved that she didn’t have to go inside. She could still remember the blackness that washed over her and momentarily blinded her every other time she’d been inside. But she also wanted badly to go with them. She had certain ‘skills’ that neither Tony nor Justin possessed, skills that might protect them, if only briefly, from the Evil.

Justin was pulling out every less-than-lethal weapon he had in the compartment. He wasn’t sure what they’d be facing in there, but he didn’t want to run the risk of killing his own sister accidently. Though the thought of putting so many holes in Vinny that all that was left was red was getting more attractive every minute.

“Here,” Justin said, holding up his Kevlar vest to Karen. “You think this’ll fit her?”

Karen looked at the vest. “Uh, from head to toe, yeah. But it might flatten her, too.”

“Think we could at least kinda lay it over her?”

“Sure.” Karen took the vest and held it out in front of Olivia. “Put your arms through the holes,” she instructed the girl. “This will keep you warm while we wait for Uncle Justin and Tony to come back out.”

Olivia nodded and stuck her tiny arms through the huge arm-holes, and Karen settled the weight of the vest on the edges of the booster seat. This way, Olivia could still ‘talk’ if she wanted, but she’d be as protected as was possible right then.

Justin took a look and nodded. He was trying to smile, for his niece’s sake. But Karen had a feeling the kid could see right through his facade.

Tony had grabbed a couple things from the gun compartment, too, and now he was rummaging around in his bag on the front seat, stuffing things into his pockets. He’d been studying the house, and thinking, while Justin finished with Karen and Olivia.

When Justin got the gun compartment closed up, Karen turned to face him. Their eyes met. “Be careful,” she told him. He nodded and handed her the keys. As she took them, he gave her hand a squeeze. Then he shut the door and went around to Tony.

“Ya know, I was jus’ t’inkin’,” Tony said. “Wit’ a few well-placed shaped-charges, I t’ink I could give us a way direc’ly inta dat room, so we don’ hafta use da door.”

“Jesus, dude, my sister’s in there! You tryin’ to blow her up, too? Besides, it’s on the second floor! How do you propose to get up there to set the charges without a ladder? We don’t have the time for that!”

“Geez, I wuz jus’ t’inkin’, man! Element ‘a surprise an’ all.... Fine. We’ll do it your way.” Tony slammed the truck door and started walking toward the house. Justin stomped off after him. Karen closed her eyes and grasped the crucifix that hung from her neck, and said a prayer for their safety and Marie’s. The crucifix was hot to the touch.

Justin and Tony moved carefully, their eyes constantly shifting, looking for attacks from just about anywhere, using whatever they could for cover. When they got to the back of the house, Justin signaled Tony that he’d go in first. He had a ‘splat gun,’ one of the paintball guns he’d been modifying, at the ready. He poked his head in the open back doorway, and pulled back quickly. Nothing had been moving inside, so he went through the door and flattened himself against the wall on the far side of the door, the gun moving as his eyes did, sweeping across the kitchen and down the basement stairs.

Tony moved in and did the same. But as he came through the door, he felt a wave of anger crash over him. “Jus’ like Justin ta knock my idea,” Tony thought to himself. “He didn’ even consider it! He’s always knockin’ my ideas! I oughta just punch him...knock ‘im out and do it my way....” His hands began to curl into fists, but the feeling started to flow out again before he could lift them.

Justin felt his mind and sight start to go black for a second and then it passed. “So that’s what Karen was talking about,” he thought to himself. “Hey, did’ja feel that?” he whispered to Tony.

“Jus’ get moving,” Tony growled at him. “Whadya need? A boot up da ass?” he mumbled, more to himself than to Justin. “We could’a gone in da wall, but no.... Oh, never mind.”

“What?” Justin hissed back. “What are you blowing up about?” He shook his head and moved in, and then directed Tony where to go next. He wasn’t sure if Tony had ever been inside the house before, but he knew exactly where the best cover was all the way to the stairway.

When they got to the stairs, Justin went up first, to the first landing. Then Tony leap-frogged to the top of the stairs. From there he could see a flicker of light from beyond the first, half-closed door. He waved Justin up.

It was cold up there, colder than it was outside even. The light behind the door flickered again. Candle, maybe? Both men were studying the situation, and weighing their options. They could hear a muffled whimpering, and Justin recognized Marie’s voice say, “No.... No...please, no.”

“Stay cool...don’ lose it,” Tony whispered in Justin’s ear. Justin could feel a chill breeze swirl around him and move on. He let out the breath he’d been holding and nodded. Then they both heard SMACK! The unmistakable sound of flesh on flesh.

Tony pulled something out of his pocket, and held up a flash-bang grenade and grinned. He signaled that Justin should go to the right side of the door and he’d go to the left. On his signal, Justin should push the door open and he’d throw in the grenade. Justin nodded agreement, and signaled back that after it went off, he’d go in low and Tony should go in high. Tony nodded.

The two took their positions. On a silent count of three, Justin shoved the door open hard with one hand, and Tony tossed in the grenade. Both men turned away from the door, shutting their eyes and covering their ears. BANG! The feel and sound of the door slamming into the wall was drowned out by the flash-bang.

Down in the truck, Karen tried to keep Olivia entertained...or at least busy. The one thing they hadn’t found anywhere in Marie’s house was Kitty, Olivia’s cat. “Is there somewhere that Kitty hides when she’s scared?” she asked the girl. “Because I couldn’t find her anywhere when we were looking for you and your mom.”

Olivia started to cry. “Kitty ran away when the Bad Man hit Mama,” she signed, sobbing. “She ran outside.”

Karen put an arm around the girl and rubbed her back. It was perfect timing, because that was when the flash-bang went off, and Olivia couldn’t see past Karen to see the flash.

Tony swung himself around the doorframe and into the room. Justin crouched and went in behind him, searching for a target. And found it when he spotted a naked hairy butt that seemed vaguely familiar. Vinny was laying on top of Marie, but struggling to get up. It was clear that he’d fallen, knocked off balance and disoriented by the concussion of the grenade.

Justin aimed and pulled the trigger. “Oof!” The modified gel capsule knocked some air out of Vinny, and he’d certainly have a bruise where it hit, but it seemed to do little to slow the man down. This was the first time it had been used in a combat situation on a real target, and Justin was mildly annoyed that it did so little damage. He could’a done worse with his fists.

Tony thought the same thing, so he rushed at Vinny and kicked him squarely in the ribs. He had heavy steel-toed boots on, but he was pretty sure he felt and heard a rib or two crack. He grinned.

The cheer didn’t last long. The kick had knocked Vinny onto his side on top of Marie. But as he went over, he grabbed at Tony’s leg. He managed to hook Tony’s ankle, and when his leg didn’t come back down like he’d expected, Tony was thrown off-balance, landing squarely on his own ass.

Marie wasn’t moving. Justin dropped the splat gun and threw himself at Vinny, hoping to get a choke-hold on him and pull him off Marie.

Vinny was holding Tony’s leg up so that he couldn’t get to his feet. Tony made the most of it by kicking at Vinny with his other leg. Vinny lashed out at Tony, flailing with his free hand, and managed to land his fist at the corner of Tony’s eye. Tony felt a trickle of blood run down the side of his face.

Justin took the opportunity to get an arm around Vinny. Tony punched Vinny in the side of the head, tit for tat. But Vinny elbowed Justin in the gut and managed to break his hold.

“Damn it,” Tony grumbled to himself. “Justin’s gettin’ in da way again, ain’t he? Always fuckin’ messin’ up my plans, gettin’ in da way! Maybe he should jus’ stay out’a da fuckin’ way or he might get kicked!” Tony kicked out.

Without an instant replay tape of the fight, there was no way to tell if he’d actually been aiming for Justin or not. But, he managed to plant his steel toe right on the left side of Justin’s head. Justin landed flat on his back and laid there for a minute, his head ringing, wondering if he’d really heard Tony say, “It’s all yer God-damned fault!” as the boot swung forward.

He might have been better off getting his by Vinny’s elbow again. But that blow rounded over him as he fell back.

Now that Vinny wasn’t holding his leg, Tony was able to roll to his knees. He cocked his arm back, ready to punch Justin again....

“Tony!?” Justin yelled. At least, he thought he yelled it. His head was still ringing, so he couldn’t tell. In fact, it almost looked like Tony was about to hit him again, definitely on purpose this time. He closed his eyes and braced to take the punch....

Tony shook his head, and pounded down hard on the back of Vinny’s head. Vinny finally collapsed onto Marie, sprawled out cold just like her.

Tony pushed back onto his feet and stood, then dug in his pocket with one hand while he wiped blood away from his eye with the other. He pulled out a handful of various strings and cable ties. He yanked Vinny’s arms behind his back and cable-tied his wrists, and pulled him off Marie. Then, with an evil glint in his eye, he tied one end of a length of string to Vinny’s balls. He carefully stretched the string out between Vinny’s legs and tied the other end to Vinny’s wrists. That one string was gonna do more to keep Vinny from struggling than a whole canister of cable ties.

Justin rolled to his side and carefully pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He couldn’t really feel the left side of his head right now, but he was kind of afraid to touch it to find out just how bad the damage was. He concentrated on getting Marie out of here. He looked down at her. Her lip was split, and she had a bruise growing on the side of her face. But she was breathing. And though her shirt was torn open, it didn’t look like Vinny got any further than that before they got there. He slipped his arms under her back and legs and lifted her as carefully as he could. He swayed slightly as he got to his feet; but when he was sure he wouldn’t collapse, he pumped some of his energy into her and shuffled toward the door. “Get him,” he grunted at Tony over his shoulder.

Tony rolled Vinny onto the quilt that Marie had been laying on, and wrapped it over him. As he lifted Vinny up and let him fall over his shoulder, he noticed the light flicker then flare up. He looked around. The candle was lying on the floor and the carpet under it was starting to catch. It must’ve gotten knocked over during the fight. Tony stamped at the flame until he was sure it was out, then he followed Justin down the stairs.

“Don’t worry, honey,” Karen signed to Olivia after holding and rocking her for a minute. “As soon as Uncle Justin gets your mom, we’ll go back to your house and look for Kitty. We’ll find her, just like we’re finding your mom.”

Karen was starting to get worried, though. The guys knew where Vinny and Marie probably were. And they’d been gone more than long enough to have gotten upstairs, gotten Marie and gotten back out again. But what was with that flash-bang? Had they found more than just Vinny and Marie inside? Had the Evil somehow trapped them in there? Karen looked down at Olivia and forced herself to smile. At the same time, she clasped the crucifix again and prayed for their safety. She couldn’t leave the girl; but could she ever look at her the same way again if saving her meant losing Justin?

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement at the back door. Justin staggered out carrying a body. As he got closer, Karen thought it must be Marie. It was too small to be Tony or Vinny. A minute later, Tony came out with what looked like a rug thrown over his shoulder. As he got closer, the ‘rug’ became Marie’s quilt, with a very hairy pair of bare legs sticking out the bottom.

Justin was coming around to the driver’s side of the truck, and Karen got out to help him with Marie. But when she saw his face, she froze. She wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry or throw up, but for a second she was pretty sure she might faint. The left side of Justin’s face from his cheek up was a bloody pulp. The eye was swelling shut, and when he tried to speak, all that came out was a mumble. She had to listen carefully to understand him.

“You drive. I’ll sit behind you. Can’t let Olivia see this.”

Karen swallowed hard, then crawled into the back seat to get Marie buckled in. “She’ll be OK, sweetheart,” Karen signed to Olivia.

Right now, Marie was the least of Karen’s worries, though. Tony was coming up the passenger side of the truck. Karen hopped out and met him before he could pass Olivia’s window. “Is he...?”

“Nah,” Tony answered. “Jus’ out cold, like he done ta Marie.”

“Put him in the back end,” Karen instructed Tony. “And when you get in, try not to let Olivia see the blood on your face. I’m taking Justin to the hospital first, and we’ll deal with the others after that.”

Tony nodded and dropped Vinny on the truck bed like a sack of potatoes. Karen went around and checked on Justin, then climbed into the driver’s seat. “Don’t even try talking right now, hon. I’m taking you to the nearest hospital.”

“No! Call Gary. Not going to the hospital with this,” Justin mumbled loudly. At the moment, he was kind of glad that Olivia was deaf. Hearing him talk all funny like that would definitely scare her.

“Gary isn’t going to be able to fix that, and he’ll end up taking you to a hospital anyway,” Karen told him. There was no time for arguing, and even if he tried, she wasn’t changing her mind. “Tony, do you need a doctor to look at your eye? You can help him inside.”

“Nah, dis is nut’in’. But if I’m goin’ in, I’ll need to change my boots.”

“Why? What the hell happened in there?” Karen demanded to know.

“Tony....” Justin mumbled. How could he say this? It seemed to him that Tony kicked him on purpose. Maybe.... Suddenly it dawned on Justin. Maybe the relationship didn’t have to be just romantic.... Maybe the Thing fed on any really close, strong relationship...like what they all had with the other team members. Maybe that was the blackness he felt when they went inside, and what made Tony all snippy with him. Maybe Tony really did kick him on purpose, but he was made to by the Evil....

“Justin zigged when he should’a zagged,” Tony told her.

“Maybe you oughta put up a Shield, ya know, just in case,” Justin mumbled behind her.

Karen looked at Tony, then looked back at Justin in the rear-view mirror. Justin started to nod, but it made his neck hurt. It probably would have made his head hurt, too, except he still couldn’t feel it. God, this was gonna hurt in the morning. “Fine,” Karen said.

She drove carefully, trying not to jostle Justin around too much. When the light ahead turned yellow, Karen slowed instead of speeding up to make it. It was a good opportunity to do the Shield. She raised it, and it was done by the time the light turned green again. She’d have to remember to do another tomorrow, just in case.

The first stop was the safe house, for Tony to get another pair of shoes. As Karen continued down the alley, heading for Receiving next, Justin tried a different argument to keep her from taking him to the hospital.

“I can’t tell them I got kicked trying to save my sister from a rapist,” Justin complained behind Karen. He’d turned his head so Olivia couldn’t read his lips. “They’ll wanna call the police, and they’ll wanna know who and where he is, and why I didn’t just call them first...and I really don’t wanna get Vinny arrested for this. It wasn’t his fault. It was mine, for sending him over there in the first place. But we can’t tell the cops about that either!”

“I think it’ll be up to Marie if she wants to press charges against Vinny. Tell them you were in a bar fight, and your buddy pulled you out before the police could get called,” Karen told him. Her voice was firm. He wasn’t getting out of this. Every time she looked at him in the rear-view and saw what Tony’s boot did to Justin’s handsome face, she felt the urge to be sick.

“Tony doesn’t have to go in. I can go myself. I’ll just tell ‘em I was jumped in a parking lot,” Justin said sullenly. Karen usually let him have his way, and it kind of bugged him that she was being so difficult about this. He didn’t need to go to the hospital. He could just wait for Aiden. But as he sat there thinking about it, he wondered if it was bugging him more because the House was still affecting him. Karen was probably right. She wouldn’t be making such a big deal about it if he wasn’t hurt pretty bad. She didn’t make a big deal when he was shot in the leg, after all...well, other than the scream.

“Are you sure you’re OK going in by yourself?” Karen asked, as she pulled up at the emergency entrance. She understood that he was still running on adrenalin right now. But he’d be coming down sooner or later. She didn’t want him to be all alone in the ER when that happened.

“I’m fine,” Justin mumbled. He slid out the door, and steadied himself against it for a second before closing it. He hadn’t expected to feel dizzy when he stood up. Then he staggered around the back of the truck, so Olivia wouldn’t see his face, and headed in through the bay doors.

When Karen lost sight of him, she turned and signed to Olivia, “Uncle Justin got a bump on his head, so he’s going to see the doctor. Let’s take Mama home now.”

Olivia just nodded solemnly. She knew something more than a bump on the head was wrong with Uncle Justin. He didn’t smile at her or talk to her the whole way here. But Mama hadn’t moved either, yet, and Aunt Karen seemed upset, too. So many bad things had happened this afternoon. Even Kitty had run away. Right now, all she could worry about was Mama and Kitty.

