Zette's Storybook

One


"Don't do it again," Morning Glory Sangre said, staring down the nine-year-old demon child from hell who had been running rampant around the seats in the airport lobby. No nine-year-old should have that kind of energy at midnight. And the parents, oblivious to the havoc their darling created, left it to Morning Glory to deal with the problem.

The child started to say something.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't want to see you racing past me again. Go and sit with your parents, or believe me, I'll make so much trouble for you you'll be grounded until you're old enough to get your own pilot's license."

He glared, red spots appearing on his cheeks. "What do you think you can do about it, huh?"

"Oh, you really don't want to know."

He grinned -- and ran -- far faster than he should have, really.

Morning Glory let the clear, strong string reel out from her hand and waited for the right moment. As the demon child came up even with the rather rude businessman who had annoyed her earlier, Morning Glory gave a little jerk of her hand.

The boy lost his footing, poor child, and ended up in the lap of the businessman. Tepid coffee splattered out of a cup and spilled everywhere.

A snap of her fingers released the string's hook, and she pulled it back, wrapping the string around the handle and slipping it back into her pocket.

The demon child's parents took him in hand, and sat him down with a very stern lecture on behavior. The father spoke with the businessman: Money exchanged hands for cleaning bills.

The child looked at Morning Glory with wild, wide eyes. He sat very still.

Sometimes the little perks in her job made her day. Good road test of the new string device FUTURE had given her, too.

Nonetheless, she wanted this damned assignment over with so she could go home and sleep. The chairs were hard, the night late, and the lobby drafty. She hated waiting in L.A. International Airport, watching as the crowds fled to and from gates in a frantic haste to always be somewhere else. Now, midway through the night on December 22, the flow had ebbed as much as it was likely to before Christmas. People gathered in laughing crowds when planes disembarked and they found their friends and family waiting.

Going home for the holidays.

Morning Glory Sangre glanced at her watch and ran through a half dozen good curses in as many languages. None of them seemed malevolent enough for the people in The Office who sent her out here tonight. They had no right to call her for some run of the mill bodyguard assignment, telling her to watch over a courier between flights. The Office paid menials to do that kind of work. Morning Glory Sangre was, after all, a Field Agent. She had worked her way up. Let the newcomers take the routine jobs....

Which, of course, they generally did -- and that put her on edge. Morning Glory knew, somehow, this was not going to be routine.

She scanned the faces of the crowd once more, but still could find neither friend nor foe -- with the exception of the child, at least. He would, no doubt, be very happy when he realized she had no intention of getting on the same plane with him.

She played with a braid of her hair, watching a group from Japan move through the lobby and head out -- exotic looking people. She, on the other hand, looked scruffy enough to draw the attention of the night guard, who might think she was someone homeless looking for a place to sit for a while. Morning Glory hadn't thought to dress better for a job like this. She wore blue jeans -- loose enough to make the brace on her right leg go unnoticed -- a faded tee-shirt with a picture of Bruce Lee on the front, and a warm old knitted pancho.

Had she acquired any of the physical characteristics of the rest of her family, she would have looked at least half Native American. Instead, with her white skin and brown going to red hair, she looked as though she'd just lost her way from the mid-sixties -- a hippie with the secret of time travel.

1:37AM.

She finally saw the glitter of a plane moving out in the darkness, and stood, limping only a little as she crossed to the window. A small commuter jet taxied in from San Francisco. About time.

The plane began disembarking only a couple minutes later. Morning Glory walked closer to where the first people exited, pretending to be a sister or a friend or a wife -- it depended on who came through that gate, and she'd only know when she saw the person.

The person who stepped into the lobby turned out to be Mickey Peterson.

Morning Glory felt a moment of shocked surprise. She had expected to recognize the courier since all FUTURE agents could recognize anyone else in the organization, saving any embarrassing and potentially dangerous confrontations. She had not, however, expected to actually know the agent.

Besides, Mickey was not a courier. He was a Field Agent with three years more experience than she had. Nevertheless, he came off the plane carrying a dark brown briefcase with an inlaid gold star stamped on the side -- standard gear for FUTURE couriers. She thought he looked worn and worried, too.

Despite her shock, Morning Glory had not slowed as she approached him. She had seen a flicker of movement in his eyes and knew that Mickey hadn't expected her either. What the hell game was FUTURE playing?

"Baby, I'm glad to see you," he said, his voice holding true sincerity.

Morning Glory smiled. She didn't mind being called Baby -- it was a name she had answered to for well over half her life since she'd been unnamed at her parents' deaths, the youngest, and least wanted, of a large family. She'd been Baby Sangre on her birth certificate and only recently decided on a formal name change. Most of the people at FUTURE called her Baby, in fact.

She endured Mickey's embrace noting how his heart pounded very fast. There was something odd going on here --

As he stepped back, Mickey's hand caught her right arm with an unexpected fierceness. He sidestepped her automatic kick as he brought the briefcase upward. Something snapped around her wrist-- the cold band of a metal handcuff, leading to a chain, leading to the damned briefcase.

She grabbed Mickey by the shirt as he desperately leapt backwards -- an experienced agent who knew, too well, what danger he faced. She moved faster than he could, and she didn't let go.

"My orders, Morning Glory." He tried a feeble grin as she dragged him closer again.

"I am not a courier any longer."

People stared, which couldn't be helped. Such an open display as slapping a handcuff on someone's wrist had drawn attention already, and Baby didn't much care how much more they saw.

"Baby -- Morning Glory -- I only did what they told me to. I didn't know it would be you, but I didn't have a choice." He carefully tried to peal her fingers from his shirt.

She looked down at the briefcase and realized she was pretty much stuck with it now. She let go of his shirt and -- brave man -- he didn't back away more than a single step. A glance around the lobby showed the demon child and his parents quickly retreating from the area. Well, if she'd known that was all it was going to take...

She turned back to her fellow FUTURE agent. "What is going on, Mickey?"

"I don't know much about this one," he confessed as his voice dropped to a near whisper. No one had come any closer, though Morning Glory imagined the already suspicious night guard would be joining them soon. "Whatever is in the case came out of the back country in either China or Russia, and three agents have already died between here and there --"

"I like this less every minute."

"You know they chose you because you're the best, Morning Glory," Mickey offered, still braving her snort of contempt. "In the three years you were a courier, you handled over a hundred assignments without a single loss. I think FUTURE needs that ability now."

"They should have mailed it."

"This is serious!"

"I hadn't noticed," she said, lifting the briefcase. "Where do I take it?"

"The New York office -- maybe even beyond that. No one knows for sure."

"Who has the key to take this off me?"

"It's going separately."

"Meaning no one trusts me enough to tell me who has it because this is so damned important it might even tempt me. Right. And the case is trapped, of course?"

"Not in a way many people would notice," he said softly. "If anyone tries to take that off of you without the key, it'll take a twenty-by-twenty room with it. And you and whomever else is in the area."

"Great. Thanks. Any idea what I should watch out for?"

"No idea at all."

"All right, now for the loaded question: Why wasn't I warned about this assignment when they sent me here? I've never turned down a job, and if The Office said it was important, I'd take it."

"I know." He stopped and looked down at his feet, long brown hair falling over his forehead. He swept it back as he looked up, his hazel eyes narrowed with worry. "I don't know the whole story, but I've heard rumors that someone in FUTURE could be involved in the loss of the other three couriers. We don't lose three agents on any job, Baby."

"Ha! And I'm above suspicion? This is going to ruin my reputation. Do I report in?"

"We would like to know if you are still alive."

"Don't flatter me. All you want to know is if I still have the briefcase. I bet you can't even tell me the names of the other three dead agents."

He looked down again. She almost felt a whisper of remorse for trying to make him responsible for FUTURE's inclination to secrecy. She'd met Mickey a time or two in the past. He wasn't a bad agent.

"What would happen if I wrapped this chain around your neck and made the count four instead of three?" Baby asked.

He looked back up and grinned. "Here? In public? I had heard you were far more subtle in your work, Baby."

"True. Perhaps you should beware of dark corners for a while. But then that's second nature for spies, isn't it?"

He smiled, though she was rewarded with a slight twitch in his right eye. Good. Maybe her reputation as a maverick would survive.

"You know, I'm sorry about this, Baby -- but better you than me. I haven't done courier work in ten years, but they told me if my contact didn't show up that I had to latch the case on my wrist and go with it. I think you have a much better chance of surviving. You going to get your sister in on this one?"

"If she's interested."

Mickey nodded. "Here's your ticket. Good luck."

He handed her some paperwork and darted away. She watched him go, all the while feeling more and more conspicuous -- a hippie with a briefcase chained to her wrist. Great.

So she yanked on the string. He did a wonderful leap and landed on his ass. She had already pulled the string back in. He looked back at her and just shook his head. Then he stood and limped away.

The ticket showed she had a flight from LAX to Chicago, an hour layover, and then straight on to New York. Not bad. Or maybe just too damn obvious. Agents had already died, and the people at The Office thought they'd just toss her on the most obvious flight, without even a question of rerouting?

Insanity.

She had an hour until the flight. Baby went to the nearest phone and dialed awkwardly. The case felt heavy in her hands.

"FUTURE. How may I help you?"

"Special Operator 31, please."

She listened through a series of clicks as the call followed relays across the nation. She stared at the case until a mechanical voice asked, "Code number please."

"86-388873."

"Please hold."

She listened again to a buzz before another voice answered. This one sounded just about as mechanical.

"FUTURE assignments offices. Please give your name and designation."

"Morning Glory Baby Sangre -- and I'm not a damn courier!"

She hung up. Sometimes a person just had to lodge a protest.

Having done so, she now dialed a local number and waited through fifteen rings before she finally believed no one would answer. Where the hell could Apache be at this time of the night? She wasn't out on an assignment. They had been to a movie no more than four hours ago.

Morning Glory had almost started dialing the main office again when she saw the familiar figure of another sixties refugee making her way into the lobby.

She felt her first wave of real relief watching Morning Star "Apache" Sangre. Her sister wasn't any better dressed than her, wearing an army jacket, blue jeans, T-shirt and a bit more flash in gold and turquoise. Darker haired, darker skinned -- they didn't look much like sisters. Apache looked exotic while Baby only looked out of place.

Morning Glory stepped away from the phone and gave a quick whistle. Half the people looked and Apache came toward her, shaking her head with mock disapproval.

"Some secret agent."

"Mickey Peterson blew that one already, thank you."

"What's going on? I got a call from Alan Orion himself about forty-five minutes ago. He told me to get out here and stick with you. I know it's an honor and all that to get assignments straight from the head of FUTURE, but why can't we have a week's notice like everyone else?"

"I don't know. But I'm not happy about it," Baby said, and finally lifted the briefcase for her sister to see.

