Morning guys! I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter, things have been so extremely busy around here that I don't have much time for writing.I AM continuing with this fiction, it's just not going to be updated as frequently. Thanks again to my betas who are getting me through the hardest chapter EVER right now. and to the Hellboy fangirls for research and laughs.

Chapter Nine

Rielle:

The ride home was peaceful in a way, just listening to the hum of the engine and the mumblings of the men in the front seat almost put me to sleep. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that kept bothering me, and so I kept awake, if not completely alert. Something was coming and I didn't know what.

Instead of focussing on that, I thought about the night with Red. An interesting dude, that's for sure. First shy, then blazingly blunt, then shy again. Funny how appearances still don't show who a person really was, and if you took someone who looked like Hellboy, and then studied his attitudes and personality, it really showed the truth. You never can tell about a person. I shook my head, thinking about his lost puppy look as I jumped into the car. Someone that big looking so small†made me smile in reflection. Add to that the beer drinking under the stars and his gentlemanly offering of his coat when I was cold. Momma was right.

Although the heater in the car was on I still shivered, and craved something warm to drink. Red's coat was a godsend tonight and I wished I had it back. I'd just have to compromise with a hot cup of coffee and a warm blanket when I got home. Maybe some cartoons or something to relax me. Pushing 30 and you still watch cartoons, wiener.

I asked the drivers to pull over at the next coffee shop. It was a Dunkin Donuts, nothing even close to as good as ol' Tim Horton's, but it would do, as long as the coffee was fresh and strong. I asked if they wanted anything but they politely refused, smiling the whole while.

Inside I ordered the biggest fattest coffee they had, chiding myself internally for I knew I had to be up and back at the base in only a few hours, and the coffee would severely reduce my rest. Ah, fuck it. I deserve a treat. After a day like today, a simple coffee was barely reward enough.

You got to curl up in the arms of someone who stood a foot and a half taller than you and had the temperature of a hot furnace, be happy, my mind blurted. True, he was better than any blankie and super sized java when it came to keeping warm. And he smelled like kittens, which still mystified me.

I leaned back against the counter and squinted against the harsh fluorescent lights as the java boy poured and sealed my cup, and watched the men in the car. They seemed to chat happily for a minute, and then something made them jump. My heart skipped a beat, but when they picked up the radio and appeared to listen a moment, I relaxed. Just someone asking what's taking them so long. I paid for my purchase and turned to walk out, but stopped dead when the two guys opened the car doors and stepped out, one drawing the sidearm I hadn't noticed concealed under his jacket. Their eyes burned holes through the glass right into me, and I knew they knew what I was.

Ooooooooh, shit. They knew, how'd they know so quickly?

My brain wrestled with my next move. Fight or flee? The men weren't giving me much time to think, already reaching for the door handle to get inside, and I had to wing it. I let my brain go on auto pilot, leaping forward and kicking the door shut, smashing the nose of one of the men in the process. The other backed off and lifted his weapon, drawing a bead on me, from the looks of it, my forehead. I learned two things from this. One, they definitely knew who I was, and two; they didn't care if they got me dead or alive. They must have changed the profile since I last looked.

Somehow I knew it was not Broom who had ordered my immediate execution; he just didn't seem like the type. I placed the blame for this bold move on Tanner, the evil bald 'suit' with horrible taste in ties. He would be the likely one to order such a tactic.

I ducked just in time to see the bullet punch through the glass and hit the pile of Dunkin' Donuts coffee mugs behind me, shattering them, sending pieces of ceramic glass flying around and on top of me. The clerk screamed girlishly and ran into the back room, leaving a trail of change behind him. I took his cue and followed, leaping over the counter in one smooth move and crouching behind it, dodging yet another two bullets that missed me but impacted the innocent donut racks, and I cringed as multicoloured sprinkles and dough showered me and the racks nearly landed on my head.

The other soldier must have recovered because he too drew his gun, and from what I could see through the glass display case, he was bleeding and angry. How betrayed they must have felt, what surprise they held for the girl they once thought was innocent and thirsty and only a minute later found out who she really was. Quite the change, really.

They busted through the now safe doors and one of them slipped a little on my spilled and forgotten coffee. "Son of a bitch." I tried not to laugh, the situation was NOT funny.

I found myself going into the past, digging for the person they were really looking for. I had tried to lose her a couple of years ago, and did a fine job until just now. But unfortunately, I needed that coldblooded bitch to help my ass out of here or I'd die at the hands of rookie soldiers. That would be one hell of a dishonour.

