Chapter 1

She stepped off the bus as the sun rose over the horizon. She was tired and groggy. She had little sleep and was not in a good frame of mind. Her dark hair seemed large and puffed around her head in the latest style. Her makeup was smeared across her oval face. Her blue eyes darted about hoping she was in a safe place. She traveled as far as she could to get away from New York City and the mafia that wanted her dead.

California seemed like a good idea to the witness. Her hand grasped the blue canvas bag that contained the floppy disk she acquired during her days as the bookkeeper. She wore black slacks and a black blazer over a blood stained white blouse. She stepped onto the sidewalk with one high heel shoe that was broken. She quickly figured she would need a change of clothes and new footwear.

She found a nearby convenience store and walked inside. Smiling awkwardly she tried to hide the blood on her white blouse and not draw attention to her broken shoe. She limped down the aisle looking for anything that she could use. She found a pair of cheap sneakers and a California themed man's t-shirt. She grabbed a pair of scissors and quickly made her purchase as the gray haired clerk cocked an eyebrow wondering what had happened to the stranger.

"Is there a restroom nearby?" she asked gathering the items.

"Around the hall." he replied curious.

"Thanks," she grabbed her bag and quickly ducked down the hall and into the nearby restrooms. She entered a stall and changed her blood stained blouse with the t-shirt. She then put on the sneaker and walked out of the stall towards the sink and mirror. After tossing the shirt and broken shoes in the trashcan and laid paper towels in the sink before her and began the process of cutting her dark curly hair. It took a few minutes but she managed to give herself a very short haircut. She washed the smeared makeup from her face. Satisfied that she looked different she grabbed her bag and walked out of the restroom to find something to eat for breakfast.

After a short walk she found a small diner and a nearby thrift store. She emerged from the diner after getting a cup of coffee and some toast and noticed the newspaper stand sitting outside. She read the headlines through the glass. "Three FBI men dead!" she gulped and went to the stand with her dime in hand. Upon retrieving the paper she read about how three FBI agents were killed in a firefight in NY City the day before. She opened the paper to the next page and spied her picture and her name underneath. It read "FBI Witness Angela Long". She winced that she would be recognized even on the West Coast and folded up the paper praying that no one would place her face to the picture. She figured she needed to improve her disguise. She quickly slipped into the thrift store nearby to get a change of clothes and perhaps a hat and sunglasses.

Angela didn't wish to spend much time shopping for she feared she would be recognized and quickly grabbed clothing that she could eyeball on fit and style. She found a denim jacket and blue jeans. She picked up a baseball cap with a logo for Bakersfield Outlaws, a defunct minor league team from the area. She grabbed a pair of black rimmed sunglasses and a blue backpack and then went to the cashier to make her purchase.

At the register stood an older lady with gray hair and wearing a burgundy apron. She noticed the customer had seemed rushed. She mentioned, "There are changing rooms in the back."

She gave a smile, "Thanks! How much?"

"Altogether that will be four dollars and fifty cents." the clerk informed.

She handed her a five dollar bill and then grabbed the clothes and headed towards the changing rooms near the rear of the store.

Moments Later

Angela "Angie" Long stepped out of the front door of the thrift shop sporting her disguise. She had no idea who to call or where she should turn. She made her way down the city streets combing her memory hoping to figure something out. She recalled one of the FBI agents speaking of his cousin who was also in the FBI and located on the West Coast. She racked her brain trying to recall the name. She remembered a name of Bill Maxwell.

As she walked the streets she came across a high school as students were disembarking from the buses. She intended to walk by the school but came to a stop upon seeing a police car with an officer reading the newspaper nearby. Fearing she would be spotted she made her way into the crowd of students and went with the flow through the front doors of the building. She then ducked into the main office and peered out the window at the police car still sitting outside. She held her breath hoping the officer would drive off soon.

"Young man! Young man!" a high pitch voice came from behind her.

She turned to see what was happening and discovered a red haired woman standing at the counter wearing a yellow blouse and speaking at her.

"Young man!" she called once more. "Do have a hall pass?" she asked staring directly at her.

She glanced about and figured she was mistaken for a boy. She cleared her throat and kept her voice low as she walked up to the counter, "I'm new here." she excused.

"Have you registered?" the desk clerk asked.

"No," she shook her head wondering if she could really get away with the disguise.

She handed her a blue slip, "Take this pass and go to across the hall to register."

