Chapter Nine: Sorry, Just missed You

Ferris, IL was a good old fashioned all American town. It had one high school, and one grade school. Most of the people who resided in the town went to Jacob's Chapel Methodist Church on Grayson st. on Sundays. They had the weekly ritual of going to the football game on Fridays, and they were god fearing, good Christian people. Yet the were also somethings that made Ferris different from small towns. The town was on the edge of lake Michigan, which is always a beautiful sight to see. Many tourist stop here on their way to Chicago. Most of them instantly fell in love with the small town and it showed over the years in it's yearly revenue.

In the winter it was usually a slow time, since most tourists seem to come around the summer months, but from June intill October, the town was filled with people. Each bustling to and fro. Children running through the open fields, and some even laying on the dock in the welcoming sun shine. A lot of came up here for the sailing , since the waters in Ferris were less populated waters than Chicago's south shore.

So life hundreds of tourists before her, she quickly was enamored with the small town beauty and shimmering lake that framed it's inhabitants in a splendid picture of natures beauty.. She walked into Dobbie's Candy Store on east third, and couldn't help but feel more like a child than her adult self. And right behind her, always in tow was the curious little brown eyes her son. He never seen anything like it. He wanted to touch everything, taste everything, and the only problem that their were too many things in the bright colored stored, and not enough time to eat it all!

Mel knew the moment that they walked into the store that she had to buy a variety of things for the little chap. And so they went to each bottle, that was filled with delicious looking candy. pixy sticks, candy corn, Popsicle sticks, sour pours (a/n My personal favorite!). They ordered ice cream Sundays, which again Oliver got over his face. And he didn't even look not the least sorry for it. By the time the mother and son got out Dobie's they were stuff to the gills with Candy, and Mel haven't felt as happy as she had at that moment, that was intill she felt a tug on her jeans.

" I need to go pee pee!" urged Oliver

Mel could only shake her head, as she lead the boy to the counter. She smiled at the kindly old man, with his white hair, and Chicago Cubs baseball shirt. Mr. Stan, the owner of the store was ever so helpful in pointing out the restroom.

"Just help yourself, dear." he said as he returned her smile. Mel waved to the man, as she carried her little buckaroo into the small bathroom. Of course, she missed the tall blonde walking into the store.

Sam had a long trip from Cedar Rapids. God had it only been two weeks since she started this vacation? She saw the country and she was happy. And she loved all the quality time she got on her bike. Yet she couldn't quite understand why she was in Illinois. Usually it wasn't her type of state, and besides she hasn't travel like this in a long time. Now she was here in Ferris, and she loved the little town the instant she saw it. She was about to go to the local dinner called Mimi's on the edge of town when she came across this little expansion of shops in the Center of town.

Dobbie's especially caught her attention. Any one who knew her well, knew her weakness for anything Chocalte (consequently anything sweet). It was the one and only downfall in her low fat diet that she was on. Not because she was well...fat. Far from it. Her curves were backed by one hundred percent USD muscle. Most of it she earned with her work out sessions in the gym, and running like a bat out of hell trying to get away from spare Jaffa that that her and her team seem to run into.

Yet atlas, here she was in front of store she knew would spoil her low fat diet, and she shook her head. Well what the hell? She eats pizza on a regular bases with the guys, what would a couple pounds of chocolate hurt? She stepped into store, and suddenly felt the cold hand her link touch her. It was different from what she was used to, when it came to that. It was literally buzzing, and the emotions were flying so fast she thought she might have to sit down somewhere.

"Is there anything that I can help with Miss?" asked the store keeper. Sam gave him a reassuring gaze and told him that she was just looking around. He smiled at her. The old man had to inwardly smile to himself. Look at his luck. He had two beautiful women in his store at the same time! And if he was twenty years younger, these women wouldn't have a chance!

Sam looked at the containers that held all her favorite candies, and she knew that she had to do some souvenirs shopping for Janet here, or she would never hear the end of it. She picked up a box of chocolates, and her favorite chocolate strawberry's and went to the counter to have them rang up.

"You're tourist ma'am?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm doing some traveling around before I have to go back to work." replied Sam.

"That's good. Everybody needs a little time off."

