1. Hot Summer Nights

_**Chain of Custody**_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them for a while to have some fun_

_June 2010 _

_An early summer heat wave has New York at its mercy making everyone crazy and keeping the men and women of NYPD on their toes, will eventually include the whole team. Set post season 6. _

**Chapter 1 - Hot Summer Nights**

The summer smog hung over the city, the humidity at levels unseen in years, tempers frayed on every corner, the slightest disagreement provocation for unspeakable reactions. The men and women of the NYPD were stretched to their limits keeping the city in check from the simmering rage. Not an easy task when the valiant heroes themselves were only human and felt the same as the citizens they served. Several precincts had reported fights breaking out as tempers flared among their personnel.

If the summer days were hot, so were the nights. And one of New York's finest was about to find out just how hot.

It was almost midnight in a downtown night club, the heat keeping out half the normal patrons, when a fight broke out at the bar. It quickly spread around the room; within 15 minutes the place was covered in glass and spilt drinks, upturned tables and chairs; the few patrons left were corralled around the edge of the room, some sporting cuts and bruises from the fight. The centre piece to the event, however, was the young man lying face down in a pool of his own blood, on top of a broken table. Uniformed officers were taping a large area off around the body and holding back the crowds.

"She did it!" screamed one dark haired woman wearing little more than a bikini top and short denim skirt. "She killed him!" she waved her hand dramatically at another scantily clad woman across the room.

Two uniformed officers drew their guns and approached the woman who was slumped in a chair, her long bright red hair shielding her face. At first glance she appeared as if she might be drunk or upset, but they took no chances. "Stand up! Keep your hands where we can see them!" demanded the male officer edging towards her as she slowly looked up at them, rose from the chair and held her arms out. They watched as she seemed to draw energy from the motion, her eyes giving them a cursory inspection, the demeanour of a moment before gradually being replaced by poise and grace.

"All I did was check his pulse after he went down," she offered confidently, her eyes drawn to the figure on the floor.

"We got an eye witness lady that says you killed him, so for now you're under arrest," he snapped.

She didn't resist when he drew her hands behind her back and cuffed her while his partner stood at the side her gun still trained on the red head as she read their suspect her rights. She could have argued, but at that moment her bag and ID were gone, the former ripped from her during the scuffle. The young officer then turned her around and pushed her to sit on the arm of one of the sofas. She still made no attempt to resist or escape. She hadn't spoken again, no harsh words or temper tantrums. As the officers stood nearby waiting for further instructions, they cast a glance over their suspect. The woman was seductively dressed, a red halter top cinched to a fitted waist and falling into a soft floating skirt which stretched no lower than mid thigh; impeccable makeup and jewellery that most women would likely kill for. A single strand necklace glittered around her neck, matching the bracelets around her right wrist and left ankle, her earrings and rings matched too. Everything about her suggested someone rich and sophisticated, but above all - she looked cool, the city temperature and humidity was apparently not affecting her as it was everyone else. A glance around the room revealed the remaining patrons in the coolest clothes they could find, the officers in their uniform shirts, many clearly displaying sweat stains as they suffered the interminable heat and humidity.

A commotion in the entrance drew the suspect's attention from the figure on the floor and she looked up allowing anyone who was interested to see the analytical look in her cobalt blue eyes. She watched one of the officers discuss her with the tall detective who had just walked in. It was obvious they were talking about her when they began indicating in her direction.

She waited, she knew how it worked, eventually the detective would make it to her. He'd ask questions, then he'd either let her go or drag her back to some dingy interrogation room, where he would persist with more questions. She wasn't going to argue, it was his job, just like this was hers. At some point they would reach a mutual understanding and she would be on her way, whether it would be because he believed her story or because someone had applied pressure she wasn't really bothered, she would be free again before morning, there was no point getting herself worked up about it. It wouldn't be the first time this kind of thing had happened, although this was the first time the charge had related to murder.

She watched the detective carefully as he made his way around the room, speaking to witnesses. She wished she could help, it was likely the murderer was still in the room, but her back had been turned when the fatal blow was struck, there was little she could do to help. Another brief glance at the body was replaced by her attention on the detective. He was tall, she figured about 6 foot, his dark hair was cut short, he was casually dressed, wearing dark dress pants, a white shirt, which had been left untucked while the sleeves were rolled up and the neck open. The heat had obviously gotten to him and still was as she watched him tug momentarily at his collar, his watch rattling on his right wrist as he talked, while waving his memo book around, he held a gold pen in his left hand which he used to make notes. A sure sign he was left-handed. She was too busy taking in his appearance and analysing him that it surprised her when he closed the gap between them and glared at her, she was unable, in the light, to see his eyes clearly, but they definitely caught her attention.

"Name?" he was abrupt. The tone telling her that he didn't want to be there, his evening with his girl had probably just been cut short. She glanced around them, noting that no one was really paying them any attention.

She looked up approvingly, "What's in a name, detective?" She shook her head allowing her hair to fly around her face, giving her a second or two to decide how she would answer, "... you can call me Aphrodite." For now she would keep her alter ego.

He quickly let his eyes wander over her, "Greek goddess of love and beauty."

"So you know your Greek mythology?" she answered almost shyly.

"Some, now do I get your real name?" he asked tersely, a scowl forming across his face.

"My real name?" she let her eyes sweep over him. She noted his hands, his pen poised over his notebook. She admired his hands, strong, but gentle at the same time. She wasn't sure if it was the heat in the room, the smell of the blood or the heat radiating from his body, but she felt a sudden burst of heat wash over her. She needed to keep cool incase she was being watched by her target so she slowly raised her eyes back to meet his, a sly smile on her lips as she ran her tongue around them. "What's it worth detective?" she practically purred at him.

"Nah," he shook his pen at her, " ... I'm not buying what you're trying to sell me, we can do this here or we can move it downtown. Your choice." he half grunted at her at the same time as casting his own gaze over her. He noted the slim ankles and 3 inch heels in the same colour as her dress, the way the dress fitted her perfectly, her flawless alabaster skin the perfect backdrop to the dress. The name suited her, she could certainly turn heads. In another time or place she would even have his attention, but for now she was the prime suspect in a murder and he couldn't let her cloud his judgement by her use of the tricks of her trade.

"Who says I'm selling anything?" she asked shrugging her shoulders. "I'm here to meet some friends."

"Male friends?" He prompted, keeping eye contact with her, unable to gauge her thoughts, her eyes devoid of anxiety or anger, if anything they were smiling at him, taunting him.

"Does that matter?"

"Look I've got a dead guy on the floor, an eyewitness that puts you as my prime suspect, you want to play hardball, I can do that too. Let's go." He reached for her elbow and pulled her to her feet and led her across the room, his none too gentle actions speaking louder than any words, he was pissed off with her. She didn't mind, it wouldn't be the first time she had triggered that kind of response in a member of the opposite sex. It was part of the persona she displayed when working, especially in nightclubs like this one, where guys constantly wanted her attention. She could feel the warmth of the detective's hand as he gripped her arm, it was firm, but not too tight, showing a confidence in his task.

-----

"Flack!" Danny's voice attracted his attention from another part of the bar. Flack guided her to the wall by the door and turned her so her back was against it.

"Wait there and don't move. We're not done yet." he snapped, turning to the two uniformed officers who had followed them, "Watch her." He ordered waving his arm in her direction, unclear why she was so passive, why she had made no attempt to escape or talk her way out of the situation. She certainly had his attention.

She stood straight almost reaching his height in her heels, "I wouldn't dream of it Detective, you've got your job to do, besides it could be a little fun." She smiled coyly as she took half a step forward closing the gap between them.

Flack placed his hands on her upper arms and pushed her back gently. "Stay!" he growled before striding away, however, he couldn't resist another glance over his shoulder as he joined the CSI. "What you got Danno?"

"You need to take a look at this." Danny held out a woman's red purse with a broken diamante strap. He held it open while Flack looked in, a small handgun inside. Flack looked down at the contents and cursed his luck, a hooker trying to play him and some unknown woman toting a pistol, this latest turn of events did not bode well for the rest of the night.

"Who does it belong too?" He asked after a few choice expletives.

"No idea, what about your girl over there? Bag looks to be the same colour as her dress," Danny indicated the suspect, who appeared to be leaning on the wall watching them.

"Thanks Messer you just made my night."

Danny looked around, "Who is she?"

"As of right now, our prime suspect, apparently someone saw her kill the vic. If she did she's one cool killer."

Flack turned to go when Danny called him back. "What's her story? She's hot." He asked glancing at the woman again.

"And dangerous ... calls herself Aphrodite. I'll take her back and find out her real ID when they print her."

"_Aphrodite_?" Danny almost choked in surprise as he repeated the name.

"I tell ya Danno this heat brings out all the whack jobs."

"I'm sure you'll have more fun than I will." Danny moaned.

"It's what comes of being married with a toddler." Flack commented with a wry grin as he turned and walked back to the woman still standing against the wall. He was feeling the heat, sweat trickled down his back and he ran his fingers around his collar as she watched him approach, he couldn't get over how cool and collected she was. She was certainly intriguing, she had done exactly as she was told and hadn't moved an inch since he left her. He rolled his shoulders as he stopped in front of her.

"Are you going to co-operate?" He asked holding her gaze.

Taking a step closer to him she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head to flick her hair back, she leant forward slightly and whispered, her lips close to his ear, "I always co-operate."

Flack stepped back, trying to keep from doing something completely inappropriate as her perfume flooded his nostrils and her eyes maintained his gaze, enticing him to something he hadn't thought about in over a year. He couldn't make out the colour of her eyes, but it didn't matter the look in them was enough. The heat was making everyone crazy, it wasn't the first time he had been propositioned, nor would it be the last, but something about the woman before him was breaking through the carefully constructed barriers he had built around himself since losing Jess. He thought about what she said, actually nothing was inappropriate or could be construed as a proposition, it was more the way she behaved, the way she spoke - maybe it was all in his head. He was heading into a triple shift and decided the lack of sleep was contributing to the tricks his mind was playing. He needed a change of scenery, he needed to be in control, the cold steel of an interrogation room table between them was seeming pretty welcome.

"What do you know about the dead guy?" he asked trying to keep them focused on the task at hand. Him giving in to his carnal instincts and kissing his prime suspect would only serve to get him a new one ripped by the duty captain when they got back to the station. It was times like this he wished Jess was around to handle the femme fatales of the world and help keep him straight.

"He's dead." Flack glared at her hard, she shrugged. "I'm sorry, that's all I know, I don't know him, when the crash happened and the table splintered I heard the noise, turned around and he was there, like that. I went over and checked his pulse, that's it. Then all hell broke loose and someone called 9-1-1." he watched her calmly describe the events as she saw them. She was apparently unconcerned by the body still lying in the pool of blood or her situation. He was beginning to wonder how she could be so cool about everything. He looked around then dared to look back at her face. "... You're not sure what to do with me are you detective? I can see it in your eyes, part of you wants to believe me, the other part wants to throw me to the wolves and have me in lock up for the night. ... Might I suggest that you get me out of here and find someplace quiet where you can grill me over my involvement?"

"Not a hope in hell, Miss - whatever your name is, we're going downtown, and you're going to behave!" he grabbed her elbow and proceeded to guide her at arms length towards the door. "Watson! You're coming with me," he called to the female officer nearby as they reached the door. He hoped there was still cold water for the showers when he got back to the stationhouse, he figured he was going to need it, in more ways than one.

-------

Danny took a last look at the body, the young man's dark hair had been matted with blood and drinks and contained flecks of broken glass from the floor where he fell, his previously white shirt was now more red from where his blood had soaked it. His black pants bore a couple of tears revealing scratches on his legs, presumably from the table breaking beneath him as he landed on it. From the blood pool it was obvious that the fatal blow had been directed to the front of his body and before allowing the ME's team to remove it, Danny had them turn over the body so that he could photograph the wound and any possible weapon which remained. He then watched as they removed the body allowing him to photograph the area which was now completely exposed. He collected a number of wood chips from the floor and broken table, along with a few fibres, as a couple of lab techs removed the larger pieces of the table and slipped them into evidence bags, Danny noticed an ID card and moved in to pick it up, carefully protecting possible evidence he looked at the photo.

"What you got there Danny?" Mac asked joining him in the middle of the room.

"ID for Flack's prime suspect. He's taken her downtown. .... She sure is something else, this says her name actually is _Aphrodite_."

"Aphrodite? The Greek goddess?" asked Mac with an amused grin. "I must tell Stella."

"Not sure about the Greek part, but she's a stunner." he handed his boss the ID to review.

What's the story?" questioned Mac looking around at the fall out before returning his attention to the floor where the body had been laying.

"Bar brawl turned ugly. Eyewitness puts _Aphrodite_ as the killer. Flack's taken her down town for interrogation." Danny stressed the name each time he spoke like he still didn't believe it was real.

Mac placed the ID in an evidence bag and added it to the growing pile of bags and wrapped objects being collected. A beeping sound echoed around the room and he then removed his phone from his pocket and pressed a few buttons. Returning the item a moment later he looked around again. "Looks like you got this under control, I'm heading uptown to a decapitation. Keep me posted."

"Decapitation, nice." Danny grunted as Mac walked away. He pulled his own phone from his pocket and was about to dial when one of the assistants handed him a small black wallet. He flipped it open and cursed then hurriedly pressed one of the speed dial numbers on his phone.

* * *

_This is an an idea the muse is having me run with. Would love to know what you think .... you know what to do._


	2. Aphrodite

**____****Disclaimer:**___ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

**_AN: _**_Thankyou to everyone who read chapter 1 and for the alerts and reviews. As a reward here is chapter 2_

_**Chapter 2 - Aphrodite**_

Flack stood at the window observing their suspect; _Aphrodite_ was sitting at the table in the interrogation room, her hands still cuffed behind her. She still seemed composed and cool as she waited for him to interrogate her. They hadn't spoken since leaving the nightclub and she had now been waiting a good half hour for him to come in. Arriving at the station earlier he had needed time to try and distance himself from the assault on his senses this case was promoting. Despite being after midnight the temperature and humidity were still high and the cool shower he had taken did nothing to quell the intrigue the mystery woman was creating. Running his fingers around the collar of his shirt he wished he could be up in the lab where they had air conditioning, rather than in the stuffy station house next door.

He needed to interview her if he had any hopes of getting off shift, so he couldn't delay any longer and releasing a deep sigh he walked in to the room and sat opposite her. Silence hung thick and heavy between them as he waited a few moments, glancing at the file he held before looking up at her.

"OK let's start at the top. Are you going to tell me your name?"

"Aphrodite," She answered quietly, her posture and demeanour unaltered.

"What time did you get to Mirage?" He felt like it was going to be a long night if all she'd give were one word answers. Still there could be worse suspects to be stuck with he decided, allowing his eyes to take in her figure as he waited for an answer.

"About 11, the place wasn't very busy, the heat's been keeping people away I guess." He was amazed at her confident, but casual tone. He'd expected attitude from her, very few people could maintain their cool this long, especially in the heat.

He pressed her to continue her story. "Then what?"

"I talked to a few people, then something must have ticked off a couple of guys at the bar and all hell broke loose. Someone grabbed my bag as I got out of the action, I heard a crash and when I turned around the guy was dead." It seemed a plausible enough story, but he knew they needed more to corroborate her version of events.

"And you never saw anyone hit him?"

"Sorry detective," she answered shaking her head sadly. "Do you know who he is yet?"

"We're working on it." Flack's phone started to ring. "Sit tight." He told her and stood up walking over to a corner as he pressed the object to his ear. "Flack! ... Hey Messer .... you gotta be kiddin' me ... for real? ... yeah, yeah, we'll talk later." He cast a glance over his shoulder at his suspect as he continued his conversation with Danny. She was unphased by the interruption, so he let her stew while he pressed his friend for more information. "You got anything else for me? ....Right, does it belong to our dead guy? .... OK let me know when you get a name ... OK send it to me." He cancelled the call and returned to his seat at the table, while accepting the message which came through. She had overheard his side of the conversation and never even flinched at any of it, he wondered what her involvement was really. It was time to crack her iron will a little and get something out of her.

"OK I think it's time we did some straight talkin' here. ... We got your ID, so your name's for real, but what I don't get is how you're connected to our dead guy."

"I'm not."

"I'm done playing games here Miss Morgan, I want answers and you're going to give them to me. How well do you know the dead guy?" He was losing his patience a little and raised his voice at her; she never even flinched in response. "Maybe a little reminder of how he looks now will jog your memory." He pressed forcefully sliding his phone towards her with a photo of the victim.

"I don't, yeah, I saw him in the bar when I got there, but we never spoke and I've never seen him before."

She had kept her eyes on him the whole time, still giving him a look of dispassionate interest, except for looking for a few seconds at the photo; he felt she knew a whole lot more than she was saying. He waited a moment to see if she would say anything else, but she stayed quiet. He watched as she rolled her shoulders, obviously feeling the strain of still wearing the cuffs. She had showed no signs so far of running or doing anything else so he decided to give her a break; maybe it would get him something in return.

"OK here's what we're gonna do, you've been good so far so I'm going to give you something, then I want something back."

"Are you allowed to make suggestions like that Detective?" A sly look and half smile drifted across her face. He wished he could see her eyes properly, he still couldn't tell what colour they were in the grey light of the interrogation room. Biting back the thought he pushed his chair roughly away from the table and stood up.

"I'm going to take the cuffs off you!" he snapped harshly, "then you're going to tell me what I want to know."

She let him motion the female officer over from her place by the door and undo the cuffs, bringing her hands around to the table she quickly massaged her wrists which bore thin red lines from where they had rubbed, then with both hands she curled some hair and pushed it behind her ears before clasping her fingers together and resting them on the table and leaning forward. "I'm sorry detective there's nothing more I can tell you."

"How about how your ID ended up underneath the body?" He pressed his hands on the table and leant on them. She raised her head, her eyes meeting his.

"I had it in my purse, when the fight broke out it got ripped away from me, I think the strap broke," He watched as she rubbed her shoulder, noticing for the first time the red mark which would seem to support her story, "in all the commotion I lost who took it, they probably dropped some stuff from it. .... Actually that reminds me I was-" Flack cut her off abruptly, pushing himself away from the table.

"Mirage one of your regular pick up joints?" He realised he was now pacing the room, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in her presence. He forced himself to sit back down opposite her.

"Not really, thought there was going to be a little more action there tonight, I didn't account for the fight though," she answered her gaze fixed on his,"you have nice eyes you know," she told him as she reached out and took one of his hands in hers and ran her fingers over his, "nice hands too, ... strong, but gentle at the same time." He pulled his hand back and rubbed it across his mouth and chin. She smiled as a tinge of pink flashed across his face. "You must get told things like that all the time." They both turned suddenly when a tall muscled man in a dark suit and tie walked in; any response he might have given her died on his lips.

"Karla, what have you got into now?" The man asked. She shrugged her shoulders as Flack stood up.

"Who are you? We're in the middle of-" He protested, only to be cut off by the intruder. Glancing between him and the woman it was clear they knew each other and she was not happy to see him. Her soft spoken demeanour of seconds before had gone, replaced by a hard fixed look. He was glad he wasn't on the end of it as it was one of those looks that said you were in her bad books if you got it. He sighed, wondering what right the guy had to wander in and break up his interrogation, for starters.

"Your interrogation just ended. She's coming with me." He stated firmly, expecting no argument and stepping towards the woman he had called Karla.

Flack opened his mouth to protest, he knew she'd seen him, but he didn't get the chance, she jumped in first, "OK guys, no fighting over me." She stood up commanding their attention and putting some space between herself and the intruder.

"You can wait outside. Detective Flack and I have unfinished business." She ordered the brute that had just muscled in. Flack wasn't sure if it was the way she had dished out orders or the way she had glanced at him beforehand, but there was something incredibly intoxicating about her and he wanted to find out more about the woman behind the facade she was giving him.

She waved the burly guy out and turned to Flack. "All is not what it seems, I know you have a job to do and so do I. Let me go now and I promise to come back and explain." Under normal circumstances a logical offer, but these were far from normal circumstances.

"Not gonna happen sweetheart, we got you, anyone else wants a piece of you they have to get in line." She watched as his jaw set in a firm line, she smiled, her eyes quickly flicking over his face as she blinked.

"That what you want detective? ... A piece of me? I know what you think I am."

"I want you to stop playing games and answer my questions." He huffed watching her circle the table, knowing she was going to move closer, but feeling powerless to stop her.

"I really wish I could, but there's nothing I can tell you, I turned my back for a moment and then the table splintered and the cops arrived." She answered in a calm measured tone as she fingered his collar. He took her wrists in his hands and stopped her, holding her back at arms length.

"You think playing this little game is gonna work? I've seen it all, I think the best place for you right now is lock up, we'll see how co-operative you are in the morning."

He turned her towards the door and reached for his cuffs. "Hands behind your back."

She paused and the door opened again, revealing Lt Sythe, Flack's commanding officer.

"Flack, let her go."

"But Lieutenant-" he was ready to protest, gradually growing more frustrated, but he was quickly stopped by his commander.

"It's out of our hands Flack; she's walking with the goon out there. You will stay away from her and concentrate on this case." It was clearly a warning that she was off-limits and Sythe didn't wait around to debate the point, the door swinging closed behind him.

"It was nice meeting you detective; maybe we'll see each other again sometime." He watched as she turned around and stepped closer to him again. She patted his chest, flicked her hair and walked out.

----

The guy in the suit was nowhere to be seen, so she followed the noise into what turned out to be the squad room. A number of wolf-whistles greeted her. She took a couple of steps towards the group having a laugh in the middle of the room and looked at the guy who was now ingratiating himself with the detectives while waiting for her and jerked her head towards the door. As she turned to leave, she ran straight into an immovable object - Flack. In order to stop her falling his arms automatically circled her waist as he held her upright.

"So you couldn't wait to see me again, how nice, but I'm afraid I have to go now. ...." She paused before whispering in his ear, "I'll see you for breakfast." She kissed his cheek and dodged round him followed out by the guy in a suit.

As she walked out she looked at her companion. "Couldn't they find anyone a little less conspicuous?" She ranted, "I'm supposed to blend in, how can I do that when you look like you just stepped off some GQ catalogue shoot. Dress casual, does not mean looking like the-"

Any further words were lost in the drone of a motorcycle engine as they were descending the steps towards a car waiting at the kerb; the sound of two quick bangs catching their attention even more. The suit wasted no time and pushed her quickly into the back of the car waiting at the kerb in front of them, the doors had barely closed when it squealed its tyres and raced away.

----

Flack had watched her leave the room, unclear about exactly what the hell was happening. The guys in the squad room had noticed her and their little scene and took great delight at heckling from the sidelines.

"Wow, Flack"

"She's hot"

"Looks like she's got a thing for you."

He should have expected nothing less from the guys, but he paused and rubbed his face before looking around uneasily. "She's a suspect guys, that's it." He turned to go to his desk.

"Come on Flack, you're telling us that she didn't even make you want a little something of her?" One persisted.

He smiled wryly and turned to his co-workers. "Lay off it Greggs, you couldn't afford her on what the city pays you." He quipped as his mind began to wander. He might have avoided any female relationships for most of the last year since he lost Jess, but he wasn't immune to what a pretty woman could do to a man. And this one had certainly got his attention, but as a suspect in a case, and nothing more than a prostitute there was no way he was going to degrade his girl's memory by making anything with her, but at the same time he couldn't shake the feeling of how good it felt to have his arms around her and for a brief second see the look in her eyes. He still wasn't sure what colour they were, but the intensity of her gaze was undeniably intoxicating.

