I've come to realize, during the course of my adult life, that home isn't necessarily the place where you were born, or where you lived as you were growing up. It isn't necessarily the place you settle down into after you've gotten married and think to raise a family. It isn't necessarily the place where you go when you become old, a place where the bright sun leeches the pain from your bones and joints.

No, home is, like it says in countless needlepoint masterworks hanging above countless kitchen sinks, truly where the heart is.

A prison cell. A lakeside cabin. A sprawling ranch. A Mexican hovel. A borrowed Jeep traveling miles from nowhere to nowhere.

My heart was in each and every one of these places far more than it ever was in the house I shared with my parents.

Pretty simple mathematics when you get down to it, really. My home is wherever Ice is. She has my heart, and therefore, she is my home. Think of it as Angel's Theorem, if you like.

In any event, as the afternoon wore on, my 'home' decided that it was time to take another bathroom break, for which my kidneys swore their eternal devotion.

I went first, then switched off with Ice, who handed me her gun to use on Cavallo, if needed. I handed it right back to her as if it were a poisonous snake ready to bite my hand off. She handed it back, pretty as you please. "I'm not buying his good little boy act," she whispered, lips brushing close to my ear. "Just do me this favor and keep it on you. I'll take it off your hands in two minutes."

"Oh, alright," I sighed, though as soon as she left, I dropped it on her seat and covered it with an overshirt she'd donned that morning.

A bare second later, I heard the sounds of chains jangling, and the jeep began to rock slightly on its springs as a result of the force Cavallo was using to try and yank himself free from his metal bonds. The interior rang loudly with the noise of his curses.

"Stop it!" I shouted above the din. "You're only going to hurt yourself!"

"I'm gonna hurt you and that fucking bulldyke lover of yours a lot more once I get free," he snarled, though with his still-swollen jaw, it came out as more of a mumble than a clearly voiced threat.

"I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon," I replied.

"Fuck you!"

"No thanks. You're not my type."

Not the smartest thing in the world to say, I'll agree, but I couldn't seem to help myself. The opening was just too wide not to go on and step through.

He bellowed again, and the jeep shook even more violently as a result of his redoubled efforts to break free. "Why are you doing this to me?!? Why the fuck are you doing this to me!?!" After a long moment, he half sobbed in frustration, and gave up his attempts at escape. Sitting up as much as he was able, he peered over the back seat and pinned me with his angry gaze. "Tell me. I have a right to know."

I shook my head very slowly. "You lost that right the day you set Ice up for a murder you committed, you bastard."

He laughed bitterly. "Screw you, blondie. That was all just part of the game. That bitch Steele knew it. If she wasn't so fucking stupid, she'd have realized she was taking the fall."

"She wasn't stupid."

"Yeah? Then why'd she wind up in jail, huh?" His jaw thrust out in challenge.

"Guess that makes you just as stupid, now, doesn't it."

His eyes widened and his face purpled. "Fuck no. You ain't takin' me to the cops, are ya? That's fuckin' nuts!!! Do you know what they'll do to me??"

I might have cared. Once. Now, I only shrugged with studied nonchalance.

"You can't do that to me! You might as well just shoot me now, then! I'm fucking dead! Dead!!!"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you shot my lover, hmm? Or before you sent that goon squad of yours after her in Canada?"

"Come on! I fuckin told ya! It's just part of the game!"

I felt my eyes narrow. "It's not a game to me, Mr. Cavallo. Not at all."

He tried to grin, but the expression looked quite macabre on his swollen and bruised face. "Maybe you should stop playin' with the big dogs then, huh?"

"I'm not the one chained to the doghouse, Mr. Cavallo."

"Fuck you, bitch. Fuck. You."

"Interesting command of the English language you have there. Here's a little tip for you, though. Since I've got the key and the gun, you might try lightening up a little on the expletives. They're not winning you very many points."

For a long moment, I thought sure that his head was quite simply going to pop off his neck like a rocket. Then, as if an interior steam valve had suddenly opened, he relaxed against his bonds as the redness drained from his face. "Listen. Whatever they're offering you, I'll double it. Triple it, even. I got money, lots of it."

