~Ehh... Double post... :P

"Sorry, I'm busy right now. Someone else could probably help you with whatever you need."

Annette stared at him blankly. She... hadn't expected that reaction. Not at all. Maybe this wasn't the right approach- what had she been thinking? The poor man had been through a lot! The last thing he needed was to talk more about all of the incidents!

Flustered with herself, Annette drew in a breath and slowly let it out.

"Maxim, it is very important that I speak to you in private. Now." She no longer sounded like a curious, inquisitive doctor, but more like a mother, or other figure of obscene amounts of power. When he didn't immediately respond, she leaned in closer to him so only he could hear her. "I understand that you've been dealing with a lot..." Suddenly, something struck her gut. Intuitively, she continued, "I know they are things that I can't begin to understand, but I need your help."

On the surface, she had absolutely no idea why she was saying those words. She just let her mind work its magic, even if she couldn't entirely understand what it was going after.

===

"Me? Oh, the south." She giggled at her own little inside joke. Maybe she wouldn't have to get her hands dirty, after all. Not that she minded, not one little bit.

"You intrigue me as well." Lyssa admitted. She led him right past her apartment complex. Oops. Looks like they'd be taking a side trip. Icarus . She silently thought of the name, it had a familiar ring to it. His face reflected that of... something she couldn't quite recall. It was starting to bother her.

"Are you, by chance, of... Greek decent, Icarus?"

"I know they are things that I can't begin to understand, but I need your help."

Max couldn't take it any longer. Her voice. Why did it have to sound exactly like her? Max stood up grabbed his coat, slammed his computer shut and took his bag off the desk.

"No, you don't understand. You don't understand at all."

Max's voice choked in his throat and he brushed past the girl. He could finish the work at home. He just needed to get out of here. Not caring if anyone saw him leave he decided to text Shirley later. Max threw on his coat as he neared the elevator. Pressing th down button, he stepped inside and pressed the button for the first floor. The minute the doors closed Max threw his arm out and lamed his fist into the metal wall of the elevator.

'Damnit! Damn it all!'

Max dropped his bag and slupped down against the elevator wall. He just wanted to get home and sleep. He had had enough for today. But suddenly, Max's thoughts were interupted. The elevator ground to a halt and Max was thrown forward, landing face first into the floor.

"What the?"

Great. The elevator stopped. Max reached up and pressed the red button. He had never thought he would have to use the red button. He had always seen it but it never occured to him that he would get stuck in an elevator. Max waited. Wasn't it supposed to call someone? He pressed it again, but there was no response. Max let out a sigh of frustration. His day could not get any worse. Wait.... Cell phone. Wow that was stupid. Max reached for his pocket. His hand froze halfway. It was very faint but Max heard the sound of something being cut... No... Sawed. Was someone... Cutting the cable? Impossible. Why would someone-... Max began to panic. Getting up off the floor, he searched the elevator for any way out. He tried prying the doors open but it was no use. The elevator car gave a violent jerk and Max felt himself drop a few inches. This wasn't good. Maybe if I call someone-. But Max could never finish his though. With one last nasty jerk, Max felt himself as well as the elevator begin to plummet to the earth below. He was falling.

When Maxim yelled at her, Annette felt herself freeze. No human, besides in her mortal life, had ever yelled at her... But for some reason, when he yelled it... made her sad. Some inner part of her wanted to run away and never subject herself to Max again. But some other, much stronger part of her knew she had to stay. He needed her. She was his guardian angel now.

Or something.

But that was much easier to comprehend when he wasn't yelling at her. Annette didn't even pay attention to the people, his co-workers, if they had heard or if they were staring.

Maxim stalked off and she felt like crying with frustration. I"m just here to help you, you silly boy! Now listen to me! She watched him walk off, and waited for him to be already in the elevator before she called the next one.

Inside the elevator, her gut wretched again. Something wasn't... right. She looked around for a video camera in the elevator, glad to see there was none. A violent screech came from next to her and she knew, suddenly. Maxim was in trouble. The urge to protect him filled her, fear for his life. Annette let her wings rip from her back and flew to the ceiling... at thirty-three floors, this would not be a happy ending...

