A/N: Hi, I felt the unexpected urge to write and so I finished the next chapter ... I hope you enjoy, there is a bit Anthony/Dylan at the end.

Chapter 18: Complications

Looking from Nat to the screen and back, she decided to open the web-site that contained the full article that Max had summarised in one sentence for her. As it had opened she read: "Jason Gibbons kidnapped. The famous star of Maximum Extreme I and II has been abducted from his home in Beverly Hills. So far there has been no ransom note, but his personal assistant - Sabine Dawson - was knocked out with a club from behind."

Dylan stopped: "Why? And why now?" They had been on a lot of difficult assignments, but now it seemed they were on three different cases, but obviously one angel short.

Nat had listened and walked around to Dylan station and read the rest of the article, gently massaging her friend's shoulder. It comforted both a bit, to feel that they still had each other. Right now they were both emotional walking on raw flesh. "Why would anyone kidnap Jason?", Natalie said finally. She was pale and she felt like it. "Alex can't pay any ransom and he has no relatives that could gain access on his riches", the blonde angel suddenly tightened her grip on Dylan's shoulders. Then she let out a flat - Excuse me - and headed away from the computers.

The red headed angel raised from her chair pressing the print button. Three seconds later she followed Nat, who headed straight into the restroom and threw up into the first free toilet. Dylan was short behind her and asked worried: "Nat are you OK?"

After the blonde angel stopped she said, still a bit taken: "I'll be in a couple of minutes."

"No problem, but are you sure everything is going to be alright?", the other angel was quite concerned.

"Yeah, it's just - my stomach can't handle stress right now or at least not well", she got up slowly and walked to the basins. "Oh Dylan - what are we going to do? We must find Jason, Alex needs him and we need to clear the coast for Anna. Not to mention finding that psycho bitch that nearly killed Alex." She poured water on her face and flushed her mouth with it.

The other angel sighed silently, Natalie did not looked that good, but then she knew that pregnancy had those side-effects and if her friend said it would be alright, it meant she could handle it. So she decided to concentrate on the current issues.

"I don't know, I mean so far Anna is safe, I hope that Anthony might contact me again - I left a note, so maybe we should pay attention to Jason's case?"

"Maybe", Natalie said thinking a moment while she got a tictac out of her hand bag. "or maybe we should split up. You go and confront Aurelie, talk to her boss and talked to Claire. She had checked in the Hilton Plaza to watch Dr. Sattler, maybe she saw someone or even Anthony lurking near her room. I go and check on Sabine and look around at the scene of crime."

"I don't think this is a good idea", Dylan did not like the idea and searched for a reason to stay together. "What if … what if the kidnapping of Jason has to do with the case - to lure us from the right trail. Aurelie knows about us, doesn't she?"

"I suppose so", Nat thought. "Pete!" She got her cell and tipped in his number as fast as she could. He had turned of his handy and she only got the voice box. "Pete, get Spike and go to the Bosley's, don't worry, just a precaution. I love you."

Nat pocket her cell phone and looked seriously at Dylan: "Maybe we still should handle things as fast as possible, we just have to be careful."

"I don't feel like splitting up, it makes me nervous and besides, we need to figure this out and we are better as a team", Dylan said thinking more that she was no good without a team to back her up. "Oh and I need a new cell phone - Anthony took mine, heh wait, call me…"

"You think he'll answer?", Nat looked doubtful, but dialled nonetheless. Then she shook her head. "Sorry Dylan nothing, it's gone from the net, maybe the batteries, maybe he turned it off …"

"Text it, if it goes on again and he has it, maybe …" Dylan thought. Natalie smiled and gave her the phone: "Better you do it yourself."

The red head typed on the display with nervous fingers: "Anthony please contact me asp, I really need to talk." She felt a bit stupid, but then it was the truth and she hoped if he got one of her messages he also wanted to talk or listen. After all he started it, and it was her fault that it turned out so badly.

Her return to the agency was overshadowed by Jason's kidnapping, but it did not stop Bosley to hug her and tell her how happy he was that she was out of jail. Still Dylan sensed that there was something else, that bothered their Bosley. "What is it?", she asked, but before he could answer, Claire gave it to her. "Aurelie left us - I don't want to know what she is doing right now - luckily Dr. Crushner is still alright."