Before any further comment could be tossed around the echo of two shots caught their attention, Flack reached for his gun from his desk drawer as some of the guys headed straight for the door.

-----

Mac entered the lab to find Danny staring at a computer screen, hearing the door click he looked up, his lab coat opening to display his naked chest.

"I usually prefer people dressed while they work," Mac commented dryly.

"Sorry Mac, the AC's out and it got too hot in here, either I break the rules on lab coats, or the shirt goes, and the shirt lost."

"Just don't make a habit of it. ... How are you doing?"

"Flack's suspect, _Aphrodite_ Morgan, aged 30, DC address, we got her ID and purse, she was carrying a Ruger 380, well maintained, not fired, full clip of 8 shots, her prints all over it and legal registration. She's clean, no record, not even a parking ticket. .... One thing gets me, if she's a killer why didn't she run and if she's packing, why not shoot the guy? According to the guys on scene, she never resisted, never questioned, just let them cuff her and waited for Flack." He gave Mac the low down on what he knew so far, clearly still amused by the woman's name.

"What does he think?"

"He's been trying to question her for the last hour, she denies knowing our vic." Danny scraped his hand down his face and yawned.

"You got anything else, an ID on our dead man maybe?" Mac pressed, thinking that the way things were going it might actually be worth getting a few hours sleep before starting again, unless of course there was something that they could use already.

"Yeah, we got a badge from a Fed, I called the New York field office and I'm waiting to hear back. ... I'm running prints on the guy now, but so far nothing's popped."

"OK, Doesn't look like we can do a lot more tonight, I'm sure Lindsay would like to see you at some point. Take a couple of extra hours in the morning and give my god-daughter a hug for me." Mac offered while wishing he could spend more time with the lively toddler. He had seen little of Lucy since her first birthday, when her parents had thrown a party for everyone in the lab. That was nearly two months before and she had charmed everyone showing off her new walking skills and latest words. He focused back on the present as Danny responded with a little surprise.

"Gee Thanks Mac ... You'll call me though if you need me?"

Mac was about to answer when his phone rang, he ended the brief conversation with a look at Danny and confirmation they would be right there. Danny waited. "I'm sorry, looks like Lindsay may have to wait, someone just took shots at our prime suspect and abducted her."

"From interrogation?" Danny asked surprised.

"From the steps outside, they just released her on orders from the higher up."

Before either of them could move Danny's phone rang, "Messer ... yeah ... what do you mean you can't tell me? ... We need to speak to whoever carries that badge, can you arrange something? ... It was found at the scene of a murder in a downtown club, yeah it's relevant." The caller had obviously hung up as Danny cancelled the call with a few choice words of the swearing variety, then he turned to Mac. "They confirmed it belongs to one of their agents, but refused to say who."

"OK, we'll leave that for now, I'll talk to Sinclair in the morning, right now we have a scene to process outside the police precinct and a suspect to locate."

----

Flack was watching the uniformed officers cordon off the steps of the precinct when Danny and Mac joined him, both carrying silver cases. He scrubbed his hand over his face and looked up and down the street before turning to talk to them.

"Two shots fired from who knows where at our nightclub suspect. She was bundled into a black SUV and driven away at speed. No plates or distinguishing marks just a black SUV. Hernandez found some tyre tracks you might want to look at. At this point we don't know if she was abducted or removed for her own safety."

"It's gone midnight Flack, can't you come up with something easy!" whined Danny as he looked around.

"I tell ya, there's no way anyone can make this stuff up." Flack replied giving his friend a pointed look.

"Anyone get hit?" Mac asked casting his eye around the steps looking for signs of blood.

"Not according to the guys who were out here. They're inside now with my guys making statements." Flack answered waving his arm in the general direction of the squad room.

"We know anything more about Aphrodite?" Mac asked with a wry grin.

"Not much, someone big has an interest; she was just escorted out by a suit. He was the one pushing her into the car, but no one knows who he is, whoever let him in didn't even get a name."

Mac listened to the detective's answer, clearly the younger man was frustrated at the turn of events, he looked around the area again, a frown forming as he noted the lack of viable evidence. "Then for now I think we assume it's an abduction until we know otherwise."

"Kind of brash to walk into a police department and abduct someone." Danny added.

"One other thing Mac, she may have known him, she was giving him hell on her way out apparently." Flack offered.

"Just because she knew him doesn't mean she isn't in trouble." Mac surmised. "Until we find her or whoever took her and ask the questions we don't assume anything. Danny, find the bullets, I'll check the tyre treads." Danny pulled a torch from his pocket and began scouring the area. Mac glanced at Don who was looking up the street a deep frown on his face. "Something wrong?"

Flack turned to the Crime Lab boss and shrugged, "I don't know Mac, the city's gone crazy with this heat, I just don't get it."

Mac eyed him sympathetically. "Look it's late, I know you already pulled a double, there's nothing you can do here now, why don't you take off and we'll let you know what we find in the morning."

Flack tensed, clearly torn by the offer and wanting to stay on the case, "but what if she has been abducted?"

"There are enough guys around here to follow a lead or two, comeback in the morning with fresh eyes." Mac tried to reassure him, Flack was one of the best, but even the best needed sleep sometimes.

"I don't know Mac ... Something about all this just doesn't add up." The younger detective was clearly conflicted and, dare he say, concerned.

"Don, you've been on nearly 24 hours, you're not thinking straight, go home, get some sleep, we'll need you on your game tomorrow when we've had time to examine the evidence."

He nodded slowly, accepting what the older man had said, "fine," he agreed.

* * *

_I'm going to keep you guessing about Aphrodite for a while longer and don't worry there will be more later on the decapitation when Stella and Lindsay get the case. .... I'm aiming to update 2/3 times a week for a while as I have a few more chapters written, of course reviews feed the muse and may promote a quicker response._


	3. Stonewalled

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_**AN: **__Thank you to everyone who read chapter 2 and for the alerts and reviews. _

_Apologies I should have already included the following - Thanks to Lily Moonlight for vetting the early chapters of this several months ago, and to Lilkenny for the title options. _

**Chapter 3 - Stonewalled**

Flack turned away he couldn't help but feel he should be staying, and although he didn't like Mac's advice, he had to admit it made sense. Maybe a few hours sleep and another shower would allow him to rid himself of the cotton wool feeling in his head and the twisted gut he had from concern over the girl calling herself Aphrodite. Now that she was gone, he let himself acknowledge there was something about her he liked. It had been a while since anyone had flirted so openly with him. Anyone in the lab or around the precinct knew about Jess and for the most part, they were still treating him with kid gloves, afraid of upsetting him and having his displeasure taken out on them with a tirade of verbal abuse. The most part being the handful of guys on shift that had seen what happened in the squad room a short while before. The women he met outside the job couldn't comprehend what he did or the hours he kept, Devon had proved that, but somehow, he felt drawn to the dazzling red-head who apparently killed their nightclub victim and who herself had now vanished under questionable circumstances. Something about her was opening his eyes and for a moment he saw a flicker of what might be.

But first he needed sleep and to solve the case, because if she was truly innocent then there was nothing stopping him from seeing her again, if the opposite was true however, he would have been a professional and there would be nothing lost.

In his reverie his feet had automatically walked him to the garage; he opened the door to his car and got in.

-----

Danny was crouched on the steps of the precinct as he looked around, Mac was using a laser device to pick up the tyre treads, depth impressions were no good due to the asphalt on the road, but the pattern and width might give them something. Whatever they got would be better than what he had, a big fat nothing. How difficult could it be to find two bullets in a concrete jungle? Where was Lindsay and her catapult when you needed them? He smirked at the thought of the lesson she had taught him about shooting pebbles at boys in Montana while they were standing on the steps of the museum looking for a bullet.

He stood up and scrubbed his hand across the back of his neck, then looked around again.

"Mac, you OK? I need a minute."

"Yeah, you alright?" Danny noted the concerned look on the boss' face as he looked up from his task.

"Yeah, yeah, I uh, just gotta use the little boys room, I'll be right back." A few minutes to splash some water on his face should help revive him enough to continue the search for the missing bullets.

He saw Mac nod and turned into the precinct. Walking through the foyer his eyes were on the floor as he fought the urge to yawn incessantly, quietly cursing Lucy for waking up the previous night wanting to play. It was quiet around the precinct; most staff were either off duty or out leaving him virtually alone as he ambled down the hallway. He heard a door open to his left light spilling into the partially lit hallway and glinting off something against the wall. It was enough to get his attention; he peered along the edge of the wall for a moment then bent down for a closer look.

"Well what do ya know?" his voice almost echoed in the stillness of the empty hall. He looked around and caught a uniformed officer heading away from him. "Officer!" When the guy turned Danny called him over. "I got evidence here, it's your job to stand here and make sure no one touches it until I get back."

"Detective, my shift just ended," the officer moaned, clearly wanting to get home.

"It'll be five minutes tops." Danny assured the young man as he stood up and headed into the men's room.

A few minutes later Danny was back in the hallway with his kit, beginning to process the scene as Mac walked in.

"So you found a bullet?" He asked with a wry smile as he put down his own case.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy how it made it all the way in here and didn't hit anyone on the way." Danny replied looking back at the path the bullet would have travelled.

"Caliber?"

Danny picked up the bullet with some tweezers and peered at it intently. "Looks like a 45, no distinct rifling, I'll run it through the system and see what pops. I still haven't located the other one, but that could be in here somewhere too." They both stood and looked around. Studying the doors Danny realised it was possible for the bullet to have made it that far unhindered due to the time of the shooting and the possibility that the main doors were most likely open at the time. The hallway would have been practically empty, unlike if it had happened during the day.

"I'll get some uniforms out here to help search, you get that up to the lab." Mac nodded at the bullet which was now in an evidence bag in Danny's hand.

"I'd better call Lindsay also and tell her I'm gonna be a while."

"You may want to delay that call," Mac advised glancing at his watch, "I don't think she'd thank you for waking either her or Lucy at 3am."

Danny gulped. "Wow, that time already. Maybe you're right," he conceded, stifling another yawn. "Wish I was lucky enough to be sleeping right now."

----

The following morning, Lindsay arrived at the precinct, a bag slung over her shoulder and carrying a giggling Lucy on her hip. As she reached to push open the doors Don ran up the steps behind her.

"Hey, Linds, let me get that." He called reaching around her and holding the door to let her pass through before following her and then taking Lucy. "So how are you doing there?" he asked smiling at Lucy, "Mommy brought you to visit huh?" He was rewarded with giggles from the toddler and her mother.

"Unca" babbled Lucy as she hung onto Flack's collar with her tiny hand. She called almost all her parents' friends that, her version of Uncle, the honorary title bestowed on the men of the lab when she was first born. The most amusing thing was she even used it for Stella, who took the name with good grace, while carefully trying to teach Lucy her real name. Once or twice she had been rewarded with _Tellie_.

"I'm not sure who's twisted round her finger most." Lindsay smiled while looking at her daughter as Flack held her in his arms.

"She's a cutie alright, but her Daddy's the one with those privileges. Where you headed?" Flack asked looking up at Lindsay while taking Lucy's hand in his as he tried to stop her pulling on his shirt.

"The lab, Danny ended up working through, Mac's sending him home now and he's dropping Lucy at day-care, but first I need to collect a report from Greggs to take up with me. Would you do me a favour and watch her for two minutes so I don't have to take her in there." Lindsay replied, finally nodding her head towards the squad room.

"Sure thing, go ahead, me and my girl here will be just fine, won't we Luce?" he asked as he turned his attention back to the toddler now bouncing in his arm.

"Unca!" Squealed the toddler back at him. Lindsay watched his face light up as he talked to the baby. It was good to see him getting himself back in the real world after the loss they all suffered a year ago. She rubbed his arm and thanked him then walked away. He wandered towards an empty interview room just off the foyer and leaving the door open he set Lucy on the table while taking a seat at her side, incase she tried to jump off.

"Unca! 'atch!" she squealed and he was just in time as she practised her new party trick and launched herself at him, giggling as he caught her and set her back on the table.

"Now Luce, be careful." He warned.

----

"So Miss Lucy, just what have you done this time to give your Daddy a heart attack?" Flack asked his focus on the girl, now perched back on the table in front of him, as he kept up a stream of mindless chatter to Lucy's shrieks and baby talk, not to mention the endless attempts to launch herself off the table again.

"Looking like that she probably didn't have to do anything at all; Daddy's can be insanely protective of their little girls." Flack pulled a brief face at Lucy, making her giggle and turned around to see the origin of the soft feminine voice.

"Can I help you?" He asked letting his eyes wander over her well tailored appearance, her short soft red hair barely touching her shoulders, her slim figure fitting the air force blue business dress perfectly. He almost wished he was properly attired, something that hadn't really worried him for the last year. He watched as she walked towards him with hardly a glance, her attention captured by the toddler sitting on the edge of the table swinging her legs.

"Hey sweetie, you're cute." She told the giggling girl as she stroked her cheek before glancing at Flack seated at her side.

"Pwitty!" said Lucy clapping her hands and looking between Flack and the woman.

"Good morning detective Flack." He stood in puzzlement as she spoke again her attention back on the baby again. "She's adorable, is she your daughter?"

Flack swallowed hard, he didn't want to give away Lucy's personal details to a complete stranger, but at the same time he was in awe of the way she appeared to know who he was. He scrubbed his hand over his face. "Uh, no, I'm watching her for a friend." He answered finally, reaching out and lifting Lucy from the table. The action caused the woman to straighten up and look at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any harm, I just couldn't resist, and the two of you seemed so adorable. You're obviously busy here, but I hope we can talk, I need your help."

He looked her up and down, she certainly looked out of place in the precinct and her demeanour showed no fear of walking into the place and approaching him. Something about her intrigued him. How was that possible though? Two women in twelve hours had caught his attention. The heat was certainly settling in over the city, it was so bad it was even affecting his mind now. He ran a finger around the collar of his shirt trying to loosen the constriction he was feeling, even though he wasn't wearing a tie. He noted her eyes followed the motion, he felt uncomfortable, his mind wandered back to the nightclub where the impulse had seized him to kiss their prime suspect, of course he hadn't acted on it, and neither would he now, but something was sending his dormant emotions into overdrive. He needed to pull himself together. He coughed nervously trying to hide his discomfort.

Lucy giggled. "Kissy!" She squealed as she grabbed his collar again. Flack felt his face flush, trust a 15 month old to come up with exactly what was going through his mind.

He turned his head to the girl still in his arms. "That's your Daddy's job cutie."

"If this is a bad time I can try and come back," the mystery woman offered.

"Uh, no, just wait a couple of minutes Mrs-" he realised she hadn't introduced herself and why he'd assumed she was married he had no idea. It just seemed a safe option.

"Karla, just Karla's fine and I'm not married." She answered as she held up her left hand to let him see there was no wedding ring.

Flack nodded in acknowledgement and looked her over again, something was puzzling him, but he couldn't work out what it was. He knew she was watching him check her out when his gaze reached her eyes, hers were on him. She smiled at him, a glint of something flashed in her eyes, he felt severely disadvantaged.

"Do I know you?" It was an obvious question, the gnawing in his gut tightening with the thought that somehow she had already crossed his path, but he couldn't place her, it was something he was usually pretty good at, but this time he felt the disadvantage.

"You don't remember me do you detective?" She asked softly as she tipped her head a little to the side and smiled.

"So we have met?"

"Last night," she answered simply, clearly wanting to nudge him into remembering for himself. He let his mind wander over the events of the previous evening, but her identity still eluded him and she obviously knew it too, "of course I looked a little different then, my hair was longer and I uh wasn't, how should I say this? ... I wasn't exactly, behaving myself. ... I'm sorry if I uh did something wrong-"

The recollection suddenly hit him like a freight train, he was grateful to be leaning against the wall, or he may well have ended on his ass. "You? That was you?" He finally exploded in shock. The two images of her dancing in his head and unable to fit them together.

She nodded. "I promised to come back and explain things. Only I don't really have long before they find me and I'm locked up in some hotel room again."

He stared at her trying to work out what the hell was going on as Lucy babbled at him. He glanced at the girl, who was looking quite content staring back at him. He grinned at her as she stuck her thumb in her mouth and lay her head on his shoulder.

Turning his attention back to the woman whose behaviour the night before was the complete opposite from now, although she had walked into the room she had made no attempt to close the door or invade his personal space, unlike the previous evening when she had touched him almost every chance she got. She must have seen him frown, trying to understand her. Maybe Lucy had some influence on it, he just didn't know.

"I have some explaining to do."

As they stood eyeing each other up Lindsay breezed into the room. "Flack, thank you so much, sorry it took so long, has she been good?" She asked in one breath before noticing he wasn't alone. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were busy."

"It's OK, I can wait out here," Karla indicated the hallway and took a step back. "You have an adorable daughter." He watched her leave, wondering just what he was getting himself into as Lindsay took Lucy from him.

"Don? ... Have I just interrupted something?" Lindsay asked glancing between him and the empty doorway, but he remained silent; after a moment he realised she was talking to him.

"Uh, Linds? You say something?"

"I'm going to take Lucy to see her father and let you get back to whatever I interrupted. Just remember I'll want details later."

She grinned at him and disappeared with a giggling Lucy bouncing on her hip as she squealed back, "Unca! Unca!"

Flack scrubbed his hand over his face and let out a slow breath. "Jess, tell me I'm doing the right thing here," he practically sighed as he looked up. "I hope this isn't a mistake."

----

Danny walked into Mac's office and waited for the lab boss to look up from the keyboard where he was typing. Danny rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"I'm guessing I'm not going to like what you have to tell me." Mac said still clicking the keys.

"I finally got something on that bullet from last night," Danny opened as he held out the file to Mac who was now giving their conversation his full attention. "I got nothing from the local databases so I expanded the search, national and federal. I got a hit on a federal case from about 5 years ago in Chicago. I tried to get the file, but you need clearance up the wazoo to see it so I got no details, I called the field office and got stonewalled again just like last night."

"Got a case reference?"

"It's in the file, good luck if you're gonna try." Mac eyed him suspiciously; there wasn't much interdepartmental access he didn't have. Danny waited as his boss tapped the numbers into the computer, only to be rewarded a moment later by a buzzer and a message announcing Access Denied, Clearance Level 5 required.

Mac frowned as he picked up the phone and started dialling. "I guess this is where we make the Chief work for his salary. We got anything else?"

"I just saw Stella arrive, seems like she had a good time in Greece, she'll be in to check up on you in a few. Hawkes is going over the evidence from Mirage and rounding up the lab techs to help him before going to see Sid."

"OK, ask Lindsay to work with Stella on the decapitation, Hawkes can stick with the nightclub and then you get off home and get some sleep. ... Chief, we need your help."

Danny took Mac's focus on the phone call as his dismissal and wandered from the office as the boss explained the problem to the Chief of Detectives.

---

Heading towards his office he noticed the elevator doors open and the loud giggling that could only be from one person. He smiled insanely as his wife and daughter stepped out.

"Dada! Dada!" Squealed Lucy, trying to throw herself at him from Lindsay's arms. He stepped closer and took her from her mother and tossed her into the air before planting loud kisses on her cheek. "Kissy! Kissy!"

"Hey baby girl, you being good for mama?" He asked looking at her before leaning over and kissing Lindsay briefly on her lips and they walked down the corridor together to their office.

"Not bad, she's just been charming Flack and some woman he was with downstairs. It was kind of interesting cos I thought he'd given up women after the string of one night stands last year."

"Until last night, the case we're working, our prime suspect might just have his attention. She came on to him pretty strong in the nightclub."

"That's not all; Greggs just told me that they got all up close and personal in the middle of the squad last night, left him in quite a state after kissing him goodnight." Lindsay replied as she unpacked a few things from Lucy's bag and dropped them into her desk drawer while Danny pulled faces at his daughter making her squeal.

"Yeah well you know what a woman Greggs is, wouldn't surprise me if he embellished things a bit." Danny replied turning his attention to Lindsay, much to his daughter's annoyance.

"Dada, Kissy." Lucy squealed again bouncing in Danny's arms to attract his attention.

"I doubt it, Martinez said the same thing, and he also said she made Flack blush. How many women except Jess have managed to do that?" Lindsay stated with a knowing smirk crossing her face.

"So who is the woman he's with?"

"Corporate Lawyer type, didn't get her name, a pretty red head she's probably still down there if you want to swing by on your way out." She suggested, knowing Danny was just as much an old woman as anyone.

"Red head? Long hair?" Danny quizzed her, his attention piqued at the mention of red hair. Could it be their mystery suspect was back?

"Yes a red head, and no it was kinda short, and it wasn't that Devon woman from a few years back either. Why you so interested?"

"Our missing suspect from last night was a red head, quite a looker, but she had long hair, and the sort of high class call girl attitude, I think if he wasn't working and she wasn't a suspect I think he'd have shelled out a few bucks for a night in the sack with her."

"Danny!" Lindsay half squealed from shock at the blatant way Danny talked about his friend. "You know he's given up on women who put the moves on him, he's an old fashioned guy who believes he should make the first move."

"You weren't there Linds, he was definitely feeling the heat last night and I ain't talking the weather either."

"Yeah, and the weather's got to you too. Now make tracks cowboy and get your daughter to day care and let me get to work." Lindsay kissed them both and headed to the door. "You know what Mac wants me to do?"

"Uh, yeah, you're with Stella working a decapitation in the park. Body came into autopsy last night; Stella's back and will be heading down soon."

"I let her have those delights; I'll go check on the rest of the evidence first." She replied.

"Mama!" Lucy cried as Lindsay began to walk away. She stopped and came back giving her daughter a kiss on the top of her head and ruffling her golden curls.

"Be good for Daddy, I'll see you later, Sweetie."

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews and sharing your thoughts. I would love to hear what you think now ...._


	4. Talking Riddles

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_**AN: **__Thank you to everyone who reviewed chapters 2/3, I have been behind with my replies and hope you have now all received a message, if not my apologies - I'll do better next time. _

**4 - Talking Riddles **

Sid looked up from examining the victim's wound and removed his glasses clipping them together to hang against his chest as he stood up straight.

"Detective Bonasera," he greeted warmly. "How was your vacation?"

"Exhausting, it is the first time I've really appreciated the culture and felt a part of it, rather than just wondering if it was part of my heritage. I just didn't have enough time to do everything though."

"So you'll be heading back to the delights of Ancient Greece again then?"

"I'd like to, who knows maybe next time I can persuade someone else to come with me and I can do the whole tour guide thing."

Sid grinned knowingly, "I'm sure the boss would love that. … So what brings you down to see me so soon after your return?"

Stella shook her head "Mac's decapitation from Central Park last night, he was up all night running with a disappearing suspect, so I've packed him off home to bed for a few hours and promised to keep on the case." She informed the ME while glancing over the body which separated them.

"Well in that case welcome to the Twilight Zone." Sid mused lyrically.

Stella frowned, "the Twilight Zone?" she questioned, wondering what Sid was alluding too.

"In all my years, I've never seen a real decapitation, until now," he confessed, "the ability to completely transect a head from a body is a real skill; very few people will have the strength or ruthlessness to do such a thing." In order to stop him going off at a tangent into one of his stories she quickly interrupted.

"Unfortunately for me it's my second. Mac had one in a case about 4 years ago, just before you started ... what can you tell me about this case?"

Sid unclipped his glasses and clipped them back on over his nose before leaning closer to the wound. "There's a slight angle to the cut which moves from lower on the right to higher on the left, no significant tool marks, your COD is definitely sharp force trauma and whoever did this didn't hesitate, no signs of stuttering or burn marks on the edges of the skin, whatever the killer used it was a single strike."