It took a few slams, but she managed to get the emergency door open. There was a human- A HUMAN- sawing away at the cable of Maxim's elevator. She prayed that he was the only one in the elevator. Anger overwhelmed her, and Annette flew over to the man, who's back was to her. In a swift motion, she grabbed his face in her hand and threw him off of the top of Max's elevator. He fell with a blood-curdling scream. But she hadn't been fast enough, he had successfully cut the cable.

It happened so fast, but the thought of Maxim dying was too devastating- more, she felt, than it should have been. She landed on the elevator and quickly opened the latch. It was falling at the speed of gravity, increasing as the floor numbers decreased and neared the earth...

"Max!" She cried as she fell into the elevator. She couldn't get him out, she knew- it was past that point. But she'd survive, and she prayed she could protect him enough to heal him after it fell. Maybe the quickness of everything would make him forget seeing her wings.

Without waiting any longer- she knew she didn't have much time, anyways- She grabbed him, wrapped her arms around him and folded her wings around him also. Annette closed her eyes and focused all of her energy on healing him. She mentally reinforced his bones and made his insides more fluid, so the waves of the earth would travel through him. She will save him...

He smiled at her comment. "I don't think so really. Just a guy who can drink." When she said south, though, a few images flashed through his mind. First Ethiopia, then closer places like Florida, Texas and Mexico. He got lost in memories of all these places,having been there before. He almost didn't hear her question. "Oh, well I guess you could say that. It's a bit of a long story."

"We've got time," Lyssa leaned into him seductively. "Besides, I don't think your history is as excessive as mine." She added silently, passively, more for herself than him.

They continued to walk until they happened upon David's neighborhood. A vicious smile crossed her lips. She pointed right to David's house. "That's my neighbor, David." She lied. "He's a rotten man, he's cheated on his wife at least a dozen times. Poor kids, I heard their dog attacked him a few hours ago, poor fellow."

He could feel his face get a little redder when she leaned in. "It's a crazy story though. Not really sure you'd want to hear it." When she pointed out David, Icarus felt uneasy. "You sure? I've known him for a while," he lied expertly. "Always been a good guy. Never really made too many waves though." His eyes started looking around, twitching in between positions like they couldn't see enough. Something didn't seem right and it set him on edge.

It hurt....

Max's body felt like jello. It was like he had just gotten hit by a semi truck. W-what happened? Why am I at the hospital? The only thing he could remember was the felling of free fall. And wings. Pure white wings....

Max heard a female's voice beside him. "Doctor. He's awake."

Max turned his head. A jolt of pain rippled down his spine and he winced. Moving might not be the best right now. A tall man appeared at his side. Max's vision just wouldn't focus and the man's face was a blur.

"Mr. Pierce, you are a VERY lucky man."

Max chuckled weakly. "That's funny. I'm haven't been considered the lucky type."

"Well thankfully you were. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I've been trampled on by a heard of elephants but I'm alive."

The doctor's face was clearing up, and Max noticed that he had glasses on.

"Did you know that you are probably the first person in the world who has survived an elevator crash at that height?"

Max's eyes went wide. An elevator crash? Now he remembered. He remembered that he left work early and got on the elevator. Annette. No, not Annette. Dr. Smith. The memory of the girl and the pain of seeing her face came rushing in.

"An elevator crash? But how did I-?"

"That's what we would like to know."

Max gave the doctor a questioning look.

"We?"

Max hadn't noticed him, but a police officer stepped out from behind the doctor.

"Do you remember anything?"

Max looked at the two. It really was unbeliveable that he had survived. How was it possible? Max answered all the questions the officer asked him. About what he did that morning to everything he discussed with Dr. Smith. After that was a bit fuzzy. After a brief moment of silence, the officer cleared his throat and held up a picture.

"Mr. Pierce, do you know who this is?"

The picture was of a man probably in his forties. He was a scruffy man, clean cut hair with a short beard, the man was dressed in a suit and tie. A buisness card picture? But he had no clue as to who the man was.

"No. I haven't seen him before."