"What's going on? I'm not a bodyguard anymore!"

"Hey, it's all right. I'm not a courier anymore, either."

Apache finally laughed though she did eye the briefcase with some trepidation. Baby wondered if her sister could sense the bomb. She didn't want to mention it since people had moved far closer now, and she didn't want to panic anyone.

"I have already filed my complaint with the main office," Baby said. "So, are you going to stick with me?"

"I don't know. Will we be home for Christmas?"

"What home?"

"Don't be cynical."

"I don't know where we'll be, Apache," she confessed. She quickly related most of what Mickey had told her. Apache looked around the terminal with growing worry, and then at the case again with a shake of her head.

"You're supposed to get on this plane, no questions asked?" Apache said. "Who made the arrangements?"

"I don't know."

"Right. Let's go. We'll make other arrangements."

"I had hoped you would see things that way," Baby said and began to walk along with her. "I've spent way too much time around here already. And you know, the night guard hasn't been around since before Mickey arrived. We put on quite a show, too."

"Damn. Come on." Apache started to jog and then slowed. Baby wasn't certain if that was to match her own, noticeably slower limp, or because running through the airport might draw even more attention.

They passed people in the long corridors. Baby and Apache drew a few stares, but no more than usual. They'd always made an interesting pair.

"How'd you get here?" Apache asked as they neared the exit.

"Cab."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"At midnight? You've got to be joking. I would have walked here before I called you pick me up at that time of night. I didn't intend to die tonight. Where's your car?"

"Used the VIP lot," she said with a frown. "I didn't know this was going to be clandestine."

"If we haven't been noticed already, getting the car isn't going to make things worse," Baby said. She picked up the pace again as they stepped outside, letting the cool December air rush past her face. She wanted out of here.

Apache continued to lead the way, looking worried, probably because she had no weapon. Then Baby realized Mickey, idiot that he was, had cuffed the case to her right hand. She would have a hard time holding any weapon properly. Hell, she couldn't even change clothes or put on a real coat. This was damned inconsiderate of a lot of people, and they were going to hear about it.

Apache's silver Ferrari sat alone in one corner of the private lot. A guard looked up when they entered the area, then nodded, and looked away again.

"I don't like that," Baby said. "People always question us."

"He questioned me on the way in. Asked for a date, in fact."

"Gee, that's so reassuring. Makes me trust him completely."

"He's already seen my ID. And called on it, in fact." She stopped and bit at her lower lip just as they reached the car. "So if there is anyone in The Office working the other side, they know that I'm on this one with you."

"Wouldn't have taken much to figure out anyway," Baby said. "Let's go."

Apache unlocked the door for Baby, and came around to her own side, slipping in with a bit of a sigh. Neither of them had gotten much sleep. Morning Glory wondered when she would really be able to rest again.

A jet took off with a deafening roar as they pulled out of the lot. Baby watched it with a little longing. Flying straight to New York and getting rid of the case had more appeal when she thought about the length of time it might take to otherwise get there.

Then she thought about the three dead agents and decided she really didn't need to rest that much.

Apache glanced at her as they pulled up to a stoplight. "Can you handle a weapon like that?"

"If I have to."

Apache nodded and inched the car forward, anxious for the green light.

"What would you say to catching a flight out of Phoenix?" Apache asked a mile or so later. "I was heading for the Reservation for Christmas anyway. We can fly out and fly back and --"

"You can go to the Reservation for Christmas," Baby finished for her.

"You can come too, you know."

"No, I don't think so." She lifted a hand when Apache began to protest. "No. Look, it's fine. You can go and visit the family. Tell them I said hi. I wouldn't mind seeing Cloud -- but I won't risk another confrontation with Veronica -- especially not over the holidays."

"You're too pale for them," Apache said, as though that was some kind of news. "Maybe you should die your hair darker."

"I did. I looked like a ghost with black hair. It didn't work. I don't even tan properly."

"I know. I hoped you'd join us this year," Apache said. The words surprised Baby. "You haven't been back in five years. Veronica's the same, but some of the others always ask how you're doing."

"Really?"

"Honestly. We're all getting older, Morning Glory Sangre. Calming, accepting."

She laughed. "You only use that name when you really want something out of me."

"Hey, you owe me for getting up before dawn to haul your ass out of trouble again," Apache said. She grinned at her sister.

"So now it's your right to haul me off to more trouble?" Baby demanded. Then she shrugged. "I guess fair's fair. If I dispose of this problem in time, I guess I'll go with you. But don't expect it to be pleasant."

Apache looked pleased by the answer. Sometimes Baby didn't understand any of the other Sangres, including Apache.

"Let's go by my apartment so I can grab a few things," Apache said. "I didn't come out here very well prepared."

"Prepared would have been nice," Baby said. "Warning would have been nicer. I wish I knew what's going on, Apache. I don't like this one. I really don't like it."

Morning Star didn't argue.

Two


They drove in relative silence all the way north to Reseda and Apache's red brick apartment house. Baby followed her sister upstairs, slowly taking the steps. She didn't like stairs. The brace on her leg always made her feel clumsy on them.

They'd replaced the carpet here and in the hall. It always felt like coming to a familiar, but lost, part of her life when she visited here. The two had shared the apartment for a good many years until Baby moved out on her own two years ago. Their lives had been changing, and even though they both worked for FUTURE, they had started taking different paths. Baby rented an apartment across town and got a small but useless kitten to keep your company. She and her sister saw each other often when they weren't working -- and had grown quite far apart. Apache had even found acceptance in the family, and that was something Baby knew she would never have.

"You're too quiet."

She buried her thoughts as she looked up at her sister. They'd gone down the hall to the apartment door. "This is a weird assignment. It's got me bugged."

"Me too." Apache pushed her apartment door open. The place looked neat enough, with hardly more than a few books and papers scattered out of place. They went straight for the bedroom and Baby settled on the unmade bed while her sister rummaged through the closet. Her own room, which had been down the hall, now housed Apache's current hobby -- an impressive collection of firing pins from guns that had been aimed at her.

"How is your leg?" Apache asked with her head in a box. "Wearing a good brace?"

"The light one," she said, tapping the plastic at her knee.

"Better take a heavy one as well. Isn't there one here?"

"Here," Baby said. He leaned down and pulled the brace out from under the bed where she'd left it -- last spring? She wiped the dust from the metal and settled it beside the briefcase. Then she reached back under the bed and pulled out a small box that held one of her knives and a clip on sheath. She stuck it on the back of her pants. She felt better already.

Apache looked back and frowned. "I'm nervous, too. I want to get back on the road as quickly as possible. I think you can round up enough of your belongings from here that we don't have to go back to your place, right? The neighbor will feed the cat?"

"Yeah. I left her a note and said I might be gone for a few days. She's used to it."

"Excellent."

Baby tried not to show surprise at her sister's question since they avoided discussion about pets. Apache had owned a water dragon a few years ago -- and best not to bring the subject up now, when they were heading for New York. Some things were best left unmentioned, if not forgotten -- al though the people at The Office weren't likely to forget.

Apache dropped a suitcase on the bed and began to stuff things into it. Some of the things belonged to Baby.

"You want to wear the light brace or this one?"

"Light for now."

She let Apache pack the heavier one away and they immediately headed for the door again. Anxious -- worried. It was catching. Baby wanted to be on the road. Apache put a hand to the doorknob --

A noise --

Baby shoved her sister aside and tumbled down with her. The sound of the shotgun blast nearly deafened them as wood splintered. They had already begun crawling back toward the kitchen.

"Someone must have followed us," Baby said as she began rifling through the nearest drawer.

"I watched."

"So did I." Baby pulled a long hunting knife from the drawer and tested its balance in her left hand. "I would rather think they followed then someone told them where to find us. I don't like mistrusting our own side."

"I didn't know you trusted anyone. Can you throw left-handed?"

Baby gave her sister a reproachful look, and then turned back to the doorway where the man kicked the rest of the door open and began inching his way forward into the apartment, rifle held at his shoulder.

That was a stupid way for him to enter. It left most of his body open and his hands preoccupied. Surely he hadn't expected them to stand there waiting for him so he could shoot them without any trouble? Unprofessional --

If he wasn't a professional, what was going on?

She let the blade fly, aiming well. The knife cut into flesh in his side, but hit nothing vital. He made a sound of surprise and then fell backward, the rifle discharging upward. Lucky Apache lived on the top floor of the apartment house.

"This way," Apache said. She crossed to the man, kicked him in the head, and looked out the hall. "Clear to the right."

"Not a good idea to use the fire escape. They'll have it covered."

"Unless he worked alone."

"One man alone? On this case? Or did you recognize him?"

"Recognize him?" Apache involuntarily glanced down as she relieved the man of his rifle.

"I thought maybe he was just one of your rejected lovers --"

"Nah, not this one. Besides, they always come back on their knees, begging." She quickly dismantled the rifle, shoving the firing pin in her pocket before they headed out into the hall.

"Let's go for the front door," Baby suggested. She could hear the sounds of other people in their apartments, and it wouldn't be long before the police showed up. "If there is more than one, it's more likely to be clear than the fire escape."

"Okay. I think we better leave the Ferrari. Care for a brisk jog of a couple miles?"

"Yeah, we look like joggers. Leave the suitcase and I'll leave the extra brace."

"I'll carry the brace," Apache said. She pulled it out of the case. "New York in winter means snow and ice. You'll need it."

Apache tossed the case back into her apartment and hit the man in the head just as he started to sit up. He went straight down again.

"Lucky hit," Baby said.

"I aimed for him!" Apache insisted as she closed what was left the door and started toward the stairs.

"Oh, right. I'm supposed to believe that."

People peered cautiously out of their doors. Baby ignored them and kept pace with her sister. She thought she heard someone mumble "Them again" and "I thought the rowdy one moved out" but she paid them no mind.

They didn't go out the front door after all since quite a crowd had gathered there. Apache led her down to the laundry room and out the side door. It only opened to a small, enclosed yard with a single, neglected trellis covered in dead vines. Baby vaulted to the top of the wall and scanned the area before she nodded to Apache and slid down the far side.

Sirens filled the air, heading their way. Baby shook her head in amazement -- they could never find cops when they needed one.

Apache landed beside her, took Baby's brace, and started jogging away at a good clip.

"Don't want to stick around and explain things to the police?" Baby asked.

"Get serious. We were police, and we both know we wouldn't believe a story like this. Let The Office take care of it. That's what they're paid for -- I think."

They climbed two more fences, dashed across a factory lot, and casually came out onto another street five blocks from the apartment.

They jogged. It was, in truth, less conspicuous than running. Baby knew where they were going, and sighed with relief when the old abandoned furniture factory with the "for sale" sign came into view. Half a block later they slipped into an alley and came to the grey building from behind.

