It was the longest walk of her life. And one she would not soon forget. As they moved north, away from the Numbers, and crossed over from Freetown into Riverside Hills, Ophilia felt a wave of relief. Not that she felt especially safe in Riverside, certainly not at this hour, but it was different here -- for some reason, she felt like the worst was behind her.

Sebastian kept a silent eye on a group of shadows that had followed them for several blocks, but decided not to pursue them into the neighborhoods of Riverside. There might have been as many as fifteen of them at one time. Whatever had kept them at bay for so long was beyond him. Until the last one shrank back into the last alley, he held his breath.

They rounded the last corner, Ophilia's mind still clouded with emotion, their path still unclear. Whatever force was driving her footsteps was just outside of her reach. But with this last corner, this last traffic light, that changed. She slowed. Sebastian came up behind her. The wash of sulfurous light from an overhead lamp battled against the alternating flash of blue and red from the nearby police cars. There were three of them. And an ambulance.

They were parked across the street in front of a large convenient store. One of the letters of the illuminated sign overhead flickered in and out. Kwik-E-Mart, it read. And something was definitely amiss inside.

Just then, the muted roar of JACE's powered jet boots announced his arrival. It was almost midnight.

Ophilia took a deep breath and ran both of her hands through her hair, taking a moment to lift it so the breeze could cool her neck. This workout was far more excruciating than her daily outing to the gym. Without saying a word to her brother she headed over to the Kwik-E-Mart, she knew that he shared her relief and hope that they'd picked up the trail again.

With the shuffling gait of someone whose shoes past the "uncomfortable" point about an hour ago, Sebastián followed after her. Wanting nothing more than a martini, and a place to sit down with his feet up, he was hoping this might be their last stop on this Hide and Seek fiasco. Checking his watch, his shoulders slumped slightly, dinner was all but out of the question at this hour. As he walked, he thought over to his sister. {Looks like this has to be the place, our armored companion has arrived. That's a good sign, no?}

{I'm so damned tired...and if he makes this mess any bigger...we may not be able to save him again.} Sebastian could feel Ophilia's impending sense of defeat and the bond was actually dimmer from her weakness. {If we have to talk...you're going to need to take care of it.}

The convenient store was surreal. Devoid of patrons, all activity was concentrated instead around a single aisle. A night manager, two cashiers, an elderly woman and a hooker formed a small, dysfunctional nucleus while the police took statements. A large black man was being loaded onto a stretcher by a team of paramedics, his neck in a brace, face covered by an oxygen mask.

Thankfully the press hadn't yet arrived. Whatever had happened here, evidently hadn't happened too long ago.

"Closed," said a young officer, a hand raised to Ophilia and Sebastian when they tried to enter. The other hand rested nervously on his holstered sidearm. "Come back tomorrow."

Trying to look past the officer, without appearing to, Sebastián attempted to get a better feel for what went on inside. "Sir, what happened? We just came over to get some fruit juice for my sister, she's not really feeling well, and I wanted to try to get her blood sugar up." As he spoke, he slipped his arm around his sister's shoulder, gently guiding her into view, knowing she would back his play. He could tell from their mental bond how weak she really was, and as easy as it would be to tell her his plan via mental communication, he didn't want to make her exert herself anymore than absolutely necessary.

JACE landed smoothly outside the doors. He pretended not to know the DiSantiago's since they seemed to be incognito. Or at least they didn't appear to be themselves. Realizing they were already speaking to the officer, he waited briefly, hoping to gain more information. While he waited he activated his suit's sensors, using a combination of X-rays, ultrasound, and radar to get a picture of the inside of the store.

The armored hero recognized the tall, narrow head and youthful features from the hospital earlier today. Officer Nilles, however, didn't notice him yet.

He seemed to half consider the request. "Sorry," the officer said, at last, "I can't let you in. There's a gas station down the street."

One of the things the twins had in common was their intense dislike of being denied. Anything. Drawing a deep breath, he let his consciousness reach out and halted time. Much like a kid trying to sneak a cookie from the jar while his parents were home, Sebastián felt his pulse quicken and a dozen butterflies take up residence in his stomach. Regardless of how often he'd done this, the fear of someone being able to not only see him, but remember what they saw loomed large in his head.

Glancing around, he let his breath out with a bit of relief. As always, the first thing he noticed was the silence, every sound had been stopped along with time. His sister's face was frozen in a mix of confusion and resignation, glancing down at her cell. Whoever was calling her, he didn't imagine she wanted to talk to them right now. Looking over at the young cop, his face held the combination of determination, with a subtle underlay of nervousness, and a single bead of sweat was frozen just below his temple, caught like everything else. Aside from the fact that the armored form was standing stock still, Sebastián couldn't tell if he truly was frozen like the others, or not. Trusting that he was, Sebastián stepped past the young cop, and into the store.

