This chapter is quite a bit longer than I intended, but hopefully not a bad longer.

M83 - Midnight City
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Des'ree – Kissing you (totally recommend this song while reading, especially the later half of the chapter)

Chapter 6 – Demons hunting Angels

"A shady character," repeated Leon disparagingly.

"Yes, yes! He is very much a shady character Mr Kennedy. He has been hanging around here a lot and a few of those fellows have been seen conversing with him. I have no doubt in my mind that he has some dealings with those fellows. I should also tell you that some people have gone missing in the area. Nobody important, just undesirables and vagrants mostly. But you will agree that it is interesting?"

Leon didn't comment. Mr Sanguini had an offensive manner about him and his treatment of people was just as offensive. At any rate, there would appear to be some credence to what he was telling him – the disappearance of people when a human evolution group gains momentum in the area? Definitely something worth checking out. Not that he would let the man know. If he knew that he was actually providing some useful tips, he might just try to take advantage of his position.

Mr Sanguini looked a little put off by Leon's lack of response, but he was eager to please and gain Leon's confidence, "My men tell me that his behaviour is most unusual Mr Kennedy. In fact, he is in the club right now and I am worried about what he might do to some of our innocent patrons. Would you not look into it, for their sakes?"

Leon was walking on thin ice with Mr Sanguini. The man respected authority and strength and Leon had to make sure he portrayed the right amount of coldness to ensure the man would continue to provide information in a bid to make himself seem useful to the government agent. Forced to answer, Leon finally commented, "Point him out to me and I'll see if this trip was worthwhile."

Mr Sanguini motioned over one of his bodyguards who bent forward to whisper into his ear. "He is just exiting the club with a rather intoxicated woman," he said slyly, the insinuation clear in his voice.

"Describe them." Leon bit out, impatience evident in his voice.

The bodyguard replied for Mr Sanguini, "The man is tall, dark hair and a stocky build. He's wearing a black jacket, grey T-shirt and jeans, no other distinguishing features. The woman is in a red dress with brown hair."

Narrowing his eyes Leon got up quickly, "We'll be seeing each other again Mr Sanguini." Leon left the room and pushed his way through the throng of bodies quickly. He hoped that the suspicious individual was still on foot and that his possibly companion had slowed his progress sufficiently for him to catch up.

Angela had started to feel hot, the vertigo hadn't left her and her heart was pounding. Suddenly she felt a cool breeze on her skin and sighed in relief. A strong hand supported her around the waist as she moved forward, but she could barely shift her feet. They just wouldn't stop pulling her, she didn't know where she was going and she didn't think she liked the hand around her. It was a bit painful she thought and she tried feebly to pull it off her, but another hand grabbed her hands and pulled them to the side forcefully. She didn't like that either and she thought she scratched them then, and when she heard them curse and hold down her hands she knew that she had. Suddenly the hand around her disappeared and she could feel something hard beneath her. All she knew was that it was cool and she was very hot before blacking out.

Melissa looked to the bar. Angela wasn't there, but her things were. Picking them up she managed to get the bartender's attention and ask him where her friend had gone. He pointed in the direction of the exit and she could see a tall man in dark clothing who seemed to be dragging someone out the door. She swore before pushing through the bodies to get to her friend, she had no idea what happened, but there was no way she would have just up and left like that of her own volition and she cursed the people around for letting a strange person take her away.

Leon made it out the door and quickly scanned the streets. He didn't immediately see anyone matching the descriptions Mr Sanguini gave, but he noticed a blonde woman running down the street. It was his best option and running in the same direction he could see that she was after the same pair that he was. When he heard the blonde call out 'Angela' his heart skipped a beat. It was unlikely that it was his Angela, but he had thought that he had seen her at this club once. The woman swiftly intercepted the pair and the man had to relinquish his grasp on the woman as he was yanked on the collar from behind. He was kneed in the back, before she kicked the back of his knees to get him kneeling on the ground and in a chokehold. Leon increased his pace, but the man still managed to flip her over his head and slam her into the ground beside the woman in red.

He was just in time to tackle the man and grabbing a flailing arm, he pulled it back and twisted it as he tried to get his other arm. Too late, however, as the man kicked Leon off his back, before punching him and making his escape. Leon was about to go after him before he heard the blonde woman groan. He'd already gotten a head start and disappeared down an alley and so Leon decided to tend to the women. At any rate there'd probably be CCTV footage of him anyway from the club. "Are you guys alright?"

"Just winded," she replied a bit breathlessly as she pulled herself up, "but my friend may need help. I don't know what he did to her and she bent over the other woman to turn her over.

"Angela?" He couldn't believe that it really was her. And even more incredulously, he couldn't believe that he'd just saved her from…what probably would have been a very unpleasant fate. He quickly bent over her to assess her situation. She wasn't conscious and she was burning up. The blonde woman had looked surprised that he had known Angela's name, "We did a job together in Harvardville, I'm Leon" he explained quickly.

Melissa nodded, before quickly introducing herself "Melissa, friend, colleague."

"She's really burning up here. How long ago did you last see her and what was she like then?" he asked as he picked her up and started walking towards the club.

"It couldn't have been more than 10 to 15 minutes. And well…she was…well she was awake and alert. We've had a few drinks, but she didn't seem so impaired that she'd be in this condition. I think that man must have slipped her something. She was a bit…distracted when I left her at the bar." Melissa was naturally upset by what had happened. They re-entered the club and Leon had demanded the bouncer show him to a private room and call a Doctor and an ambulance immediately. She was surprised that the bouncer listened to him, but followed the both of them into the room. As he placed Angela on the ground and raised her feet with some pillows, Melissa looked around the room to see if there was anything useful. There was an ice bucket with some ice and water bottles in it and she grabbed it and brought it over to Leon.

