Yay for Hunger Games references! I think there's only one, but all credit to Suzanne Collins for it, of course. And thanks to avian-american-supporter, again! She's the one posting :]

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.

Fang's POV:

It was at times like this that I wished one of the girls was here. We wanted to walk up to a random stranger and ask about where Angel's foster mom lived, but without Angel's persuasiveness or Nudge's talkativeness or even Max's personality, there was no way we could accomplish that.

The plan was relatively easy, too, that was the worst part. Someone had to just walk up to a decent, kind looking adult and say something along the lines of: I'm completely lost! Can you please direct me to 3755 Hibiscus Street?

See, you can totally see Nudge yapping away to this stranger until they gave her directions to send her away, right? Between Iggy and me, however, I wasn't sure who was better. Sullen, silent me or smart-mouthed Iggy?

I would have rather used my laptop, but during the fighting I had lost it, and considering that it wasn't there after my sight came back, the Flyboy must have taken it back to Itex. Guess they had missed their wonderful gadget. We were at a severe disadvantage- if anybody there checked the history, they could see that I had looked up Angel's house, and we would be an easy target. We needed to get in and out, fast, and there was only one way to do it.

"I'll do it," Iggy gave in first. I give him a slight nod and notice an elderly lady sipping her coffee and reading a newspaper. Good, old ladies are normally helpful.

"Table ten steps ahead and the left," I tell him. He nods, then walks over to the lady.

"Excuse me," I hear Iggy say. The lady looks up, startled.

"Yes, young man?" The lady asks. The minute she started talking with a southern drawl I knew she wasn't going to help much. I guess Iggy didn't realize it because he plowed forward.

"I'm not from around here, and I need to get to Hibiscus Street, could you point me in the right direction, please?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not from around here either. Do you want me to consult my map?" The lady brightens and digs around in her purse while Iggy stands awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it ma'am, I can just-"

She waves him away. "I know it's in here somewhere. You just wait one second, dear."

Iggy gives me a helpless shrug, putting it on me. I sigh, and then look around. I realize for the first time that one of the waitresses is totally staring at me. Max would kill me, I think, smirking. I make my way over to the waitress, who hurriedly tries to pretend like she had been arranging menus.

"Hi," I say simply.

She looks up at me from underneath her eyelashes. Up close, I can tell that she's easily 20- way too old for me, not that she cares.

"Hi," she drawls. "How can I help you?"

"I'm not from around here," I reply, using Iggy's exact words. "I need to get to Hibiscus Street, could you point me in the right direction?"

She stares at me a beat too long before answering. "Sure thing, sweetheart. Go straight down this road until you see a Barnes and Noble, then take a left at that street. The third street that's perpendicular to it is Hibiscus. What number?"

"Uh, 3755."

"Take your third left, then. Want me to draw you a map?"

I'm slightly insulted. Her directions weren't that long, and I didn't think I looked that stupid. "No thanks, I think I can remember that."

"It's not a problem," she says, holding my gaze as she reaches takes the pen stuck in the v of v-neck and grabs a napkin. She sketches out her words for me, even including a YOU ARE HERE circle. I snort at her attempt at flirting and take the napkin from her.

"Thanks," I say.

"Sure thing." She saunters away, checking on a diner as I roll my eyes and walk towards Iggy, who is still standing by the old lady.

"Thanks for all your help, but my brother figured it out," he tells her when he hears my footsteps approach, and then leaves. We walk out as I hand Iggy my map and tell him what it is.

"Max would have killed you!" Iggy exclaims the minute we're out of the diner.

I laugh. "Seriously. That waitress was so flirty."

Iggy stares at me like I'm missing something. "If the waitress was just flirty, Max would have killed the waitress. The fact that you totally flirted back is why Max would kill you, dummy."

I'm mystified. "I was flirting?"

"Um, duh," Iggy stares at me like I'm blind, which I find rather ironic.

"No I wasn't!" I defend myself. "All I did was ask her for directions."

Iggy nods sarcastically. "In most societies, that's known as flirting. Out of all the people you could have gone up to, you go up to her, make no sign of resisting her charms and then walk out with her number!"

"What? I don't have her number! And she had the charm of a dead slug."

Iggy snorts and flips my napkin map over, where sure enough, a number is written along with the words: CALL ME. How cliché, I think dryly. Then I turn to Iggy.

"How did you know that? You can't even see!"

Iggy winks at me, which is beyond creepy. "I'm magical."

When I don't dignify that with a response, he sighs. "I could feel the indenture with my hand, okay?"

I shake me head. "Whatever. Left in 3 steps." We turn at the Barnes and Noble as instructed and keep walking. Unlike Nudge's hectic city, there were only a handful of people walking in the streets, and yet we didn't look out of place. It seemed like your typical, suburban small town. Large enough that strangers didn't seem suspicious to the townsfolk but small enough that everyone sort of knew each other. We elicited a few stares as mom pushing strollers and kids walking dogs passed up. I guess we made quite the pair- super tall, super skinny and super pale Iggy next to me with dark hair and dark eyes and tan skin. Our windbreakers couldn't have helped either- the Sun was painfully high in the sky, making the world easily over 80 degrees even in the evening.

"Another left in 3," I tell Iggy, breaking our silence.

"What are we going to do, Fang?" Iggy asks me.

I think for a second. Max always makes a million plans with different scenarios and what to do if _ happened, but it never, ever, went as planned. I had given it up a long time ago.

"Wing it," I reply. No pun intended.

"We can't be that unprepared," Iggy counters.

"Okay, so let's just be…selling cookies."

"Only girl scouts do that, and we're neither little or girls, unless there's something you have to share with me…?"

I shoot Iggy a death glare, although it goes wasted on him. This is yet another reason we need Nudge and Max so badly. "Shut up, Iggy. Okay, we can be selling candy bars for a soccer tournament."

"Okay," replies Iggy. He pulls out a pen and some paper from the few supplies we have left. "That explains why we're knocking on the door, but how do we get Angel?"

I think about it before I answer. "I have no idea. We're here, though."

"I'll distract the lady and you ask if you can go to the bathroom. Isn't that the way they do it in movies?" Iggy asks.

"Yeah, okay." I saw. We walk up the driveway and I hesitate before knocking on the door, three time loudly.

"Channel your inner Nudge," I whisper to Iggy. He chuckles, but puts a composed expression back on his face right as the door opens.

The lady who opens the door looks just like the woman in the picture. With long black hair and startling blue eyes, she could almost actually be Angel's mom, if her husband had blonde hair or whatever.

"Yes?" She asks hesitantly, only opening the door partway as if she would close it quickly if we tried to get in.

"Ma'am, we're-" Iggy begins, but she cuts him off.

"I know who are you, silly." She beams at us, and then opens the door all the way. You would think that I had gotten used to surprises by now but what Dr. Ison says next totally shocks me.

"Fang, Iggy, why don't you come in?"

…

A/N- Crazy stuff! Anyways, I'm probably having a great time in Canada, but I would love to see reviews in my inbox when I get home ;]