First thing he passed was the stretcher with the injured man. The oxygen mask covered his face obscuring most of the details. Attempting to gauge his injuries, he glanced over the victim with the air of someone who had all the time in the world. It was, however, hard to discern the severity, but it didn't look good. Back and neck injuries at the very least. He wasn't conscious, but at least stable for the moment. Eventually stepping past the stretcher he made his way over to the huddle of people. Standing behind the cop, he read the officer's notepad over his shoulder. The pen, stopped in mid-word, was partially obscuring the pad but Sebastián read as much as he could.

To the untrained detective it might have seemed an irrational collage of delusional stories. A giant. An infant. A pimp and a whore. There was a knife and a stabbing. The giant (a very large, very creepy individual who babbled strangely to himself) throws the pimp into the ceiling, then departs. But not without paying first. Bottles, formula, diapers, wipes, bibs. The list went on. There was a doodle of a crazy person in the corner of the note pad, eyes wild, tongue askew.

After Sebastián tried to find out what, if anything these people had told the police about the attack, he looked over the witnesses and had to stifle a laugh. The elderly woman was caught in the middle of a sneeze, contorting her face into a hideous mask, which for some reason struck Sebastián as immensely funny. The hooker appeared to have been crying at some point, her eyes slightly tinged with red, her face caught in the middle of answering a question. One of the cashiers still had a look of disbelief, her eyes wide and unfocused, while the other was doing their best to stifle a yawn, their hand mostly obscuring it from view.

Lastly the night manager, who appeared to be ignoring the huddle of people and looking at the entrance Sebastián had inhabited shortly before, an expression of anger or perhaps annoyance covering his face. Maybe he was hoping this wouldn't keep business closed for long, or possibly he was concerned he was losing a sale, who knew. Finally, Sebastian took in the crime scene and made a few mental notes, then he took a detour. Stepping over to the beverage cooler, he slipped 2 bottles of fruit juice into his pockets, and as he walked back to the entrance by way of the candy aisle, two candy bars joined them. Stepping back out into the night he positioned himself, as best as he could remember in the proper spot. Focusing once more, he willed time to start back up, steeling himself for the sounds of the night to shatter the silence he'd become accustomed to.

"Coming through."

Officer Nilles stepped out of the way as a pair of paramedics wheeled a gurney out the front door. Past Ophilia and her twin. Past the armored hero in the shadowed night. It carried the large black man to the back of the waiting ambulance.

Inside, the police were wrapping up the statements. JACE scanned, but the only noticeable peculiarity was a strange dent in the ceiling structure over the dysfunctional huddle and one more in the floor in the center of the aisle. Only a few small droplets of blood belied an otherwise benign scene.

"I'm going to have to ask you to step back..." the officer was saying.

Ophilia's phone rang again just then. She glanced at the number on the LCD display. It was her uncle.

Ophilia listened to the officer and stepped backwards to answer her phone. "Uncle Angelo." Her voice was grim. "I'm afraid that we have no good news yet, but we're still on his trail"

She instantly regretted answering it at all. The other end of the line was poisoned with frustration.

"This is getting out of hand, Ophilia." The voice was very strained, anger seething and barely in check. His words were chosen with extreme care and precisely bitten out. "This problem needs to be resolved. If you are not the one to do it..."

She had a glimpse just then of the alternative and she shuddered involuntarily at the conjured image of her cousin, Raphael tracking down the Apostate instead. Or worse, what would happen if he would find him.

Ophilia inhaled and exhaled more audibly than was necessary. Her night had been unusually long and as a result her patience was unusually short. The simple fact that she was responsible for cleaning up a problem that she in no way contributed to making was on the tip of her tongue, but her considerable sense allowed her to bite it back before her considerable temper allowed it to fall off of her tongue.

"Uncle Ang, we both know that I'm the best chance you've got right now dealing with Elijah. You just need to give us some time...we can't predict him when he's like this. He's beyond unpredictable. Please, Ang... try to get some sleep. I'll take care of this, I promise."

Her uncle, uncharacteristically worried, anxious, frayed, said nothing. There were few solutions left at this point, even if they did happen to find him. None of their options were good ones.

"Okay," he said finally. He sounded almost defeated. This night was killing him as much as her. "Okay, Ophilia. Call me when you know something."

*Nilles!* The radio on the young officer's shoulder chirped abruptly then. He clicked it and responded: "Go ahead."

*We might have this guy.*

"You what?" Nilles turned away from the door as if the extra bit of distance might provide him with some measure of privacy. It didn't.

*Yeah, picked him up a few blocks north of your location about twenty minutes ago.*

"You sure about that?" Nilles was skeptical at best.

*Yeah, sure. Big fuckin' guy, right?*

Nilles grunted, still unconvinced. "You just picked him up? Just like that?"

*Yeah, sure. Wrap it up out there. And bring a witness for an ID.*

"Ten-Four," Nilles acknowledged and clicked his radio again. He turned back to the twins at the door and was about to say something, but stopped when he spotted the drinks and candy bars. Then, he was about to say something else entirely, but again stopped and thought better of it. Instead, what finally came out was: "I'm going to have to ask you to step back from the premises."

Using all the restraint he had, Sebastián bit back the caustic retort that was on his lips, and just turned his back on the officer. Placing his arm around Phi, started them in the direction of the gas station.

