Angel hadn't been able to concentrate on anything since Sam had been found. Even though she was supposed to be working on a piece for a show, she'd spent most of the day staring into space. Something was different about Sam and she couldn't figure out what it was. Jack had kidnapped her once before, using a spider's venom and then framing her for murder, but she hadn't been so withdrawn that time. Now, she just wanted to quit the FBI and she ditched her guards whenever she went out. What had Jack done to her?

Angel left the studio early, knowing that she wasn't going to get any more work done. Maybe she could convince Sam to go away for a couple of days with Chloe. When she got home, she wasn't surprised to find Sam sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Hi."

Sam looked almost sad. "Hi, Angel."

Angel crossed the living room to sit next to Sam. "What are you watching?"

"Nothing. Just flicking through to see if anything interesting is on."

Angel nodded. When, she wondered, had she forgotten how to talk to her best friend?

Sam took Angel's hand, threading her fingers through Angel's as if they were little girls again. "You're too good to me. You never should have had to live like this."

"What kind of friend would I be if I'd let you go through this alone?"

"You should be married, with kids of your own."

"Sam, I never wanted that, remember? I was the only girl in our class who didn't dream of weddings and children."

"Still, you'd have made a great mother." Sam leaned against her friend, her head on Angel's shoulder. "I'm sorry if I ever let you think that I take you for granted."

"It's not your fault that Jack's in your life. You deserve better."

Sam made a funny sound in the back of her throat. Angel didn't know what it meant but she suddenly felt sad.

"I love you, Angel. Whatever happens, don't ever forget that."

"Sam?"

"I'm going to go pick up Chloe from school. I'll see you." Sam paused at the edge of the room and looked back at Angel. She smiled, and then she was gone. Angel looked at the TV, at what Sam had been watching. Wile E. Coyote chased the Road Runner around the desert, never coming close to catching him.

Angel frowned when she realized that it was a tape. Sam had lied about flicking through channels. She smiled faintly; maybe Sam was just embarrassed that she'd been caught watching cartoons.

When the time for Sam to return had passed, Angel started to panic. She rushed downstairs to see if Sam had taken a guard with her, her heart sinking when she saw both agents at their posts. They waved cheerfully at her, oblivious to her worries. She called Bailey.

"Chloe's teacher confirms that Sam picked her up from school." Bailey paced up and down the command center. "After that, they just disappeared."

"Do you think Jack's got her again?" Angel was uncomfortable in Sam's workspace, just as Sam would be in hers. She sat stiffly in one of the black chairs, staring helplessly up at Bailey.

"I really hope not. Did Sam say anything about wanting to get away for a while?"

Angel shrugged. "I know she wanted to leave the FBI, but she never mentioned anything like this. I was actually going to suggest that the three of us go stay at the farm for a couple of days."

"I need you to think hard: has anything about her behavior been strange?"

"Everything has been strange. Since she came home, she hasn't been herself. I mean, first wanting to leave, and then going jogging without a guard. I got home today and she was watching cartoons and we had a really odd conversation—"

"Which cartoon?"

"Uh, Road Runner."

Bailey pulled out a chair and sat next to Angel. "Road Runner? That's the one where the coyote chases him and always ends up hurting himself, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he never catches him?"

"Umm . . . I don't think so. Why? Is it important?"

"I don't know. What did you two talk about?"

"Friendship. What our lives should have been like. I mentioned Jack and she said she loved me."

"Maybe she knew she wouldn't be coming home."

Angel turned to stare at the woman who had just spoken. She had red hair and carried a green mug. Something about her reminded Angel of Sam.

"Who are you?"

Bailey stood up. "Uh, Angel, this is Rachel Burke. She's been filling in for Sam."

"You're a profiler too?"

Rachel nodded.

"Are you any good?"

"She is." Bailey ended the discussion and excused himself to answer the phone.

Angel studied the other woman carefully. "What did you mean 'maybe she knew'?"

Rachel took a sip of coffee before answering. "Jack had her but he let her go. Why? I think killing her date was more than just male possessiveness. He was trying to show her something, but what? Maybe he gave her a choice and now she's chosen to disappear before she has to answer to him."

"No. If she was going to leave she would have said goodbye to me."

"Maybe she did. Maybe the cartoon was her way of telling us all not to look for her."

"No." Angel refused to believe that. She stood up angrily. "I'm going home. Tell Bailey to call me when he finds something."

Rachel watched her leave, then chewed the end of her pen thoughtfully. She was rarely wrong and sincerely believed that Sam had vanished by choice and that she had no intention of returning. Convincing Sam's friends of that was the hard part.

Bailey re-entered the room, his expression somber. "Highway patrol found Sam's car abandoned just off the I-20. No trace of her or Chloe."

Rachel just nodded.

Chloe sat very quietly on the bed. The motel room seemed too small for three people. She was cross-legged and stared at the pattern of the bedspread. When she'd asked her mother why they hadn't gone home, she'd been told that it would be explained later. She hadn't asked who the strange man with them was. Now, her mother was showering and she was alone with the man. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Do you need anything?" he asked.

She shook her head, twisting her hands in her lap.

"My name's Jack."

Chloe looked up and stared at him. She'd heard of him before. The adults always mentioned him in hushed tones whenever she was around and she knew he'd had something to do with her father's death. She licked her lips nervously and sat very, very still.

For his part, Jack was at a loss. He was intrigued by this foreign creature – as he was by all children. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd never killed a child.

TBC