Title: Angels in Dark Suits (3/4)

Author: Hansome Alvin (hansomealvin@my-deja.com)

Rating: NC-17 for graphic sex, language and violence

Genre: Slash/Suspense

Fandom: Twin Peaks/Millennium/The X-Files crossover

Spoilers: Twin Peaks--whole show/The X-files--none/Millennium--through second season (kinda)

Summary: Private detective Audrey Horne, her old friend Donna Hayward, Special Agent Dana Scully and another mysterious woman probe a bizarre kidnapping case which leads them to dangerous situations, shady characters and personal revelations about themselves.

Archive: Sure, but ask for my permission first (contact: hansomealvin@my-deja.com).

Disclaimers: Characters from "Twin Peaks" are property of the Lynch/Frost company. Characters from "The X-Files" and "Millennium" are property of Ten-Thirteen Productions. I imply no ownership of these characters, nor do I profit from their use in this context. All original characters and the story are copyright 1999 by Hansome Alvin.

This story depicts graphic, consensual sexual situations between woman. If you are under eighteen, are offended by this material, or if this sort of thing is illegal where you live, do not read this story. Also, there are some elements that will be considered by some to be a bit extreme (nothing *really* offensive). Just a fair warning.

Angels in Dark Suits

by Hansome Alvin (hansomealvin@my-deja.com)

Part Three

Not knowing what to do, Means swerved the wheel of the car. The shot was deafening in the small vehicle and a sharp pain gripped her. She saw blood spatter on the windshield and was confused for a second. Where’d that come from? she thought. The pain reminded her that it was her blood. She looked down at herself and saw that she had been hit in the right shoulder. If she hadn't turned the wheel, she'd probably be dead.

"Bitch!" one of the Daley Sisters screamed. To Means, it was little more than a whisper. She could hardly hear anything. She felt the barrel of a gun press against her head, so she waved her hand wildly behind her, knocking it away.

"Fucking bitch!" Leona said, climbing into the front seat. Means swerved the car left, sending Leona into the side window.

"Uggghh," Leona muttered.

"Hon?" Darla asked, concerned.

Means seized the moment to unbuckle and throw her door open. She prepared her body for the impact.

"Shit!" Darla yelled. "Grab 'er!"

Leona lunged across the seat, but Means was already out of the car.

Audrey swerved her vehicle to the right, coming to a stop almost on top of Lara Means. She had seen the car swerving ahead of her and knew something was wrong, so she sped up, trying to see what the problem was.

Donna nearly jumped out of the vehicle and ran to Means.

The forensic psychologist already had her pistol out and fired a few rounds at the rapidly escaping car that held the Daley Sisters. It had wavered on the road when she jumped out, but it seemed to have regained control.

"Fuck," Means said as the pain in her shoulder asserted itself. She let her arm drop to the ground, she seemed to have no strength left in her. Donna held her in her arms as Audrey got out of the vehicle and came to their sides.

"It's them," Means managed get out.

"Shit," Audrey said, throwing her keys onto the pavement. "We had 'em!"

"Audrey," Donna said softly.

"We fucking had them!"

"Honey, we have to concentrate on her right now," Donna indicated the woman in her arms.

"Yeah," Audrey nodded. "Yeah."

Scully sped down the road where she knew her colleagues were headed. Her eyes were completely focused on the road ahead, never wavering. She hadn't noticed that she had broken three of her fingernails right to the quick when she unthinkingly banged them in the car door while closing it.

She silently prayed that Lara was all right.

"I can't go to a hospital!" Lara Means screamed as loud as she could.

"What is she screaming about?" Audrey asked, looking into the backseat.

Lara was laying across the seat, blood soaking into the upholstery. Donna had crafted a crude bandage out of her jacket and now the woman's head was in her lap. The writer was caressing the wounded woman's temples.

"Would you quit that?!" Lara said, pushing Donna's hands away.

Donna held her hands in the air, keeping them away from Means.

"She says that we can't take her to the hospital," she said.

"What?" Audrey asked, stunned.

"I can't go to a hospital!" Lara yelled.

"Why?" Audrey asked.

"I...I'm wanted," Lara said.

"Wanted?"

"There's a group who want me dead or in their custody." Lara could hardly get it out.

"You're delusional," Donna said.

"No I'm not! Just take me to my hotel! I'll be okay."

"You aren't in any condition--" Audrey began.

"Take me to my hotel or I'll jump out of this car," Lara said.

"Okay," Audrey said, returning her attention to the road.

Not finding her colleagues on the road, Scully took a leap of faith and started towards Lara's hotel.

When she got there, Donna and Audrey were helping Lara into her hotel room. Scully ran towards them.

"What happened?!" she asked.

"She was shot in the shoulder," Audrey said. "And she was pushed out of her car."

"I jumped out of the car," Lara said, her eyes half closed.

"Anyway, she wouldn't let us take her to a hospital."

"Good," Scully said.

"What?" Audrey asked.

"There's some group trying to catch her. In a hospital she’d be vulnerable."

"You mean she wasn't delusional?" Donna asked, puzzled.

The three women got Lara into her room and onto her bed where she promptly passed out.

"So, it's the Daley Sisters," Scully said while re-dressing Lara's wound.

"It appears so," Audrey said.

"So why do all the reports indicate the kidnapper was male?" Donna asked.

