Pursuit

"Yupmobiles," Rath said as he drove the BMW toward the parking lot's exit. "Gotta love 'em. “

The whine of the siren… or was it more than one?… grew steadily louder in Lo

"We'll do 'em ourselves. It'll just take a lot of energy. “

Lo

Almost. "You first," she said.

Rath nodded. As Lo

"How do I look?" Rath wanted to know.

She shrugged. "Like Patrick Stewart having a midlife crisis." Concentrating intensely, Lo

Rath drove on in silence, leaving the airport behind and taking an on-ramp for the northbound 405 freeway. Like Ava, the sirens were already becoming a distant memory. Their pursuers no longer knew where to look.

Rath glanced at her, evidently done pouting over her earlier insult. "Nice look, Counselor Troi. If the cops pull us over, they'll probably ask for our autographs. “

Lo

He shook his head. "I know Ava always had a lot of faith in Langley, but she believed in Santa Claus, too.

What's Langley done for us lately? I'm not sure I trust him any more than I trust Ava. “

"Good point," Lo

"Where else but Langley 's very own backyard? “

Lo

"I don't. But can I help it if our no-good, rat-bastard 'protector'"… he accentuated this word with Dr. Evil… style finger-quotes… "happens to live and work in the only place on the entire West Coast where the two of us can fit in without having to shapeshift? “

She gave him a blank look. " Disneyland? “

" Melrose Avenue! “

The BMW roared northward, drowning out Lo

Then a chilling thought suddenly descended upon her: If the FBI guys really had found Ava by tracking her powers, then what made Rath so certain that they couldn't also do the same thing with either of them? How do we know they're not doing it right now?

Max had to be more careful this time, since dawn was imminent, and the hospital was much busier than it had been only hours ago. He had watched through a window for ten minutes as a nurse did her rounds, before he finally felt comfortable enough to enter the building again.

He quickly made his way back to room 126, but when he got there, he was startled to find that Shania and her sister were gone. Instead, a bulky female nurse was changing the linens on the bed.

Nervously, he cleared his throat. "Excuse me. Where have they moved Shania to? “

The nurse looked at him for a moment, but kept most of her attention on the bedding. "She's made an amazing recovery in the middle of the night. They moved her upstairs, to Ward C. But they're doing some tests on her right now, so you can't see her. Besides, visiting hours haven't started yet. “

"Do you know where her sister is? Lisa? “

"Probably in the commissary. Or the smoking garden. “

Max thanked the nurse and quickly made his way toward the stairway. On the second floor he found a hospital map and located both the commissary and the smoking area.

As he approached the smoking area, he saw through the tall glass windows that the older Cameron sister was indeed there. She hadn't seen him yet, but as he opened the door, the pneumatics on it gave a slight hiss, and she turned.

"What are you doing back?" Her tone wasn't as hostile as before, though he could see the tension in her stance.

"How's Shania? “

"She's doing much better," the woman said, stubbing her cigarette out in a gravel-filled ashtray. "The doctors said it's a miracle she pulled out of the coma, and they can hardly believe how fast her other injuries are healing. The other woman in the wreck is also doing better. They're both out of danger. “

"That's good. “

"Shouldn't you be out of town by now?" Lisa eyed him warily. "You don't know that I didn't call the cops on you as soon as you left the room last time. “

"No, I don't," Max admitted. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a creased envelope. "But I'm hoping that you didn't. “

Lisa sat down on a bench and motioned for Max to do the same. "No, I didn't. Somehow, it didn't seem right. Since it looks like you healed her and all. At least that's what she says. “

Max sat down but said nothing.

"So, what are you, then?" Lisa asked. "Shania thinks you're an angel or something, but I don't think angels are quite go

Max sighed. "I can't really talk about it. Its not safe for me, and it wouldn't be safe forjyou, if you knew. “

She shot a peculiar look at him for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. So why are you back here, then? “

"Because, as you said earlier, this isn't over for you." Max held the envelope out toward her. "This should help with the bills. “

She took the envelope and looked quickly at the contents, then regarded Max with the peculiar look again. "This is a lot of money Is it stolen? “

Max shook his head.

"Drug money? “

"No," Max said. "It's completely safe for you to use. “

She nodded. "Hmmmm. So, you're some kind of rich angel who's ru

Max gri

Lisa stood and winked, a wobbly grin on her face. "Got that." Max started to open the door, but she moved forward. "Hey, I'm sorry to have been such a hard case on you before. Thanks for what you did earlier. And now"… she held out her hand… "if I shake your hand, my hand won't turn silver, will it? “

Max gri

Roswell, New Mexico The morning sun was still low in the sky, but Jeff Parker was already out in front of the Crashdown, cleaning the windows. Nancy Parker looked out at him and gri

Back then, Nancy would hold Liz in one arm and help cook or waitress with the other. This morning, her arms were unencumbered as she mixed pancake and waffle batter, and kept an eye on the scones to make sure they didn't overbake. Today she didn't know where Liz was, only that she was off with the rest of her friends. What did they call them? "The Bod Squad"? No, "The Pod Squad. “