Chapter 9! Sorry about the delay in update, I've been busy! ^^;;;

Warnings: None

Unbeta AF

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter 9

Play By Jeanne's Rules

"I can't go back to my job, I've changed too much and a job dealing public relations and talking to many people, many times in a day gives me anxiety."

Carlos watched Stephanie pace the length of the hallway, as he sat on the stairs. Lester was sitting in the entryway of the living room, leaning back on his hands and looking at Stephanie with those sharp, green eyes. Lester had been right all along, Carlos mused, as he watched the woman have a small panic attack before them. He wasn't too surprised, Lester could be very observant, when he put effort into it.

It had started a week before Stephanie was due to go back to her old job. The department she worked in had been extremely understanding, when she explained her situation. Only two people in the her whole job department knew the reason why she was gone for so long and they were federally ordered not to tell anyone, with the threat of jail time hanging over their heads. They had told Stephanie she could work at home, if needed to or whatever accommodations she needed, they would give to her. Her old job had been being the middle person for her department and the public eye. Sure, she'd be at home doing it, but still, so many people…

Her situation was much better than Brittany's, she could consider herself lucky. Brittany had been forced into a retirement like state at the university. Though they had been given an explanation from the FBI, they just couldn't wait for Brittany to get back to her old self and, via Alejandro, told the woman she would still be on the payroll and would still get benefits, but her professor position had been filled and there was no spot waiting for her back at the school. Alejandro had been frustrated for the woman, but Brittany just shook her head and told the man she wasn't surprised, at least she was still getting paid.

Carlos watched Stephanie as she stopped pacing and said, "I can't go back, but I can't live off the FBI's dime for forever," she looked down at her hands and sighed, "The thought of meeting with a lot of people, at once, in an enclosed space…"

"Steph," Carlos said, as Stephanie's shoulders were hunched over, "It's okay to feel like that, and it's more than fine, if you want to quit your job, in fact I'm sure they'll be very understanding, too."

"Beautiful, you've been through hell and back again," Lester said, getting up and walking over to Stephanie, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder, "Do what's best for you, don't worry about money, or a job, by the time you're ready to talk publicly about your ordeal, you'll most likely have a book deal and will be rolling in money."

"Ha-ha," Stephanie deadpanned but she gave Lester a small smile and said, "I could use a vacation from all these worrying thoughts, right?" At Carlos and Lester's head nod and she smiled once more, "I might even pick up a hobby, like…museum hunting!"

"The doctor did say picking up a hobby is good for your brain," Lester said as he winked to Stephanie, who gave him another smile, "Anything you want to do, we'll join you 100 percent."

"What about going on roller coasters?" Stephanie asked and Lester nodded his head, "Really?"

"Well, not Carlos, turns out, he's not a fan of roller coasters," Carlos gave Lester the middle finger and Stephanie laughed, "We'll have to go on twice as many for him."

"You know…" Carlos said, suddenly, looking over to Stephanie, "You could still enjoy working PR, but not having to meet people face to face…"

"How so?" Stephanie asked as Carlos looked to her, with a half smile, "What plan do you have?"

"Well, it starts with a business…" Carlos started and soon both Stephanie and Lester were sitting on the stairs with him, listening to his plan.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

They watched the TV screen in silence, looking at the smug woman on the screen, a sneer on their face. She was absolutely disgusting, the person thought, but they forced themselves to listen to her, despite being showy, she was spilling secrets she didn't know she was spilling. They wouldn't be surprised if the FBI didn't pick up on some of the things the Wilkes Widow said, on her Network show blitz. She had been on 25 of them already, in two weeks, most likely making plenty of money doing it. Greed, an emotion old as time…

"My husband was framed and killed," The woman said to the show's host, with tears in her eyes, fake ones at that, "He wouldn't hurt a fly, my husband was a well rounded member of society, whoever planted all this evidence is the twisted freak out there, most likely one of those women they found by our property line. That vacation home had been in my family for generations, only used for vacations, it was in the countryside, who knows what happens out there, freaks and law breakers I-"

"She shouldn't had said that part about the property being hers," the person mused, smiling, "Not with an FBI agent like Barrows, looking for blood in the waters…"

Speaking of looking, they were on a hunt themselves, looking for the names of the women that had escaped Barton Wilkes, but they had been like ghosts, Agent Barrows had ben thorough, keeping their names and faces out of the news but somewhere, out there, greed can be utilized and greed was a powerful emotion. He just had to find the right person and he had his eyes on one person that seemed to have a hard on to be close to this case. They were in the FBI themselves, and all it would take was the right offer and the right words and that woman in the video, would be his for the taking, he would be able to take what she was hiding inside of her, after several lifetimes of rebirth and deaths, they were so close.