"Burke," Scully said.

"Slimy son of a bitch," Audrey said.

"So he's involved?" Donna asked.

"He has to be," Scully said. "That's the only explanation that fits."

"Well, we have to go after them," Donna said. "We have to stop them from hurting Gersten."

"I'm going to take care of Lara tonight," Scully said. "In the morning we'll deal with them. Gersten's probably at Burke's house."

"But they know that we're on to them," Audrey said. "They'll probably kill her first chance they get."

"No, I don't think so," Scully said, finishing Lara's new dressing and standing up. "The profile that Lara and I came up with for the killer, or killers, I suppose, has panned out. Whatever ritual they perform in the three weeks before they kill their victims is too

important. They won't deviate from it. That gives us three days. We'll get your sister back in the morning." Scully put a hand on Donna's shoulder as Audrey took her lover's hand in her own.

"You okay here with her?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, I'm a doctor. I can take care of her."

"All right. I'll meet you here tomorrow at eight."

"You mean, 'We'll meet you here at eight'," Donna said.

"No, it's too dangerous now. I'm sorry, but you can't come with us."

Donna shook her head and looked away from her lover.

"Everything will be fine," Audrey said as the two of them left the hotel room.

An hour later, Lara woke up.

She was sweating profusely, it was sweltering in her hotel room. She looked around. Her jacket had been put on the chair next to the bed and her wound was newly dressed. Her dress shirt was also on the chair and she was wearing only her pants and her bra and it was still hot. She heard the slight sounds of water swishing around in a bathtub. It was Scully, she was certain of it.

She slowly got up, weak pain shooting through her upper body, and walked towards the bathroom. The door was slightly open, but she wasn't going to enter without permission. She knocked.

"Scully? Dana?" she asked. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Dana said from the other side of the door.

Lara pushed the door open and walked in. Dana was fully immersed in a hot bath, washing the tension of the day away. The bath was so hot that Lara could see that Dana sweating. She tried to not look into the bathtub and caress the other woman's body with her eyes, but she couldn't help herself. She took a peek. Dana was strong and beautiful, with gorgeous breasts that complimented the curves of her hips which held a small patch of auburn hair between her legs.

"You're awake," Dana said, smiling.

"Yep," Lara said, turning her attention to Dana's eyes again.

"The bullet passed through your muscle, the bone wasn't damaged. Shouldn't take long to heal."

Lara nodded.

"Did Audrey fill you in?" she asked.

"Yes, she did. Tomorrow we're going to Burke's place and get Gersten back."

"Burke. Should have known. We're getting extra man power, aren't we?"

"Yes, *I'm* getting extra man power. You are staying in this hotel room."

"I can't do that."

"You're in pain, I can tell. You couldn't handle it."

"I'll deal."

"I...I don't want to see you hurt...again."

Lara had been looking at the floor for a bit and at this point, she looked up, connecting with Dana's eyes once more. She smiled as she spoke.

"Here's my thing: I have a connection with this case."

"Well, I understand that you feel obligated to continue with it since you--"

"That's not what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"I...I see angels."

Dana didn’t say anything. She just stared at this woman. She realized that Lara Means was an infinitely mysterious figure. A figure who writers could craft volumes of poetry and prose on. She really didn't know what to say to her.

"Do you suffer from--" she began.

"No," Lara interrupted. "I don't have the tumor. I've seen him for as long as I can remember. The angel, I mean." She paused. "Can I be straight with you? Can I trust you?"

"Yes."

"Over a year ago, I had a nervous breakdown. You see, I was made a full member of the group."

"The group that's trying to find you?"

"Yes. And I couldn't handle the revelations...or maybe they weren't revelations, I don't know. You can't trust the group, they're liars. Anyway, I went insane. There's no other way to put it. I stayed in that hospital bed, strapped to it, for months before regaining my senses. When I did, I spent another few months learning the pattern. The pattern of orderlies and nurses that came in and out, in and out. When they brought the food, when they brought the drugs. You see, I knew I had to get out of there. I knew that eventually, they'd realize that I was useless to them and get rid of me. So I learned the pattern. They would sometimes lead me around the complex. Walks, you see? They'd lead me around and bring me back to my room. I gradually learned the layout of the complex." Lara walked over to the toilet and sat down on it's closed lid. She was very close to an actively listening Dana.

"And I got out," she continued. "One day, they came in with the drugs, unstrapped me so I could sit up and drink them down...by this time they trusted me enough to sit up, I'd been acting like a drugged-out pile of waste this whole time. They unstrapped me and I let loose on them. Smashed the glass of water over the orderlies

head and kicked the nurse in the face. I ran through the complex, I knew exactly where to go, I knew where the exits were. And I got out." Lara got off the toilet and sat on the cold linoleum floor of the bathroom, her arm resting on lip of the bathtub. She kept eye contact with Dana as she continued.

"I spent another month collecting money. I had some stashed away in various banks and I withdrew it all. Not all at once, that would've been suspicious. So, I got my money and started spying on the group, learning more of their secrets. I wanted so much to visit Frank. He was a member of the group as well and a friend. But I couldn't do

that, because it would just draw suspicion on he and I. I didn't want to hurt him or his family. Anyway, I spied on the group and eventually was able to break into one of their warehouses and steal a number of files. That was only a few months ago."