My blood ran cold, my mind froze and my heart clenched. There she is. My thought processes turned from my enjoying my previously happy evening to finding myself something that was either sharp or heavy to throw at my adversaries. I took another peek out from behind the counter and was shot at immediately. I wondered idly what that file held that made these two grown men so afraid of me. Could it hold everything I've done or were they just cowards in wolf skin?

"Come on out of there, Miss Cyr." The driver ordered, a slight tremor audible in his voice. He was afraid! Even so, it would take more than that to get me out from behind the counter, and most likely, blood would be shed if they got more persistent.

I checked behind me, just in case these guys already had reinforcements prepared and waiting, but the kitchen appeared clear. One last peep and the two men were almost right in front of me. How to get back into the kitchen without being immediately shot was a problem, but one simply had to think of close ranged weapons. What better weapon in a place such as this than boiling hot liquid.

As luck would have it the duel coffee brewer was within arms reach. I reached up and curled my fingers around the handle of the nearest pot, pulling it down and ignoring the pain of some wayward drops landing on the exposed flesh of my forearm. Deal with pain later, escape comes first.

I took a reluctant step back from the counter and spotted the tops of their heads, still maybe two feet from the counter. The morons still held the guns at arms length, and it would have been easy to reach up and disarm one of them, but I knew from experience trying to disarm two men almost double my weight was next to impossible without physical injury to myself. I remained confident in the coffee plan, though the temptation to grab one gun and shoot the other man with it was impractical and just wrong. I didn't want to cause death, just enough pain for me to get away unscathed. I'd had enough death to last five lifetimes.

I started to swing the pot before I rose, hoping they weren't to scared they'd shoot first before they saw what was coming. The coffee flew and hit both men in the face, the pot smashed against the man with the broken nose and I winced internally in sympathy. Poor guy would hate me now, but I'd rather that than what they probably had in store for me. Anyway, they shot first.

I sprinted into the kitchen dodging trays and ovens and the occasional dropped crushed donut, speeding towards the back door. They wouldn't recover anytime soon from the blinding coffee assault but I didn't want to take the chance. I spotted a phone and almost stopped to warn Lavinia, who was likely fast asleep and 'safe' in our apartment. I didn't want to imagine what would happen very soon to her, most likely a bust in and drag out, and I could imagine her fear and confusion. If I warned her first, maybe she could get out. I felt a pang of guilt when I thought of her unknown involvement in my other life and didn't want her to be in pain because of it.

I ran past the phone at the last second, deciding against calling her now. Maybe they weren't going to bust in on her too, maybe they'd leave her alone and just deal with me.

Ten minutes later I was long gone and far away from the donut shop. I didn't hear any sirens yet, I didn't know where exactly I was but I knew I was on my way back to the apartment, or at least heading in that direction. My arm burned a little and my lungs and feet hurt from the sudden exertion but again I kept the pain aside to be dealt with later. It was really the cold that got to me. In just a tank and jeans the mild winter froze my arms and neck, but I was glad it wasn't like home. I'd have been hypothermic by now from the arctic winds alone.

As I sped down a deserted alley, keeping an eye out for strange movements and an ear open for tell-tale signs of a hunt, my brain ate away at my new problem. Somehow they had found out, gotten through the screens and security measures and found out who I was. It wasn't so much the fact they did it that worried me, it was the reaction. Obviously, being what I was, they'd have to either kill or imprison me. Deportation was not an option as the Canadian government would just deny my existence. Frankly I was surprised my identification still held some ground in other countries. They didn't destroy all records, all evidence of my existence yet. They sure as hell will now I thought, peering around a corner before taking it and running down the empty street. They'll bury me so deep nobody would know I ever existed.

I have to get to Lavinia, I have to get to a phone or something, I can't just leave her there to be captured and afraid. But how to do it without putting myself at risk of being captured was beyond me.

Lavinia:

I was in a field back home, playing with Ellie and Uncle Maurice and Kokum and that pretty white girl who just moved to the reserve. We were playing hide and seek in the tall yellow grass and it was funny because Uncle Maurice was so big you could see his butt sticking out of the grass, he was easy to find. Ellie and the little white girl, Marie I think her name was, were the hardest to find as they were very small.

I was it, and I had to find everyone. This time, even Maurice's bum wasn't visible, and I always caught him first. I couldn't see anything, just miles upon miles of wheat and trees and sky. I felt afraid suddenly, like I was all alone and there was something watching me. I yelled for Kokum but she didn't reply, and I didn't see any rustling grass besides the waves created by the wind.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and I looked towards the old broken tractor parked far away, but the sound was much closer than that, like it was right next to me. Then I felt someone's hand clamp down on my face but I couldn't see who it was, just felt its impression over my mouth and nose and I tried to scream but I couldn't find the breath.

