Peter lay staring at the ceiling. The temple was quiet. He was still getting used to that level of quietude. He was, when it came down to it, a city boy. The night was always filled with sounds that people didn't realize they were hearing. The distant traffic, the hum of electricity through the wires. The only time his world ever came close to this quiet was when he'd gone camping with Blaisdell.

He glanced across the room at his father and found that he was sleeping. Peter eased out from under his blanket and slipped out of the room. He padded down the corridor and out into the garden on bare feet. The weather was growing warm and city boy or not he enjoyed being outside in it.

He sat down on the edge of the koi pond and watched the large fish swim. "So you guys grant visions do you?" He said quietly, even though he doubted he was ready for that. He might be learning quickly, but he wasn't learning that quickly. "It's okay. I'm not asking." He let his hand trail through the water and laughed quietly as one of the fish swam in close to his hand, brushing against his fingers as if seeking to be petted. "You do know you're carp not 'cat' fish, right?" He would have sworn the fish gave him a 'seriously?' look.

Peter laughed and rose to his feet. He walked among the plants. Even though he wanted the nightmare to be over and he wanted to go home, he was beginning to feel at home in the temple. He leaned in to look more closely at the delicate white flowers of the Brahmi plant.

It began with pain behind the eyes. The sudden intensity of it dropped him to his knees. Darkness enveloped his vision and for a moment he thought he was going blind. His breath came quick and shallow. "Oh god,"

The darkness faded, and he blinked his eyes, still not seeing the garden he was kneeling in. He was looking up at the 30 ft black statue that he had come to equate with Nag. "What the-"

There was a pounding behind him and he turned toward it, seeing the door to his former prison.

SHE HAS TAKEN ANOTHER

He turned his attention back to the snake. "No… don't inhabit him. Whoever it is don't do it. I have a plan. It's just going to take time."

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MERGE WITH ME. IT WOULD FREE YOU.

"No, no it wouldn't and you know it. She would still come after me. I can free us both. You just have to trust me." Peter couldn't believe where this was going.

FREE IN A BOX IN YOUR HEAD?

"That is only temporary. Come on, you used to be one of the good guys. You can be again."

THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO.

"You were trapped. I know what that's like. I know what it's like to think you'll never be yourself again. But we both can be again. You just have to trust me. Don't merge with the new guy."

I WILL TRUST YOU.

"Thank you," Peter said, relieved. "Can you keep him sane like you did me when I was in the dark?"

I DID NOT. I WILL TRY.

Peter blinked hard as the vision ended and found himself looking into the concerned face of the Ancient.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I don't know," Peter said. "Either I just had a vision or I'm losing my mind."

Karen Simms finished up the day's paperwork and put it in the basket to be filed. She looked up when her office door opened. (It was her office now, the name on the door was hers) "Is it time for us to be seen together in public again?" She asked Paul Blaisdell as he came in and closed the door behind him.

"Something like that." He said, taking a seat across the desk from her. "Mostly I wanted to see how things went today."

"Fine." She said. "The medical examiner has never outgrown his frat house days, Kermit Griffin has more firepower on his desk than most swat teams and thinks his office is his own petty kingdom, the detectives appear to be brilliant even if anti-authoritarian, the chief of detectives is certain no one else can tie their shoes, and the desk Sergeant is quite probably the only full-fledged adult in the precinct." She shook her head "I think I'm going to like it here." She smiled and laughed quietly.

He laughed as well. "They're an odd assortment but they're good cops and good people. When I'm finally able to bring my son home, then you'll start pulling out that hair of yours by the hands full."

"So he takes after you does he?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes he takes after his other father. Most of the time he's his own brand of crazy. I was surprised that he willingly left town. I half expected him to stay around and rub Miranda's nose in it. Peter doesn't normally run when he can stay put and risk his life on a minute-by-minute schedule."

"She shook him that much?"

"She had someone he cared about beaten within an inch of his life to find out where Peter was staying. It was either leave or hand himself back over to her. He chose the lesser of the evils."

"How is he doing?" She asked.

"I don't know. It's not safe to be in contact with him. I don't even know where he is. I'm just glad he's not out there alone."

"I can't imagine how hard that would be. My son is at a military academy. I know where he is, I get regular reports and I still worry. I think I would go mad if he were out there somewhere hiding from some monstrous cult."

"It's crazy-making." He said. "Gut-wrenching. Heartbreaking…I could come up with a few more trite turns of phrase but I'm sure you get the picture."

"I do. I'm still not sure what I can do to help or why you asked me to take over for you but I'll do whatever I can."

" You're already doing it. I needed someone I could trust to keep an eye on my people while I go and pretend I can get close enough to the woman to find some way to put her in jail. That and our little charade hopefully keeps them from looking for Annie."

"Wouldn't they just replace Miranda Gray and go after Peter anyway?"