"All the money in the world wouldn't make me let you go."

"What then? You don't want no one sniffin' up your ass no more? Fine. I can do that. I know people. Lots of people. In high places. They'll make it so no-one's ever heard of ya. You'll be free and clear. Just like that. You want a nice house? A nice car? Jewelry? Gals like jewelry. Whatever you want, name it. It's yours."

"I don't think so."

"Goddamnit, woman! I'm offering you shit on a platter here!!"

"That's exactly what you're offering me, Mr. Cavallo. Shit. No matter how nice and gussied up it is, it's still shit. And it stinks."

Once again, his face reddened in anger, but just as quickly, the color drained from it. "Listen, lady, just tell me what you want. Anything you want, anything at all, name it and it's yours. Just let me go, huh?"

It had been a very long time, if ever, that I'd seen a grown man about to cry. Where I once might have felt pity, all I could feel was a faint sense of revulsion which curled the corners of my lips downward.

Fortunately, I was spared from having to answer him by Ice opening the rear door and climbing inside. Cavallo turned and fought her with everything he was worth, but really, what chance did he have against her?

To her credit, Ice was almost gentle with him, and before even two minutes had passed, he was once again slumbering peacefully, all desire to escape drained out with the drug she'd given him.

"Well, that was fun," she casually remarked as she slid once again into the driver's seat.

"You don't know the half of it," I replied, handing her back her gun. "You know, I stood the chance of becoming a very rich woman in return for just a tiny, little favor."

"Ya did, huh?"

I couldn't hide my grin. "Yup. With all the stuff he was offering up I could have been a queen."

"What stopped ya?"

"I didn't have the heart to tell him I already was one."

Grinning at me, she shook her head and started up the jeep.

"Drive on, footman," I ordered, with an imperious wave of my hand. "My public awaits."

Receiving a gentle pinch to my royal cheek (one of the ones on my face), I burst into laughter as we drove away.

As afternoon bled into evening with the setting of the sun, the cell phone rang, startling me out of the comfortable half-doze I'd fallen into. For two full rings, I stared at it as if a viper had come to life in my lap, before finally picking it up and answering. "Hello?"

"Angel, thank goodness. Where are you?" Donita's voice sounded tinny and far away.

I gulped, caught between extreme relief and niggling unease. "Donita!" I said, cutting me eyes over to Ice, who gestured with her hand toward a small, nearly deserted strip mall.

Nodding, I returned my attention to the phone. "Are you alright? We've been trying to get a hold of you for the past four days! What happened?"

"Long story," Donita replied. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, we're fine."

"That's good to hear." She paused a moment. "Remember how I just asked you where you were? On second thought, don't tell me. It's probably better right now if I don't know."

The unease in my gut grew. "Donita, what's going on?"

A longer pause.

"Are you somewhere you can speak freely?"

I looked over at Ice, and though she couldn't hear the conversation, she divined the meaning of my look, and nodded. I paused myself as I watched her drive us through the strip mall until she came to the end, which housed a rather large 24-hour supermarket which was quite crowded. Finding a spot near the middle between two smaller cars, she pulled in and parked, then eased herself back in the seat and looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah," I said finally to Donita. "We can talk."

"Alright." She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. The line went to static for a moment, then cleared. "The reason why you haven't been able to contact me was that I was given three days tax free housing courtesy of a couple of very large, very intimidating FBI agents."

I went very still for a moment as my mind attempted to process what she had just told me. "Are you trying to tell me that you've just spent the past three days in jail??" From the periphery of my vision, I could see my lover's jaw tighten.

"Got it in one, Angel."

"But how...why...who?!?"

"Like I said, it was the FBI. They paid me a little visit and tried to talk me into telling them where you were."

"But...you didn't know!"

"That's what I tried to tell them. They didn't like that answer. The one about attorney-client privilege went over real well, lemme tell ya."

My head whirled in confusion. "I...don't understand. Could you start from the beginning, please?"