I woke up with a start, still feeling the hand over my mouth and realizing finally that it was real. This time I did scream, struggle, fought until the hand released me and my mouth was filled with its blood. If all else fails, Bite. Kokum's words with her happy grin urged me out of bed and running out the bedroom door, the person I bit storming after me with a scream. This has got to be a nightmare.

Out in the hall, narrowly missing the table I had placed there earlier in mid-move frenzy, I smacked dead into another person. My heartbeat sped up so fast I thought it would bust out of my chest, and then I noticed he held a huge fucking gun. There were others with him as well, and they spun me around, kicked me in the spine and knocked me to the floor.

"Stay down bitch!" The one I bit, I could tell because his blood soaked through my shirt in seconds, leaving a warm moist spot, and he put his knee between my shoulders and pressed down hard. I thought my back would break under the pressure.

"What the fuck's going on? Where's Ellie? ELLIE!" I screamed desperately.

"Shut the fuck up." The slap on the back of my head was hard and I hit my face on the hardwood. It made me a little dizzy, but the remnants of sleep were long gone now and I was able to think sort of straight.

I listened to the strange men talk about 'the other one' and a few of them took off down the hall and into some of the other rooms, in search of Ellie.

The one on my back stayed put while someone else bandaged his hand. I kept silent; I didn't want to be slapped again. Anyway, if I moved, all that guy would have to do is press a little harder on my spine and I'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

I heard things breaking in the other rooms and I wanted to tell them to stop, but again, fear of being beaten down held me back. I've seen what soldiers do to people, and Ellie's told me a little from her protest days, but I really didn't want to find out for myself what it felt like.

When the soldiers were satisfied Ellie wasn't around, the one I bit grabbed a handful of my braided hair and lifted me up one handed. The roots tore out and I screamed and struggled a little more, but when I felt cold steel rub against my temple I quietened down. The front door slammed as someone new arrived; a few soldiers saluted and said 'Sir'.

"Who the" I didn't even finish asking my question†I took one look at the new arrival and anger flared in me. Tanner, the fucking bastard, what right does he have to do this?

He took one derisive look at me and my bloody clothes and snorted. "Is this hers?"

The bitten soldier held up his hand and said, "Only some of it."

Tanner laughed. "Can't even keep one little Indian girl under control. What a shame to the US military you are, Parker."

The voice of parker was grainy and mad as he submitted to Tanner's insult, "Yes, sir."

Pussy! My mind shouted in mockery. I almost said it aloud but changed my mind when I saw the evil glee in Tanner's eye as he stepped up and stared evenly into my eyes. He was enjoying this shit, leaving me all confused and beaten like this.

"So, it looks like your girlfriend isn't here. Where is she?" He asked calmly, although I knew from the glint in his eyes that he was anything but.

"I don't know, she hasn't come home yet from work. What the fuck do you want with her?" The slap came before I knew what happened, his smooth palm striking my cheek with a harsh sting. That just pissed me off more. "Slapping me around isn't going to help you know. Can't beat information out of someone who doesn't know anything." Rielle must have done something bad, but I couldn't help my instinct to protect my friend. And I really couldn't help my big mouth which is known for getting the both of us into trouble.

Tanner didn't seem pleased with my answers. Tough shit, asshole. Instead of getting another slap he nodded at the soldier behind him and the sudden flurry of movement made me a little dizzy. Parker began to pull at my hair again, dragging me towards the front door. I began to struggle even though I knew it was a losing battle, but Parker put a quick end to that with another kick to my back, landing me on the floor again.

"Quit Sandbagging, get up."

"Asshole, you kicked me, I'm not fucking 'sandbagging', whatever that means."

"Get that bitch up and lets get out of here, we still have the other to find. We'll get information out of her later." Tanner snapped, graciously holding the door open for me and Parker to go through after he roughly pulled me off the floor again. Parker kept one hand around my braid and the other at the base of my spine, almost bending me backwards. Funnily enough they didn't bother to cuff me or restrain me in any way, and the temptation to kick and punch and break free was nearly irresistible. But in the end I thought going quietly was the wiser choice for now. Find out what's going on, there's got to me some misunderstanding, the Professor will help me, I know it. Where's Ellie?

Bruttenholm:

I was waiting with Abe near the back entrance when the first team returned. Uncomfortable silence lingered between us after our quick argument over what should have been done in the area of prevention, then the door busted inwards, breaking the 'peace'. Immediately following the crash came Lavinia's high wailing voice as the man behind her shoved her forward, keeping a tight hold on her hair and the cuffs holding her arms twisted at her back. She was kicking and screaming, and I didn't have to be psychic to tell she was frightened beyond belief. My paternal instinct screamed for me to jump in and do something to sooth her. Previously I had tried to tell Tanner that she didn't have any knowledge of Rielle's past, but the dim-witted bureaucrat ignored me and sent an entire team of soldiers to pick her up. What a way to end the evening.