"I don't think so. From how Peter described things I got the distinct impression that her interest in him was as much personal as anything else."

"A stalker with their own personal army." She said "That has to be the scariest thing about all of this. She has her own personal army."

He nodded. "It is. In the meantime I am hungry. Can I take you to dinner?"

"I'd like that." She said with a nod.

"I saw Kermit's office light on when I came in. I'll ask him to join us." Paul said as he got to his feet.

"I'll meet you over there. I need to turn things off and lock up my office."

Jordan refilled Richard's wine glass, then leaned back against the arm of the sofa so that she faced him. "What did you mean earlier?" She asked. "When you said that nothing is what it seems. I know that it could have been about the case but I didn't get that impression at the time."

He took a deep breath. "Nothing." He said "Just that we couldn't take anything at that bodega for granted. Not even that Sizemore was a colossal ass." He gave her an intense look and inclined his head toward the patio doors.

"The nights are getting warmer. I think I want to take this outside." She said, "And I do not want to talk about curmudgeonly shopkeepers or misogynistic serial killers." She got up from the sofa.

"Is it even possible for two cops not to talk shop?" He asked and led the way to the patio doors.

"I think we can manage to find something to talk about." She said, "Or maybe talking is overrated."

He opened the door and let her step outside "You might be right." He said and followed her out. He closed the door.

She stood at the corner of the balcony, leaning against the railing. He joined her there, standing in close as if for intimate conversation.

"I know why you're here." He whispered. "This isn't an investigation you want any part of."

"You know this isn't the way I usually like a man to make my heart skip a beat." She whispered back. "They murdered your cousin didn't they."

He gave a small nod and took a drink of his wine. "I like you, Jordan. I don't want to see anything happen to you. Go visit your mother for a while. Bellamy is the perfect excuse."

She shook her head. "They hurt a friend of mine. I can't let this go."

"Peter Caine." He said. "No one is happy about that fiasco."

"You're one of them. Why are you warning me off?" They stood close together, faces inclined toward each other in an imitation of intimacy. She could wish that things were different. Wishing rarely accomplished anything more than to make one discontent.

"Harold… my cousin, and I grew up in the order. Our family was recruited in the mid-19th century. Joining wasn't a choice. It's not some benevolent order of snake lovers, Jordan."

"I know." She said. "I still don't know why you're warning me off?" Although it did endear him to her.

"Harold died trying to bring down the heads of the order. There are two. Titled Nag and Nagaina. The female is the head of the order and she's detective Gray's sister. The other, Nag, is… well… her guardian and to use an old-fashioned word her consort. It is believed that they are possessed by ancient entities. My parents called them gods. I didn't even believe that when I was a child. Anyway, Harold managed to kill Nag. A man known as Carmine Milanesi."

"And somehow Miranda Gray found out and killed him in retaliation, using his death to get rid of the mayor so she could take his office."

"That's about the size of it." He said. It was plain to see that he was angered and saddened by it all. Harold had been his best friend as well as his family.

"So where do you stand in all of this?" She asked.

"On the edge of a cliff. I can either jump and die on the rocks or stay where I am and bury my head in the sand. Once you're in there is no exit strategy unless you count a pine box and floral wreath as an exit strategy. I don't want that for you."

"What do you want for me?" She asked.

Richard took her glass and set it on the nearby table along with his. He moved closer to her, even though she had been certain closer wasn't possible while fully clothed. He slid his arm around her waist, and twined his fingers in her hair, gently pulling her into a kiss.

Dianne Reece shook her head. "She is growing more unstable with every day." She told Tyler Becket. "The rest of the council refuses to see it."

"They are afraid of her." He said "Or rather afraid of Nagaina. But to be fair I don't see her as mentally unstable either. What I see is that she is using the order to cement her own personal agenda that has nothing to do with the order. She murdered one of our own, she pushed to have Caine prepared to become Nag because of her attraction to him."

"Yes and because of that there are even more Shaolin in Bayview than ever before. Not to mention the now Commissioner of Police is Peter Caine's foster father."

"Which may work to our advantage," Becket said.

"What on earth makes you say that?" She asked dubiously.

"Because he knows, I have no doubt whatsoever that he knows. He tries to hide it but the hate in his eyes is impossible to miss." He said. "Unless of course you're Miranda Gray. If we cannot find the means to return Nagaina to the artifact then we arrange for Blaisdell to have evidence that she was responsible for taking his son."

"Unfortunately we cannot return Nagaina to the artifact until Nag has a new host and he is as determined that it be Peter Caine as Miranda is."

"If we cannot find him, then we will have to make sure she goes to prison before she destroys the order. We need to start laying out the breadcrumbs for Blaisdell."

"And make sure they don't lead to anyone else in the order."

"Perhaps it should." He said, "Perhaps it's time to cull the herd."

Dianne nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps it is."