"Get the car," Baby said. "I'll get the gate."

Apache paused, looking up and down the alley.

"FUTURE doesn't even know about this site, Morning Star," Baby reminded her.

"True. Paranoia pays off again," Apache said.

She leapt up on the wire fence and climbed over the top while Baby went the few feet further to the gate. Someone had tried to jimmy the lock and failed. It looked like a regular padlock but it had tricks to it. One of them was that it didn't use a key at all. Baby had little trouble undoing it and pulling the gate back, watching nervously for police or vagrants. Luckily, even though homeless people took up residence in the building now and then, Baby and Apache had made a secret room for the car. The small, blue MGB Roadster was easy to hide.

She could hear the car start, cough to life -- when had they last taken it out? -- and watched as Apache eased the little car through a very narrow loading dock door. Once it came past the gate Baby swept it closed and locked again, and threw herself gratefully into the car, glad to be back under some cover again, even the flimsy cloth one of the car.

"Call The Office and get the mess at my apartment cleared up, will you?" Apache said, nodding toward the cell phone nestled by the window on the narrow dashboard.

Baby pushed the power cord into the lighter and looked relieved to see it light up. The chain and briefcase made her awkward but she tapped in the number, mumbled the code and got the right line again.

"FUTURE offices. Please state your name and designation."

"Morning Glory Baby Sangre, Temporary courier."

"Purpose of call."

"To report an altercation at Apache's apartment. Please clear with LAPD."

"Acknowledged. Present location?"

"No, no. We have enough problems. I'll report in when I'm ready."

She hung up. By then Apache had already found the onramp to Interstate 405 and headed southward. The traffic picked up during the morning rush hour. Somewhere north of Irvine, the sun finally came up on a gray, uninviting day. The Friday morning work traffic picked up as they reached Interstate 5 and it didn't look like anyone had much holiday cheer out there.

The bad part about being in the MGB was that people seemed to take affront just looking at the car. Or maybe it reminded too many people of their childhood and playing bumper cars. They always seemed to purposely take a dive at it.

Apache had gotten very good at swerving, swaying and staying one step ahead of the others. Baby never minded the game very much, except when the semis got in on the act.

Eventually they left the work crowd behind and Morning Glory laid her head back at last and began to relax for the first time in hours. It was barely eight in the morning.

"So, what are we doing to do now?" Apache asked.

"I'll catch a flight out of Phoenix or Tucson. I don't see any reason for you to go further with me. Get me on the plane and I'll head straight to The Office on the other end.

"We'll go slowly to Phoenix," Apache decided. "Take our time. Maybe they'll get tired of looking for you."

Baby lifted the briefcase and peered intently at it. "Somehow I doubt it. Remind me to kill Mickey Peterson first chance I get."

"I'll help. He deserves it for getting us involved in something this early in the morning."

"I don't think that part was his idea -- but he was involved, that's good enough."

The morning turned from gray drizzle to downpour. Apache pulled into a MickyD's near the San Juan Capistrano Mission. The MGB was not their favorite car to drive in the rain, especially amid crazed, frenzied holiday shoppers and harried 'late for work' drivers. Baby didn't even complain when they went inside, though she feared the poncho and the briefcase made the kind of fashion statement that was bound to draw all kinds of unwanted attention. She slid into a booth, the case conspicuously on the seat beside her, while Apache ordered the food. Her mood didn't improve when she realized she'd have to eat left-handed or rattle the chain through the entire meal.

"I'm going to kill him," Baby said.

"You're sounding more determined." Apache said as she sat down. Shesipped at some orange juice and nibbled around the edge of a roll.

"I'm annoyed." She favored several noisy children with a glare that should have quelled them to shivering silence. The kids got louder. Apache glared and it didn't help any except to make the parents glare back at them and never say a word to the four kids who were throwing food at each other.

"I don't get it," Apache finally said. "How can they stand to live like that? If we'd acted that way --"

"One of the other Sangres would have had a justifiable reason to finally be rid of us," Baby answered with a quick grin. "We had good survival instincts, you know."

"I think that's what convinced them we were real Sangres after all," Apache added. She turned away from the kids and tried to talk over the squealing of the baby and the screaming of a five year old. "I'm going to head all the way to San Diego before we cut across on Highway 8. What's a couple more hours?"

"Nothing to me. I'll sleep while you drive."

"Do you want to call ahead and book a flight?"

"Are you crazy?" Baby asked, Egg McMuffin half way to her mouth. "Or do you have a plan?"

"Both. Let's book you on a flight out of Tucson. You'll leave from Phoenix."

"Ah. Let's book me out of San Francisco as well."

"San Diego."

"LA."

"And be certain to charge them all to FUTURE."

They laughed and drew glares again from the couple in the booth across from them. Paranoid people, Baby thought, to believe if someone laughed, it had to be at them. Baby looked up and saw the crew cut father glaring at them with unconcealed suspicion. His eyes went to the briefcase and he leaned closer to his wife. She looked over quite suddenly and away again.

Apache saw the look of worry in her sister's face. She glanced at the couple and away without drawing much attention. When she spoke again, it was in a language they both spoke fluently and one that wasn't likely to be known here -- Mandarin.

"Do you think they'll be problems?" Apache asked.

"Anyone who draws attention to us is a problem," Baby said. Their change in language had not gone unnoticed, and certainly wasn't appreciated for their fluency.

"We don't need this," Apache answered. Her hand slipped down to toward the knife hidden beneath her jacket.

"Intend to murder him in McDonalds? How un-poetic."

"But justified," Apache said. "Somehow, I don't think we'd be the only one's going for them, too. I've seen three people pack up and leave already, and two more look ready to attack. They just need a leader to show them the way."

Baby laughed again and didn't complain when her sister began packing away their trash to leave. She had lost most of her appetite. When she stood, the man caught a glimpse of the handcuff and the chain and she purposely let him see that it attached to the briefcase just in case he suspected she'd escaped from a chain gang. It didn't seem to improve his attitude.

"This is a bit too much," Apache said, speaking English again. "The next time they want a courier job done, let's consider it twice. Especially one this early in the day."

"I won't argue." Baby followed her to the trashcans and watched Apache throw away about half the food they'd bought.

One of childen came running around the corner of the trashcan and tripped. Baby hadn't thought the child could scream any louder and looked back to see the father shoving a couple older kids out of the way.

"There, there child," Apache said, sitting the child on her feet. "Go to your father."

He had already started toward her. The child intercepted the man and by the time he got himself untangled, the two agents were already out the door.

"I can't believe you tripped that child," Baby said, shaking her head. "That's my work!"

"All in the line of duty," Apache said and grinned. She unlocked the door on Baby's side. Baby glanced back as she climbed in. Oh yes, they were still being watched.

Apache leapt into her own side and started the car, pulling out into the water slick lot and leaving with a squeal of tires.

"Do you think we could draw much more attention?" Baby asked.

"I can try." Apache said. But she didn't. Instead she pulled into a nearby grocery store parking lot, though the place looked closed. "Tune in the receiver."

"You bugged that kid!"

"Not nearly as much as the kid bugged me. Short range transponder, but I didn't think we should sit in the McD's parking lot and listen to them."

"Good point."

Baby tuned in the MGB's fancy --and non-standard radio -- until she heard the familiar yell of children and a growling voice.

"No, they ain't government couriers," the father said. "They're dealing drugs, I can smell it. I'm calling the police. They're wanted. I know it."

"Not wanted by many," Baby said winning a nod of agreement from her sister.

"Ralph, can't you just once stop playing cop," the woman whined. "We're on vacation!"

"Just because we've left Nebraska doesn't mean I'm not duty bound to do what's right, Mary."

"Should have known he was a backwoods cop," Baby said. "I always thought Nebraska would make a better inland lake than a state."

Kids yelled. Ralph had apparently left the table, and Baby turned down the volume when the little girl with the bug began screaming again.

"Call The Office and tell them what trouble we've run into this time," Apache said. She shook her head with disbelief.

"We'll have to tell them where we are. Kind of defeats the purpose of running, doesn't it?"

"Yes, there is that little problem. Let's wait and see what Officer Ralph says when he gets back.

Baby nodded and leaned back, willing to rest for a few minutes, though it didn't take Ralph nearly long enough to get back to the table.

"Well, the local force is gonna' handle it. They must have been looking for the two already. They thanked me real polite for calling it in."

"That can't be right," Baby said, sitting up again.

"On this assignment? Ha!" Apache turned down the radio as another kid started screaming. "We better call in and get this one cleared up too. Better that The Office knows where we are than we try to explain that nice little bomb attached to your wrist."

"You aren't going to try to outrun them?"

"I get the feeling we don't have time," Apache said as a police car went by -- slowly.

"Oh hell."

Baby called in while Apache fidgeted with the radio again. The sound of the Nebraskans got louder again as she hung up.

"If you don't make those kids settle down Mary, I'm leaving you all here. I don't need this bullshit!"

"God damn it, Ralph, I'm tired of you acting like none of this is your fault --"

"Don't you curse in front of the children!"

Apache turned the sound down again and shook her head.

"Makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Baby asked.

"Not me. I think there might be a real market for soap opera on the radio." Apache leaned back and closed her eyes. "It's too damn early. Wake me up if anything interesting happens."

Apache had the annoying ability of being able to go to sleep at just about any time and anywhere. She proved it again now, leaving Baby to watch the street and the passing cars and listen until the family packed up and drove away, eventually getting (praise the gods) out of range.

The street grew quieter. And the store, which should have opened half an hour before, stayed closed.

"Oh damn."

Apache came awake instantly. "What?"

"The street's been cordoned off. It's too quiet, the store hasn't opened, and there's been no traffic for about four minutes."

"I guess we shouldn't have stayed put after all." Apache started the car and inched forward. In a moment they could see a dozen police cars at each end of the street.

"The alley?" Baby asked.

"Right. They'd leave that open."

"Shall we head out on foot?"

"How far do you think we'd get?"

"Not far." Baby looked both ways and say dozens of uniforms, rifles and handguns ready. It was not a pleasant feeling. "This is weird. I don't recall us making the FBI's Most Wanted List this week."

"I think we should get out and talk," Apache said. "I want to find out what they think we've done."

Baby nodded though she didn't feel much like stepping out in front of all those guns. It was, in fact, one of the reasons she was no longer a cop. Despite all the movies, spies did not often face guns as often as the police did. She liked her life that way.

Nevertheless, she pushed the car door open and slid out, not flinching when she heard the sound of far too many weapons readying to fire. Apache came out only a moment later and guns lowered. Maybe the sight of two women calmed the people, though they were fools, if that was so. She and Apache were dangerous.

"Throw down your weapons and move away from the car!"