Bosley added: "She left a note - she wanted to handle things her way."

The daughter of Aurelie's boss rose from the sofa and greeted them as well. It was impossible not to notice, that she was quite mad at Aurelie. It almost sounded like she thought Aurelie would actually harm their client. Natalie caught her on that and asked what she thought got into Aurelie.

"You probably should ask my father, he only mentioned that she had problems, but she never talked to anyone else about it", Claire admitted angrily. "I think it is just plain unfair, after all Dad did for her."

"So they were close?", Dylan asked.

The gold blonde woman scoffed: "Too close, if you asked me." Then she sat back on the sofa and made the impression that she did not wanted to go deeper into the topic. The angels sat down on their sofa and Bosley made himself comfortable next to their guest.

"So Angels, what are you going to do now?", Jimmy said having this hopeful look that the girls already knew what to do.

"Well, we need to know whether Anna is now save from any killers and what the CIA is investigating, then we're also talk to Jason's associate and see what she can remember", Dylan told him and hoped their plan sounded better than it was.

"Claire, you were at the Plaza, when Dr. Sattler was killed", Natalie began. "Have you seen anyone unusual lurking around her room?"

Claire frowned: "Someone unusual? I think I would have reported this by now."

"Maybe you just saw him briefly and did not really paid attention?", Dylan suggested anxiously.

"Him?", Miss Norman said a bit confused. "You know who killed Dr. Sattler?"

"We suspect", Natalie explained.

"I thought Aurelie killed him?" Bosley asked surprised or you mean somebody else.

"Ahm", Dylan interrupted, "just think - he is tall, about 6 feet, but he might not seem that tall from distance, because he is very thin, he is very pale and has this odd haircut. He has those milk-blue haunting eyes and most likely he was smoking." Dylan smiled unconsciously as she got the image of Anthony lurking in a dark hall way, cigarette in hand watching the corridor. "He probably wore an old-fashioned suit."

She stopped as she realised that everyone was staring at her. Especially Bosley seemed very confused. Dylan made a note to tell him, when they were alone about Anthony and her suspicions due to his obvious miraculous resurrections. But then Claire Norman got a grip on her self and a bit arrogant she replied: "No, I don't saw anyone like that and I doubted that anyone would smoke their, they got smoke detectors in every room and on the floor - very sensitive those things."

"Yeah right", Dylan said feeling a bit stupid about her ranting on like that, but just because she had not seen him, it did not meant he had not been there. Actually the thought that he was behind this did not bothered her that much. Maybe because his victim this time was a much worse killer than he could ever be.

"What actually did you do at the Hotel?", Bosley asked suddenly.

"I was observing Dr. Sattler's activities", she answered sharply.

"How comes that you have not seen her killer?", Natalie wondered.

Claire jumped from the sofa: "Don't start it, she went to sleep - I went to sleep, how was I to know that some psycho would attack her while she slept?" Then she rushed out of the room. If the general situation had not been that terrible the three might have laughed, about the silly outburst of hers.

"Mr. Norman's girls seem a bit stressed, don't they", Bosley said and managed to get a smile out of the two angels.

"Not everyone can have angels working for them …", Robert Norman suddenly said. He had entered the office before the door pushed open by his daughter has closed again. He was obviously not offended and came to sit down with them. "Sorry to hear about your colleagues boy-friend. Do you think the kidnapping is related to this case?"

"We honestly don't have a clue", Natalie said. "Since we can't confront Aurelie now, we might as well go on talk to Sabine."

"What do you wanted to confront her about", Robert said concerned.

"This", the red head handed him the print-outs from the internet-café. He took a look at it.

"You think she killed the others before this guy, also deliberately?" It was obvious that the man was not very happy about the situation. "She mentioned something about her partner being killed by someone who worked for this organisation, that obviously had been hired this time by our late doctor", Dylan began to explain her theory.