Karen didn’t say anything else on the drive back to Marie’s. She was too worried about Justin. As they pulled into the driveway, she told Tony, “I’m gonna take them inside. You take Vinny home...or wherever. You could dump him by the side of the road for all I care right now. Just bring the quilt back.” Tony opened his mouth like he was going to say something, and Karen raised her hand to cut him off. “I know, it wasn’t his fault. But it’s pretty hard to agree with that right now, with Justin’s face kicked in and Marie out cold in the back seat and you’re eyebrow cut open.” Marie began to stir. “Just help me get her inside, OK? And when you finish with Vinny, go back and check on Justin.”

Tony knew that arguing with Karen would be pointless. He came around and got Marie out of the truck while Karen got Olivia out. She gave Olivia the key and sent her ahead to open the door, then she and Tony helped Marie inside. Marie was conscious now, but still a little shell-shocked.

Then Tony drove away with Vinny still in the truck bed. Ignoring Karen’s suggestion, he took Vinny home. He backed up the driveway as far as he could, and made sure no one was watching him before he unloaded Vinny onto a chair on his porch. Digging around in the truck, he found a blanket and wrapped it around the unconscious man. He didn’t want to kill the guy through negligence now, even though he’d had half a mind to kill him when he found out he’d kidnapped Marie. It was pretty cold out tonight, and he couldn’t just leave the guy naked on his porch, though.

Olivia sat next to Marie on the couch while she warmed up and gathered her thoughts. Karen went to the kitchen and made two cups of tea, and some hot chocolate for Olivia. When she came back to the living room, she sat down on Marie’s other side and wrapped Marie’s hands around a mug of tea. Marie took a few sips, and after a couple minutes, shuddered hard. She shifted the mug to one hand, then held Olivia’s hand with the other.

But she turned to look at Karen so that Olivia couldn’t read her lips. “It was so strange,” she told Karen. “I don’t know what got into him. He was always a little full of himself.... But never vicious like that. He just showed up out of the blue. When I opened the door, he pushed his way in, grabbed me and kissed me...as if he had some right to be here. So I hit him with the phone.” Karen grinned at the mental image, proud of Marie for standing up to the bully. Marie grinned back, suddenly realizing what she had done. But her smile quickly faded.

“He grabbed it right out of my hand,” Marie continued, “dropped it on the floor, and stomped on it. Then he hit me, and...” Marie paused and looked over at the entryway. “...I must have hit my head on the railing, because I don’t remember anything else until I woke up somewhere I didn’t recognize. The room was completely empty except for a candle, and it was cold. Vi.... He was naked...and things were going from bad to worse. When he grabbed my shirt, I tried to bite his hand. Then he hit me again...and I don’t remember anything until you and Tony were helping me out of the truck.”

Her brother’s truck. Marie stopped and looked around. “So...where is my brother?”

“He’s at the hospital having his head examined,” Karen told her. Then Karen grinned. “I know, it’s long overdue.” The two giggled. “Actually, he got hit in the head when he and Tony came to rescue you,” Karen said. “And I insisted that he have a doctor take a look. Tony dropped us off here, and he’s supposed to go back to check on Justin.”

Just then there was a knock on the door, and Marie nearly jumped out of her skin. Karen went to the door, slipping her hand under her jacket to get a firm grasp on her gun. But it was just Tony.

When he was done with Vinny, he again ignored Karen’s suggestion and he went back to Marie’s house instead of the hospital. He figured that once the doctors got hold of Justin, there was nothing he could do but sit around the waiting room and wait anyway. He told Karen as much when she gave him a dirty look, and he followed her into the living room. At least he’d taken the time to ‘spit wash’ the blood off his face and slap a Band-Aid over the cut above his eye.

“Marie, do you mind if Tony stays here with you for a while? I’d like to go check on Justin,” Karen said.

“Um...actually, I was wondering if you guys would mind if Olivia and I stayed at your place tonight,” Marie replied.

“Oh, God, sure...of course!” Karen told her. Of course Marie wouldn’t want to stay here after what happened. Karen mentally kicked herself for not thinking of that before. “You can stay for as long as you like. Why don’t you pack your bag. Justin already packed one for Olivia earlier, in case....”

Karen didn’t finish the thought; she just picked up the pink duffle and handed it to Marie. “I’m going to put out a little food and water to see if I can lure Kitty back. It seems she escaped when...when the door was open earlier.”

At the mention of Kitty, Olivia stamped her foot. “No! I’m not leaving without Kitty!” she signed vigorously. Then she stomped over to the door, went out and slammed the door behind herself.

Marie started toward the door, and Karen stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “You go get packed,” she told Marie. “I’ll go talk to her.” Karen went to the kitchen and put some water and a handful of food in small bowls. She went out on the porch and sat down next to Olivia.

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from Karen. She was obviously adamant about staying until Kitty was found. Karen wished she had Drew there. Drew would be able to find Kitty and bring her back. She felt something move against her side, and looked down to see Drew poking his head out from her jacket pocket. “How did...? Do you have some secret portal inside my pocket, that you can just climb through whenever you feel like from the comfort of home?” Karen said to the cat.

“Maow.”

“Well, since you’re here...Kitty’s run away. Do you think you can find her and bring her back?”

“Maow.” Drew climbed up Karen’s chest and tapped her on the nose with a warm little paw. Then he jumped down and scampered off into the bushes next to the porch, startling Olivia enough that she turned to look at Karen.

“Drew’s going to find Kitty,” Karen signed to her. “But if they don’t come back right away, you have to go with your Mama.”

“But Kitty....” Olivia signed back, looking anxiously at where Drew disappeared under the bush.

“Drew will find her, and they’ll be fine. But right now, your Mama needs you more. She was pretty scared when the Man took her. You need to take care of her. Drew and I will take care of Kitty.”

Olivia thought that over for a minute, then nodded and stood to go in. Just then, Karen heard rustling in the bushes and the sound of two cats ‘arguing.’ One was definitely Drew. Olivia stopped, noticing Karen’s interest in the bushes. After another few moments of rustling and meowing, Drew came out dragging Kitty along by the scruff of the neck. Which was kind of funny, since Kitty was, by now, much larger than Drew. “See!” Karen signed to Olivia excitedly. “I told you Drew would find her!”

Olivia hopped off the porch and met Drew and Kitty halfway. She picked up Kitty and cradled her in her arms. Karen bent and scooped up Drew. “Thanks!” she told him, nuzzling him with her nose and scratching him behind the ears.

“Maow!”

“All set?” Karen asked Marie when she met her in the hall. There were two bags on the floor near the door, a larger blue one and Olivia’s pink duffle.

Marie nodded and looked over at Olivia, who was sitting on the couch now with Kitty. “I see you found her. Is it OK if we bring her along, too?” Marie asked.

“Of course,” Karen said.

Olivia was signing to Kitty. “Kitty, you must never run away like that again. You could have gotten lost. Or someone could have hurt you. Promise you won’t do that ever again?”

“Meow!”

Marie tapped Olivia on the shoulder. “Time to go,” she told her. Olivia scooped up Kitty.

Before Marie could bend to pick up the bags, Tony grabbed them. “Allow me.”

The four humans and two cats got settled in the truck, and Karen drove back to her and Justin’s house. It was pretty quiet in the truck, and finally Tony spoke up. “Ya know, fer what it’s wort’,” he said, turning to look at Marie, “I t’ink sump’in was wrong wit’ dat guy. He seemed kinda ‘out of it.’ Maybe someone drugged ‘im or sump’in.”

Marie sat quietly for a minute, thinking, and Tony started to turn back around, figuring she didn’t want to talk about it. “I think...if he comes to his senses and apologizes...I’ll consider not pressing charges,” she told them.

“Maybe we can go talk to him tomorrow...see what he says,” Karen suggested. She saw Marie nod hesitantly behind her.

At the hospital, Parker was the ER doctor on duty. He didn’t recognize the name on the chart he was handed, but he recognized Justin as soon as he stepped through the curtain, as one of the gang that Carter seemed to always be causing trouble with. He knew Carter was on vacation until the weekend, and none of the others seemed to be around right now. Parker put on his ‘professional’ face and went to work. “So, what happened this time?” he asked Justin, who was stretched out on a gurney in one of the exam rooms.

“Got jumped goin’ to my truck,” Justin mumbled. “I think one of ‘em kicked me.”

“MmHm.” Parker was examining the wound and gently cleaning it.

“So, can you just stitch it up and send me home?” Justin asked.

Parker couldn’t help but laugh out loud. That was the way Carter seemed to do things, but it was his watch tonight. “Mr. Kazotchek, it will be at least...” Parker thought for a second. “...at least four days before we let you out of here.”

“But it doesn’t hurt that bad,” Justin interrupted.

Parker snorted a laugh. “I’m guessing that’s because the adrenalin hasn’t flushed out of your system yet. Luckily for you, I’ll be giving you some morphine and a little Laidocaine to help you sleep tonight. You'll be going over to x-ray next, and I’ll be scheduling your surgery for tomorrow morning. We’ll need to keep you at least a couple days after that, to make sure everything is going to stay in place properly. You won’t lose that eye; but it’ll probably be at least a week before the swelling goes down enough that you can see out of it. Your jaw is fine and you didn’t lose any teeth; but we’ll need to wire it shut until the cheek bones begin to knit back together. And amazingly enough, your nose isn’t even dislocated. However you have a concussion, so even if you didn’t have any of the other injuries, we’d be keeping you for that.” When he finished, Parker turned abruptly and left the ‘room.’ A nurse came in a couple minutes later and gave Justin a couple shots. Soon, he barely cared where he was, much less how soon he’d be going home.

When the others got to Justin and Karen’s house, the first thing Karen did was hustle around moving all the guns and other weapons Justin had stashed in every room to the gun safe in their bedroom. She got a room made up for Marie and was about to get one ready for Olivia, when her niece stopped her. She hadn’t even heard the girl come upstairs. “I think Mama needs me to stay with her tonight,” she signed to Karen.

“OK.”

“And Kitty, too.”

“Right. Kitty, too.” Karen smiled. Olivia turned and headed back downstairs. Karen followed her. Marie was making tea, to stay busy. Tony sat at the table and watched her.

When Karen and Olivia came into the kitchen, Tony said, “If it’s OK wit’ all’a youse, I don’ mind stayin’ here, if you wanna go see about Justin, Karen.”

Karen looked over at Marie. It was up to her. If she didn’t feel comfortable having a guy there to protect her right then, considering what she’d been through, then Karen would send Tony to the hospital.

“Works for me,” Marie said. She tried to sound unconcerned, but Karen thought it sounded a little forced.

“Are you sure?”

Marie nodded. “Go.”

Karen hugged all three. “Thanks, Tony.” Then she was out the door like a shot. By the time she got to the hospital, Justin had been moved to a room, and his surgery was scheduled. She called Tony and Marie and asked if it would be OK if she spent the night at the hospital. Justin didn’t really seem to know that she was there, because of the drugs, but it would make her feel better. The two were fine with that, so she next called the office to let them know she wouldn’t be at her office hours Thursday.

Justin’s surgery went fine, and when Karen saw him again, the left side of his face was swathed in fresh gauze. His nurses insisted that Karen take a break and go home, since he’d be fairly heavily sedated the rest of the day. When she got home, Marie told her she thought she might be ready to talk to Vinny. So the four went over to Vinny’s house. Tony went to the door first.

“Yeah?” Vinny said when he came to the door and found Tony on the porch. He didn’t seem to recognize Tony at all; but he was moving pretty stiffly, and favoring his rib cage on the right side.

“Ya don’ remember what happened?” Tony asked him.

“What?” Vinny said. He seemed confused now, because this guy on the porch seemed to know him...and he looked vaguely like a guy from that weird dream he had last night.

“Ya kidnapped Marie...Justin’s sister...an’ were gonna rape ‘er. Me ‘n’ Justin stopped ya.”

“But...I thought...I mean, I woke up on the porch...and I thought maybe I’d been sleepwalking, ‘cause I was having the weirdest dream.”

“I don’ know what drugs ya been doin’, but it wasn’ no dream. I t’ink ya owe Marie a real big apology.”

“God, yeah. Yeah! I mean...I would’a never...not that she ain’t hot an’ all, but...I mean...yeah. She ain’t gonna...you know...I mean...I didn’t mean to...I don’t wanna go to prison.” The last part came out almost like a whine.

“Maybe, maybe not. She’s out in da truck, so ya better make it good. An’ ya better mean it. I’ll tell ya right now...don’ let it happen again...or ya’ll be singin’ soprano, if ya know what I mean.” Tony waved to the truck, and Karen and Marie came up to the porch.

“Marie...ma’am...I...I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to...I mean...I don’t know what happened. Somebody must’a slipped me something...’cause I never would’a...I mean...not that you ain’t...um.... I’m sorry.” Throughout the whole thing, Vinny could hardly look at Marie. He’d glance up, then look back down at his feet and fidget.

“Apology accepted,” Marie told him. “But I’d appreciated it if you don’t so much as say ‘hi’ to me for a very long time.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Vinny whispered. He glanced up at Tony, hoping that was OK. Tony gave him a quick nod. If it was OK with Marie, it was OK with him.

While they were all busy, Karen raised another Shield. Hopefully, if there was any lingering connection between Vinny and the Evil, that would sever it.

Karen dropped Tony back at the safe house, and she, Marie and Olivia went home. Marie was fine staying alone that afternoon, so that Karen could see Justin. She told Marie that the doctors thought he had a concussion and kept him for observation. Luckily, Karen was better at lying than her husband. Marie didn’t really need to know just what Justin went through to save her.

The next day, things went almost like normal. Marie wasn’t ready to spend the night at home yet; but she and Olivia went about their normal routine. They went and got Marie’s car, then Marie went to work while Olivia was at school. Karen taught her classes. And Tony relaxed at the safe house. He didn’t have another job lined up until after New Year’s.

That afternoon, after her last class, Karen went to visit Justin. They had taken him off the sedatives, and he had a self-administered morphine drip for the pain. The bruising had come to the surface now, and he looked like he was wearing a raccoon mask on the part of his face Karen could see. She assumed the rest looked much worse under the gauze. But at least he was conscious, though he signed to her rather than talking, because it was easier.

Both were surprised when Weeping Sparrow walked into the room. Karen stood immediately, and Weeping Sparrow plopped down in the chair. She looked Justin over. “I did say stay away from the house.”

“Vinny had Marie. Not his fault. My fault,” Justin said. It was a little hard for him to talk, between the wired jaw and the tape near his lips that held down the gauze.

“I said stay away from the house.”

“You said it was safe to send Vinny.”

Karen just stood back and kept her mouth shut. No one ever won an argument with Weeping Sparrow. It was like trying to wear away a mountain by dripping water on it with a teaspoon.

“I was wrong.”

“What? I was supposed to let him rape my sister? What kind of stupid shit is that?”

“Stay away from the house. I have more prep to do.”

“We couldn’t wait for two days.”

“You must promise me you won’t go back.”

“What if someone kidnaps my sister again?”

“Promise.”

“Can’t wait for your boys to show up. Who else am I supposed to send in? I really didn’t want to go in.”

“Then promise you won’t.”

“But I couldn’t let Vinny commit rape. I like him too much. And if he did, he’d be dead. And Tony might not have been able to deal with him alone.”

Weeping Sparrow looked over at Karen and rolled her eyes. Karen covered her mouth so neither of them could see her laugh. (Though the shaking shoulders and tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks probably gave it away.) Neither one was about to give up yet...though, in the end, Weeping Sparrow would have her promise. Karen wondered if they actually enjoyed arguing with each other.

For a few days after the seance, Weeping Sparrow passed the time at Justin and Karen’s. She didn’t expect any coddling, at least not from Justin and Karen, so they both went to work each day as usual. But for the first time since Karen had met her, Weeping Sparrow seemed old. So although her ‘honor guard’ stayed with her, Karen made a point of getting home as soon as she could, to spend time with her while she recuperated. Then when she felt well enough again, Weeping Sparrow and her ‘posse’ (Justin and Karen couldn’t help but attach that nickname to the guys) went visiting other friends and family in the area.

