In short order I arrived at one of the busiest hospitals in the city. A harried nurse manning the desk for the emergency room looked at me before asking, “Visiting or patient?”

The look in her eyes told me that if I was going to try and fake an illness to get a prescription, then she would happily kick my ass out in a very literal fashion. I knew I looked a little ragged from the rush to get here, but I held my emotions in check and said, “Visiting, patient name Rhiannon Murdock, date of birth June 22, 1994.”

A few quick questions answered and I had a visitor badge and an escort to the waiting area where Jennifer was pacing back and forth. I thanked the guard and stepped forward to catch my foster mother in a hug and asked, “What’s the word?”

The hug I received was tight enough that I could feel my ribs creek, but she answered, “Georgia and Mary have a few broken bones, nothing that a cast and some time to heal won’t take care of. Rhiannon had the worst of it as debris from the accident impacted her head. They have her in surgery now.”

“What happened?” I asked, fighting to keep my anger at being helpless away.

“Apparently there was an attempted robbery on an armored truck, some kind of explosion was set off and debris and shrapnel hit the car, and some of it went through the window and hit her in the head. She has other less severe injuries, but that is the big one. I called Sean, but even if he left the job he’s on now he wouldn’t make it back into town until tomorrow,” she answered.

“Did you tell him to finish the job?” I asked.

Sean had started a business as a general contractor and handyman that would do work throughout the state. Most of his jobs were in the city dealing with some of the old houses and smaller apartments, but occasionally he would have a job that took him out of town for a day or two. Jen nodded, “I told him to stay there and that I would let him know if he needed to come back early.”

“Box of donuts says he finishes quickly and then drives through the night to get here,” I said with a small smile.

She bit off a grim chuckle and said, “Knowing that man, you're probably right. I’ll take the bet anyway.”

“Excuse me, Mrs. Murdock?” asked a feminane voice from nearby.

We both turned to see a woman of asian descent, olive skinned and dark hair and eyes, in a suit and tie standing nearby. Jen answered, “DiAngelo, formerly Murdock. Can I help you?”

I muttered under my breath, “So you’ve been saying for the past five years.”

The playful shove and small smile she gave me let me know she heard me, and was still amused by my teasing. The woman caught the byplay, but just continued speaking, “I’m Agent Ming. I understand your daughter was injured during the attempted robbery earlier today.”

“Badge,” I demanded.

The woman produced a badge that stated her department was called AEGIS and I felt Jennifer stiffen beside me before she asked, “Why exactly is AEGIS involved in this accident?”

The agent shook her head, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to give the wrong impression. I was looking for you for two reasons. One, I wanted to know if your daughter is going to be okay; and two was to tell you that we caught the person who caused the accident. My boss did say he had a question for you, but he was interviewing the Kenningtons.”

Relaxing slightly Jen replied, “She’s in surgery right now. Last I was told she is expected to pull through, but they don’t know about any long term damage.”

As if called by the angel’s of Murphy, I watched as a doctor in surgical scrubs entered the area and began to move towards us. He began speaking without preamble, “Ma’am, I’m Doctor Stephens. Your daughter will be coming out of surgery soon. As far as we can tell at this time she is recovering fine. There is one complication that will need to be monitored however; she suffered some hemorrhaging in her occipital lobe which may cause vision problems. We are going to have her admitted to monitor her to be certain.”

“How bad is it?” she asked.

The doctor shook his head, “We can’t be certain with a head injury. Best case scenario is blurry vision for a time before it heals, worst case scenario is a total loss of vision. Judging by the damage though I am optimistic, but with head injuries we have to be cautious.”

“Thank you doctor, do they know what room she will be in?” Jen asked.

“Not yet, but an orderly will come and get you when they take her up. I have to get back to work though,” the doctor answered and we bid him farewell.

The agent had been silent while the doctor was speaking, but spoke as he left, “I’m glad she's out of the woods.”

“Thank you, now do you know what your boss wanted to ask me?” Jen replied.

“He didn’t tell me, he just said to check in with you and that he would be reaching out soon,” she answered.

“Who is your boss?” I asked.

“Agent Jameson is our team's lead,” she answered.

I grinned and asked, “How has he been?”

“I hadn’t realized you knew him,” the agent said with an inquisitive look crossing her face.

