Cross quickly found the extended-stay building Schwarz had moved into. He had yet to see the 'girl' Calan had spoken of, though he certainly knew that there was a young woman in Schwarz's dubious care. There would be time to feel her out a little later. For now, he was interested in the Schwarz redhead. Following Schu without his familiar mental signature being detected would be a tricky thing, but he was fairly certain he'd be able to manage it if he could force himself to think constantly about petty things, inconsequential things, boring and every-day things.

Dammit, how in HELL did he think he was going to fool such a powerful telepath?

Shaking his head in chagrin, Cross quieted his thoughts and found a spot across the street from which to watch the building. Purchasing a newspaper from a street vendor, he immersed himself in a rather shocking story involving a recent double-homicide.

He waited for about an hour and a half, and was entirely prepared to wait all day, but then a black car with illegally tinted windows prowled up to the curb. Shortly, Schuldich stepped outside dressed in a white business suit. As usual, a bandana held back his unruly hair and a pair of sunglasses perched over it, giving the outfit Schu's devilish flare. Keeping his thoughts firmly on the newspaper, Cross moved to a crosswalk and quickly crossed the street. As the car pulled away from the curb, he quickly jotted down the license plate number, make, and model. Slipping the handy notepad back into his jeans pocket, he retreated into a slight alcove formed by the join of two buildings and quickly emptied his wallet of everything except for a few dollars, a couple of receipts, and a blank library card. Checking it twice to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, he shoved the contents into his pockets and emerged, moving up to the front doors of the building and stepping inside.

The carpet was plush and rose-colored and the surroundings positively reeked of class. Cross found himself mildly impressed and he wandered up to the security desk, offering the guard a guileless smile.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Cross nodded. "There was a man who just left here, a redhead in a white suit. He dropped this, but he drove away before I could get his attention. Does he live in this building?"

The guard nodded. "If you'd like, I can put that in his mailbox for you," he offered politely.

Cross glanced up. There was a wall of mailboxes right behind the guard. "Yeah, sure, that's fine," he said with a grin, sliding the wallet across the counter.

The guard took it and walked over to one of the mailboxes. The numbers were small and brass plated, and Cross squinted to spot the number on the box he placed the wallet in.

Box 212.

"Thanks," Cross tossed at the guard as he quickly turned and made his way back out of the building, so the guard wouldn't catch him peeking. He barely heard the absent reply.

Well, Schuldich had gone out, but now Cross was fairly certain he knew which apartment the redhead lived in. So that was something. He jotted that down on his notepad as well, smirking as he slid the pad back into his pocket. Collecting information made him at least feel like he was doing something useful. He couldn't follow Schuldich at the moment without his bike, but next time he'd have it ready. He'd go track down the license plate number and set up some surveillance on apartment 212, and hopefully be back in time to catch Schu if he went out clubbing.

And set up another meeting.

X-X-X

Farfarello really had no choice but to be impressed. Sabbath had returned to Ebon Cell HQ and sent out messengers and within an hour, they were headed toward Soho to have a meeting with the leaders of the other Inconnu cells. Now they sat in a crowded Vietnamese restaurant at a semi-private table. Farfarello estimated that at least one person at every other table had a gun under his or her clothing. This was a place where illicit deals were made and fleshed out. But most of those meeting here were of similar race and age. The Inconnu, in contrast, stood out as clearly the most exotic group in the place. The only thing they had in common was that they were all, oddly enough, Caucasian, which was also the thing that singularly set them apart from everyone ELSE in the place.

As they found their seats, Sabbath introduced him around the table, naming each Cell Leader:

Ice, the leader of Isa Cell, with shocking white hair and startlingly clear blue eyes, a wryly amused smile gracing his handsome features, his sneakered feet propped on the table, his chair leaned back on two legs, his back strategically placed against the wall.

Jake, Auspex Cell's leader, with roughly attractive features, a golden nose ring, dark hair that looked utterly unbrushed, and dark blue eyes. He was watching Farfarello with blatant suspicion, and his tattered denim jacket rasped as he folded his arms across his chest.