Apache carefully began removing her four knives and placing them on the hood of the car -- she only threw weapons when she meant to hit something. Baby removed her own knife, awkward again with the damn briefcase. She couldn't wait to try and explain that one! She stripped off the poncho and tossed it down as well, showing that she wasn't hiding more than a very thin T-shirt underneath.

And it still rained. The gods were not being very nice.

She and Apache moved away from the car, hands up. Baby had to hold the briefcase up, making her arm ache.

"Throw aside the case!" someone ordered.

"Can't," she answered and indicated the chain.

"Stand right there and don't move!"

They obeyed while the horde of uniforms moved in closer. Apache looked skyward as though to implore the gods for aide. Baby glanced upward as well -- and saw some TV station's helicopter with the nice little video camera watching them.

There was no hope.

She grinned and waved.

Someone laughed. She looked back to see a man in a gray suit splashing his way through the puddles of water like a kid happy to be out of school.

The ones in uniform didn't look nearly as happy. The first to reach her grabbed the case and literally tried to jerk it off of her wrist. Baby gave a startled yelp and threw herself in the same direction -- she, the cop and the case all ended up sitting in the mud.

"Don't do that!" She was almost oblivious to the guns that all turned in her direction. "Look, I'll be totally cooperative, but just don't do anything stupid like that again!"

"Why?" the man in the gray suit asked, stopping half a step from the mud.

"Why will I cooperate? Because whatever you think you have us on right now, you're wrong."

"We have an arrest warrant out of LA," the man said.

"Warrant? LA?" Apache spoke at last. They had her handcuffed. "What the hell is going on now!"

"Someone on the force playing games?" Baby asked looking up at her sister. "They were never very happy with us." She looked back at the man. "We were cops in LA, and then Phoenix. Morning Glory and Morning Star Sangre. You can check that out. Now we work for an organization called FUTURE. You'll have to check with the UN on that one."

"In the mean time, let's not be hasty about trying to remove that briefcase," Apache added.

The man in the suit frowned, looking down at it.

"Bomb?"

"Not my idea," Baby protested.

"You sound like terrorists to me!" the cop who had tried to take the briefcase exclaimed. He sounded rather hopeful.

"Sorry, no. I think you'll find that Apache and I are vouched for by a surprising number of high-placed people."

"The warrant says that you're wanted for an altercation in LA this morning. Something about knife wounds." The man's eyes flickered toward the knives they'd left on the hood of the car and then he looked at Apache for the first time. "I believe this took place at your apartment?"

"Well damn," Apache said. She looked at Baby. "I think we may have problems, hermana mia."

"Read them their rights, then take this one," he waved toward Apache, "to the station and hold her in isolation until I get there."

"And if LAPD comes after them?" someone asked.

"Tell them to wait. That's what they like to tell us. Besides, I'll have this one with me," he said, indicating Baby and signaling that she should get up.

"Where are you going with her?" Apache demanded.

Baby winced but the man in the suit smiled as though he was, still, having a great time. "She and I and a couple other cops will be at the hospital having the case X-rayed."

"Good idea!" Baby agreed genially as she got to her feet. "I'd like to know what's inside myself!"

Apache didn't argue, although she didn't look happy about going off without Baby. And Baby didn't feel particularly good about being parted with her bodyguard either, though at least the police had stopped showing a tendency to try to take the briefcase without her. Mistrust she could handle, at least, and disbelief came with her job.

"Roberts, check on everything they've given us and let LAPD know we have them. Now, Ms. Sangre, will you be so kind as to join me in a car?"

"Certainly. I don't like walking in the rain," she said. She went with the group, saying the appropriate words when she was Mirandized, though she watched where they took Apache.

She only paid attention to her own situation again when the policewoman searching her tapped the knee brace and made a worried sound.

"Not trapped," Baby reassured her. "Leg brace." She carefully pulled up the pant leg and when she looked up again, the car with Apache in it had already left. She felt very vulnerable standing there with a dozen police.

"Can that be removed?" the man in the suit asked.

"Sure, if you want to carry me everywhere we go afterwards. Wouldn't bother me any. That little romp in the mud was not a good idea."

"I thought you were limping," he said. "By the way, I'm Chief Tedak."

"Chief of police? Excellent. That means we don't have to try and explain this all again to someone higher up, right?"

He smiled agreement, and let Baby find her own pace the rest of the way to the car. She stopped there and looked back at their own abandoned car, which had drawn some appreciative looks from a few of the policemen. They all seemed a lot calmer, despite the fact that she had admitted to carrying a bomb.

"Go easy with the MGB," Baby said. "Apache is very fond of it."

"Why do you call her Apache?" Tedak asked as he helped her into the car, and then slid in the back with her. Damn brave man, though another cop did take the other side.

"That's her childhood nickname," Baby explained. "She was really very vicious."

"So you have known each other --"

"All my life," Baby answered. "You did notice the similarity in names?"

"Yes, but I didn't think they were your real names."

"They are. Like everything else about us, they only sound improbable."

The hospital wasn't far away and the examination didn't take long since they used a computer ultrasound scan, Baby doing the work herself since it seemed unkind to put some poor technician through this. Tedak stood over the computer screen, which she couldn't quite see. After a moment he nodded.

"Trapped all right. And a good job. I would have missed it if I hadn't been told."

"I was afraid of that." Baby sighed. She sat aside the imaging camera and frowned at the case. "Can you get copies of that stuff? I'd like to know what I'm dealing with."

"You really didn't know for certain, did you?" He began hitting keys and paper began popping out of the printer.

"I believed, and that was enough." She took the papers and sat down in the nearest chair, feeling drained and less happy about this assignment by the moment. The scan didn't look good. She could see the bomb, the trigger, and nothing much to get around it.

"What are you carrying that is so important they'd kill innocent people and you rather than lose it?"

"Damned if I know," Baby admitted. That didn't win a good response from Tedak who finally seemed to be losing patience. It was a shame since she rather liked the man. "All I know is that three couriers are already dead. We don't lose three agents on any assignment, Chief Tedak. We're not that kind of organization."

"Where were you going?"

"I was supposed to catch a flight out of LAX this morning, but it started looking like suicide to me."

"You would take that on a plane? A regular flight?"

"I didn't like the sound of it either. I'm not on the flight."

He nodded and took the papers from her hands, carefully folding them and putting them in his inside jacket pocket. She'd seen enough anyway.

"So, why you?"

"I was the best courier FUTURE ever had," she said but didn't smile this time. "Someone thought Apache and I could handle this."

"What went wrong?"

Baby looked at the man, wondering why he asked the questions here away from the Police station. She wondered how much she could trust him. FUTURE was a secret organization, but he would learn a bit about it when the clearance came through --

"If, if," she mumbled to herself.

"Pardon?"

"Chief Tedak, you'll get all the stuff from LAPD and PPD about us, but I'm beginning to wonder if anything will come back from FUTURE." She put her hand to her forehead and pushed back her hair, a movement of such worry that Tedak crossed to her, looking worried as well. "No, I'm all right. Let me explain. That altercation in LA at Apache's apartment should have been cleared hours ago. Better still, it should never have happened. They knew where to find us. And three other agents are dead."

He met her look, eye-for-eye.

"If you are making this up as you go, you ought to write books."

Baby laughed, letting his humor override her own growing displeasure and despair.

"What do you suggest I do?" Tedak asked.

"Well, I don't expect you to let us go, so don't worry. Keep Apache and me in a safe place -- safe and as far from anyone else as you can manage." She tapped the case. "I don't imagine we'll be with you for long, one way or another."

"Morning Glory --" the use of her other name startled her to look up at Tedak, "--you have a double agent after you, don't you?"

"I wish I could say that stuff only happens in movies but --" She stopped and looked toward the window. It was still raining. When she looked back, Tedak was still patiently waited for an answer. Or maybe, knowing she did really have a bomb attached to her, he wasn't in any hurry to get moving again. "Chief Tedak, when we knew the local police were going to come looking for us, I called in and told The Office the situation. Like the trouble in LA, it should have been cleared up within the hour. Nevertheless, here we are. I don't know about a double agent. I'm starting to worry about the entire damn organization."

"Who can I call?"

"Chief Mathews of the Phoenix Police Department. Once he stops cursing at the mere mention of our names, he'll give you a good report on our last few years as cops."

"But cops sometimes go bad."

"Yes they do." The statement made her shiver, and she kept her hand from going to her bad knee by sheer force of will. "But at least that will get a good character reference."

"What about your organization?"

"The FBI will tell you it's legit. They won't be able to say much about FUTURE's operatives, though. We are a UN organization."

"I didn't know the UN worked in the United States."

"Oh, we work all over the place," she said with a lofty wave of her hand. "And do you want to know what our work is? We collect information."

"Information? What information?" Tedak asked sounding exasperated.

"All information. Who played in the last World Series, what minor breakthrough in cloning was made in Scotland last week, who ate dinner at the White House last night. We copy ancient texts and new scientific papers. We are archivists, Chief Tedak."

"And what information is so important they attached a bomb to it and you?"

"That is a damned good question," she said, frowning at the case again. "Sometimes information is dangerous, of course. Some people should not be allowed to know how to make certain nerve gases, or learn there is a store of deadly bacteria rotting away in some backwater village in China. We live in the information age, but there are still things you can't find on the Internet. Let's hope they never get there."

"And your agency protects the data? Or gives it to all the world to share?"

"A super patriot like Ralph, are you?"

"Ralph?"

"The cop from Nebraska who brought us to your attention."

"How did you know all about him?"

"Really, Chief, I am a spy. We have our ways. Now -- do you think the FBI would clear FUTURE if they had any question about our work?"

"No."

"Then let's wait and see what they say before we make any other decisions." She stood, glancing out the window again. "I'd really like to get back to Apache now. I don't like not knowing what's going on with her."

"She's safe," Tedak assured her. "And they wouldn't come after her, would they? You're the one with the case and the bomb."

"They would take her to get to me."

"Because you're sisters? No one would guess that by looking at you."

"They don't have to guess. Everyone at FUTURE knows."

"Oh." He looked, suddenly, as though the entire weight of the problem dawned on him. "Yes, maybe it is time to get back to your sister."

She bowed her head and let him lead her back to the door and out of the building, the cops still gathering around her like a shield. She hoped they were on hazard pay.

She didn't feel safe until they were in the car again and driving away, though both she and Tedak watched the cars behind for a few blocks. It didn't look like they were followed.

"How did you ever get into this?" Tedak suddenly asked.

"You mean how did someone who looks like a refugee from the sixties ever get entrusted with something so obviously important as this appears to be?"

"That's a good place to start, yeah."

"Apache and I were cops in Phoenix. This was after LA. We did good, undercover work and someone in FUTURE took notice. They asked us to join."