The following Wednesday found the five Envoys gathered at Justin and Karen’s again. Reg still felt a little hollow inside, though he’d been eating normally, at least as much as possible, for the past week. It had taken him several days after the last ‘cleansing’ before he’d even begun to feel close to normal again. And now it was time for another round of the torture. Everyone had brought a dish to pass, and Reg accepted gracefully the friendly ribbing of the others about how there wasn’t much point in him eating anyway. Aiden and Angie still weren’t as cuddly as they’d been in the past; but they were more affectionate than they’d been the week before.

The team was a little surprised when Weeping Sparrow knocked at the door. She’d left plenty of the ‘wood shavings and pond scum’ with Aiden, so they hadn’t expected her to come back to supervise Reg’s purging again. She brought a tasty casserole that had root vegetables and venison in it, so there was more than enough food to go around. Which was good, since the posse ate like they’d never seen food before in their lives. Of course, that was normal for them. Weeping Sparrow herself usually ate fairly heartily; but tonight she seemed more subdued, as if she were conserving her energy. She was quiet during dinner, and spent most of the meal watching Reg like a cat watches a mouse hole.

Outwardly, her observation didn’t seem to bother Reg. He made a point of having decent helpings of all the food, like a man eating his last meal. But inwardly, he was nervous that Weeping Sparrow might know more about him than she was letting on, though he harbored a sneaking suspicion that she actually didn’t have a clue...which was just as worrisome.

After studying Reg pretty much throughout the entire meal, Weeping Sparrow said, “I think you should come with us tonight, and then you can purge.”

So that was why she was there, the Envoys all thought to themselves, exchanging glances. The ritual to deal with Justin’s old house. She’d mentioned the previous week that she thought she had an answer to that problem. But considering how long it had taken her to recover from the seance, Karen hadn’t been sure that she’d be ready to tackle it so soon.

“Do you have any objection to being used as bait?” Weeping Sparrow asked Reg. “Not chum...but bait,” she clarified, responding to the look of concern on Reg’s face.

“Um...no?” Reg answered cautiously.

Weeping Sparrow nodded, got a flask out of her bag and topped off her tea with the contents, then drank it down quickly. “OK. Everybody dress warmly.” She looked over at Aiden and Angie. “You two stay here.”

“What if somebody gets hurt?” Aiden asked.

“Then we’ll bring them to you, or to the hospital,” she replied. “We are going to poke a very sore bear,” she said, speaking to all of them. “Bad things could happen. We need to be prepared to run.”

“I’ve been trying to keep an eye on It,” Karen told her. “I drive by, to see if I can feel It spreading Its power out from the property at all. And I’ve kept an eye on the news, to see if there’s any change in the incidence of domestic disturbances in the area. So far, nothing new.”

“Do we need to clear the houses around it?” Justin asked.

“That would incite too much suspicion, and I don’t think it’s necessary tonight. Tonight I’m not planning on going in. This whole process may take a while...days, weeks, even months. I’m making this up as I go.”

“Should we have a story to tell the neighbors if anyone gets curious?” Justin asked.

“Do you think they’ll ask? I suspect they’ll be busy with their own problems.”

“Well, I’ve got a For Sale sign I can take along to stick out in front. Nobody notices people coming and going when a house is up for sale,” Justin said.

“We are simply going to survey the situation tonight. I need to know how firmly this thing is entrenched. I need to know how aware it is. I am sure of its power. But like calls to like, so I believe that you, Reginald Philip Morrison, will pique its interest.”

“Why Reg?” Angie asked. She was obviously cranky about not being allowed to come along. Aiden was just confused. Not every team member made it out on every job, but no one was ever excluded before. And he and Angie had been over at Justin’s old house before, too.

“He has broken one of the great taboos,” Weeping Sparrow replied. “Of course, so has Essiban. But you,” she said, looking at Karen, “are already purged. Tonight we are merely gauging its strength.”

Angie frowned, but she had the feeling that no one won an argument with Weeping Sparrow. She turned and stalked off into the living room and flipped on the TV. Aiden shrugged and followed her.

Weeping Sparrow turned toward the door. “This is a fragile time for them,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to cause trouble for them. It would take constant, consistent pressure to wear away at the bond you two have.”

“Us?” Justin asked, looking over at Karen, not quite sure if he understood the wise woman.

“Yes. Who else am I looking at?”

Karen understood. The evil that inhabited the land where Justin’s old house stood took great pleasure in, and probably gained strength from, causing rifts between lovers–to the extent that there had been many deaths on that property, and the rate of domestic unrest in a large area around it was even higher than the norm in a large metro area. There was already trouble between Aiden and Angie because Angie chose to end the pregnancy. Depending on how strong the evil was now, the best they could have hoped for during this visit would have been that one of the two would stomp off mad at the other. Karen didn’t even want to contemplate the worst that might have happened. Aiden and Angie’s relationship didn’t need that kind of stress, and neither did the team while they were out on a case. Weeping Sparrow’s decision was as much for Aiden and Angie’s sake as it was for her own safety.

The bigger concern for Karen was that she had never seen Weeping Sparrow this uncertain before. She didn’t have the same confidence in her plans that she normally did. Karen couldn’t think of a ritual Weeping Sparrow hadn’t done hundreds of times. If whatever she was planning now worried her, that worried Karen even more; and Justin and Reg seemed to sense her concern.

“Think I should bring the rescue vest?” Justin asked.

“What is that?” Weeping Sparrow asked in response.

“It’s kind of like a rock-climbing harness combined with a Kevlar vest,” Justin told her. “It’s got handles at the shoulders and hips, so if the person wearing it goes down, they can be carried out quickly and easily.”

“And rope can be attached, so if someone goes in alone, they can be pulled back out in an emergency,” Karen added.

“No one is going in tonight, so I don’t think it will be necessary,” Weeping Sparrow said.

Then she gave some sort of signal that Karen, Justin and Reg couldn’t see, because the posse lined up two in front of her and two behind. The four large young men seemed to be in an extra attentive mode that night, and as they passed out onto the front walk, two of them moved so that they surrounded Weeping Sparrow in a square, one each to the front, the back and to either side.

Reg had decided to drive himself when Weeping Sparrow mentioned that they’d need to be ready to run. Luckily, he’d brought Inga, his BMW, to dinner that night. If he was going to be the bait, he wanted his fastest car nearby, so he could get away in a hurry.

The three Envoys went out the back door, Reg to the driveway and Justin and Karen to the garage. “Got your headset, Reg?” Justin asked. Weeping Sparrow might not approve, but he wanted the three of them linked, just in case they got separated. Not that it guaranteed safety. The Unknown had certainly messed with their electronics before. But it was always worth making the effort to be prepared.

“Always,” Reg replied.

Everyone knew where they were going, so they didn’t bother making a convoy. When Justin and Karen got about a half-block from the house, the radio went all static, and started running up and down the dial. The weird thing was...it wasn’t on. Every few seconds, the static would clear and the two would catch a word from whatever was playing on that station.... Come.... Blood.... Now.... Mine....

“Uh, Reg? Is your radio all...?” Justin asked over the mike.

“Yeah. Yours, too?” Reg replied.

“Uh, yeah. And ours isn’t even on.”

“Mine was, but the music I had on is being overridden somehow. So, did you get certain words...?”

“Come, Blood, Now, Mine?”

“OK. So it wasn’t just me,” Reg said.

“Well, I’m guessing Weeping Sparrow didn’t hear it,” Karen snickered.

“Why’s that?” Reg asked.

“No radio.”

“Can you even get a car that doesn’t have one?” Reg asked Justin.

“There’s probably a big hole in the dash where it used to be,” Justin laughed.

“Phew...good thing we don’t have a hole like that,” Karen said. “We’d keep losing stuff inside. And with my luck, it’d go straight to the bottom and rattle around and drive me crazy. Or else Drew would crawl inside it and not wanna come out.”

At the mention of his name, Karen felt the cat crawl out of her coat pocket below her elbow, under the bottom edge of the coat, up and across her chest and onto the other shoulder. With all the layers she had on, she hadn’t even noticed that he was in the pocket to begin with.

“That’s a heck of a growth ya got there, dear,” Justin teased her, spotting the movement.

Drew stuck his head out the collar of the coat. When he turned his face toward Justin, Justin could see that the cat had its tongue out slightly.

“Right back at’cha, cat,” Justin told it.

“You realize, don’t you,” Karen said to Drew, “that we’re going someplace pretty scary?”

“Mrow.”

“You could always wait in the truck if you want.”

“Mrro.”

“Ya know, I never thought about it before, but we should think about mounting a cat carrier to the floor of the truck somehow,” Justin told Karen.

“Like he’d use it,” she replied.

“Mrow! Meow meow mro mraw mrow mrow....”

“We are the ones with the opposable thumbs,” Justin said. “We can always force him into it.”

“MEOW! Mraw mraoo mrao meow mrow meow....”

“He’s fine without it,” Karen objected.

“Right now,” Justin disagreed. “But what it we had to stop fast...or worse, had to ram something. He’d go flying right through the windshield.”

“Mrro, maow, meow, mrao, mraw, meow....”

“Maybe,” Karen said. “But it’s not like that’s something we’d necessarily plan for, and we probably wouldn’t have the time to fight with him to get in it. Besides, it’d get in the way of my feet.”

They were just pulling into the driveway that led past the house and back to Justin’s old shop. Reg happened to be right behind them, when Inga started to choke and cough. Then she just died.

“Uh, guys?” Reg said quietly.

“You don’t see any flying snakes around do you?” Justin asked him, watching as Inga receded in the rearview mirror.

Weeping Sparrow’s truck came in behind Inga; and when the driver realized that Inga wasn’t going anywhere, he edged onto the grass and went around her, parking next to Justin.

Reg turned her off, then tried restarting her. Nothing.

“It’s one thing to eviscerate people,” Justin said, sounding peeved. “It’s another to mess with a man’s car.”

“I’m gonna push her down the side-street a little ways and see if she’ll start back up,” Reg said.

“Want a hand?” Justin asked. Just then, 2 of the posse came over to help Reg. Inga wasn’t a big car, and the two guys probably could’ve flipped her over if they’d wanted. So with their help, moving her wouldn’t take long.

Justin and Karen joined Weeping Sparrow, who was studying the house. The other two ‘boys,’ Evan and Running Elk, were unloading a few things from the truck. One of them was a large, portable, metal fire-pit.

About five minutes later, Reg said, “Well, at least I can still run.”

“Still no luck?” Justin asked him.

“No. I’m two blocks away. Think I oughta go any further?”

“Nah. You guys come on back. I’ll take care of it later.”

By the time Reg, Jimmy and Fran (his full name was Francis, after the saint...and no one ever teased him about it) got back, Weeping Sparrow was settled on a camp stool and there was a pretty good-sized fire going in the fire-pit in front of her. She’d had them set it up about 20 feet from the garage. There was a small tray-table next to her, and she was pulling things from the tote bag and laying them out on the table.

One of the items was a bowl like the one Karen had given her for the seance. Only, this one was obviously older, more worn and stained. The incised pattern on the bottom of the bowl was either almost rubbed away by repeated washing...or almost filled in by blood that had never been completely washed away.

Weeping Sparrow looked up at Reg. “How’s your hand feeling?”

“It’s actually not bad,” Reg told her.

“I need a little more, but not as much as last time.”

“Does it need to be from a cut?” Justin asked. “‘Cause I’ve got a syringe in the first aid kit in the truck.”

Weeping Sparrow thought for a minute. She’d never actually considered doing it that way.... “Yes. The pain is part of the power of the ritual,” she finally answered. She held out her hand for Reg’s.

Her hands were very warm and kind of comforting, Reg thought to himself. A second later, the pain flashed across his hand and up his arm, and he winced. This time she made the cut, just a nick really, across the web between his palm and thumb. She squeezed gently, coaxing out only five drops of blood into the bowl. Then she pinched the cut shut and reached for a small jar on the table.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t let ‘your doctor’ come,” she apologized, “but I think this will help.” She rubbed a salve of some kind over the wound, and it did seem to make it feel better. Then she criss-crossed a couple butterfly-bandages on it.

“Thank you,” Reg said.

Weeping Sparrow pulled him down and kissed him on the forehead. That simple act made him feel worlds better. Last week she’d looked at him like he wasn’t even human. And at dinner earlier, she’d watched him as if she still wasn’t sure that he was safe. But if she was willing to kiss him now, then surely he’d made good progress in cleansing himself....

Weeping Sparrow started making a humming sound. She wasn’t singing, though the sound did change pitch and tone. It was almost sub-vocal, like the chanting that highly-trained Tibetan monks did. The posse moved closer to her, standing at the four directions, none more than an arm’s-length away.

Reg stepped out of their way, trying to separate himself from the others, in case something came after him. He didn’t want anyone to be caught in the cross-fire, and he also wanted to give himself as much space to get away as he could. Karen moved with him, staying close enough that he would be in range of her Sphere, if she needed to protect him.

Justin came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I wouldn’t want to contaminate the ritual with my ‘whiteness,’” he whispered in her ear. Karen could feel his body shake gently with silent laughter against her back. She grinned, but she kept her attention focused on the space between the house and Reg, waiting, expecting that if something did attack him it would come from that direction.

Weeping Sparrow continued humming, sprinkling herbs into the bowl, adding a couple other liquids from vials she had carefully lined up in the tray-table. Everyone could feel the tension in the air, the growing power and the vibration of an almost electric energy.

Weeping Sparrow stood and held the bowl out, cupped in her hands. Her voice rose as if exploding out of her, and she upended the bowl, throwing its contents into the fire-pit.

There was a blinding FLASH! and Reg, Evan, Jimmy and Weeping Sparrow were blown off their feet, landing about 10 feet back from where they’d been. Even Karen, who’d been standing right in front of Justin, fell backward with such violence that Justin was forced to stumbled back away from her to keep from getting knocked down himself. All five were stunned by the blast of energy.

Karen shook her head, and her attention went immediately toward where Reg had been standing a moment ago. She picked herself up from the ground and looked around to find him. She saw Justin helping him up, and she prepared to do a Sphere...or a Shield, if they needed it.

Justin had noticed that, almost immediately after hitting the ground, Reg was scrambling to his knees and starting to face the house. Concerned that Reg’s mind was somehow being controlled by the evil entity ‘in’ the house, he went to stop him from going to it.

But though Reg felt the pull of the creature, like filings drawn to a magnet, he managed to resist it. He could feel it in his head, calling him to come inside the house to play....

“You OK?” both Justin and Karen asked Reg almost simultaneously.

He nodded and waved off any more help from Justin. He started backing slowly away from the house, unwilling to take his eyes off it and expecting the being to increase its efforts to trap him. Justin and Karen bracketed him and moved their little group toward Weeping Sparrow and the posse.

Weeping Sparrow hadn’t moved from where she’d landed, and Running Elk and Fran were kneeling beside her. While Evan and Jimmy got to their feet, the other two checked her over and helped her to her feet. They started to pull her toward the truck, but they didn’t need to.

“Yes, yes. We’re going now,” she said, as much to herself as to them. “Yes, now would be good.” She hobbled to the truck, Evan and Jimmy on either side of her. Fran and Running Elk grabbed Weeping Sparrow’s bowl and knife, then turned to the fire-pit.

For something that blew five people off their feet, there didn’t appear to be any residue of the ‘explosion,’ no scorch marks, no crater. The fire was out, but the fire-pit was still standing where it had been, and the waves of heat still rolled off it.

“Leave it,” Weeping Sparrow told them. Fran and Running Elk jogged over to the truck. All four bodyguards looked a little off balance, but not from the blast. They’d been prepared for Weeping Sparrow to argue with them, to fight to stay. They weren’t expecting her to be so willing to leave immediately, and it threw them off.

“Inga....” Reg said, looking like he wanted to go get his car.

“Leave it,” Weeping Sparrow said.

“I’ll come back for her later,” Justin consoled him. He gave Reg a push toward the truck, and grabbed Karen’s hand.

“No,” Weeping Sparrow told him. “It’s awake now. It’s more awake than I thought it would be. If we leave it alone, perhaps it will go back to its nap again. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anything this evil. It’s a very ancient, very powerful evil. I will need to reconsider this. Let’s go back to your place where it’s warm and safe.”