Ophilia gave her brother a skeptical look as she backed further away from the door. A part of her knew that the man they apprehended couldn't be Apostate...but at the same time, it was technically possible. As much as she didn't like the prospect, she knew that she and Sebastian were going to have to go to the HCPD to make absolute sure they didn't have the right man. She was confident that JACE would continue the search without them.

JACE stepped forward, looking calm and confident. "Excuse me, Officer Nilles, due to the dangerous and powerful nature of the man who did this, I'm working with the police department to apprehend him. Would it be possible for me to find out what has happened here? I don't want to get in the way, but any man who can throw a car through a church requires special handling." Part of JACE wanted to just barge in and start questioning everyone, but that wouldn't look good at all. Hopefully he could boost his image and get this idiotic chore done at the same time. He should have brought the genetic tracker, then this would be over already.

First was the look of surprise on the young officer's face. It was followed shortly, however, by a sly smile that stole quickly by. He was young. Still new to the force. He wanted to remain professional above all. But he couldn't help that smug feeling of superiority, however misplaced.

"Sorry, hero," he said evenly. "Looks like we've got things well in hand here."

"Just got a call from the department," he added, since he obviously couldn't help himself. "Sounds like they already caught this guy."

JACE bit back his first seven sarcastic responses. Although this idiot certainly deserved it, JACE didn't want to present such a negative image. "I'm impressed at the ability of the police to restrain such a powerful individual." 'Or at least at their total incompetence at thinking they had captured someone like this,' he added silently. "If you'll excuse me." The armored hero nodded politely at him, then took to the air again.

Once airborne, JACE activated his communicator. "Ms. DiSantiago, it would appear, as you no doubt heard, that the police believe they have apprehended our quarry. Although this is incredibly unlikely, it has temporarily stalled any cooperation they might have shown. I'll continue to investigate what I can, if you would be so kind as to disillusion them quickly, it would be most gratifying."

Seeing that JACE had the forward movement of the investigation well in hand, Ophilia took her brother's arm and withdrew quietly from the scene. She already knew that he had used his powers and was eager to know what he saw. {What did you see?}

Waiting until the Officer was distracted by JACE, he pressed the cold bottle of juice into his sister's tiny hand. {Drink this. Oh and I got you a snack as well}. Sebastián opened one of the candybars and passed that over to her as well. Once she had hers, he opened his own bottle and took a long drink. {It was him, I'm fairly sure of it. There was some sort of a fight, and someone got stabbed. I didn't see which direction he left in.} He paused, his mind seemingly blank, as if either he didn't want to continue, or wasn't sure how to tell her what else he'd discovered.

Ophilia took the drink as she continued walking away from the crime scene. She never really understood her brother's powers, and if it wasn't for magic tricks like the candy bar he just pulled out of his pocket, she would have thought it was another one of the pranks that he liked to pull on her. {...and?} Her mental voice was persistent. She opened the juice while she waited and drank deeply from it, her eyes closing in appreciation as the cool liquid wet her throat. No ordinary observer could have guessed that she was carrying on a mental conversation with her brother.

Frowning slightly, he took another sip from his bottle, not sure how he could expect his sister to believe something he didn't believe himself. {He's got a baby with him. I don't know where he got it, but he's got one. Also, it appears it is still alive, he picked up some formula, diapers, everything you'd need to care for a baby. Christ! What is he doing with a baby? He'll be lucky if he doesn't accidently crush it, you know how strong he is.} Agitation came strongly through the bond, as well as an undercurrent of concern.

The blood drained from Ophilia's face as his knowledge filled her conscience. Surely this could have nothing to do with the prostitute that was brutally murdered and her missing child. She shook her head, forcibly trying to clear it of thoughts of Umberto's unborn child. Sebastian could hear her thoughts over their link as she struggled with them. {NoPhi. NoPhi. It can't be the same baby. It doesn't matter what baby it is, though. Mad lunatics should not handle babies.}

As agitated as he was, it seemed to melt away as Sebastián realized two things. 1. There was something going on involving a baby Phi had kept, or was keeping from him. 2. He had grossly underestimated how much of a toll tonight had taken on his sister. He wasn't a professional athlete, by any means, but he was in fairly good shape. After tonight's walk-a-thon, he was feeling tired and rundown, but he was able to go on. The fact that her inner monologue was being broadcast into his head spoke volumes as to what her condition was doing to her control. Phi was all about being in control, and this little slip was definitely not her. Knowing she hated it when he, in her words "over reacts" to her health, he concentrated on the former. {What baby are you talking about? What do you know?}

"We've got to find him, Bastian." For the briefest of moments he felt a wash of defeat as she relinquished her control to him. "You need to get us to the police station and I'll try to figure out where he is..."

If Sebastián had been unsure, this removed any doubt. She was tapped, and she needed rest, quickly. Knowing he could easily carry her, and also knowing she would never suffer that indignity, he aborted all pretense of heading to the gas station. Instead, he guided them towards the train station, keeping an eye out for a cab. He needed to get them to the police station.
 

File Closed.