"I know this is sorta creepy, Angie but I have to see for myself," Rollie said as he walked toward her with the finished product. Angie raised her eyebrows; her bottom lip twitched slightly but she took the mask from him and put it on her face. With the wig that had been cut to Eckvara's length of hair now placed over that, Angie cued Rollie.

"Okay, make me marvelous and exotic," she told Rollie, smiling.

He pressed the remote control and she felt a tightening against her face, like warming plastic wrap. She thought to herself, it must have driven Loubar nuts to be in this for any length of time.

"Oh!" Rollie said, softly under his breath.

"Yeah?" Angie asked and walked over to the mirror. What she saw was Eckvara. She turned around and faced Rollie as he studied her intensely. Seeing how amazed he was with her looks, she thought she would try the next step. She knew that Mira was planning something with this mask and no doubt, it involved her using it but Angie really wanted some payback with Czewt.

"You infidel. You can crawl on you knees and kiss my foot!" Angie said, trying an Eckvara Romanian accent. She pushed out one foot as Rollie looked at her astonished.

"Bloody hell, you talked just like her!" he remarked, astonished.

"But of course, would you like your fortune, Mr. Tyler?" she continued, and sauntered up to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Umm, I can't get over the way you look and feel," he said as he touched her cheek.

"Then, you should try the full effect!" she whispered to him lowly, and reached up and kissed him passionately.

He initially stiffened and she pulled back, "is this bothering you?" she asked, as she watched his eyes, seeing the strange look he had in them.

"No, just different. It's like kissing another woman. Like I'm cheating on my wife, you know," he told her, and then kissed her neck, marveling at the way there was no paste line, just warm vibrant flesh.

"I could see this mask doing a brisk business in the sex market!" she added, in her own voice as he straightened up and stepped away from her.

"Uh, yeah- " he said, scratching his head and she grinned.

"Take me back, back to that drab little housewife this instant!" she told him then, stamping her foot and still in her Eckvara accent.

He pushed the control and the face disappeared with only the plastic mask over Angie's face now showing. She removed it and the wig, "Whew, that is so weird!"

"Welcome back," he said, suddenly grabbing her. He kissed her as she dropped the mask and wig to the floor. Their lips roamed over each others' making her forget all about anything else. She kissed his chest, while he ran his hand up her back into the curve of her neck, then into her hair, grasping the tousled layers of it. Angie pushed him backward against the couch and as he sat down, he pulled her down with him. She sat on his lap, facing him and he told her, not as a whisper in her ear, but very audibly, how much he wanted her. Clothing slowly disappeared as their embraces grew more fervent and he shuddered at the way she moved her hips over him. He uttered her name in expressed need and love as he lost himself to her as she flipped her head back and cried out holding on to his shoulders, her fingers digging into his skin. He kissed her exposed neck, smiling and then gripped her tightly back against him. Some time later, she opened eyes to see him looking down at her.

"I missed you, I guess…" she said, softly and grinned as he laughed.

"I would say so," he replied then, rubbing his shoulders and then took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, "and fully recovered from your ordeal."

"I guess we should get going and get that mask down to Mira," Angie told him, as he moved her hair from her eyes with his fingers, "and I'm hungry." She moved off of him quickly then and he groaned.

She was scurrying around, grabbing her clothes and his, and he watched her, smiling. Women were such curious creatures, he thought to himself; he just wanted to go to sleep.

"Oh no you don't, we got things to do!" she warned him as she threw his shirt over his face, seeing his eyes fluttering.

"Yeah," he murmured and slowly moved and followed her upstairs.

"By the way," he told her redressing and combing his hair, "I was watching your little yellow rose wiggling as you went up the stairs."

"WHAT?" she turned around in panic, trying to see her backside in the mirror.

"Am I getting too flabby or what?" she asked him, her face serious with concern.

"No," he chuckled, smacking her rump, "I was admiring as usual."

She pouted and then he ducked, having regained his energy as he bounded down the stairs away from her flying punch.

***************************************************************

"Well, you two look all happy and rested!" Francis remarked, down at the precinct as Angie and Rollie came in.

"Been working all afternoon on this," Rollie said, holding the Eckvara mask in hand and wig.

"Aha…Angie, you feeling better?" Mira asked, coming into the conference room, not believing Rollie. She remembered those days, early in her marriage and shook her head, biting her tongue.

"I'm ready to get Czewt, if that's what you mean!" Angie told Mira, with a determined look to her face.

"I took your advice, you guys and went to see Baiel. He's not talking to me. I guess the fraternal order of spooks has put a clamp on him," Mira told them, her voice full of sarcasm.

"Mira, let me try," Angie asked, touching Mira's arm as she stared down at the mask.

"What? Talk to Baiel? Be my guest!"