"I thought she might be having an anaphylactic reaction, but I don't think so anymore, her airways appear to be clear and she doesn't have any breathing issues, no other signs either" Leon told Melissa as she approached him with the water and ice. "She seems to be suffering from hyperthermia so we're going to have to get some water into her."

"I don't know if we're going to be able to wake her up and get her to drink this, but it's worth a try." Melissa replied as she shook Angela to rouse her. It didn't seem to work so well so she tried wetting a napkin with some cool water an applying it to her face. It seemed to get a reaction so she tried calling her name and pouring a bit of cool water onto her face and neck. She gained consciousness at that point and managed to open her eyes groggily.

"Mel…Melissa?"

"Yeah babe, listen can you drink some water for us? It'll make you feel better."

Melissa and Leon got her sitting upright against the sofa, but she didn't seem to understand what they wanted her to do when they brought the bottle to her lips. Leon's jaw clenched as he thought of the man that had escaped. He didn't expect the situation would turn out as badly as it had, he was almost tempted to blame Mr Sanguini, if it weren't for the fact that if he hadn't called Leon in then he'd have never been here in time to save her or any other victim the man may have chosen. He just wished he'd been able to act sooner…and that he hadn't gotten away, if only …but his main priority right now was seeing to Angela. Taking a swig from the bottled water, Leon cradled her head in the crook of his arm as he brought their lips together and fed the water to her. Her lips were dry, but supple beneath his own and she tasted faintly of whiskey and mint. He wished she were awake and alert; that he didn't have to be doing this, that he could have been kissing her passionately while she responded in kind, but instead he took another mouthful of water to give her. It all went down without her choking on any of it, though Melissa seemed to choke on her own surprise as she stared wide-eyed. He guessed the gesture seemed a bit intimate and forward, but it wasn't so different to the time they had shared the same breath of air to survive being trapped underwater. However, this time her condition was bad and he didn't know what he could do to save her. The door was flung open and a large burly bodyguard walked in with a skinny middle aged man in a dull brown suit and a large doctors bag in tow.

The man approached Angela and ushered Leon away as he checked her pulse and responsiveness.

"Is the ambulance on the way?" Leon asked the bodyguard who had taken up position beside the door.

"Mr Sanguini said no ambulances. He didn't want another big commotion outside his establishment. Dr Hershey here is more than capable of seeing to your companion."

Leon lunged at the bodyguard, but Melissa intercepted him. "You realise that if she dies here, we will bring a shit storm of police and lawyers to bring down 'Mr Sanguini'" Melissa addressed the bodyguard.

"Dr Hershey is very experienced and we trust him more than any doctor in a fancy hospital."

Leon could not be satisfied with the answer, especially given Angela's state. He wouldn't stand by idly while a quack was the only one entrusted to her health. He started pulling out his phone to contact the emergency services when the doctor spoke.

"There is no need to worry Mr Kennedy. It seems she's been given a stimulant/sedative combination. The stimulant was probably to ensure that she was more…susceptible to outsiders and the sedative was probably to limit her cognisance and mobility. Unfortunately, the individual who drugged her didn't take heed of the fact that the young woman had consumed alcohol. This has resulted in the hyperthermia and lack of responsiveness you have witnessed. The sedative, though, will prevent her from becoming agitated as is common with such stimulants and she is still semi-alert and responsive to pain. She does not require hospitalisation, but you will need to watch her and treat her for the hyperthermia. I can provide some intravenous fluid packs and you will need to put her under a cool shower to get her temperature down. She should recover from the stimulant side effects within 4-6 hours and you should notice an improvement in responsiveness within 8-10 hours."

Both Melissa and Leon were unsure of what to say or how to react. The Doctor obviously had experience with similar situations and what he prescribed seemed appropriate and informed…but it was difficult to accept when the call for outside help was blatantly ignored. They weren't quite sure whether to trust his assessment, not to mention that there was no guarantee that Mr Sanguini and his men were concerned about Angela's welfare.

"Mr Kennedy, I can administer the fluids while you think over what I've said, but Mr Sanguini has also offered the use of a private studio upstairs while she recovers. I have also been told to be at your disposal and monitor the situation until you are satisfied that she is well. I think this is better treatment than she could expect to receive at any A&E ward."

It looked like Leon needed one final small push to be convinced. Melissa just wanted the best for her at the moment and so she quietly spoke to him, "Leon, I'm a bit wary of this setup myself, but there is no logical reason to turn down this offer. Mr Sanguini is a business man and obviously he doesn't want to get any bad press – his solution is the in-house doctor and playing the part of a good host while she recovers. At the moment I feel like the longer we delay the worse it will be for Angela. She's already been through so much, I honestly think it would be better being cared for in what will probably be a luxurious suite than a sterile cold hospital."

"I agree with you Melissa and thank you, for being so considerate of her." Leon indicated that they accepted the proposition and as the bodyguard lead the way, Leon followed with Angela in his arms. Entering the plush studio apartment he thought about what they had just agreed to. While he had agreed with what Melissa had said, he knew that Mr Sanguini was more than just a business man. He was also an opportunist and Leon was afraid of what the consequences of his generosity might be at a later date.