*-*-*-*-*
Rutherford lay bleeding on the floor of the Chief's office. His breathing was rapid but his heart slow. Reaching over and picking up the receiver of the phone the Chief pressed star-2. The phone rang and was answered on the third ring. "Francisco darling," he cooed, "I need your help with something can you come here right away?" He listened a moment then said, "No dearest not that kind of help but help on my little project. I'll explain when you get here. Ta-ta."
Francisco learned quickly to jump and ask how high when the Chief wanted something. One brief lesson resulting in him losing the tip of his left index finger was enough for him never to forget. He zipped through the semi- deserted streets of LA and past the quiet pristine yards of the Beverly Hills aristocrats to the residence of the Chief. The body guard let him in and led him to the office where the Chief was seated and waiting. He looked over at the man who he had begun to think of as "el pequeño rey" or the little king and at the bloody body on the floor. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.
The chief gave him a smiled that chilled the assassin to the bone. "In my garage you will find a black BMW z-4 convertible. You will take this man put him inside and drive him somewhere. Any where and leave his body to be found. You will also take this." The Chief held up the blood covered rapier gingerly with a lace handkerchief. You will fix it like you did the pictures and drop it somewhere else, not too far from the body."
"Si, Jefe" replied Francisco.
"Oh and Francisco here is the most important thing, make sure you are seen but not clearly. Have Del help you get him into the car," said the Chief looking at Rutherford body, "He looks quite heavy." Francisco grabbed the man's feet leaving the bodyguard Dell to deal with the messy torso and they carried out to the car.
*-*-*-*-*
Anthony tried to sleep after Dylan left and found he couldn't. Too many thoughts rumbled around in his mind like thunder clouds; thoughts about their relationship, Kate, and mostly about the eggs. Dylan hadn't said how she came across the egg that was in her possession and that bothered him. He didn't know why but something seemed off. Pulling on a pair of black jeans and shirt he went out to his car. Speed, high velocity always made him feel better and in this case really needed it. Maybe it would drive the problems out of his mind or at least help him find out when he suddenly had them.
The slamming door woke Kate from her glorious dream. She dreamt that she had recovered all the eggs by herself and that it was Dylan who had stolen them. The best part however was that she dreamt that Anthony had lost all interest in the angel when he found out she had been the one behind it the whole time and decided that he wanted to be with her instead of Dylan. She got out of bed and opened the door to her bedroom. "Anton?" she called. There was no reply. She glanced at the clock and wondered where he could have gone at 2:30 in the morning. Shrugging her shoulders she went back to bed and hoped that he wasn't after Dylan.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Dylan picked the briefly forgotten receiver back up and placed it to her ear. Her mind buzzed wondering how Anthony could have done it. She didn't think he did but she couldn't be sure. "Sorry, I'm still here. Nat?"
"Yeah Dylan?"
"We need to meet Kate at the office today at nine. I was going to call you last night when I got home but I fell asleep." Fell asleep was an understatement she thought, passed out was more like it. She couldn't remember the last time she was so tired. The stress of the case and her relationship was starting to take its toll on her.
"Why?" was all that Natalie asked. She sounded as exhausted as Dylan felt.
"I found one of the eggs. I took it to Kate last night and she said it was real."
Natalie excitedly asked, "Dylan where? When?" Dylan rubbed her temples. She didn't want to answer those questions, not yet. It would be too easy for them, especially Alex to believe that it was Anthony. Now in light of Rutherford in the hospital with a sword wound she was having it hard time believing it wasn't Anthony herself. "I'll tell you everything later. Just let Alex know I need her to run a check for prints on the egg. Maybe that will get us closer to the person who did this."
"Sounds like a good idea," said Nat.
"I'll be over there," Dylan looked at her watch, "in about thirty minutes. Is that okay?"
"I think it would be better if you took Bosley and Max to scour the area where Rutherford was found rather than wait here for any news on his condition. Maybe find some clues."
Dylan nodded then realized that she couldn't be seen through the phone. "Sure, are they with you?" Natalie informed her they were and she hung up the phone. She wondered why she agreed to go with Bosley and Max. It was a good plan she knew that, it was she wanted to be there when the print results came back. She wanted to know if Anthony's were on the egg. Making sure the egg was still safe and sound in her purse she grabbed her things and headed over to the hospital.