So-so close to that mystical creature…

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"The property has been in HER family for generations, so it's not a recently bought place in the last 20 years or so, so she had to have known something," Jeanne said, as she drove down the road to Vanessa Wilkes current address, "Not his family, hers, this bitch ain't fooling me."

She turned to the passenger beside her and bristled, "Agent Diesel, say something."

"I don't know what to say," Diesel said, with a casual shrug, "Besides piss and moan at the fact you won't let me near the two women who were in the bunker."

"You're not part of my team, I don't care that your badge supersedes my position, Agent Diesel, those two have been through hell and back again," Jeanne said, looking at the road, "How in the hell do you think they would feel if a 6'3 man, built like a homeless tank, walked into the office and asked them questions? I have one Jane Doe terrified of leaving her closet, getting her out of the house, right now would be impossible."

"Okay, point made," Diesel mumbled, folding his arm, "How can I get close to them, I don't even need to ask questions, I just need to feel them out," he frowned and looked to the woman, "And I don't look homeless."

"You're wearing a tattered jacket, ripped jeans, a wife beater and one of your boots is taped," Jeanne said, as she turned down the road, as they crossed over state line to go to Maryland, "You look like you're barely holding it together."

Diesel let out a grumble and looked to Jeanne, pouting, he hated being called homeless but he could do with a new pair of boots. When he went to the FBI, asking for Jeanne and flashing his badge as he asked for her. He was waiting for the woman in a sitting area, when she stormed in and gave him a serious look asking, "What do you want, Agent Diesel?"

"I need to speak to both Jane Does from the Barton Wilkes-" Diesel started but then Jeanne held her hand up and stopped him, "Uh-"

"Absolutely not," Jeanne said, looking hard at the man, "Absolutely fucking not, Agent Diesel, I don't care."

Diesel was about to argue with the woman but her phone had gone off and she spoke in a clipped tone with someone and then hung the phone up and looked over to Diesel saying, "Agent Diesel, you want to be a part of my team, for these women?"

"Wait, what?" Diesel asked as the woman rolled her eyes at him, "What are you-"

"If you want access to Jane Doe A and B, you have to earn your way to them, which means, you do several things," Jeanne said, looking to the man, who shrugged but nodded his head, "One; you help me with this case. Two; Whatever is going on with this case, does not get spilled to the media, any media, or any other agency, including your weird one and three; come with me, I have a widow to talk to…"

"I don't have a choice in this matter," Diesel sighed and then Jeanne motioned for the man to follow her, "Okay, I'm coming!"

So now, Diesel was playing Jeanne's game with her rules and he had no choice but to do so. He needed to get to those women, before that evil force did as well. He was still trying to figure out who in the fuck had such magic. Magic that was capable of mass destruction and horror, Diesel wanted to know why the person wielding such power was after…her, the one with the magic that made Diesel's soul clench in a strange way.

"It was strange," Jeanne said, pulling into a neighborhood, "Reading her interviews and watching them as well," she muttered, looking over to Diesel, "They were so impersonal, so 'me, me, me,' she never once mentioned her husband by name…"

"That sounds like she detached herself from him," Diesel said, as he looked to Jeanne, "Most likely way before the death of him."

"Yeah, if I was grieving widow, whose husband had been found to be a serial killer, I would have distance myself from him, go to therapy and sell that property, but she isn't," Jeanne whispered, pulling her car to the curb of a house, where a sparkling new BMW sat in the driveway, "Hmm, she's not too upset, it seems."

"Hell yeah, that's a top of the line car as well," Diesel said as he and Jeanne got out the car and walked up the driveway to the front of the house, "So what are we here for?"

"I have a search warrant for this property, but I'm only looking for one thing and it may be here," Jeanne said, her voice low, "You are going to charm her and keep her distracted while I look for this item."

"What's the item?" Diesel asked as Jeanne rang the doorbell, "Can I know?"

"I'll let you know about it, when if I find it here," Jeanne said as the door opened and the housekeeper greeted them.

