One dangerously strong cup of coffee later John walked out of the kitchen to find Chas perched awkwardly in his seat. He noticed to his irritation that despite the uncomfortable night he'd spent Chas looked distinctly, well, good. He looked healthy, like he'd slept ten hours on a stomach full of good food rather than a restless night on low-grade furniture.
Proof that he's an angel? No one could look that way after a night like that. He's either a demon, an angel, or.. Significantly younger than you.
The only tell that he hadn't slept properly was his ruffled hair which for all John knew was normal, he was so used to it being hidden under a hat.
Chas looked at him suspiciously. 'What?'
'I thought I told you to get up,' John snapped, annoyed he'd been caught looking, hoping to give the impression he hadn't noticed how well the boy looked.
'I did, there's not really much I can do in your apartment John', he ran a hand through his hair again as he spoke, unnerved by John's attention.
Good.
'Come on.' John grabbed his coat
'Where are we going?'
'Don't make me repeat myself.'
Chas scowled but got up and followed obediently out the door where he waited as John searched impatiently. After a minute he cleared his throat.
'John, looking for this?'
John turned around to see him holding up a key. A vague memory of throwing it across the room flashed through his mind and he noted as he took it that there was no sign of the bruise on Chas' forehead. He locked the door roughly and walked down the stairs just quickly enough that Chas had to work to keep up.
His plan, if it could be called that, was to take the creature to Midnite. He was forced to concede that he really couldn't figure this thing out on his own, not when he was so tired at least. He'd relied on others, (Chas, Hennessy, Beeman), to reaffirm his conclusions in the past. He'd always acted so cocky as to lead them into believing their input was little more than amusement to him; show no weakness. But Beeman and Hennessy were no longer around, and Chas was the cause of his current problems. So it came down to Midnite, aggravating though he was the man had answers. It was just a case of getting them.
At some point in the night it had struck him that Midnite could be Chas', no the creatures target. Midnite was powerful, and hard to get to, and he was leading it straight to him. Still, Midnite was perfectly aware of his target status, and he was well connected. It wouldn't take long for word to get back to him that John had been seen in public with his supposedly dead apprentice, and if Midnite needed to be protected he would be by the time they arrived. John's conscience was as clear as it ever was.
Of course, it was still too early to go to Midnite, and John saw no use in wasting that time. He needed time to recuperate, and he needed as much information on his companion as he could gather. He tended to think of himself as alone, but that wasn't entirely true.
He was taking Chas to the one other person who might have a chance of helping.