Dana covered Lara's hand with her own. Water dripped onto the linoleum floor. Neither woman was aware of this. Lara was high on her own story, relieved that she could finally tell it to someone and Dana was transfixed. Transfixed by the story, yes, but also by Lara's gorgeous lips. They were full and luscious and Dana wanted to explore them with her own.

"I see angels, Dana," Lara continued, a tear falling from her right eye. "That's why the group wanted me as a member. That's why I can identify with these people. That's why I have to go with you tomorrow." She wiped away her tears. "So, don't worry about me. I can handle pain."

There was a blissful moment of silence between the two woman as Dana took in what Lara had said. The wounded woman wiped away another tear and Dana was struck with a profound feeling of love as she witnessed this simple act. She sat up in the tub, exposing her naked chest to Lara. She leaned over and took the woman's face in her hands and kissed her. Lara was completely resigned. She accepted Dana's kiss and returned it, increasing their passion. Lara wrapped her arms around Dana's glistening wet body as the two woman explored each other's mouths. Dana's hands found their way around Lara's body as well, finally reaching the woman's bra and unhooking it. She discarded it, throwing it into the sink. Lara stopped caressing Dana's body long enough to unzip and pull down her pants, taking her underwear with them. She pushed them away with her foot. The clothes rumpled into a corner of the small bathroom, there to stay for the time being.

Lara threw a leg over the lip of the tub and dipped into the water. Her nerves exploded with pleasure as the hot water massaged her skin. She got fully into the tub, lying on top of Dana, still kissing her.

Their kiss broke and the two women stared at each other. No words passed between them. None were needed. They communicated with their eyes, with their emotions, with their hands. Dana smiled and melted her lover's heart. Lara moved down Dana's body, tasting her flesh. Dana's mind ran with lovely thoughts and images.

They're rose petals, she thought. Lara's lips are rose petals.

Lara was suckling one of Dana's nipples as if trying to extract milk. Dana was somewhere high above. It was almost surreal. She had never been with a woman before. She had had feelings in the past for members of her own gender, but she had never acted on them. They were only fantasies. But this wasn't a daydream, it was real. She was

making love to another woman. Another woman was sucking on her breasts. She closed her eyes and let the passion wash her away.

Lara explored Dana's navel, circling it with her tongue and teasing the gooseflesh that broke out. Bringing her hands under Dana's buttocks, Lara lifted her thighs until the woman's lower half was out of the water. She kissed the patch of auburn hair between Dana's legs and then engulfed it with her whole mouth. Dana's jaw was loose and her eyes popped open to see the spectacle. She could only see the top half of Lara's face, the rest was hidden by her womanhood. Lara was keeping eye contact with Dana as she made love to her with her mouth.

Dana held eye contact as waves of pleasure rocked her body. It was coming on. She took Lara's head in her hands again and brought her lover up her body once more, kissing her. She could taste herself in Lara's mouth, an odd and pleasurable sensation. The kiss broke and Lara stood on all fours and let Dana swim under her and reverse her position. Dana's head was now between Lara's thighs, while Lara's head was between Dana's. Dana closed her eyes and tasted another woman for the first time. She loved the way her taste buds came alive as she took in the marvelous juices of Lara Means.

Lara went to work between Dana's thighs again, feeling invigorated by Dana's virgin mouth. The two of them rocked and swayed in the tub, large quantities of hot water splashing onto the floor. The hotel room was filled by the escalating noise of their lovemaking as they both got closer to their orgasms. Dana's head snapped back suddenly, half of it underwater as she climaxed. All her muscles tensed up and Lara held her, concentrating on the small bit of flesh at the top of her sweet valley. There was so much pleasure coursing through Dana’s body that she could hardly make a noise. Her mouth was open but only a high, weak wine was audible.

She relaxed. But she still had enough energy to make her lover climax as well. She buried her head between Lara's buttocks and her tongue danced in her lover's pink flesh. Lara's eyes were closed and she began to moan. It was a beautiful sound, a strong, tough sound that nevertheless was entirely female. Lara dipped her head under the water and brought it back up. Hot water rained down on the two lovers when she did so. Pain shot through Lara’s shoulder, but she ignored it, not wanting to ruin the experience. She came, her legs closing around Dana's head, shutting off her lover's sense of sound. Dana, being wrapped in Lara's flesh could feel the vibrations running through her lover's body.

I'm doing that, she thought. I'm making her feel this way.

Lara's breathing started to return to normal and the two woman sat up and embraced and kissed, their wet hair intertwining like their bodies.

They bathed each other and then retreated to Lara's bed, where, exhausted, they fell immediately asleep.

Light was intruding again. Gersten shielded her eyes as the door opened.

"The little heathen has friends, it seems, Burke," a distinctly female voice said.

"Well, they won't last long, will they, dear brother?" another female voice said.

Gersten's eyes started to adjust to the light and she saw three figures standing in the doorway. Three dark spectres invading that rectangle of light.

"No, they won't," the male, Burke, said.

"We'll make them pay," one of the females said, putting an arm around Burke.

"They'll suffer the wrath of the righteous," the other woman said. "How dare you call your heathen soldiers onto to us," she pointed at Gersten.

"Called? I--" Gersten began.

Burke was upon her before she could finish her sentence. His hand was across her face, bruising her right eye. Gersten screamed.

