Angel pressed his knuckles against his lips to try to stifle a sudden yawn as they pulled up to the WVU Princeton Community Hospital about forty-five minutes later. Charlotte had gotten the girls to laugh at her stories, and he heard some levity in her voice, which he knew she needed. Pulling into the first parking spot across from the emergency room, he shifted into park. He heard shuffling behind him as Charlotte moved on her knees between the front captain chair seats and peered out at the sharp lights of the hospital.

"They'll be safe here?"

Angel noted the concern in her voice: "Yes, the people inside know medicines and treatments, and this will be the best place for their parents to come for them."

He noticed two police cars pull into the lot and turned towards the back, "Girls, we're at the hospital, and I radioed ahead, so your parents should be here soon, but I do have to ask you a very special favor."

The girls looked at him, and Amy nodded, "What is it?"

"Don't tell anyone about Charlotte or her scary costume, okay? She's my secret weapon against the mean men I chase, and if they ever found out, she could be in danger. Deal?"

Having come to trust Charlotte on the drive, Amy promised him that she'd tell Jamie to keep Charlotte a secret as well. He knew it was not a guarantee, kids being kids, but since Charlotte had been seen, it was all he could ask of them. He then looked at Charlotte, "That means you gotta stay in the van and out of sight, at least until we figure out a cover story for you."

"Okay," Charlotte nodded and slipped deeper into the back of the van. Angel opened the driver's side door, and slipped out and walked around to open the side door. He motioned for the girls to exit the van and gave Charlotte a nod, whispering, "Go invisible if anyone comes by." He didn't wait for a response. Shutting the door, he guided the kids across the lot to the emergency entrance, disappearing with them inside the welcoming bright lights of the entrance.

Charlotte sulked into the blanket she'd used earlier, wrapping it around her shoulders. Her mind was racing, the adrenaline had finally drained from her body, and now she slumped in exhaustion. She curled up under the blanket, using one of the garbage bags of clothes as a makeshift pillow, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

—

Inside the ER, Angel flagged down a nurse, explained the situation, and gave the girls an encouraging smile as three other nurses and a doctor swiftly swarmed in to whisk the girls off for evaluation. Feeling just as exhausted, Angel leaned against the painted concrete walls of the entrance and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Angel?" A feminine voice invaded his very short moment of reprieve.

Angel opened his eyes, and a wry smile formed at the edge of his lips, "I really had hoped to avoid you tonight, Amanda."

Having propped against the opposite wall to mirror Angel's stance, FBI Special Agent Amanda Sims, a tall, slender-built woman wearing a zipped-up blue FBI jacket, black hair tied back in a tight bun, and piercing blue eyes, returned his wry smile with one of her own: "If you had it your way, you'd avoid me all the time."

"Reports and procedures slow me down." It wasn't the whole reason but the other reason was well known and unspoken between them.

Amanda sighed and chose not to press the issue, "Listen, Angel. I appreciate what you do, and you skirt the lines just on the right side to keep me from having to bust your balls, but for me to give you the space to operate, I need to be kept in the loop. Plus, the brothers demanded a ransom, and you know that means FBI involvement every time."

"I know. It's nothing personal, Amanda. I really am not trying to argue with you. I'm just tired. I was scared tonight—"

Amanda cut him off, "You're scared every night, Kevin."

Cutting her with a sharp glare, Angel glowered, "I don't want to hear it from you, Amanda. Just because you know me doesn't mean I want or need any of your psychological bullshit. Okay?"

Holding her hands up in surrender, Amanda sighed, "No, you're right, it's not my place anymore, if it ever was. But I'm worried about you. You go head first into every missing person's case that comes up, and if children are involved, you are almost out of control. I stand up for you to my superiors, reminding them of your military service and your record, and that you've solved and saved over a dozen lives that we may have otherwise lost."

Angel turned his head away. Over a dozen lives saved came with a stark reminder of the ones he'd lost, and there was no balancing that ledger in his mind. How long would he be tortured for what he had done?

Amanda continued, "It keeps them just off my case, and so I stay off your case, but sometimes I have to poke my nose into your business. Like tonight."

Her tone caught his attention, "What about tonight?"

"It's really strange, but the report I got over the radio from the arresting officers at the site says the Pry brothers were white as sheets and rambling on about a monster attacking them. Now, I've read every report from your missions and never heard of anything like this. Care to explain?"

Anticipating that possibility, Angel shrugged, "I've been watching a lot of horror movies in my downtime and wanted to test a few theories on scare tactics. That's all."

Amanda eyed him. She'd known him long before he joined the military, and she remembered his carefree attitude, his sense of humor, and how big of a heart he had, but she never pegged him to be a liar. Something in his tone set off her senses, honed from years of experience as an agent. She also knew the direct approach would yield no results and would just put him on the defensive. This was something she would need to figure out later. "Well, whatever you did, it did one hell of a number on the brothers. They're scared out of their minds and incoherent to a degree. We've decided to move them to a facility for evaluation before the transfer to the state jail."

"Good!" Angel pushed away from the wall, "It's the least those fuckers deserved. If you'd seen what I saw the one prick do to that little girl, being scared shitless is the only mercy they deserve."

Amanda frowned hard, "Kevin—"

"It's. Angel." He reprimanded her in a clipped tone.

"Angel," Amanda sighed, "I'm not disagreeing with you. Just whatever new tactics you are employing, don't give them any possible outs with an insanity plea."

She was right, and he knew it, but after seeing Charlotte in action and how much it could give him an advantage, it was a risk he was going to keep taking if it meant saving more lives and more children, but aloud he placated, "No, you're right. I'll work on my tactics. As long as it does not put any innocents at risk."

"It's the best I can ask." She accepted, but added with a smirk, "Except, I'd love to see what your new tricks are?"

"Not likely," Angel's body was near its end, exhaustion overtaking him, "If that's all, Agent Sims?"

Short and addressing her in title, Amanda knew she wasn't going to get any further with Angel tonight. She frowned but nodded in dismissal, "That is all, Mr. Collins. Go get some sleep. You did great tonight."

He deserved the clipped response but didn't have the energy to continue, so he nodded once and turned and walked out of the ER entrance into the early spring's chill air. He gave one quick glance back to see that Amanda had been called over to the doctors, and he moved with a quick pace to the van. Opening the driver's side door, he jumped in and closed the door with an angry slam. It was louder than he intended, and it came with a follow-up mumble from the darkness in the back of the van.

"Angel?"

Charlotte's soft, questioning voice had a calming effect on Angel, as well as making him feel regret for waking her up. "It's okay, Charlotte. We're done here."

"What now?"

"We need rest. I have a room booked a bit back the way we came. Go back to sleep until we get there."

She wanted to talk to Angel, but his tone sounded as tired as she felt, so she settled back into her makeshift nest as he started the engine and pulled away from the hospital. The white noise of the road lulled her off to sleep quickly. Up front, Angel drove into the night, his mind going over everything that had happened in the last few hours. Every time he reached an answer about something, two more questions took their place. His eyes glanced at the rear view mirror, worthless for its intended purpose—to see out the back of a van with no windows beyond the front—to look at the Charlotte fast asleep on the floor near the back. Was he making the right decision, letting her stay with him? And if she recovered her memories, who would she turn out to be? Was she a hero in the making, or the harbinger of death? Only time had the answer.