Rel, the painfully energetic leader of the Raven's Gleaning Cell. She had long, honey-brown hair, light brown eyes, and a ready grin that was at once cocky, childlike, and slightly mad.

And finally, Ariadne, with tumbling red curls and dark grey eyes, her lovely face enhanced by artistically drawn scars that began with a maze pattern on her forehead and cut straight down the center of her face, down her throat, making the movement of her lips a fascinating thing. Leader of Midnight Cell.

Plus Farfarello, representative of Schwarz, and Sabbath, leader (?) of Ebon Cell. They were assembled.

"So," Rel said, fingers tapping languidly on the table top as she smirked at Sabbath. "Let's hear it, Sabbath-chan. You said you had back-up for us, and that we'd be able to go up against The One directly."

Sabbath nodded. "To say we've found an unlikely ally would be something of an understatement. There's a group of Affiliated Psis that's agreed to give us a helping hand. They're powerful and well-trained, and would be just the edge we need against The Collective."

"But they're Affiliated," Jake pointed out. "Who are they Affiliated with, and what's in this for them?"

Farf watched as Sabbath hung for a moment in indecision, then decided to bite the bullet. "They're called Schwarz, and they're with Eszet."

Though he half expected them to explode, as Griss had upon Sabbath's announcement, there was no such emotional display. Ice's smile turned to a grin, Jake's eyes narrowed, Rel hiked an eyebrow, and Ariadne looked quietly rebellious.

"Then I ask again. What does Eszet get out of this?" Jake demanded quietly. He had one of those voices that, while quiet, was irresistibly compelling and made you want to shut up and listen.

"Trust me when I say that the price has already been set and they're getting exactly what they want," Sabbath told him. "I'm not at leave to discuss the terms of the agreement, but according to it, none of you are in danger. Once this is over, Eszet will supposedly leave you alone."

"Supposedly," Rel chimed in. "Why do I get the idea we aren't counting on Eszet to keep its word?"

"Because we aren't?" Ice said sarcastically. "Eszet has NEVER been known for its honesty."

"Then why should we make this deal at all?" Jake demanded. "If we already know they're going to stab us in the back." He fixed a dryly superior gaze on Farf.

Farfarello shrugged. "I don't know what Eszet has planned any more than you do. But we've been given clearance to help you destroy the Collective, so that is what Schwarz will do."

Sabbath nodded. "We have no reason to trust Eszet, but for now, we can be confident that at least until The One, and the threat it ultimately poses to Eszet, is destroyed, we are safe. Afterward… who knows what may happen? But we'll be ready for it, whatever it is."

"Is it safe to discuss contingency plans in front of the Eszet flunky?" Rel inquired, shooting Farf a wide smile. "No offense."

Farf played idly with knife. "I am not an Eszet flunky. I am Schwarz."

Sabbath rolled her eyes. "THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is Farfarello. He is actually not a psi, except that I suspect he might be a weak biopath."

"Then what is he?" Ariadne asked finally, eyeing the knife as Farf's tongue ran along it.

Ice laughed. "You're still new to all this, Ari. Our Farfarello here is a killer, plain and simple. He takes damage and makes things bleed. Deal out enough death yourself and you come to know the look."

Ariadne scowled, not liking being put in her place, and Ice laid a finger on the glass of water next to him. With a snap and a crackle, the water froze solid, and Ice tipped the glass over, shunting the cylinder into his hand. Pulling out a pocket knife, he scratched at one of the edges. "So. Eszet's willing to lend us a few soldiers in the interest of protecting their own hide. Makes perfect sense to me, knowing Eszet. But I find it hard to believe that even a set price wouldn't effect us in some way." His eyes pinned Sabbath down and she met them coolly. "What are you giving them, Sabbath?"

"Nothing of yours, that's for certain," she said dryly. "And I already told you, it's none of your business. I'm seeing to the arrangements and trust me, the contract was gone over with a fine-toothed comb. As it turned out, their desires were very simple, and I sincerely doubt YOU'D much mourn the loss."