"Any idea where the killer stood to inflict the damage?" Stella asked looking closer at the wound for herself.

"Not at this stage, I may have more for you later as I'm just getting started." Standing up straight again he removed his glasses and reached to a table at his side and picked up some evidence bags, which he handed over. "I found some trace in the wound which might give you something, it's pretty minute so I'm not sure how much use it will be, but it could have come from your killer or the murder weapon."

Stella took the bags and squinted at a small plastic dish containing a few red flakes. "Do we have an ID yet?"

"No and judging by the state of his clothes I'd say he was living rough. I've sent his fingerprints to Adam and a sample of his blood to tox."

"Any particular indication his blood work will show anything?" Stella asked, looking over the body.

"I've asked them to check all the usual suspects, it doesn't make sense he would just sit on a park bench and wait to be killed, there's not a single defensive wound on him, he either never knew the killer was there or somehow he was subdued first."

"Alright, let me know what you get." Stella turned to leave.

"You might want to let Mac know that everything's not always connected." He quipped, causing her to turn and frown, he picked up the severed head to prove his point. She grinned.

----

Seated in a local diner with plates of steaming food in front of them, Flack looked up and fixed his eyes on the woman seated opposite him. "Are you going to explain that disappearing trick last night?" He asked finally, keeping his voice even, wondering what could have prompted her involvement in his case, his CO's order to let her go, her disappearance and now reappearance. Where she was concerned the list of questions seemed to be growing and he wanted answers to them all. He just wasn't sure he was going to get them though, she seemed far too composed and cool. A reminder that the temperature outside was already climbing.

She shrugged, "it wasn't my choice. It still isn't, I came to talk about your case."

"But you need my help?" He reminded her as he watched her lift her gaze from the plate of food to meet his, .

"Yes."

He maintained his firm gaze, realising for the first time that he could see her eyes properly. He'd had so many comments about his own eye colour that he was practically immune to them, but perhaps for the first time he understood how someone's eyes could cast a spell. Hers were unusual, almost the same colour as her dress, a medium bluish-gray colour. He'd never taken much notice of women's' eyes before, with Jess it had been her smile, with other women it was something else, but never their eyes. It was hard to break the moment, but he needed to focus on the meeting, he needed to know how she was involved. "I don't see how that's gonna work without you telling me what you're involved in."

"What I'm involved in doesn't matter, it has nothing to do with that guy's death last night, but you have in evidence some stuff of mine and I kind of need it back." Her tone was confident, but the nervous look which flashed across her face told him a different story. It was the first chink in her armour that he'd observed, she was nervous, like she knew the answer but had to ask anyway.

"Well you're out of luck, because there is no way the crime lab will let it go." He answered honestly, he knew the rules, no way was he even going to contemplate asking Mac for whatever it was she needed. She'd have to wait until it had been ruled out of evidence then reclaim it through the proper channels. He had that confirmed a moment later when she replied.

"I figured that's what you'd say." The flash of disappointment and concern did not escape him. Clearly something was going on with her that she was struggling with, but he couldn't let that sway him from the information he needed from her.

"Damn right, and we shouldn't even be here, I should just take you straight back to lock up until we get this whole thing straightened out." The words escaped his mouth rather harsher than he intended, but it was the right thing to do, she was after all still a suspect in their case despite what his Lieutenant had said.

"You can't, your Lieutenant told you to leave me out of the case, besides it won't be the best place for me right now."

"Can we just stop talking riddles here and you tell me who you really are?" He fixed her with the toughest glare he could muster in order to get her to tell him anything.

"You know who I am, you've got my purse and my gun, you guys aren't stupid you know it's legally registered and you would have test fired it to run it through IBIS for a hit, which you won't have found. The thing is I need that gun and my ID."

"Why that gun? And your ID you can replace." Maybe the mystery badge Danny had found belonged to her too.

"... I wish I could tell you, but I can't, I know it's a lot to ask but I need you to trust me." She seemed almost apologetic but he couldn't let that sway him, he still needed answers.

"Trust you? You're still our prime suspect, you apparently get abducted off the steps of the station and now you show up feeding me a load of crap about not telling me what's going on. Nah, not gonna work, I need more." His frustration definitely got the better of him this time as he practically snapped at her. The way her gaze rose to meet his and the intense glare she fixed on him confirmed he had just lost the battle.

"Then I guess we're done." She wiped her mouth and dropped the napkin onto her plate and stood up to leave. She was disappointed and frustrated and it surprised Flack that he felt able to read her expressions and demeanour so easily. Sure he was generally good at reading people, it was practically a requirement of the job, but the only one he had been that good with was Jess. Something about this woman intrigued him and he wasn't ready to just let her leave like that. He reached out and seized her wrist, stopping her.

"Wait, sit down." They glared at each other for a moment, "please," as he spoke again he released his hold on her. She slid back into her seat.

"Fine, what do you want to know?" She wasn't exactly keen on co-operating, but she'd agreed, so he started with the questions he had.

"Who are you really?"

"Aphrodite Karla Morgan, I'm here from DC working a case, I'm sorry about last night, I know you think I was on the game, but I'm not, I just need to mingle with some particular people and the loose woman persona was a way in, but they didn't take the bait."

"So what happened on the steps of the station last night, that part of your little charade?" He asked carefully, aware that they could be easily overheard and it seemed she didn't want to reveal much about herself, especially in public.

"No, I have no idea what that was all about. My guys just got me out of there which is what they're paid to do; I just wish the unit could have found someone a little less conspicuous." She answered glancing over her shoulder, actually appearing to react to his last thought, that was a little freaky.

"So where were you last night?"

"A hotel. I ditched them to come and see you." He was a little relieved with the half smile she turned on him, maybe she wasn't as unco-operative as he thought. It seemed like she wanted to say more, but something stopped her. He decided to press his current advantage.

"Now what?" He asked, his voice soft and low.

"You can't help me, so I'll disappear again while we figure out what plan B is."

"And after this is over?" He detected the edge creeping into her voice, he was just scratching the surface of what was going on with her, but he wanted to see if they were likely to cross paths again.

"I'll be back in Quantico riding a desk I guess, until they need me again-" She stopped suddenly, the flicker of uncertainty rippling in her eyes as she caught his gaze. "I'd better go, thanks for breakfast." She slid out of the booth again and smoothed her dress down. He grinned at her.

"Thought you were buying?"

She leant forward and rested her hands on his shoulders and tipped her head close to his, "I forgot my purse," she whispered enticingly in his ear. Her hands were warm on his shoulders and he could smell her perfume, it was different to what Jess had worn, but not unpleasant. He shook his head as she stood up her eyes dancing over his as he shook his head and smiled, something about her was just tugging at his emotions and he wanted to know more about her. Maybe after the case they would be able to talk properly.

"Alright, I got it." He replied standing up and pulling out his wallet dropping a couple of bills on the table before escorting her towards the door.

"If you got no purse, how'd you get here?"

"Car's in the station garage, your attendant has the keys." For the first time he realised that she actually carried nothing on her, no bag or jacket and in NYC that was just a little weird. The only thing you could class as an accessory were the designer sunglasses perched on her head.

----

Lindsay and Adam were in the lab when Stella arrived; she placed the bags of evidence from Sid on the counter and joined her co-workers at a computer monitor. "Hey guys, you got any hits yet?"

Without looking up, Adam replied, "nothing so far, Sid said he thought the guy was homeless so I figured I'd start with arrests, but I got nothing, so either this guy has only recently started sleeping rough or he's been lucky never to be picked up by the boys in blue. The odd thing is that he had a cell phone, how many homeless people do you know with cell phones?"

"That is odd; we got anything from his call log?" She asked.

Lindsay shook her head, "nothing so far, we're running the calls now."

"Adam I want you to stay on finding out who he is and who he may have called, Lindsay you and I have the murder weapon and his clothes. All Sid could tell me was the murder weapon was strong, as was the killer; it's also likely to be something non-mechanical. Sid will send up pictures of the wound tract, but we have very little to go on. You worked the last decapitation case with Mac; you want to have a go at identifying the murder weapon?"

"Yeah, it was like my second case or something, Japanese fighting weapons, this is going to be fun." She grinned.

"I guess I'll take the clothes then." She finished picking up the bags she had brought in and turning to go.

"Stella do you think it's a co-incidence that this case is similar to that other one?" Lindsay asked her forehead crinkling a little as she thought.

"I don't know, it probably wouldn't hurt to pull the file and take a look, even if it isn't the same, it might suggest a direction to look."

"I think I'll start there and hopefully shorten the time it takes to ID the weapon."

Stella and Lindsay moved towards the door when a few beeps from Adam's computer drew their attention.

"I got a hit, our vic is Christopher Connelly, reported missing by his family 6 months ago, no record, but the family suspected him of abusing drugs. He disappeared after a family fight over him going into rehab." He read from the information on the screen.

"OK Adam that's good, have O'Reilly go talk to the family see what else he can get."

----

Hawkes was in layout with a file and the Mirage victim's clothes. He lay out the crime photos and gradually worked his way through inspecting all of them and reading the information gathered so far, as he familiarised himself with the case.

Many of the lab techs were analysing the mountain of evidence which had been collected the previous night. Danny had already documented his findings on the woman's handbag and gun which they believed belonged to their prime suspect, a beautiful woman calling herself Aphrodite. Her driver's licence ID had been found under the body and apart from their victim's blood it only bore finger prints from one donor, presumably her own.

He turned his attention to the FBI badge which still hadn't been tracked to anyone particular, it was strange that the NY field office were being evasive about letting them talk to whoever owned the badge, but sometimes they came up against a jobsworth who decided to withhold information to protect their own cases. It seemed this time even Mac couldn't break that door down. No doubt the chief would be able to pull some weight.

Casting his eye over the evidence in front of him, Hawkes had decided to start with trying to identify their victim, to that end the guy's finger prints were being run through the system and had been for some time, but nothing had remotely matched so far.

Sifting through the bags of evidence which appeared to be separate from the debris of the bar fight he picked up one bag and looked at the small photo it contained, noticing a smudged print on the back he decided to run that print too, to see if it led them anywhere.

Stacking the remaining bags aside he settled down at the computer in the corner of the room as Stella entered.

"Hey Hawkes, how are you? I hear you got Flack's nightclub case."

"Hey Stella, yeah, although subject to Sid's autopsy it sounds a bit like the heat got to everyone and a bar fight ended up with our vic being speared with a piece of broken table, probably accidental, but right now we're covering all angles at least until we ID the poor bastard."

"Wasn't he carrying ID?"

"No, had nothing on him and so far he's not showing up in the system." He answered glancing at the scan running on another computer as he scanned the print he had just lifted from the photo. As he began a search for matching prints he was surprised by a quick response.

"Looks like you found something there." Stella commented as she set herself up at a table nearby to sort through her evidence.

"More questions, we've got a prime suspect who's in the wind, her Driver's license and purse, a gun and now a photo from the crime scene all thought to have her prints on them, but no information about her other than what her driver's licence gives me."

"I thought you just said it was accidental."

"Logically it looks that way, but there's still a mystery to solve with our mystery woman who is accused of killing the vic."

"Aaaah, one of those cases," Stella's amusement was written on her face.

"I'll ask Flack to have her come in and talk to us. Would help if we could get elimination prints from her." Hawkes added as he picked up the photo, which he stared at for a few moments before showing it to Stella.

"Tell me something, does this guy look familiar?"

Stella studied the photo for a few minutes, her features displaying she was thinking deeply. "I can't put my finger on it but yeah, he does kind of have a familiar look about him. He connected to your case?"

"I don't know, the photo was found at the nightclub, someone probably just dropped it."

"Well good luck with that, I've got to figure out the trace that was in our decapitation vics wound." She added casually as she headed to the door waving the sealed petri dish at Hawkes on her way.

----

Flack and Karla left the diner, donning sunglasses against the bright light outside and began walking towards the precinct a couple of blocks away. Before they had gone more than a few feet they heard two car doors slam and looked around to find two burly goons, one of them from the previous night, approaching them. The look of annoyance that ran across Karla's face was not lost on Flack, as she took in their more casual dress. Somehow they still managed to stand out since they were dressed virtually identically, including the same dark sunglasses. Maybe whatever they wore it would be the same, after all they were big guys. Their leather jackets out of place in the heat that was already hanging in the air. Flack knew it was their way of shielding whatever they were packing under the coats, probably in shoulder holsters, judging by the bulge on their left sides. Although still early it was already hot and he could see perspiration dripping from their faces. He smirked as he turned his attention back to Karla and she glared at them, trying to dismiss them. They refused, making the frustration evident in her speech.

"Fine! Then you'll just have to wait for me, I'm not going anywhere with you until I'm ready, and for God's sake try and blend in!" She hissed at them, clearly annoyed, but keeping her voice low so she didn't attract too much attention. "Detective I think you wanted me to look at some photos." She added turning to him, he wondered what she was talking about then caught the expectant look on her face. She still needed some time out.

He nodded, quickly coming up with some excuse for her to walk with him. "Would be helpful if you could ID anyone else at the club last night," he confirmed, then turned his attention to the muscle hovering warily, "what are you gonna do with Bonnie and Clyde?" he asked, lowering his voice and nodding over his shoulder.

"Bonnie and Clyde?" she repeated quietly; he couldn't see her eyes, but the hint of a smile said that he'd amused her. "You mean Felix and Jerry?" Flack pulled a face, "yeah, his mother must have loved Felix the Cat." The veiled amusement in her voice was quickly replaced as she looked at them pointedly, "They, can wait in the car."

With a final glare at the two goons she turned and hurried towards the intersection, he walked with her. Felix and Jerry falling in step a few feet behind, obvious by their heavy footfalls, he guessed being the size they were they couldn't do anything without being seen or heard.

One thing still puzzled him, a question she had managed to sidestep several times in the last hour. "Karla, why do you need those guys?"

"I don't, they're following orders, after last night, I'm supposed to have a protective detail until we wrap up this case I'm working, but look at them, can you honestly tell me I'm protected? They stand out like a sore thumb telling everyone right where I am." He let her rant for a moment then glanced at her profile, to see her take a breath and calm down a little, "Can you blame me for taking off without them?" He grinned; he'd try exactly the same thing.

Flack saw the pedestrian lights ahead of them change in their favour and she marched forward. A squeal of tyres caught his attention and he looked up in time to see a silver SUV cross the intersection towards her.

* * *

_I'm away this weekend with flaky internet connection, so hope this posted OK. You want more? You know what to do......_


	5. Off Limits

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to Lily Moonlight for reviewing this and giving pointers, hope you like what I've done._

**Chapter 5 - Off Limits**

Still angry at her protection detail she saw the lights change and strode out across the intersection. She was vaguely aware of a squeal of tyres before feeling Flack's arm around her waist pulling her violently backwards, twisting her in the process, she felt the jolt as he hit the parked car, her hands flying against his chest and arm to brace herself as a silver SUV sped past them. Both were breathing hard; her bodyguards joining them to provide a protective cordon as they stood in the street, Flack with his back still against the car and her legs feeling like they didn't belong to her.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed there, she could feel his heart, under her hand, pounding against his chest, just the same as hers was doing. She looked up at him, his head turned as he followed the car, before turning to her, their faces inches apart. His eyes were hidden by his sun glasses, but she could see the tension in his jaw. Time seemed to slow down, everything around them fading into the background.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thank you. ... I wasn't paying attention." She answered her voice barely more than a whisper in her ears as she heard the blood rushing through her head. She tingled all over, probably from the shock, but she definitely felt the firm grip of his arm around her and his heart still pounding under her hand. She could feel the heat from his body through the thin material of his shirt, his cologne invading her nostrils again as she fought to regulate her breathing from the shock.

"This was deliberate; they were waiting until you got to the middle of the street." His voice was calm and controlled, he was obviously considering what had just happened.

"Come on, it's a busy intersection, there'd be no guarantee that they'd even be able to get close. It was an accident." She didn't want to believe this was anything else. She felt a ripple of his arm muscles under her hand and she glanced down

"I don't like it; shots fired at you last night, now this," His tone was controlled but low, almost husky. Damn him, he was adding everything up and nothing got past him, "-why are you a target?"

She shook her head, he'd already worked out something was out of whack, she couldn't lie to him, "I have no idea," she half whispered firmly. She thought she felt Flack's arm tighten around her, seconds before his hand cupped her face, tipping it up to face him, she closed her eyes for a second, trying to hold back the tears of frustration at the turn of events in her case.

"We'll figure it out." She opened her eyes again, surprised at his words as she felt him lift her glasses. The gesture seemed to bring them back to reality, the noise of the street suddenly pounding her ears. Karla was aware of a car drawing up next to them as she regained the ability to stand on her own two feet and stepped out of Flack's hold and slipped her glasses back on. Felix grabbed her elbow, easing her back towards the now open car door. She pulled back.

"Karla, we have to go, you shouldn't even be here." Jerry hissed at her urgently.

Tearing her gaze from Flack she looked at her two henchmen, "I'm not going anywhere with you two."

"Karla, don't be difficult, you have to come with us, we're only following orders, and you shouldn't have left the hotel." Jerry was insistent, taking a step closer to her, inserting himself between her and the detective.

"I was perfectly okay until you showed up." She snapped while trying to side step them.

"You're coming with us." Felix answered taking her arm again as they crowded her and pushed her into the car.

She glanced back at Flack, "I'll call you." Her words almost lost as the door was closed between them.

He watched helplessly as she was driven away; the whole scene having taken barely a couple of minutes. Despite the heat seeping into the day, he felt cold, something about this woman was stirring feelings in him he hadn't felt since Jess; for the first time he realised he wanted something more for his life and that he didn't feel guilty about it. As traffic began to move past him he retreated back to the sidewalk wondering just who she really was and what she was into.

-----

Stella looked up from the test she was running as Flack rapped on the glass window and beckoned her out. She glanced at one of the lab techs in the room with her and issued instructions before stripping off her gloves and depositing them in the waste receptacle on her way out to the hallway.

"Flack, what's up?" She noted he looked a little distracted, usually an indicator that he hadn't slept much the night before.

"I was looking for Mac." So he needed to catch up about the case, not really a surprise, but something about her friend and co-worker was keeping her attention.

"He'll be back in a couple of hours; he and Danny worked all night on your nightclub case, so I packed him off to get some sleep. You need some help?" She asked ignoring the fact that it was the first time in nearly three weeks they had seen each other and he hadn't asked about her holiday.

"Got time for a coffee? I got a theory and want to run it by someone." Flack's tone was business like, but Stella sensed an underlying concern.

"I'm not sure how helpful I'll be, Hawkes has the low down on the case, he'd probably be better." She suggested thinking he wanted to discuss the case.

"Nah, it's kinda personal." That definitely had her attention, Flack and personal didn't usually work like that. He barely discussed his personal life, even less since Jess was killed, so for him to voluntarily come out with it and to want to share it with her, she was touched. She smiled at him warmly.

"Okay, coffee it is then." She accepted, nodding at him as she removed her Lab coat and hung it up on the hook just inside the lab.

A few minutes later they were seated at a table in the break room with steaming mugs of coffee.

"What's on your mind?" She asked noting his pensive expression as he stirred his coffee unnecessarily.

"Our mystery woman from last night. She came to see me this morning, we had breakfast, and she asked me to pull a couple of things from evidence. Oh I told her I wouldn't, that it would have to go through official channels, she accepted that, it's just that-" Stella waited to see if he would continue, when the silence deepened and he scrubbed his hand over his mouth she knew there was more to the story. Her curiosity was piqued even more because he had failed so far to look at her, his concentration fixed on stirring his coffee.

"Don, I heard she was your prime suspect." Now he looked up, fixing her with a glare for a moment before apparently summoning the strength to speak.

"Yeah, about that, I'm not convinced, don't know what I do believe, but not that she was involved. .... She's in trouble Stell, you know there were shots fired outside last night?" Stella nodded, not wanting to interrupt his thought flow, hoping that he would resolve whatever issue he thought he had all by himself. "Someone tried to run her down crossing the street 15 minutes ago." Stella couldn't stop the shocked gasp which passed her lips.

"Two attempts on her life?"

She watched him stare at his coffee again, before he answered. "Looks that way. At first she blew it off, but after I pulled her from the path of some silver SUV, she was shaking; it freaked her pretty good even if she tried to hide it. Her henchmen practically abducted her in front of me and took off."

"Sure you're not reading too much into this?" Stella asked, wondering if something other than professional concern was behind everything.

"I'm telling you Stell, she's in trouble. She's got a protection detail and said she's working a case here, she came up from DC. She let slip that she works at Quantico, then she clammed up right after."

She creased her brow as she swirled the remaining coffee in her cup, watching the liquid intently for a moment as she thought through the details. "You think she's undercover for something?"

"I have no idea, but something ain't right."

The intensity of Flack's concern for someone he had just met surprised her, particularly as the woman was still the prime suspect in their case. But she was a scientist as well as a detective, they followed the evidence and that's what she pressed him on. "So your gut's telling you she's in trouble?" She pressed, "but what evidence is there to support it?"

"Two attempts on her life for starters. A mystery case that brings her from DC, a clear attempt at inserting an unknown face into something big, need I go on?" His tone had developed an edge, one that indicated he thought she didn't believe him.

"Don, I'm not questioning your instincts, just trying to figure out how we can help. ... Tell me what else we know about her." She didn't want to alienate him and send him off thinking she didn't care, she did. He was a good friend and she wanted things to be good for him.

"She owns the gun and badge Danny found last night. That's the other thing Mac said that one of the bullets made a case to case with a federal investigation and even he doesn't have clearance to get the file."

"What are you thinking?"

"She needs someone on her side and I don't think she-" Flack stopped as a couple of lab techs entered the room, seeing them head for the coffee pot, he stood up. "Something just isn't right. ... I'm going to find out what." He added finally swallowing the mug of coffee he had stared into most of the last ten minutes before heading out the door.

Stella sat for a moment longer as she thought back over their conversation, and then smiled. This was the most engaged with anything she had seen him in a long time, and to be worried about someone in a case was unheard of, but from what she'd heard from Hawkes, this case was strange anyway, and the chances were that apart from eyewitness testimony there was nothing else to indicate she was anything other than an innocent bystander. But they'd have to solve the case to figure that out and open the door she sensed the detective wanted, one which, except for a few one night stands in the wake of last years events, had been firmly closed since Jess.

-----

After being separated from Flack on the street Karla was escorted to the FBI New York Field office, where she was shown to a conference room. It seemed a little strange finally entering the building after working out of an apartment complex since she had been in the city. Her boss, one Reggie Pearson, was pacing alongside the conference table. When she entered he stopped and placed his hands on his hips. He was an older man, in his late fifties, his unkempt grey hair now balding in places which accompanied by the red cheeks gave him a somewhat pompous appearance. One which people assumed he wanted to reflect his perceived status, but in reality made him look rather pathetic. He had been overlooked for promotion for years and this case was his last chance at getting a command post before retirement. Everyone knew he had wheedled his way into, pushing her aside. He looked up to see Jerry escort her in, but promptly dismissed him, so he withdrew, closing the door behind him.

"Felix called me, told me you left the hotel, I told you to wait there for further instructions. How do you expect to keep a low profile if you're out gallivanting with an NYPD detective?" His cheeks appeared redder than a tomato and offset by the wavy chunks of grey hair and had she not been so mad, Karla would have been laughing at the sight.

"I had to go out. Detective Flack is investigating a homicide and needed me to make a statement."