Donita laughed slightly. I could picture her holding up one beautifully manicured hand. "Alright. I know I kind of caught you unaware here." She cleared her throat briefly, then began speaking. "It's like this. Someone somewhere's found out that Cavallo has gone missing."

"But how is that linked to us? I mean, you told us this plea agreement was made under the strictest secrecy. How could anyone outside of that meeting room know about it?"

"That's the part I haven't been able to figure out yet. The FBI guys weren't spilling any information. They just wanted mine. Which I didn't have."

"Damn." As I sighed, I felt a warm hand reach out and grasp mine. Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn't help but smile. Ice looked back, her face shadowed, but her eyes full of concern. Not for what I was being told, but for how I was handling it. I gave her a nod to show her I was ok, but she held onto my hand just the same. I laced our fingers so she wouldn't be pulling away anytime soon. "Ok," I said after digesting her words, "what else?"

"Well, when I wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know, not being blessed with superhuman abilities, they threw an 'obstruction of justice' charge at me and tossed me in the pokey to cool my heels Couldn't make it stick, though, since they don't have any proof at all that my clients, and that would be you, are in any way involved with anything even remotely illegal. So they let me out without too much of a fuss, but I picked up a couple of tails along the way." She laughed softly. "Managed to give 'em the slip though. For now."

"Where does that leave us?" I asked softly, afraid of the answer.

"Safe. Again, for now. They're spreading a dragnet out around the Pittsburgh area. They're convinced you've kidnapped Cavallo and are gonna use him as a bargaining chip to get the charges against both of you dropped. Which is pretty close to the truth, when you think about it. And, obviously, they do not want that to happen."

I paused for a moment, ordering my thoughts and trying to figure the questions that Ice would most want answered. I was actually a little bit surprised that she was so willing to let me take the lead on this, but I figured that if she had that much trust in me, I wasn't going to let her down. "How far out does this dragnet extend?"

"Last I heard, it reached west to Dayton, east to Trenton, and south to DC. There aren't that many agents involved so far, though, so it's pretty much a hit and miss affair."

Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. We were still perhaps a hundred miles to the southwest of St. Louis, well out of the boundaries of the net. At least so far. Another question popped into my mind, and I gave voice to it. "Can you tell me why the FBI is involved? They're federal, and the last I heard this was a state matter." I could see Ice nod in satisfaction from the corner of my eye. I smiled again.

"It still is, yes, but someone in the upper echelons of state politics, and no one is saying who, managed to convince the FBI to enter under an interstate kidnapping investigation. Like I said, they're sure you've bagged Cavallo and are traveling somewhere with him. Didn't take much to push the right buttons, and presto, enter the FBI."

"Jesus," I blew out, resting my head against the cool window. "What a mess."

"You said it, Angel."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Best thing is to sit tight. I know that's difficult, since I gather you've left the ranch already. But coming anywhere near Pittsburgh is a very, very bad idea. Those men want Cavallo, and they don't much care how they get him. He's government enemy number one around here."

I choked out a laugh. "And we're pretty much in there at two and three, aren't we."

"With a bullet, I'm afraid."

"Your choice of similes leaves a lot to be desired, Donita."

She hissed through her teeth. "Sorry."

"It's alright," I replied, feeling a headache gather behind my eyes. The queasy kind that makes your guts roll and your head spin. "So, we're just supposed to what...drive around in circles until somebody either catches us or figures out what to do with us? Is there anybody in the government on our side anymore?"

I knew I was whining, but I couldn't seem to help it.

"Yes, Angel, there are. The good guys want Cavallo just as bad as the bad guys. And they're doing their best to make that happen, but it's a very uphill battle, I'm afraid. They're fighting against an entire mountain of state politics and a good ol' boy network the size of China. And you know how quickly the wheels of bureaucracy turn."

"Like maple syrup in a Vermont winter."

"Just about." It was her turn to sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be your lawyer and your friend, and I'm doing a piss poor job at both."

"No you're not, Donita. We're all just in a bad spot here. We'll just keep...um...driving around till you let us know what's going on, ok?"