"But even as you say that," Ice countered, "it makes me think that I WILL mourn the loss. Whatever they've requested might seem simple, but I'll guarantee that it isn't. Eszet is made up of devils, those three old fools…" he fell silent, frost eyebrows drawn together as he whittled away at the cylinder.

Farfarello's tongue stilled on the knife. This Inconnu knew about the Elders?

"I trust Sabbath's judgment," Rel said, "and more than that, I trust her sense of martyrdom. If she's already sacrificed so we don't have to, I won't worry about it anymore. Contingency plans are a good idea of course, because Eszet WILL turn on us, but in terms of the contract, at least, I'll let this rest. For now, we have bigger concerns; namely, finding The One and destroying them utterly."

"Agreed," Jake said, though he sounded reluctant to let the matter rest. "Auxiliary is all well and good, but we have to find The Collective before we can stamp them out and their numbers are still growing. We've seen probes, tentative forays, collectors, but no warriors. I know they've absorbed a few potent psions. We've barely scratched the surface of what they'll bring to bear against us if we attack head-on."

"Well, there's one thing I can guarantee we have that they don't," Sabbath said with a smirk, and both Rel and Ice returned it.

"I've got no problem leading Raven's Gleaning into battle," Rel said casually. "Hell, I've got no problem being at the head of the charge. And with me AND Ice AND Jake, we'd do decently even we were outnumbered ten to one. But what about the human authorities? No building, or block, is an island. If we start throwing world-shattering psychic power around, people are going to sit up and take notice. We'd have to take out the Collective in one hard, fast strike and then fade away. Which means we'd have to destroy The Core." Slim, strong fingers wound a strand of honey-hair around them. "And I don't think I can manage that. The Core is nothing but a prism for psychic power. The more I focus at it, the more power it will gain. In theory."

Sabbath nodded. "I have a plan to destroy The Core, and I'll be the one to sneak in and destroy it while the rest of you engage The Collective. If I can overload and dissolve the weave it's set up, I can destroy The Core and maybe if we're lucky, the feedback will take The Collective out with it. And if it does, the rest of you will have a disorganized bunch of drones to pick off at your leisure."

"And what's your plan?" Ice inquired, snowy scrapings of frozen water falling with soft sounds to the tabletop and melting. Farfarello noticed, suddenly, that the piece of ice was not melting in his hands.

Sabbath smirked. "I call it Operation: Pandora's Box."

Farf's attention snapped back to her as he chewed at the end of his knife. Warmth trickled down his chin and he realized Ariadne was staring at him in disgusted shock as blood dripped to the table. He smiled blackly at her and she looked away.

"The long and short of it is this: The Core can absorb and distribute psychic power. We know that, because that's its FUNCTION. But magickal power is a different case entirely. While Psionics and magick are related and often compatible, they are fundamentally different and thus I hope to bring about an attack against which The One has no defense."

"Way to steal the show," Ice murmured.

Sabbath rolled her eyes at him. "And take the biggest risk. I want all of our people to get out of this alive and it's the best plan I've got; collect a massive amount of energy and use it to destroy the hive mind."

"Energy from where?" Jake shook his head. "We can't spare the strength and you're not strong enough, yourself."

"Just let me worry about that," Sabbath told him. "You guys need to focus on finding The One first. Schwarz is researching the plausibility of my plan already; that much is under control. I know we've got a decent spread of telepaths and empaths."

"We can spread out, mix Cells so that the mentalists are better-defended, and do a search of the boroughs," Rel suggested. "I know Damon can handle himself, but if I go with him, The One's got no chance of snatching him. And I can send Mars with Stefan for the same results. So that's two search teams already out of just one cell."

"Can telepaths detect The One?" Jake inquired.

Sabbath nodded. "Fell says it's like a cold, dead void on the edge of his senses. Of course, he was rather enthusiastic about the sensation, but you get the picture. The One is one mind in many bodies. Any telepath should be able to sense that kind of anomaly."