"Undercover work being so important to archivists and all," Tedak said.

She grinned and didn't correct him. "I was one of their best couriers. I assume that's why The Office sent me out to get this package. There is someone at FUTURE whom we can trust. The head of the organization personally called Apache and told her to get out to the airport and watch over me. I like to think that's a good sign."

"You two don't work together all the time?"

"Not all the time. Not often since we joined FUTURE four years ago. She started out as a field agent and I started as a courier and worked my way up to the field work."

"They didn't think you could handle it?"

"Bad leg." She looked out as they pulled up to the police station. "Good. Let's go before Apache gets irritable about not knowing where I am."

"I get the feeling that we do not want to make Apache irritable."

A few minutes later Tedak showed her to a thick walled cell with a single door. She didn't much like the look of it, but the room did seem far from everything else and the cement walls might stop some of the blast --

What a damn mess.

The door closed behind her. She couldn't even hear Tedak walk away.

Apache looked up from her bunk and promptly dropped back down to go to sleep.

"Yes, well, I can see that you've been worried," Baby said. "Out, Apache. I want the bottom bunk."

"Why?"

"I saw the scan of this thing. The idea of jumping up and down just doesn't seem very wise."

Apache nodded and climbed up to the next bunk. Baby settled on the warm spot her sister left behind, sitting the case on the floor beside her. Before she could close her eyes, Apache looked back over the edge.

"What did you tell Tedak?"

"Everything I could think of. Cooperation seemed rather wise, given the situation. I want out of here before something... unfortunate happens to us."

"You know this room is wired for sound."

"Of course. So? Do you think there's anything we could say to shock Tedak or anyone else at this point? Apache, there's something wrong at The Office, and we're in trouble for it. I will take help wherever we can find it."

"Why is it every time someone goes bad -- cop, spy or whatever -- we're somehow involved?"

"Karma. I would like to know what we did in a past life to deserve this, though."

"Get some rest," Apache said, disappearing again. "We're going to need it."

Apache fell back asleep before long, though Baby stayed awake until eventually Apache's good advice won over her worry. Sleep now. She wasn't certain what the next hour would bring.

Three


They were both sitting on the bottom bunk when the cell door opened. They looked up at Tedak as though they'd been waiting for him. It was one of their better acts, but the man wasn't much impressed.

"You two have attracted a lot of attention. We have three parties here to see you, not to mention the people still waiting from LAPD -- who are not happy about this entire affair, by the way. Oh and -- Apache is it? -- the guy you knifed at your apartment is doing fine."

"I didn't knife him," Apache protested as she stood. "She did. I just kicked him in the head and hit him with the suitcase. Why do people always assume I'm the one who goes around knifing people?"

Baby tried her best innocent smile, and it finally won a laugh from Tedak. He led them down the hallway, hurrying past nervous looking officers, and to a room with a two-way mirror. It allowed them to see the people in the bare-walled white room on the other side. Three people sat in fold up chairs around a long, black table. Baby recognized two immediately, and only barely managed not to look surprised.

"Huh," Apache said -- a true sign of shock in her. "We know Mickey Patterson. He's from FUTURE. I'm surprised Chief Mathews came in from Phoenix for this, though."

"Said something about wanting to see the ocean and thought he'd drop by to see if you two had driven me crazy yet," Tedak said.

"Who is the third guy?" Baby asked, frowning at the smug looking man in a dark suit. "FBI would be my first guess."

"And you'd be right. Agent Willows -- we checked him out and he does appear to be legit. You want to see them all together or one at a time?"

"It's getting late," Apache said. Baby glanced at the wall clock behind them. 8:00PM already. At least they'd gotten some sleep. "We'll take them all together. Maybe we can play Mickey and the FBI guy against each other."

"Good idea. It's the least we can do for Mickey after he got us into this mess," Baby agreed.

Tedak nodded and escorted the two into the room. Willows glared, Mickey looked worried, and Mathews shook his head.

"You two just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" Mathews asked.

"Did you think we would?" Apache asked. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Baby settled next to her and Tedak stayed behind them. She supposed he was meant to be a guard, but it made her very nervous.

She put the damned case on the table and her hands on top of it. All eyes turned toward it. It amused her even now to watch them.

"I told Jeremy Tedak all I can about you and your years in Phoenix," Mathews said.

"I thought you'd come to help," Baby said.

He smiled. Mickey grinned and Willows still glared. When Baby looked back at Mickey again, he squirmed for a moment before he dared speak.

"I came to help, Baby."

"The Office had a lot of nerve sending you."

"They didn't send me," he confessed, looking down at his hands and up again.

"Then how did you find out we were here?" she asked.

"I saw a report on the news."

Apache moaned and lowered her head to the table.

"The Office," Mickey began, glancing nervously around. "They haven't answered any of your calls for assistance, have they?"

"The Office has been less than helpful," Baby answered.

"Which is why I'm here," the last man spoke. He smiled, though it looked hardly one degree better than a sneer. "Since you have obviously fallen out of grace with FUTURE, I've come for the briefcase. I'm Agent Mike Willows, FBI."

Mathews and Mickey looked away as though they feared they would witness the slaughter of the innocents. Apache's head came up from the table. Baby smiled, and it wasn't a very pleasant look either. Willows didn't seem to notice he was in trouble.

"We can make the exchange now and then I'll be on my way," the man continued, oblivious to the fact that even Tedak had stepped away from the two.

"Sorry," Baby said and lifted the chain. "I'm rather attached to it."

"I'm not joking about this."

"FBI agents never joke," Apache said. "They're not paid to joke."

"I want that case off now!"

"I do not have the key," Baby replied as distinctly as she could.

"Then I'll get someone in here to cut it off," he said, reaching for his cell phone.

Mickey caught his arm.

"No, I don't think you'll be doing that," Tedak said. "I really don't care to start remodeling the station right now, and the hole this thing would leave if you try to cut it off would be rather unsightly."

"Are you saying it's trapped?" Willows demanded. "And you brought us all in here with a bomb in their control?"

"Hey, anyone who wants to leave is free to do so," Tedak hinted.

"I'm not leaving without that case."

"The case, with Ms. Sangre attached, is not going anywhere. Nothing leaves this station until I decide so, and I have far too many unanswered questions to release them yet."

"And then, if you want access to this case you can take it up with our Chicago office," Baby said. "Once I put it in their hands, I don't care what they do with it."

"I can get a court order to make you hand it over."

"The FBI has no authorization over FUTURE couriers," Apache said. "We are cleared to do our work through your own mandate, and unless you can prove that what we have here is vital to one of your own investigations, we are not required to hand over any of our own material. It's all in the rules and regulations. Go check them out."

Willows had turned three shades redder while she spoke, a sure sign he knew about the rules and regulations but didn't think they would. Baby wondered why the FBI wanted the case, but she wasn't going to ask. Someone probably saw the news report and realized the FBI had an opportunity to grab something just on general principal. There had been altercations between FBI and FUTURE in the past, but never anything serious. FUTURE didn't get involved in the kinds of things that would interest them.

Until now.

Willows stood, glared round at the group, and settled his look on Tedak. "I will be back in touch with you."

"You know where my office is."

The man stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"You two never were very nice to FBI agents," Mathews said.

"That's because we never get the Muldars." Apache said.

"Yeah. Hell, I'd settle for a Scully," Baby added. "At least she'd be interesting to talk to."

"So, what do we do now?" Tedak asked.

"I don't want to know," Mickey said and stood. "I see these two don't really need my help. All in all, the fewer of us from FUTURE who know what's going on, the better. I think I'll go trail the FBI agent and keep him out of your hair for awhile."

"You win back your life," Baby said. "But don't do this to me again."

"Never," he said so fervently that Mathews laughed.

Mickey left, just as quickly, but far quieter. Tedak finally took a chair beside Mathews. Both of the men remained silent for a couple minutes. If they'd expected anything from the two Sangres, they finally gave up.

"Maybe," Tedak began, frowning slightly. "Maybe we ought to transfer these two somewhere for safe keeping. Everyone seems to know they're here. I don't think it's safe. And I can't send them back to LA with a good conscious. It's obvious that's what someone wants to happen."

"Phoenix," Mathews said. "I can get the extradition drawn up in a couple hours."

That got both Apache and Baby's attention.

"LAPD will not be happy if you do this," Apache warned.

"LAPD has been displeased with us before," Tedak replied. "But they aren't pushing very hard to get you two either. I think they're worried about transport and the bomb. They have talked about a bomb squad dismantling the thing, of course, but I faxed them the scan, and they said they'd have to consider this one. I get the feeling they'd rather let someone else have a try at this first."

"Or hope that the problem will take care of itself?" Apache asked.

Tedak shrugged.

"You could just give us back the MGB," Apache said with a wistful sigh, but shook her head before Baby could say anything. "No. Too obvious. I'll give you an address where it can be shipped for storage, and the info to have everything charged to FUTURE."

"I'll rent a car and take them back with me, then," Mathews said. "Though I've no idea what I'll do with them afterwards."

He looked at the two. Baby certainly had no answers and Apache offered nothing.

"Fine. I'll take them back to their cell while we make out the proper forms and get things moving." Tedak stood. Morning Glory and Morning Star did the same. "What? No arguments? No suggestions? You're just going along with this?"

"I honestly don't see that we have any choice," Baby said, lifting the damned briefcase again. "I don't think Apache and I could come up with a better plan just now. We're still not certain who all the players are."

"What are you going to do when you find out?" Mathews asked.

"I'm sure it will be creative," Apache offered.

She and Baby smiled again. Tedak and Mathews seemed suddenly anxious to get them back to their cell.

Four


At nearly 1:30 the next morning someone came to take the two out. Tedak wasn't around, but he left a note explaining it would draw less notice if he didn't show up in the middle of the night. Baby thought it sounded wise. The idea of another camera crew covering this mess didn't really appeal to her.

Almost too tired to care, Baby let Apache handle all the prelim checks. After all, that was her job this time. Baby just slipped into the van marked with the sign of a local carpet cleaning service and laid down in the back. The van sped away, apparently drawing no unusual attention.

Baby yawned and listened to the quiet of the city around them. Bright Christmas decorations cast pretty light patterns on the ceiling above her and she watched them for a while until she was ready to sleep again.

"I brought you two some tea."

The words startled her awake, both for the welcome offer and for the fact that she knew the voice. When Morning Glory sat up she found Chief Mathews leaning over from the passenger seat and handing her a Styrofoam cup of steaming orange pekoe. She didn't recognize the driver, but since neither Apache nor Mathews made any sign of worry about him, Baby decided to do the same. She had enough to think about without adding more.

"What are you going to do once we get to Phoenix?" Mathews asked, looking over the back of the seat at them.