“Can it follow us?” Justin asked. Reg kept looking back nervously over his shoulder at the house.

“It’s still on a chain,” Weeping Sparrow said.

“We need to nail it down,” Reg told her.

“No, we need to find a way to kill it, or to put it so far to sleep that it can’t wake up ever,” Weeping Sparrow said.

“Well, I’ll be whatever muscle you need for this,” Justin offered.

“You are like a lightning rod in a storm,” Weeping Sparrow told him. “You are solid. And Reginald Morrison, you are like a tall tree in that storm.”

“Oh, you mean like how a lightning rod tends to survive a lightning strike,” Justin said, suddenly understanding her metaphor, “but a tree, not so much.”

“I suggest you stay away from this place, Reginald Morrison,” Weeping Sparrow warned. “It hungers and It thinks you would help sate Its appetite.”

“So It thinks he’s still dirty?” Justin asked.

“He is,” Weeping Sparrow said. “And so, we begin again.”

“Do you think It’s linked somehow to the day/night cycle?” Justin asked, trying to get some handle on when it might be safe to come back to get Inga for Reg.

“I’m not sure,” Weeping Sparrow answered. “It’s just very old and strong.” Evan and Jimmy helped her into the truck, and Running Elk and Fran climbed in the back seat. Justin, Karen and Reg all climbed into the front seat of Justin’s truck. Being close together made them feel better somehow.

When Justin, Karen and Reg came out of the garage, Weeping Sparrow and the posse were still sitting in the truck, with the truck running. She rolled down the window and beckoned the three Envoys over. Looking at her, Karen felt like the older woman had aged 20 years in the past few hours. She didn’t just look old either; she looked fragile. Karen worried that she was getting herself into the fight of her life...and probably of all of their lives. Fr. Andrew had aged like this from fighting the ghul, and then she’d lost him when he gave all the life he had left to save Aiden’s. She couldn’t bear to think that she might lose Weeping Sparrow now, too. She fussed with her scarf while she tried to blink away the tears.

“I think I will need to go back to my home to rest this time, and to gather stronger tools,” Weeping Sparrow told them. “Stay away from that place, and by all means keep those children away from there.”

“Children?” Justin asked.

“Aiden and Angie,” Karen said. Not that Angie would appreciate being called a child, but she understood what Weeping Sparrow meant. “But don’t tell Angie she called them that!” she said with a wink, and Justin and Reg both grinned and nodded agreement.

“So, who would be safe to send over there?” Justin asked, wondering how he was going to get Inga back to the shop. He glanced over at Karen. “Someone solidly married? Or gay?”

“Someone who doesn’t have a love in his life,” Weeping Sparrow replied.

Justin thought for a minute. That ruled out Jerry, since he was sweet on Marie. Tony? No, he had a little too many loves in his life, and it was hard to say when he’d be around to take care of it anyway. Wait.... “How about someone who loves himself so much there’s no room for anyone else?”

“That might work.”

“Good! I have someone like that in the shop. You know him, Karen. Vinny. So self-centered,” Justin explained to Weeping Sparrow and Reg, “he’s narcissistic. If he didn’t groom, he’d have more hair than Tony. But if a woman turns him down when he hits on her, he just figures it’s her loss and he moves on to the next one.”

Weeping Sparrow nodded her approval and rolled up her window. The truck backed out and drove off into the star-lit night, wisps of snow clouds just beginning to gather.

Reg trudged into the house behind Justin and Karen like a dead-man-walking. While the three recounted the evening’s events to Aiden and Angie, Aiden fed Reg the vile purgatives and kept his eye on his watch. Karen made sure to explain, too, at least superficially, why the two had been excluded, so there’d be no hurt feelings.

After about 25 minutes, just before Reg began to turn green, Aiden hustled him up to the bathroom. He’d already gathered everything they’d need for the night. Karen fixed Angie a room while Justin locked up. And when she and Justin met back in their bedroom, they agreed that the ‘vibe’ between Aiden and Angie seemed to be a little more relaxed than it had been when they’d first gotten there that evening.

That was because the forced solitude had encouraged the two to finally open up to each other a little bit. They’d spent the time talking, taking the first tentative steps toward repairing their damaged relationship.

In the morning, Reg was filled with emptiness. But while he felt like crap physically, emotionally he felt a lot better than he’d expected. This was a change from the last time. He wasn’t sure if that was because he’d been better prepared for the ordeal, or if it was some kind of cumulative effect from having gone through it twice now. Whatever it was, he wasn’t about to examine the gift horse too closely. And he wasn’t anticipating next week’s session with quite as much dread now.

JUSTIN’S WAR JOURNAL
Entry 75 [>>> transcribed from digital audio]

>>>Well whataya know? Haven’t used this recorder in a while. Wonder if the batteries are dead ye…

>>>That answers that question. Fresh batteries and bob’s yer uncle. Haven’t used this thing in a while but I’ve had more than a couple of beers tonight and I wanted to make sure I remembered a few things. Mainly, gotta see if we can do some low level RC camera drone patrols along the river. Or maybe we could “borrow” some of the city’s online traffic or security cameras in that area. Seems like when we run across zombies in this city, it’s near the river a lot. Maybe something we need to look into.

Oh yeah, it’s early morning of November 29th. I should get some more of the details. We ran into some zombies out back of a local pub where we were all unwinding. Zombies were picking through the trash in the dumpsters out back. Lady who’s running the bar just thought they were homeless folks. Kinda got the impression she might have even recognized some clothing maybe. Might just be one of those “all people messing around in my alley look alike” kinda things though too.

Anyway, we got the civilian out of the line of fire and then started partying with the zombies. These were the closest I’ve ever come to seeing the kind described in that Zombie Survival Guide. Seemed like maybe they were going on old instincts if they used to be homeless people. Looked like they were dumpster diving until they saw fresh meat on the move; namely the lady bartender and me.

Pretty easy for us to herd them and take them down with Sphere’s and whatever weapons were at hand. I gotta start carrying the silencer for my Glock, like Frank does. Didn’t want the bar lady thinking we were executing helpless homeless folks so I couldn’t use my pistola. So I just chucked everything and anything I could lay hands on at them. Tagged some of them out with thrown stuff and swung for the bleachers with a hunk of pipe to splatter the heads of a couple more. Reg speared one through the chest and stapled it to the ground. Reg has put on some muscle. Left that one pinned while we took care of the rest. Frank kneecapped a couple of the critters to slow ‘em down while we finished them off.

The zombie Reg speared to the ground looked to be the oldest, or at least the yuckiest, so Frank figured it might be the “patient zero” of this bunch. Reg pulled the length of pipe he used for a spear out of the thing’s chest and Karen gave it a “nudge” with her Sphere to get it moving. It took off at a fast shuffle. Like I said before; these were NOT the high speed Fast Zombies like we’ve fought before.

So we let Patient Zero lead the way for a while. Once it got going away from us it just seemed to keep going. Like there’s only enough brain left to hold one thought at a time and it would just keep going until something changed its course. And at that moment all it wanted to do was escape from us. It led us along for quite a few blocks. Wasn’t too surprised to figure out we were headed toward the river. Do zombies like water? Don’t know. Frank put a bullet through the thing’s head before it got to the water. We checked out the remains after it was down and went back and checked the “leftovers” in the alley too. The ones in the alley weren’t too old; days, maybe a week or two. The one we followed to the river was lots grosser. Clothes were half gone and covered with some kind of algae or some river goo or other. Skin was all pale, not quite gray or white or green, but sort of all of them at the same time, ya know? Not much hair left. What came out of the skull after Frank popped it barely looked like brains at all. Just a chunky pile of yuck. Like cottage cheese in Caro syrup maybe? Like that kind of consistency.

So that’s all fer right now. Like I said, I wanna see if maybe we can either set up the RC drones to do some kinda patrol once in a while or see what kind of cameras, if any, the city has along or near the river and if we can hack ‘em.

M’okay, done. Bed now. Maybe more later.

It was still early in December, only the 5th, but the team could tell that Frank was more than ready for his vacation...he was eager for it. He was still arranging team ‘workout’ sessions, but he was also giving ideas to Justin and Angie for future sessions, since they’d be setting them up while he was gone. And as often as not, he declined invitations to just hang out at one person’s house or another’s, in favor of preparing for his and Terri’s trip.

Leigh had already left for a long overdue trip home, to visit friends and family for the holidays...or maybe longer, if she felt like it. She had friends at universities all over Europe; so if she wanted to spend even a short time with each, the days would add up. And Tony was off gleefully blowing something up somewhere. He always let everyone know when he was coming or going; but he came and went so often that they usually lost track of where he said he’d be at any particular time. Luckily, he enjoyed the traveling almost as much as he enjoyed the demolitions. And he almost always finagled a free day or two on every trip, so that he could take in the sights and eat interesting food, whether he was in Beijing or Peoria.

So, when Reg turned up in Detroit to visit his dad and Audra and his new little half-brother, it was a rather small group who gathered at Justin and Karen’s house that evening to give him a break from the oddly scary family-time. Aiden happened to be free, though he was on call as usual, so he and Angie brought a couple bottles of wine and a casserole of Aiden’s concoction. Karen made a roast, red-skin potatoes, and green beans almondine. And Reg brought cannolis for dessert.

While Karen set the table, Justin took the others to the basement to show them his latest project. Karen had asked him to get a couple more bottles of wine, so he couldn’t resist the opportunity to show off. Lately he’d been channeling his talent for building things into carpentry, and he’d just put the finishing touches on a wine rack.

“Not bad,” Reg complimented him.

“Thanks. And it’s designed so that if we ever want to rearrange down here, or we move, it can be disassembled and reassembled easy.”

“At least you managed to not have the bottles all slipping out onto the floor,” Angie teased him.

“Actually, that was the hardest part...getting the angle just right so that the bottles tip enough to keep the cork wet but not so much that they slide out.”

The wine Aiden and Angie brought was a red hearty enough to stand up to mulling, so they decided to open different ones to drink before and with dinner.

“So how’s the little tyke,” Justin asked Reg as they all chatted over wine.

“Pooping a lot, sleeping a lot...generally behaving like a baby,” Reg told them. “The scariest thing is Audra being all maternal. She’s like ‘Pod-Audra.’”

“How about your dad?” Justin asked. “How’s he taking being a dad again at his age?”
“He certainly seems to be enjoying it. Most of the time he’s alone with the papoose, since Audra’s still writing. I don’t really remember what he was like when Claire and I were little, but he sure seems to be the ‘doting father’ this time around.”

Karen was getting the mulling fruits and spices ready to go into the wine.

“Hey! Can we heat the wine with a red hot poker? Isn’t that the way they did it in the old days?” Justin asked.

“Um, and you wanna do this with red wine...in Karen’s living room...over her carpet?” Aiden said.

“Oh, come on.... I wanna play Viking!” Justin laughed. “So if I can’t do that, can I at least beat my chest?”

“Beat away,” Karen said, getting out the stock pot and pouring in the wine. Justin gave his chest a couple half-hearted thumps.

“Actually, I guess I’d rather be a ninja,” Justin decided.

“Oh, you are SO not a ninja,” Angie told him.

“Whaddya mean?! I can be stealthy!” Justin objected.

“It’s not a matter of stealthy,” Karen said, looking him up and down. “You’re just a little bit...big...to be a ninja, aren’t you? Besides, ninjas suck. Pirates are way better. Why don’t you be a pirate?”

They all practiced their ‘pirate talk,’ and laughed hysterically, as they moved to the living room to wait for the roast to ‘rest.’ “So, how are things going?” Angie asked Reg. “We don’t see you much.”

“Well, it was tough getting the lawyers to believe I was really back and capable of taking charge of the company again,” Reg told them. “In fact, they were in the process of having me declared dead.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be gone 7 years before they can do that?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah! You were only gone about 7 months,” Justin agreed.

“In business situations like this, they can do it much sooner, to preserve the business,” Reg explained. “But things are getting better. Business had begun to drop off when word got out that I was missing, and it’s picking back up again. And I’ve managed to get back in touch with most of my old contacts.”

“Oh, by the way, Reg,” Justin said, “just so you aren’t surprised if someone calls, I used you as a reference. The insurance company that covers all the props for CJ’s shows wanted updated paperwork for the cars. Ya know, they kinda make me crazy. Other than the Impala, they’ve only used most of the cars I’ve done once or twice. There was that great, tricked-out El Camino they wanted for Sam and Dean’s dad. Now he’s dead, so they aren’t using it. And they only used the Ghost Truck once!”

“Ghost truck?” Reg asked. “Sorry, I’ve pretty much missed most of the show, what with being on a deserted island for 7 months and then having to make up for all that lost time at work.” He grinned.

“Oh, it was this really beefed-up pick-up, all black with rack of big lights over the cab. It was a thing of beauty, if I do say so myself. Of course, it was a little painful that it was owned by a racist.... Anyway, the owner had died some horrible death, and now he haunted a stretch of this one road, and attacked blacks along it. It was great watching Sam and Dean put the bastard out of our misery, but it was resolved in just one episode!”

“Oh, don’t worry, Hon,” Karen said, getting up to put dinner on the table. “I bet they save all of them to use in other shows. They cost enough that I’m sure they don’t just send ‘em to the scrap yard. They do that with all kinds of stuff. Like in CJ’s other new show, Moonlight...I’m sure I’ve seen Joseph’s house used in some other show just recently.”

Justin got up and followed Karen to the kitchen to slice the roast. They exchanged a quick glance as they passed Aiden and Angie. The two hadn’t cuddled up like they normally did. It wasn’t unusual to see them snuggled up together on a couch or sharing a large chair, Angie on Aiden’s lap. But tonight, each was in a separate comfy chair...and Angie was drinking. It was hard to say if she was drinking more than usual yet, since she was always a fairly hearty drinker; but since she’d just found out she was pregnant a week ago, they hadn’t expected to see her drinking at all. That and the separate chairs made the couple wonder if Angie had decided not to have the baby. And how the two were dealing with it as a couple. Neither was about to ask.

Dinner was lovely. They all chatted about work, comfortably complaining to sympathetic ears over the food and another bottle of wine. The weekend’s bad weather had added to almost everyone’s workload. Aiden had treated more bad backs, possible heart attacks and whiplash cases over the weekend than in the past ten months together. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like. Angie found herself directing traffic one evening, when ice brought a power line down and the department just didn’t have enough people to go around. And Justin and his guys had been bumping out dents for the past 3 days solid, since every client he’d ever done work for had driven or towed their cars to his shop after getting in accidents on the slippery roads.

After polishing off the cannolis and clearing the table, they all took glasses of mulled wine back to the living room. The only sound was the crackle and hiss of the fire as the five sat around in a post-meal stupor in front of the fireplace. Aiden had settled on the couch, and Angie sat on the floor in front of him, her back against his legs and her own legs stretched out in front of her.

Suddenly the quiet was disturbed by a knock at the front door. It was about 9pm, and they weren’t expecting any other visitors. Justin was on his feet in an instant. He stuck his hand into a drawer in the end table as he went by, pulling out a gun, and had it cleared and ready for use before he got to the door. Angie shifted slightly, and her hand slid to the small of her back, where she kept her service piece.

It had taken Karen months to find a suitable front door, when Justin had insisted on replacing the old one for security reasons. It had been custom-made to fit the period of the house, down to the small leaded-glass lens that acted as a peep-hole. But the hard-wood veneer and brass fittings hid a solid steel core thick enough to stop almost anything but an RPG...or a ghost. Justin peered through the lens...and saw nothing. So the next rap, at about waist-height, startled him. He turned the knob and opened the door slowly with his off-hand, the knuckles of his gun hand resting on the back of the door to shove it closed if he needed to.

Outside on the porch was a bundle of shawls and cloaks and scarves...and under it all was a shape that he thought might be Weeping Sparrow. “Let me in. It’s cold out here,” she told Justin matter-of-factly, her voice muffled by the wraps.

“Hey, guys! Start turning off the electronics! Weeping Sparrow is here!” Justin hollered over his shoulder, pulling the door wide, then closing it behind Weeping Sparrow.