"The boroughs are a lot of ground to cover," Ariadne pointed out. "We need a way to narrow it down."

They exchanged glances among themselves, and then Sabbath sighed.

"I guess I could dowse. I'm not very good at it though," she warned.

"Give us one borough," Rel offered sympathetically. "Jake, you've got some animal empaths, don't you?"

Jake nodded.

"Right. So if Sabbath can get us down to one borough, we can get our telepaths and empaths out, along with rat and pigeon spies, and that makes a whole lot of eyes and ears in a whole lot of places. We'll drag the nets until we find something. Sab, can you manage it?"

Sabbath shook her head. "I'll do my best. That's all I can promise."

"Hell, our best is all any of us can promise," Rel said cheerfully. "Ice, you in?"

Ice smirked back at her. "Of course, my dear. Heaven forbid I pass up the chance for a little excitement in god-only-knows how long. I look forward to comparing tactics and stories of fucking Eszet over…"

Rel snickered.

Sabbath rolled her eyes. "All right. Jake? You willing to risk it?"

Jake smiled. "There's no gain without risk, Sab. Auspex Cell is in."

"Good. Ariadne?"

Ariadne shrugged. "I know my team is in. They're a violent bunch."

Sabbath nodded and Farfarello felt her relief. "Good. We're all agreed then. Let's do the phone number thing and set up our own network. I'll get in contact with all of you as soon as I have the location narrowed down and an amulet made for containing the energy. That'll be at least a day, so start assembling. If you've got guns, I've got a technokinetic who can improve on them, so I'll give him your contact number and we'll see if we can't even out the odds just a little." She sighed. "Also, make some contingency plans in case Eszet betrays us. Keep them to yourselves and tightly under wraps, and whatever you do, don't tell ME about them. Schwarz has a telepath."

There were nods around the table, and Sabbath stood, which Farfarello took as his cue to stand also. "Thanks for coming. I'll be in touch. Good luck and Goddess bless."

"Here," Ice said, and Sabbath paused, turning back toward him. He held out a hand, the piece of ice in it. Sabbath took it from it and examined it, and Farfarello saw that it had been exquisitely carved into a detailed likeness of a woman with long hair, dressed in a flowing gown, both arms outstretched in front of her. She was holding a box, the lid half-open. Her face resembled Sabbath's.

Farfarello blinked.

"Legend has it that when Pandora opened her box, all the demons of hatred, pain, suffering, and sin came flying out to oppress the world. But Pandora shut the box before it could empty itself, trapping one last creature… hope… in the box. So that no matter how bad things get, no matter how terrible, humanity would always have hope hidden away," Ice said melodically, smirking at Sabbath. "But your box is a little different, isn't it? Your box contains all our hope, tightly wrapped and delivered with the force of a neutron bomb. Hope as a weapon. I only hope it works."

Sabbath smiled at him. "You're a compulsive poet, Ice. Thanks."

He nodded and made an 'it was nothing' gesture.

Sabbath and Farfarello left the table and the restaurant, Sabbath examining the little statue that still refused to melt even in her hands.

"I haven't ever seen a power like his," Farfarello observed idly, licking the blood from his lips when he caught a couple passers-by staring.

"He's a cryokinetic," Sabbath explained matter-of-factly. "A… very, very powerful one. He was showing off a little tonight, but you should see him when he's really pissed. Godlike power lavished on a human being… we have a name for those, and it's the same one Eszet uses; Wild Power."

Farfarello nodded. "Eszet will seek to contain one of his power. You know that."

She laughed. "What, that they'll stab us in the back? You underestimate us, Farf. We're not expecting it, we're COUNTING on it. We've survived Eszet in the past and we'll survive them again. Especially with Rel on our side. Her Cell is mobile, but she answered the summons because we're friends… Eszet's been after her for years and all they've gotten for their trouble is corpses. Raven's Gleaning is a small, but powerful cell and they stick close. Very, very close," she amended with a chuckle, "seeing as their four most powerful members are all in bed together. Rel's a Wild Power too… a kineticist. The things she can do…."