"Burke, dear," the woman on the right said, walking towards her brother, "we don't want to hurt her too much before the cleansing."

"But, she was talking back, she--" Burke said.

"It's all right," the woman interrupted. "She deserved it, I realize."

She hugged Burke. The man began to cry into her shoulder.

"Shhhh," his sister soothed. "Shh, shhh, shhh. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"No, she didn't, dear Burke," the other woman said, also approaching and hugging him. "It was this bitch."

She looked at a terror-stricken Gersten.

"I...I won't say anything to the pol--" she tried.

One of the sisters swept her leg out and kicked her in the face. Gersten fell to the floor, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

"Bitch," the woman said. "Babylon whore. You'll be cleansed in a few days. And that will be the end."

Gersten kept her face to the floor, trying to block them out, block everything out.

She didn't want to be in the world anymore if this was all that was left.

My angel, she thought. Where's my angel?

Audrey, Dana and Lara met Detective Bergman, his partner, Grey, and two uniforms at Burke Daley's residence at 9:00 am with a warrant to search the premises.

"Detective Bergman," Scully said, "this is Private Detective Audrey Horne, she was hired by Gersten's family."

Bergman shook hands and introduced his partner and the two uniforms, Reed and Flynn.

"And who's this?" Bergman asked, indicating Lara.

"This is...uh...Agent Diane Fowly," Dana said.

"What happened to the other agent you came with? Agent..."

"Mulder."

"Yes, Agent Mulder. What happened to him?"

"He...had other business to attend to."

"Oh. Well, let's get to it."

The seven of them approached the house. The uniforms had their guns drawn, for safety purposes. It was Dana that knocked on the door.

It was bad enough that I was left out, Donna thought, but why did I have to wait at the police station?

She looked around the small, relatively calm police station and sighed. I don't deserve this, she thought. It's *my* sister out there, in trouble. I should be on the front lines.

She looked over at the overweight detective who was "protecting" her. He was drinking coffee and messing around with his computer. Detective Price was his name, she remembered that.

"Got it," a detective called out at that moment.

"What?" asked Price.

The other detective got up from his desk and approached Price, a notepad in his hand.

"Burke Daley works at Shady Stream, it's a mental asylum," the detective said. "He's an orderly, been working there for years."

"Why didn't we know about it earlier?" Price asked.

"I didn't find it until I dug up his rap sheet."

"He's got priors?"

"No convictions. Nothing major, just some arrests for vandalism and breaking and entering. Anyway, found an alias. Sometimes calls himself Burke Lowenstein. He's working at the hospital under that name."

"Figure the guy woulda' changed his alias by now."

"Some crooks are stupid," the detective said, raising his arms in the air, as if to say, "What are you gonna' do?"

"Gotta' get ahold of Bergman, I guess," Price said, sounding like he didn't want to waste the energy.

Donna overheard all this and listened, interested.

"Nothing," Lara said, coming up from Burke's cellar. "How 'bout you?"

"Not a trace," Dana said, coming down from the upper lever at the same time. Audrey was lagging behind her.

"There's nothing here," Bergman said, emerging around a corner, followed by Grey, Reed, and Flynn. No one had answered their knocks, so they had to break in. They split up and checked out the whole place. Now, it looked as if they had nothing.

"Here's my thing," Lara said. "He must take them somewhere. Somewhere that he feels comfortable in."

"He doesn't feel comfortable in his home?" Bergman asked.

"His home is too obvious, too easy," Dana said.

"Right," Audrey broke in. "Somewhere else that he knows well, but isn't as obvious."

Bergman's radio crackled to life. The detective jumped a little.

"Detective Bergman," Price said through a wave of static.

"Yes," Bergman said, bringing the radio up.

"Burke goes by the alias Burke Lowenstein. He works under that name at Shady Stream, it's a mental hospital."

"That's it," Lara said.

Everyone in the room looked at her.

"That's where Gersten is," she continued.

"How could you hide a kidnapped woman in a hospital?" Grey asked.

"I don't know," Lara said. "But that's where she is."

"I don't see where you're drawing your conclusions from," Bergman said. "Explain to me."

"I don't know how to explain it," Lara said, becoming frustrated. "I just know."

All eyes still held her in their gaze. Dana was the first to turn her attention away from her new lover.

"She knows," she said to Bergman. "Where is this place?"

"Location, Price," Bergman said into the radio.

"416 W. Willow Ave," Price said.

"We're headin' out there," Bergman said. "Over and out."

He put the radio back on his belt while Dana gave him a small smile for his efforts. After a moment, Bergman smiled as well.

Donna crept out of the station while Price was getting more coffee. It was disturbingly easy, actually. No one was paying any attention to her and Price was gone, so she just got up out of her chair and quietly walked away. She had heard Lara's declaration that Gersten was at the mental hospital and believed her. She had to be there. She had to be there to help Gersten.

And Audrey. She had a feeling that Audrey was in serious danger.

"Here," Bergman said outside Burke's house, opening the trunk of his car and reaching in. He pulled out a bulletproof vest and handed it to Dana. "We're all going to where one of these."

He pulled out two more, for Lara and Audrey, who took them.

"We're also going to be in constant radio contact," he said while handing Grey a vest and putting his own on. Reed and Flynn were also suiting up, having grabbed vests from their own car. The women took off their jackets and put on their vests. They then presently put their jackets back on.