"And there is something else," Angie added, biting her lip slightly, "I don't know what you exactly have in mind with this mask but I want to be there as Eckvara for Czewt. I figure you're going to spook him in someway, am I right?"

"Oh no! Rollie got all over me while you were missing and said that this was it, no more help and he meant it. I agreed with him. Angie, I know you think you need this revenge but…" Mira was off in a tirade as Rollie sat down, a hand resting on chin as Francis silently sipped his coffee.

"Can it Mira! I can do this!" Angie said, forcefully. Her eyes meet Mira's and Mira put her hands up in the air, looking to Rollie.

"Hey, I tried, but she's her own boss. And, she does a great Eckvara!" he commented, smiling back at Angie.

"But am I right? No more Tyler F/X after this, isn't that what you said?," Mira reminded him.

"Rollie, you've never been able to keep that promise," Angie also reminded him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but a promised a few people up there," he said, pointing to above him, "and you did come back to me safely."

"Right now, I want Czewt. I want Mira to get him, not Michael. I want this man behind a iron door and out of the drug business," Angie told him.

"Well, my dear," Rollie told Angie; "We should go to Baiel then and visit. Mira, we will let you know what we find out. By the way, I thought I saw Michael outside in a parked car."

"What?" Mira asked, looking out the window. Francis smiled, and waved at Rollie and Angie as they walked out, Angie grabbing the Eckavara mask and wig. She was smiling triumphantly as they got into the van.

"Got your way, didn't you?" Rollie said to her, pulling the van out into traffic.

"Don't I always?" she replied.

***************************************************************

Baiel was upgraded from critical to guarded at the hospital. Angie and Rollie walked into his room, knowing that there could be some of Michael's men anywhere. The young man's face lit up when he saw Angie. She came over and hugged him softly, mindful of the IV's and his chest dressings.

"I am glad that you made it," he said, hoarsely as Rollie came up and sat beside Angie in a chair.

"I can't begin to thank you!" she replied, gushing as she touched his hand.

He shuddered, closing his eyes as she felt the warm flow enter her body from her fingertips.

"Oh!" she said, as Rollie frowned. She then put her hand to her chest as if in surprise.

Baiel opened his eyes; "Sorry, I can't really control my energy right now. It is doing all sorts of strange things."

"What's that?" Rollie asked, confused as Angie blinked, and smiled at Rollie.

"He's got some loose current, you know, psychic energy that he can't control right now," Angie said, very matter- of- fact, as if she were explaining an electrical problem. She looked back at Baiel.

Baiel grinned, "Good, you can feel it. I was worried that you would be frightened by it. Most people are…"

"So, tell me Baiel, you were recruited because of your gift as was Eckvara?" Angie asked, as Rollie just listened, fascinated that Angie knew so much without having known this man for more than twenty-four hours.

"Yes, we had been undercover for over two years. Eckvara was the one that Czewt doted on so. She had such focus, such power. She was able to block him successfully with a mere thought. I was always wavering. He is incredibly strong!"

"Was that the sound I heard, the locusts?" Angie asked, twitching her fingers near her ears.

"I guess to someone with some natural gifts of your own, it would sound like that. To Czewt, it was nothing. He would sense only her contentment."

"What are you two talking about? Are you saying that Michael recruited you two because of your psychic abilities, and being able to block Czewt from knowing what you were really thinking?" Rollie asked, lost.

"Yep, he recruited me at a small college near Toronto. Besides the fact that my mother was a gypsy from Romania and I looked the part, I did possess that rare quality he was looking for…" Baiel answered, his voice starting to break up.

"And Eckvara?" Angie asked, wondering how he felt that she was dead now. He must have had some feelings for her. They had been posing as man and wife to Czewt for over two years.

Baiel had a remote look in his eyes and Angie clearly saw his eyes change as they had done while she was held captive in the sieving shed at the orchard. Rollie must have noticed it too, for she heard his quick intake of air.

"She was special. Michael said that they found her in Romania. She was a gifted psychic, working out of labor camps. She had led a rather horrid life there, as you can well imagine for that time. Neither side over there were particularly tolerant of gypsies. She was all too eager to come to America. They trained her as they did me. We did our job."

Angie looked down at her hands in her lap. Rollie felt uncomfortable, remembering the dead woman's twisted body in front of the plaza.

"Tell me, she did not suffer, did she?" Baiel asked, his eyes watery as his chest started to rise and fall in jagged, hurting inspirations.

Angie stood up, wanting to do something as he cringed in pain, but he suddenly regained control.

"It's alright, I have it under control now," he told her, as she returned to her seat. Rollie grabbed her hand as it resting on the arm of her chair.

"She was under the influence of toxic hashish poisoning. She jumped out of a window at the Plaza hotel," Rollie told him, point blank.

"Czewt! He must have felt some sort of loss of her control, was able to read her mind or something," Baiel said, turning his head to the side of his pillow.

