A short time later they pulled up to a lovely mock-brownstone apartment building. All along the backside of the building were balconies facing the park. The couple parked and followed an occupant inside. Michael directed Maria to the elevator where they went up several stories. After walking up and down the hallway for several minutes, Michael finally stopped at a door. Pausing only for a moment, he knocked.
Maria glanced at Michael uncertainly. "Are you sure this is the right one?"
Maria was cut short when a woman of average height with light brown hair and hazel eyes opened the door. This was the woman Michael had seen.
Shuffling noises in the apartment brought them back to reality. He was so shocked by the face before him that it was Maria who finally spoke. "Are you Catherine Chandler?"
The woman at the door was wearing a long, crimson gown that covered her arms and legs totally but was very revealing at the bodice. Immediately, the two teens felt as though they were interrupting something important, for they could see candle light flickering in the background.
Catherine spoke up, bewildered. "Yes, I'm Cathy. What can I do for you?"
Maria was still speaking for the both of them. "We're really sorry if we interrupted your evening but we really need your help! We're looking for someone."
"I don't really know how I can help. Who are you looking for?"
For the first time since the door opened, Michael stopped staring and looked into Catherine's eyes. "My sister."
This earned a gasp out of Catherine. At her gasp, more shuffling was heard in the background and Catherine turned around for a few minutes as though she were talking to someone behind the door.
"Look, it's late and I don't see how I can really help you find your sister. I'm so sorry." She looked anxious to close the door and turned around.
"But wait!" Michael held a hand through the door. "We think Vincent can help us! Don't you know Vincent?"
Catherine looked up at Michael in alarm. "Do you know Vincent?"
"Sort of."
"How 'sort of'?"
Maria cut in. "He saw Vincent in a vision. Look, we know it sounds weird but we came all the way from New Mexico to find you. We know about Vincent and we don't want to hurt him or expose him or whatever. We just want to find Taja. We have secrets of our own."
"Did you say Taja?" Catherine was interested now.
When the teens nodded, Catherine closed the door for a second and spoke to someone in the apartment behind her. Suddenly, the door opened and Catherine invited them into the room. Turning around, she blew out the candles and flipped on the lights. Michael looked around but couldn't see anyone else. Out on the balcony, though, were the remains of a meal.
Catherine directed the two to the couch and sat down. "What are your names?"
"I'm Maria and that's Michael."
"Do the two of you have last names?" she said snidely.
"Sorry. DeLuca, Guerin." Maria responded with the same sarcasm.
"How old are you two?" the bickering was nearly full-fledged.
Michael cut off the two women before they resorted to name calling. "We're both seventeen."
"How in the world did two teenagers get their parent's permission to go off together across the country to find someone you don't even know to ask them about information about some other person you don't know who might know the whereabouts of you r sister? That's absolutely ridiculous!"
The feud was on. "When it's your life, then you can call it ridiculous. Please don't criticize Michael or me. You don't know anything about us. Oh and by the way, my mom died a few months ago and my father hasn't been in the picture since before I can remember so I guess that's not an option."
Michael had to stop this. "Maria, it's okay. Let's just please get this whole thing over with as quick as possible."
Catherine wasn't cooperating with Michael; she just kept firing off the questions. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"There are more important things than school." Maria was fuming and struggling to keep control of her temper while defending herself and Michael.
"Like what?" Catherine confronted.
"Like family." Michael couldn't take it any more and decided to put a stop it the whole thing. There was such an enormous role reversal going on that he thought he might puke. "Look, can we please stop with the interrogation. If you can't help me, will you please let me see Vincent so that I can talk to him? This is so important. You can't even fathom how important."
Catherine, sensing her defeat, hung on with everything she had, trying to regain her position as the authority figure in the bunch. "I'm sorry you object to so many questions but Vincent only sees who he thinks he can trust inexplicably."
Now Michael was getting exasperated. "I already know about him, Maria already knows about him, so what's the problem?"
"What exactly do you know about him?" she question suspiciously.
Maria had calmed down some. "We know how he looks, how he acts, how he feels about you."
Catherine blushed. "I though Michael was the one who has the visions."
"Everything I am is Michael…"
"And everything I am is Maria." Michael finished, looking into Maria's eyes.
"We have an bond. A connection. It's not like yours and Vincent's. Ours is other-worldly." Maria's words were cryptic and Michael smirked.
"We are kinda…'one.' I don't know how else to explain it." He elaborated.
There was a short pause then Catherine turned her head and spoke. "Vincent, I trust them. Please come and speak with them."
Out of the bedroom emerged the most magnificent thing that they had ever imagined. He was just as they, together, had seen.
Not less, but more man than Maria had ever seen. Michael looked up at the figure above him. Although he had expected this, the feeling of companionship was new.
"Vincent, we are alike, you and I. You hide your face from those who don't understand. I hide my nature from people who tear apart things that are different." Michael smiled slightly.
Vincent returned the gesture. "I have heard all that you said to Catherine. I know no one named Taja Guerin." He shook his head in remorse.
"That wouldn't be her name. Guerin was the name of my foster father."
Maria felt shudder revulsion coarse through Michael's body and gripped his hand tight. "Don't even think about Hank right now! He's not in your life! He can't hurt you anymore!" She turned and hugged Michael in support.
Michael leaned in and rested his head in the crook of her neck, placing a soft kiss there. "I know, baby. You don't have to worry about me anymore."
Catherine was shocked. "What on Earth are you talking about, 'he's not an issue anymore?' You didn't kill anyone did you?"
"Catherine, we shouldn't assume the worst of these children. I don't believe they killed anyone, but if they did, it might not be wise to interrogate them. They will feel threatened." Vincent, ever the peacemaker, touched her arm to calm her.
"You're right, Vincent. Michael, I'm sorry. It really is none of my business, but I was curious. I work in the District Attorney's office and it would put me in a really awkward position if anyone were to look for you." She raised her shoulders in defeat. "I would really need to know now so I can figure out what to say."
"That won't be necessary. Hank used to beat me so I'm emancipated now. He left almost right after and I don't really give a fuck!" Pausing to compose himself, Michael took a deep breath and gripped Maria's hand. "Anyway, in my vision, I heard you two talking about a girl named Taja who has special powers. You see, I… we, have a secret. A secret as important as life itself. It's your kind of secret."
Vincent and Catherine stopped for a moment and stared into each other's eyes. Then, nodding with understanding, they turned towards the teens, waiting for some kind of revelation.
Maria started. "Michael, his sister, his best friend, and his best friend's sister aren't from around here. Like genetically not from around here."
Michael looked directly at Vincent then and stared straight into his eyes before continuing. "We're different from humans. We're not really human at all."
Vincent and Catherine gasped in shock. Vincent stared down at Michael, feeling the kinship Michael felt since meeting him. This child was like himself, having to constantly wonder about who to trust, who to reveal himself to, who to love. This poor, singled out kid was just like him. He couldn't believe it.