Katherine breathed in and out deeply several times, while she waited for Greg to sift through the criminal database. She was infuriated beyond measure that someone could steal a child, her child, at a time like this. She was frustrated that the Triage Center had accepted the suspect in question's help with patients, procuring nothing but a copy of her Student ID in return. There was no address or license number, nothing to connect Kat and Greg back to the young woman who'd last been seen with Reina. All they had to go on was her name and likeness, and Katherine had to pray that it would be enough.
Kat had cringed at the way in which Greg had hung up on Donatello, but she agreed that telling anyone that Luke was dead over the phone was too cold. A part of Katherine felt guilty for leaving her younger sister and Calley at MS250 as well.
It's not a good neighborhood, and I'm sure they're worried about the guys and Olivia. But at the same time, they're smart girls, and they're nowhere near as helpless as Reina. The more time that passes, the less chance I have of finding my baby!
Katherine choked back the sob that threatened at the back of her throat. She had cried until it didn't feel like she possessed another drop of water in her body, but this wasn't the time for grieving.
I have to be strong. I have to get Reina back. She's my little girl, the only part of Luke that I have left...
"She has priors!" Greg practically shouted. "Where's that paper, James?"
Katherine shoved the folded up copy into his hand, and Greg smoothed out the grainy image of an identification card.
"It's awful close, James. Look for yourself."
Katherine peered at the laptop screen for several seconds, then back at the photocopy. The likeness on the screen was a disheveled mugshot; a far cry from the poised, put-together student in the picture on the ID card. Yet something about the eyes made Kat feel certainty in her gut - a bitter coldness that seemed strange in the otherwise relaxed face of the student.
"It's her, Greg. What was she convicted of?"
"A number of counts of misdemeanor stalking involving women with children, and it looks like her pattern was escalating. She's also got a couple of temporary restraining orders against her record, and she's on probation."
"This is the type of person they'll let walk in off the street to help injured children?"
"In all fairness, James, they didn't know about her record. They just needed all the hands they could get."
"And they took whatever trash showed up at their doorstep." Katherine fumed. "Tell me you have her address."
"I do, and it's not far from here. I say we pay her a visit."
"Absolutely." Katherine yanked her seatbelt across her chest so hard that Greg gave her a wary look.
"James. You're not armed, are you?"
Kat gave him an annoyed look. "I stopped carrying my service weapon when I stopped carrying a badge. I don't need a gun to beat someone down, Greg. That's why God gave me hands."
"James, you have to promise me that you won't lose it. If this chick doesn't have Reina-"
"Then I won't lay a hand on her. If she does, you might need a spatula to pry me off."
Greg gazed at her sharply, then shook his head. "Well, there's nothing for it. We can't wait for the police to get involved first. My badge should be sufficient to get us inside."
Katherine leaned back against her seat as Greg drove down the block, and he had to take a detour to get around a broken-down bus. In less than ten minutes the sandy-haired man pulled over in front of a house, and squinted to see the address numbers.
"Yep, that's it. I have the badge, James, so let me do the talking. This woman doesn't own the property; she's just renting part of it."
"You get us in the door, Heffernan, but if I catch wind of my daughter, you know I'm going to speak up."
Emotions rolled around dangerously in Katherine's mind as she and Greg walked up to the front door. The man gave her another meaningful look, and Kat scowled.
"I'm not going to lose it prematurely, Greg. Now go work some magic!"
He reached for his badge, and knocked firmly on the door. A few moments passed before the entrance opened a couple of inches, with an attached chain keeping the door mostly closed.
"What do you want?" a middle-aged woman asked suspiciously.
"FBI, Ma'am. May we enter the premises?" Greg said smoothly.
The woman tried to get a good look at Greg's ID without opening the door any further.
"We're actually here to talk to Alicia Lang. She's one of your tenets, isn't she?" Greg asked.
The woman's eyes flicked nervously between Greg and Katherine. "You're FBI? What do you want with her?"
"We have some questions," Greg answered. "She's considered a person of interest in a crime that was committed last night - a kidnapping. She isn't under arrest; I just need to talk to her."
The door was thrust open with a bang.
"I woke up when she came flying in around 2am, and I heard a kid crying. Baby's been screaming for about an hour at a time! I think it must have worn itself out finally."
"Does Alicia have a child?" Greg asked quickly before Kat could move.
The woman shook her head. "No, sir. I've already been up to her room to talk to her twice about the noise, and she said that it's temporary. A friend needed her to take the baby, because she didn't have a place to stay."
Greg gave the land-lady a calm but steady gaze. "Ma'am, I need to talk to Alicia. Will you let us into the residence please?"
The graying woman stepped tiredly aside, waving a hand for them to enter. "She lives on the third floor. Follow me, and I'll take you upstairs."
Greg shot Katherine a look over his shoulder as they ascended the stairs. "Keep it together, James," he said under his breath.
Katherine gave him an evil look. "Keep going, Heffernan."
Karina had waited for morning to come like a starving man hoped for food. She'd been relieved to discover that her phone had some signal strength, but so far, it hadn't done her any good. She'd tried to place so many calls that the busy signal reverberated in her ears, whether she was listening to the phone or not. As her hand gripping the device drooped, Calley gave her a comforting glance.
"This is temporary, Karina. We're going to get out of here, and everything's going to be okay. We've been in worse situations, right?" Calley suggested impishly.