"Why was Czewt toying with us, first at the Expo and then later, when he put the hashish resin on the apples at our loft?" Angie asked him, still not understanding Czewt.

"I imagine, he suspected something right away," Baiel said, nodding at Rollie, "I can read Mr. Tyler right now. He has no defenses and even though he thinks himself a clever disguiser on the outside, his mind is an 'open book'.

Rollie's face went ashen and Angie knew that his ego was somewhat crushed by Baiel's assessment.

"But you- you have some 'Boresqk', " Baiel said, smiling, "Did he have you cut with the Dalmacek?"

"He had Eckvara cut me with a knife, yes!" Angie said, and added, "What's Bore-isk?"

"Psychic energy, it glows around you. He was probably impressed. He likes a challenge. He put absinthe in you, didn't he? He probably wanted to see how you would react to that in relation to your energy. One of his little tests, you see," Baiel told her, then groaned as Angie touched his arm and he suddenly grasped her hand.

"Sorry," he said, apologizing, "the pain, it's like shooting pain traveling across my chest!"

"Should we go?" Angie asked him, as Rollie just sat in his chair, amazed at their conversation. The man's revelations about Angie were something that Mangela had told him once in a dreaming…that he would be one with a woman of power beyond dreaming. He had laughed at him then but he was confused. Angie had never acted like anything but Angie. She didn't predict the future or do fortunes. She scoffed at the stuff and laughed at it when they did special effects in movies about it.

"No! You must tell me, you are planning to go after Czewt?" he asked them, catching his breath and then relaxing.

"We are!" Rollie told him, adamantly.

"You need to know where he might be?" Baiel asked, then smiled for he had known all along that the reason for their visit was for that knowledge.

"Yes," Angie said, without hesitation.

"Michael and the others will not be pleased…" Baiel warned and then looked straight into Rollie's eyes, "but I can see and hear you. You must be careful. He is a very powerful man. He almost killed your wife. I know you want justice. You feel that if Michael gets to him, this would not occur?"

"Yes!" Rollie replied, in disdain.

"Probably true," Baiel responded, looking at Rollie and then said, "you will be read by Czewt easily. This has already occurred, true?"

"Yes, he was quite perceptive of me at the Expo," Rollie acknowledged.

"You must use Angie then, she will be able to draw him out momentarily and then, you must use your police force at that point," Baiel told them both.

"Baiel, can I show you something?" Angie asked, knowing that they were tiring him out.

He nodded and she got up, momentarily touching Rollie on the shoulder as she walked out into the hall. She went down to the van and put on the mask. As she returned as Eckvara through the door, she could see that Rollie and Baiel had been talking about something serious. Rollie looked up, his mouth opening slightly as she walked in. Baiel had not yet seen her.

"Baiel?" she said, using Eckvara's accent and intonation. She tried blocking her mind as he saw her, thinking of snow, white and powdery, cold and icy… white and powdery, cold and icy…

Baiel was stunned. He gasped, as Rollie stood up, not knowing what to do and Angie came closer still trying to image only snow in her mind.

"Eckvara? No! But how?" he cried out.

Angie lost her concentration, hearing him gasp. She clicked the remote and instantly, the mask was gone, save the clear one that she took from her face. She pulled the wig off and looked down at her feet for a second. She felt ashamed somewhat, scaring him.

"I'm sorry, Baiel. I had to know! If I could at least make you think it was Eckvara, if only for a few seconds, then- maybe there IS a chance with Czewt."

"Oh, you have convinced me!" he said, breathing deeply and then smiled as she sat back down beside the bed.

"I can see that you and Rollie are good at what you do!" and he smiled, "and then, you did well with your concentration. Only at the end, you 'melted'."

"It's got to be enough," Angie replied, "now, please- Baiel. Where would Czewt be right now?"

"I would say, he would be at his other farm, the one up near Buffalo. I believe it is called Medea Orchards. The orchard itself is really a front, owned by the same man, Simon Aeetes, and I had never been in contract with Michael about this place either. We were all moved to the Colchis location three weeks ago and I was watched as was everyone else. It was Eckvara who was the contact for Michael," he told them, his eyes fluttering as his strength was completely gone at this point.

Rollie smiled. Angie smiled as well and Baiel took her hand in his, "Be careful. He almost killed you. You cannot began to underestimate his abilities."

"I will be careful and as I said before, thank you so much for what you did for me!" Angie told him, smiling.

Rollie shook his hand and they left together as Baiel gave them a silent prayer for success. He was as marked by Czewt as them, probably worse. He had worked with the man for over two years and been his confidant.

He had also been shocked by Angie as Eckvara. What Michael and his group or anyone else would never know is that his grief was immeasurable over her death. He let it out only then, alone in his hospital bed; allowing himself that release.