"That kind of depends on you, doesn't it?" Apache asked as she and Baby settled comfortably against the side of the van.

"Odd thing, that. About an hour ago LAPD dropped all the charges against you, the FBI backed out, and it was generally suggested maybe you two ought to be turned loose."

"Ah," Baby said with a sigh. "I can't say I like the sound of that much."

"Could be someone from The Office finally came through for us," Apache said. She nodded her thanks when Mathews gave them back their knives. Then she shrugged. "Or it could mean that Tedak was keeping us too well, and they want us out on the road where they think we'll be easier to take."

"Right," Mathews said. "So I'll get you as far as Phoenix. From there you make your own decisions."

"Hey," the driver said looking up. "Look at that! I didn't know we were supposed to have a meteor shower tonight!"

Baby and Apache both managed to look up out the window as a half dozen lights streaked across the sky, fading off behind the van.

"Signs and portents," Baby said. "In ancient times those falling stars could mean something really momentous was about to happen."

"At least they're pointing back toward the coast, so it's one less thing for us to worry about," Apache said, taking her cup of tea.

"So, what do we do in Phoenix?" Baby asked, settling back down and trying to get both her braced leg and the case in some sort of comfortable position.

"I think we need to disappear. People are going to look for us to show up on the East coast somewhere. I think we should keep them waiting."

"Fine. Where do we go?"

"We will be in Phoenix -- and it is almost Christmas --"

Baby stared at her in absolute shock and noticed how Mathews looked worried. It took her a moment to find the right words to say.

"You have gone totally out of your mind this time. There's no way in hell I'm going to the Reservation like this." Baby lifted the case and shook it, winning a little hiss of shock from Mathews. "I said I would go for Christmas, but there's no way I'll take my work there with me!"

"Baby, it is our best hope to disappear for a day or two."

"You don't think those who are after us won't put it together?" Baby asked. "Or are you just that desperate to go home for the holidays, 'cause feel free if that's the case."

Mathews made a little sound of dismay. It was obviously the first time they'd ever actually argued in front of him. Baby felt like a parent who realized the kids were watching a spat.

"Baby, please --" Apache said softly. The words and tone got her attention. "Morning Glory Sangre, the Reservation is the only place I can think where we can go, hide and feel safe. We need time to sort this one out. I don't want to do something stupid. And I do have an invitation to go there."

"You have an invitation," Baby said.

"You would to, if you ever talked with them."

"Really? You think Veronica is going to be pleased to see me?"

"Veronica Sangre is a bigoted, loud-mouthed pain in the ass. Hasn't anyone else ever pointed that out to you? Are you really going to let her keep you away?"

"Don't try to pull that psych stuff with me," Baby warned. "We both took the same classes."

They stared at each other, silent for a couple miles until it became obvious Mathews couldn't stand it any longer.

"Look, Baby -- it sounds as though she has a good idea." He raised a hand when she turned a glare to him. "You tell me why it won't work. You don't get along with the other Sangres?"

"With no one but Cloud. He's the youngest," Baby said. "He was only a few months old when his mother died."

Mathews looked confused and Baby sighed, not really anxious to go into the details.

"Vitorio Sangre was our father," Apache said. "He was married to Maria when he went to work in Phoenix -- and met our mother. I've heard she was a tall, dark-skinned woman with bright red hair. People probably thought it was dyed, but Baby's hair has always been red, so I don't think so." She stopped the babble and shook her head, as though to get her thoughts back in line. "Anyway, after a couple months Vitorio stopped going home, even on the weekends. I was born seven months before Cloud and Baby was born four months after him -- on the day Vitorio and our mother, Vivianne Davis, were in a car accident. Baby was a couple months premature. Vitorio and Vivianne didn't live through the night -- which is one of the reasons she stayed Baby Sangre for quite a few years. Unfortunately, Maria didn't take any of the news well. She killed herself the next day, leaving eight children of her own: Robert, Angela, Kyle, Veronica, Lisa, Marie, Michael and Cloud. Robert had just turned 21 and agreed to take the two of us back to the Reservation to live with the rest of our brothers and sisters."

"Oh. I didn't realize." He stopped and looked at Baby. "But I still don't understand why you don't get along with them. Well, other than the same reason you don't get along with anyone else, but I figured you kind of grew into that one."

"The honest, bottom line truth is that I'm too pale for them. Apache can fit in. They never had to explain her."

"Oh." He looked a little chagrined. "That part hadn't occurred to me. I guess I'm too used to seeing you two as a pair."

"So did almost everyone else," Apache said. "But Veronica just stayed annoyed at everything for the rest of her life. Baby became a convenient target until we left the Reservation. I'm not sure what she latched on to after we left. She was never happy unless she was making someone else unhappy. Ask her three ex-husbands."

Baby found herself amused by that statement. Apache was right, of course. It had been primarily Veronica and her friends who had made her life hell for those years growing up. She remembered Robert and Lisa both standing up for her -- and the others, if not on her side, certainly didn't back Veronica either.

"If we don't go to San Zoticus, where do you suggest we go instead?" Apache asked. "Where else could we sit back, relax for even a few hours, and know someone else will warn us if there's danger? I think jail is our only other option, and I’m already tired of bars."

Unfortunately, Baby knew Apache was right in many ways. Oh, they could go off and hide out in some hotel in the middle of nowhere -- but they'd still have to do all the guarding themselves. One thing was for certain -- no one would get into the San Zoticus Reservation without the two being warned. Even if they didn't like Baby much, she knew they'd do it for Apache.

"Okay, fine," she said. Apache looked surprised by the sudden concession. "You're right, and I'm tired. And I'm not a child anymore. I can stand up to Veronica."

"Good, cause I can't and she drives me nuts," Apache admitted. She grinned brightly and looked more pleased than Baby had seen in a long time. "It will be all right."

"It'll be interesting. What more could I ask for? I'm going to sleep. For some reason I get the feeling this van is the last peaceful place I'm going to be for awhile."

Apache nodded agreement. Mathews looked glad the trouble hadn't gone to blows. Baby leaned back and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep through the rest of the night. They would be...home soon. It was such an odd thought....

At three the next afternoon, Apache arrived in a shadowy alley in Phoenix driving a rented jeep. Baby slipped out of the back of the van and came around to the corner where Chief Mathews sat in the driver's seat. The other man had left them at dawn, catching a bus back to LA. Baby still wasn't certain who he had been.

"Thanks. Really. I didn't like what was going on in LA and Capistrano. I didn't like the thought that Apache and I might have to force our way out. I hate burning those kinds of bridges."

"When Tedak called me I saw disaster lurking all over the situation," he admitted and brushed a hand over his crew cut hair. "And I would really hate to see your names on a Most Wanted list again. Call me when this is over."

She nodded and walked away.

When this is over?

Apache waited until Baby pulled the seat belt on, and then backed out of the alley, giving one final wave of farewell to Mathews before they drove away.

They hadn't been to Phoenix in a few years, but Apache still remembered all the back roads and side streets. It didn't take long before they headed northwest away from the city and the lights, and headed into a land where little else than a jeep or horses could go.

Desert, mountains, arroyos -- Baby hadn't visited in so long it almost felt unreal now. The San Zoticus Reservation wasn't very large, and its single town of any size -- about two thousand on a good day -- wasn't on a main highway, though there was a better way in then the back roads Apache took. The place was a haven for Cultural Anthropologists who found the quiet village filled with history and customs lost in most of the larger reservations. Archaeologists and hardy tourists flocked to the cliff dwellings nearby, nearly untouched by scavengers and looters.

But for the natives, it was just home. There were parts of this world that Baby had missed over the years of her exile. She used to love to go hiking in the hills, alone or with Apache. She loved the dusty streets and the quiet noon times when most everyone else rested from the heat. Surprisingly, it had only been some of the other Sangres who had treated her as an outcast, but never the rest of the tribe. It seemed as though just being there had been enough for them.

Five hours after they left Phoenix, Apache parked the car at the edge of town up against the walls of an, abandoned Franciscan Mission. They walked the rest of the way, down the winding road and into town. It hadn't changed very much, except for a lovely new adobe school. The old section of the village held museums and shops, and the newer houses out along the edges of the little town looked well built and pretty. People glanced out the windows and looked away again, noting who they were -- no one shocked or protesting.

Dust swirled up in clouds of sand around them in the cold, windy night. No one else walked the streets, but Baby still found herself standing behind Apache as she always had when they were younger.

"This is insane," she mumbled aloud and moved to walk beside her sister. "I am insane!"

Apache grinned and didn't argue. She led them past buildings of adobe and wood; old places that might not have changed in the last century, for all Baby knew. Sometimes she thought she saw the ghosts standing in the doorways. It made her uncomfortable because she liked to live in the new age of computers and cell phones, drive up food and Diet Pepsi -- and yet she knew she belonged here.

Higher up the curving road she could barely discern the outline of the Old Village -- an ancient site of cliff dwellings and even older ghosts. The main road led from Highway 17 straight to the dwellings, and drew a few tourists during the summer, even though the site wasn't well known. Some of them made their way down into the newer village with its quaint craft shops and unique museums. But there wasn't much here to keep their attention -- all except for the anthropologists, who often lived in the village for years.

They walked down a long road, past most of the houses until they came to a plain stucco home at the end of Mesquite Road, far away from the other homes. Baby paused by the cactus filled garden and lifted a small pebble, tossing it toward the house.

"Careful. You break a window and they're not going to be real impressed."

"Who lives here now?" Baby asked. It didn't look any different then when she'd lived here, presenting her with a different, and less welcome, kind of ghost.

"Lisa, her husband John Owlfeather. They don't have any kids."

"That's all? It'll seem empty compared to the days when there were ten of us. Let's go up and see just how welcome you really are."

Apache glanced down at the briefcase and looked a little worried before she turned away. Baby followed her, staying in her sister's shadow as they walked up to the front door. Apache knocked and Baby held her breath as footsteps came quickly through the house.

An unfamiliar man in his late thirties opened the door and grinned brightly. Baby thought she remembered him. The town was small and she'd known everyone, years ago.

"Morning Star! You did make it!"

"Hi, John," Apache said. She stood on the steps even when the door opened.

"Lisa! It's Morning Star!" John called back into the house.

"Great!" Another figure came to the door, and one that Baby knew better. "I'm glad you made it!"

Baby wanted to back away, to let Apache have this place where they so gladly welcomed her, because she didn't doubt there would be a change in attitude as soon as the others realized Apache wasn't alone. She actually took a step backward, even though she knew she couldn't get away.

Apache reached back and caught her arm, pulling her forward into the light. Baby held her breath as she met Lisa's eyes.

"Well, I'll be damned," Lisa said. "I didn't think you would ever come back here."

"Are we -- both of us -- welcome?" Apache asked.

