She is being taken care of.

I understand. Relevant PM to follow.

Lets just keep our fingers crossed for Nem and Hannah.

BTW - its cold riding a bike in DC.

Well, I suppose I should post the second half of my conversation with Hannah from earlier this week.

Hannah's reaction was not exactly what I had been expecting.

"Boy, you must really think I'm dumb then . . . couldn't guess you were a girl. I also hung around a monster for 2 years without knowing it . . . " There were a lot of emotions warring on Hannah’s otherwise pretty face, clouding it over.

It was far from the response that I was expecting. But I decided to be patient with the kid. She’d been through a lot recently. Still, I couldn’t help but frown slightly as I said, "don't beat yourself up kiddo. There's plenty in the world lining up to do that for ya. Look, I've been fooling everyone on the boards for like a year and a half now. I've been fooling my enemies even longer." I paused for a moment as things start to click into place. "You think Peter is a monster? Because he turned into a giant cat and..." Again I paused. I was going to finish that sentence with, “. . . and saved your life.” But it I wasn’t sure where she was with this or where she was going quite yet.

"Well, what would you call someone who turns into a giant cat and leaps up the side of ten story buildings?” Apparently she really wanted to have this argument. "I don't mean it as a slam of him at all . . . but it is what he is."

"I'd call him the reason I was able to get to you. A young boy who tackled a nightmare to save someone he clearly cared about." I shrugged. "I'm still new to this monster hunting thing. I don't always get the labels right." I wasn’t as keen on having this argument. Perhaps because I haven’t decided what side of it I’m truly on yet.

"But how could I have missed it . . . we spent so much time together and I always saw how strong and fast and agile he was. I should have twigged." This clarified quite a bit for me. It no longer seemed as though it was really the whole monster issue that was upsetting her. Just a symptom of something else. This was a teenaged girl who was feeling a little betrayed by a boy she liked. Or so I assumed at the time.

"Why? If he was born the way he was... lived his whole life like that? I'll tell you what, Hannah. You could have lived next door to my Da and I and you would never known that he was a murderer for hire and I was his accomplice. You live a life of deception among people who will end you if they find out what you are... you get good at it or perish." I know this to be true. I fooled many girls over the years who thought I was their friend. Even the ones I liked, I could never let get close.

"But you are still human - he fooled me about what species he was." Are all teenaged girls this stubborn?

Don’t answer that.

"Nature... or is that super-nature? In either case, it was built into what... who he was. It was not a personal deception aimed at you. It was like a chameleon, blending into the environment. In the end, he removed the veil for you." I hoped the words would comfort her somewhat. I may have been less than convincing as I can’t say I fully trust this… person that I have never met.

"I'm not blaming him. I'm the idiot who didn't figure it out." She certainly seems to take on blame. I wonder how healthy that is?

I wasn’t having much luck trying to make her feel better so I sighed. "Trust me on this kiddo. People see what they expect to see. It doesn't make them idiots. It makes them human. It's something I take advantage of everyday. And I'm going to start teaching you to as well. Then maybe you'll understand a little better."

"Teaching me . .. this isn't some kind of apprenticeship thing we're starting here, is it?" An. . . interesting idea.

"No." I shook my head. "Your dad would shoot me in the face. I'm not here to teach you to murder. I'm here to teach you to survive."

"He wouldn't . . . he prefers centre mass. Higher odds of a hit."

Hannah’s frank honesty made me laugh. "It's true. When I... you know what, you don't need to hear about that right now." I looked around. "Let's get back to the car for now. I want to get out of the city. And we still have to meet up with Sebastian and Mack..." I stoped. "Actually Hannah, what do you want to do? Meet the others? Try and find Peter? Find Wie? High tail it to Mexico? Find your dad? What?"

“I'm not sure. Boston isn't safe . . . I think that as soon as I was gone the nightmare wouldn't be interested in Peter - it doesn't really know him. I've been trying to message KT and Willie in Chicago, but neither of them have responded and it's been almost three weeks - so I don't think they can help us.”

Having discounted those possibilities, she continued.

"I'd love to find my dad but that's going to be really hard, and I think he wouldn't want us to do that.

"He'd also want us to stay away from Cypress on principle, but more so now with what's happening there"

I just nodded along, letting Hannah talk it out with herself.

"One of the reasons dad had me shuffled around so much is because the nightmare knows my mind better than anyone - so I might not be the best one to make this choice - I might take us to where it expects us to go.

This time her frank honesty made me bite my lower lip. "We're neither of us to be trusted." The dilemma forced me to think. "The last thing I would do right now would be to stay in Boston. But it really is too dangerous to stay. New York isn't that far, really. And with a large population, it will be easy to blend in... which is my normal thinking." I arched a brow up as another alternative occurred to me. I shared it with her.

"It wouldn't expect that. I think" Apparently there was room for cautious optimism.

"And since I really want to be someplace warm right now, with beaches, it isn't my normal behaviour" Taking Hannah by the hand, I led her back to the car. I talked as I walked.

Almost absently I commented, "It's really too bad we can't hide you with that Oak King fellow. I'm sure he could protect you from this nightmare."

"I can't stay there . . . I might have to eat, and if I eat, I can't leave.”

I think she seemed almost wistful.

"It's a wonderful place and all but it's not home." Home. What is a home, anyway? Is it a place or is it people?

"I wouldn't know. I haven't had a home in four years. It's one hotel after another. Even before that, Da and I were constantly moving when I was growing up."

"Why do I feel like that's where I'm headed?"

Her simple and honest comment was like a slap in my face. Not because I was insulted but because of the irony. "That's not what I want for you kiddo. Really, it isn't. It's just the best I can do until we figure out a way to deal with this once and for all. Hell, the whole reason I got involved was to try and stop any chance of you turning out like me."

"Well at least everything chasing you was mortal." She pulled something shiny out of her pocket and looked at it for a while.

"Is mortal." I corrected. "Is that the charm that Edgar gave you?"

"Yeah, I don't know if it's supposed to be a wheel or a sun or a what." She was staring quite intently at it.

That provoked my curiosity. "May I see it?"

"Yeah." She handed it over.

She'd examine it before returning it. "It's not anything I've ever seen before. I'd bet Dr. Boggs could tell us though. Here's the car, wanna drive?" In case you haven’t noticed, I have a truly perverse sense of humour.

"Really?" There was a small note of hope in her voice.

"Do you think you could manage 800 horse power, over 500 foot pounds of torque and a six-speed racing manual transmission?"

"No, but we'd wind up good looking corpses." Apparently I am not the only person who is perverse in their humour.

"Let's make our enemies work for that, shall we?" I got into the drivers seat, "But in an emergency, you might have to drive so pay attention to what I'm doing. Ask questions. When I was your age, I was learning to be my Da's get away driver. You'll pick it up quick, I'm sure."

And then we were on the road to an uncertain future.

I will confer.

But it may be better to persuade others to investigate.

I owe Kon Thaak for not merely my life, but something far more important - if he is in need I shall go to him if possible.

I have no extra-ordinary form of transport, perhaps you can direct me to him from the big mountains that make the spine of this land?