"Her mind was fractured."

Sabbath shrugged. "Yeah, true. But so is yours, so is mine, so is Schuldich's. So is Ice's… in fact, I'd venture to say Ice is more insane than you are… and so is Fell's, and I KNOW he's the least sane person I've ever met. They were all children when this came down on them, Farf. Hell, so were you. Of course their minds aren't whole. They've been wounded on the inside and as long as that Power both exalts and eats them, they won't heal. Rel's just a kooky kind of insane, though. Not dangerous unless you manage to really piss her off, and that's hard to do. As you saw, she didn't think twice about allying with Eszet as long as everyone knew the risks involved. She bears them no real ill will even though they killed her family trying to get to her."

He nodded and took this in. The Inconnu were a rag-tag group, motley and diverse, but they had spirit, and he now understood that they had strength, true strength. To boast two Wild Powers… Eszet only had half a dozen, two of which were members of Schwarz. And Farf wasn't sure Eszet even knew Schuldich was a Wild Power; he'd hidden the full extent of his power from them for a very long time. Nagi, of course, they knew about. Nagi was somewhat hard to miss.

"Are there always this many Inconnu in the area?" he inquired curiously. It occurred to him that he shouldn't ask questions, because Schuldich would ferret them from his mind and hand all the information he'd unwittingly gathered to Crawford. But he'd been silent through the meeting and he wanted to talk now.

She shook her head. "No. These five Cells – Ebon, Midnight, Auspex, Isa, and Raven's Gleaning – are all the Inconnu in the entirety of northeastern New York State and New Jersey, and Raven's Gleaning, as I said, is mobile. They travel the world as they choose. Since Inconnu can usually only survive in large cities where the minds of non-psis drown them out, you'd probably have to travel to Boston or Chicago, at least, before finding any more of us. So I guess you could say we're the only Inconnu in the entire North East United States."

"How did you find them?" he asked, and Sabbath chuckled.

"I ran into another psion about the same time as Eszet came after him. Ice's cell pitched in to help out. He ended up joining Isa, while I fell in with a group of un-aligned Inconnu and we eventually named ourselves Ebon. I stayed with them because they were the closest thing I had to people who understood me, but it's still not a perfect fit. They think my ideas about a Goddess are really strange."

"So there are no other Witches among the Inconnu here?"

"There's one. She's with Ice's cell too. I'm sure you'll get to meet her… Catria Dragonwing. She's a real bitch and a great friend. You'd like her, Farf; she's always honest. Brutally so." Sabbath grinned at him teasingly and he smirked back at her.

"Perhaps." He tilted his head back and watched the buildings pass them by. "What does Eszet get in return for Schwarz's aid?"

"You'll have to take that up with Crawford," she told him, shrugging. "I can't discuss it."

His eye narrowed balefully.

Sabbath stopped in her tracks and glared heatedly at him. "Don't even start. At least I was truthful and told you I wasn't ALLOWED to discuss it. Like I said, if you want to know, take it up with Crawford. But I don't think he'll tell you, and you're sure as hell not guilt-tripping it out of me. I'm not risking this agreement."

He considered that for a moment, then brushed her aside and continued down the sidewalk, his stride full of barely leashed savagery.

Sabbath growled and chased after him, quickly catching up and planting herself in his path. Her hand flashed out and the ringing SMACK startled him into stopping more than the actual impact, which he barely felt even though it snapped his head to the side. In a blur of motion, his hand found her throat and he slammed her into the nearest building, causing onlookers to gape and murmur in shock. Someone would call the police in a moment, but he didn't care. "What did you promise?" he hissed. "What did you risk on a lie?"

"I'm NOT… ALLOWED… to DISCUSS it," Sabbath snarled, fingernails digging into his wrists as she struggled and kicked against his grip. "Let me the FUCK down!"

"Eszet will use you. Crawford will use you. If you sold them anything, you sold them your soul. Tell me, WHAT DID YOU PROMISE?"