She patted his arm as she went by starting to unwrap layers enough for her face to be clear. “It’s OK. Turning off a few little devices doesn’t really make a dent when I’m inside a building full of wires. It’s something I’ve learned to cope with.”

Justin followed her toward the living room. Karen and Reg had both gotten up when Justin announced their visitor, Karen to greet her friend and mentor, and Reg to get her refreshments. “Can I get you some mulled wine?” he asked as she rounded the corner into the room. Weeping Sparrow stopped dead in her tracks and made a sign with her hands that Karen recognized as a ward against evil. “Or there’s beer? Water? Coke?” Reg tried each in turn.

Weeping Sparrow said nothing. Karen stepped out of the way as she began a wide circuit around Reg, staring at him...studying him.

“Uh, is there something wrong with Reg?” Justin asked. Once before they’d found out that Reg wasn’t Reg. Frank had noticed the black moccasin prints he left behind on the tile floor of the grocery store when the Weedigo had captured Reg and taken his place among the group. He’d been forced to shoot ‘Reg’ square in the forehead...several times...in the middle of the store, that time. And they’d later found Reg wandering near the lake, naked, bloody and covered in bug bites after he’d escaped the creature’s cave.

Aiden and Angie watched with great interest as Weeping Sparrow circled Reg again, Angie slipping the gun from its holster and setting it on the floor by her leg, her hand still on the grip, her finger alongside the trigger guard.

“Angie, Justin, could you put the ‘heat’ away?” Reg asked, his voice sounding quite calm but the question conveying his nervousness. As usual for Reg, he didn’t look at all uncomfortable under the wise woman’s gaze as she circled him again and again. He was used to people looking at him, and his self-confidence gave him a poise that almost always masked any discomfort he might be feeling.

“So...ma’am, is this ‘our’ Reg?” Justin asked, when Weeping Sparrow finally stopped directly in front of Reg.

“Well, this isn’t what I came for,” she said, not really answering Justin’s question, “but it needs to be dealt with.” She pointed a finger at Reg. “You, stay.” Then she turned and waddled back toward the front door, re-wrapping the scarves and shawl. Reg shrugged and sat down on the floor where he’d been standing.

Justin followed Weeping Sparrow to the door. He held the door for her, and noticed for the first time, as she walked out to it, the pick-up truck standing at the curb. He could see a cloud of white exhaust hanging just behind the back of the truck. The windows, at least on the passenger side, were open about an inch. They were fogged over, and Justin could see thin wisps of smoke rising from the gaps. The smoke stopped suddenly, and Justin saw a couple cigarette butts go flying past the hood from the far side of the cab. The two windows went down to reveal Weeping Sparrow’s four ‘body guards.’

Justin still had his hand on the handle of the screen door, and he held the door open a crack, curious about what Weeping Sparrow was telling the guys. But all he caught were snatches of Ojibway in Weeping Sparrow’s voice. When she was done talking, one of the guards spoke. Justin didn’t know more than a few words in Ojibway, but it sounded like he was reciting back to Weeping Sparrow the same thing she’d just said to him. She nodded once, took the bag one of the men held out to her, then turned and started back to the house. The truck’s windows started back up slowly as it rolled away from the curb.

Justin stepped back to let Weeping Sparrow in. “Shut the door!” she scolded him. “What? You’re so rich you can afford to heat all outdoors?”

“Well, actually, ma’am....”

She wasn’t even listening to Justin. She’d begun again the process of shedding the many layers of clothing she wore against the cold night. She moved as she unwrapped her outerwear, heading for the living room and handing each item to Justin, who was trailing behind her. A scarf and shawl remained over her clothes as she settled into the comfiest chair by the fire, to warm up. She set the tote bag on the floor beside the chair.

Justin carefully laid the pile of clothing on a chair. “So, do we need to be on high alert, ma’am?” he asked, glancing a little nervously at Reg, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor sipping mulled wine.

“Has he done anything to you recently?” she asked.

Justin though for a second. “No.”

“Then, no. But it needs to be dealt with,” she replied.

Justin put the gun back into its place in the end table. Angie left her’s lying on the floor by her leg.

“Get me something warm to drink,” Weeping Sparrow said. Even though it was said in a soft tone and didn’t come out harshly, it was obviously a command from a woman who was used to having people obey on her. Even Aiden started to get up from his spot on the couch.

“Wine?” Justin asked tentatively.

“Tea,” she said, waving Aiden back to his seat.

“Just the tea?”

“A little whiskey wouldn’t hurt....”

Justin grinned as he headed out to the kitchen. Weeping Sparrow sat for a while, enjoying the heat from the fire. Karen sat quietly nearby, waiting in case she needed something else. Reg turned to study her, and Aiden and Angie watched the whole scene warily, Angie waiting for Reg to do something...weird, and Aiden waiting for another command from Weeping Sparrow.

Finally, just as Justin was bringing in her tea, Weeping Sparrow stood slightly and turned her chair to face Reg. “So, what have you been up to lately?” she demanded to know.

The others could see Reg start to stiffen. Though he’d acted completely like himself since he’d gotten back, he’d seemed more tense. They all chalked it up to his not being able to answer their, and his own, questions about where he’d been for those 7 months or how he’d finally gotten back to Detroit.

Now it was evident that the tension was from a low, slow-burning anger. Reg had a chip on his shoulder regarding his disappearance. The others had readily accepted his lack of answers and hadn’t pressed him on the issue. But he barely knew Weeping Sparrow, and he plainly bristled at her questioning him. It made him angry, and he had no idea why.

“Working...getting my life back in order,” he said tersely.

“There was that 7 months you were missing,” Justin mentioned as he set the tea down beside the old woman. Reg flashed a look at Justin telling him to shut up.

“You wear your darkness on the outside,” Weeping Sparrow told him gently.

“I suppose.”

“Do you know what you’ve done?” she asked.

“Not a clue.”

Weeping Sparrow sighed and shook her head. “I’ve sent the boys for what I need,” she started.

“Do you need salt?” Justin asked quickly. “We’ve got plenty.”

“This is way beyond salt,” Weeping Sparrow said. She turned her attention back to Reg. “This could be very painful, young man.”

“The 8-hour police interview after I turned back up wasn’t fun, either,” Reg told her.

“That will seem a walk in the park.”

“Will it involve a body cavity search?” Justin asked, trying to lighten the mood in the room.

“In a fashion,” Weeping Sparrow said.

“I’d enjoy that,” Angie laughed.

“Oh, now you’re making me excited,” Reg flirted with Angie, some of his old charm shining through.

“You have drawn the ire of something very powerful,” Weeping Sparrow told him, quite serious.

“Hmm, kinda like Harvey,” Justin mused. The others looked at him, then at Karen. She shook her head. It was a story for another time. They needed to concentrate on Reg for now.

Though she’d grown quiet, Weeping Sparrow continued to study Reg with great interest, thoughtfulness and an undercurrent of fear.

“Is there anything we should be preparing?” Justin asked, subconsciously picking up on her concern.

“Well, I’m assuming you have chains, stout rope...?” she replied.

“Yes...and duck tape.”

“Duct tape is good. People often underestimate its usefulness,” Weeping Sparrow said.

“Actually, 100-mile-per-hour tape,” Justin corrected himself.

“What? It moves on its own?” Weeping Sparrow asked, confused.

“No,” Justin told her. “It’s called that because they use it on race cars to hold pieces on if they start loosening. It can stay on tight even at 100 mph. They have ‘em for higher speeds, too.”

“So what happens if the car goes over that speed?” Angie asked. “Parts go flying off?”

“Not exactly. But the tape will start to peel up.”

“Actually, Essiban, I came because I think I have a ritual to cleanse your house,” Weeping Sparrow said to Karen.

“Seriously? ” Justin said, surprised. “I will owe you big time ”

Weeping Sparrow waved her hand. “One does for family.”

“I keep meaning to ask you if it would be possible for me to do a spirit quest sometime, you know, since I’m white and all,” Justin told her.

“Very white,” Weeping Sparrow said. “Whiter than white.” Karen stifled a laugh. It was ‘Indian’ humor, but Justin wouldn’t get it. He’d think she was laughing at him, and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“I dunno. I’ve heard people say that the Irish are the lightest white people there are,” Justin said, defending himself.

“I would have thought that was the Scandinavians,” Weeping Sparrow disagreed. “They have almost translucent hair.”

“Heck, their skin is almost translucent,” Karen agreed. But this was all beside the point. Justin was nervous about what was going to happen to Reg, and he was more than happy to talk about almost anything else.

Weeping Sparrow got them back on track. “But that ritual can wait, Essiban. Fixing your friend is more important.” She turned to look at Reg again. “Hmmm...where to begin,” she said, mostly to herself. “This would be easier if you were all bad,” she told Reg.

“I’m a complex man,” Reg said, the hint of anger coming through again, just beneath the humor.

“You are struggling to be a good man.”

“Most days,” Reg replied, though no reply was really necessary. It was true of them all to one degree or another.

Weeping Sparrow began rummaging through the tote bag. A moment later, she pulled out a bundle of sage. She held the tip of the bundle in the fire. When it was lit and smoking, she got up and began to smudge the room. She went to the four ‘directions’ and the four corners, then worked her way inwards until she was circling Reg again. She danced around him, waving the bundle; and all five Envoys could feel a tingling sensation, like the buzz of electricity just before or after lightning strikes nearby. Reg began to turn off all his gadgets, partly expecting that at any second a spark might blow a chip, and partly in deference to Weeping Sparrow’s known aversion to electronics. She had explained to them before that the energy from electronics and electrical wiring in general interfered with her ability to connect with the earth and the energy of nature.

She stopped suddenly, obviously frustrated. “I may have to take you back to the reservation. All the wiring here is interfering. But...I’ll try.” She sighed and pulled a small drum and drumstick from her bag. The drum was only about a foot across, and the head had a medicine wheel painted on it. A couple feathers were attached by leather thongs. She arranged the drum and sage bundle in one hand so that she could beat the drum and still carry the bundle at the same time. Then she resumed dancing around Reg, singing in a low voice as she moved.

But after a few more minutes, she stopped again and slumped back into her chair. “I’m going to have to wait for the boys.” Karen rose and came back a moment later with a shallow bowl. She held it out for Weeping Sparrow, who tamped out the smoldering sage bundle, then laid the bundle in the bowl. Karen set the bowl on the mantle.

“Any objections if I go to the bathroom?” Reg asked.

Weeping Sparrow studied him a moment. “Mmm, no.”

“Long as you aren’t smokin’ dope in there,” Karen teased him.

Angie watched him like a hawk as he got up and left the room. She had half a mind to follow him, to make sure he actually went to the bathroom and didn’t just bolt. But she figured the others would think she was as paranoid as Frank.

“I think we’ll need to arrange for your friend to apologize,” Weeping Sparrow said quietly to Karen.

“I assume he’ll know to whom?” Karen asked.

“Yes.”

“Here, or some other place?” Karen asked.

“There may be consequences,” Weeping Sparrow answered.

Karen nodded and thought for a minute.

“We could use that old warehouse on the riverfront,” Justin suggested. “There’s, what, one or two light bulbs in the whole place? It don’t even think it’s wired for a phone. That’s why we got it so cheap. I’m surprised no one else bought it and tore it down before we found it.”

Weeping Sparrow nodded her approval. “We’ll need candles...salt...bread...a bowl....”

Karen nodded. Weeping Sparrow had sent her guards for other, more specialized items. These were just the things she assumed Karen would have handy.

“A bowl?” Justin asked. The other things sounded like the stuff Karen usually needed to do a seance, but she’d never used a bowl as far as he could remember. “Is it a seance?”

“Yes,” Karen told him.

“One type,” Weeping Sparrow added.

“I’ll get the pack,” Justin told Karen. Just as Aiden had a couple med kits that he kept handy for emergencies, Justin had taken to creating pre-loaded packs, sort of like jump bags, for some of the various situations the team dealt with on a moment’s notice. There was the ‘zombi pack,’ the ‘vampire pack,’ the ‘were pack’...and the ‘seance pack,’ among others. And he kept one of each in each of their cars at all times, with spares in the basement, to trade out when one needed refilling. They’d found that vacuum sealers for food made packing the bags easier. All the bags, which were actually Army surplus ammo bags, had salt, each 1-pound box individually sealed in plastic, as well as protective herbs that Leigh had grown, preserved for when fresh ones weren’t readily available.

About an hour after Weeping Sparrow had come in the second time, there was a knock on the front door. This time, when Justin peered through the peep-hole, all he saw was the chest pockets and zipper of a Carhart jacket. The guy inside the jacket stooped a little and put his eye to the lens. Justin jerked back in surprise, then opened the door. Weeping Sparrow’s ‘boys’ were back. “You pick ‘em big,” Justin said, laughing, as he led the guys into the living room.

“I need mighty warriors to do my work,” Weeping Sparrow told him. The guys had beads in their hair and war paint on their faces, which weren’t there when Justin saw them in the truck earlier. They must have stopped somewhere and gotten into their ritual regalia while they were out. Weeping Sparrow tipped her head toward Reg, and the four men advanced on him, closing ranks around him. When they moved again, it was as a unit, with Reg in the center. They walked to the front door.

“Who’s riding where?” Justin asked. “You can ride with us, ma’am,” he said to Weeping Sparrow, “unless you need to ride with him.” He nodded at Reg.

“I think the five of us will all fit in the truck,” Karen suggested, indicating herself and Justin, Aiden, Angie and Weeping Sparrow with a wave of her hand.

“They will follow us,” Weeping Sparrow agreed, nodding at her four ‘boys’ and Reg.

The men were about to leave when Justin held up his hand. “Hold on a sec.” He went to the basement and came up a minute later with two hand-held wireless comm units. He handed one to one of the guys, in case they got separated by a light without Justin noticing. Weeping Sparrow made a face. She understood the usefulness of the things, but she didn’t have to like them.

Karen led Weeping Sparrow, Aiden and Angie out to the garage, and Justin followed after locking up the house. Aiden went out to the driveway and grabbed the med kit from his truck, and put it in the back end, next to the ‘seance pack.’ Weeping Sparrow climbed into the front passenger seat without comment, as if she had fully expected to sit there. Karen, Angie and Aiden climbed into the back seat. Justin backed the truck out and hit the button to close the garage door. As he passed the other pick-up, it rolled out behind him. They could all see that there was a really large bundle covered by a tarp in the bed of the other pick-up.

Justin led the other truck to an old warehouse along the river. The place was dark, inside and out. The only windows were high on the walls, and there were no lights on, not even above the door. While Justin, Aiden and Weeping Sparrow’s guards gathered their respective ‘luggage,’ Karen unlocked the door, mostly by feel, and let everyone in.

The floor of the old building was cement, but the walls were wood. Two rows of pillars down the length of the room held up the trusses. In one corner, near the big double-door, was a large tarp, which covered an old truck and a couple large bundles, things Justin had stashed there in case of an emergency. Weeping Sparrow pointed at a spot in the center of the floor, and the guards walked Reg over to it. He sat, then they went about setting up things like they had years of experience at their jobs.

Aiden and Angie were watching the preparations with interest while trying to stay out of the way. But no matter where they moved, they end up in Weeping Sparrow’s way, until finally they just went and sat near Reg.

It wasn’t long before Weeping Sparrow was pointing people to particular spots on the floor. As part of the preparations, she’d taken off most of her wraps and slipped a ceremonial dress made of deerskin over her clothes. The dress was heavily decorated with quill-work and beading, and it tinkled as she walked from the tin ‘jingles’ sewn around the hem.

She directed traffic from her spot on the floor, about 4 feet away from Reg, directly to the Northeast. First, she made Reg rotate slightly so he was facing her. Then, she sent Karen to sit opposite her, to the Southwest. Aiden and Angie were sent to finish the inner circle at the Southeast and Northwest. Aiden set the med kit beside him, where he could grab it without having to think, if he needed it.

Weeping Sparrow knew that Karen felt safer having Justin working ‘security’ outside the circle, so she simply nodded at him as he put the boxing wraps on his hands. But when Justin pulled the Taser from the seance pack, Weeping Sparrow turned and stared at him. “What is that? Take it out of here immediately ”

Justin shrugged and did as he was told. It hadn’t occurred to him that the charge in the Taser would bother her. He’d rather have used that on someone, if anyone got possessed, than punching them, just for their own safety. But it wasn’t his show. He put the Taser in the gun box in the truck and came back in quietly.

