Not long after Hellboy left, Angel peeled herself from the floor and locked herself in the bedroom. She turned off all the lights and crawled into bed. She pulled the covers over her head, and she closed her eyes. The emotional wear made her exhausted. She fell asleep. She slept for hours, for so long that sun had set. She finally woke up. She pulled back the covers. The bags of her eyes were so deep and dark. She looked at her bedside clock to see what time it was and saw that the numbers were gone. The power had gone out.

She got out of the bed and checked the switches. Sure enough, there's no power. Angel unlocked her bedroom door and opened it. She headed to the kitchen. Somewhere in the apartment, the floor creaked. She froze. She looked around but saw nothing. She tiptoed past the island. She kept looking around. When she looked back towards the living room, there was a dark figure suddenly there.

She screamed and grabbed a plate off the island that she had left on there and swung it. The plate smashed to pieces as it hit the figure's hands. She took a step back and turned. But there were other figures there and she realized that she was being surrounded.

"Grab her," a voice commanded.

She turned to the voice and pain flared at her head. The man the voice belonged to had smacked her with the butt of his gun. She crumpled to the ground, bleeding from the temple, unconscious.

Hellboy sat on his bed stroking the back of one of his cats. He sat in silence thinking. Did he make a mistake earlier with Angel?

Before he could attempt to figure out the answer to the question, he heard a knock on his door. He got up to open it and Abe stood there. Abe spoke first.

"We got a problem," Abe said.

"Another mission?" Hellboy asked. "I just got-"

Abe shook his head, "No. A truck just arrived. You need to see this."

A small tickling of thought hit in the back of his head.

Did they find out?

Abe turned and Hellboy followed. They went through several corridors to reach the Bay area where vehicles enter and depart for missions. When they got there, there were agents all around watching as the truck stopped. When the back of the door lifted, voices began whispering.

Hellboy took the lead and pushed through the crowd of agents. He stopped when he saw what was in the truck. His heart dropped. Anger rushed through. A figure was kneeling in the middle of the truck, three large straps around the body; one around the thighs, one around the arms and stomach, and the last one around the tops of the shoulder and on the neck. The figure was strapped to a large rod that was attached to the top and bottom of the truck. It was what kept the unconscious person propped up.

It was Angel.

Her head lolled to her chest, the strap digging into her neck, slowly choking her. Blood had dried on her forehead, her hair falling down one side.

"Angel!" Hellboy roared as he pushed through more agents and rushed into the truck. He landed on his knees as his hands cupped her cheek.

Her breathing wasn't right so he pushed her head up off the strap and he could hear it get better.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Hellboy asked as he inspected her wound. "Who the fuck did this?"

He looked up at an agent and saw her eyes drift to the left to someone. He turned his head to a man.

"I did. She attacked me," He said. "She needed to be knocked out."

Hellboy almost got up to tackle him, but a hand dropped to his shoulder. He turned to look to see his boss, Agent Todd Manning.

"Sir," the man said as he saluted Manning.

"I charged you with surveillance, not capture. What is the meaning of this?" Manning asked as he crossed his arms.

"Surveillance?!" Hellboy snarled as he looked at Manning.

Manning looked down, "Why don't you go take care of her while I speak to Agent Kit? I promise to come by and talk to you later."

Hellboy almost didn't comply but a whimper from Angel caught his attention. He didn't answer Manning, but he ripped the straps off and Angel fell forward. He caught her and slipped an arm under her legs and lifted her. He stood up and walked out of the truck as he carried her away. Abe followed him out of the Bay.

"I'll get the first aid kit and meet you in your room," Abe spoke to Hellboy.

Hellboy barely acknowledged him as he walked to his room. He looked down to Angel. She was pale, the red blood stood out too much on her head. He could already see a bruise forming under the blood. His own blood boiled. He had left to keep her safe and instead she ended up being in danger. This was his fault. He was sure of it.

His stone arm held her up as he used his other to open the large door to his room. He stepped in. Maneuvering around the cats, he walked to the bed. He gently laid her down. Abe walked in just as her head hit the pillow. Hellboy lifted her up to pull the blanket out from under her and laid them over her. He went to Hellboy's side and handed him the kit. Hellboy sat at the edge of the bed.

Hellboy looked up at Abe, "Will you check her and make sure she's good? Nothing else happened except for what's on her head?"

Abe nodded. He pulled off the gloves of his webbed hands and laid them gently on Angel's head. His eyes closed. His eyes flickered under his lids. He opened them and pulled his hands back.

"She's okay."

Hellboy sighed in gratefulness.

"Thanks. Will you give us some time alone?"

Abe nodded, "I'll make sure nobody comes around."

Abe left as Hellboy opened the kit. He rummaged and found what he needed. He cleaned up her head wound and bandaged it. He was sure she would be healed up soon. He remembered her mentioning she healed fast.

He sat there looking at her. He felt guilty. He felt angry.

I'll kill him.