Lisa looked startled, glanced at Apache and back to Baby and smiled. "Of course you are! Get in out of the cold. Baby doesn't even have a coat on!"

She shivered, and it had nothing at all to do with the cold.

They'd fixed up the interior of the house since the last time she'd been here, nearly a decade ago. The furniture looked new, and a Christmas tree sat against a side wall, the floor littered with presents. Baby stood uneasily behind Apache, feeling more out of place since this wasn't the home she remembered.

"Where's your car?"

"Down in the old mission."

"Really?" Lisa glanced at the case in Morning Glory's hand. "Why do I get the feeling this is more than a trip home for the holidays?"

"You knew that when I showed up," Baby said.

Lisa agreed with a nod of her head and a look that Baby couldn't quite read. Lisa was ten years older than her, the middle child of the "real" Sangre family. She had never been as hostile as Veronica, who was a year older than Lisa. Baby hoped that counted for something now.

"We're on a job...and it's not going well," Apache explained. Baby wasn't used to hearing her sister sound so defensive or uncertain. Amazing what the rest of the Sangre family could do to them.

"This is a job for that organization you work for?" John asked with a frown. "I thought you people just collected information. How can that go bad?"

Baby looked down at her feet. Unfortunately, the damn briefcase dangled there in view beneath her poncho.

"Let's go in the kitchen and talk," Lisa suggested. Baby could smell cookies in the oven. "You're lucky. All the rest of the Sangres took the vans and went to Phoenix to shop. They won't be home before midnight. None of them will know you are here until then."

"Better still," Baby said, following the two into the kitchen, with Apache at her back this time. She accepted the chair that John pulled out for her with a nod of thanks. Apache settled beside her. She wasn't certain she would relax here, but she did feel strangely safe. "And if by some miracle you have a Diet Pepsi, I think I might even I'll survive the stay."

John opened the refrigerator, pulled out a can of Diet Pepsi and tossed it to her. She caught it left-handed, trying to minimize the sight of the briefcase that now sat in her lap.

"Must be the ghosts whispering to us," John said. He pushed his long hair back and looked very serious just then. "I picked that up at the store today. I told Lisa we might need it for visitors over the holidays. Must mean the Old Ones are glad you came back."

Baby grinned, opened the can, and sipped the drink before it fizzed over the top. She settled back in the chair and relaxed. The others weren't here. It looked like the Gods had been on her side in this one.

"So, what's going on?" Lisa asked.

Baby finally lifted the briefcase and sat it on the table. "I'm doing a courier job, only it has gone bad. The case is trapped with explosives, I don't have the key, and I seriously doubt I can trust anyone who says they have it."

"That thing dangerous?" John asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Not as long as it stays closed and attached to my wrist. Trust me -- if I thought it was dangerous, I wouldn't be here. And I certainly wouldn't be traveling with Apache."

"Ha. Like you could have lost me somewhere," Apache said as she accepted a cup of tea from Lisa. The two sat across from Baby and Apache, looking quite serious.

"If I had asked Tedak to keep hold of you, he would have," Baby said. "He might not have been able to hold you for long, but I get the feeling it's not going to take long to finish up this assignment."

Apache started to argue and changed her mind. Maybe she was trying to look professional, because normally she would argue about anything Baby said. "It's not as bad as it all sounds, John. Baby used to be very good at bomb disposal back when we were cops. If nothing else, she might be able to diffuse this one herself."

"I've been thinking about that since I saw the scan," she admitted. Baby traced a diagram on the surface of the case she spoke. "They did a good job -- pressure sensitive reinforcement on all sides, battery linked detonator, and a very sensitive lock sensor. I'm only going to try this one if I absolutely have to."

Apache nodded. "Then we go with it -- but where to? Whoever wants this case already knows we're FUTURE agents. They'll know where we're heading."

"Eventually," Baby agreed. "But unless we can hunt down the key on our own, I don't think we have much choice. I don't trust anyone in The Office right now, but I have to still trust the organization. Otherwise we're really in trouble."

"Again," Lisa offered.

Apache grinned at the woman, nodding agreement. "The only question I see is figuring out how we're going to get there. A plane is way too noticeable now."

"Bus," Baby said. "No one expects a spy to go by bus. It also allows the other side time to get antsy about where we are and what's happened."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I could stand the trip. Maybe we can grab a private jet and I'll fly us in."

"I don't know if I'm up to a hijacking, and charging a jet to our account doesn't seem very wise --"

"You have an account large enough to charge a jet to?" John asked. He looked positively shocked. Then his eyes narrowed. "We've had some surprisingly large anonymous donations to the tribal fund every time we need to rebuild something, like the school --"

Baby looked at her hands. Then she noted that Apache had done the same. They glanced at each other and Baby shook her head.

"You, too? No wonder they have such a nice looking new school!" She laughed and then noted that all three of the people stared at her in shocked surprise, even Apache. "What?"

"I can't believe that you -- " Lisa stopped. "You never liked it here."

"I loved it here," Baby corrected. "I just didn't get along with some of the people. I would have stayed forever except, for Veronica and her followers."

"Oh." Lisa looked surprised, and then troubled. "We should have done something about her. We shouldn't have let her --"

Baby waved the self-recriminations away. "The past. We can't change it now with a wish. And I've gone on to my own life, which is only proper. I couldn't ever really be one of you, and staying here wasn't the future I was meant to have. If it was, I would have been born darker."

Apache almost looked bothered. It wasn't a subject Baby really wanted to pursue right at this moment. They had real work to deal with.

But they didn't talk about work after all. Lisa and Apache began filling her in on what had happened with the family, including Veronica's three messy divorces (which she took some guilty pleasure in hearing about) and all the other odds and ends of lives Baby had ignored for years. The discussion actually did what they'd hoped -- she and Apache had a few hours to relax and not think about work.

They moved out to the living room, Baby and Apache sprawled on the sofa, Lisa and John sharing a spot on the floor by the Christmas tree. The four were still there when Baby heard cars pulling up front of the house. John stood and crossed to the window, peeking out.

"Well, I don't know," John said. "What would be worse? Enemy agents or the rest of the Sangres?"

"Sangres," Baby said with a quick grin. She could already hear the sound of children. "Where are the enemy agents when you need them?"

The door burst open, the sudden gust of wind sending a spray of sand into the room. A dozen or more people came into the little room and Baby, unexpectedly, felt as though she would to suffocate in the presence of so many Sangres. That came from pure panic on her part.

"We're here!" Robert said. "As though you couldn't tell -- well, hello Morning Star!" He stopped and his face changed. "Morning Glory."

"I don't really carry the plague, you know," Baby said. She had already stood -- pure reflex in the face of trouble. Veronica stepped into the room, her face going very hard and her eyes already getting that blaze of anger that Baby remembered far too well.

"Why did you come back?" Veronica demanded.

"She came with me." Apache stood, obviously angry at the reaction. Veronica looked worried and Robert looked a little chagrined.

"I've stayed long enough --" Baby started.

"No," Lisa said. She stepped over to stand by Apache and Baby, putting a hand on Baby's arm. "You're my guest. I don't want you to leave."

"Well, then, that's settled," Robert said. He even smiled. "You kids go help Cloud unload the car."

The knot of silent children suddenly became boisterous again, daring to push past Veronica to go back outside. Veronica Sangre glared at Lisa and looked as though her pet dog had turned around and bit her.

"We'll be leaving first thing in the morning, Robert," Apache said.

"You didn't come here for Christmas?" he asked, looking confused.

"No, just passing through. We're working this holiday. I might make it back, afterwards."

Robert nodded and looked again at Morning Glory who leaned against the wall and offered nothing. It had been pleasant to visit with Lisa and John, but the appearance of all these other Sangres made her feel too nervous again. She didn't need to revisit those feelings over the holidays, and she certainly didn't need the strain now.

Then the others came back through the door with their packages, and the last pushed the door closed. He turned and grinned brightly.

"Apache!" Cloud shouted in surprise. He tossed aside the packages and caught hold of her arm in an affectionate grasp. "I'm glad you -- Baby? Wow! This is great!"

The fact Cloud meant it made up for Veronica's continued glare. Baby hadn't seen Cloud in a few years -- the tall thin, teen had grown into a good-looking young man. He emulated John Owlfeather's long hair and Native look, and it suited him.

They went back to the kitchen and ate a few cookies. Veronica stayed like a wrathful ghost at the doorway, making disparaging noises if Baby said anything at all. Baby ignored her older half-sister and had a good time just to spite her.

The others finally left about 3AM, heading for their nearby homes. Cloud remained until the last, patiently waiting out Veronica who watched the two as though she thought they were going to walk off with the sofa or something.

"If she knew you two had paid for that new school, she'd pull her kids out," Lisa said, shaking her head in dismay. "I never realized how terrible she is --"

"Unhappy about me is all," Baby said. She sat down on the sofa with a sigh, rubbing at her knee through the pants and the brace. "It's not something she'll have to deal with for long."

"I want you to come back and visit," Lisa replied. Baby looked up at her, and then glanced at Apache. "No, your sister did not tell me to say that. I want you to come back. Both of you. I'd forgotten how much fun you two are. You were always the crazy ones."

"Well, hell," Apache said. "That explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"I'd kind of hoped they hadn't noticed," Baby admitted.

Lisa and John laughed. They brought blankets out. Apache and Baby slept on the floor by the Christmas tree. It was surprisingly pleasant.

Five


Baby awoke suddenly in the dark.

"Did you hear that?" Apache whispered beside her.

"I must have. What was it?"

"An odd whistling noise and then people whispering."

"Santa and his Elves?"

"If so, they're a day early." Baby could barely see Apache as she slid over to the window and peered out along the very lowest edge. "Just about dawn out there. I see at least eight men, but no cars. Must have some damn good stealth equipment to have gotten up here without drawing attention. Looks like they're watching the houses."

"So soon. I'd hoped to make through another day. What do we do? Call The Office and report that we're in trouble again?"

"Right, and hope we fall into the hands of someone like Tedak? I don't think so."

"Mathews? He's too far away to do anything helpful but it might be good to have someone we trust know what's going on."

"Yeah, that's about the best we can do. Don't use the phone in the kitchen -- open windows, too easy for them to spot you. John and Lisa have a phone in their room. Go make the call."

Baby crawled along the floor of a hallway, slipping quickly past three doors before she reached John and Lisa's bedroom. Luckily, she could hear John snoring. She pushed the door open and crawled inside, peering over the edge of the bed and lightly touching Lisa's arm. The woman came awake with a start.

"Pardon me, but I need to use your phone."

Lisa groaned and John came awake as well, looking at her with a bemused, tired shake of his head.

"Baby, you always were a pest," Lisa said as she shoved the phone towards her.