*-*-*-*-*
Anthony drove all night. It was six when he pulled into the driveway of the old house. As soon as he stepped inside Kate popped out from the kitchen and threw her arms around him crying that she was worried, how could he do that to her, why couldn't he call. He pulled back out of her arms taking a lock of her silken chestnut hair with him. "Ow! What the bloody hell did you do that for?" she asked rubbing the now bald patch. Anthony just glared at her and threw the hair in the small dust bin next to the sideboard. On his ride he realized that his problems with Dylan started because of Kate and as long as Kate was in the picture he and Dylan wouldn't have a chance.
Pulling out his note pad and pen he wrote, "You need to leave."
"Why?" asked Kate. She thought things had been going well regardless of the morning's hair removal. Now it seemed he wanted her to leave. She didn't understand and didn't want to understand either. How was she going to make him fall in love with her if she wasn't around?
He wrote her another longer note, "You need to find your own place. This isn't working out."
"My own place? Not working out?" She echoed his note. She might have been in love with him but this was like being dumped without ever getting a single benefit of dating, such as him kissing her. She could barely keep track of how many hours she spent fantasizing about his lips pressed against hers, what they would taste like, since they became reacquainted. "How dare he dump me?" she thought angrily. Then aloud she said, "This is my place, this MY uncle's house. He was MY family and not yours. Maybe you should be the one to leave. "
If that was the way she wanted it. Anthony went up the stairs and removed a black leather suitcase from the closet and started placing his things inside. Kate followed him up the stairs and watched from the doorway. She didn't think that he would actually leave when she said that, she had hoped that maybe he would change his mind and let her stay. Now she wondered if she hadn't been too harsh. "Anton?" she said softly, calmly. "You can stay if I can stay."
He turned and looked at her giving her an icy stare. He placed a few more items inside and zipped the bag closed. Then removed a matching garment bag from the closet and added his suits. "I really am sorry. I was caught off guard by the hair pulling thing. Plus I'm not really a morning person until I have had my first cup of coffee." He didn't respond. She had to resort to something drastic, "Anton, I'm sorry and I want you to know I love you."
He zipped the garment bag closed, folded it in half and fastened it together. "Anton?" she said looking at him hopefully. He sighed and removed the pad from his pocket and wrote, "You love no one but yourself, Ekaterina. You never have. If you want the house, talk to Bailey J. Koch. He is the attorney who handled the estate. He has an office downtown. I won't stop you contesting the will." Handing her the note he grabbed his bags and carried them out to his car. Right now considering everything Bucharest was looking, once again like an option but he wasn't going to give up; not because of Kate. He wondered how it was possible that she and Dimitri were related at all.
Kate slammed her hand on top of the dresser making the ceramic knick-knacks and spare change jump. She had never been rejected and she didn't like the feeling. "You'll pay Anton, you will pay," she hissed under her breath.
*-*-*-*-*
Dylan, Max and Bosley were scouring the streets of East LA in a four block radius from where the body of Neville Rutherford was found. They each agreed to do their own area and meet back at the car by ten. "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack," mumbled Bosley as he searched behind trash cans in an alley way. He accidentally knocked one over and a back door to mom and pop style convenience store opened. A small Hispanic woman stepped out and swung a broom at him yelling something in Spanish, "Taco, Enchilada, Barcelona, to you too," he said brushing himself off and continuing on his way.
Max, who didn't have school that day, was told to stick to the main roads. There were lots of gangs in the area who wouldn't like the idea of a white kid wandering around. He hadn't gotten very far on his route when he noticed a long black bag standing on its end up against the front of a dry cleaner. Kneeling down next to the bag he slid the zipper back and peered inside. The smell the came out was strong and smelled of iron. He pulled back repulsed and like a magnet flies started to circle it. Max reached in but pulled his hand back out and put on the gloves Dylan gave him to wear incase he found something. He remembered them not so much to protect possible evidence but to protect his hands from whatever might be inside. Once the gloves were on he reached in and felt something long and narrow. He wrapped his hand around it and raised it out of the bag. It was a rapier with a curved umbrella like handle. There were footstep coming from out of the dry cleaner and he shoved the sword back in the bag and headed back towards the car. If this wasn't evidence he didn't know what was.