"In a diner? Apparently the two of you looked pretty cosy, hiding in the back like two high school kids."

"It seemed a better idea than hanging around the precinct, and besides if I'm keeping a low profile then I'm hardly going to sit in the front window am I?" She shot back, hoping that someone would find a way of removing him from her path.

"But you were meeting the cop from the nightclub?" He demanded, she wasn't going to lie, she believed in open communication even though they worked for different masters, ultimately they all worked for the same goal.

"Yes. They needed a statement and I have nothing to hide, so why shouldn't I co-operate? Besides, the nightclub had nothing to do with my investigation."

"Karla, it's NYPD, you're sniffing round their evidence warehouse, we know something is going on, whatever it is they're going to be getting nervous and you know it isn't just them; guys around here are getting nervous too. You can't keep dropping off the radar and not expect trouble." He began pacing along side the conference table, as he railed at her. She just hoped he'd stay there, at least then she couldn't be accused of hitting her boss.

"I was perfectly fine until you had the hired help follow me!" She yelled, her anger briefly breaking through before she regained control and continued as civilly as she could. "Detective Flack is investigating a man's death, we should be bending over backwards to help if we can."

Pearson stopped pacing and turned to her, fixing her with a glare from his beady little eyes that were out of proportion to the rest of him. "That's the point Karla, if we can. We can't you said yourself you didn't see what happened. ... What do you think you were doing? You should have split the minute the fight broke out."

""Not easy when you're in the bathroom." Karla threw back at him. "It was already in full swing when I came out and I was doing just that when someone grabbed my purse and the guy crashed through the table behind me, I glanced back expecting him to get up, he didn't, what was I supposed to do? Leave him lying there?"

Pearson puffed his cheeks for a moment then wiped his perspiring brow, shoving his handkerchief back into his pocket he gave her a stony look. "Right now you're to return to the hotel and stay there, wait for further instructions. I suspect you'll be heading back to Washington tonight or first thing tomorrow, under the circumstances there's not a lot more here you can do."

"While I'm waiting I'll go over the files and give you my assessment."

"Your laptop's impounded and your files are staying with me until this whole mess with NYPD blows over. ... I'd ask for your gun and your badge but they're currently at the Crime Lab. I suppose I'll have to fix that little issue." He grumbled, still staring at her pointedly.

"You're suspending me?" She asked in disbelief.

"You disobeyed orders twice and now you've become a target, consider it doing you a favour for your own safety."

"It's funny how I was perfectly fine until you had me picked up by those two morons sitting out there. You pull them off me and not only will I be able to do my job but I'm less likely to become a target for the next psycho out there."

"Not an option, they're going to become your best buddies until further notice. They're going to escort you back to the hotel, where you will wait for my orders."

"And if I refuse?"

"You can't, this is a federal investigation and you will do as you are told as a member of my department." She fought back the cackle which rose in her throat at his words and groaned instead.

His department? He really thought big of himself, who in their right mind would call a team of 4 a department?

"Great, so I become a prisoner."

"It's not like that Karla."

"No? You could have fooled me; they've already taken my cell phone. You're keeping my laptop, I'm stuck in the hotel, what would you call it?"

"Protective custody."

"In that case I wave my rights and I'm prepared to take the risks."

"I told you, that isn't an option. Now go back to the hotel while I sort out NYPD."

Karla sighed heavily in frustration, it was clear that she wasn't being allowed to do anything right then. "Fine! I'll go back to the hotel, but you'd better get me some instructions pretty quick, because I don't do sitting around."

"Get used to it."

Realising she wouldn't make any headway right then she turned and stalked out of the room.

-----

Several hours passed and Mac was back in his office going over the files which littered his desk from the two cases the night before. A knock on the door drew his attention and a uniformed officer stuck his head in, introducing the visitor he escorted. With introductions out of the way the visitor entered the office properly, the door closed and the officer vanished, his job done.

Mac observed the visitor, a slightly overweight grey haired man with a grim look on his face and stiff appearance, except the balding hair and red face did nothing for the serious look he wore. Mac politely directed him to take a seat. The glare from the beady little eyes he received in return indicated that this meeting was intended to be short.

"Detective Taylor, you're a man of the world, we can be straight with one another." The visitor opened.

"What brings you here?"

"Karla Morgan." Mac said nothing and maintained his best poker faced look. "I know you got a hit on a bullet fired at her last night, which you tracked to a federal case, or tried to, your clearance isn't high enough Detective. I'll put your mind at rest and tell you she's clean, drop her from your investigation."

"It doesn't exactly work like that; we need the evidence to tell us to exclude her."

"It's a matter of national security Detective, she's off limits. I don't want anyone from the lab sniffing round her background, or sniffing around her for that matter. She's here on a mission and she can't be distracted."

"National Security?" Mac questioned, his eyes raised.

"Did you not hear what I just said? I want anything you collected from her last night and you will expunge her name from your records, she doesn't exist. Have I made myself clear?"

"I'm dealing with a murder enquiry and whatever was picked up in that nightclub was taken as evidence to support a murder trial, it remains where it is. As for Miss Morgan, we haven't ruled her out of our investigation yet."

"You just did." The visitor told Mac firmly as he pushed an envelope at him. "Your orders Detective. She disappears, you turn over everything you have of hers plus the bullets from the shooting, and I want all your pocket book notes and your team forgets all about her. That's an order."

Mac took the envelope and opened it; he stood for a moment scanning the pages inside. "You realise you're burying my case?"

"That can't be helped Detective, what we're dealing with here is far bigger than the both of us and from what I understand your man died as a result of an unfortunate set of circumstances, it can be ruled a tragic accident."

Mac dropped the papers to his desk and stood with his hands on his hips. "You can't stop people from talking."

"Anyone breathes a word of Miss Morgan's presence here and they'll find themselves on the next flight to Guantanamo on charges of breaching anti terror laws. As far as you're all concerned she was never there last night. You have a warrant there duly approved by the Attorney General; I'll give you five minutes to hand everything over."

Mac sighed heavily, he hated the strong arm tactics of the man in front of him, his hands were tied by the warrant, it didn't stop him from trying a little more negotiation though. "Agent Pearson, I understand the need for discretion, but I'll vouch for anyone in this lab, your agent's status is safe with us. I cannot in all conscience let you walk out of here with the evidence. Our investigation is still in play, when it's concluded you'll have any unrequired property returned."

"You really don't get the point Detective, you have no say in this, and tell that detective that's been sniffing around her to get up here with his memo book, I want everything he has too."

"I thought we were working on the same side." Mac commented a hint of anger and indignation in his voice. "We could help you with whatever you're doing."

"We don't need you involved, we've got it covered."

"Doesn't appear so from where I'm standing," The deep voice of the Chief of Detectives boomed out as he caught the attention of the occupants and let himself properly into the room. "Your girl is the victim of two attempts on her life, both right after your heavies show up. Who's after her?

Pearson shook his head. "Nice try chief, but your word carries just as much weight in this as Taylor's, the girl and her case is our responsibility and neither incident would have happened if she had followed orders." Pearson fixed his gaze on Mac. "I'm waiting for the evidence detective."

Mac picked up the warrant between two fingers and wafted it in the direction of Chief Sinclair. The other man took it and gave it a cursory glance. "I'm afraid we don't have a lot of options Mac, give him what he wants."

Mac sighed and nodded, before striding from the room.

* * *

_**AN:** I'm a little disappointed that reviews have tailed off after such a wonderful response at the start. I would love to hear from you and know what you think of this._


	6. Deja vu

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_**AN: **__Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and additional comments from Conche and Lilkenny_

**Chapter 6 – Déjà vu**

Flack was at his desk when the phone rang. He snagged the handset from the cradle and answered abruptly. In response to a soft greeting from the other end of the line he felt a sense of peace wash over him and a slight grin cross his lips.

"Are you alright?" It was his first reaction, the way she had been torn away from him earlier on the street concerned him.

"I'm fine Detective. How are you?" He was relieved at her calm quiet tone, she seemed just as concerned about him, unless he was reading too much into things.

"I'd be better if you could have taken a look at those photos." It was true, it had been a snap request as they walked along the street, but the reality was that she might actually be able to give them something as a lead to follow.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to but I don't get a lot of choice in things right now." She sounded disappointed and the idea of her having no choice made him frown, obviously the two henchmen were keeping her under observation. He needed to know more about her and what was happening, but right then it didn't appear as if it would happen.

"Who are those guys?"

"Felix & Jerry? ... I told you ... listen, I said too much this morning, just forget I said anything, I'm alright. I just need to get on with my job; you need to forget I existed."

It sounded like she was trying to distance herself from him and the case, but he wasn't sure if that was the right thing for her to do, he tried to keep her talking longer, "not an easy thing to do after that little show last night ... Karla ... What are you involved in?" His smile at the image of her flirting with him the night before vanished and he shook his head at the thought of her almost being hit by the Silver SUV; he wanted to help.

"Nothing you need to know about. I have to go, goodbye Detective." He heard the strain of emotion in her voice seconds before the click of the call being abruptly disconnected.

Forget she existed? Easier said than done. She had done a real number on him; reached parts of him he'd barely known existed since Jess. He wondered if she was telling him the truth, that she was alright. He tried hitting the redial button on the phone hoping to speak to her again, but all he got was a message saying the number wasn't registered.

_Forget I existed_. Her words echoed in his head, but how could he? He'd been there when she'd practically thrown herself at him the night before, he was the one that had twice had his arms around her, he was the one pulling her from the path of the SUV and feeling the tremors run through her when it had sunk in about her being the target. He was the one she had tried to confide in. It wasn't just some weird dream he'd had when craving Jess, again. This was real, he knew that, and this was something he was not going to let go lightly. He realised he wanted to see her again, hear her voice, he wanted to know if the flirting from the night before was a facade or if that was her personality, and if she would bust it out on him again. He thought for a moment of that day in the car with Jess when they were on stake out and she'd accused him of busting out his game on her, the warm feeling he'd had in that moment, one which was the start of a lot more moments and the smile spread across his face. Was he really getting the same vibes from Karla?

"Flack, Taylor wants you upstairs with everything you have on the Mirage Murder last night. He said to be sure you took everything." Flack groaned, pulled from his reverie, by the message from the duty desk sergeant.

Everything ... that wasn't good.

The other thing that wasn't good was the gnawing feeling in his gut that had started after breakfast, now it was beginning to make him nauseous as well. The sensation knocking aside the moment of warmth he felt when hearing her voice on the end of the phone line.

Something wasn't right.

Wasn't right at all.

-----

Mac entered the lab where Hawkes was staring at the evidence from the Nightclub murder.

"Hawkes, pack up anything relating to the FBI or Miss Morgan and bring it to my office," Mac told him firmly, a tone which indicated there was to be no argument.

"There's some I haven't got to yet."

"That's okay; just bring me everything we have on our mystery woman or the agent."

Hawkes gave him a concerned and confused look. "Is there a problem Mac?" Hawkes noted the serious, no argument look on his boss' face.

"Just bring everything to my office." Mac repeated sternly.

"Alright, you got it. Take me about 10 minutes to log everything."

"Fine, just make it as quick as possible."

As Mac turned to leave Flack appeared in the doorway. "Hey Mac, Duty Desk Sergeant told me I should come see you and bring all the files with me for our Mirage case."

"Yeah, thanks Don." He held his hand out to take the files from the Detective. Flack slowly handed them over. Mac glanced at them, "Your memo book?"

"You want that too?" Don creased his brow, wondering what it was this time that needed the lab boss to spy on him. "Mac it's all in the report, why do you need my book?"

"I need everything in this case that refers to the young woman you detained last night. ... Trust me this doesn't please me any more than it does you, but I have orders too." Mac voiced in calm quiet tones, trying to assure Flack that it wasn't his choice.

"Mac what's going on?"

"We have to trust that there are bigger things at stake here than what killed one man in a heat wave." Mac replied, his tone firm, barely hiding the anger he was keeping at bay.

"You're not making sense you know."

"Just give me your memo book Don." Mac used the same firm tone Hawkes had experienced moments before, the tone which said don't argue.

"This is looking like déjà vu you know, I did that before and it convicted one of my guys on a drugs rap. What is it doing this time?" Flack kept his voice low, but still replied in his own firm tone. Memories of the last time he'd handed over his memo book assaulting him like it had just happened.

"Letting a potential killer walk." Mac admitted pulling Flack aside in the hallway and ensuring no one could overhear. He watched Flack's eyes go wide as he scrubbed his hand over his face.

"Karla Morgan? You think she killed the guy?" Flack half protested, the image of her in his arms a couple of hours ago was dancing before his eyes.

"I don't know and we're being thwarted at every turn. She's off limits and out of the investigation."

"She's in trouble Mac, she's into something way over her head and we're just gonna hand her over?"

"Don, we have no choice."

"That's right Detective," sneered the voice of the grey haired visitor to the lab who had crept up on them. "Where is the evidence?"

"It's being packed now." Mac faced Pearson and fixed him with a steely gaze. "We'll wait in my office."

Escorted by Mac, Pearson reluctantly walked back down the corridor. Flack followed slowly in their wake.

----

Karla tossed the magazine onto the table, sighed heavily and pushed herself off the couch. Glancing around the rather lavish hotel suite noting the pristine condition of the place, the only thing showing anyone was there was the pile of trashy gossip magazines scattered on the table. She was bored, it was a nice day out and she wanted to enjoy it, well, as much as she could being followed everywhere by the two gorillas that had been assigned to protect her. There was little chance of them letting her out after giving them the slip that morning, but she needed to do something. Sighing again she walked to the door. She barely opened it a crack before Jerry stepped in her way. She noted the chair leaning on the opposite wall. He'd been waiting for her.

"You know the rules Karla, you have to stay put, you've already given us the slip twice and we don't need another goose chase around the city."

"Well I can't stay cooped up around here all day either. Can't we just go for a walk or something?"

"No, it's for your own good." He drawled as he stepped into the room, forcing her to step back away from him. Standing at well over 6 feet tall and with the solid muscular body which accompanied his height he seemed to tower over her, even though at 5 foot 7 she was pretty striking herself, granted the heels she generally wore helped her. She could smell the mix of stale sweat, cigarettes and cologne which hung around him, she felt sick and turned around so that she had some cleaner air, thinking about the detective from earlier, he'd acclimatised to the city, even in the heat he smelt good. Somehow his size didn't seem as overpowering, remembering his arms around her, it felt good. She wished he could have whisked her away somewhere quiet so they could get to know each other better and talk about his case. Jerry must have moved behind her as she was assaulted by another waft of his odour bringing her back to the present with a deep sigh.

"That's what you keep saying, but since I've had you two following me I've become the centre of attention. In case you forgot I was shot at and nearly run down, can you justify that?"

"I'm not the one making the call here; take it up with the boss."

"I'd love to but the weasel hasn't dared come near me since this morning. So tell me how I'm supposed to have any kind of discussion about the case?" Jerry remained quiet; instead he looked around and ran his fingers round the collar of his shirt as he eyed the thermostat on the wall, his shirt showing distinct wet patches under his arms as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Hot enough in here for you?" He griped. Karla shrugged.

"Didn't ask you to come in, I'd be quite happy if you spied on me from your arctic cellar," she replied referring to their room where the AC was running full blast, and they could watch her on the CCTV as she moved about the hotel suite which was currently home.

"How can you stand the heat?" He moaned. She smiled.

"You acclimatise, when I was younger we didn't have AC, so I got used to the city temperatures, hot in summer, cold in winter. Now is there something you want?"

"For you to settle down and stop prowling like a caged tiger." He huffed at her.

"Why should I? This is my case, but weasel face has taken all my case notes." She was fed up with everyone else telling her what to do, like she was some damned rookie. She'd been doing the job for 10 years and had planned this whole case, now when their trap was almost ready to be sprung; she'd had the carpet yanked from under her. Some middle aged overweight, overbearing pen pusher had been given control, and he lauded it like he'd owned it. Now a protection detail? How the hell was she supposed to get undercover when she was under constant scrutiny?

Whatever she said made no difference to the giant in the room with her, he was one of those with little up top except the need to say yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir as he did everything the weasel told him. She glared at him as he opened his mouth to placate her, "you've got the TV, why don't you get all cosy with some chick flick or soap."

"You wish. .... no wonder you're divorced, no sense of style or romance, chick flicks aren't girls idea of fun, well unless you're a teenager, I need something more. Can you at least let me have my laptop?"

"No can do sweet cheeks. Nothing that can be traced back to you, remember. You want something we'll get it for you." The male chauvinist.... Like she didn't know the risk she would be taking. She was furious as she continued to glare at him.

"Fine! I want a gallon of Hagen Daz cookies and cream, and some proper reading material, not the trashy stuff you think all girls want to read. Those are fine for flicking through at the dentist, but cooped up for hours on my own I need something real, any chance of a good Tom Clancy novel?"

He seemed a little taken aback at her outburst.

"... I'll see what I can do. Sit tight and chill out." He mumbled as he pulled the door open. "Put the AC on it might help calm that temper of yours." He quipped as he walked out pulling the door rapidly behind him.

She grabbed a cushion and flung it in his wake and half squealed in frustration before stomping into the bedroom and slamming the door behind her. She had made up her mind. This was the last case she was working in DC, after this she was going to find a nice field office somewhere or see if she could transfer to some other agency in New York.

She briefly wondered if there were any openings in NYPD homicide.

-----

Stella walked into Mac's office and perched on the edge of his desk. Mac looked up at her and grinned in response to the smile which seemed to be plastered on her face. "You look like the cat got the cream, want to share?"

"You first, I heard about the Fed in here throwing his weight around."

"There was," Mac answered slowly, a frown crossing his face as he controlled the rage at the unwillingness of another agency to share information, "our prime suspect is in the wind along with anything we had in evidence."

"Is she still your prime suspect?"

"I guess we'll never know, we've been told to back off and forget her."

"And you're going to?" Stella questioned, as Mac noticed the way her brow furrowed.

"I don't see we have a lot of options right now."

"Then you probably should talk to Flack, he had breakfast with her this morning and from all accounts saved her from another attempt on her life."

"And how do you know all this?"

"He told me," Mac noticed the glimmer in her eyes as she talked about their friend. "It's the first time since Angell he's volunteered any information to anyone, I think he likes her."

"He's definitely feeling this one for some reason. He was all for tracking her down last night. Did he tell you her name?" Mac felt some of the anger dissipate as he watched Stella perch on the edge of his desk, her presence enough to calm his shattered nerves and give him some much needed down time, even if it was only for a few moments.

Stella shook her head, "No didn't mention it."

"You'll appreciate this ... Her driver's licence called her Aphrodite." Mac gave her a knowing smile as he spoke a glimmer of amusement appeared in his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Ah, Greek Goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture." She mirrored his grin as she spoke and he could see the flicker in her eyes as the thought ran through her mind of the challenge that was awaiting the young detective if their suspect lived up to her name. "Is she pretty?"

"I only saw her driver's licence; Flack's the only one to have talked to her. Danny saw her in the club, said she was a stunner."

"Maybe it'll be good for Don to think about someone else, this morning is the most I've seen him communicate in a long time."

"What did he have to say?"

"Doesn't think she killed your guy, he thinks she's in trouble."

"I know he said something to me after Pearson walked off with our evidence, but right now we have nothing but his gut instinct to go on."

"Something will turn up Mac, it always does. Danny and Adam still have a ton of evidence from the nightclub to go through and you know how Adam loves rebuilding broken glass."

"I think I'll steer clear for a while yet then. He knows where to find me if he comes up with something." Mac grinned at her, knowing that puzzles were Adam's least favourite occupation after having several of them dumped on him over the years. "How are you doing with your case?"

"Our decapitation? The one you left me with?" She asked pointedly. "Lindsay is having fun in reconstruction with an assortment of weapons, trying to match the cut with a murder weapon."

"And Hawkes?"

"He's with Sid getting more details on the cause of death from your nightclub vic. I still think they're waiting on an ID."

"Then I guess I should wander down there and see what they got and let you and Lindsay get back to your case."

"I guess you should, and Mac, will you talk to Flack, I think he could use a friendly ear right now, he's got a lot on his mind and a lot of it is guilt over Angell if he's attracted to this .. Aphrodite. Is that really her name?" She asked with a broad smile.

"Looks that way, only thing we could find on her was a driver's licence and gun permit all other records are sealed. ... You really think Flack is thinking about moving on this soon after Angell?"

"It's been over a year Mac, he's young, he's probably lonely, and he could probably use some advice from someone who's been through it."

"And you think I could give advice?" He asked giving Stella a pointed look, his eyebrows slightly raised as he met her gaze.

"Mac, you've been out with a few women, you and Peyton were together a year, he needs someone who understands." Stella leaned forwards and patted his chest with her hands in an attempt to encourage him and give him some confidence.

"Okay I'll see what I can do, although it's all kind of a moot point if she's in protective custody and he doesn't see her again."

"If it's not her, there'll be others, he needs to know what he's feeling is normal and it's all very well me telling him, but I don't know, you do."

She pushed herself from Mac's desk and turned towards the door. Mac caught her wrist and stopped her from walking away.

"Stella, do you have plans later?"

"Only if you need me on overtime, otherwise it's a night in with my book and a good bottle of red wine."

"Can I interest you in joining me at the Mayor's benefit; I'll buy you dinner as a reward."

"Ah, there you go Mac, trying to get me to play politics again, sure that's wise after the last time you took me to Gracie Mansion?" She asked her eyes glinting at him again as her lips curved into a sly smile, like they were sharing a secret.

Mac mirrored her smile. "I'm sure this time you'll be on your best behaviour."

"and Dinner afterwards?" She asked as she cocked her head to one side as if contemplating the offer.

"That's what I said." Confirmed Mac realising he still had his fingers curled around her wrist, which he finally released.

"What time do I need to be ready?"

------

Lindsay picked up the next implement in the line and studied it carefully, looking at the blade and comparing it with the pictures of the wound on their victim. Finally she put it down and studied the bamboo pole which was serving as her test subject. She studied the marks she had already made for a moment then went back to the table, picked up the safety glasses and put them on before taking a firm hold of the object she had just studied. Turning to the pole and planting her feet firmly on the floor she took both hands and swung the weapon at the wooden pole, almost losing her footing as she sliced right through with her first swing, the momentum knocking her off balance. Fortunately she recovered quickly and stood wide eyed as she glanced between her test object and the blade which had just sliced it.

Stella had arrived just in time to see the final blow delivered and an amazed Lindsay. "Good shot, is that our weapon?"

"Wow, um, yeah, it-" She stammered still recovering from the moment of surprise. "Almost, it's a Japanese Katana, made of high carbon steel in the front of the blade for a sharp edge but it has low carbon steel in the back where it can absorb most of the impact, the curved blade adds to the cutting power. Traditionally the blades are well oiled and a lot of effort goes into maintaining them, because the oils can attract rust and mould. It is unusual to find blades of this type in the US as their import is fairly strictly controlled, but you know that for a price anyone can smuggle anything. Trying to find the owner is going to be tricky, but we can start by asking local collectors and the museum for help." Lindsay gushed, pouring out far more than Stella had expected.

"Kinda sounds familiar didn't you and Mac have a case just after you arrived? The guy was a martial arts expert and collected these things; he hung upside down from a tree to commit the murder." Stella suggested.

"Do you remember everyone's cases?" She pressed her eyes almost popping.

Stella shook her head, "just the interesting ones, Danny and I worked the other half of the case, a co-worker killed at the San Gennaro festival."

"I remember, Danny kept going on about the cannolis." She answered with a smile, "anyway, our guy was killed from the front, judging by the angle of the wound, and I'd say they were left handed." She added handing Stella a photo of their victims severed head which adequately displayed the way the wound was inflicted.