"Well, as we were inspecting the site of the elevator, we found this man's body at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Luckily, his face wasn't to badly damaged that we couldn't recognize it." The police officer tucked the picture back into his pocket. "We believe this man was responsible for your elevator crash."

Max was confused. "But I don't even know him. Why would he target an elevator with only one person inside?"

"Because he was targeting only you."

Max's heart stopped.

"Just recently, this man was released from a mental hospital. He had been dealing with the occult and was responsible for a mass church murder just a few years ago. He was claiming to be under the influence of the devil. Through careful investigation, we have discovered that this man has been stalking you for quite awhile now, his motives unknown."

A cold shiver went down Max's spine. Someone had been stalking him? That was scary. He had never thought that he would actually be a target before. But that wasn't the only thing that worried him. Did they do a background check on him? If they found out he was the notorious hacker plauging the internet lately, he would be as good as dead. But he had cleared his tracks quite thoroughly. There was no way, they could've found out.

"So this man tried to kill me for no reason?"

"From what we know, yes."

But he was dead now, so he would have nothing to worry about now.... right?.... The doctor tapped a pen on the clipboard he was carrying.

"But what most intriges me is how you survived a fall of that height. You should have at least broken all of your bones but all you have are some cuts and bruises."

Wings...... Max desperately searched his memory. The sawing noise, the jerk, the fall. Annette. He remembered. He remembered Annette's face and how it appeared above him in the elevator. That lovely golden brown hair and those blue eyes. He remembered her calling out his name and wrapping her arms around him. It all happened so fast but he remembered. Remebered how she saved him. But how? She was dead? She had wings.

"I-.... Was there anyone else that came out of the crash?"

The officer shook his head. "There was no one at the crash site. Not even you."

"Then how did I get here?"

"A girl by the name of Smith carried you into the hospital."

Wait. Dr. Smith brought him? But how did she get him out? It wasn't possible. And how did she get him here so fast?

"I remember someone with me."

The doctor and officer looked at him. "What did you say?"

"There was someone with me in the elevator when it fell."

"There was no one in there son." The officer told him kindly.

"But I remember. She was there."

The doctor chuckled and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Must've been your own guardian angel, my boy."

"Guardian..... Angel?"

"Well, we had better let you get your rest. You've been through alot today." The doctor smiled and tapped his clipboard. "Just call the nurse if you need anything. I'll come back to check on you in a bit."

The officer nodded at him. "We'll do somemore investigating. Glad your alive."

And with that the two men left the room. For a moment, Max stared at the ceiling in a daze. So much had happened. So much happened that he didn't understand. Who exactly was this Dr. Smith and why did she look like Annette? Why had Annette come to his rescue as he plummeted to the ground at hundreds of miles per hour. Why did she have... wings?

"Guardian Angel, huh?......."

Annette leaned against the wall next to Max's- it felt so much nicer calling him Max- room, listening carefully to their conversation. Her heart fluttered at the mentioning of a guardian angel... It was an odd comfort that some humans believed in her kind, still. She wore the dark blue uniform of a janitor, had a yellow bucket and mop and everything. Her hair was stuffed up inside a dark blue cap, little strands sticking out haphazardly.

She went back to moping the floor when the two men emerged, pretending to be minding her own business- though she couldn't help her smile.

Though, there was one thing to be said... Max did remember her. Fortunately, seeing angel wings wasn't really considered normal, and in life-or-death situations, more people were likely to forgive such visions. She was just proud that she saved him, and thankful- so, so thankful.

When the officer and doctor left the hallway, Annette opened the door and continued moping, her back to him, like she belonged there. "Just cleaning the floor, don't mind me." She called before turning around and looking at him.

For some reason she couldn't stand not being around him, and when she saw him sitting there on the bed, healthy, her heart soared with joy.

Lyssa eyed Icarus wearily, her eyebrow raised. "Neighbors see and hear more than you might think." She insisted, and then waved her hand to dismiss the topic as they approached David's house.

Power. That was what she sensed in him that attracted her. He was a powerfully built man, and probably had other outsources of power. Control. She shivered internally. Maybe she could seduce him with more...