Weeping Sparrow’s four companions had already set their braziers at the four ‘directions’--North, South, East and West--four more feet beyond Weeping Sparrow’s circle. They were all dressed in deerskin breeches and loin cloths, and deerskin shirts with ornate beaded designs on the chest and sleeves. They lit the charcoal in the braziers, and one of the men set a fifth one, already lit, beside Weeping Sparrow.

When everyone was settled and the room quiet, Weeping Sparrow stood and began pacing around the room. Something was ‘off,’ and she couldn’t put her finger on what that was. On her fifth circuit, she stopped suddenly beside Aiden and leaned toward him. It looked to the others like she was sniffing him. She squatted down and whispered in his ear, “You must forgive her or all is lost.” Justin was out beyond the outer circle, and Angie was opposite Aiden with Reg in between. So of the other Envoys, only Karen, who was sitting ‘next to’ Aiden, heard what she’d said to him. Aiden looked stricken.

Weeping Sparrow rose and walked around to Angie. She squatted down again, and whispered to Angie, “You must forgive yourself or you will lose everything that matters to you.” This time both Karen and Justin heard what Weeping Sparrow said. Justin was able to surmise what she’d said to Aiden; and this just confirmed what the two already suspected, that there was trouble between the couple over Angie having chosen to abort the baby. Angie’s face set in that stubborn Marine look that she usually wore when someone told her something she wasn’t ready to hear. Frank would have recognized it immediately, since he’d seen it so often.

Weeping Sparrow returned to her spot and sat, looking expectantly from Aiden to Angie and back, like she was waiting for them to do something. Aiden, looking like a kicked puppy, gazed over at Angie. Angie scowled and stared back at Aiden. They looked at one another for what seemed like hours to them, but was only about a minute. Finally Angie dropped her eyes first. Aiden sighed, and they both looked over at Weeping Sparrow. She rolled her eyes in that ‘Hunh Kids!’ look, then shook her head as if to say, ‘Well, I guess this is the best I’m going to get.’

She leaned to pick up the bowl Karen had given her and the ceremonial knife she’d brought. Justin suddenly recognized the bowl. He’d noticed it in Karen’s curio cabinet the first time he ever went over to her condo, a clay bowl with an unusual design incised on the inside, and totems painted on the outside. It was one of the things Karen had been most careful with when they’d packed to move to their house after the wedding. So this was what it was for.

Weeping Sparrow stood, walked over to Reg, and knelt down in front of him. She set the bowl on the floor, and gripped his left hand with her own, drawing it out and over the bowl. “This will hurt,” she told Reg. “You must want this more than anything. The dead are thirsty.”

Without warning, she slashed the knife across Reg’s palm, her practiced movement cutting deep but not so deep that she hit tendons or bone. The blood flowed quickly, falling in large drops into the bowl below.

Aiden leapt to his feet and grabbed the med kit. But before he could cross the four feet to Reg, Weeping Sparrow raised her right hand to stop him. She concentrated, squeezing Reg’s hand until the bottom of the bowl was covered with his blood. Then she rocked back onto her heels, stood and gave Aiden a slight nod.

Aiden moved in and set the kit on the floor. He opened it and began pulling out supplies without even having to look. He knew exactly what he needed and exactly where it was. In a few minutes, he had Reg’s hand cleaned, disinfected and held shut with a couple quick, tiny stitches and some liquid bandage.

Reg never moved. He was terrified, and frozen in place by his fear. Justin paced nervously around the outside of the circle. He trusted that Weeping Sparrow knew what she was doing. But this was totally different from what Karen did in a seance.

When Aiden finished, he closed the kit and moved back to his seat. Weeping Sparrow knelt back down in front of Reg and captured his eyes with her own. “Do you wish to continue?” She asked him quietly. Reg’s head made a very slight nod. It was all the movement his body could manage at the moment.

Weeping Sparrow went back to her seat, leaving the bowl of blood on the floor in front of Reg. When she’d gotten settled, she began to chant. As if on cue, her four assistants began drumming, joining their voices to hers in response.

The Envoys could feel the power rising, swirling around them, channeled by the circle and the song and Weeping Sparrow's Art. Justin stopped moving, taking a hunter-like position just outside the circle between ‘South’ and ‘West,’ where he could see everything that happened and hit Reg in a split second if he needed to without endangering anyone else. They had no idea how long the chanting continued.

Suddenly, the drums and singing stopped, and the already cold air got even colder. They could all see their own breath in the flickering light from the braziers. But as the humid, frozen air of Reg’s breath rose in front of him, it began to coalesce into a vaguely man-like shape. The smoky figure knelt in front of Reg, leaning towards him, right about where Weeping Sparrow had been moments...or hours...before.

Only Reg could see Ramon’s face in the icy mist, his eyes boring into Reg’s.

Weeping Sparrow whispered to Reg, “Speak. You know what to say.” The power of the words carried them to the ears of each of the Envoys, though the old woman’s voice was so quiet none of them should have been able to hear her.

Reg’s mouth opened, but for what seemed like an eternity not a sound came out. Reg was absolutely and utterly terrified.

Then, in a whisper, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into this. I don’t know what happened." He paused, searching Ramon's face. "Forgive me?” he pleaded.

The figure leaned closer to Reg, it’s face meeting his, and kissed him. Reg’s lips froze, and he heard very faintly, like a song carried on a breeze from afar, “I forgive you.”

And again, all the words, which otherwise could not have been heard, were carried to the ears of the others by some unfelt wind.

The mist dissipated, and in an instant the temperature returned to its previous, normal cold. It was about a half-hour past midnight. Reg gasped for breath, his face wet with tears he couldn’t remember shedding. And he felt like it was probably a good thing he’d gone to the bathroom before leaving the house or he would’ve regretted not having done so. He also felt like a 2000-pound weight had been lifted from his back.

While the others wiped away their own tears, Weeping Sparrow’s assistants began collecting the equipment, packing it and carrying it to the truck. Although it was very dark, none of the four so much as stubbed a toe, as though they were used to working without much light.

Weeping Sparrow removed the ceremonial dress and wrapped back up in her robes and shawls and scarves. Aiden and Justin helped Reg up from the floor, then stood on either side of him in case he needed help walking. “We’ll still need to purify your body,” Weeping Sparrow told him, “to purge what remains within. You won’t like that, either.”

“Are we talking sweat lodge?” Justin asked.

“Purgatives.” Weeping Sparrow said bluntly.

Justin glanced over at Aiden, then sidled over to Weeping Sparrow and asked, “Ma’am, do you mean that he...ate...?” Weeping Sparrow nodded. So...that’s what happened to Ramon.

In spite of the fact that Justin had been trying hard to whisper, Reg heard the question, and he saw the response. Strange, he couldn’t remember doing it. His knees buckled as his brain overloaded with the sudden, horrible understanding.

And Aiden, with his usual casual grace, stepped in and caught Reg before he could hit the floor.

Weeping Sparrow had just straightened up after having pulled a few herb packets from her bag. She’d been planning to hand them to Reg. Instead she handed them to Aiden, and both nodded. “Now...I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry,” she said. “Pancakes?” Karen grinned and nodded agreement.

“So, I’m taking him where?” Aiden asked, adjusting his hold on Reg’s limp body. Justin came over and took some of the weight off Aiden. Reg had lost a lot of weight during his absence, but unconscious bodies always seemed to weigh a ton. “I mean, I can take him to my place....”

“We have plenty of room,” Karen said. “In fact, we’ve got plenty of room for everyone ” Their house had nine bedrooms, though not all of them were used strictly for that purpose. It was one of the many things Karen loved about the place.

Aiden and Justin got Reg into the back seat of the truck, with Aiden and Angie on either side of him to support him on the ride home. Weeping Sparrow and her ‘boys’ followed in their truck.

While Weeping Sparrow bustled around the kitchen fixing enough pancakes for an army, Karen got rooms ready for everyone. Weeping Sparrow always stayed in what had originally been a small first-floor parlor. The room was in a front corner of the house, just off the entryway, putting her as far from the living room as possible while still as close to the earth as she could get without being in the basement. They kept the room free of electrical and electronic devices, and had low-tech amenities like an oil lamp and wind-up alarm clock, if she needed them.

The body guards only needed three beds, since one of them would be sitting in a chair outside the door to Weeping Sparrow’s room at all times, once she retired. Justin offered them free use of the video game units and the TV if they wanted to watch anything, but they politely declined. “When you’re working for the ‘Wise Mother,’” one explained, using the Ojibway honorific for Weeping Sparrow, “you’re ‘on’ 24/7. It’s a great honor.”

Though he said it with a straight face, Justin wasn’t sure if the guy was serious, or just saying it in case Weeping Sparrow could hear him. Because to Justin it seemed like a lot of fuss over one person. “I suppose she is a very great woman,” he agreed.

“She is a very...wise woman,” the guy replied enigmatically.

Angie had a room to herself, since Aiden insisted on nursing Reg through what was to become a very long night. Aiden got Reg’s limp body undressed, while Justin drew a warm bath for him, adding some of Karen’s lavender ‘bath beads.’ Then Justin stayed with Reg while Aiden had some pancakes. When Aiden came back up, the two men eased Reg into the tub and Justin joined the others downstairs.

It was almost 2am by the time everyone had eaten, and Weeping Sparrow, Angie and three of the body guards headed off to bed. The fourth took the first shift outside Weeping Sparrow’s door. The next one would be down in a couple hours to relieve him. Justin and Karen cleaned up the kitchen before going to bed themselves.

Reg woke in a warm fragrant bath, with Aiden sitting on the edge of the tub reading a book. “Hi, cutey,” he said to Aiden, grinning.

“I didn’t want you to slip under and drown,” Aiden said, handing Reg a bath sheet. He held Reg’s arm to steady him as he stepped out of the tub. When Reg had toweled off, Aiden handed him a packet of what looked like wood shavings and smelled like tar. “You need to eat this.”

“Uh...yum?” Reg wrinkled him nose.

“And you can wash it down with this.” Aiden handed Reg a cup of what looked and smelled like pond scum. The house was quiet about a half-hour later, when the vomiting started. Every time Reg thought nothing more could possibly come up, he found himself on the floor with his head hanging over the toilet again. And after an hour and a half of that, just when he felt ready to collapse on the tile floor, the diarrhea started.

Justin was just about to get undressed when the sound of Reg starting to throw up made him think of something. “I’ll be back in a little while. Don’t bother to wait up for me,” he told Karen. He gave her a kiss then headed downstairs quietly, grabbing his coat on his way out the back door to the garage. He was still a little wired from the events of the evening, and he’d had a funny idea. He wanted to get some cards to slip under the bathroom door for Reg, to cheer him up. He came back about 20 minutes later with a few cards: Get Well Soon!, Hope You’re Feeling Better!, We Love You!, and Congratulations on A Job Well Done!

Aiden was there through it all, cleaning up Reg and the bathroom each time something missed its target. Making sure the bath water was hot and ready for Reg. And when Reg lifted his head from his knees, Aiden was there pressing a bottle of Gatorade into his hands, urging him to replace the fluids he was losing. Then he helped Reg back into the tub and fed him more of the wood shavings and pond scum.

Justin slipped the first card under the bathroom door, and Aiden handed it to Reg. He got a good laugh before he nodded off. A half hour later, the whole process started over again.

It was a good thing that Aiden was there to care for Reg, because by halfway through the second round, Reg was very lightheaded and having a hard time moving under his own power. The second card lifted his spirits, but laughing hurt his sore ribs and ab muscles.

By five hours into the ordeal, Reg was hallucinating. He managed to nap a little whenever he was soaking in the tub, and Aiden had to catch him a couple times before his chin slipped below the waterline.

The hallucinations involved plane crashes and sandy beaches, and being super, super starving, and then being not quite as starving. Even Reg’s subconscious couldn’t actually recall the horrific act of him eating his lover. But from the glimpses of scenes and snatches of conversation in the hallucinations, he pieced together the fact that he managed to hold out a long time before resorting to that sickening act. And that he didn’t kill Ramon in order to eat him, that Ramon died as a result of the crash.

He could still hear Ramon’s voice... “It’s alright, cada mia. I forgive you.”

“Sure,” Reg retorted. “It was you who made me go see that horrid movie about the soccer team that crashes in the Andes....”

“Alive,” Ramon reminded him.

“Right! All because you thought some of the guys in it were CUTE!”

Reg wondered how the third card got delivered to him on a desert island. It was amazing how advanced card-design was these days. It was just a short time ago that they’d started putting MP3 chips into cards, so they’d play music when you opened them. Now they’d managed to animate the images on the front! Had he really been lost for that long?

“So, who’s that from, cada mia? Another one of your lovers?” Ramon asked him, looking over his shoulder at the card. “Ah! So you have a three-some with this couple, eh? I should have known when I met them in Cancun! Why did you not invite them to our room as well?”

Aiden held the bottle of Gatorade to Reg’s lips and tipped it up slowly. “And I met this one there, too, didn’t I? The one who is so fond of making you drink Gatorade? The trip would have been much more fun if you’d invited HIM to our room!”

Finally, Reg fell into a peaceful sleep in the tub, undisturbed by bodily functions and hallucinations. When he woke, he felt purged. Definitely. In fact, he felt like there was nothing inside, not even the organs that were supposed to be there. This time, when Aiden handed him the Gatorade, he drank it eagerly.

Weeping Sparrow had a good night’s sleep. When she woke shortly after dawn, she wrapped a robe around herself and shuffled upstairs to the bathroom Reg was in. She knocked lightly and Aiden let her in. She looked Reg over as he sat on the edge of the tub wrapped in a towel. She sniffed him. “OK. Eat and drink normally for a week. Then you must do this again. Then, normal diet again for another week. Repeat this until the moon is new again. I think, in the end, you will find you can sleep...and your dreams may be less painful.” She left the room to take care of her own morning toilette.

A few minutes later, as Reg buttoned the clean shirt Aiden had helped him put on, another card appeared on the floor just inside the door. Reg laughed out loud when he read the card: Congratulations! And inside: On a Job Well Done! He pulled the door open and found Justin outside it. Justin wrapped his arms around Reg in a big but gentle hug. Reg felt fragile, like the wind could blow right through him. He was pretty lean now, but that was from something else blowing through him.

“You should’a told us you were hurtin’,” Justin said. “We’d’ve stood behind you...even if we had to shoot you.” He grinned.

Reg smiled back. “I didn’t really know I was hurting. There were the dreams. I knew I was dreaming but I woke up without really knowing what they were about.”

“So you were hurting, but you didn’t know how.”

“Yeah,”

From downstairs, they could smell bacon frying and...oatmeal. In the kitchen, Karen stirred a large pot of oatmeal beside Weeping Sparrow, who tended a griddle covered with strips of bacon. “Well, Essiban,” Weeping Sparrow said, “I will need to rest up for a few days. And then we’ll get to work on that house of yours. In the meantime, I will try not to make too much of a mess in the kitchen.” The two women laughed as the others began crowding in, looking for juice, fruit and whatever else they could work on until the eggs, bacon and oatmeal were ready.

Once Edward’s funeral was over and Karen’s mom was back at home, Leigh went out to the west coast to visit Reg and his nieces. This wasn’t the first time she’d been out there since Claire had her breakdown, but she was surprised to find that Claire was still dependant on drugs and alcohol to get through the day. It was good that one of the first things Reg had done was to hire a “nanny” to help with the girls. The woman just ‘happened’ to be a certified psychiatric nurse, since it wasn’t so much the girls who needed help, it was Claire.

Halloween came and went without incident, for a change. Justin was spending some of his free time putting together more ‘expendable’ vehicles of various types, so the team would have whatever they might need at hand. The ambulance had come in handy, and it wasn’t the first time they’d wanted a specialized vehicle while working on a ‘case.’ He had plenty of garage space for storing them anyway. He also got the last of Gary’s ambulances tuned to perfection, and even donated an additional one, more for the ‘warm fuzzies’ than the tax write-off, though that would certainly be nice.