Stella took the photo and scrunched up her nose as she studied it and the katana Lindsay had just laid down on the bench. Lindsay watched her for a moment, knowing the silence wasn't deliberate, the look on Stella's face telling her she was thinking deeply about something. Almost as suddenly as she lapsed into silence she put down the photo and went to a computer and tapped the search criteria in. Lindsay joined her at the terminal and watched as the search ran before giving them a result. As the image flicked onto the screen, after a few clicks of the mouse a close up image of the sword from the previous case and the victims wound appeared side by side.

"That's exactly the same lack of markings on our vic." Lindsay exclaimed, surprised that the images were so close. "So we know the weapon is one that has no identifiable pattern for us to follow."

Adam stuck his head in the room, "I hope you're not going to use one of us for target practice," he quipped seeing the damaged bamboo poles and assortment of weapons. Then he became quite bashful and ran his hand through his hair. "Um Stella, I got that result you were waiting for, I got a hit to a four year old solved case." He offered handing her a sheet of paper, which she read.

"αυτό που συμβαίνει εδώ?" Stella seemed to curse as her eyes bounced between the paper in her hand and the details of the case on the computer screen, one she had discussed with Lindsay only moments before.

"How is that possible?" Questioned Lindsay as her brow furrowed as she too read the results. "How can we get Stanton's DNA on our vic?"

"Only one way I know of ... they used the same weapon." She frowned. "Let's find out how one weapon has been used in two murders four years apart when it should have been destroyed."

Stella lost no time in digging deeper into the information in the computer.

* * *

_ For any non Greek speakers out there this is what Stella says ...._

_αυτό που συμβαίνει εδώ, = what is happening here?_

_I know it's pretty tame and she is likely to have said something rather stronger, but I was reliant on online translators and couldn't come up with something sensisble when back translated. If there are any Greek speakers out there who can offer me something better I'll change it._


	7. Hit List

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_**AN: **__Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter and additional comments from Conche and Lilkenny. Lily you know which bits are for your benefit.... thanks for the read through too._

**Chapter 7 - Hit List**

It was after lunch when Pearson entered Karla's hotel room, as she sat flicking through the magazines that she had already read about a dozen times that morning. For a few minutes she ignored him until he laid her badge, driver's license and gun on the table in front of her.

"Karla?" His voice was tight and a little threatening. She tossed the magazine on the table and looked up at him.

"So you finally decide to come and talk to me. I've been stuck with those goons who say they're following your orders and won't leave me alone. How long are you going to have me stuck here?"

"It's not that easy Karla ... remember you were the one who got stuck in the middle of an NYPD investigation" She stood up and circled the table as he spoke, she avoided looking at him while she tried to remain composed.

"It wasn't like I planned it. You know I was in that nightclub to get close to Warner, to practically prostitute myself for the sake of the damn case!" She finally exploded as she faced him, her hands planted squarely on her hips.

"Getting yourself arrested wasn't part of the deal."

"I wasn't arrested, ..okay so they read me my rights, it's not like it's the first time. I've been undercover before, but you couldn't trust me to hold up my act you had to pull the federal card and stomp all over the local team. Do you ever stop to think that they can actually help?" She was still standing glaring at him; if she had been in control then this mess would have been resolved before it even became one.

"Karla this is too import-"

"Shove it!" She hissed at him, her fists clenched. "This is my case that you've waltzed all over well I've had it. You just did that for the last time, you want the case? You've got it, but without me. I quit!"

She turned and stormed towards the door only to be stopped by Jerry standing in the doorway again. She turned to Pearson, her eyes boring into the infuriating brute in front of her. "Pearson, get him out of my face before I do it myself, I know my rights, I don't have to stay, I stuck it out for the good of the case, but you just proved that you have no interest in that, only that you want what closing a case of this stature will give you. You're out to climb that greasy pole any way you can and you don't give a damn who you tread on to get there, well I'm not playing any more, I'd already decided this was my last case for the bureau, you just moved up my timescale. Have a nice life." She snatched her purse from the table next to her, scooping up her driver's license at the same time and turned around to leave again, Jerry looked uneasily between the two of them.

"Let her go Jerry if that's what she really wants, she wants to give up the protection, that's her choice, as long as she realises the consequences."

Karla stopped for a moment her back to the two men. Slowly she turned around. "I know the consequences, I wrote the damn rules of engagement for this case. Well you wanted it, you got it. I'm happy to go it alone and take my chances seeing as how I'm only shot at or targeted when your heavies are within 10 feet of me. I've got contacts elsewhere if I have a problem."

Pearson studied her through squinted eyes. "As long as you understand-"

"I understand, but I can't live this way."

"Then you're free to go. We can't do anything for you."

"Fine."

"Karla, one more thing, you can not reveal anything of the case to anyone else or we'll slap you with a warrant for breaching national security."

"I get the message, you're washing your hands of me and the fact that I was the one who put this case together means nothing to you, as far as you're concerned I've been in the way from day 1, so fine see how far you get when you have to send in someone else. ... I'm out of here."

She yanked the door open and stormed down the hallway towards the elevators.

----

Mac entered the morgue to see Danny with Sid finding out the latest on their nightclub victim.

"Mac, hey,"

"Danny, thought you weren't in until later." HE commented crossing the room to stand next to the table with their nightclub victim laid out beneath a sheet.

"I needed to do something after all we don't know where she is do we?" Danny sighed referring to the mysterious woman who had disappeared from the steps of the precinct the night before.

"No, but there again, we been trumped by the FBI, they've assured me she's clean and we need to back off or we have the potential to scupper their case."

"And what case would that be?" Danny asked.

"One of national security apparently." Mac answered with a serious expression which only just suppressed the anger in his eyes.

Sid obviously felt the conversation had continued long enough without him and began one of his orations, "You know it amazes me how Federal Agencies are so pompous, they're so blinkered about their own abilities they don't think anyone else can help especially local law enforcement."

"We'll find another way of solving this case, is there anything you can tell us about the body?" Mac assured them as he turned his attention to the ME.

"I was just saying to Danny that I got a fingerprint from around his carotid, I ran it but nothing popped. My guess would be that someone tried to check his pulse. ... He had a smorgasbord of trace all over him, I've sent his clothes upstairs for processing. Looks like he was in a fight before he died and was either beaten with or was pushed against something wooden, I pulled slivers of what looks like mahogany from his wounds."

"So Sid what was cause of death?"

He looked up at the crime lab boss and shook his head, "I'm not quite done yet, but I'd say the stick of wood in his gut caused him to bleed out from a ruptured liver and spleen. I've sent the offending piece up for analysis. He'd had a blood alcohol level of point zero 7, enough to be belligerent and set off a neighbour in this heat, that could have contributed to the fight."

"What about bruising? Any signs of fists?"

"Several, judging by the size I'd say it was another man. He's a big guy, even under the influence he'd be able to stand up to a woman, unless she had some special skills."

"Still doesn't let _Aphrodite_ off the hook." muttered Danny.

"Aphrodite?" Sid gave them a puzzled look.

"Yeah, she's our prime suspect," he almost groaned. Sid grinned.

"Does she live up to her name?" He asked, a definite softer wistful tone to his voice like he was trying to conjure up an image of her.

"Certainly turned a few heads and gave Flack some grief when he hauled her in." Danny grinned mischievously.

"Our Flack?" Sid questioned raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah Sid, she would have had her hands all over him if it weren't for the cuffs," he added before Mac cleared his throat.

"Okay that's enough you two, do you have anything else?"

"Not right now, I'll let you know if I do." Mac nodded in acknowledgement and turned to the door, Danny joined him.

-----

Stella entered the squad room, in her hand a file with details of her case which she had brought to discuss with another officer, but she noted a dejected Flack sitting at his desk making a passing attempt at making it look like he was reading one of his own files. She leaned over his shoulder and rested her hands on his chest and hugged him, then kissed his cheek before standing up and leaning on his desk. He slowly looked up to her. She noted his eyes were duller than that morning.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"I've been better." He confessed, Stella could tell he was preoccupied and the way he looked around she knew he still missed the presence of the woman who once occupied the desk opposite, but now the sombre expression was also telling her that there was something else on his mind.

"Think we all have. How's your case?" She asked hoping that he would talk to her.

He eyed her somewhat suspiciously, "Little difficult to have one when you've got no evidence. Mac not tell you about the Feds?" Stella didn't object to the mini tantrum she detected, she knew he was frustrated and needed to vent a little. She had already been given the highlights by an enraged Mac, so the rather more subdued tone wasn't going to bother her.

"I heard, don't you have anything else to go on?" She asked frowning, when he shook his head. "She still on your mind?" They both knew who she was asking about.

"Yeah, it's like she just vanished into thin air."

"With a name like Aphrodite, she can't be off the grid for long, I presume you've run her name through the system."

"Last night, got nothing except that her license is clean and she lives in DC."

"Something will turn up, probably when you least expect it." She stretched out her hand and rested it on his shoulder in a soothing gesture. "You want to talk; you know you can call me anytime right." She offered as she noted his gaze linger on the empty desk nearby.

"I'm fine Stell, ... What brings you down here anyway?" He answered turning to look at her properly and scrubbing his hand over his face.

"Mac's decapitation, we've got a lead, I'm just going to drag O'Reilly out to interview a few collectors."

Flack half grinned. "I didn't miss the last case he had like that, have fun."

"Always do." She replied shooting him a smile of her own then wandered away. Flack watched her for a moment and shook his head before turning back to the paperwork on his desk.

----

In a dimly lit diner a few blocks from the Crime Lab Karla was sitting with a half finished mug of coffee while she spoke hurriedly into her cell phone.

"Pen I know you can do this, you're such a whiz with that stuff, please I need a favour."

"Alright, I'll do it, but if anyone asks it wasn't me, damn it spying on NYPD, you could lose your badge, not to mention what Hotch would do to me if he found out."

_"_It'll be fine, I just need the damn phone number, I could go through the switchboard but it would mean answering too many questions and I can't walk right in the front door without this getting back to the weasel."

"He still on your back?"

"Not anymore ... it's a long story, I'll tell you when I come back, but right now I'm not planning on doing that for a while. There's a few things here I need to deal with first."

"You'd tell me if you were in trouble wouldn't you?"

"I'll be fine; I just need some space for a few days ... you got that number yet?"

"Here ... 555-8571. You going to tell me what it's for?"

"I can't, I promise I'll fill you in when I come home. I've gotta go, Thanks."

Karla cancelled the call before her friend could quiz her anymore; she paused for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing, before dialling the number she had just been given.

Before the call connected, she pulled the phone from her ear and cancelled the call, collected her purse and walked out of the diner. Hailing a cab she gave the driver an address and sat back as the cab edged her through the mid-town traffic towards Central Park.

-----

Danny entered Mac's office a pc tablet in his hand which he held out to his boss. "I took another look at the prints Sid found on our vic, they were a match to a set pulled from _Aphrodite's_ driver's licence, but we got nothing else. Trace are still going through his clothes, but it's gonna take awhile as he's got several beer stains, food stains and table splinters all over them. My guess is they're a result of the fight, still doesn't give us anything to go on with our suspect."

"Well if all we have are her finger prints on his neck then it would appear to support her story of checking his pulse."

"Yeah but why would someone say they saw her kill him if she didn't"

"Maybe they didn't see, they made an assumption. Ms Morgan said she never saw what happened, only checked his pulse after he went down. Maybe the witness was wrong, she turned to see what the commotion was just as our suspect found him dead, and because she was there with her fingers on the body-"

"She jumped to the wrong conclusion." Danny sounded like it was a light bulb moment and Mac grinned. "Then maybe we should talk to the witness."

"That's easier said than done, address she gave us is phoney, my guys are running her through the system, but so far nothing." Flack announced walking into the tail end of the conversation.

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm on my way out to follow a lead; our girl just surfaced again and wants to talk, but wants to meet away from the precinct." Flack kept his tone business like as he looked at Mac with a neutral expression.

"And you're going?" Danny spluttered earning him a warning look from Mac and Don.

"I'm going, Hayden Planetarium in an hour ... Mac after what happened earlier, I'm not gonna bring her in, you got any problem with that?"

"No, and for what it's worth the little evidence we have seems to support her story. We need to find someone who actually saw the fight."

"My guys are running down all the occupants of the bar at the time, Hernandez will call you when they tracked 'em."

"Thanks, let me know if you get anything from Miss Morgan."

"Will do." Flack turned to leave.

Danny nudged his elbow, "hoping for a little love from our Greek goddess?"

"I'm the only Greek goddess around here and I'm not putting out for any of you." Stella announced walking in on the conversation and giving Mac a challenging stare. He half grinned at her.

"Sorry Stella, you might be smart and adorable but my man here has his eyes elsewhere on _Aphrodite,_ can you believe it? I came up with some names before Lucy, but who in their right mind would call their kid _Aphrodite_?" He answered scornfully while patting Flack on the shoulder.

Flack brushed Danny's hand away, "Lay off Mess, she's an FBI agent and she's in trouble, I'm just trying to help her out here." He answered seriously, his eyes on Danny.

"Yeah, help her do what? She's calling you, for something other than being her Knight in Shining Armour, I saw how she was last night, the only thing that kept her hands off you were the cuffs."

"Think what you like Danno, she's a nice lady and she's in trouble, which may or may not be connected with your case, so I'm just doing my duty in talking to her." Flack replied sombrely.

Danny smirked at Flack. "In the planetarium? What are you gonna do? Look at the stars?"

"Danny." Mac's warning tone reverberated around the office. "Okay, I hope she gives you something we can use."

"I'll let you know." Flack confirmed then hurriedly escaped Mac's office and Danny's friendly jibes.

"Danny you got work to do?" Mac asked looking at Danny with a pointed expression.

"Yeah, I'll go see if Adam got anything from the trace on the vics clothes."

"And push buttons, see if you can get an ID." Mac countered as Danny headed towards the door. "You could try military databases; haircut could indicate he's recently seen action." Mac added referring to the close cropped hair their victim had.

"Will do." He answered finally heading down the corridor.

Stella stepped closer to Mac once she was sure he had gone, and leant against his desk.

"Not putting out for anyone?" He questioned. "Some guys would be disappointed." He continued, his eyes twinkling at the suggestion.

Stella leant forward allowing herself to whisper conspiratorially, "you disappointed?"

"You can be my Aphrodite any time." He replied, feeling a slight rush of heat to his cheeks as he let his eyes wander over the Greek beauty at his side.

"Not what I asked Mac," she chided playfully, "but it's nice to know what you want, maybe we can talk about it over dinner."

"Maybe we can." He smiled.

Stella sat up again; Mac eyed her curiously for a moment. "The Mirage case didn't bring you in here, so what did?" He asked bringing them back to work related matters, their moment passed. "You don't look happy." Stella knew he had picked up on the frown which creased her forehead as she thought about the case.

"Neither will you when you hear what we found, or rather didn't find."

"Okay walk me through it." He asked steepling his fingers and resting his elbows on his desk as Stella began pacing opposite.

"Remember the case we had about 4 years ago, Jared Stanton and-"Stella began only to have her sentence finished by Mac.

"Greg Thomson, martial arts case, I remember, what has that to do with your latest vic?"

"Lindsay identified the weapon used to kill our vic in the park. A katana ... what really got our attention was the trace of Stanton's blood Sid pulled from the wound. ... The only way that can happen is if the same weapon was used."

She watched his eyes widen slightly as he processed the information. "That's impossible; the weapons from the company were all destroyed last year, signed off by Sinclair after other items went missing from the property vault."

"That's what _should_ have happened, all the paper work was signed off, but if that Katana was destroyed what else could have left 4 year old blood trace on our vic? Even the lack of identifiable tool markings back up what we're finding."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Lindsay was very thorough with the weapons reconstruction, she documented everything in that report." She indicated the file she had dropped on his desk. "Adam ran the blood analysis three times and just to be sure I reviewed everything myself earlier. ... This doesn't make sense."

"Damn right it doesn't," Mac snapped as he hurriedly stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I'm going to find some answers, starting with the chief." He started to open the door, then paused. "and tell Lindsay to find us an ID on our decapitation vic. I'll be back when I have some answers. That property vault is a liability, has been ever since the Anne Steele case, and I'm going to find out why." Mac finally pulled open the door and hurried away. Stella paused for a moment, then shook her head and went to see Lindsay.

------

Flack approached the entrance to the Planetarium and discreetly flashed his badge to the ticket collector and pointed towards the lone figure sitting in the back row of seats. He noted her warily watching the entrance and scrutinising everyone who entered. There was little chance she had actually missed him arrive, so he quickly made his way towards her, taking a seat at her side.

"Hey, sorry it took a while, traffic in Midtown is at a standstill." He looked at her for a moment, but now that he had sat down she was staring blankly ahead of her, no longer focused on the doors. "Karla?"

"I'm sorry; I guess I'm a little preoccupied. ... Thank you for coming."

"It's my job; you're still a person of interest in the investigation."

"Not your prime suspect anymore then?" She practically whispered to him as several people took seats nearby.

"No, Mac thinks he has just corroborated your story. Our ME found your prints on the vics neck, but nothing else."

Their conversation already fairly quiet became even quieter as the auditorium began to fill up.

Flack looked at her again, she seemed jumpy, not quite the composed woman he had seen at breakfast, nor the playful flirty one he'd encountered the previous night. Finally she looked up, but before looking at him he noted the suspicious glance that she cast around the room.

"Karla? Is everything alright?"

"No ... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be doing this. When I called you it seemed like a good idea, now... I don't know."

"Is there something you know about my case?"

She shook her head. "No, only what I told you last night. I really wish I could help more."

Something about the dull, anguished look in her eyes had him believing her. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem rather jumpy."

"I'm fine; I'm just having a bad day."

"What happened after this morning?"

Flack noted the way that her eyes flicked across his face and around the room before she answered, while fiddling with the strap on her purse. "Nothing, we went back to the hotel and stayed there."

"All morning?"

"Pretty much ... I really appreciate you coming to meet me, and I really want to help your case, but I just have nothing for you, I should go."

Karla stood up and looked around for the exit. Flack reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, you bring me out here, tell me there's nothing else to tell me then walk out again?"

"Looks that way. At least I'm off your hit list."

"Let's get out of here, find somewhere else to talk." He offered, his fingers still curled around her arm, "you look like you've got something on your mind."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Do you need to do it all alone?"

"Who says I'm alone?"

"You came up alone on a flight from DC, you seemed to be on your own last night, apart from Butch and Sundance I've not seen you with anyone else. Want to prove me wrong?"

"Felix and Jerry," She reminded him before chewing on her bottom lip for a few seconds. "I can't, but that doesn't mean I am on my own."

"Then why call me and not one of your-" Flack stopped as the lights began to dim. "Let's go," he switched his hand to her elbow as he stood up and lead her from the auditorium.

A short while later they were walking through the park. Passersby cast them furtive glances as they noticed his badge and gun adorning his belt, although he was fairly certain the guys were too busy checking out his companion.

Very little conversation had passed between them until they reached Shakespeare's Garden, which was fairly secluded and offered them a quiet place to talk. Karla sat on one of the benches and looked at the garden.

"I used to come here when I was little, my mom used to bring me after school and she'd read his poetry to me. In high school it was where I used to come to escape, I'd bring my books down here and spend hours laying on the grass studying." She glanced up at Don, "I haven't been back since she died. ... I'd forgotten how peaceful the place is."

"We can go somewhere else."

"It's okay; it's time I came back."

"Why are you back in New York?" He felt it was a safe question, a chance to change the subject so she didn't have to relive any painful memories.

"I was working a case"

"What are you working on?"

"I'm not, and even if I was I can't say anything, I'm sorry Detective I do really want to share this, but my hands are tied. .... I appreciate what you did this morning; I never really got to thank you."

"It was nothing" he answered automatically while trying to quell the somersaults in his stomach as his thoughts shot back to the moment he realised what was about to happen and snatched her from the path of the silver SUV and certain death, his memory replaying every moment of the encounter.

"Detective Flack, if it wasn't for you-"

He turned his attention back to her, the thought of facing her demise something he didn't want to have on his conscience, he stared at her. "Stop ... nothing happened." He was a little more curt with her than he intended, but the thought of her labouring the point was keeping his stomach churning and he couldn't work out why. Maybe Danny had been right, was he hoping for a little love? It had been over a year since losing Jess and apart from a few one night stands in the month after he had barely looked at another woman, but this one was getting under his skin, making him feel things that he never expected to feel ever again.

"Detective? I guess it's my turn to ask you if everything's alright?"

He nodded to her as he pulled his head from his reverie and focused back on the present. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I just- never mind."

Silence dropped between them for a few minutes. A warm breeze blew around them briefly leaving them aware of the high temperature still bathing the city.

"Is Aphrodite your real name?" He asked finally.

"And if it is?" She asked back a glint of something passing through her eyes.

He grinned, "I can understand why you use Karla. ... I bet the kids at school used to tease you."

He watched her shake her head, "Parents had the great forethought to put Karla on my school records, the kids never found out, but you know how it is with government documents, couldn't really get away with it. .... Am I going to get it from you about all that Greek goddess stuff?"

Flack's mind went back to the previous evening and the look she had on her face when she had told him her name. "Me? No." He half laughed, concealing the sudden urge to tease her mercilessly. "Can't promise about Messer though, he's getting quite a kick out of you."

"Messer?"

"Danny, he was processing the scene last night. Found your drivers license and weapon."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "Probably a good thing that I'm not likely to meet him then isn't it?"

"... Why did you call me?"

"I don't know really, seemed like a good idea at the time, I'm sorry, I'm wasting your time, you've got better things to do-"

"Listen, you've had quite an eventful 24 hours, are you sure you-" He frowned as she interrupted him, he could feel the hairs on his neck pricking up at the way she looked at him. Something was gnawing at his gut again and he felt like he was 5 again.

"I'm fine. I guess I'm suddenly feeling a little paranoid, I'm sorry for dragging you away from your case."

"Can you tell me anymore about what happened in the nightclub last night?"

"Is there something wrong detective? You're giving me this weird look."

He grinned, but felt that spidery sense again as she looked at him with veiled eyes and tipping her head to one side. "Nah, it's just for a moment I thought you reminded me of someone I met a long time ago. Stupid huh?"

"No, maybe a little freaky, but not stupid."

He quickly shut up and stood up, trying to avoid getting into anything with her. Trying to stop his emotions getting the better of him, he focused on the area around them.

Something glinted in the sunlight. At first he ignored it, but the second time it was unmissable and this time he turned and put himself between whatever it was and Karla, and reached for her hand. "We gotta go, now."

She tried to look around him as he pulled her to her feet, but he stopped her and circled his arm around her waist, making sure to keep himself between her and the threat. "Go with me on this, I think we're being watched. It may be nothing, but I'd rather not stay to find out."

"So what's your plan?"

"I hope you like puppets."

"Actually I hate the things, whoever thought that idea up as children's entertainment seriously needed their head examined."

"Don't worry I won't let them scare you." He answered flippantly, both in reference to their observer and the puppets as he guided her down from the summit of the garden to the main footpath, while keeping half an eye on where the sunlight had reflected off something in the shrubbery.

* * *

_The site was clearly having problems again with the hit counter, so I hope people who have been following this got to read the last chapter. The assigment is finished now, so I'm back for a while to get some more writing ahead done, I'm already on chapter 13 so should be able to update fairly frequently for a few weeks. _

_Please press the button below and let me have your thoughts..._


	8. Trust

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

**Chapter 8 - Trust**

Danny walked into the AV lab to find Adam apparently playing some game on the big screens.