I smirked at her and cuddled up to my foster mother while we both enjoyed the small torment as we waited for her boss to show up.

It took about another fifteen minutes before the salt and pepper haired Agent Jameson entered the waiting room, the same polite smile as five years ago on his face. He raised an eyebrow at the grumpy look and crossed arms of Agent Ming, before he took the two of us in. The smile never left his face as he took us in. I saw as he hesitated as he looked at me, most likely trying to place where he had seen me before. I had grown and filled out a bit when puberty started to hit, and since I wasn’t ash covered and wearing pajamas this time I figured it might take him a bit to figure it out.

He spoke with the same polite tone that he must have practiced, “Ms. DiAngelo, a pleasure to see you again. Is your daughter going to be okay?”

Okay, he goes a few more notches up with that being his first question. Jen answered, a bit of tension in her voice, “She will be fine, they are moving her to a room now. What do you want Cole?”

Apparently there was some history here, and I got to be a fly on the wall for it. Jameson raised his hand placatingly and said, “Keep the claws in Jennifer. We may not agree about everything, but I’m not your enemy. I can reach out in a couple of days if it would be easier.”

“We are both here now, might as well get it over with,” she replied.

“We arrested the assailant, but due to jurisdiction we need to find him a defense attorney that is cleared for the information. I doubted you would want to take the case. We can fly in one of the others if need be, but with this being New York I’ve also been given permission to vet another legal consultant and wanted your opinion.”

I felt the tension leave her as she said, “Oh, sorry, I thought you were going to ask me to prepare a defense for the man.”

He shook his head, “I wouldn’t dream of doing that to you, let alone the fact that a judge would have a field day with the conflict of interest.”

Agent Ming spoke up, “We might need to have her vetted again anyway. Seems the kid knows about you.”

I shot the asian agent a glare that washed off her like water off a duck, before turning back to Jameson as he raised his eyebrow at me. I smirked at him and said, “She doesn’t bring work home.”

“Quit being a brat Michael,” my foster mother said.

“I’m not being a brat, she hasn't actually asked me how I knew her boss,” I said as I grinned up at Jen.

I looked back at Jameson who was still studying me before I caught the light of suspicion in his eyes when he asked, “Wait, Michael. Michael Shepard?”

“Surprise. Did the ash ever come out of those slacks?” I asked with a cheeky grin.

The agent shook his head with a chuckle, “Unfortunately they didn’t. I didn’t know Jennifer adopted you.”

He paused for a minute before looking at her and said, “Wait a minute. I remember the man you were with mentioning an ex-wife that was an attorney.”

Jen’s hand covered my mouth before I could make a comment about their marital status and she responded, “That is correct. CPS let us take him in as a foster child. He’s very protective of our daughter.”

“Good man,” the agent said to me before he looked back to my foster mother and continued, “We will get out of your hair, but if you can send me a recommendation in the next couple of days it would help. If you can’t pick someone let me know and I’ll have Fitzpatrick flown up from DC.”

“I have a couple of ideas. I’ll make some calls once Rhiannon is settled into her room. If you send me the file I’ll have Alex start the preliminary work to pass over once you’ve finished your background check,” my foster mother said.

“I’ll let the team know. Please give my best wishes to your daughter when she wakes up,” Agent Jameson said as he shook her hand and then left with his other agent.

When they had left the room I asked, “Why are federal agents looking for a defense attorney for a robbery. Shouldn’t it be the NYPD and a state appointed attorney?”

I felt more than heard the sigh she let out before she answered me, “AEGIS is an international agency under a remit from the United Nations. They have jurisdiction when the criminal uses magic.”

I looked at her with my mouth hanging open and she continued with a small smile on her face, “Why do you think what you can do wasn’t so shocking. I am on retainer as a defense attorney that has been read in on the secret.”

I scoffed, “It’s only a secret because most people haven’t figured out arrays, when they do I wonder what will happen to that agency.”

She used a forefinger to close my jaw and tilt my head up to look her in the eye, “What do you mean most people?”

Uh oh, that was the lawyer's voice. It was almost impossible to get anything past her, so I explained, “I got one working just before you called me. It is a surprise for Rhiannon.”

“I’m sure she will be happy to see it when we get to take her home,” she said, “but you can tell me all about it while we wait on the orderly.”