"I certainly agree with that." she smiled as he bagged up her items.

" That'll be 13.50, Ma'am." he announced.

Sam took out her wallet and handed over her debit card so he can charge it. He gave her the receipt and she signed her name and replaced her debit card in her wallet. She collected her purchases, and walked out the door, content to go on do some window shopping. Well that was intill her cell phone rang, and she as she walked out the door.

It took a little longer than she expected for Oliver to finally finish. Then she had the montemental task of cleaning the little boy up. His face was covered in ice cream. And all she could do was laugh at the boy. He was just like his father sometimes. Mel shook her head from those forbidden thoughts. Thinking of Jarod where get her nowhere. And she wasn't in the mood to ruin her and Oliver's fun filled day. She finally got out the bathroom, and the store was filled now, unlike it was fifteen minutes earlier. She piked up the goodies bag that she bought from Mr. Stan, and waved goodbye to him as she left to go look at the other cool shops around town. What she didn't notice was Sam who was sitting on a bench talking on her cellphone in very hush tones.

Parked in a car outside of Dobbie's was a normal locking dark green Acura . Inside the car was a not so tall man, dressed in a dark green polo shirt, and blue jeans, he looked from the outside a normal tourist. He was of a lean built, brown hair, and hazel eyes. He looked neither young nor old, about middle aged if someone had to describe him. Abruptly, the door opened and a tall leggy brunette, and a small boy nor more than four maybe five years old in tow.

A feral smile came across his face when he recognized the face of his target. His employer would be pleased. Instead of getting out of the car and Aphrehending his two targets, he sat back in the car. He didn't want to do this in front of nosily bystanders. So he continued to follow her in his car, taking pictures of the quaint family scene. Maybe if he was lucky, he could pick up all three. What Raine's would reward him for that. Maybe he would even get a promotion! The thought made him smile lighting up his face.

Instantaneously, his cell phone went off. He rolled his eyes at the damn thing. 'Just what he needed right now!' he inwardly fumed. He digged the phone out his pocket, and sighed to himself before he heard the familiar voice of his partner in crime, Daives. The younger man would of course want to alert the sweepers, as protocol demanded, but this could be a opportunity of a life time, and he was sure wasn't going to hand to some other chump on a silver platter!

He spent the next five minutes trying to explain where he was, and why he wasn't at the Chicago satellite office, doing the paper work that his job also demanded, which he explained about the lead that he had on the Parker woman and the kid. He also had to endure a lecture from the snot brat about protocol, which had the older man rolling his eyes. He promised to return to back to the office tomorrow morning if he didn't come up with any results.

When the phone call was over he couldn't help but sigh in relief. The man was such a goddamn stickler for the rules. He rolled his eyes at irony of it all, the place they worked didn't care about the rules of society so why should he?

His eyes followed his prey as they walked down the sidewalk, slowly and casually, laughter etched on the woman's face as she looked down at her charge in delight. She was beautiful. Breathtakingly so. He couldn't help but notice that she hardly resembled the 'Old' Miss Parker. She looked younger, and more at ease in her own skin. She still walked in confidedant strides, but the ice cold stare was gone. Pity, he had to take her for himself. The thought of all the things he would do to her sipped into his brain, and he couldn't help but smile. The smile was gone when invisible hand strangling him of all the air he had in his body, slowly but surely killing any life out him, and as he was about to drift into the oblivion of death he was sure he saw the most unusual set of eyes staring at him: The pupils were black as ebony, and instead of a round pupil, the pupil was a strange slit: Like a cat's eyes, and the Iris of the eye was the color of blood.

"You will never harm them." spoke the creature in a husky whisper, but he couldn't reply because he had already slipped into the grips of death.

"...Daniel, No I don't know why...look I'm not in the most secure area right now..."

Sam didn't understand it. How in the hell could he get himself hurt the way he does? No one could be that much of klutz? And now he wants her to try to help figure out a artifact that she only seen once. She snorted in the most unladylike like way. There was no chance in hell! She was on vacation. Vacation, dammit! And if wasn't a life or death emergency---

" Yeah Daniel I'm here, look I gotta go--NO, I'm not in Witcha any more. I'm Illinois. In a town right outside of chicago...Why am I in Jack's home state? Well I don't know Daniel. I didn't take enough time to psychoanalyze it...Okay I'll talk to you later. Okay, Okay Daniel. Bye." She snapped shut her cellphone and shook her head. If she didn't love that man like a brother, she would go back to Colorado alright...to strangle him!