"Why does it matter?" she hissed, heels scraping against the stone at her back. "Don't tell me you're concerned about me…"

"I have grown to like you," Farfarello told her with dangerously clipped efficiency. "I have decided that you are pleasant and stimulating company. I have decided that you are unique and that you are beautiful and that I will feel loss if you were to suddenly not be here anymore. I want to know what you gave them."

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of MYSELF."

Farfarello's single eye burned cold, and he abruptly let her down, stepping back and away. "Not," he said frostily, "where Eszet is concerned. You are in over your head."

She had slumped against the wall, but now she straightened and rubbed her throat, dark eyes angry. "Then on my head be it," she told him deliberately, petite jaw setting in stubborn resolve.

For a long moment, they stared each other down, and then Farfarello spun on his heel and stalked away.

Sabbath followed, wanting to get away from that area before the police picked them up for domestic violence.

Farfarello stormed ahead, angry without really knowing why he was angry. People parted for him, wanting no part of a tall, scarred, one-eyed man dressed entirely in black leather. Eszet, it seemed, was always there to fuck up something perfect for him. Schwarz would have been downright fun if it hadn't been for those three old prunes, pulling the strings, forcing them to bow their heads and pay deference. Schuldich, Crawford, and Nagi had sold their souls to Eszet in exchange for the 'privilege' of serving, but Farfarello had not been required to. His only function was to kill, but that did not stop the Elders from prying into his thoughts on the only occasion he had ever met them. They looked like gentle aged men and one woman, like grandparents. They had faces you could trust. But their eyes burned with a black and terrible hell, and while he had behaved himself as Crawford had instructed him, he had known on sight that these three were fat old spiders. Their webs entrapped him, and he realized, he hated them enough, and cared about Sabbath enough, that he did not want them to get their fangs in her.

He was musing on that revelation when he heard a choked gasp behind him, roughly following the syllables of his name. He whirled to find Sabbath clutching her chest, face contorted in pain, sinking slowly to the sidewalk. His own heartbeat fluttered and he became slightly light-headed, and realized that whatever was happening to her was also happening to him, but his immunity to pain made him blind to the warning signs.

And to the debilitating side effects. His fingers found the hilt of a knife that he did not draw, yet, and he hooked an arm under Sabbath's, looping it around her chest and pulling her against him. His gaze raked across the sidewalk, the shops, the street the opposite sidewalk, and there he saw him; he was in his late fifties with disheveled white hair and hawk like features, wearing a dress shirt and slacks and watching them with empty eyes.

He wanted to charge across the street and slay the man, but that presented several problems. Sabbath couldn't walk, and he couldn't leave her; there might be reinforcements nearby, ready to snatch her up. He had a gun and could kill the man from here, but they were on a crowded street and someone was bound to see it, and that was exactly the kind of attention he did NOT need. He had no desire to remain locked in his room for the remainder of their stay in America. He could try to get Sabbath out of range, but blood spattered from between her lips even as he thought it, and he realized he might not have enough time. He didn't know what this biokinetic's range WAS, and if there were reinforcements, they could stall him for as long as it took the stubborn witch to die. And she was being stubborn about it, spitting blood but clinging to life and struggling back to her feet.

"Can you run? I can't kill him here," Farfarello told her, glancing both directions down the sidewalk to make sure they had a clear sprint.

"Shield… won't hold long," she ground out. "Let's go."

His fingers wrapped bruisingly tight around her wrist and he took off, fully intending on dragging her every step if he had to. She kept her feet moving and managed to let herself be dragged at his pace, pulled along by his momentum. There were gasps and shouts as they raced through the throng of people, and Sabbath stumbled over and over, but always he jerked her forward and she found her feet and they kept running.

Then she lurched and fell, and he was dragging her dead weight across the sidewalk. "Sabbath," he snapped.

Her eyes were glazed, her pupils dilated. Blood gushed freely from her mouth. So red. Suddenly he realized that she was about to die, she was inches from dying, and he was witnessing her final seconds of life.

"Go. If they kill me… they don't get me…." Her eyes were hard.