"Adam! Quit playing and get back to work!" Danny barked making the lab tech seem to jump out of his boots as he hurriedly turned around.

"Danny you scared me!" He groaned and turned back to his game. "It's okay I'm not on line and it's my break, no one needs the equipment so I'm good" he answered, his fingers rapidly pressing the keypad in his hands as he moved a monstrous looking truck across the screen.

"Breaks over, I need you to trace Flack's phone, I've had about 6 calls in the last 10 minutes but every time I get nothing. Phone isn't picking up any noise; I need you to check it out."

"Well why didn't you say so instead of- never mind, Flack's phone?" Adam replied and hurriedly shut down the game, immediately switching to tech mode. "Got the number?"

Danny reeled off the number and waited while Adam ran the trace. A series of triangles appeared over a map of the West side of the city and Central Park. After a few minutes in which they both held their breath they all merged into a single triangle before their eyes and rotated on a spot over the park.

"Okay, get me a picture, what's there?"

Hawkes rushed in calling Danny, "We got shots fired in Central Park, and Mac wants us to process the scene, one civilian in a bad way on their way to Trinity Hospital."

"I'll be right with you, where we headed?" Danny replied squinting at the enlarged map Adam was zooming in on.

"Swedish Cottage. Shooter may still be in the vicinity, grab your vest." Hawkes instructed turning to leave, but noticed Danny hadn't moved. "Danny we have to go now."

Danny felt his legs start to weaken as the image finally settled on the point on the map he needed. He leant over the bench to steady himself as a dozen random and not too pleasant thoughts ran through his head. "Yeah, coming, do we know who got shot?"

"A runner, poor guy wasn't the target apparently." Hawkes answered hovering in the doorway.

"No, I think I know who was." Danny answered firmly, pushing himself upright again and patting Adam on the back. "Thanks Adam."

"Who?"

"_Aphrodite_!" He groaned as he followed Hawkes from the room.

-----

Karla felt Flack's hand on her back as he pushed her through the clamour of people trying to get out of the theatre. For an instant she felt the loss of contact as they were briefly separated and she spun her head to find him or a safe place to hide. She wasn't given the chance as he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him while he was still walking.

"This way." He commanded as he led her through the theatre to the back room where the puppets were stored, a room with no windows and only one door, a door which they would be able to watch.

Once inside he let her hand go and pulled out his flashlight and shone it around, providing them the only light now the door had been firmly closed. She was straining her eyes to adjust to the light level, until the beam from the flashlight lit up the contents of the room, neatly hanging from the rafters. She let out an involuntary shriek, even though she did her best to hide it, his reaction was to tighten his grip on her hand. She could feel her heart pounding and her chest constrict as she squeezed his hand.

"You really are scared by these things aren't you?" She could hear the mirth in his voice as he scanned the room using his flashlight, which randomly bounced eerie images from the assorted contents hanging from the rafters, making Karla's heart thump in her chest every time he lit up one of the puppets; she took a deep breath and swallowed the bile rising in her throat.

"Not funny detective." She wheezed, shutting her eyes tight as he lit up a particularly gruesome spectacle.

"Alright, stick close, hopefully we got some help on the way." He moved the light and pulled her a little closer. She tried not to think about what was hiding in the dark as she opened her eyes again.

He led her towards the back corner of the room. "I know it's not the best, but if you sit down, I can stack a few boxes around give us some cover."

"I'll help" She heard herself answer as she reached out to pick up a box and felt something like a red hot poker go through her arm. "Aaah!" She tried to bite back the scream of agony, but it wasn't enough, of course he realised something else was wrong.

"Karla? What is it?"

"My arm, I- I don't know." She mumbled trying to regain her composure, this was ridiculous, she was an FBI agent for God sake, and she should be able to control herself better than this.

"Hold this," he thrust the flashlight into her hand and angled it towards her arm. "Let me see." She watched as he gently raised her lower arm to support it while he took a look at the injury. "You're bleeding."

"Well done Sherlock, I can see that." She hissed as the pain rippled through her again.

"Looks like a bullet graze, they must have got closer than we thought."

"No kidding?" She answered tersely. "I think that's pretty obvious. Now how long are we going to have to stay in this hell hole?"

"For an FBI Agent-"

"Whatever you're going to say forget it. I'm kind of freaking out here, I just got shot and nearly killed for the third time in two days. You've dragged me into hiding in a place of nightmares, I don't need your coloured view of me," anger now compensating for her fear made her feel a little guilty as he had only tried to help her.

"Alright, but now will you tell me what you're into so that we can make proper arrangements to keep you alive?" He shot back while tying a handkerchief around her arm then helping her to sit down. "Hold the flashlight so I can see to move the boxes." A few minutes later he joined her on the floor turning off the flashlight to save the batteries. "You going to tell me what this is all about?"

"Maybe if I knew, but I don't ... It can't be about the case because I'd only just started my investigation, nothing had happened yet and ... I just don't know." She answered with a deep sigh trying to calm her shattered nerves as she felt the heat for the first time. The room was stifling and dusty and she felt like her hair was sticking to her head, her arm was throbbing and she really thought this time she would cry, something she hadn't done in a long time. She sniffed back the tears. She knew Flack had heard her when she felt his hand on her arm.

"What can I do?" His voice was softer, more caring.

"I don't even know what I can do." she answered leaning her head back against the wall.

"Something must have happened lately to trigger this, a case you worked on maybe."

Karla couldn't think, she could feel the dust in her mouth, every time she breathed it seemed to settle further into her lungs, irritating her throat and chest, she coughed. After a few seconds she forced herself to stop, knowing it wasn't going to get better in the short term.

-----

Danny and Hawkes left the SUV pulling on their Kevlar vests and approached the uniformed sergeant who appeared to be in charge.

"What we got Sarge?" Called Danny pulling his weapon and approaching the officer.

"Shooter fired two shots. Jogger took one to the shoulder and just went into surgery at Trinity. A young couple were seen coming from the direction of the Delacorte theatre and eye witness testimony puts them as the targets, fired at as they headed into the cottage. But we're not sure what the deal is there yet. We could have a hostage situation."

"I don't think so." Hawkes answered looking around at the gathered crowd.

"With all due respect detectives how would you know only just showing up and all?"

"We believe the young couple you speak of is Detective Flack and a Federal Agent that he was with. ... Is there any clue as to where the shooter might have gone?"

"None. SWAT are on their way."

"I think we can mange without them, my guess is the shooter is long gone and for now the threat has passed. The Federal Agent is the target."

-----

He felt Karla stiffen as they heard movement on the other side of the door. He reached over and squeezed her hand in a reassuring motion.

"I'm sorry; I guess I'm just not used to being someone's target." She whispered, he edged closer letting her know she wasn't alone.

"Not gonna happen, they're gonna have to get through me first." He mumbled as he settled next to her he could feel his right shoulder rest against her left one. "How are you doing?"

"I'll be a lot better when we're out of here. Stuck in a closed room with the stuff of nightmares is not exactly how I planned to spend my day. But I guess as long as the light stays off-" She never got to finish as scratching sounds and footsteps were heard outside the door and Flack shuffled again, preparing himself, he released her hand and reached for his gun, which he had slipped from the holster and had resting in his lap. The sound of voices penetrated through the walls, this time it was his turn to tense up.

What happened next surprised them both.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Since when does a killer knock in a place like this?" She whispered, Flack felt a little reassured that she might be thinking rationally, she had a point; gunmen didn't knock and tell you they were there.

"It's a little surprising, stay still, I know you're used to being in charge, but just for once trust a cop to help you."

"And I suppose you want me to trust you?" She hissed, keeping her voice low.

"Worked so far hasn't it?" He quipped, hoping that his attempt at keeping things light-hearted was keeping her calm.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you detective. Why do you think I called?" She must have turned her head to speak, her voice sounded really close. He could still detect a hint of uncertainty in her, he hoped after this she would confide in him properly.

Whoever was at the door knocked again.

"Flack? You in there? We brought the cavalry. You guys alright?"

"Danny! We're fine." Flack called back letting the breath go he had been holding then stood up reaching for Karla's hand at the same time and pulling her to her feet. He stowed his weapon in the holster on his right hip and taking the flashlight he traced his way over to the door leading Karla behind him.

"You gonna let us in or what?" Danny yelled through the door as Flack unlocked it.

"Cool it Mess, we're right here." He called back as the door opened, bathing the entrance with a shaft of light. Danny stepped forward and reached for the light switch, sending the room into the glare of a stark fluorescent beam. Flack felt Karla turn at his side and heard the muffled cry she gave as well as having her back into him as she took in the contents of the room. Instinctively his arm encircled her waist and he drew her closer allowing her to bury her head in his shoulder. "Let's get you out of here." He whispered preparing to guide her towards the door and shielding her eyes from seeing anything else, memories rising of that moment earlier in the day when she had also ended up in his arms. He tightened his hold on her.

She was shaking violently and he felt guilty for teasing her earlier, she really was terrified of the innocuous puppets. Despite the gentle pressure for her to move, she stayed rooted to the spot, unable to even take the slightest step.

"Karla, we gotta get you out of here babe, come on. They aren't gonna hurt you, I got you, let's go." He gently cajoled her, shooting a glance at Danny who still stood in the doorway a shocked expression on his face. Flack knew there weren't many options, she either moved or he carried her, "Keep your eyes closed and walk with me ... Karla?" She hadn't responded to anything in the last few seconds, his fingers brushed her pulse on her neck, just the slightest touch was enough for him to realise her heart was pounding, her breathing was rapid. He knew Danny was watching him and it would lead to a whole lot of ribbing later, but right now he didn't care. "Messer we gotta get her out of here. EMS outside?"

"Danny! There's no sign of them." Hawkes called right before he rounded the doorway and stopped. "Flack, you guys alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, can we just get out of here before she passes out," Flack answered casting another glance at Karla and rubbing his hand up her back, he could still feel her trembling. He tried again a little more forcefully this time, "Karla, we're getting out of here right now, you either walk with me or I carry you, choice is yours."

He felt her nod finally and careful to protect her from seeing anything else he guided her to the door, past Danny and Hawkes who stood smirking slightly as they passed them. One thing was certain; his protection of their former prime suspect was going to mean lots of questions to answer later, as well as the endless ribbing he would have to endure. He just wasn't sure if he was ready for their smartass comments when he barely knew the woman and everything still hurt when he thought about Jess. When this was all over he needed to get away, to make sense of what his life was about now he had to move on without her. Was it too soon? What would every one think if he did? How would he even go about meeting someone? The thoughts tumbled through his mind as he guided his charge outside, dropping his hand from shielding her face as they stepped into the sunlight, a hot breeze greeting them. He still had an arm around her and felt her shiver as they approached the ambulance. He slowly lowered his arm from her waist and turned her to sit on the steps.

He stepped back as the medics moved closer and rubbed his hand across his face while he watched them give her oxygen and take a look at her arm, except that she pulled away from them and removed the mask from her face as she jerked her head up, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she frantically looked around until her eyes rested on him, then he thought the wild look seemed to fade a little. He was tempted to move closer, to reassure her but he didn't want to give the wrong impression. He would stand and keep watch until they could assess what had happened, but he needed to give her space too.

"Don?" Hawkes calm voice broke into his thoughts and he half turned to the Ex ME. "How's she doing?"

"Pretty shaken up, she told me she hated those things, I guess I didn't really believe her, after all she kept it pretty together until the lights went on."

"Danny told me what happened, it's called pupaphobia. Fear of puppets, a lot of people have it, some worse than others. Want me to check her over?"

"Yeah, she's got a bullet graze on her arm too." Hawkes nodded at him and stepped towards the ambulance. Flack watched, a knot tightening in his stomach as Hawkes talked to her while gently probing her injured arm and taking care of her. He wished she was still wrapped in his arms, that he was the one taking care of her. What puzzled him was why after such a short time he was having so many random thoughts about her.

------

The drive downtown had been slow; city traffic having been worse than normal and the heat further fraying tempers, including Mac's own, was an ominous sign when he barged into the Chief's office.

"Taylor, come right on in. What's your problem today?"

"This!" Mac answered tersely throwing a file on Sinclair's desk. The chief took it slowly, his eyes lingering on Mac. "Did you know more evidence has walked out of the store?"

"What are you talking about Mac, the Dunbrook fiasco was sorted last year." Sinclair replied keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Mac.

"I'm not talking about Dunbrook this time; I've got another murder using a weapon which is logged as having been destroyed. Tell me how that can happen?" Mac was so furious he almost spat at the Chief of Detectives.

"I don't know, what weapon are we talking about?"

Mac narrowed his eyes, suspicious of Sinclair's denial. "A Japanese Katana, which I seized four years ago."

"A Katana? Are you sure it's the same one?" Mac felt hi blood boil at the veiled accusation that they had misread the test results, or worse, made it up.

"Adam Ross confirmed trace in the wound of our latest vic was blood from Jared Stanton who was killed 4 years ago, which lead us to checking up on the weapon."

"Well if it's been destroyed, then it can't have been the same weapon, your staff must have made a mistake." Mac felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle, the last person that should be making accusations against his team was the man in front of him.

"Not when the evidence has been cross checked by three members of my lab. The evidence warehouse has been under attack since the Ann Steele case, how many more things have gone missing?" Mac defended his team as he fixed a firm stare on Sinclair.

"That's not your problem Mac, I suggest you get back to your lab and leave this to me." The Chief answered calmly and to Mac's mind rather dismissively.

"Is that your way of telling me to forget this?" Mac refused to let the matter drop, it was serious that the security of the evidence warehouse was once again under scrutiny and it should not be left without investigation.

"No, it's my way of telling you that I've got this under control. Follow the rest of your investigation and leave the evidence warehouse to me." Mac noted the edge of anger in his voice, but refused to let it rile him this time. He needed to be sure that the evidence was secure for future cases.

"I need to know how the evidence got out of the warehouse and where it ended up."

"Mac, I'm giving you an order, drop that part of the investigation focus on finding your killer."

"Chief is there something you're not telling me?" Mac wondered why the Chief was so insistent that he left the evidence warehouse out of his investigation, and it was fairly unusual for him to be insistent with little explanation, although by rights Sinclair did not have to reveal anything.

"Mac, I'm asking you to trust me."

"Trust you? We're trying our damndest to put the killers behind bars and we keep finding the evidence we collect to convict is disappearing under our noses. How can we seriously stand by and do nothing?" Mac's anger broke through once more as he fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves, the victims of city crime.

"You're not going to let this go are you?" An edge of resignation appeared in Sinclair's voice as they eyed each other warily.

"We're coming under fire for something that shouldn't be happening, we've lost 4 cases in the last year, not to mention the problems caused with Ann Steele's flash drive, which you had a personal interest in. We need to stop this leak and convict those responsible." Mac reminded Sinclair of a key case which had first shown up the vulnerability of their evidence storage.

"I agree and it has to be handled discreetly, it needs outside review ... It's come to my attention that certain nameless individuals don't take their responsibilities as seriously as the rest of us. .... I called in the FBI from Washington; I needed eyes out of the city, just to avoid any possible link with the local office or city officials. The team are reporting directly to me." Mac was floored when the Chief mentioned FBI. It wasn't often that cases crossed with the Federal Bureau, but this was the second time in less than 24 hours their name had come up, was that an indication of something deeper going on, or purely a coincidence?

"FBI from Washington? .... Is it just a coincidence then that the FBI turned up in another case of ours last night? One of their agents from Washington happened to be involved in a nightclub murder and lost her badge and gun in the process, it seems ever since then she's become the target herself, three attempts have been made on her life."

"I don't know anything about your case last night, but I do know the female agent quit the team earlier and new staff are being drafted in."

"Is she around, can we talk to her or the team?"

"What I've been told is that she's gone to ground, all her case notes are with the unit chief who is taking control."

"Special Agent Pearson?"

"I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from you. ... Mac I shouldn't need to tell you that shutting down whatever is going on is key to us regaining control of the evidence warehouse, we need Pearson and his team to do their job and help plug this gap."

"And where does Aphrodite Morgan fit in all of this?"

Sinclair shook his head. "She quit the team earlier today, as I understand it a clash of personalities with Pearson. ... Now let me make it clear, she stays off limit to your investigation of Mirage."

Before Mac could respond his phone rang, he answered it briefly excusing himself to the chief. "Danny, what is it? .... Understood, are they safe now? ... Good, you and Hawkes go over the scene and let me know what you find." Mac cancelled the call and turned back to the chief.

"Mac?"

"A third attempt has just been made on Agent Morgan's life, with Don Flack caught in the cross fire, both are safe and on their way back to the crime lab. You telling me she should still be off limits now?"

_

* * *

_

I hope everyone is still enjoying this, please review and let me know.


	9. Safe House

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. ... Oh, and in case you wonder, any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS too. _

_Currently have intermittent internet connection, hope this uploads properly. Happy reading ....._

**Chapter 9 - Safe House**

As they arrived in the lab Stella quickly hugged Flack and turned to Karla, to welcome her.

"Danny told us what happened. I'm glad you're alright. I'm Stella; I'm taking care of you for a bit while Flack finds some accommodation for you until we can sort things out."

"Thanks Stell," Flack acknowledged. "Take good care of her."

"I will." She answered as he turned to leave.

"Flack ... Thank you," Karla's voice stopped him and Stella noted the deeply grateful look she gave the detective and smiled when he found himself on the receiving end of a heartfelt hug from his damsel in distress. "I don't know what I'm going to do to repay you for all the trouble I've been."

"You can buy dinner later. That's a start." He quipped and disappeared down the stairs, leaving the two women with their mouths open. Stella's grin widened. She wasn't sure if he realised what he said or how he came across, but for the first time in over a year she felt like the old Flack was back with them. Her heart felt just a little bit lighter as she turned to Karla with a slight grin reflecting her inner feeling. The smirk was hard to keep from her face.

"I'd take his offer if I were you, those requests don't happen very often nowadays." She encouraged.

"I would have thought he'd be wining and dining half of New York, but that's none of my business. ... What's going to happen with me now?" Stella could appreciate the other woman's thinking, but she didn't know Flack, or what he had been through after losing Angell. Something about the interaction she had just witnessed gave her spirit a big boost.

"We'll find a safe house for you. You'll stay there for a while with round the clock protection."

Stella watched as she fingered the bandage around her arm. "Do you really need to go to all that trouble? I mean I could just get out of the city. .... I have a friend with a cabin up near Mount Kisco; I could hide out up there for a while."

"A reliable friend?"

"Yeah." Stella could see that Karla was holding something back, in fact she got the sense that she was holding a lot back, but now wasn't the time to push for answers. She directed her towards the break room as they talked.

"Well make yourself at home, I just need to clear up a couple of things and I'll come and keep you company."

"Thank you." Stella sensed some hesitancy from the agent, obviously she was still shaken from the morning's events and to be honest she couldn't blame her. Offering her an encouraging smile she left the room.

-----

Danny and Hawkes had spent the last hour scouring the area between Shakespeare's garden and the theatre after Flack had walked them through what happened, before leaving with Karla. Adam had been called out and left with the theatre to cover, while they had each taken one end of the route and tracked back to meet in the middle.

Hawkes, who had taken the garden where Flack and Karla had sat talking, shrugged his shoulders as he approached Danny, "I got nothing. Seems like someone was in the bushes near the garden, but other than some disturbed ground there's no evidence, I took a soil sample and some fallen leaves just in case we get anything to compare it to. How did you do?"

"I got a bullet from the door frame at the theatre, it popped positive for blood, so could be Karla's or the runner's. No sign of the second shot. Adam's still in the theatre, although I think he's more intrigued by the puppets than the evidence." Danny informed his colleague.

"I don't think we're going to get any more from here. Why don't we give Adam a hand to finish up and get back to the lab?" Suggested Hawkes nodding in the direction of the theatre.

"Yeah, quicker we get back quicker we can bust Flack's balls about what he was doing sitting in the park with our prime suspect." They turned and headed down the hill towards the theatre.

"Whatever he was doing here, it was probably a good thing or we may just be investigating Karla Morgan's murder."

"Ever thought she could be setting this whole thing up to throw us off the case?"

"If she was I don't think she would have done it anywhere near anything that would scare her half to death." Hawkes responded referring to the panic attack she suffered when faced with a store room full of puppets at the theatre.

"You bought that too?" Danny questioned, his voice indicating that he thought it was some elaborate hoax.

"That was all real, believe me, saw enough cases in my time in the Emergency Room to pick out real from fake." Hawkes answered seriously. "She was terrified and having someone trying to kill you won't have made it any easier."

"So you're buying into this theory that someone is out to get her?"

"Three attempts on her life? All in less than 24 hours and two in broad daylight I think it warrants investigation." Hawkes surmised, causing Danny to stop in his tracks.

"Two."

"What?"

"You said three, this makes it two." Danny answered looking confused.

"Sorry, forgot you missed the update this morning, another attempt was made this morning when she met Flack for breakfast."

"How do you know this?" Danny asked defensively.

"Flack had Adam try to run the plates from the SUV that nearly took them both out at the intersection near Grant's Diner, but they were carrying fake plates."

"I'm doing all the wrong things here, why am I always the last to know?"

"I'm sure it's not deliberate, you were off the clock. Although maybe he is avoiding you if you've got this thing about her alter ego." Hawkes grinned continuing along the path to the theatre, Danny now trailing in his wake.

-----

Karla looked up from the paper she was reading and pulled a phone from her bag, flipping it open she answered it.

"_Listen I've got 5 minutes until the team need my wonderfulness, talk to me hunnybun."_ Karla smiled. She should have known that somehow Penelope would follow up on the earlier call.

"Pen, why are you calling?"

"_Is everything okay?"_

"Define okay... no maybe don't ... are the team there?" Karla sighed in exasperation, knowing her friend wouldn't stop pushing her for answers.

"_They flew out this morning to Houston, so spill missy; I want to know what's going on with you."_

"Everything, but nothing I can discuss." Karla conceded wishing she could talk about what was happening.

"_So tell me how things are with that hot detective of yours? Did you call him?"_

"Penelope! Don't stir, our meeting is purely business." Karla protested vehemently.

"_Me thinks thou doest protest too much. Honey, no one can say no to those gorgeous baby blues of his."_

"You've been checking up on him?" Karla gasped.

"_Just a little inter agency research, got to find out if he's a good guy and he is for the most part, had a bit of a rogue bad-boy thing going on the last year since his partner was killed, but he seems to have weathered the storm-"_

"Penelope! Stop, he's been a complete gentleman-" Karla could feel herself groan at her friend.

"_Forget gentleman, take him back to your hotel and tell him to do unspeakable things to your body-"_ Karla could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. She dearly loved the technical analyst as a friend, but sometimes she just pushed her point a little too much and it didn't help that she had just caught sight of the object of their discussion striding towards her.

"Pen, I gotta go. Go find Kevin and work out some of your pent up frustration." Karla practically growled before cancelling the call without even a goodbye and looking up as Flack stopped in the doorway.

"Sorry, you need to finish?" He asked indicating the phone.

Her mind raced as she stared at him, her friend's words echoing in her head, finally she managed to respond, "no, I'm done, just catching up with a friend," catching his blue eyes looking back at her she lowered her head.

"Are you alright?" She thought she noted a touch of concern in his voice, but shook it off as a polite enquiry and looked up again, trying to focus on current events rather than the words recently imparted to her.

"I'm fine, it's just been a pretty crazy day ... did you want something?"