"Mrs. Wilkes say the FBI is not allowed," the housekeeper started but Jeanne held up the search warrant and said, in a soft voice:

"This search warrant says otherwise, if you want to be arrested for interfering with an FBI investigation, go ahead, but for now, we would like to see Mrs. Wilkes, please."

The housekeeper looked between the two agents and then turned tail and ran to find Vanessa Wilkes, who appeared, in a rage, looking to snap at Jeanne, who sighed and held up the search warrant. The woman snatched it from Jeanne's hands and snarled, "You can't do this! I have rights!"

"Call your lawyer, I don't care," Jeanne said with a sigh, but the woman all but shrieked in outrage and tore up the search warrant, "You ripping it up, won't stop me, if you want your lawyer here, while I search, you can do so, I'll even wait with you in the living room."

"I'm not letting you vultures in my house!" The woman cried out in outrage, but paused as she saw one of the neighbors open their door, to leave, "Fine, come in!"

Jeanne and Diesel walked into the pristine house and Jeanne looked to Diesel and mumbled, "Lawyer or not, keep an eye on her," Diesel nodded his head and then Jeanne looked to Vanessa and asked, "Are you getting your lawyer here?"

"I have nothing to hide!" The woman shrieked, "They've already taken the computers and any other cameras, there was nothing on them! Planted, everything in that bunker was planted!"

"Mrs. Wilkes," Diesel gave the woman a charming smile and Mrs. Wilkes faltered, "I know, this must have been hell on you, first your husband's death and dealing with the aftermath, I'm here to make sure you're treated right, okay, are you sure you don't want your lawyer here? I can be by your side, the whole time, to make sure Agent Jeanne doesn't plant things. You deserve a break from all of this, right?"

"Finally, someone understands," The woman muttered, at ease with Diesel, "No, I don't need my lawyer, but I will stay close to that woman and make sure nothing is out of place!"

"Yes, Ma'am, I'll help," Diesel said and Jeanne rolled her eyes, her back turned from the two as she began her search in the house, once more.

She went right to nook and crannies, biting her lip as she opened boxes and bags, putting them back in their proper place, when Diesel said so. She was looking for one thing and one thing only and she had a funny feeling Vanessa Wilkes knew more then she let on. With her gloved hands, she checked the children's bedroom, the bathroom, their drawers, she opened tampon and pad boxes, went through trash. She was at her wits end, in the main bedroom, Vanessa Wilkes was definitely living the high life now, Jeanne thought as she walked by bags of high end stores, making money off the backs of two victims.

She was about to call it quits when she spied it, in the organized jewelry cabinet of Vanessa Wilkes. A false back to the heavy thing, one that could easily be missed, if you weren't searching for it. Jeanne looked over to Diesel and Mrs. Wilkes and she noticed the woman looked agitated, as Jeanne continued to look through the cabinet. Well now…Jeanne pulled out the rows of necklaces, rings, bracelets and expensive hair pieces and with a sharp tug, had the false back removed. In the area that had been hidden, Jeanne found receipts, tucked in an envelope, a diary and a single key on the chain. She had been looking just for the key, but the other things, were just as golden.

Jeanne took all three items and said, with a smile, as she bagged them, "That will be all, Mrs. Wilkes, Agent Diesel, we have to be going…"

Jeanne didn't spare the woman a look as she walked by them, Diesel apologizing for the mess but following Jeanne out the house. Jeanne held up the key and said, "This is what I really wanted but the other two items, are just as valuable, let's head back to that bunker."

"And you needed the key, why?" Diesel asked as Jeanne sped down the highway, making it to the property in record time, "Agent Jeanne, what's going on?"

She led Diesel not to the bunker, she walked to the shed and opened the door. It was neat and organized in the shed but Jeanne ignored it all and went to the corner of the shed, which was covered in boxes of junk. She pulled the boxes away and revealed a locked trapped door. Diesel noticed that the lock had two key holes in it.

"This key, was in Barton's items," Jeanne said, holding up a key ring in an evidence back, "And this one….was in Vanessa Wilkes's possession, I do believe they both open this lock, let's see, no?"

"And you didn't cut the lock, why?" Diesel asked as Jeanne took out one key and slid it into the lock.

"We tore the wall down in the area of the bunker," Jeanne said simply, turning the key and hearing the lock give way, "There we go, you son of a bitch," she smiled and then grabbed the key they found in Vanessa's house, "Now…let's see…" she slid it in, finding it having problem doing so and turned it, watching the lock give way, "I fucking…knew it!"