She quickly got from the bench and head for Cashman's bookstore that was across the street. Maybe she could look for that new harry potter book that she forgot to pre-order. Hopefully she won't have to wait intill next summer to buy the new book. Bah! Yet Sam didn't even had a chance when what happened next...

Mel was walking across the street, on her way to Cashman's when she heard. A loud scream, ear ringing scream that could be heard through two counties. She looked over into the adjacent alley, and saw the form of a woman. She wanted to investigate it further, but she thought better of it, because Oliver was near. She ran into General Store next door (with Oliver in tow) , and called the police. However, what Mel didn't see was the figure of another woman kneeling beside the helpless victim.

Sam saw her first. She was about to cross the street, when she noticed a trail of blood on the ground. Sam, how was no stranger to seeing it, knew instantly that something was wrong. She ran into the alley, making sure that the perp who was responsible or anybody else who wanted to cause trouble was around. She knelled by the woman and looked over her body, and noticed that she was pregnant. Sam eye's bugged out her head. Of all the places, of all the times for this to happen to her, this had to happen now! She looked over the woman and found that she had a bump on the back of th leg and a long cut on the edge of her abs. Sam figured this is where the blood came from. Sam tore off her shirt (luckily she wore a muscle shirt underneath it.) and began to place makeshift bandages on the poor woman.

Suddenly she noticed that their were a pair of eyes on her, but she couldn't see anything being that she was behind the woman trying to figure out if they were any more injuries. After another long moment, she heard the sounds of the police sirens, and sighed to herself. She was more than grateful for a little help. As much field training she had, she still wasn't a medical doctor. The police men, and the paramedics showed up. And asked her the usual questions, which she was more than happy to answer. They lifted up the woman, who Sam found out that her name was Maggie Mullenson. The wife of the local ferryman Agnus Mullenson. She was reported missing earlier that day. And she would of died if wasn't for the help that Sam bestowed upon her. She just shrugged off the complement. She was doing what anyone else would done. She was no hero. Sam was just hoped that her trip to Chicago would be less eventful. Yet fate once again thought better of that.

The next day a swarm of sweepers pounced on the small sea city of Ferris. One of the many sweepers was a short man, with green piercing eyes and sandy blonde hair. They're were looking for the whereabouts of a missing sweeper, his partner Don Grayson, and to look into the lead on Miss Parker and her son. Although he looked that mother and son had left the town very recently Yet Davies actually was more than a little encourage by a confirm sighting from more than one resident of the little dinky town, a confirm sighting meant that they were close by. His thoughts went back to his foolhardy partner grew. They're weren't the best of friends, but many considered them a very good team, and a force to reconked with Chicago office.

Suddenly, a young sweeper approached him with a grim face, which told him more than he was willing to hear. He sighed, it could only be bad news.

"Sir, Grayson's car was found abandoned two miles due east from town, from the looks of it...it looks like his car was wiped clean. Nothing was found."

Davies shook his head. Great this all he needed! Now he would have the tower, and Raine's breathing down his neck. He took a deep breathe and looked up into the puffy clouds in the sky, while asking god for divine intervention. He was going to need it after Raine's got through with him!

A/N: Okay, sorry about the very long update delay. Reason that Itook so long was I had to work out the kinks that I had in the the plot. And I still do, but I finished this edit tonight, and decided to go ahead and update it. It might be awhile before the next update, but I wanted to let you guys know a head of time. Oh, and for those people who want the behind the scenes extra goodies for the series, which I named it: The Kapaethian Series by the way. Please go on the website, and check it out. It's still in the construction phase, but you hear the news there first before you hear it here on Secondly, The Ring, and What midnight Brings is going on hitaus also, but I do plan on finishing it. Thank you so much for you're support, you guys! It means the world to me. Happy trails amigos!

Yours Truly,

Cateye.