As the clock neared nine thirty Dylan's cell phone rang. "Dylan here," she said knowing who would be on the other end.
"Dylan its Alex, you need to come to the office we have a print."
"Really," she said with fake happiness, "That's great." She had hoped that it would come up negative but the moment her phone rang she had known Alex had found something and that she was called right away couldn't be a good sign.
"I haven't told Kate yet," said Alex. Dylan didn't know what to reply to that so she waited. "Dylan?" asked Alex. "Where did you find the egg?" Dylan closed her eyes she would have to tell eventually.
"So did you ID the print?" she asked Alex.
"Yes, I did. Dylan, come to the office. Okay?" It wasn't like Alex to be kind. Alex was kind but she was treating Dylan like she was fragile, like an egg. She never wanted to be thought of as fragile but maybe Alex was right in doing so. Maybe she was fragile and maybe her toughness was just an act.
"Okay. Max and Bosley are meeting me at the car in a half an hour. We will be there as soon as possible." With that she hung up the phone and started back to the car.
*-*-*-*-*
Francisco went to a pay phone on the corner next to a Texaco station not far from where Dylan's car was parked. He had been watching the angel and her friends all morning paying special attention to the boy. He had gone the direction in which the assassin had left the sword. Ducking in and out of doorways he followed watching as the boy found the black bag next to the dry cleaner. When the kid took the bag Francisco was pleased. The kid obviously knew what he had found. Now he had to call the Chief and report that the plan was going well. He respected the thin silent assassin the Chief called Anthony. The man had talent and was good at the job, there was always a shortage of efficent assassins, but as much as he respected him one more out of the way meant more work. Kind of a shame he thought but with what the Chief was paying him he would gladly sell out his own mother let alone the competition.
It seemed to Francisco that the Chief or el Jefe as he called him, must have been waiting as he picked up the phone on the first ring. "They found the evidence," was all he said. On the other end the Chief praised him and promised him a bonus once the game was over and told him to follow Anthony. Francisco readily agreed, survalience was the easiest part of his job. He climbed into his neutral colored elCamino and headed towards the house that the assassin was sharing with the museum woman.
Rutherford lay bleeding on the floor of the Chief's office. His breathing was rapid but his heart slow. Reaching over and picking up the receiver of the phone the Chief pressed star-2. The phone rang and was answered on the third ring. "Francisco darling," he cooed, "I need your help with something can you come here right away?" He listened a moment then said, "No dearest not that kind of help but help on my little project. I'll explain when you get here. Ta-ta."
Francisco learned quickly to jump and ask how high when the Chief wanted something. One brief lesson resulting in him losing the tip of his left index finger was enough for him never to forget. He zipped through the semi- deserted streets of LA and past the quiet pristine yards of the Beverly Hills aristocrats to the residence of the Chief. The body guard let him in and led him to the office where the Chief was seated and waiting. He looked over at the man who he had begun to think of as "el pequeño rey" or the little king and at the bloody body on the floor. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.
The chief gave him a smiled that chilled the assassin to the bone. "In my garage you will find a black BMW z-4 convertible. You will take this man put him inside and drive him somewhere. Any where and leave his body to be found. You will also take this." The Chief held up the blood covered rapier gingerly with a lace handkerchief. You will fix it like you did the pictures and drop it somewhere else, not too far from the body."
"Si, Jefe" replied Francisco.
"Oh and Francisco here is the most important thing, make sure you are seen but not clearly. Have Del help you get him into the car," said the Chief looking at Rutherford body, "He looks quite heavy." Francisco grabbed the man's feet leaving the bodyguard Dell to deal with the messy torso and they carried out to the car.
*-*-*-*-*
Anthony tried to sleep after Dylan left and found he couldn't. Too many thoughts rumbled around in his mind like thunder clouds; thoughts about their relationship, Kate, and mostly about the eggs. Dylan hadn't said how she came across the egg that was in her possession and that bothered him. He didn't know why but something seemed off. Pulling on a pair of black jeans and shirt he went out to his car. Speed, high velocity always made him feel better and in this case really needed it. Maybe it would drive the problems out of his mind or at least help him find out when he suddenly had them.