It came as a bit of a surprise when, during one of the team’s bull sessions shortly after Leigh and Reg came back to Detroit in mid-November, Frank announced that he would be retiring from the DHS. “I need a break from shooting people...and things that look like people,” he told them. But the bigger surprise was when he told them what he planned to do with all his extra time. “I’m getting an RV, and I’m going to see the country. So, Terri, got any time coming? Think you’d be able to take a leave of absence?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I took any time off,” Terri said. “Since Cancun, in fact. And you remember how well THAT went. But, I’ll see what I can do. I’ve certainly got the vacation days stacked up.”

“Wait.... How old are you guys again?” Karen snorted.

“If you let me have the RV when you get it, I can do some ‘modifications’ on it that I’ve found useful on my own cars,” Justin said.

“Like what?” Frank asked with a little trepidation.

“Well, aside from tweaking the engine, brakes, tranny, and so on, to make sure everything’s in top condition, I was mainly thinking hidden compartments or safes for storing weapons or for safe-guarding valuables. I could probably even put in a ‘safe room,’ depending on how big it is.”

“Hey, speaking of weapons,” Karen said, “they had this great thing on Mythbusters last week. It was this big gun, a...um...”

“50 caliber chain gun,” Justin interjected.

“Yeah! That’s it! It was awesome! They were testing the old saying about shooting fish in a barrel, and they used the chain gun to shoot up a 55-gallon drum with a fish inside....”

“It was pretty cool. The thing looked like lace when they got done with it,” Justin added.

“Yeah! You could mount one of those on the top of the camper!” Karen finished, laughing.

“Uh...no,” Frank and Terri said in unison.

“By the way, since we are on the subject of shooting things,” Justin said. “Is anyone else interested in going out hunting? We’ve got some property not too far north. I’d be happy to set up another blind or two if anyone else wants to go.”

“What are we allowed to use?” Angie asked.

“Crossbow?” Frank asked.

“Bow season’s over,” Justin replied. “And crossbows are illegal unless you have some physical handicap which prevents you from using a regular bow.”

“If it were mental handicaps, pretty much all of us would qualify,” Karen said. The others laughed.

“Well, you know that’s not my thing,” Aiden told them.

“Mine either,” Karen said. “I prefer to get my venison from the freezer, already cut into steaks.”

“Actually, I was thinking just me and a knife up in a tree,” Angie told Justin. “Anything else isn’t really sporting.”

“I’m not really sure if you can do that,” Justin said. “It’ll be firearm season. You can use a rifle in the UP and the upper half of the Lower Peninsula, or a shotgun, either smooth-bore or with a slug barrel, in the lower half. I don’t think you can use anything else for the actual hunting, although a lot of guys carry a handgun in case they have to do a put-down shot.”

“Well, count me in,” Frank told him.

Everyone had been invited to Cathy’s for Thanksgiving, and this year she went all-out, with a home-cooked meal with all the trimmings. Justin and Karen spent the whole afternoon and evening there after taking Mary and Eric to see the parade with Marie and Olivia. All the Envoys stopped by at some point during the afternoon, more to give Cathy a hug than for the food. She’d been seeing Frank once a week, to help her deal with all the recent changes in her life. But it didn’t hurt for her to know that she had a lot of friends who were looking out for her, other people she could lean on besides her family if she needed a hand with anything.

Frank let everyone know that he would still be available for counseling while he and Terri were away on their trip. He was having Justin mount a satellite dish on the RV, and he would be able to do sessions either by phone or with video conferencing if someone wanted it. But they wouldn’t be leaving until after New Year’s anyway. The Chief was happy to let Terri take some time off, but she wanted Terri’s cases and paperwork squared away before she left.

By the end of November, everyone on the team had all the venison they could use in their freezers. Justin and Frank decided it would be fine if they didn’t get up really early on Thursday morning to hunt again, so everyone but Terri was over at Aiden and Angie’s place, relaxing, drinking and shooting the shit. The hospital had finally cleared Aiden to come back to work, and he would be back on the rotation starting Sunday. Of course, what his bosses at the hospital didn’t know was that Aiden had already been doing volunteer work at a couple clinics in the ‘burbs to keep from going stir-crazy. And since the clinics never had enough help to begin with, they weren’t about to dig too deeply when Aiden gave them his own credentials under an assumed name.

“I suppose we’d pretty much have to duck-tape Aiden to the wall to keep him from working,” Justin said.

“There are better things than duct tape, if you want to attach somebody to the wall, like slings,” Reg snickered. Angie, Reg and Leigh started joking around about using various sexual aids, including the slings.

“But...I thought those things were only in ads in porno mags,” Justin stammered. “I didn’t think they were REAL.”

“Well, if they print ads for them, someone must make them,” Leigh told him.

“Actually, I was thinking of giving Aiden and Angie one as a gift,” Reg laughed.

“Isn’t that cute...Justin’s blushing,” Leigh pointed out. This only made Justin turn redder.

“So, Karen...what did I prescribe for Justin? Has he been taking the right dosage?” Frank asked. The others laughed. Most of them had been drinking for several hours, though they hadn’t really gone through as much alcohol as one might think. Even the ones with more affection for it tried to hold back, since they never really knew when the Unknown would come calling. But the liquor, and the companionship and relative safety of being together, tended to loosen them up and allowed them to be silly for a little while.

“Nope. Getting shot just helped to blow the stick out of my ass,” Justin retorted.

“So! You guys ARE getting some use out of that book I gave you for your wedding!” Reg said, giving Justin a friendly punch on the shoulder.

“Whoa! TMI! TMI!” Angie shouted, covering her ears.

Now it was Karen’s turn to blush. “So, has anyone else been watching CJ’s newest show, Pushing Daisies?” she asked, hurriedly changing the subject.
“It’s a clever idea,” Aiden replied. “And the colors look great in high-def.”

“Yeah. She’s been pretty busy out there in la-la-land,” Justin said. “But Karen makes a point of touching base with her every once in a while.”

“Still no word about Ramon?” Karen asked, looking at both Frank and Reg, who kept a lot of bots employed searching for any word of him.

“No,” Frank said. Reg just sighed.

“Ya know, I don’t believe you’ve officially retired,” Aiden said. “I think this is just a con, to get you out of Detroit to work on things other places.”

“I really AM retired,” Frank insisted. “And while I won’t rule out the chance that I’ll end up calling the team out on a job if Terri and I run into something, this really IS supposed to be a vacation for both of us.”

“Yeah, and it’s leading to me getting yet another new boss,” Angie complained, “since my current one is taking a leave of absence.”

“Well, at least you aren’t having to work for me anymore,” Frank teased her.

“I kinda liked it,” Angie said, but not too loudly.

Aiden poked her in the side. “Don’t tell him that, or we’ll never hear the end of it!”

“Maybe you’ll end up working for one of Justin’s relatives,” Frank suggested.

“Could happen,” Justin agreed. “There are plenty of ‘em in the department. ‘Course, it means you’re working with a bunch of Polacks....”

“Hey, it’s not my fault if they blow themselves up because they still can’t defuse a bomb properly even after I teach them how,” Angie said.

“Personally, I still prefer the ‘shotgun’ method of defusing bombs,” Frank told her.

“Hah! That’s cheating!” Angie argued. “So, anyway...why aren’t you making an honest woman of Terri?”

“Hmmm,” Frank said, picking up Angie’s right hand and shaking it. “Pot, meet Kettle. “Kettle, Pot. I don’t think I’d talk if I were you.” This time Angie started to blush slightly, though she managed to control it better than Justin, Karen, or Aiden could.

“What? Hasn’t Angie been working on that?” Reg asked.

“Well, they did buy the condo together,” Leigh pointed out.

“Oh! Was that supposed to be for Aiden’s benefit?” Frank asked Angie. “Sorry.”

“Like she’d say ‘yes’ this time,” Aiden complained. “It’s not like I haven’t tried.”

Angie was bright red by now. She stood up abruptly, and grabbed the back of the couch, wavering a bit. She would’ve stomped off to the bathroom, but she was obviously a little too wobbly for that. So it was more like she stalked off, stiffly and deliberately. She didn’t slam the door behind herself, either, but closed it carefully, like loud noise would make her head explode.

At first, no one had a second thought about Angie going to the bathroom.

“Since I found out that I start back to work on Sunday, since my ‘ulcer’ is healed,” Aiden said, flicking ‘quote marks’ with his fingers when he said “ulcer,” “we’ve been enjoying the last of my time off as much as possible.” He paused, as if struck by a sudden thought. “Shoot, now who’ll I get to sign off when I need a second doctor’s signature on something?” he asked Frank.

“At least that’ll make it harder for you to commit any of us,” Karen snorted.

“Not really,” Frank said smugly. “I can still do it from wherever I am. All I need to do is go to a notary public.”

“Shit.”

“Ya know, I’ve been thinking about buying a scrapyard,” Justin said out of the blue.

“Why?!” Leigh asked.

“So I have all the junked vehicles to choose from if we ever need a ‘throw-away’ car,” Justin told her. The plan actually made a lot of sense.

“Cool! We could have the coolest junkyard dog ever!” Karen exclaimed. “Cerberus! Or...a Hydra!” The others looked at her like maybe she should be cut off.

“No, I was thinking a Bernese Mountain Dog crossed with a Rottweiler,” Justin disagreed. “It’d be big and very territorial.”

“Like Angie,” Frank said, feeling safe enough since she hadn’t come out of the bathroom yet.

“Hey! Are you calling my girlfriend a dog?” Aiden said with mock anger.

“She IS a Marine,” Justin told him.

“And isn’t the Marine mascot a bulldog or something like that?” Leigh asked.
“I think they’re called Devil Dogs,” Karen said.

“Yeah, well....” Aiden conceded. He looked around, realizing that Angie had been in the bathroom a really long time. “Hey, Honey....” He hollered loud enough that she should have been able to hear him through the door. No response. Aiden went over to the bathroom door and leaned his ear against it. “Honey?” He knocked lightly. “Angie?” Still no response. He turned the knob. The door was unlocked, so he opened it a crack. “Are you OK?” The others didn’t hear anything, but Aiden must’ve gotten some kind of a response because he slipped inside and shut the door behind him.

The others were a little surprised that Angie was that wasted. Being a former Marine, she had always held her liquor pretty well, especially for such a petite woman. Justin was acting pretty well-lubed, too, though he actually hadn’t drank too much. The case of Sam Adams on the floor next to his chair was still more than half full. Justin tended to nurse each bottle. But when he was sitting around drinking with friends, he felt freer to let loose. Karen didn’t drink much, but her Irish background allowed her to hold it pretty well. Mainly, she’d learned early on what her limits were (still pretty high in spite of being 33-years-old), and she always kept track of just how much she’d had. That way, she was fully prepared for the consequences if she went over her limit, because she was perfectly aware she was doing it.

Frank held his liquor well, but he was another one that never drank as much as it looked like he was drinking. The others figured that was partly his military and law enforcement training, and partly his paranoia not letting him get in a position where he might lose control. Leigh, having come from a culture where alcohol was treated as just another type of beverage, with it’s own proper place and use, knew that she didn’t have the stamina for drinking heavily; so she tended to stay away from drinking. When she did drink, she was careful with her consumption.

The suspense was finally too much for Justin. He got up and went over to the bathroom door, pounded on it and asked loudly, “Need another beer?”

Aiden opened the door. “I think not,” he answered. The door opened further to allow him to come out, with Angie leaning heavily on him, more sedate and much greyer than when she’d gone in.

“Need some coffee?” Frank asked, standing in case Aiden needed any help with her.

“No...tea....” Angie whispered. Leigh headed into the kitchen to fix it.

Aiden helped Angie sit back down onto the couch. She sat there silently counting on her fingers, over and over. She got an alarmed look on her face, then bolted for the bathroom again, brushing past Leigh, who was just bringing in a cup of herbal tea. Leigh managed to hang onto the cup and saucer, though the spoon hit the tile and clattered back into the kitchen. She took the cup to the coffee table.

“I’ll go check on the patient,” Frank said, standing and heading for the bathroom. Justin and Karen exchanged glances then looked up at Leigh, who raised an eyebrow, the truth having dawned on her as well. Aiden was completely clueless.

“It doesn’t always happen in the morning, ya know” Justin told Aiden.

Aiden’s eyes got wide as he finally realized.... “But we....”

“99%. And that 1% is all it takes, dude,” Justin said.

“But...but we’ve been...both of us...” Aiden stammered.

Leigh went back to the kitchen for mineral water. She’d always trusted the minerals and the carbonation to settle upset stomachs, no matter what the cause.

As she got to the bathroom door with the water, Justin suggested, “Maybe you should do a Sphere...you know, just to make sure Babythulu didn’t find some way of hiding out.” Leigh knocked lightly and passed the bottle in to Frank. She raised a Sphere, and also did a Mental Shield for good measure.

Angie sat on the toilet drinking the mineral water, occasionally stopping to put her head between her knees and take a few deep breaths to keep from throwing up.

Aiden stuck his head in the door. “You gonna be OK?” Angie had no answer for him right then. He went in and knelt on the floor beside her. Frank stayed put.

“Oh, in about 7 to 9 months,” Justin said from the other room. Angie grimaced. If she’d had the energy just then, she’d have gone out there and punched Justin’s lights out.

“Justin, why don’t you go get more beer?” Frank suggested.

Justin looked down at the half-full case next to his chair. Karen and Reg started cracking up.

A moment later, Justin heard Frank’s voice inside his head, “...and a pregnancy test.”

“Oh! Right!” Justin said aloud, not thinking about the fact that no one else heard Frank’s comment. He got up and grabbed his coat.

Reg got up too and went to the bathroom door, which Aiden had left open. “You’re going to have to stop drinking, you know,” he suggested quietly.

“Oh, yeah. No beer for her,” Karen said to Justin as he was heading out the door. Frank grinned. He couldn’t say it himself because he was within arm’s reach of Angie.

Angie glared up at Reg. “You’d be dead and burned to a crisp right now, if I had my way,” she whispered back at him.
Justin came back about 15 minutes later carrying a bag full of little boxes. He knew exactly where there was a Rite-Aid, about halfway between the condo and the hospital. But he had no idea what sort of pregnancy test to get.

Frank met Justin at the bathroom door to get the test, and raised one eyebrow when Justin handed him the bag. “Sorry. I didn’t know which one to get, so I got one of each, plus a couple of the ones that looked better,” he told Frank.

Frank took a handful of them from the bag, turned and set them on the bathroom counter. “Justin got these for you,” he told Angie. Justin backed away from the doorway, stammering, “Hey! It wasn’t my...it was...Frank told me....”

Aiden and Angie looked up at Frank and Justin with that ‘deer in the headlights’ look on their faces. Aiden had been on his knees directly in front of Angie, holding both her hands in his and looking into her eyes.

“Oh, God! Did I just interrupt a proposal? I’m so sorry!” Justin squeaked out. Frank stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door behind himself.

“Proposals never happen like you’d wish them to,” Leigh said, patting Justin on the shoulder, trying to make him feel better about the interruption. “How did you propose to Karen?”

“In the truck, on our way to see CJ in Toledo General Hospital,” Karen laughed, joining them.

“This was before most of you had joined the ‘team,’” Justin said. “CJ crashed on 75. She swerved to miss a guy in the road, only it wasn’t a guy. We were never exactly sure what it was, but we think maybe a zombi. We’d just started trying to deal with the Zombi Master at the time....”

“We were supposed to have dinner at his sister’s,” Karen went on, pointing at Justin, “and he’d had to call and tell her we couldn’t make it. It was the third time, I think, that we’d had to bail. The speculation among all his family and friends was that I was corrupting him, that I’d dragged him off to Vegas to get married and that was why he was avoiding his sister.” Karen grinned.

“I was trying to ask Marie if she still had our mom’s engagement ring, ‘cause I wanted to give it to Karen when I proposed,” Justin continued the story. “And, of course, Karen couldn’t help but overhear, and she asked what I was going on about, when I got off the phone. I told her that, in spite of what Jerry had been saying about Vegas, I wanted to do it right. ‘Vegas would be fine for the honeymoon,’ I said.”