"Don't be ridiculous." He looked around and saw no succor, no place to hide. So he scooped her up. She was light, 120lbs at the most, not a difficult burden for a man whose muscles didn't burn with fatigue. He shifted her so he could carry her better and took off again. "Where can we go? Hang on, and talk to me!"

She swallowed and rasped, "Find a bus stop. Find a bus. Get on… we'll get away."

"How much time do we have?" He stopped for traffic, gauged it, and then darted through it, prompting the blaring of a dozen horns.

"I'm not going to die!" she snarled.

Well. So that was that. He had to smile as he dodged a group of tourists with their cameras. She had decided not to die, and just like that, she thought she would hold on. Well, if she could manage it…

"Call for Schuldich," he told her, even as he sent his own mental call spiraling toward the sky. If Sabbath truly did have a scream on her, maybe Schu would hear her even at this distance. It was possible.

Her teeth gritted and he almost heard her scream in his head. He smirked, anticipating how painful it might be to Schu to receive a message at that volume, and added his own summons to the call.

Schuldich, The One is closing on us. Sabbath is badly wounded. Bring the car.

He'd gone almost half a block before Schuldich's voice rang in his head.

Farf? Sabbath? Where are you? I'm in a meeting right now with Takatori….

Through the link Schu had apparently created between all three of them, Farf heard Sabbath's reply. Then contact Crawford, but somebody HAS to come get us. My mirror shield won't hold forever with nothing but my own will keeping it up!

And wouldn't that be a shame, Schu's voice sneered.

Farf sent a wave of black rage down the line, as well as a reminder that they needed Sabbath for the moment.

Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. I've got Brad on the line and he's on his way. Where are you?

Soho, Sabbath sent to him, and Farf felt her mental voice growing weaker, less there. I'll bring him to us.

She sucked in a rattling breath and began to move her lips. He couldn't hear her broken whispers, but her fluttering, slowing heartbeat was loud in his ears, her blood hot against his chest where it pooled where her body was held against his. Then her heart skipped, and skipped again, stuttering as she fought to keep living.

Somewhere far off, he heard police sirens. He found an extra gear of speed. It irked him to have to run from his enemy like this, but with a biokinetic wreaking havoc on Sabbath's internal systems, he had no choice. He couldn't stop to tear the interloper limb from limb because then Sabbath would die. He could only run and keep some distance between them to weaken the man's power.

Sabbath's fingers closed on his vest and tightened as her teeth ground together. A salt-water tear slipped from one of her eyes and slid down her cheek; she had to be in incredible pain.

The sirens got closer and then suddenly a police cruiser pulled in front of Farfarello. He didn't slow, gathering himself and leaping, touching down briefly on the hood of the car before landing on the sidewalk on the other side and turning slightly sidewalks to hit a stack of crates that blocked the sidewalk with his shoulder. They scattered and he stumbled through them. More sirens, ahead and behind and on all sides. He turned down a blind alley, ducking clotheslines and dodging trash bags. The opening was just ahead… but then a police car blocked it. Cursing in Irish, Farfarello whirled and bolted back the other way. He burst out onto the sidewalk just as several cruisers squealed to a halt on his left. He looked right.

The man was there. Standing there, watching them, empty eyes somehow baleful. Feeling his heart pounding hard and suddenly sinking to the ground from exhaustion, Farf set Sabbath down. She was limp.

He stood and reached for a knife even as the police screamed at him to freeze. Traffic was in an uproar. And then he heard from his feet whispered words filled with hatred.

"By the… deadly skirts of…. The Dark Mother… may your karma return… to you…"

Farfarello barely caught what happened then. Another cruiser pulled up, then swerved to miss a man on a bicycle, who careened into the path of a passing truck, which skidded under unresponsive steering, slowly turning over sideways as it went, inexorable, slow motion. The biokinetic stood watching them, face flat. It turned its head to the left calmly, just in time to catch a produce truck in the face. Truck and biokinetic smashed against the side of a building, and though there was no explosion, there was a peculiar wet splat.