The slamming door woke Kate from her glorious dream. She dreamt that she had recovered all the eggs by herself and that it was Dylan who had stolen them. The best part however was that she dreamt that Anthony had lost all interest in the angel when he found out she had been the one behind it the whole time and decided that he wanted to be with her instead of Dylan. She got out of bed and opened the door to her bedroom. "Anton?" she called. There was no reply. She glanced at the clock and wondered where he could have gone at 2:30 in the morning. Shrugging her shoulders she went back to bed and hoped that he wasn't after Dylan.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Dylan picked the briefly forgotten receiver back up and placed it to her ear. Her mind buzzed wondering how Anthony could have done it. She didn't think he did but she couldn't be sure. "Sorry, I'm still here. Nat?"
"Yeah Dylan?"
"We need to meet Kate at the office today at nine. I was going to call you last night when I got home but I fell asleep." Fell asleep was an understatement she thought, passed out was more like it. She couldn't remember the last time she was so tired. The stress of the case and her relationship was starting to take its toll on her.
"Why?" was all that Natalie asked. She sounded as exhausted as Dylan felt.
"I found one of the eggs. I took it to Kate last night and she said it was real."
Natalie excitedly asked, "Dylan where? When?" Dylan rubbed her temples. She didn't want to answer those questions, not yet. It would be too easy for them, especially Alex to believe that it was Anthony. Now in light of Rutherford in the hospital with a sword wound she was having it hard time believing it wasn't Anthony herself. "I'll tell you everything later. Just let Alex know I need her to run a check for prints on the egg. Maybe that will get us closer to the person who did this."
"Sounds like a good idea," said Nat.
"I'll be over there," Dylan looked at her watch, "in about thirty minutes. Is that okay?"
"I think it would be better if you took Bosley and Max to scour the area where Rutherford was found rather than wait here for any news on his condition. Maybe find some clues."
Dylan nodded then realized that she couldn't be seen through the phone. "Sure, are they with you?" Natalie informed her they were and she hung up the phone. She wondered why she agreed to go with Bosley and Max. It was a good plan she knew that, it was she wanted to be there when the print results came back. She wanted to know if Anthony's were on the egg. Making sure the egg was still safe and sound in her purse she grabbed her things and headed over to the hospital.
*-*-*-*-*
Anthony drove all night. It was six when he pulled into the driveway of the old house. As soon as he stepped inside Kate popped out from the kitchen and threw her arms around him crying that she was worried, how could he do that to her, why couldn't he call. He pulled back out of her arms taking a lock of her silken chestnut hair with him. "Ow! What the bloody hell did you do that for?" she asked rubbing the now bald patch. Anthony just glared at her and threw the hair in the small dust bin next to the sideboard. On his ride he realized that his problems with Dylan started because of Kate and as long as Kate was in the picture he and Dylan wouldn't have a chance.
Pulling out his note pad and pen he wrote, "You need to leave."
"Why?" asked Kate. She thought things had been going well regardless of the morning's hair removal. Now it seemed he wanted her to leave. She didn't understand and didn't want to understand either. How was she going to make him fall in love with her if she wasn't around?
He wrote her another longer note, "You need to find your own place. This isn't working out."
"My own place? Not working out?" She echoed his note. She might have been in love with him but this was like being dumped without ever getting a single benefit of dating, such as him kissing her. She could barely keep track of how many hours she spent fantasizing about his lips pressed against hers, what they would taste like, since they became reacquainted. "How dare he dump me?" she thought angrily. Then aloud she said, "This is my place, this MY uncle's house. He was MY family and not yours. Maybe you should be the one to leave. "
If that was the way she wanted it. Anthony went up the stairs and removed a black leather suitcase from the closet and started placing his things inside. Kate followed him up the stairs and watched from the doorway. She didn't think that he would actually leave when she said that, she had hoped that maybe he would change his mind and let her stay. Now she wondered if she hadn't been too harsh. "Anton?" she said softly, calmly. "You can stay if I can stay."
He turned and looked at her giving her an icy stare. He placed a few more items inside and zipped the bag closed. Then removed a matching garment bag from the closet and added his suits. "I really am sorry. I was caught off guard by the hair pulling thing. Plus I'm not really a morning person until I have had my first cup of coffee." He didn't respond. She had to resort to something drastic, "Anton, I'm sorry and I want you to know I love you."