"Take these," Bergman said, handing Dana, Lara and Audrey portable headsets and matching radio transmitters.

"If you haven't used these before," he continued, "put the transmitter in your belt and connect the wire from the headset to the transmitter."

He demonstrated. It was unnecessary, the women were already putting the headsets on.

"Got it," Dana said.

"Check," Lara said.

"No problem," Audrey said.

"Then let's go," Bergman said.

Shady Stream stood on the edge of the desert, like a prison. Of course, there are many places of business on the edge of the desert in Phoenix, but this place was almost obscenely so. It stood like an idol, all angles and madness. Audrey thought that it must be disquieting for those people who came out of the desert and into the city. It would be one of the first buildings they would see.

It won't be that way for long, though, Audrey thought. If Phoenix kept expanding like it did, the city would pass right by it, making it just another institution in the sprawling metropolis.

They entered the hospital and were immediately greeted by a nurse at the front desk.

"Can I...help you?" she stammered, seeing that they were armed and carrying papers.

"We have reason to believe that one of your employees is involved in a criminal matter, ma'am," Bergman said to her.

"Criminal matter?" the nurse said, not understanding.

"Yes, a Mr. Burke Lowenstein," Grey said.

Lara thought for a moment. That name was familiar. Where did she know it from?

"Mr. Lowenstein is a wonderful man, kind to all the patients. He can't be involved in anything illegal."

"All the same, we would like to speak to him," Dana said. "Is he here?"

"Yes, he is. He should be cleaning the rooms right now."

"You wouldn't happen to have any strange visitors today, have you?" Lara asked. "Twin sisters, perhaps?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Had a feeling."

"They're relatives of Mrs. Kilpatrick, nobody's come to see her in years. But, just a few months ago, those two showed up."

"And Mrs. Kilpatrick confirmed that they were relatives?" Audrey asked.

"Mrs. Kilpatrick is a vegetable. I figured even if they weren't really relatives, it's nice of them to come and visit her. She's got nobody else."

"All right, Horne, Flynn and Grey, you look for the Daley Sisters," Bergman said. "Scully, Fowley and I will look for Burke. Reed, you stay here at the desk, make sure they don't get out of here."

"Will do, detective," Reed said.

"All right, report your progress every step of the way," Bergman said. "Break."

The six of them broke into two teams, Reed staying behind at the desk.

Donna hoped she could make it before something bad happened to Audrey, before something bad happened to all of them. The speedometer stated that she was going nearly ninety miles an hour.

She gave the rear-view mirror a quick glance, returned her attention to the road and then quickly back to the rear-view mirror. There was someone or something in her backseat. There was a bright light that seemed to be coming from her back window. It was too bright to be headlights, even a car's brights wouldn’t give off this much radiance.

No, it was coming *from* the backseat. Suddenly, there was a figure at the center of the light.

"My God," Donna said.

Gersten couldn't see her angel, but she knew he was with her. She started to cry tears of joy, knowing that there was hope. She wasn't seeing her angel, but someone was. Maybe her sister. Maybe that's how things worked. Maybe it was hereditary.

Gersten didn’t know, but she cried all the same, praying that she would be free soon.

Audrey held her head suddenly. There was a light throbbing in her forehead. Distant, but definitely there.

"Are you all right," Flynn asked her.

"Audrey, what happened?" Dana asked over the radio.

"I'm all right, it's nothing," Audrey said.

But that wasn't true, it *was* something. Something that Audrey couldn't explain. She knew that she was in danger, that all of them were in danger.

"Dana," she said over the radio, "Lar...Diane. Watch your back."

There was a moments' pause before Dana answered.

"Of course, Audrey," she said. "We'll be careful."

Dana covered her microphone for a moment after Audrey asked her to watch her back.

"What's wrong with her?" she quietly asked Lara.

Lara shrugged, as did Bergman. Dana uncovered her mike.

"Of course, Audrey," she said. "We'll be careful."

"Good," Audrey responded.

Dana looked through an open door for a moment and held Lara and Bergman back.

"What?" Lara asked.

"I found him," she said.

"Repeat," Grey asked over the radio.

"I found Burke," Dana said.

"Let's arrest him," Bergman said.

"No," Lara said.

"What?" Bergman asked, amazed.

"We have to let him lead us to Gersten," Lara said.

"Right," Bergman said. "Good plan."

"All right," Grey said. "You follow him and we'll continue looking for the Daley Sisters."

"Check," Bergman said.

The three of them retreated back into the hallway, stepping into a doorway. Burke was cleaning out one of the rooms and looked just about done. They waited for a few minutes, then they saw Burke peak his head around the corner. He gave the hallway a quick glance, seeing if there was anyone suspicious around. Dana, Lara and Bergman kept themselves pressed against their doorway. Burke, apparently satisfied, walked into the hallway and began walking down it. He was heading in the opposite direction of where the three agents were hiding.

They crept out of their hiding place and began to follow Burke, giving him a good lead.

It was Audrey who spotted the Daley Sister. She couldn't tell which sister it was, but there was only one of them. She was sitting next to a woman who lay in bed, a vegetable. So this must be Mrs. Kilpatrick, Audrey thought.

"Found one," Audrey said quietly. "What should we do?"

"Bergman," Grey said into the radio, "we have one of them, what should we do with her?"