Through the window, one of David's daughters was staring at the sky, not paying attention to the couple standing in front of her house. Lyssa grinned at this golden opportunity.

"You seem like a very important figure, Icarus. Tell me, what do you do?"

He shrugged at her statement, reluctant to show too much intrest in David. "Well I travel." He replied. "I'm stuck in a line of work that brings from place to place negotiating deals with different people. I guess you could say i'm a day runner." His answer had some stock to it. Icarus made money off of his inventions. Most of them were types of weapons that he would sell to fire arms companies. But that was only half the trade. The money that he didn't spend on housing and food went to un orthodox collection of information and paying off of anyone who harassed the people he was assigned to protect. If they were wise enough to accept it any ways. "What about you? You seem like you'd have an interesting profession."

Max's train of thought was interupped by a soft, graceful voice. "Just cleaning the floor, don't mind me."

The voice sounded very familiar, but Max's thoughts were too jumbled to remember. The shock of the fall had still rocked his mind and he couldn't think quite straight. Max nodded at the janitor girl as she entered the room. Her back was turned towards him so he couldn't see her face. Max slowly laid back down on the hospital bed. Angels. He had remembed going to church with his parents when he was little and remembered everything about angels, God, miracles and all. After his parents died, he had forgotten all about that stuff and stopped going to church all together. Max stared up at the ceiling once again and let out a heavy sigh. He was bored out of his mind. The nurse said it wouldn't be long till they discharged him, but he had been waiting for hours. Max glanced at the janitor girl silently mopping the floor. Maybe he should start up a conversation with her. There was really nothing else to do besides staring at the white ceiling above him. But he had been doing that for the past three hours.

"Hey-..... do you believe in angels?"

"Hey-... do you believe in angels?'

Max's voice interrupted her thoughts, and his question surprised and stunned her. Poor guy needed assurance, probably. She should tell him no. Help cover her identity better. But for some reason she didn't like the thought of lying to him.

"Yes. I do." Annette answered. "I also believe they're sent to help people to whom bad things happen for no apparent reason." Before he could look at her, she turned her face away and continued making her way across the floor. "And I've heard your story, and I think you might have an angel watching over you."

Max stared at the girl's back intrigued. He wasn't expecting an answer like that. And on top of that, her voice was soothing and it warmed his soul every time she spoke. But Max still couldn't quite make out why the voice was so familiar. He decided to let it go and Max averted his gaze to the ceiling once again and chuckled softly.

"Watching over me? She really was beautiful. It would be great if I got to meet her some day." Max grinned at his sarcastic joke but his grin quickly disappeared. He had met a girl who looked like her.

Maybe his angel had taken the form of Annette to comfort him in that elevator shaft. There was no way that it was really her. Or maybe the whole angel thing was just a hallucination and he just imagined it due to the adrenaline and shock from the fall. But it was so real. Max sat up again and put his face in his hands. This whole day was a nightmare. Why couldn't she just disappear from his mind? First the doctor, then his angel. Next thing you know this janitor girl will probably have some sort of resemblance to Annette. Max's hand reached out and he gripped the handle of the hospital bed hard as tears began to form in his eyes. 'What have I done wrong? What did I do to deserve this? Why does EVERYTHING have to remind me of HER?!'

"Watching over me? She really was beautiful. It would be great if I got to meet her some day."

Annette felt her heart skip a beat, despite his tone, and something... deep inside of her that she couldn't quite control made her turn around and look at Max. That same thing inside of her was suddenly wanting to cry, to scream, to hold him... Tell him! It wailed, adrenaline suddenly soaked her veins as she realized she was thinking about her last conscious thoughts... Triggered, randomly by looking at this complete stranger she was destined to protect.

He was not familiar, but being around him, looking at him now made her insides stir anxiously. Annette didn't understand it at all; she never saw this man in her life. Was this love at first sight? Or something? Was this how people felt when they met their true love? He has to know! her insides cried...

It was dark out, Annette was home alone for the weekend, there was a dark, invisible fog overhead. She was sitting on her bed, looking at pictures, a shoe box full of blurry trinkets. In the midst of her reminiscing, a rapid series of taps on her window interrupted her. Annette jumped from her bed to her window. Unlatching it, she opened it and gave the guy standing below her a grin.