Jeanne tossed the lock to the side and opened the trapdoor to reveal a ladder that went down into a tunnel. The two climbed down the tunnel, Jeanne using a flashlight and together, the two walked the length of the tunnel and stopped at the end, where the camera equipment used to be and a wide hole in the wall that revealed the bed area. Jeanne smiled viciously and turned to Diesel.

"The bitch knew, she knew all along," she motioned to the area and said, "Barton Wilkes recorded himself raping victims here, and Vanessa Wilkes knew this all along…come on Diesel, with this evidence, I can get her arrested!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Come on, you're doing so good," Alejandro said to Brittany as the woman slowly stepped out onto the deck of the safehouse, "I can't believe who this brave woman is!"

She gripped the man's hand tightly as Brittany stepped out and for the first time, since leaving the hospital, inhaled fresh air. She was nervous, and every noise that occurred around her, terrified her, but she liked the snow falling on her face and she liked the afternoon light on it.

"This is as far as I will go," Brittany told Alejandro as the man nodded his head and grabbed a deck chair, shaking snow off it and putting beside Brittany to sit on, "Thank you.."

They sat together under the falling snow, just the two of them. It had been just the two of them for a while now, with Stephanie's ever-changing bodyguards and her leaving to go places and Brittany refusing to leave the house in fear, Alejandro had become one of her strongest support. He never pushed her too far, he never said a bad word about her deplorable eating habits and he always spoke softly and had a smile for the woman, whenever she needed it. Brittany knew this attachment wouldn't last though, once all the things regarding the Wilkes case was wrapped up, Agent Jeanne would cut them by the strings and back to life.

That scared Brittany, the thought of mingling with people terrified her still. She just finally left the house to sit outside and a car horn almost sent her crying, running back to the safety of her closet.

Alejandro must have been reading her thoughts and asked the woman, in that soft voice, "Hey, don't worry about never leaving the steps of the house for now, we'll work on that later, for now, let's enjoy this cold weather."

"It's too loud outside and inside," Brittany typed on her phone, looking back into the house, hearing all their family members in there, enjoying football, even Stephanie managed to join in, "When will I be normal again, Alejandro?"

"I don't know," the man answered honestly, and Brittany curled up on herself and sniffled, "But for now, do you want to go back in the house, we've been out here for ten minutes."

"Can we?" Brittany asked and Alejandro nodded his head and led the snow covered woman back into the house. She clung to him, when they passed the rowdy living room and silently made their way into her bedroom.

When they back in the bedroom, and warmly dressed, Brittany placed a hand on her covered eye and typed, "I want to show my eye to you again, and see what happens, I tried to look at myself in the mirror with it, but I didn't see anything off."

"Okay," Alejandro nodded his head and Brittany pulled off her eye patch, blinking her strange colored eye against the bright light. She turned to Alejandro with it and blinked slowly, "See anything?"

Brittany shook her head and then covered her left eye to see if anything would happen, while looking at Alejandro. Something did and her vision began to bleed into black and she found herself in a darken car, with a teenage boy who was clearly Alejandro, and a pretty girl as well. There was low music playing and they seemed to be in the middle of some field, in a rural setting. It felt nice and warm, like nice summer night and Brittany wondered if the two were out, enjoying their summer vacation or something.

"We've been dating for so long, Alejandro and I think we're the only couple in school to…you know…not do it," The girl said to Alejandro who nodded his head, his face solemn but his heart pounding with excitement, "We should do it, you know…"

"We should," Alejandro agreed and he reached the glove compartment in his car and pulled out a condom, "I have condoms too."

"Okay then," The girl said, with a smile on her face, leaning forward to kiss Alejandro on the lips, "Let's have sex…"

Brittany did not want to see this! She shook her head, hard and then pushed herself away from what she was seeing. She heard a loud 'thump!' felt pain in her back and found herself looking up at the ceiling of her room, with Alejandro looking down at her with concern.

"Brittany, are you okay?" The man asked, helping her sit up, his eyes crinkled with worry, "What happened?"

Brittany motioned for her phone and Alejandro gave it to her. Brittany looked over to the man, with wonder in her eyes and typed out, "I saw you about to lose your virginity in a car, Alejandro, I think I saw your past, when I look at you…"

TBC….

Woah now, Widow Wilkes has a story to tell and Brittany is realizing she has strange powers!