Robert made a noise that was somewhere between a cough and a laughter. "Her partner?", he shook his head. "She might not like it, but I guess I should explain more about this. Aurelie does not like anyone knowing what troubles her, she always keep her private life out of business, but …"

Everyone was listen silently and finally Mr. Norman went on. "It was some about five years ago, she was twenty, had just started working for me. You see that partner she mentioned was Henry Barracuda - her husband. Oh he was twice as old as she and a very good friend of mine, so I naturally assigned Henry as her trainer. They were escorting a client to a save house, when they were hit. Henry was killed and Aurelie was naturally taking it very hard. I tried to take care of her, but to add to the disaster, it turned out that she had been pregnant, but with all the medicaments she took in the first week against her depressions, she lost the baby. It took her two years to recover and also she is sometimes very sad, she seemed to be capable of handling the job, I felt that she needed to do this, that it helped her, I never thought that she might be .." He stopped and rubbed with both palms over his face. "I could use something to drink."

"Oh, man, the poor girl", Bosley said, but got up to fetch something, he felt he could use as well.

"Well, that's horrible, but unfortunately - it makes her even more suspicious", Dylan said. The Angel wished that things would be different. She had been mad at her for shooting Anthony, but she had experienced the same rage, as she went after Seamus and by that time she had not even been sure what would become of Alex.

Nat was also very silent, before she said with a calm voice: "I still don't think she would endanger Anna."

"I'd like to believe that, too", Robert said.

It was just as Bosley returned with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, as Natalie's cell phone started to vibrate in her pocket. "I got a message!", she said and removed it. "Oh I think it is for you, Dylan!"

Nat gave the phone to her fellow angel. The text read: "Meet me in one hour at your place."

"That came from my cell!", she said. Within seconds she had entered her number, but her phone was obviously turned off once more. "Nat, I guess I should take that chance."

"Shall I come with you?", her friend offered.

"No, he might not come out if you are with me - I mean that is between us", the red head decided.

"From whom was the message?", Bosley wanted to know, after finishing the very short whiskey he had poured into his glass. Robert had wanted a bit more and was still drinking, but very slowly. He had a curious eye on the situation.

"Anthony", she said.

Robert started to cough violently as he got the whiskey in the wrong throat. "The guy, Aurelie shoot?", he finally asked.

"Yes, him", Dylan said and smiled at the absurdity of that answer. "It's a difficult story - difficult to believe - I tell you later."

With that she rose from the sofa. "Look, I call you, so you know I am alright", Dylan said and hurried out of the room. It was already late and it was near dusk, in one hour it would be dark. She wanted to be there on time. 'Girl you might even have the chance to get a shower and put something on you did not slept in', she thought as she pulled from the parking lot. Nice enough her lawyer had her car brought over as promised.

The traffic was as bad as to be expected, but she used some side streets and was at her place half an hour earlier. Dylan opened her front door and the first thing she noticed that their was a reason for not seeing any lights in the windows of the building she lived in. The light was out. Since normally it took an hour or two for the caretaker to set things straight, she went up the stairs in the dark.

With all the blends closed her apartment seemed a bit scary.

"Wait a moment I did not closed those blends", she mumbled to herself as she dropped her hand bag on the sofa.

"Anthony?", she said. Then from the kitchen door she heard a match being lit. It was the assassin. He stood there, pale as ever, lighting his cigarette and looking at her. Now he was there and she had no idea what to say. But she felt uncomfortable being in the dark. "Light will be out for a while - mind if I look for some candles?", she asked. Dylan saw him nod and carefully she searched through the drawers and cupboards of her apartment with him watching.

But with each moment spent in silence, Dylan felt her uneasiness growing and not just because of the darkness around them. So she turned around and looked at his face that became visible in the dark, whenever he sucked on the cigarette. "I really don't know what is going on - or where to start." She felt a relief as her hands found a package of candles under the tons of other useless stuff in her probably largest drawer.

"You know - at first I was not even sure, if it is really you …", she rose and took the candles over to the living room table. "but it is you, isn't it?", she said. Again he nodded carefully as far as she could make it out. Dylan began to light up the four thick red candles. It was not that much help but now she could see his face and realised that he was as nervous as she was.

"I saw you - the night after the premiere - in the morgue", the angel told him and the memory made her skin crawl. He came closer and sat down at the opposite side of the table. "We all were at your funeral and then you suddenly appeared - I had the impression it was you, but - after Aurelie found me, she went back without my knowledge. After she told me what she had done - I came back and I found the blood and the holes in the wall, then I knew for certain. But I still don't know how this can be possible."