As Lavinia, cuffed and bleeding, was dragged past me and Abraham, her teary black eyes pleaded with me to help her, and I felt my heart wrench in sympathy to her plight. The poor innocent girl! The unnecessary grip on her hair by the bleeding man behind her both angered and amused me. She fought back well, at least, and both me and Abe later admitted to admiring her spunk. She didn't go quietly at least.

Everyone was present, lingering past their scheduled rest time to see what all the chaos was about. Hellboy, on the other hand, was not to be seen. He'd disappeared after the team initially left and neither I nor Abraham had seen him since. I asked Abe if he knew where my son was, but he only replied "Pacing in his room, in all likelihood." I couldn't see his eyes behind the protective goggles but his stance told me he was also worried about my son. Hellboy's reaction to seeing Rielle's photo on a Wanted sign from Interpol indicated pure shock, and then he†disappeared within himself and left the room. Abe wasn't sure what to tell me but from what he picked up from my retreating son, his mind went completely blank after the soldiers left on their mission.

I stopped Tanner as he tried to pass with a hand. Abe kept close, likely looking for answers in places I couldn't. In that way I was a little jealous of his powers, but in others, I felt sorry for him. Seeing the things he'd seen would have in all probability driven me insane. But in this instance I was just happy he was around.

Tanner looked at least partially satisfied, the gleam in his blue eyes visibly malicious. "What do you want, Broom?"

Back to last name basis, are we? Good. "What word have you received of Rielle's location and status?"

"Agent Cyr has not been taken into custody yet, and from that last communication from the street, she escaped from the donut shop without injury, but in the process temporarily blinded two of our men, and broke one of their noses with a door..." Tanner seemed displeased with this small hurdle.

I silently cheered. For some unknown reason, despite the information her records showed me of her past, I wanted her to escape, to be gone without injury. Anything was better than the slow torture and interrogation that Tanner was sure to bestow upon her, and I liked her enough already to wish her all the luck in the world. I couldn't judge her completely as I had not received all the facts.

Abe must have heard that thought flutter through my mind, as his head turned quickly to study me. Not now, Abe. I knew he was itching to read me, gauge my reactions, but again I wouldn't let him without permission, and he knew it and respected it.

Tanner on the other hand, I gave full permission to Abe to mind-rape all he pleased and told him to stick close while I checked on my son. I had a feeling it would be a while before we heard any news regarding Rielle's position. If her record was accurate, she could disappear for months at a time if she really needed to, and right now, with half of this base on her scent, disappearing might be a great idea.

I had almost made it to my son's room and the Alarms went off again, blaring red lights flashing down the hallways and the siren wailing its piercing cry, enough to wake the dead if there were such things here. The once empty hallways suddenly erupted with teaming life, men and women running out of their rooms and towards the back doors, some holding weapons. Even my son stuck his head out of his room to see what all the commotion was about, and spotted me.

"Pop?"

I beckoned to him and he joined me, and together we hurried as quickly we I could to get there before Tanner did, but at my age I walked at a snail's pace in comparison to my boy. We kept silent as we made our way down the narrow hallways, my son using himself as a sort of shield to keep me safe from a trampling. Abe caught up to us halfway there and walked beside me as an escort, blatant curiosity plain on his normally unreadable features.

As we neared the back entrance again, I could hear yelling and the sound of heavy objects crashing into the walls. We rounded the corner and saw a virtual pandemonium, limbs flying and howls of pain and people running amok with weapons drawn. I'd never seen such a vulgar display of panic in my lifetime, and, from what I could see, resulting from one small girl.

The mixed cries of "Hold her!" and "Where's the doctor?" added to the general destructive energy of the room made me back off a few steps, just to avoid injury to myself and my companion. Abe himself looked shocked. He kept a firm grip on my arm, not reading, but just for comfort. In the fury I saw a flash of red hair and someone's bloody face distorted in pain. The face turned out to be a soldier, stumbling a moment later away from the battle with a wad of cloth attached to his nose. Broke another nose, did you?

My son cringed when he heard a female scream and the mass of bodies suddenly exploded outwards, people flying and impacting on the walls, leaving only five people in the middle, four male soldiers and the struggling girl in the middle. His face was impassive otherwise, betraying nothing. He just watched as a doctor flew into the middle of the pile on the floor with a needle in his hand and the mass finally moved away, finally leaving young Rielle lying unconscious and bleeding amidst staring spectators. Only then did his golden eyes show anything.