"Yeah, Apache says the same thing. Thanks."

She dialed a number by memory, one she remembered too well from her days as a cop in Phoenix when there were also too few people they could trust. The phone only rang three times.

"Who is this?"

"Not even a hello?" Baby said. "What kind of a civil servant are you, anyway?"

"One who was looking forward to two days off for Christmas. Is that you, Baby?"

"Of course it is. No one else would have the nerve to call you at dawn."

"I notice it's not Apache who made the call. Says something about your intelligence."

"Or the state of my sanity."

"True. I assume that you're in trouble?"

"Looks that way. Apache and I just thought we ought to let someone else know. I don't know how they got into the Reservation without being spotted, but at least they don't know which house we're in."

"Can you run?"

"We're going to give it an honest try. If you don't hear from us within twenty-four hours, try calling FUTURE and telling them where we were and what happened."

"Good luck. If you can make it this far, I can get you some police protection."

"Thanks. We might try for it. I hope to talk to you soon."

"Yeah. Me too."

She hung the phone up as Apache came scrambling into the room.

"They're still just milling around out there."

"At least they know better than to irritate the entire tribe by going door-to-door at dawn."

"We're getting out of here before the sun comes up." Apache held up her sister's leg brace and poncho. "Sit on the bed and I'll get this on you."

Baby pulled herself up at Lisa's feet, settling the damn briefcase beside her. She was getting too used to it. She tried not to wince as the tight plastic slipped over her knee but Apache caught on anyway.

"Damn. Looks swollen already," Apache said. "Too much running around the last couple days, huh?"

"A bit, but it'll hold up," she began tightening the buckles. "What now, Pronto?"

"We head for the hills, Lone Stranger."

"Hiking?" Baby stopped in mid-move. "We're going hiking?"

"Best way to get clear of this bunch, I think. They aren't locals. You and I know our way around up there better than just about anyone. Are you up to it?"

"Sure." She dropped the poncho over her head, wishing she'd been wearing a coat -- or maybe not. Two days in a coat would have been even worse.

"Be careful," John advised. He stood at the window, carefully removing the screen. Smart man. "And try to make it back for New Years, all right? Both of you?"

Baby looked back at him, uncertain still.

"You are both welcome here," Lisa said, daring a hand to her arm. "Even with a bomb."

Baby stood and paused. "I think -- I think I'd like to come back. And believe me, that is a surprise."

Lisa hugged her and pushed her toward the window.

Apache had already headed to the back of the yard where she could see more clearly. Baby quickly followed.

"Do we leave them to search the town for us or let them know we're leaving?" Baby whispered.

"Let them know. I don't want to annoy the entire tribe just because we came for a visit."

A cold wind blew down the hillside kicking up dust. Baby thought she even saw a flash of lightning up over the ruins. Great.

"You are brilliant some days," she said, following her sister at a quick pace through neighbor's back yards and gardens.

"That's what they pay me for," Apache said.

"Really? I had always wondered."

Apache grunted with a small sound of amusement. They'd reached the end of the block, and Apache slithered out to the edge of the first house, glancing back toward the Sangre home. She came back and leaned against the building relaxed enough that Baby knew there were not in any real danger.

"Lets go on up to the ruins and then let someone see us. Then we'll spend a few hours in the hills and head back down. If they've found the car we'll hitch a ride with one of the tourists or a Sangre and head back down to Phoenix."

"Sounds good to me."

Apache patted her arm and started away. They had a long ways to go.




Six


And it turned out to be a lot harder than they thought. They didn't have any trouble drawing the attention, of course. It was getting ride of it that proved difficult. They circled and led the group on a dangerous hunt through most of the day, playing games at first as the others followed.

But the strangers kept following long after the two should have lost them in the hills they knew so well. By the time the sun set, and they'd followed the trails to the high ground, Baby was beginning to suspect the case had some sort of tracking device attached. Every time they turned another corner, more of the enemy turned up. They took trails rabbits couldn't find without a flashlight and a map, and the men just kept coming.

"Well hell. They must have the damned case bugged," Baby said. "You had better --"

"Don't even think it," Apache said. "I'm not going and leaving you here."

"What? You don't think I could find my way home?"

The look Apache gave her was enough to get Baby to shut up. She suspected that the enemy, whoever the hell they were, would catch them soon -- and that certainly wouldn't put Apache in a better mood, either.

In fact another group came down the trail just then, stopping only a couple yards away. One of them grumbled a few words that Baby couldn't quite make out.

"Speak the damn local language," one of the others ordered. "I don't want to get reprimanded if someone up top is monitoring us."

"Yeah. Right." The other man had something in his hand and hit it several times. "Damn second grade equipment. Won't work in this kind of magnetic fields! I have an erratic reading. They're close."

Apache put a hand on her sister's arm and squeezed slightly in an old signal, and one Baby didn't need. She knew enough to be very still.

"They're still together?" one of the others asked.

"Yeah. Single reading. Spread out!"

Baby and Apache remained very still while the four scattered across the rough countryside.

"We need to get the one with the tracking device," Baby said very softly.

"Yeah." Apache squatted on her heels, watching as the man moved slowly down the trail, paused, and started back. "How do you figure they know we're together? Didn't look like a heat sensor to me -- and besides, one wouldn’t have worked that well when the sun was still out. And I'm not carrying a briefcase, so we know they aren't tracking me that way."

"I don't know. We'll have to ask them."

"Here he comes."

Baby slithered forward. Because of her leg brace, she couldn't get in the same position as her sister, who prepared to spring on the guy.

He walked all the way back to the little ledge where they were waiting and obediently stopped -- and looked up.

Baby had a perfect view of the guy's face as Apache flew out over him. Amazing how really panicked people got when they saw her sister about to land on them.

Thump.

Something clattered down the hillside and Apache cursed softly. "Damn. I wanted that device."

Baby slid off the ledge and looked down at the unconscious man. She nudged him a couple times with her foot, and he gave a soft moan of response.

"Not going to get many answers from him."

"He fell and hit his head," Apache said. She got up and held her hand up to the bright moonlight. "Must have had some kind of fruit in his pocket. This stuff looks green."

"Food? He's better prepared for traveling the hills than we are." Apache leaned down and wiped her hand clean on the man's shirt. Baby looked over the cliff's edge but couldn't see where the device had disappeared. Apache made quick search of the man's clothing and made a disparaging sound when she found nothing. "I don't think we can get their tracking equipment back. Let's hope they can't, either. Or they don't have another one."

Baby nodded and started back down the trail. They couldn't go far this way -- there were the others out there -- but it beat climbing over rocks for a while.

Apache remained quiet, and Baby was just plain mad. She had not asked for this assignment. She didn't like having a bomb attached to her, she didn't like wandering all over the hills for hours while people with better equipment followed them.

But they finally lost the bastards.

They finally slipped back in the window to John and Lisa's bedroom just a little after dawn. They could hear the voices of others out in the kitchen and only paused long enough to call Mathews so he didn't call their own office. He sounded happy to hear from them, but they didn't talk for long.

Baby and Apache finally started down the hall only to find all their brother's and sisters talking about them.

Or at least Veronica was. And loudly.

"I never did like her," Veronica said. "I won't tolerate having her around. Morning Star is bad enough --"

"Baby is just the same as Apache," Cloud protested. He sounded dangerously angry which surprised and stilled Baby and stopped Apache from going past her. "And you know it. You only don't like Baby because she grew up to be something better than you, despite everything you did to her."

"Oh hell -- Veronica's going to kill him," Baby whispered. "I don't know if I want to walk in on this war."

They turned around. Someone's small child had come from the bathroom and stood staring at them.

"Damn. Well, off to the battle," Apache said.

Baby nodded and inched her way closer to the kitchen. Amazing. She hadn't felt this much trepidation going after the damn enemy agents -- which only angered her more.

"How dare you defend her against me!" Veronica shouted, her voice louder again and Baby could hear the thump of her chubby hand on the table. "How dare all of you side with her --"

"Veronica, we've put up with just about as much of this bullshit from you as we're going to," Robert said. Those words stopped Baby yet again. She'd never heard the eldest of the Sangres take her side. "I let you take out your anger at our father's betrayal on a child. No more."

"You can't do this to me!"

Baby almost felt sorry for her. And she didn't want to see a rift in the family over her.

"Hey," Baby said from the doorway. "Stay cool. You don't have to argue because I'm not going to stick around."

Veronica stood and spun, her chair falling back against the cabinet behind her. Robert and Kyle both quickly got to their feet as though they expected their sister to attack Baby.

That was a strange sight, made all the more so because they knew Baby could defend herself. Besides, Apache stood at her back. Strange position since Baby was so used to following her sister around on the Reservation. She wondered if that was part of the problem; she had never stood up for herself any more than the others had stood up for her. Until now.

"How dare you spy on us!" Veronica yelled.

"Hey, it's what I do for a living," Baby said. She shrugged, knowing the joke wouldn't really help. Hell, nothing would help at this point.

"You aren't welcome here," Veronica said. Her voice grew dangerously soft and her eyes widened. Baby, who had faced that look of anger too often as a child, came very close to taking a step backward. "It was your mother who forced ours to kill herself --"

"Our mother was already dead," Baby reminded her.

"If anyone was to blame, it's our father," Kyle said.

"No!"

Baby hadn't, until that moment, realized how totally unreasonable Veronica had always been. It came as something of a shock. On the other hand, it made this little life-long problem suddenly unimportant.

Veronica took another step closer to Baby who did not even look away this time. "You are that whore's daughter," she said, her voice sharp with anger and disgust. "And I was never convinced that you were my father's child. Morning Star I believe, but not you."

"Well, big shock," Baby answered. She tugged at a strand of her reddish hair and pulled it into the light. "Do you really think this is something that hasn't occurred to me before? I've even thought about having the DNA test just to get that part settled, even though it won't make a damn bit of difference in my life. Or yours. None of this was my choice, Veronica. I didn't ask for any of it. Now -- why don't you sit down? Apache and I are just passing through, and in an hour or so I'll be back out of your life. I think even you can manage calm for that long."

Veronica blinked a half dozen times. Kyle and Robert both sat back down first. Cloud smiled so brightly you'd have thought something really important had just happened.

"Can I get you a Diet Pepsi?" Lisa asked.

"That would be great."

"Apache?"

"Yeah. Great." She sounded shocked as well. Baby had to fight hard not to look back at her. "Baby and I really are just passing through on our way back out of town. I thought we could rest here for a couple minutes."

John nodded and signaled Baby over to his chair opposite where Veronica again settled. Baby had hoped Veronica would be so mad she left.

Baby limped over to the chair and settled there, accepting the soda from Lisa with a nod of thanks. She didn't look at Veronica, and it seemed as though the woman would ignore her as well. It was a