The memory suddenly slammed into her, and she realized that she had stopped breathing while it played over in her head. Annette suddenly gasped for air, this other, unidentifiable part of her was suddenly overpowering... And she recognized Max. She didn't know why or from where, but this other part of her responded quite potently to his presence.

She was frozen to the spot, in fear, confusion and a horrible overwhelming sadness she couldn't understand. Her blue eyes watered and a tear fell from her cheek onto the floor.

"It's me, Max. I'm your angel."

She didn't speak, that other part of her did, and Annette was completely powerless to stop it.

"What about you? You seem like you have an interesting profession."

Lyssa's lip twitched into a grin. "I'm a saleswoman, apparently I can be very... persuasive." She turned and faced Icarus.

Across the street, a woman was walking her tiny corkie. Icarus was beginning to bore her, night was for excitement, not bore. Something needed to happen.

"Here, I'll give you a demonstration." She offered, then suddenly yelled a greeting at the woman, who turned then to look at her. Catching her gaze, Lyssa poured her need for entertainment into the poor woman's head.

The woman suddenly dropped her dog's leash and started dancing in a very suggestive series of motions, without seemingly realizing she was in the middle of the neighborhood.

"Needless to say, I'm good at my job." Lyssa locked eyes with Icarus and let her eyes change from their current dark green to their demonic solid black.

"Then let's see what you can do to me hmm?" His eyes flashed, just for a moment, from deep blue to solid white and back. He took a chain out of his pocket that had an old, silver ring attached to it, seemingly from an ancient time, and swung it around, waiting to see what Lyssa would do. He knew that no sensible person would act the way that lady did in public so he knew there was something very off about Lyssa. "She might be the one after David. Best to keep an eye on her."The chain whistled past both their ears but other than that the entire neighborhood seemed silent. Or maybe he wasn't focused on that.

"Gladly." Lyssa put her hands on both sides of his face and looked into his eyes, penetrating his mind with the urge, the need to kill David. He was an angel... oh, wasn't this just delicious?

He's a threat to humanity. Lyssa pressed. He must die, it's for the greater good.

She had never tried this on an angel before, but she suspected that since they retained ideals of their mortality, it would work. But she also had no idea for certain. So she dumped all of her mental energy into this. David must die.

Icarus focused on the ring as it slowed down. It stopped mid-swing and landed in his hand. "You're not getting me to do your dirty work Lyssa." He pocketed the ring and his left eye changed to white, gently grabbing her right wrist as it did. He sounded more confident than he let on though. She was powerful, no doubt, but he wouldn't do what went against his morals if he could help it. Angels had to be strong. His white eye twitched once and reverted back. He could feel her slipping in, past every thought he had, but something stopped her from getting full control. He could hear his dad's voice. "Your morals are your greatest weapon Icarus. Don't let them be damaged." He was told this time and again and finally it had helped. He breathed deeply and focused on the voice.

Not surprised, Lyssa withdrew her attempts at control and ripped her wrist from his grip.

"Maybe not." Her eyes came back to their mossy green and she took a step away from him, still grinning. "You and your morals are nothing against me. I will win eventually- I always do. How good are you and your morals when I can penetrate the mind of any mortal? Would you kill an innocent human under my influence?"

The woman across the street stopped dancing and started walking to David's house.

While she found it annoying at first that she couldn't control Icarus, this fact provided a new form of excitement for her. She would have fun making him kill what he saw as innocent humans to protect David.

"Goodbye, Icarus." Lyssa turned and ran from the scene just as the woman punched out a window in David's house and started attacking his wife, who was unfortunate enough to be standing closest.

"Damn her." He muttered. He took off across the street and towards David's house. Without stopping, he dove through the window tackling the woman. Prying her off David's wife was a hassle but he managed to do it. He turned to her and yelled, "Call the cops, I'll keep her busy!" He dragged her, struggling and flailing at the house onto the front lawn where he dropped her on her back. He stood like a wall between her and the house, determined to keep these people safe.