“And I, of course, asked, ‘What honeymoon?’” Karen picked up the story again. “‘Ours, when you say you’ll marry me,’ Justin said. I must’ve been grinning like an idiot, because then he asked, ‘You will, won’t you?’ ‘Of course,’ I told him. Then, at least, I wasn’t the only one in the truck grinning like an idiot. But he asked me again when we finally got to his sister’s about 10 o’clock that night, down on one knee, with his mom’s engagement ring. And I said ‘yes’ again.”
Justin grinned and squeezed Karen against his side. When he realized that they hadn’t heard anything from the bathroom yet, he said, “Um, most of the tests seemed to take 5 minutes or less. Some take as little as 30 seconds.”

“I’d stay away from the door, if I were you,” Frank said, going back to his chair and leaving Justin, Karen and Leigh standing there in front of the closed door, “in case small projectiles come flying out.”

“You mean like Aiden?” Justin asked, laughing, as he and Karen went back to the living room and picked up their beers. Reg got up and followed Leigh into the kitchen. Whatever the results, Leigh figured that it might be good for everyone to have a little something to eat, either to celebrate or commiserate. Besides which, it wasn’t good for them to drink so much on empty stomachs.

About five minutes later, they heard a male-ish, jubilant ‘Yip’ and a female-ish groan from the bathroom. Ten minutes later, Aiden finally emerged. After closing the door carefully behind himself, he turned to find four expectant faces staring at him. Only Reg knew what the answer was already, because he’d ‘read’ Angie’s emotions. “Congrats!” he smiled. Aiden nodded, and the others crowded around, Frank and Justin to shake his hand and Leigh and Karen to hug him.

But Aiden looked more bemused than happy. He shrugged in response to the curious looks. “This may not be the right time for her to be.... We’re...kinda working that out right now. It’ll be up to her. Maybe we should go out somewhere for a while....”

“Food?” Justin asked eagerly.

Aiden brightened up, then noticed all the finger food Leigh had fixed sitting nicely on trays in the kitchen. “Let’s give Angie a little privacy,” he said, starting to put the food in the ‘fridge.

“Shouldn’t she be having it with you?” Justin asked, snagging a cream cheese roll-up from a tray.

“I think she’s had enough of THAT,” Karen suggested, grabbing a roll-up for herself. Everyone laughed.

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Justin mumbled around the food in his mouth, hugging Karen from behind.

“Actually, I was looking for some place with alcohol,” Aiden told them.

“So, some place with food AND drink,” Justin said. “How ‘bout a pub?”

While the others got their coats, Frank slipped a note under the bathroom door. “Call if you need to talk. F.”

“Hey, why don’t you call Terri?” Aiden asked as they headed down to their cars.
Frank opened his phone and hit the speed dialer. Terri picked up on the second ring. “Worth.”

“And such a lovely voice, too,” Frank teased her.

“All I had to do was tell them I wanted a little time off, and the paperwork started multiplying,” she complained. It was well past her normal quitting time.

“Can you get out?” Frank asked.

“Yeah. Just give me a little time to finish this up.”

“Great. Meet us at O’Malley’s,” Frank told her. It was a little corner pub, one of the places the team frequented, where they knew they could talk without everyone in the place trying to listen in on their conversations. They still used code words for certain things, but they could almost pretend they were regular people when they were there.

Mary, one of the many children of the ‘O’Malley’ on the door, was tending bar. It was past the time the kitchen normally shut down, but she took pity on this group of regulars and had the cook make up a few platters of appetizers and burgers before he finished cleaning the grill and fryer. But mostly the group was interested in drinking.

“What does it mean when you ask a girl to marry you and she says ‘I don’t know’?” Aiden asked plaintively.

“It means she’s being honest,” Justin answered.

“And that she’s Angie,” Leigh added.

“Last time she said ‘Not now,’” Aiden told them.

“So it’s a step up,” Frank said with a grin. “This is another in a line of paradigm shifts she’s had to deal with lately.”

“She just needs a little time to wrap her head around it,” Leigh told him, patting him on the arm.

“Am I a pig for wanting to be a father?” Aiden asked. “I mean, I’d carry it for her if I could....”

“Now, there’s something that’s get you in the record books,” Karen laughed.

“Anybody else want to play a little darts?” Justin asked.

“Ooo, I do, I do!” Karen said, getting up and heading for the nearest board. She’d never been overly interested in athletics, but she’d grown up playing darts. Her parents had a regulation board in the basement, and had even set up another cheap board, hung lower and with the toe line closer, for the kids, until they were old enough to play on the ‘adult’ board. Aiden was busy drinking, and Leigh was happy sitting next to Reg, holding his hand and drinking.

“This is probably one of the most beer-belly-friendly sports I can think of,” Justin commented as he stepped up to the toe line with his darts.

“Mm-Hmm. And horseshoes,” Karen agreed. “Except I suppose that a beer-belly might kind of get in the way of swinging your arm.” She mimicked tossing a horseshoe. Everyone could think of one or two sports that didn’t require a player to be in top physical condition in order to be competitive. Reg seemed very relaxed, slumped back in his chair, and every once in a while, he got a far-away look on his face.

“Are you OK?” Leigh asked one of those times. She thought maybe he was tired and not really interested in being out at the pub.

“I’m ‘reading’ Angie,” he told Leigh. “Since we left one of our own alone, I’ve been checking up on her, to make sure she’s OK. She is, by the way.”

“Don’t tell her that, or she’ll kill you,” Frank said.

“She might actually get away with it, as long as she’s still in the first couple trimesters,” Justin commented from the toe line.

“Pregnancy-related psychoses are actually pretty rare,” Leigh told him, frowning. She didn’t like the idea of people ‘using’ a real psychological illness as an excuse for committing a crime. That kind of thing made getting proper treatment for people who really did have it much harder.

“I don’t even want to think about Angie being any more psychotic than she already is,” Reg said.

“But what if someone needs killing?” Justin asked.

“Then someone else can do it,” Leigh replied.

“Yeah. There are plenty of us here...well, OK, not me...” Karen said.

“Or me,” Aiden added.

“Or Aiden...and Leigh is pretty level-headed...unless she’s hopped up on Weendigo influence....” Karen grinned.

“Hey! Not my fault!” Leigh told her.

“I dunno,” Reg said. “You busted the place...and me...up pretty good trying to escape.”

“Yeah, but...I was just trying to protect everyone. You should’ve just let me go. I was willing to let...” Leigh started.
“And the tornado that threw me and the motorcycle I was on into a tree...that was a nice touch,” Frank interrupted.

“But.... Hey!” Leigh tried hard to look angry, but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing with the others.

The group had been there for a while already, and Terri still hadn’t shown up. Nobody wanted to be the first to mention it and jinx her, but Frank had noticed, too. He called her.

“God, you’re impatient,” Terri said, walking up to the table with the phone against her ear. She grinned at Frank, but the grin faded when she saw Aiden’s face. “So, who died?”

“The rabbit,” Frank told her with a wink.

“Ohhh,” she mouthed, her eyebrows going up.

“So, anybody else want to play?” Justin asked, waving a handful of darts.

“Sure,” Terri said, going over and taking three. “You gonna play too?” she asked Frank. It was more a request than a question.

“Can I shoot the target?” he asked, getting up reluctantly.

“No.”

“Need a drink before we start?” Justin asked, waving at Mary to bring another round.

“Don’t need it,” Terry said. “I don’t get the jitters. My body is 80% coffee.”

“What’s the other 20%? Donuts?” Justin asked, tossing his last dart.

Terri flashed him a dirty look as she stepped up to the line. “No one will notice if my dart happens to go astray....”

“Hey, I couldn’t help it!” Justin backed away, raising his hands in defense and grinning. “You set yourself up for that!”

Terri focused on the dart board. Her first throw hit the wall about 2 feet below the board. The second hit higher, but still not on the board. Her third made a respectable THUNK halfway between the rim and the bulls-eye. Frank stepped up next. His first throw bounced off the floor and skittered until it hit the wall below the board. Terri went up on her tip-toes and kissed Frank on the nose before he could raise his next dart. He stopped and looked at her.

“That’s for having something you don’t do well,” she grinned.

Reg decided it was time to try his hand at it. It had been years since he’d played. His first dart went winging across the room and stuck in the wall...the one opposite the dart board.

“Fore!” Karen hollered, ducking.

Slowly, the bar began to empty out. It was almost 2am when Mary asked, “So how long do ye plan ta stay?” Her brogue was very, very light, almost invisible compared to Fr. Colin’s. She’d gotten it not from living in Ireland, but from growing up with parents who hadn’t lost theirs.

“Morning?” Justin said.

“Until the smoke clears at home?” Aiden moaned.

Mary sighed and shook her head. “Well, ye’ve got Worth here ta keep ye in line, so I’m gonna take the trash out and start cleaning up.”

“Here, lemme give you a hand,” Justin offered. Mary didn’t really need the help. She was a fairly large, strapping woman; but it was just in Justin’s nature to offer to do the heavy lifting.

He looked so earnest that Mary finally agreed. “Fine. Take these.” She nodded at the two bags just inside the kitchen doorway. “The dumpster’s back here.” She led him toward the back door, carrying a third bag. When she pushed the door open, there was a rustling sound from near the dumpster. A figure rose up, ragged clothes hanging from its shoulders. “Not you again!” she hollered at it. “We’ve been havin’ a problem with homeless hangin’ out back here. I’ve had to call the cops twice in the past week,” she told Justin over her shoulder. “I’m gonna call the cops!” she shouted at the ‘man.’

But Justin saw right away that it wasn’t just another homeless guy. It didn’t move right. He stepped between it and Mary, putting his hand on his gun. “Why don’t you go in and call the cops,” he suggested. “Uh, guys?! Guys, you might wanna get out here....” he shouted through the door, which was held open by a bucket of used grease.

“I don’t think ye need to use that,” Mary said, staring at the gun Justin had instinctively pulled from its holster. “They’re basically harmless...they just make a mess...and the property owners are responsible for cleanin’ it up. And I don’t want to be pickin’ up garbage all night.”

Justin just kept nodding and urging her toward the door. “Look, Lt. Worth is inside. I bet she can get someone out here right away. Why don’t you go in and talk to her...” Justin paused and raised his voice again, “while me and the guys try and get them to leave! Guys! Back here! Um...I think they wanna play HARDBALL!”

Frank was the first to step out. “Terri’s already calling it in, but you’ll need to make a report,” he told Mary, nudging her gently back inside. Terri wasn’t, actually. She knew better than to get cops down here to do an Envoy’s job. Leigh and Reg came out next once Mary cleared the doorway; and Karen and Aiden were close behind.
“Take us to your maker,” Frank said to what they all recognized as a zombi.

The zombi took a step toward Frank...and promptly fell out of the dumpster. As it was getting up, two more figures rose from the dumpster. The one outside the dumpster took a few steps toward Justin, and Leigh raised a Sphere. It turned and began shambling pretty quickly down the alley, away from the team. Even after it had gotten past the range of the Sphere, it didn’t seem to realize that it could turn around and come back. It just kept shuffling down the alley. The other two zombies in that dumpster were trying very hard to get out the back, which was far too high for them to climb over.

“So, is that thing silenced?” Frank asked, looking at Justin’s gun and pulling his own.

Justin looked down at it for a second, not quite getting Frank’s.... “Oh. Shit. No.” They didn’t really need the cops descending on the alley, but gunfire would sure bring’em. Justin stuck the gun back into its holster and looked around for something else to grab. He found a chunk of wood...looked like 2x4. If he’d had the time, he would’ve wondered how shit like this ended up in alleys. It wasn’t like anyone around here was really fixing up the abandoned buildings....

Behind him, Justin heard.... Foomp! Foomp! Foomp! “Stop or I’ll shoot!” Frank said calmly, not even bothering to yell it. His gun WAS silenced, and he knee-capped the fleeing zombi. He really didn’t feel like having to chase these things all over downtown. Justin hefted the chunk of wood in his hand, shifting it slightly to a better balance point, then chucked it at the head of one of the zombies in the dumpster. There was a sickening noise like a baseball bat hitting a watermelon, and the zombi dropped back into the dumpster.

The one Frank shot was still trying to leave; but with essentially a stump instead of a leg, it fell when it tried to take its next step. Reg grabbed a piece of steel pipe and went over to it. He lifted the pipe over his head and stabbed down with the end of it, into the zombi. There was a ripping, splooching sound as the pipe drove through the creature, pinning it to the asphalt. By now, five other zombies had poked their heads up from a couple other dumpsters.

Every time Mary tried to come out, one or another of the Envoys would shoo her back into the bar until Terri came to get her with another question for the ‘report.’ When a couple managed to fall out of their dumpsters like the first had, Karen and Leigh used Spheres to keep them where Frank, Reg and Justin could deal with them. And after about a half hour of zombi baseball, seven were dead.

“Karen, can you get the ‘zombi kit’ from the truck?” Justin asked. As the team encountered various types of Unknown creatures, Justin had put together kits that contained the weapons and tools they’d found most useful in dispatching the creatures. It sounded funny, but one of the most useful things for zombies was duct tape. It was the easiest way to restrain them until they could determine the type of zombi they had and what they had to do to kill them. Some were as simple as decapitating, like the ones they had here ended up being. Others required special rituals, like the ones they had to give manicures to and hang a leather bag of the clippings from the left hand around each one’s neck.
The clothing on all of these zombies was consistent with them having been homeless people. But the first one was more decayed than the others, and had more blood and...stuff...under its nails, meaning it probably was “the first,” and it turned the others. But were they looking at a case of spontaneous zombi generation? Or had someone made the first one and set him loose on the city? That first, pinned one was the only one still alive. They’d left it to deal with it last, since it wasn’t going anywhere. But the question of where it had come from still remained.

“Why don’t we let this one go and follow it?” Frank suggested.

“Sure. It’s a small one. Throw it back,” Karen joked as Reg pulled the pipe up out of it, then backed away quickly.

SLURCH The sound of the hollow pipe pulling free was disgusting. At first the thing just laid there. So Karen moved down the alley and raised a Sphere that just tickled the creature, to give it a gentle nudge to get it moving. She couldn’t help but think of how, when she was a kid, she would poke frogs lightly on the rump to get them to jump. When it crawled far enough away, Frank went and inspected the ground where it had been pinned. Reg seemed a lot stronger than the last time he’d seen him, and he was curious how far Reg had driven the pipe into the pavement. About 2 inches.

Frank stood and brushed the dirt from his knees. He tried to sense if there was anything else Unknown around here, maybe whatever had created the zombi. But he was surrounded by the heat of the 8 zombies themselves, and he didn’t feel anything else, anything bigger.

The zombi wasn’t moving very fast, so it wasn’t hard for the team to follow it to the riverfront.

“Are we sure the river itself isn’t Unknown?” Justin whispered, as if he were trying to keep the zombi from realizing that it was being followed. “Everything weird seems to end up down here.”

Karen snickered. He was right. People had always joked about the river being unhealthy. It being Unknown would explain a lot of things.

When it got to the bank, the zombi started to crawl in. There was no way to follow it if it got into the water, so Frank put a couple rounds into the back of its head. Decomposing brains exploded out, coating the zombi and the ground around it. They’d been liquifying longer than the brains of the other zombies, and were a yellowish, gooey mess.

“Anyone else feel like getting some scrambled eggs for breakfast?” Frank asked, holstering his gun. His phone rang.

“Done?” Terri asked.

“Pretty gooey,” Frank told her. “But we’re going to look around a little more.”

“OK. I’m going to drive Mary home.” Frank told the others what Terri was doing.

“Hey, any time she doesn’t get kidnapped by a creature, it’s a good thing, right?” Aiden said.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Reg agreed.

Frank wasn’t paying attention. He was studying the dead zombi. (Yes, it was kind of redundant to call it that, but it was how they all thought of these things, just to keep it straight in their heads. Before it was a ‘live’ zombi. Now, it was not a ‘live’ zombi, so it was ‘dead,’ right?) It turned out that the zombi may not have just randomly chosen a direction to flee in. The rotting clothing that was left on it was pretty thoroughly sodden. So...maybe it had been in the river a while and had only just come up onto dry land? They might not ever know....