Dylan was seeing that it bothered him as well and as she had finished he fetched his old writing block from his pocket. She sat back on the sofa and watched him write. Then he held it out to her and she placed it on her side in front of the candles and read: ~I was cursed - for my first crime, at least I thing that's it. I did not gave it much thought in the orphanage.~

"You were cursed as a seven year old?", she suddenly said in surprise. His people must have been really terrible and then she remembered what Anna had told her about the end of her father. She was about to hand his notepad back, then recalled having a bigger one next to her phone. "Wait a second." She fetched it and handed this one over to him. "I doubt that the other one would have been enough anyway", she said smiling.

Dylan looked at him and wondered why he kept his distance from her. But after what happened she could not blame him for it. He had started to write something, but then he stopped and did not continued for a few minutes. The angel waited silently, this was not going to be an easy conversation and since he was unlikely to interrupt her, she would be fair and give him all the time he needs.

So she read anxiously what he had written as he handed it back to her: ~They had their reasons for that. I never told this anyone. My father was not of the tribe and they killed him for taking my mother and my mother for betraying them. I made them pay for that.~

The angel had to think of what the Mother Superior had told them, about the fire, she felt that this was how he had made him pay. A cruel deed for a young child, but how cruel must they have been to him that he was capable of doing that. She could not really blame him and she knew from the look of his face that he was afraid that she would. So she placed her hand on his. She lacked the words, but she hoped he would understand what she was trying to bring across.

They just looked at each other for a few moments and then she turned her gaze on the last sentences he had written: ~For that I was cursed. At least I think so - she spoke with the old tongue, I'm not fluent, but I'm sure it meant, that I shall be the last to die.~

"The last of what - aren't they all dead?", Dylan asked her eyes meeting his once more, but Anthony just shook his head.

"Would you do me a favour?", the angel suddenly asked remembering what she wanted to ask him. Before she could clear her personal affairs, she needed to finish this job, and since he was connected to it, he was the place to start. "Please don't kill anyone - not even to help me." There was this doubtful look and she added: "At least not until there is definitely no other way, please, there are other ways."

This time she got a nod and with relief she continued: "So do you know - " she stopped herself and decided on a more direct approach. "I assume you killed Dr. Sattler in Order to prevent anymore killers been sent our way."

She felt that he searched her face for approval or disapproval, before he nodded. Then he signalled for the pad and wrote fast: ~There is one still at work.~

Dylan sighed: "Are you sure?" It was what she had feared.

~You saw his work - he killed my contact - after I woke up I found her at my door~, he wrote having this sad look on his face.

"Oh my good", she said. This one was worse a real butcher, she wondered if this was the guy that killed Aurelie's husband. Which gave her the idea to tell Anthony about the black woman. "We think Aurelie has this plan of killing all members of your association until she finds the one of you that killed her husband. We fear that she might be the one leaking out the information to Dr. Sattler."

~Well, one has to admire her precision, but I doubt that she is the informant, before I killed her, I heard another woman informing her about your imprisonment and that a man named Robert Norman had come down to aid in the protection of the target. The woman that came out was a Caucasian.~

That was unsettling news and she decided that she better called the office, she had promised to do so anyway. "I need to inform the other", she got up, "but I want you to know, that that was not all I wanted to talk about. It is just something I have to clear, before I can even think about taking care of my life. I was really glad to get your message."

Dylan was startled as Anthony suddenly jumped up writing on her pad and closed in on her. In big letters he had written: ~What message?~

"The one from my cell where you told me to meet you here", she looked at her watch, "In exactly one minutes. But you have been here earlier", her voice went down, as she realised that he knew nothing about that. Anthony did not waste anytime, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him in the direction of the door. "You think I got the message from your replacement?", she said, but naturally there was not reply. "But you had my phone!"

Realising that it was no use she hurried with him down the stairs, obviously he expected some company, he wished to avoid, but then suddenly as they descended four stairs the pushed her down and dropped himself on top of her. Then the building trembled under a gigantic explosion.