“Am I daft, or does he really have a problem with short-term memory?" He sighed.

“And my name is Edgar Adler."

"As in Heda's brother," Madison chipped in.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Usually it's, 'Oh look, it's Jessica's boy.' Now, it's 'Heda's brother'? Why can't I just be known for me?"

Alvin was furious about being ignored when he was attempting to be threatening.

"You wouldn't be so tough without your badge."

"Actually," Edgar replied, his voice so cold that it was almost brittle, "my badge is the only thing keeping me from beating you into mulch were you stand "C'mon Alvin, the bitch ain't worth this," Bill Baker said, trying to drag his illustrious leader away. Alvin put up a good show of pretending he still wanted to stay and fight, but something about Edgar's gaze and tone put his nerves on edge.

“Punk ass bitch," Ed muttered under his breath, then he turned a curious eye to Madison.

“Okay, want to explain THAT?"

‘No one is listening,’ the Cold thought, moving through its own lair like a harsh Arctic wind. ‘Why would they? Fools! They did not listen the last time, but by all that is unholy I will make them understand.’ He looked towards the Spanish Mantle and the One inside.

The One's tongue had been ruined and it smelled of feces and urine and stank of a fear so tangible it could almost be touched. The Cold approached the One.

"You will go now, and you will let them know.

You will speak volumes without saying a word. You will continue the Message." It grabbed another special tool off of a nearby tray.

"Prepare."

Some time later...

Heda stepped out of the gymnasium after the practice from hell. She was convinced that her coach was the devil herself come up from hell to make Heda run shuttle sprints until she sold her soul in order to escape. It was the only thing that made any sense. Her brother was perched on the short wall that was in front of the gym.

"Hey, how'd the talk with Madison go?"

"I've gotta tell ya, I like this one Heda. She's got a good head and a sharp tongue, as I discovered when one Alvin Hannity showed up.

You could've warned my about the 90210 drama ya know."

"It just didn't occur to me. I take it you scared him off?"

"Yeah. Madison got a kick out of it. She told me she hasn't had a lot of ‘backup’ until you showed up.

"It bugs me that people make such a deal about the blindness, which a lot of them probably wouldn't do if she'd just come out about her Gift."

"People who have been wounded are cautious," Ed reminded her.

"Be patient. So tomorrow —-" He stopped talking when Heda's cell phone went off.