Chapter Three: Totally Obsessed with Danger

Eloise looked around the boxes that she had mistaken for a wall, and found a man holding them. A man with deep brown eyes that looked into and through her, spiked up sandy blond hair, and perfectly tanned skin. The boxes looked heavy, and his biceps flexed. Eloise couldn't help but look him over appreciatively, and he returned the favor by gazing over her lithe form.

"I'm kind of in a hurry. I need to get my daughter medicine…" Eloise trailed off.

"Your daughter?" the man thought she looked a bit young to have a daughter. "You're married?"

The man's grip on the boxes started to slip, and Eloise reached out and grabbed them. "I'm not married. You got this?" Eloise asked, referring to the boxes. "I've gotta go."

"Wait!" the man called, "who's watching your daughter? How old is she?"

"Three," Eloise called up from the bottom of the stairs. "What's it to you?"

"I love kids!" The man called, but Eloise was already out the door.

----

It was an hour before Eloise returned with a bottle of Tryptophan. She had found a hospital, and broken in to get it. Even holding the bottle, she couldn't believe she'd succeeded. She'd broken into a hospital in broad daylight and no one even glanced at her. Maybe it was because she was so worried; she just looked like she belonged there.

As Eloise stepped into the apartment, she saw Aldrea still on the couch seizing. She sighed with relief that Aldrea hadn't progressed too far. She'd seen Jack get worse than Aldrea was now. Eloise sat on the couch and lifted Aldrea's head into her lap.

"Come on baby," Eloise said, trying to coax Aldrea to swallow the pill. Aldrea gagged on it and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Come on baby, just swallow and it will be all over."

At last with the biggest gulp she could manage, Aldrea swallowed 2 Tryptophan tablets. With her small body size, Eloise thought, that should be more than enough. A few moments later the small girl's seizing subsided.

"What's wrong with her anyway?" asked the stair man. He was standing in the doorway, and Eloise realized that in her haste she left the door open.

"What, are you stalking me?" grumbled Eloise.

"My name's Brian. I just moved in, so I was just wanting to meet some people…"

"And you picked me because?"

"You're pretty," Brian said bluntly.

Eloise smiled, and looked down at Aldrea. She was sleeping, worn out from the stress of her seizures. Eloise lay her head gingerly on the couch.

"I'm Eloise. This is Aldrea. We just moved in too actually."

Brian smiled, "maybe we should get to know the area together. Um, is your daughter all right though?'

"Yeah, she needed her meds. Why are you so concerned about her?"

"I told you, I love kids. I'm a third grade teacher," said Brian. "So you just moved in, are you all unpacked?"

"Um, no not at all. Would you like to sit down?" Eloise offered. "I didn't have time to unpack, I had to run out and get Aldrea her medicine."

Brian nodded. "Well, I'm all unpacked. I could help you if you like."

"I dunno. We don't have much. Just a few boxes," said Eloise. She kept smiling now that she figured this guy wasn't a psycho. Damn he was hot. And he seemed really kind too. Eloise noticed his biceps again, and enjoyed how perfect they were. They were quite large, but not so big that the veins bulged from them. They were a lovely golden tan, and probably about the size of Zack's, although Jondy had never in her life thought of Zack in that way. Zack would be so pissed if he knew she was talking to this guy, and her smile grew wider at the thought.

"… So let's just haul those boxes up here," Brian was saying. Eloise glanced at the couch, where Eloise was still sleeping peacefully.

"All right," agreed Eloise, and she led Brian out the door, and down to her waiting car.

----

Eloise made spaghetti for dinner that evening, and Brian was invited to stay. Aldrea was up and cheerful once again, so Brian was excited for the chance to meet her.

"You know," said Brian, "this is just plain old spaghetti, but I feel like I'm eating top o' the line stuff. This is excellent."

"Thanks," laughed Eloise. "Look at Aldrea!"

Aldrea was advanced for her age in most areas, but it was obvious that eating spaghetti wasn't one of them. Most of her face was slick and a bright red-orange, and a spaghetti noodle was stuck to her forehead. Her shirt had fared even worse, being bright red-orange as well, and having half the noodles from her plate on it. Brian and Eloise burst out laughing, and Aldrea looked up in surprise and joined in even though she didn't know what was funny.

RIIING! Shrilled the telephone. Eloise knew that it had to be Zack. He always called after she relocated.

RIIING! "Are you gonna answer that?" Brian wondered. Eloise shrugged.

RIIING!

RIIING!

RIIING!

Finally, tired of listening, Eloise got up and grabbed the phone angrily. "What?"

"Hey Jon. Is it too much to expect a new alias for a new location?" asked Zack.

"You know I don't wanna confuse Aldrea with all that yet Zack."

"Mommy! Can I talk to Zack?" yelled Aldrea.

"Are you up for that Zack?" Eloise asked him. "I suppose you want to talk to me first…"

"Yeah sure. Where are you may I ask? Did you make it out of state at least?"

"I'm in San Francisco. You'll be happy to know that we're already livin' it up too."

"Eloise! Low profile! Come on."

"Jeez Zack. I'm not stupid you know. It's all good. Oh hey, and thanks for the money, we already got new digs thanks to that. I just need to go job hunting tomorrow."

"Mommy! I wanna talk to Zack!" Aldrea had gone over to Eloise and now was jumping up and down next to her trying to reach the phone, noodles falling to the already stained carpet with each bounce.

"Okay Aldrea, hold on. Zack I'm assuming you can triangulate our location from this phone call. I'm handing you over to Aldrea." Eloise gave her daughter the phone, and Aldrea grabbed it up excitedly.

"Zack! We have spaghetti for supper, and Brian said it's yummy!"

Eloise turned to Brian, who had been watching Eloise's half of the exchange with interest. "That was my brother Zack," she explained. "He worries, and his only soft spot is for Aldrea. He's totally obsessed with danger though. He thinks me and my siblings are all on the verge of death or something."

Brian laughed.

A few minutes later Aldrea handed a now slippery phone to Eloise. "Zack said he wants to talk to you Mommy."

Eloise took the phone. "What?"

"I just wanted you to know that I just hooked up with Krit, and he lives on the way to San Francisco. Or he did anyway, he had to relocate because Lydecker was nearby."

"So…"

"So before he left, which was earlier today, he said that it had seemed like he had lost all the tails. Like maybe Lydecker picked up on someone else. It's what I'm thinking, even though that's not what he was thinking."

"Oh come on Zack. Krit was the one with the tails, not you, and yet you just go and assume something that never even crossed his mind. That is like the worst hunch. "

"Is not. You would've been with a seizing kid! You think Lydecker's men wouldn't be watching for that?" Zack said angrily. Why wouldn't Jondy ever see reason? She was as bad as Max. God, if the two of them ever hooked up…

"Whatever Zack. I'll keep on the lookout, but we just got here, and like I said, we've already got new digs."

"Fine. You know, so long as you are ready for anything Jondy. Oh, who's Brian?"

Eloise hung up the phone. "So who's up for charades?"

TBC…