"Take her into custody," Bergman said. "Burke will lead us to Gersten."

"Check," Grey said.

The three of them filed into the room and raised their pistols.

"Leona or Darla Daley?" Grey asked in a stern voice.

The Daley Sister looked up.

"Shit," she said.

"You're under arrest, stand up."

The Daley Sister did so.

"Put your hands up!" Grey demanded.

The Daley Sister began to do so.

Burke turned a corner and, in a moment, was followed by his three tails. He stopped at a door which had "Keep Out" stenciled on it. Burke pulled out a key and unlocked it, entering.

"Reed," Dana said over the radio, "ask the head nurse where the door labeled 'Keep Out' leads."

"Okay," Reed said.

Faintly, they could hear Reed talking to the head nurse before he addressed the radio again.

"It's the basement level," he said. "Old rooms, storage, things like that. She says it's been closed down for some time now."

"That's where Gersten is," Lara said.

"We're headed down there," Bergman said.

They waited a few moments, then approached the door. Bergman pulled out his police-issue lock pick-gun and had the door open in a few seconds.

There was a staircase behind the door, leading to pitch black below.

They all took a deep breath, almost a sigh, and headed down.

Audrey, Grey and Flynn paused in their arresting procedures while they listened to the other teams' progress. They now continued.

"Put your hands on your head," Grey said.

The Daley Sister did so, a wry grin on her face. Grey and Flynn silently communicated before the detective holstered his gun, pulled out his handcuffs and approached the woman.

Audrey didn't precisely see the woman move. One moment she had her hands on her head, the next she had grabbed Grey, spun him around and grabbed for his gun.

"Freeze!" Flynn yelled, his pistol thrust out in front of him.

Audrey shot a glance in his direction and saw that the cop was sweating heavily. The Daley Sister had Grey's gun out and up to his head before they could do anything. She was using the detective as a human shield.

"Back up," she said. "Back up!"

The second team stopped in their tracks as they heard this.

"Shit," Bergman said under his breath.

"Reed," Dana asked, "are you hearing this?"

"I'm on it," Reed said.

"Should one of us go up?" Dana asked.

Bergman hesitated. He didn't know what to do.

"I'll go up," Lara said.

Dana looked at her, communicating with her eyes. She put a hand out and held

Lara's for a moment. Bergman frowned as he saw this. Lara knew what Dana was

saying. If they didn’t see each other again, goodbye.

Lara broke contact and started back.

Donna pulled into the parking lot of Shady Stream and parked across three spots,

not caring what people thought. She jumped out of the car and ran towards the front

door.

"Back up!" the Daley Sister screamed, pressing the gun into Grey’s head so hard

that Audrey could see blood running down the detective’s cheek.

"Get out of the room! Into the hallway!"

Audrey and Flynn did so, backing out into the hallway, always keeping their guns

pointed at the demented woman. Audrey heard some people begin the scream. They

realized the situation at hand. There were people running through the halls now,

crowding the hallway. They kept bumping into Audrey, almost knocking her over.

"Get out of the way," Reed said, pushing through the crowd.

He ran right up next to Audrey and Flynn, also pointing his gun.

"You got nowhere to go," Audrey told the crazy woman.

The Daley Sister laughed.

"I have a detective," she said. "I can go anywhere I want."

She was in the hallway, but her escape route was blocked. Audrey, Flynn and

Reed were between her and the front door. The Daley Sister looked around her. She was

standing next to a doorway that led to another area of the hospital. If she had to bolt,

that's where she would go.

"All right," Audrey said, beginning to approach the woman with the hostage.

"You can't get out of this. Put down the gun and let Detective Grey go, and we won’t

hurt you."

"Grey," the Daley Sister mused. "That's your name, huh?"

Audrey was very close to the two of them now. The crowd was almost dissipated

and a lone figure ran down the hallway towards the hostage situation. Her face was

covered in sweat, her hair blew back behind her. Donna’s body wanted to give up,

wanted to rest, but she wouldn’t let it.

"I don't think you're gonna last long, Grey," the Daley Sister said to her hostage

and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

No one saw the hand emerge from the doorway next to the crazy woman with the

hostage. No one saw the hand with the gun, a female hand, a small-caliber revolver. It

was pointed directly at Audrey's head.

Donna didn't see it either, but she knew it was there.

"Audrey!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Whore," Dana and Bergman heard in the dark basement. The old, dank, rotting

hallways were filled with columns. Dark, bleak sentinels that seemed to absorb light.

There was only one source of this light, distant and faint and Dana was reminded of the

house. The nightmare house that held the body of Dan Freeman, eroded and stinking.

"You're a whore." It was Burke's voice, that was a sure thing. "You're the

whore of Babylon. You see angels. False angels. Why must you disgrace my sisters like

you do? They are the only people who are worthy of the gift. Not you. Not you!"

There was a smacking sound, presumably Burke had hit Gersten. There was a

womans' scream. A girls’ really. Dana and Bergman followed the sounds and the single,

dying light.

"When they come back," Burke continued. "My sisters, when they come back,

we're going to kill. Ritual style, like the others. We're going to cut off your hands, the

devices that pray to God. Because you don't deserve to pray to God. Going to cut out

your eyes, the objects that see the offending false angels. I'm telling you this because I

want you to understand why you're going to die. You see, my sisters are the seers. And I

am the vessel. I am the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. I am the

beginning...and the end."