Sabbath collapsed onto the pavement, blood spreading slowly from where her cheek was pressed against the ground. Farfarello dropped next to her, calmly and quickly searching for a pulse. It was there, weak, but there. She needed a hospital desperately, but could they risk that? He didn't want to hand her over the police… he found himself gathering up her body and cradling it against his defensively, glaring a challenge at the many, many gun muzzles pointed at him.

"Put the girl down, and BACK AWAY," one of the cops yelled.

Like hell.

And then, suddenly, there was a rumble beneath their feet. The cops glanced at the ground in confusion and Farfarello followed suit, even as a manhole cover nearby began to rattle. A fire hydrant only a couple feet away began to squeal as the metal ballooned outward, and Farfarello hugged Sabbath close to him just as the manhole cover was thrown sky-high and the cap popped off the fire hydrant. There was water, water everywhere, and it was not spraying in all directions as it should have. Instead it flowed together like plasma and formed a solid wall between Farfarello and the cruisers. With a crackle like a collapsing glacier, it hardened to ice, and then he knew who had come to their aid. But how had Isa Cell known they were in trouble?

"That's simple. I told them," a silken, dark voice declared, and Farfarello swiveled to meet Fell's sardonic, self-satisfied black eyes. Ice stood next to him, muscled frame dwarfing the slight telepath, and on Ice's other side was a woman. She had honey-brown hair as well, but her eyes were knowing, wry, and purest violet. She wore jeans and a lilac-colored sweater, and she moved quickly toward them.

"I'm Catria. I'm a healer," she told him efficiently. "Give her to me. Scythe! Let's get out of here!"

Farfarello reluctantly let go of Sabbath's body, eyeing Isa Cell with suspicion as a dark-haired man in a tattered duster stepped out into view and levitated Sabbath's body as easily as Nagi could have done, perhaps more easily. Catria laid her hands on Sabbath and began to chant quietly, and Ice jerked his head in the opposite direction. "Let's get off the street."

They crossed several blocks, taking shortcuts until Farfarello was unequivocally lost. So he was surprised when, when they started to cross a narrow street, Crawford suddenly pulled up in their path and threw the door open. "Get her inside," he ordered, and Farfarello opened the back door, pushing Catria and Sabbath inside before hopping over the hood of the car and climbing in the driver's side.

"We'll bring your cell mate back to you," Crawford assured Ice coolly.

Ice hiked an eyebrow. "I wasn't worried." He turned on his heel and strode away, followed by Fell and Scythe.

Crawford shrugged and slammed his door, throwing the car into gear as Catria murmured healing words over Sabbath in the back. They peeled out, and watching the rear-view mirror, Farfarello found himself staring into Catria's peculiar violet eyes.

"Her internal damage is massive," the woman said sharply. "Let me concentrate."

Farfarello shrugged and plucked a needle from one of the folds of his vest, slipping it into his mouth and turning it over and over with his tongue.

"What happened?" Crawford demanded.

"Didn't you See it?" Farfarello inquired dryly, and Crawford shot him a stern glare.

"I foresaw no danger toward Schwarz. I admit I didn't explore the possibilities where Sabbath was concerned. Now tell me what happened."

Farfarello folded his arms and sank down low in his seat. "The One decided to get serious about killing Sabbath. They sent a biokinetic. We couldn't fight him so we fled, and Sabbath managed to… do something that resulted in his death just before Isa Cell showed up to pull our asses out of the fire."

Crawford's eyes flicked toward the woman in the back, huddled over Sabbath's still form. "Isa Cell. Hmm."

Catria glanced up long enough to give him a deadly smirk, then went back to working her healing. Her hands roamed over Sabbath's body, trying to find the areas of worst damage and repair them.

And Farfarello was struck by an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

None the less, he had to wait until he could get Crawford alone to speak to him about whatever deal he'd made with Sabbath, what Schwarz, Eszet's most expensive team, was costing her. He didn't think Crawford would tell him either, but there were sometimes ways to persuade the oracle.

The rest of the drive home was made in tense silence.

X-X-X