Karina snorted. "I couldn't tell you, Calley. I've blocked out that entire kidnapping episode with the Akiudo from my memory."
Karina took a moment to glance around the gymnasium. The population had thinned out somewhat, and she was tempted to try and get into the bathroom. The dirty conditions didn't make for a pleasant experience, but she still had a desire to wash up.
"Do you want to try the bathroom again?" she asked Calley.
Calley nodded. "It's probably a good time now that things have settled down."
The two girls trod silently down the hallway connected to the gym, bypassing the first two sets of bathrooms they came across. The sanitation conditions inside were so bad that neither of them were willing to step foot back inside them. Instead they kept going toward a flight of stairs, and ascended to the next floor.
The second level felt hollow and empty, as if there was no one around for miles. The two women made a beeline for the first bathroom they saw. Karina breezed through the door without giving it a second thought. She'd hardly taken two steps inside when Calley snagged her by the arm, and physically pulled her backwards.
"Call-"
The blond woman yanked her more insistently, as an African-American young man jolted out of the bathroom stall. A scream erupted from behind him, and Karina watched in astonishment as he stomped a foot down on a girl's throat who was trapped underneath him. A smirk appeared on the boy's face as he looked back at Karina and Calley.
"What do we have here? Boys! We don't have to take turns after all!"
Karina was already backing toward the door with Calley when it was flung open, and three men crowded into the bathroom behind them. Karina recognized that the colors they were wearing probably meant that they were in a gang. As chills ran down her spine, Calley's fingers tightened on her arm.
She looked at Calley, and saw that the woman's brown eyes had gone as cold as ice. Karina gaped as Calley laughed scornfully.
"You boys don't wanna go there." Calley's tone was razor sharp. "You're in completely over your heads."
"Are we s'posed to be afraid of you?" One of the newcomers laughed.
"I might surprise you, but I was referring to my clique. You lay one hand on us, and you're gonna start a fight that's a lot bigger than you are." Calley didn't miss a beat.
"Your clique," another scoffed. "What gang do you belong to?"
With a rapid motion Calley flipped the light jacket she was wearing. She casually displayed a tattoo that was normally concealed on the small of her back, of two serpents devouring each other.
"I run with the Dagos, and they don't like people touching their women," Calley replied sharply. "Entire wars have been started because some stupid punk couldn't keep his hands to himself."
The original attacker stared back at her, appearing impassive. "And what about your pretty baggage here?" He pointed at Karina.
"She's new, about to be initiated today. But she's already spoken for, and you can't have her."
"I can have anything I want," he said dangerously, maintaining a steely glare at Calley.
The blond woman didn't flinch. "No, you can't."
The young man growled softly, as if trying to assert his dominance over her. His forehead furrowed as the smaller woman refused to back down.
"Why don't you mind your own business and get lost?" he finally said.
Calley shook her head. "Afraid not. Why should you get to have any fun if I can't?"
Karina gave her a double-take, and noticed the young man was staring at her with wide eyes too.
"If you're looking for some satisfaction-" he started.
"Not your variety," she sneered. "That girl would be perfect for our ritual, and she's coming with us."
The man laughed. "Do you really think you could take her from us? I'd like to see you try."
He took a threatening step toward her, and a soft click signaled a switchblade opening. Calley remained emotionless and unmoved.
"You wanna try me out, baby?" he said in a low voice.
In a flash that startled Karina, Calley snagged the boy's wrist that was lazily extending the knife, and she took the blade from him before he could blink.
"Do you wanna try me?" she demanded. "Then again, maybe one of you would volunteer to take her place. You're all big men here, right?"
Calley flipped the blade expertly in her hand. "Have you ever stabbed someone, just to watch them die? There's no feeling in the world like it."
With another flick of her wrist she flung the blade into the bathroom door, inches from one of the youth's head. "How about it? Any takers?"
The one she'd nearly impaled swore. "You stay away from me, you crazy whore!"
Karina was astonished to see the three young men behind them inching toward the door.
"You just do your thing, and stay away from us. You won't get off so easy next time!" the boy in front of them spat contemptuously, and he followed the other three out into the hall.
Karina was still staring at Calley as the young woman strode toward the cringing figure on the floor. Karina took a step forward to see an African-American girl who couldn't have been more than fourteen. She sobbed brokenly as Calley bent over her.
"Don't hurt me, please! Please, I'll give you everything I have!"
Calley's face softened as she bowed her head. "I'm so sorry for scaring you, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you."
"B-but...you were bluffing? Why would you do that? They were letting you go!"
"Because you're worth it," Calley replied evenly, and gave her a hand off the bathroom floor.
"How did you do that?" the girl asked. "Was any of it true?"
"I was with the Dagos," Calley answered. "But I'm not that person anymore...and I was never that bold when I actually ran with the gang. The only way to scare some of these idiots is to act tougher than they do."
Karina shook her head. "You deserve an Oscar for that performance, Calley. Who taught you to handle a knife that way? Was it Leo?"
"No. I actually learned it from my first Dago boyfriend. I haven't done anything like that in years."
"You're my hero," the girl said tearfully.
"We're lucky that they were just stupid punks. That little show wouldn't have made a dent in the real thugs," Calley said ruefully.
Karina sighed shakily. "Hermana, you're something else."