Lara was headed up the stairs, but she could hear Burke speaking. His words

struck a cord.

"Millennium," she muttered under her breath.

The FBI agent and the detective rounded a corner and saw Burke and Gersten.

Gersten was on her knees, thin as a skeleton and pale as milk. She was Living Death.

Covered in bruises, she looked like she would pass out at any moment. Burke was

standing above her, looking down on her. The light was emanating from what looked

like a pair of movie lights. To one side, an old hospital cart stood, covered in weapons.

Behind Burke and Gersten was one of the abandoned rooms, an old-fashioned padded

cell. That must have been where they kept her. Most old padded rooms were

soundproof, Dana knew. The two of them raised their guns and were about to tell Burke

that he was under arrest, but at that moment a voice came screaming over the radio.

"Audrey!" the voice said.

And then the hospital was filled with the sounds of gunfire.

"Audrey!" Donna screamed.

Audrey didn't look over her shoulder at Donna, didn't even look around to see

where the danger was coming from. She knew. Donna had told. Somehow, Donna had

told her that she was in danger. Audrey dropped to the floor a split second before the

other Daley Sister shot the air where her head would have been.

The second, surprise-guest Daley Sister re-adjusted her aim and prepared to fire

again. Audrey rolled away from her as she pumped bullets into the ground, just missing

the private detective.

"Shoot!" Grey yelled.

Reed and Flynn opened fire on the second Daley Sister, still reluctant to shoot at

their superior officer. The second Daley Sister ducked into the doorway, beckoning her

sister to follow. The crazy woman still holding Grey in her arms pointed the gun away

from his head and at the two uniforms. She began to fire.

Flynn fell against the wall as he was hit in the shoulder. Reed started to fire at the

woman with the hostage finally. Audrey sat up and also started firing. Bullets riddled

Grey's central mass, he was an effective shield. The crazy woman kept firing.

Reed's head suddenly snapped back. He had been hit in the throat. He dropped

his gun and held his neck, dark blood spraying from the wound. He made a few

inarticulate gurgling sounds as he dropped to the floor.

The Daley Sister backed into the doorway, still firing at Audrey, who rolled and

jumped out of the way. Daley was all the way into the doorway and held Grey, still alive,

out in front of her. She pointed the gun at his head and put him out of his misery. Hair,

flesh, blood, bone and gray matter splashed onto the hospital floor as Grey fell forward

onto it.

Audrey ran towards Donna, who was slumped against one of the walls. She

stopped briefly next to Flynn.

"You gonna make it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Flynn said, gritting his teeth.

Audrey glanced down at Reed. His body was twitching slightly, but they were no

other signs of life in him. She ran to Donna and embraced her.

"How did you know?" Audrey asked.

"I knew," Donna responded.

"Are you all--"

"I'm fine. Now go get them."

Audrey nodded. She gave Donna a quick kiss and ran back down the hallway,

grabbing Flynn.

"Come on!" she yelled.

Flynn bit his lip and followed her.

Burke looked up as the sound of gunfire filled the hospital. He looked around and

saw Dana and Bergman.

"Fuck," he said and grabbed Gersten. He pulled one of his knives from off the

old hospital cart that was near the two of them.

"Don't come any closer!" he yelled, holding the knife to Gersten’s throat.

"You can't win this," Dana said. "Give up. Your sisters are delusional. They're

using you for their sick games."

"Fuck you," Burke said. "You don't...fuck you, you don't know them. They're

pure, they're devine. They see the way."

"Put down the knife!" Bergman screamed.

"They know how it has to be. This is the way it ends!" He gestured to Gersten

with his knife.

In frustration, Dana pulled off her headset. The gunshots were deafening in her

ears.

Darla and Leona Daley ran towards the stairway that led to the basement, their

domain. Darla began to chuckle to herself. Leona looked at her for a moment, then also

began to laugh. They turned a corner and were in sight of the stairway when they heard

someone speak. That voice froze them in their tracks.

"Freeze," Lara Means said.

She had ducked into a doorway hearing the sisters running through the corridors.

The two sisters turned around to face Lara. Their guns dangled at their sides. Lara's

weapon never wavered.

"Hey," Darla said.

"Look who came to play," Leona said.

Lara said nothing.

"It's the woman with the gorgeous lips, sis," Darla said.

"Ohh, they're not as gorgeous as yours, Darla," Leona said.

"Well, thank you!" Darla said. "I can't tell you how good that makes me feel.

You know--"

As Darla was speaking, Leona jumped to life, raising her gun and leveling it at

Lara. She meant to shoot. Lara, never changing the expression on her face, fired.

Leona's nose was blown off and the back of her head exploded outward, bathing

her sister in blood and brains.

"Nooooooo!!!" Darla screamed, firing her gun wildly. Lara ducked into the

doorway so as not to get shredded by the gunfire.

"Nooo God!!!! Not Leona! Not my sister! You fucking bitch! You fucking

whore!"

Audrey and Flynn rounded the corner and immediately jumped back into it.

Darla fired a few more rounds in the direction that Lara was hiding, tears flowing

from her eyes. She ran towards the stairway and escaped down into the basement.

Audrey and Flynn came back around. Audrey saw Lara and went to her as Flynn

fired at the door, which was closing behind Darla. He didn’t hit her.

