Hey, thanks for the reviews. And to respond to the one from Ragna ICE(land, but Callie's troubles and what's going on with Frank are about to crash together in more ways than one.

Callie awoke in the morning, feeling sorry for herself. She wished that there was a way to get out of the mess that she was in and fast. During the bail hearing, the judge wanted to make sure that Callie knew just how thin the ice that she was on really was. He promised her that he would be keeping an eye on her and that while he was bound by the letter of the law to think of her as innocent until proven guilty, he would also think of the citizens that lived in Bayport that counted on him to keep them safe. "In other words, one toe out of line, and I promise you, I'll stick you back in that jail cell in a heartbeat, young lady."

"Yes, sir."

"And I want you in here on time."

"Yes, sir."

"You are hereby released in the custody of your parents. The school has agreed to continue sending you the homework and class work that you need until you are allowed to return to school. I want you back in this court room…Two weeks after the end of the school year."

"Yes, sir."

"Court is dismissed." Callie hurried out with her parents, hiding her face from all the flashes that were going off around her. The questions made it worse, as well as the comments:

"How does it feel to be the youngest serial killer in Bayport?"

"Was there any reasoning behind each murder?"

"You should FRY for what you did!"

"You took my son from me! They should give you the gas chamber!"

"THAT WAS MY WIFE, YOU SICK LITTLE FREAK!"

"My daughter died by your hand! You should die!"

"Were you practicing on how to kill Taylor Westbrooke?"

"What are your thoughts about your ex-boyfriend dating one of the richest women in Bayport?"

"Is there any truth to the rumors that you tried to murder Chet Morton?"

"Were you attempting to make up for the fact that you failed to murder Taylor Westbrooke that you murdered 12 other people?"

"What was going through your mind when you killed those people?" In the car, Callie risked a glance out of the window. She saw the hatred and the anger on many people's faces. She sighed as her father drove away. At home, the police officer was settled in and stood in a corner as the Shaw family finally started talking to each other. Callie's mother glared at her and said, "When they allow you back in school, stay out of trouble. It's bad enough that your father and I lost our jobs over this."

"I don't understand." Callie looked at each of them.

"Our former employers felt that the PR of having us work for them wouldn't be good, so they released us. They gave us enough to work with for a couple of years. We used the bulk of that money to stock up on food and pay the bills up for a while. That way, we can stay in the house and not have to go out for anything."

"Can we order a pizza, or something?"

"No. I tried yesterday. I was told by the manager that he couldn't risk sending some one over here." Callie winced. There had to be a way to prove to them that she was innocent. But there was so much stacked up against her. The doorbell rang and Mr. Shaw went to answer it. Standing outside was Frank. Inviting Frank in, Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Shaw left the room. Callie tried to look at Frank and soon found herself looking at the floor. She looked up again and said, "I'm glad to see you."

"I know." Frank looked toward the window and then handed over the class assignments. "There was a vote on who should bring these to you every day. I won. Lucky me."

"Is this because I broke up with you, because I punched Taylor, or because of everything that's going on now? I detected a hint of sarcasm in your voice just now."

"Try all of the above. Chet's fine by the way."

"I was going to ask how was he doing."

"Worried about you. I think he's forgotten that you're the one that pulled the trigger."

"I didn't mean for it to happen! I found the gun in my pocket and pulled it out because I didn't know what it was at first. I was going to ask him to get rid of it and then…"

"Look, I didn't come here to argue with you. I just came here to drop that off and go."

"Wait! Is there any way you can stay for dinner? I'm sure Mom won't mind."

"Callie, we can't just pretend that everything isn't happening. You have to let go."

"You let go pretty quick."

"Coming from the person that broke up with me, I really don't think you want me to point out the irony in that statement."

"I'm sorry."

"Callie, I have to go."

"I… Could you tell Taylor thanks for me."

"I will, just as soon as I can see her again. She's grounded for bailing you out." Callie's eyes widened. "That's right. Her uncle found out and grounded her until next week. She told me that it was worth it because she felt that she should have talked your father out of calling the police to start with."

"Tell her I'm sorry that I got her in trouble."

"I will."

"If I had…reacted better, do you think that the three of us could have been friends?"

"Knowing Taylor, she still wants to be friends with you. If she does…" He then looked thoughtful, "I won't try to stop her." Callie smiled as Frank left.

Taylor was exhausted. When her mentor learned of what she had done, he had ordered that she go through physical training non-stop for 18 hours. Taylor lied to Frank and told him that she was grounded until the following week. She knew that the training was just the beginning of her punishment. She looked up at the window where the Gray Man watched her as she trained. She grew to dislike him more and more every day. Iola was a good person to talk to when she was training. It helped her stay awake. Iola was a wonderful resource of information. Taylor was working on her archery when she asked Iola, "So, what can you tell me about Frank that I don't know already?"

"He's very good at writing his own music."

"Oh, really?"

"That's right. One of these days, we're going to have to put on a concert and you'll have to let him play for you."

Vachel-Thiery over heard this and came up with an idea. He knew that Frank truly loved Taylor, and that the young Trainee felt the same way about him. Why not give him an assignment that both would enjoy?

At midnight, Frank, guitar in hand (so to speak) snuck onto the property and climbed the gates around the Westbrooke home. He landed carefully and heard a soft growling near by. Turning to look, he saw the guard dog that was walking over. 'Okay…this is bad.' He then raced toward the tallest tree that he could find. The dog followed without a sound until Frank was in the tree, then it started barking. Taylor walked outside and hissed, "Killer! Get inside! You'll wake the neighbors again! Stop chasing that poor kitty, or you'll take years off of its life!"

"That's right, Killer." Frank whispered at the dog. "I might not be a cat, but you will take years off my life and I only have one!" The dog glared at him for a moment before walking toward the house. Taylor closed the door and Frank climbed down slowly. He then looked around, trying to remember which window was Taylor's. Finding what he thought was the right window, he climbed up and stopped when he heard the branch creaking. Looking down, he said, "This is going to hurt." The branch then broke, falling to the ground, taking him with it. A moment later, he climbed up again, this time picking a branch that could support his weight. He then started to play the song that he had picked out before hand and looked up to find a very happy Annette batting her eyelashes at him. Stammering for a full 10 minutes, Frank finally asked her to point him toward Taylor's window. With a sigh of pretend sadness, Annette pointed him in the right direction. Climbing down, Frank went to the right tree and climbed up. When he was ready (again) he started playing. Taylor's window flew open and Taylor gaped at him. When the song was over, Taylor smiled at him and then said, "That was lovely."

"Thanks."

"I take it you're the one Killer chased up a tree."

"That was me."

"Killer's a big softie. The worst he would have done is lick you to death."

"But you said…"

"Killer caught up with a cat and started cleaning the poor thing. The cat didn't know whether to scratch him or roll over and let him finish the job. You must be the strangest American here in Bayport."

"Not really."

"I'll see you in school tomorrow?"

"I'll be there with bells on." At that moment the branch broke. When Frank hit the ground, he stood and added, "That or a cast."

Annette looked at her brother as Frank left and asked him in English, "Are you turning into a big softie, like our guard dog?"

"No, I just remembered when Taylor's mother had boyfriends do the same thing for her."

"True. We should let them 'rest'. Everything is happening ahead of schedule."

"You are right. The bugs were planted in the Shaw home last night. I want everything to be perfect when we allow Iola to begin her part of the plan during the summer."