She took the hall pass and replied, "Thanks." She then walked out of the main office and stood in the hall looking outside. The police car was still sitting there. She gave a heavy sigh and walked into the registration office to hide from the officer.

She soon found herself in a blue walled office with old furniture. Another lady sat at a typewriter at a wooden desk. She had curly blonde hair and was a bit pudgy. She held out the pass, "I'm new here."

The pudgy fingers grasped the slip and the motioned, "Sit down young man."

She took a seat figuring she could sneak out of the school later after the police car left. She watched as the older woman grabbed a form and fed it manually into the typewriter. She noticed the name plate on the desk, "Mrs. Howard." A smirk crept across her face as she had spent many hours watching old 3 Stooge's movies with the fallen FBI agents.

Mrs. Howard stated, "Name!" She glanced over ready to type.

She nearly said her name of Angie. "An..dy! Andy!" she replied catching herself.

"Last name?" she asked.

Angie glanced down at the name plate again and smirked, "Fine! Andy Fine."

"Fine?" she asked.

"F-I-N-E," she nodded.

"Middle name?" she asked.

"Lawrence." she recalled the actor Larry Fine.

"Last school attended?" she asked.

Angie replied without thinking, "Princeton." She then caught herself and lied, "It's a small town school in Texas. It could take weeks to get my records."

"Everything takes weeks," she replied typing away.

"Really?" she wondered.

"After we're done here I'll have a student placement exam for you to take." she informed.

"Great," she sighed figuring she could hide out in the school for the day.

Short Time Later

Angie didn't bother to put much effort into her student placement test for she figured she would be gone by the end of the day. The results of her test placed her in a class for troubled students much to her dismay. She was told Mr. Ralph Hinckley would be her teacher. She didn't think much about it and soon found the classroom. She knocked on the door before stepping inside.

She found a small group with only one other female. Before the class stood a tall man with curly hair sporting tan trousers and a blue button down dress shirt. He smiled curiously at the new student. She held out a hall pass, "I'm new here!" she informed as all eyes fell on her.

He grasped the paper and glanced at the name, "Andy Fine!" he read.

She gave a nod trying to act like a boy, "That's my name. Don't wear it out."

"Have a seat," he motioned. Something was odd about the new student but he wasn't sure just what it was.

Angie found an open seat near the only other girl in the class. She was a blonde beauty with bright blue eyes, wearing a black sweater and blue jeans. She greeted, "Hi!"

Rhonda replied, "Hi." She too knew something was off with the new student.

The boy sitting to her other side had dark hair, was rather muscular and wore a leather jacket over a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He snorted, "She ain't interested in you, pipsqueak."

Angie rolled her eyes, "I'm new here and don't know anyone." She looked up to the teacher. "Please continue."

"Right," he gave a nod unsure what to make of the oddball student.

Short Time Later

Lunch time soon rolled around and Ralph had gone to his car to get his cooler. He didn't dare leave his lunch in the class room after yesterday's prank that left his food was tainted with hot sauce. As he gathered a cooler from his back seat a familiar car pulled up. Sitting behind the wheel was his friend, FBI Agent Bill Maxwell.

"Ralph," he called from the car looking rather upset.

"Bill," he acknowledged as he closed the car door.

He exited the car with a newspaper in hand. He brought it before Ralph, "You read the morning paper?"

Ralph shook his head, "I didn't have time to." His eyes settled on the headline, "Three FBI agents were killed."

"My cousin was one of them." he huffed angry.

Ralph's heart sank, "I'm sorry Bill."

"He was on a case that would bring down the mob." Bill told him. "He was killed in a shootout protecting a witness. She got away. Ralph, we have to find her and who killed my cousin." This time the case was personal for Bill.

"I don't even know where to begin." Ralph explained. "That witness could be anywhere."

Bill opened up the page to the picture of the witness, "Her name is Angela Long. She's was an accountant."

Ralf glanced at the picture in the paper. For some reason he swore he had seen the face before but could not place where. "Huh," he gave a heavy sigh.

Bill glanced up at him, "What?"

"She looks familiar." he admitted. He glanced over the article, "Says she lost her brother, Michael two years ago. He was a cop in L.A."

Bill mentioned, "She should be able to identify the hit men who killed my cousin and those other agents. We need to find her before they do, Ralph."

"We have no idea where to even begin." he rebutted.

"Maybe she has family out here?" Bill suggested. "Her brother was a cop out here. Maybe she might try to find someone."

Ralph shrugged unsure, "Maybe."