He zipped the garment bag closed, folded it in half and fastened it together. "Anton?" she said looking at him hopefully. He sighed and removed the pad from his pocket and wrote, "You love no one but yourself, Ekaterina. You never have. If you want the house, talk to Bailey J. Koch. He is the attorney who handled the estate. He has an office downtown. I won't stop you contesting the will." Handing her the note he grabbed his bags and carried them out to his car. Right now considering everything Bucharest was looking, once again like an option but he wasn't going to give up; not because of Kate. He wondered how it was possible that she and Dimitri were related at all.
Kate slammed her hand on top of the dresser making the ceramic knick-knacks and spare change jump. She had never been rejected and she didn't like the feeling. "You'll pay Anton, you will pay," she hissed under her breath.
*-*-*-*-*
Dylan, Max and Bosley were scouring the streets of East LA in a four block radius from where the body of Neville Rutherford was found. They each agreed to do their own area and meet back at the car by ten. "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack," mumbled Bosley as he searched behind trash cans in an alley way. He accidentally knocked one over and a back door to mom and pop style convenience store opened. A small Hispanic woman stepped out and swung a broom at him yelling something in Spanish, "Taco, Enchilada, Barcelona, to you too," he said brushing himself off and continuing on his way.
Max, who didn't have school that day, was told to stick to the main roads. There were lots of gangs in the area who wouldn't like the idea of a white kid wandering around. He hadn't gotten very far on his route when he noticed a long black bag standing on its end up against the front of a dry cleaner. Kneeling down next to the bag he slid the zipper back and peered inside. The smell the came out was strong and smelled of iron. He pulled back repulsed and like a magnet flies started to circle it. Max reached in but pulled his hand back out and put on the gloves Dylan gave him to wear incase he found something. He remembered them not so much to protect possible evidence but to protect his hands from whatever might be inside. Once the gloves were on he reached in and felt something long and narrow. He wrapped his hand around it and raised it out of the bag. It was a rapier with a curved umbrella like handle. There were footstep coming from out of the dry cleaner and he shoved the sword back in the bag and headed back towards the car. If this wasn't evidence he didn't know what was.
As the clock neared nine thirty Dylan's cell phone rang. "Dylan here," she said knowing who would be on the other end.
"Dylan its Alex, you need to come to the office we have a print."
"Really," she said with fake happiness, "That's great." She had hoped that it would come up negative but the moment her phone rang she had known Alex had found something and that she was called right away couldn't be a good sign.
"I haven't told Kate yet," said Alex. Dylan didn't know what to reply to that so she waited. "Dylan?" asked Alex. "Where did you find the egg?" Dylan closed her eyes she would have to tell eventually.
"So did you ID the print?" she asked Alex.
"Yes, I did. Dylan, come to the office. Okay?" It wasn't like Alex to be kind. Alex was kind but she was treating Dylan like she was fragile, like an egg. She never wanted to be thought of as fragile but maybe Alex was right in doing so. Maybe she was fragile and maybe her toughness was just an act.
"Okay. Max and Bosley are meeting me at the car in a half an hour. We will be there as soon as possible." With that she hung up the phone and started back to the car.
*-*-*-*-*
Francisco went to a pay phone on the corner next to a Texaco station not far from where Dylan's car was parked. He had been watching the angel and her friends all morning paying special attention to the boy. He had gone the direction in which the assassin had left the sword. Ducking in and out of doorways he followed watching as the boy found the black bag next to the dry cleaner. When the kid took the bag Francisco was pleased. The kid obviously knew what he had found. Now he had to call the Chief and report that the plan was going well. He respected the thin silent assassin the Chief called Anthony. The man had talent and was good at the job, there was always a shortage of efficent assassins, but as much as he respected him one more out of the way meant more work. Kind of a shame he thought but with what the Chief was paying him he would gladly sell out his own mother let alone the competition.
It seemed to Francisco that the Chief or el Jefe as he called him, must have been waiting as he picked up the phone on the first ring. "They found the evidence," was all he said. On the other end the Chief praised him and promised him a bonus once the game was over and told him to follow Anthony. Francisco readily agreed, survalience was the easiest part of his job. He climbed into his neutral colored elCamino and headed towards the house that the assassin was sharing with the museum woman.