"Time to go." She watched as he stood in the doorway. "One of my guys has collected your bags from the hotel and dropped them at the safe house."

"Great so someone's been through my stuff and now I'm a prisoner again?" She stated harshly, hating the fact that it seemed her hands were tied and that everyone thought she was incapable of looking after herself.

"You want to walk out that door right now, go ahead, but I don't want to have to investigate your murder. There's enough crap goes on in this city without you wilfully creating more." His tone was abrupt, she rose to her feet and glared at him, her reasons for the attitude were understandable, his seemed just plain antagonistic.

"I don't know what your problem is, but if I choose to leave, it's my decision, I don't have to accept protective custody, besides if I were to walk out there now, I'll be getting the first flight out of your precious city so I won't be your problem anymore. That suit you?" She snapped forcefully.

In letting off steam Karla had crossed the room and practically stood toe to toe with him. She noted the guarded look which crossed his face, but it was his eyes which captivated her as Penelope's words once again swirled in her head. He was holding her gaze and she noted the flicker of his jaw as he suppressed a grin, she couldn't have been sure that he was going to laugh, but his eyes had softened and there was an element of mischievousness about them. She shook her head to dispel the words her friend had uttered moments before. _Honey, no one can say no to those gorgeous_ _baby blues of his. _Pen was right, she was mesmerised by his eyes.

"I'm sorry; I just hate being told what to do. ... I know you're trying to help." Her tone softened, she hated conceding that being alone scared her, and at least with him around she felt better than with the FBI protection squad, "Where are you taking me?"

"Got a place in Queens, should do for a few days. .... Karla-" he trailed off, she felt herself frown as he scrubbed his hand across his chin, an action she had noted from him several times, each time he appeared to be thinking.

"What?"

"Nothing. We should get you out of here." She nodded and turned around to collect her handbag, maybe Penelope was right, she was attracted to him; perhaps she would ask her to dig a little deeper, or even call her Dad for the gossip in the department. Turning back she could see him still standing stiffly in the doorway, but his eyes were following her every move. She offered him a nervous smile, aware that her thoughts were running away with themselves. She couldn't afford to start anything now, particularly in another city; it would only mean trouble for all concerned. However hard this was she needed to remain professional.

She decided to stick to the immediate facts, "are you going to be staying with me?"

"For tonight, tomorrow we'll have a new team take over." She noted the tension in his jaw as he answered, she guessed he had been landed the task of babysitting her and he wasn't pleased about it.

"Do you need me to make a statement about this morning and the park?" She asked, sticking to business, a little confused as to why no one had tried to take her statement so far.

"Later. We'll get you moved first."

Karla fixed her eyes on him again as she moved across the room. "Then I guess we should go."

"I guess we should." He replied gesturing towards the elevator, indicating she should go first.

-----

Flack and Karla entered the single storey house in a middle-class area of Queens and dropped their bags on the couch before checking out the rest of their temporary home. A discreet SWAT team, under the guise of a removal crew, had been by earlier and delivered several boxes and pieces of furniture while giving the house the once over for booby traps and surveillance devices.

Karla wandered around the room checking out the book case and DVD rack, all the time aware that Flack was shifting his attention between watching her and checking out the doors and windows as he moved around. For several minutes silence had settled over them, it was the first time they had been completely alone since that morning and now it was getting dark. She traced her finger over several of the DVD titles as she scrutinised the collection, which seemed to cater for a wide variety of tastes.

She knew he had completed his task and was now standing watching her. It had been quite a surreal 24 hours. Three attempts on her life and a failed case had brought them to this, she had finally agreed to protective custody and he had drawn the short straw for the first watch. Further surveillance was outside under the guise of utility workers fixing a problem.

"You can watch one of those if you want." His voice breaking into her thoughts startled her and he obviously noticed. "Karla?" She rarely felt so vulnerable, but after what happened in the park and at that damned puppet theatre she couldn't seem to help it.

She turned around to face him. "I'm sorry, I guess everything is getting to me a bit, ... I know, it sounds stupid coming from an FBI agent ... well ex-FBI agent, but-" Flack had crossed the room and rested a hand on her shoulder, the sudden gesture stopping her dead.

"Hey, it's okay, that's why we're here, so that you're not alone. I'm staying right here tonight and tomorrow Stella's coming over to talk to you, we'll work it out, I promise."

"Isn't that a little rash? I know you're good at your job, but I'd rather you were honest with me and didn't make promises you may not be able to keep." She wanted nothing more than for him to promise her the earth, to make everything right, but realistically she knew the job, they didn't always get the bad guys. Holding his gaze she felt her stomach flutter as his blue eyes flicked across her face.

"Fair enough, but we will figure this out." He squeezed her shoulder a little. "You hungry?"

"A little."

"I think the guys filled the fridge earlier wanna take a look?"

She nodded, appreciating his attempt to take her mind off the day's events, "sounds good. ... Can I ask you a question?" the words slipped out before she could stop them, she wasn't even sure what she was thinking, but when he nodded in return, his eyes still on her, she felt the fluttering in her stomach turn to a knot.

"How does your wife feel about you being here with me?"

She stared down at his chest unable to look him in the eye as his hesitant tone indicated she had taken him by surprise. "I'm not married."

"Okay, your girlfriend? I don't want to end up causing problems for you." She tried to keep her voice calm and matter of fact, while internally she was anything but. The last 24 hours had been crazy and now she was alone with him and finding herself attracted to him. It wasn't something that came easy to her but with him standing so close, his hand still on her shoulder; she was beginning to feel reckless, kind of like she had the night before when she ventured into the club hoping to pick up with her mark.

"No girlfriend either, so there's nothing to worry about." She almost felt herself melt when his fingers touched her chin and he lifted her face to look at him. "Karla, you're safe, no one is coming after you here. I've got my guys outside; anything happens they'll warn us, okay?" She felt his eyes boring into her. This was ridiculous, she never fell this quickly for anyone, besides he was doing his job. She needed to remain dispassionate. Giving him a curt nod she stepped away, his hands falling to his sides as he lost contact with her. She moved towards the kitchen, still aware of him standing watching her.

-----

Stella entered Mac's office, her bag slung over her shoulder, "hey Mac, you coming?"

"Is it that time already?"

"Yeah, it is," she noted him frowning over a file. "What ya looking at?"

"Karla Morgan's file. You know she never told anyone where she was going this morning except Flack, so either she has a tail, or someone is getting that information somehow."

"She left her FBI phone at the hotel along with nearly all her luggage, she bought a disposable cell phone between the hotel and the park, she cut her ties Mac, she knew she could be tailed, Flack said she was looking for one when he got to the Planetarium, and he's damn sure they weren't followed when they left."

"Someone's tracking her somehow. We need to find out how, or she could still be in danger."

"I talked to Flack a little while ago, they're settled at the house, the detail's out front, only a few people know where they are and we know none of them are going to talk. They should be okay for tonight and tomorrow I'll sweep the house again to be sure."

"Good." Mac looked up; Stella noticed the exhaustion in his eyes. He could barely have slept since the previous day as he had been up most of the night processing the shooting on the precinct steps.

"Now Mac you promised me dinner and you're going to deliver, you might have evaded the mayor's party but we still need to eat, then you're going home to bed, we'll pick this up again tomorrow." She rounded his desk removed the file from his hands and closed it, dropping it next to his keyboard then reaching for his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"You looking for something Ms Bonasera?"

"Always," she winked at him causing an amused smirk to cross his face. He removed his hand from hers and reached for his jacket as they crossed the room. She stopped him.

"It's still about 75 degrees out there, you won't need that."

"Danny and Hawkes already gone?"

"Yeah, Mrs Messer is baby-sitting tonight so Danny can take Lindsay out and I do believe the good doctor has a date."

Mac smiled approvingly, whether at the information or something else she wasn't sure. She wasn't about to spoil her current good mood, case aside the team was doing good and things were even looking up for Flack, she was pleased for him and just hoped that he wouldn't second guess himself this time like he had in the last year. It also didn't hurt that she was still pretty chilled out from her vacation. Turning her attention back to Mac who was still smiling at her, he asked, "Penny for them?" he asked.

"I won't make you pay Mac, not in cash anyway ... I was just thinking, it's time this team had some good things happen. Sure the work is going well, but everyone is still down after last year. Danny's been doing better with his back, Lindsay is revelling in motherhood and Hawkes seems to have his life back on track."

"No doubt it was a tough year." Mac commented as they left his office heading for the elevator. "Where do you want to eat?"

"I'll let you choose as you're paying." She quipped as the elevator door opened and she slipped inside. "In return I'll tell you all about my trip."

-----

Flack pushed his plate away from him and wiped his mouth on a napkin. "For being a little shook up you cook pretty good."

He noticed she held her own napkin against her face for a few seconds longer than necessary before removing it and giving him a half glance. "It wasn't exactly a difficult menu detective," he grinned and took a swig of his drink.

"Detective? We back to that? It's Don or Flack if you must," he replied, returning his glass to the table.

"I'll stick with detective, I have a feeling things are going to get a lot worse before they get better and you may not want to know me when the truth comes out."

He took another swig of his drink to give himself time to think. "Truth? Besides the fact that you're a Fed working some undercover op in my city?" he countered.

He waited while she cleared the plates into the sink and ran some water on them before turning around and looking at him. He wanted to badger her with questions, but something about the look on her face made him stay silent. "I never wanted to lie to you ... I was under orders, but I have a feeling that everything is about to blow up anyway and it's driving me crazy not being honest with you. Can you do me a favour? At least until tomorrow?"

"Depends on what you have to say."

"I'm not who you think I am." She stood leaning against the sink, as she folded her arms across her chest, she seemed anxious.

"I'd say that's pretty clear ... so who are you?" he pressed, his interest piqued now by the confession about to be made.

"My real name is Karla, I grew up in the city ... your Chief of Detectives called the bureau about 3 months ago and got me, since then I've been going over all the affected cases and planning our investigation. I've been here for 2 months trying to infiltrate the system and find a leak, trouble is no-one's bought the trail yet and we don't know if it's NYPD or our own office. .... I probably still shouldn't be telling you this but after today; I need to talk to someone."

"You've got somebody's attention." He commented quickly then stopped to think, she hadn't exactly revealed anything about their case. "What _are_ you involved in?"

She dropped her hands and shrugged. "I've already said too much."

"You just said you needed to talk, I'm listening." She shook her head and walked into the lounge. He scrubbed his hand over his face and followed her.

"Whatever you want, I just wanted you to have a head's up before tomorrow." She turned away from him as a phone began ringing. She reached for her bag and answered the call.

"Pen, now's not a good time-" She sighed having picked up the caller ID, she seemed a little startled when she got an unexpected response. "Derek, I know you're working, you don't have time to worry about me and to be honest, I can't talk right now. ... No, I can handle it, I don't need you rescuing me. .... I know you do, but you're in Texas and have your own case."

Flack watched her walk away and shut herself in one of the bedrooms, her tone softening with the guy on the other end, obviously she wanted some privacy to finish the call. He wondered who was calling and what their connection was, there seemed to be a certain familiarity. He felt his stomach knot; it hadn't occurred to him that she could have a boyfriend back in DC.

* * *

_Please review and let me know what you're thinking. Reviews have tailed off and I'm wondering why, am I doing something you don't like/agree with? Do let me know and I might be able to fix it within the story I have planned. _

_Based on something a review suggested I am working on a Mac/Stella oneshot, - a link to the discussion about Stella misbehaving at Gracie Mansion (chapter 6)._


	10. Can't Sleep

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Thanks to Lily Moonlight for the read through of the last chapter as well as the next few, helping me to keep things real._

**Chapter 10 – Can't Sleep**

After she vanished into the room to take the call she had emerged again relatively quickly, although she was quiet and didn't immediately engage in conversation. She merely consulted him on watching a film and curled herself into a comfortable position on the couch, while he opted for one of the chairs, the one facing the door, his gun resting on the table and within reach. As the film finished she excused herself and went to bed. He sat going over the case in his mind for a while until the vibration of his phone drew his attention.

A thirty second call with the outside team checking in assured him all was well for the moment. He sat for a while longer this time the rerun of the game drawing his attention for a bit before he began to fall asleep and then he too retired confident that the team had his back and would alert him if anything happened.

He didn't know what woke him, the house was quiet, no creaking floorboards or other sounds were obvious so he eased himself from the bed he reached for his gun and phone, then edged towards the door; sleep now the furthest thing from his mind. Opening the door a crack he peered out, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up; everything seemed to be in place so he opened the door wider and stepped out. A light in the kitchen drew his attention and moving towards it, his gun now aimed in front of him he was startled when the door opened and she stepped through. He exhaled heavily and scrubbed his hand over his face.

"Karla?" He practically gasped, causing her to jump.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, I just woke up and needed a drink, I didn't realise I'd made so much noise." She returned, her eyes falling on the gun still in his hand.

"No harm ... I thought I heard something." He noticed her glance and rapidly dropped his hand and moved to lay his weapon on the table, flicking the lamp on as he passed, then he turned to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah ... Just having a little trouble sleeping, I thought some tea would help." She looked pensive as his eyes roved over her, taking in the leggings and tight fitting t-shirt she was wearing which showed off her figure. Her hair was messed, the image making her seem younger than she probably was, different too to the image she had maintained during the day of a well groomed business woman. He didn't miss the bandage on her arm either, he was relieved though that the bullet had done nothing more than grazed her and hadn't impaired her use of her arm much, although she seemed to be favouring it a little now. "Can I get you some?" Her soft voice broke though his thoughts and he turned his attention back to her.

"No, I'm fine," he answered, rubbing his hand over his face. "How are you doing? Does your arm hurt?"

"It aches a bit but your doctor friend warned me that would happen, should feel better by the morning." She answered crossing the room and taking a seat on the couch. When he didn't move she turned and looked over her shoulder. "I'm really sorry for disturbing you. It's okay if you want to go back to sleep."

He followed her example and took a seat in one of the arm chairs. "Doesn't feel right if you're awake and I'd kinda be in trouble if you're awake and something happened if I'm sleeping." He offered shrugging his shoulders. "Anything you want to talk about?" He asked, having a good idea what was keeping her awake.

She looked up and shook her head, "No, I'm fine, you really don't have to stay up. You told me yourself that our backs are covered with your crew outside and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself for a little while. I promise I won't accuse you of sleeping on the job, even though technically you would be."

The way she smiled at him caught his attention, she wasn't Jess, not that he expected her to be. It had been over a year since that horrific day and he'd learnt the hard way that life moved on. He'd sworn off casual affairs after a few weeks, the booze had taken longer, but he'd been completely sober since that day when Mac tracked him to Terrence Davis' apartment in Brooklyn. The next few weeks had been hell, Christmas had loomed large showing him what he was missing with Jess, throwing up memories of the year before, of what might have been, but Danny and Lindsay had rallied him. Getting him to babysit their daughter, Stella had badgered and consoled him; even Adam had turned up one night with games and a console for an impromptu boys night that had lasted until the wee small hours.

"Detective?" The voice almost sounded too far away, and he shook himself, realising he was reminiscing, which wasn't a good move when he was supposed to be protecting her.

"Sorry, you said something?"

"No, it looked like you were deep in thought ... usually that means you're thinking about a woman, was she someone special?"

"... You a mind reader or something?" he asked, unable to resist the wisecrack or the smirk which accompanied it, intrigued by how she seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Better, I'm pretty good at reading people ... You use the wisecracks to cover up the pain you're still feeling, hoping people will think you're back to normal, you smile, but it hardly ever reaches your eyes, the only time it did was with that little girl this morning. ... Whoever she was hurt you badly and you're afraid of getting burnt again, you haven't dated in a while, content to flirt with your co-workers because they're safe, they won't judge you because they care about you. ... You probably tried to get someone else to baby sit me and the higher ups refused, why I don't know; but you resented it at first, now it's a puzzle for you to fix. You don't know me or what I'm involved in, but I intrigue you, I have done since you first saw me in Mirage. .... Want me to go on?"

"I think that's plenty to digest right there." He sighed; she didn't know how close to the truth she was. He sat for a few minutes his mind drifting back to their final phone conversation, before the fatal shots. Finally he drew the courage to say something, but his concentration was fixed on a spot on the floor in front of him, where he couldn't see the pity that would reflect in her eyes. He took a deep breath to prepare himself. "She was a cop, we were partners ... on and off the clock, she was working a case ... there was a gunfight. .... She died in surgery." His voice was strained, he seemed to croak the words out between the need to force himself to breathe. He didn't know what made him speak, it was the first time he had spoken so freely to anyone, but somehow he felt it needed to be said. Now the words were out there hanging between them, a moment of silence passed as he continued to stare at the floor, the next moment his own voice echoed in his head. "After, ... I just wanted to get the guys, we cornered them in a warehouse," Slowly raising his head he looked at Karla, "I tracked one of them, I saw the bandage on his shoulder where she had shot him, then I saw the gun, I knew he was the one responsible ... he wasn't a threat anymore, he was bleeding from a stomach wound but I just wanted justice, an eye for an eye, ... I crossed the line." He held her gaze as silence hung between them.

"You didn't have to tell me, but I'm honoured that you'd choose to share it with me. ... Nothing I can say will change things and from the little I know you I'd say you don't want sympathy especially from someone you don't know and who didn't know her." He was a little surprised at her words; most people would have offered the traditional I'm sorry and other platitudes.

"Her name was Jess ..." He offered before trailing off, his eyes dropping to stare at the floor again, he could feel her eyes on him for a moment then he heard her move, she surprised him again when she knelt down in front of him and took his hands in hers.

"We all do things we regret after, but something about this says that this is eating you up as much as losing Jess, I can't imagine what you went through or the pain you still have. I've never had to face such a decision and I couldn't swear that I would keep the oath if one of the scumbags we deal with hurts a friend of mine, ... I'm not going to turn you in, my guess is that it was ruled a good shoot and the official report says he got his wounds in the course of a gunfight. You got lucky, but don't let it destroy the rest of your career, you seem like a really good guy don't let one moment of weakness bring you down. ... I'm happy to listen if you want to talk more. .... It doesn't even have to be tonight, it's the least I can offer for you saving my life, and I promise you whatever you say will stay between us." Her hands felt warm around his, as he now stared at them, his view of the floor blocked by her. Slowly he lifted his head and found her looking at him, he couldn't read her expression, but it wasn't the usual looks that everyone gave him when they knew about Jess. Something about her was drawing him in, his mind had been full of thoughts and feelings in the last 24 hours that he hadn't had in a long time. She was waiting for him to answer her, but words had deserted him. He felt her fingers graze across his wrist and felt a tingle rush up his arm.

She was an enigma, certain now that she had nothing to do with the guy's death the night before meant there were no barriers, except his own, which he suddenly felt needed breaking down.

"Don? Are you alright?" He must have been quiet for too long, her quiet words and the touch of her hand against his arm stirred him. She looked concerned, he also realised that she hadn't called him detective, she had used his name.

"Fine," he croaked, his voice showing the emotions running through him, no other words would come, and he drew his hand from hers and trailed his fingers through her hair as he leant forward.

Whatever he had been about to do he was jerked back to reality when his phone rang.

He pulled back. "I'm sorry." He whispered before pushing himself from the chair. Not sure whether he was sorry for trying to kiss her or that he hadn't been able to finish what he started, he didn't even know what he had been intending. Snatching his phone from the table where he had left it next to his gun, he answered it. "Flack"

_"It's Mitchell, Just checking in, we saw the lights go on, is everything okay?"_ The voice asked.

"Yeah ... Yeah, we're good, just can't sleep. Everything quiet out there?" Flack answered slowly, the emotion within him turning his voice husky.

_"Dead as a dodo."_

"Okay call me if it changes." Flack instructed cancelling the call not waiting for an answer. For a moment he stood with the phone in his hand staring at the screen. He heard movement behind him and the kitchen door creak. When he turned around Karla had gone, he scrubbed his hand over his face and followed her. He opened the door; she was standing at the sink rinsing the mug she'd used for her tea. Leaving the cup to drain she turned to leave and found him blocking her way.

He didn't move, but remained leaning against the doorframe forcing her to pause in front of him.

"Karla? ... I'm-" He began, but she stopped him.

"It doesn't matter ... I should try and get some sleep." She offered impassively before dodging around him and heading to her room. He felt his stomach clench, afraid that he'd upset her, her gentle compassion from moments before had gone, replaced with a form of indifference, all because of a stupid impulsive act, one that he had no idea why he'd done it.

.....

Despite the complete exhaustion which seemed to consume her she slept little for the rest of the night, between the dreams forcing her to relive the attempts on her life and the growing feelings she had for the detective trying to protect her she was unable to relax. By the time dawn broke she had tossed and turned so much she had practically lost all sense of reality.

The thought that he had been about to kiss her had hit her hard, she didn't normally fall for anyone this fast, hell it had taken nearly a month of working together for Derek to get anywhere as close and that had been more out of necessity. She tried to rationalise it, that she was on an emotional rollercoaster after being shot at and nearly run down. She needed to distance herself, which, with the two of them being in such close proximity she wasn't sure she could do. She rolled over and reached for her phone off the bedside table and checked the time. It was early, still time for her to get at least a couple of hours sleep, if she could relax enough.

.....

Stella entered Mac's office the following morning, hoping they could make progress with the case.

"Hey Mac, any news from Flack this morning?" She asked brightly standing in front of the folder covered desk. Mac shook his head.

"Mitchell reported all was quiet when he handed over to O'Reilly's team about an hour ago. Only incident was a call to the house around 2.30 when all the lights went on. Turns out Karla couldn't sleep." Stella frowned when Mac mentioned an incident, but her features relaxed when he finished his explanation.

"Hardly surprising with what happened to her the last couple of days." She offered, wondering how she would feel in the same situation. It had taken weeks after one attack by Frankie before she could close her eyes and not see his face in front of her each time. Three attacks were bound to cause problems.

"When you've checked in on the lab results I want you to head over and interview her while Flack heads back here. She might feel more comfortable with a woman around for a while and right now you're the only one who can be called on."

"Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a woman in NYPD. Can't they find one of the normal crew for babysitting duty?" She half whined, the thought of staying for hours with Karla while the rest of the team worked the case annoyed her.

"Not this time and if what you say is right about Flack's feelings, I don't want to take any chances, he would trust you to look after her while he does his job." Mac had a point, the change she had seen in the young detective the previous day told her there was some chemistry between the two and if Flack's heart was being stirred she didn't know what effect it would have if anything happened to Karla. It had been a long haul for him after Angell died, he was acting more like his old self lately and she wasn't certain she wanted to risk anything pulling him from the better path.

"Alright, but this is gonna cost ya Mac, dinner at Lazlo's when we wrap this up."

"We'll discuss that later, right now we've got a known target and someone out to kill her, let's find out who it is and take them down." She noted that Mac had that no nonsense look about him, which meant he was totally focussed on the case.

"You got it, I'll rally the troops."

.....

Karla emerged from her room dressed in a pair of jeans and a cotton shirt, the temperature was already climbing even though it was early. She had forced herself to stay in bed until after 6 am before taking a cool shower and getting dressed, hoping it would help to settle her nerves about what the day would bring. She was doubtful it had succeeded when she entered the kitchen to find Flack already up and dressed, wearing black pants and a pale blue untucked shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. The hang of the back of his shirt indicated that his gun was tucked in his waistband, hardly a surprising move since he was there to protect her, but she wished she could have her own weapon too. Things had shifted between them since the early hours and the way his casual appearance made her stomach flutter, she wasn't sure it would get any better. She could forgive Penelope Garcia one thing, he was good looking. Moving properly into the kitchen she sat at the table, not trusting her legs to hold her up, as she observed him preparing coffee and breakfast.