Lara was holding her shoulder where she had been shot the night before. She had

banged it against the wall when she ducked into the doorway.

"Oh, Christ," she said, the pain coursing through her body.

"You need medical help?" Audrey asked.

Lara glared at her.

"Fuck no," she said. "Let's go."

The three of them started down into the basement.

Burke was slowly backing away from Dana and Bergman. He was carefully

stepping backwards, into a dark hallway. Only he knew where it led. Well, his sisters

knew where it went as well.

He knew how he was going to get out of this.

"Stop moving, you piece of shit!" Bergman screamed.

"If you shoot me, you'll only succeed in killing the angel-seeing whore," Burke

said.

"Look, we won't shoot you if you--" but Bergman's words were cut off.

A hand grabbed his face from behind and pulled his head back, exposing his neck.

Another hand brought a sleek, silver blade up and slashed his throat open. Then he was

kicked into Dana, knocking her to the floor. Blood saturated Dana as Bergman tried to

breathe. He was crushing her, flailing his arms about and grabbing at his neck. Dana

tried to breathe as well. She inhaled a mouthful of blood and began coughing violently.

She had to get him off before she suffocated.

Darla Daley emerged from behind one of the columns, a bloody knife in one

hand. She had her gun tucked into her belt and looked on as Dana slowly suffocated

from the dying man's two hundred pounds. She laughed and walked towards her brother.

Lara, Audrey and Flynn were with Dana in just a few seconds. They pulled the

now dead Bergman off her. Dana coughed up the blood that had ran down her throat and

into her lungs. Lara held her in her arms, caressing her.

"Gersten," Dana managed.

"Where?" Audrey asked.

Dana pointed.

Audrey looked.

"There's nothing there," she said.

Dana got to her feet with Lara's help. Flynn looked on, almost dazed from loss of

blood. He quickly tied a make-shift bandage around his arm and shoulder while the

woman sorted out what happened.

"Where did they go?" Dana asked, puzzled.

"They must have gone down that hallway," Lara said. "It's the only place they

could go. If they tried to go up the stairs, they would've ran into us."

"Let's go," Dana said.

They started down the hallway, Lara in the lead. Suddenly, they could hear

Gersten screaming. They sped up and stopped when the hallway turned to the right.

"All right," Lara said. "I'll go first, we have to be prepared for anything."

All of them nodded.

Lara exhaled and turned the corner. Dana was right behind her and saw the glint

of metal. Lara was looking forward down the hall, so she didn't see that flash of steel.

It was above her.

"Duck!" Dana yelled and pointed her gun skyward.

Lara dropped and Dana fired into the ceiling. For a moment, there was nothing.

Then there was a low moan and Burke dropped from the pipes and planks that covered

the ceiling. He had been hit three times in the chest and Dana could hear his lungs trying

to suck air from those new, bleeding holes.

A knife dropped out of his hand. He coughed up blood.

"You won't...get to her...in time," he said and smiled.

Then his eyes rolled up into his head and he was gone.

"And there are 141 days remaining," Lara said under her breath.

"What?" Dana asked.

"Nothing."

The four of them kept on going, stepping over the body. They ran down the

hallway to it's end, a set of double doors.

They pushed open the doors just as Darla Daley was lighting a match.

"One step closer and both of us die," she said, holding Gersten with one hand and

the match with the other. She held the burning stick high in the air, above both of their

heads. Dana, Lara, Audrey and Flynn could smell the gasoline right off. There were

empty metal cans lying all over the place. The incendiary liquid covered the floor,

making a circle around Darla and Gersten. They were in the middle of what looked like

an old operating room. Behind them was another set of double doors.

"No closer," Darla said. "That's right. Don't even think about coming any

closer."

She saw Lara.

"Oh," she continued, pointing the match at Lara. "It's the fucking bitch. You

killed my sister, you fucking devil-child. Maybe I should just drop the match anyway,

huh? I mean, there's no way I’m getting out of this. This woman is such a fucking

trigger-happy bitch, that she'll shoot me no matter what I do."

The four people at the double doors said nothing. What could they say? Darla

closed her eyes and raised the match above her head again.

"I am the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the beginning...." she

chanted.

And dropped the match.

"...and the end," she said as Gersten screamed and the match hit the ground and

the room lit up in a brilliant display of pyrotechnics. The four people at the door fell

backwards do to the blast and heat.

Gersten was still screaming and Audrey winced. The sound was heart-breaking.

This was the sister of the woman she loved. She wished someone would do something.

Suddenly, there was more light in the room. Not the light of flame, but of the

divine. Above the flames, a figure floated, visible to all four of them.

"My God," Audrey said.

"My angel," Lara said, fear and awe in her voice.

She stood up, paused for a second, then walked towards the flames.

"No," Dana called, but couldn't move. Some force seemed to be holding her

back.

The flames parted, as Lara walked into the burning circle, and made a path for

her. She walked calmly to the center where Gersten was collapsed on the ground, trying

to breathe. Lara extended her hand to the younger girl, who took it. The two woman

walked out of the circle and into the hallway.

The flames came back together and the angel disappeared as Lara collapsed to the

ground and Gersten fell into Audrey's arms. Dana held Lara on the ground and gradually

moved her away from the heat of the fire.

During all this, Flynn looked on, astounded, not knowing what to think.

To Be Continued...