Russell Cage didn't know how long he'd been in the dark. It couldn't have been long. The hunger hadn't passed yet. He didn't know what his captors had in mind for him but if they thought he would break easily they were mistaken. He was a mercenary, not a kindergarten teacher. He'd been captured before. He had been captured an embarrassing number of times if he were to be honest about it, and he usually was. But that embarrassing fact was why he knew he could withstand anything the snake queen could throw at him. At least he figured he could hold out for as long as it took Max and the Captain to come for him. They always came for him.

He looked up as a key turned in the lock. "Go away. I'm trying to get some sleep here."

The door opened regardless of what he said and two men entered the room. Russell got to his feet. There was no point in fighting. Besides, he wanted out of the dark, even if that meant dealing with Miranda Gray. He let them cuff his hands behind his back. No point in fighting that either. Pick your battles took on a whole new meaning when you were captive.

He was taken back to the penthouse suite that Miranda called home. They spared him the trek through the gallery of pilfered Shaolin artifacts, eventually bringing him to the dining room where food was being set on the table by the cook and maid.

Miranda smiled at him, and it made his gut clench. He wasn't superstitious, he didn't believe in ghosts or the closet monster. Hell, he hadn't even been religious since leaving home to join the marines after graduation. He didn't believe for one moment that the schlock dogma her cult espoused was true. He didn't believe that she was host to an ancient godlike entity. What he did believe in was the existence of evil. He'd seen it time and again in his line of work. He knew without a doubt that he was looking evil in the face. Unfortunately, she was looking back.

"What do you want?" He asked blandly.

"I want you to join me for dinner," she said.

"I'm not sure I'm that hungry." Russell shrugged "Besides, it's a little hard to eat with my hands behind my back."

She studied him, sizing him up. "I'll let you have use of your hands." She said.

"Yeah? What's the catch?"

"If you MISuse them, I'll break them."

Russell did not doubt that she'd follow through on that threat. "Is that what you did to Peter Caine?" He had some of the details from The Captain, but he doubted it was all of them. He looked over his shoulder as one of her lap dogs unlocked the cuffs. He then took a seat at the table. His stomach betrayed him by growling loudly.

Miranda laughed.

"I hope you realize that it's going to take more than a well-cooked meal to make me join your cult."

"Cult? What an ugly word." She said as she dished the roasted vegetables and chicken onto her plate, passing the food to Russell as if it was just another evening meal.

"What else would you call it?" He asked, and decided to appease his traitorous stomach and put food on his plate.

"Faith, order, way of life," Miranda said in amusement. "And you have no choice, Russell. You will be inducted into the order." He was no Peter Caine. She didn't want him for Nag. But she could entertain… other… thoughts. Until Peter was recaptured anyway.

"You can do whatever you want. Not like I can stop you. But just because you put me through some ritual doesn't mean I'll be a genuine part of your little club."

"I know that your time in the Marines, and your workings with Paul Blaisdell's little mercenary band, have you thinking that you're unbreakable. Anyone and anything can be broken and bent to another's will." She laughed a little at the look on his face. "You didn't think your past was inaccessible, did you? I know your parents' names and address, I know where to find the girl you took to your senior prom."

"Oh yeah? When this is all over I'd like to get that contact information from you. She was fun." He said as he ate. "So what about your senior prom? Is the guy that took you to the prom still around somewhere or did you feed him to your pet snake."

One of the guards behind his chair slapped the back of his head and Russell growled lowly.

She lifted a delicately arched eyebrow. "He's alive. A balding insurance salesman in

Poughkeepsie New York. And no that is not where I am from. " She said.

"I didn't think you were. I figure you for a California girl." He said, wondering where the hell this was going. Kidnappers rarely sat you down for a hearty meal and chit-chat.

"Very good." She said. "My family moved there with the gold rush, later they worked the sulfur mines. My ancestor was the first American to become Nag's host."

"Well look at you. Cult royalty." He said sarcastically, only to receive a blow to the back of his head from one of the guards. "You're dancing on my last nerve," Russell said. He did his best to focus on his food. He didn't know when his next meal would be.

"There is no higher office than mine." She said.

"So you're the "queen bee," He said. "So is that why you wanted the captain's son? To turn him into a prince consort? Did you really think that was going to work? That you could torture the guy and he'd just fall in love with you? God knows you're beautiful but the evil shows no matter what you do."

The third blow to the back of his head was the last straw. Russell was on his feet quickly, the chair falling to the side. He brought his hand up full force, the butt of his palm striking just under the point of the man's chin. The man's teeth clacked together hard enough to give an audible snapping sound. He stumbled backward.

"Hit me in the head again and I will lay you out," Russell said firmly.

Miranda simply looked on, cutting her chicken with her knife. "You are going to be a great deal of fun, Russell Cage. I am definitely going to enjoy breaking you."