"Hi," She offered weakly when he failed to acknowledge her presence, causing him to turn around.

"Hey, did you manage to get any sleep last night?"

She shook her head, her hair flying around her which she promptly flattened and pushed behind her ears. "Not much … every time I closed my eyes I saw those damned puppets." She wouldn't tell him that she also dreamt about him saving her life from the Silver SUV. "The weather isn't helping, that room is really hot and not being able to open the windows was tough. …. Not that I want rain, but a small reprieve from the heat wave would be good."

Flack nodded and offered her a glass of orange juice which she accepted. "You do this?" She asked waving the glass of freshly squeezed juice in front of herself.

"Something to do, I prefer it fresh to all that carton stuff, tastes better." He replied, his voice sounding clipped and disinterested.

"It's good, can I keep you around a bit longer? You're quite domesticated for a cop." She asked, a hint of amusement in her voice trying to get a rise out of him, but he didn't respond. "Alright, I don't know why I'm suddenly getting the silent treatment, just let me know when you're prepared to talk to me again, in the mean time I'll let you get your breakfast and leave you in peace." She snapped, it was being kind of childish, but if he could barely speak to her then she didn't want to speak to him. She pushed herself up from the table and went into the lounge, a moment later he followed her.

"Karla," his softer tone stopped her and she turned around, finding herself merely inches away from him, for a big guy he could move quietly and quickly. "I'm sorry, .... You're here for your own safety .... this morning, I don't know what I was thinking, I shouldn't have taken advantage."

She took a step back, putting a little distance between them, giving herself room to think, while keeping eye contact. "I think we're both guilty in that respect. After what happened yesterday with Pearson I wanted some company and I didn't know who else to call. I don't want my family involved and my friends are in DC, I took advantage of your kindness. I pulled strings to get your number." She paused but when Flack didn't seem inclined to say anything she continued. ".... This morning was pretty intense, you talked to a complete stranger about a lot of personal stuff and I've had a couple of harrowing days, so why don't we declare a clean slate? You go back to your investigation and I'll get out of town, save you the babysitting duty." She waited for a moment, still he said nothing. She noted the gesture of him rubbing his chin that she had seen before. When he still didn't speak she pushed her hands through her hair. "I'm going to go pack, if you could arrange a ride to the airport I'll get out of your way."

She turned towards her room, but had barely gone two steps when he finally spoke, "Karla wait. ... so you pulled strings to get my number?" She could sense some amusement in his voice and turned around.

"What can I say? I needed you to know I wasn't responsible for that guy's death." She shrugged. "Now that I'm out of a job and off your suspect list I guess I can get out of the city."

"You forgotten your on someone else's list? Don't you want to know what that's about and get the guys who've been trying to kill you?" He would use that to try and hook her, but she wasn't going fall for that.

"Of course I do, but tell me you have one solid lead to follow and I'll stay."

"I wish I could, but we got nothing, the SUV used fake plates and the bullets only link back to a locked FBI file." He admitted, a serious look on his face and tension showing in his jaw.

"Then I'll head back to Washington and be out of your way." She offered confidently. "I'll need to clear out my desk and find a new job. I guess the sooner I do that the better."

"What if they try again?"

"Then it won't be your problem." She noted the black look which crossed his face.

"You dare to think it's that easy?" He yelled, "what if they succeed next time?"

"It's a-" She stopped herself yelling back and took a deep breath before saying something she would regret, "I know the risks, .... I know this has to be hard for you, a lot of stuff was stirred up last night, I'm grateful you were there to protect me, but this shouldn't be your responsibility, the chances are if I go home then whatever is happening here will go away."

"You really believe that?" His voice was still terse, but at least he didn't yell this time.

"Does that matter?"

"Give me 24 hours, I don't get any leads by tomorrow we'll pull the detail and you go home."

She looked at him for a moment, a number of emotions appeared to cloud his eyes. This had to be hard for him, his girlfriend having been gunned down and he was powerless to do anything, maybe that explained why he was being so attentive to her and protecting her. Would it do any harm to wait another 24 hours?

"Alright. I'll stay, 24 hours I don't want to be responsible for you or the city having to waste any more time and money."

* * *

_I'm fighting internet issues at the moment so I hope this uploaded alright. I'd still love to hear your views._


	11. Secrets

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Thanks to Lily Moonlight for the read through and helping me to keep things real._

**Chapter 11 - Secrets**

Flack scrubbed his hand across his chin relieved that she had agreed to stay, but anxious whether he could come up with anything in the next 24 hours to put a stop to the attempts on her life. He could hear her in the kitchen preparing breakfast and was about to follow her when someone knocked on the door. He cast another glance at the kitchen, they weren't expecting anyone quite yet, the temperature was rising, it was enough to drive everyone crazy; he hoped today would be a good day and people would stay inside and stay cool. Another knock sounded, he pulled his gun from his waistband and moved towards the door. The kitchen door creaking drew his attention and he looked back and raised a hand to stop her saying anything, or moving from where she stood. He waited to be sure she had stopped before edging towards the door again. Concealing himself against the wall he eased the curtain back just enough to see out, the street was quiet and it concerned him that there had been no warning from the surveillance team. His immediate worry however was the fact that he had no clear look at who was on the porch; the guy appeared to be a delivery driver in dark overalls and a matching baseball cap.

Letting the curtain go he cursed silently, cast a glance at Karla still standing by the kitchen door then eased the front door open to the extent of the security chain.

"Hey Man, gas company, I got a call out to check your boiler, dispatch says it smells funny."

Breathing a sigh of relief he dropped his weapon and released the door properly, allowing their visitor to enter. Nothing further was said until the door was firmly closed again.

"Hawkes, you had me going for a bit. Why didn't we get a head's up?"

"We tried; cell tower in the area has had a power failure, signals down for about a mile."

Flack stashed his weapon back in his belt and they turned to Karla. "Morning Karla, I said I'd stop by and take a look at that dressing," Hawkes announced walking towards her waving the gas company holdall he was carrying.

"Like the disguise doc, pretty good thinking that one," Flack observed the bright greeting she gave the other man.

Hawkes chuckled softly as he indicated for her to take a seat. "As much as I'd like to stay and discuss the finer details, I need this to be a quick visit. How has your arm been?"

Flack stood by and watched as she took a seat at one end of the couch and talked to Hawkes. The tension that she had exhibited earlier was gone, she even looked a little less tired, something he was grateful for. While she was busy with Hawkes it gave him a better chance to observe her, watch how she moved her head and her hair swung around her face. The smile she gave Hawkes as he applied a fresh dressing to her arm seemed to light up the room, a contrast to the intense concern she had shown earlier as he revealed his darkest secrets to her over Angell. As his mind regressed to the early hours he could feel her touch on his arm, the soft silky feel of her hair under his fingers and wondered what it would be like- Damn it! He had to put that out of his mind, he was there to protect her, getting away from her for a few hours would let him get his head back in the game. She'd probably be relieved too not to have him hanging around, to have some female company. When he dragged his mind back to the present Hawkes was standing up to take his leave.

"It's starting to heal nicely, keep it covered today and we'll see tomorrow how you're doing," Hawkes told her.

"Thanks Doc."

Hawkes moved towards Flack. "She's doing fine, just looks like you two didn't sleep much last night, she having nightmares?" He asked quietly as they turned to the door.

"Probably, she mentioned the puppets. ..."

"And probably the other attacks as well, I don't need to tell you that sort of thing is normal. Encourage her to rest when she can. Anything you need Stella to bring over?"

Flack shook his head. "Nah, we're good, unless she can do anything about the temperature."

"It's gonna be a hot one alright." Hawkes smirked as he reached for the door handle and turned it.

"I'll see you later doc." Flack answered as the door swung open. "Thanks, we'll be sure to call again if that smell comes back." He continued more loudly as Hawkes left the house. Pausing for a moment to check the street he closed and locked the door then turned to Karla.

"Are you alright?" He asked crossing the room towards her.

"Yeah, I just don't do well at being cooped up, so the prospect of staying here all day with nothing to do is kind of a downer." The smile from a few minutes before had been replaced by the tense frown he had noted earlier. "As much as I appreciate what you're doing for me detective, you don't have to take the whole burden, I'm a trained agent, I can take some responsibility for myself," her tone was calm and collected and he couldn't fail to notice that she had reverted to calling him detective._ Why did she keep putting that wedge between them? _Reminding him that this relationship was supposed to be purely professional. She looked up and he found himself staring into her cobalt blue eyes, making him wonder what other colours he could see reflected with her different moods. In the diner the day before he had read hesitation and uncertainty when they were grey-blue. He wasn't sure what they reflected now, but he guessed she was frustrated at the events of the last few days.

"Karla," he sighed. "I'm sure you can handle yourself under normal circumstances, now don't jump on me here, but these aren't normal circumstances. .... Yeah, you're my responsibility, but right now I wish you weren't-" he began, but knew it was the wrong move as soon as the words fell from his mouth and before he could change what he was attempting to say she had cut him off, the blue from her eyes seeming to become more pronounced.

"Thanks, I think I kind of already figured that out. Don't worry I'm sure you can find someone at the station to palm me off to." She snapped and marched towards the kitchen.

He glance upwards, "Okay, I know that didn't come out the way it should and I just got my ass kicked, so don't laugh." He muttered, picturing Jess laughing at him.

.....

Danny entered the lab where Hawkes was again pouring over evidence from the Mirage case.

"I may have some good news," he announced greeting the other CSI, "which is about time, for an open and shut case," Danny moaned as Hawkes looked up from the microscope.

"What have you got?"

"A missing persons report has just been filed and the description fits our vic, right down to the tattoo on his arm," he held out the file he was holding and Hawkes took it, opening it up and pulling the photo out. "He's a cop, works at the evidence warehouse in Brooklyn, course that photo shows him with a full head of hair." Danny added referring to the photo in the file.

Hawkes studied the photo, "you know that open and shut case?" he asked, "well it just got a lot more complicated, I found a copy of this photo among the stuff brought back from the nightclub." Hawkes held up the one used for the missing persons report in the file Danny had given him.

"Doesn't mean it's relevant," he commented rubbing his face.

"Maybe not, but when it has Karla Morgan's prints all over it, I'd say that puts a whole new spin on things." Hawkes announced, rummaging in the file and pushing a piece of paper across the counter.

Danny picked it up, "_Aphrodite?_" he groaned, "Are we sure they're her prints?"

"Stella managed to pull a set from a coffee cup she used yesterday in the break room, they match the photo and the license." Hawkes handed him the paper which confirmed the findings.

"Have you run her prints in the system?"

"Mac said no, knowing the bullet flew a red flag to the bureau he didn't want to risk that Agent Pearson returning, although now we may have to." Hawkes half shrugged.

"I'll let you give the boss the good news then," Danny chuckled sarcastically, "I'll call Flack, he'll probably want to ask her a few questions."

"Thanks, … have we had a DNA match back yet?" Hawkes asked as Adam entered the lab.

"Right here, your nightclub vic is definitely one Ethan Warner, failed beat cop and now washout at the evidence lockup." Adam informed them, handing Hawkes the test results.

"Who reported him missing?"

"His boss, guy's got no family and according to the missing persons report just as few friends, the boss reported him when he failed to show up for work for the second morning in a row and he couldn't contact him which apparently is unusual." Danny offered saving Hawkes from having to read the full details from the file.

"Think we should take a look at his apartment?" Hawkes asked, "just to rule out foul play."

"Can't we just rule this a tragic accident in a bar, do we have to go digging for other stuff?"

"Got to follow the evidence Danny you know that." Adam piped up echoing something he'd obviously heard from Mac.

"For that you get to go on a field trip," Danny ordered, "get your kit, you can go with me."

Adam pulled a disgusted face at Danny, "you're going to make me go out in this heat?" he whined. Danny grinned at him.

"Adam you're from Arizona, you should be used to the temperature." He quipped as he left the room leaving Adam to trail in his wake.

.....

Don was sitting at his desk when the duty desk sergeant pointed him out to a visitor.

"Don Flack?" Questioned the dark skinned man, holding out his hand, "is there somewhere we can talk in private?" Don looked up slowly, then stood up and took the guy's hand.

"You are?"

"Derek Morgan, Behavioural Analysis Unit Quantico, but I'm here on a personal matter, I believe you know my wife, Karla." He flashed his credentials at the detective to confirm his statement.

"Your wife?" Flack raised his eyes; she had denied being married a few days earlier, so why was this guy saying she was.

"Can we have this conversation someplace else, please?" Morgan asked softly.

Flack nodded and led the way to an empty interrogation room. Both stood assessing the other for a few minutes, but it was Morgan who broke the silence. "I'm gonna cut to the chase, Karla's in trouble, I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, I'm here to help."

"Let me get one thing straight, if you're married, why would she say she isn't?" Flack asked pointedly.

"I don't see that's relevant right now, but if you know where she is I'd like to see her." Morgan parried, his tone quiet but firm.

"Have you spoken to her recently?" He could play twenty questions with the best of them and the FBI agent didn't bother him. He was technically still responsible for Karla Morgan's protection, all attempts to pass off the detail having failed dismally, for some reason Sinclair insisted on him playing bodyguard. So there was no way any FBI agent, no matter what the connection was going to get to her without some thorough digging, including looking up their so called marriage.

"Last night for a couple of minutes, she said she was fine, but I could tell she wasn't, she's got friends in the unit who are worried about her." Flack recalled the hastily ended conversation in the break room and the call she had taken at the house the night before. Maybe he was the same guy she talked to, but married to? That didn't make a whole lot of sense, she didn't seem married, or was he just choosing to ignore that detail? He observed the other guy for a minute.

"She's in protective custody; I can't say anymore ... it looks like you've had a wasted journey." He answered finally.

"Protective custody? What the hell is going on here?" Morgan exploded, shocked at the detective's words.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. ... You know anyone who might have an axe to grind?" Flack asked forcefully.

"In our line of work there's always someone with an axe to grind, but we're not working the same cases right now, so no; I don't know." Morgan answered confidently, then took a deep breath, "I'm not here to make trouble, will you let me talk to her? Maybe I can help figure everything out."

As much as he hated to admit it the agent had a point, if he was really who he claimed to be then he would know her better, he might be able to get information from her she had been withholding from NYPD, but at the same time not knowing what she was involved in could he be part of the problem? Flack scrubbed his hand over his face; she was currently his responsibility and he wasn't going to let just anyone near her.

Morgan broke into his thoughts, "look man I know in your shoes I'd have some serious problems with letting me in, but I'm gonna let you do what you need to if it will satisfy you that I mean her no harm. Check me out, run me through any system you like, but get this, one way or another I will see her." His tone was calm and quiet and to anyone that knew him it showed how wound up and angry he was, but to Flack he was stunned by the quiet forcefulness from the agent before him.

Flack stuck his hands on his hips to prevent himself from showing his frustration in other ways, like rubbing his face or punching the guy. "I'm gonna need you to answer some questions, but first ... Sit tight." Flack instructed before leaving the room and marching to his desk.

.....

Stella opened the door to admit the Chief of Detectives to the safe house, a little surprised to see him there.

"Chief? What brings you here?"

"Your charge, how is she holding up?" Stella noticed him looking around the room.

"She's in the kitchen, I guess she's doing as well as she can, she's very quiet."

"Mind if I have a word?" He asked formerly knowing that he wouldn't meet with resistance, but it was courtesy after all.

"No, I've got to call Flack and catch up on any developments go ahead." She directed and pulled her phone from her pocket.

Sinclair moved to the door separating the two rooms and pushed it open carefully, before stepping inside and letting it swing closed behind him. "Karla?"

She looked up from the food she was preparing and stopped to wipe her hands before greeting the visitor. "Chief Sinclair, I'm surprised to see you here."

"I've been speaking to Agent Pearson and in light of the current situation I feel it is in everyone's best interests if you talk to Detective Flack, tell him everything, he will then judge what information can be relevant to the rest of the case."

"I see," She indicated for the Chief to take a seat at the table which he did, "can I get you some coffee?"

"Actually some juice will be just fine." He replied taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his brow, while he waited for her to serve the drink before she took a seat opposite him.

"I thought Pearson wanted me to keep quiet."

"It's out of his hands, NYPD is the customer here and we invited in the FBI, and I can just as easily send them away, which is what I've done, this isn't a federal case anymore, I should have realised that I've got a trusted team right here at our Crime Lab. Right now what concerns me most is ensuring your safety and while I appreciate that being stuck here isn't ideal I hope I can ease things a little."

Sinclair noted her bemused expression, "I'm sorry Chief, but I don't see what can do that," she started, but he waved his hand at her.

"Detective Flack is going to bring over a few of your case files later and you can work the case, on one condition," he noticed the smile grace her lips.

"I knew there had to be a catch."

"Hopefully this one is not too onerous, you will remain under close protection for the time being and anytime you leave here you will be accompanied by Detective Flack. I understand the two of you are on civil terms and he's already rescued you a couple of times, so he's familiar with the attempts on your life, I'd rather not have to bring in anyone else. Can you accept those terms?" He asked, raising his glass of juice to his lips and swallowing about half the contents as he waited for her answer.

"Has Detective Flack agreed?"

"He will, I'll also see that the FBI reinstate you and you get your badge and gun back."

"and if I don't want to be reinstated? They do that and it puts me right back in their jurisdiction."

"I'll talk to a few people in Washington, I can play hardball when I need to. ... Now I have to get back to the office, but if there's anything you need, call me." He offered earnestly as he stood from the table. "Oh and I suggest for now you don't let detective Flack know who your father is, I don't want him distracted by thinking the department's watching him."

"He may be retired, but I know he still sees people, I understand."

.....

Flack walked back into the interrogation room, noting the dark skinned agent had taken a seat, he tossed a file onto the table and watched it skitter towards the other man.

"You want to tell me why you're really here?" Flack spat tersely, his voice containing an eerie calm, but to anyone who knew him the underlying anger was ready to spring at anyone who crossed him. "She's not your wife, you were never married."

Flack waited while the other man opened the file and flicked through the contents. "You've done your homework, but there's one thing that's missing, I worked deep undercover about 7 years ago, Karla too, we were married then under other names, we were both under scrutiny, but she was able to pass on the information I picked up. We may not exactly be together right now, but the marriage was legal and we've never been divorced."

Flack's stomach churned, there was still so much they didn't know about her and the deeper they got in the more complicated things got. He wished he could go see her first before the proverbial shit hit the fan, but that wasn't going to happen. He had been told in no uncertain terms what his role in this would be and the arrival of her so called husband had just blown out any idea of him being able to talk properly to her later. Not only that but she had lied about knowing the victim, Hawkes and Danny had found an ID and found her prints all over a photo of him found at the scene. He rested his hands on his hips to stop himself showing how frustrated he was.

"I want to know everything." He practically hissed, reigning in his desire to yell at the guy.

Morgan sighed, then holding Flack's stare he talked. "There isn't much more, after the case we went our own ways for a while, about a year ago she was assigned to the BAU and worked a few cases with us before being reassigned about 3 months ago. We'd seen each other around a bit, we have friends in common, and despite what people think Quantico ain't that big. ... I haven't seen or spoken to her since the BAU, until last night when a mutual friend arranged it. .... Karla's practically dropped out of everything for this case she's working, her friends are worried, particularly with the rumours we've picked up about someone from the FBI being a target, but if you've got Karla in protective custody then the rumours must be true. Detective Flack, my boss sent me to help, all I'm asking is to see her, to help figure out what is going on here. I know Karla, maybe she'll confide in me where she won't with anyone else."

It was Flack's turn to release a deep sigh, he hated what he was about to do, but some of what Morgan said had made sense. Could he risk blowing off additional help? He was fairly convinced the guy was on the level, so he had to take the chance, Karla had so far released little information about her case or her involvement at the nightclub and he needed answers now more than ever, if Morgan could help then they had to use him.

"Alright, I'll take you to her, but if she refuses to see you or talk to you, you're on the first flight out of here."

"It's all I'm asking for." Morgan assured him.

* * *

_Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend. Please review if you have time, I'd love to hear your comments._


	12. Clueless

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Thanks to Lily Moonlight for the read through and helping me to keep things real._

**Chapter 12 – Clueless**

Lindsay entered Mac's office, "hey Mac I was looking for Stella, you know where she might be?"

"Sorry Lindsay, it's been busy, I should have mentioned she took a detour to see Karla Morgan and take her statement. Flack's on his way back to the safe house so she should be back soon, you need something?" He asked looking up at her across the desk.

"I just got back from talking with some more of the collectors we identified earlier most seemed pretty legit and above board, but there's a dealer in the mix who seems a little questionable. He's been looked into by the IRS a couple of times and is known in the business to be less than reputable, most collectors and dealers won't go to him unless they can't get stuff anywhere else. I talked to the IRS they've got nothing pending, but would love another look at his books. Rumour has it that he's been getting some pretty specialised pieces in quantity in the last year and a lot of it has come without a paper trail." She quickly delivered the salient facts to the boss and waited for him to think through the details before answering her.

"You'll need a little more than that for a warrant, keep working on it. Have you got an ID on the victim yet?" Mac asked, wanting to move this case forward so that the rest of the team could work the nightclub case.

"Adam just did, gave me this as I came in, the vic is Giles Ashton, aged 35, although born of US parents, he was born and lived all his life in Japan or somewhere else in the Far East. Under Japanese law he had to renounce his US nationality when he was 22 so he actually travels on a Japanese passport, even for the few trips he's made here, that's why it took time to track him down, Immigration are sending over what records they have on him, which are minimal but they have said he's made more visits here in the last year than in his entire life. Claims to be a business man, get this, dealing in ancient Japanese artefacts."

"Any connection to the suspect dealer?" Mac asked quickly making a connection.

"Not so far, but I'll keep digging."

"Good work Lindsay."

.....

Flack opened the door and entered ahead of Morgan who paused a step or two behind to secure the door again. "Stell!" Flack called into the deserted lounge area. The kitchen door swung open and Karla emerged.

"She's in the bathroom." She greeted as she approached him.

"Everything alright?" He asked noting something different about her, but unable to put his finger on exactly what.

"Just fine and I guess I have you to thank." She smiled as she stopped in front of him and reached up to kiss his cheek. "I don't know what you did or who you talked to but I'm grateful." He smiled warmly at her, noticing she was less stressed and that her eyes had been fixed on him and not noticed the other person in the room, granted he partially shielded her view, but he was pleased she was in a better mood. First he needed to resolve the thorn in his side and draw her attention to their visitor.

"Karla, we'll talk later, but first-" before he could continue Morgan cleared his throat.

"Karla?" The sultry tone of the FBI Agent immediately caught her attention and her eyes almost popped for a moment before she stepped back from Flack, dropping her head self consciously and then turning to their guest and fixing him with an icy stare.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Texas working a case!" She practically yelled taking a step towards him, Flack realised that whatever he could have done to the guy was nothing compared to what she might do judging by her tone and the look she fixed on the agent. He moved across the room and dropped the holdall he was carrying on the couch and tried to remain inconspicuous, while maintaining a professional overview on the situation. Karla barely gave Morgan time to open his mouth before she laid into him again.

"Derek I told you last night I was fine I don't need you here following me around like some sad puppy!"

"Karla listen just for a minute. You've got Garcia freaking out because she dug around and found out about someone taking pot shots at an FBI agent, you won't talk to her, hell you won't talk to anyone, we're worried about you and knowing what went down yesterday with Pearson you sounded anything but fine when I talked to you last night."

"Well you can forget that because I'm not alone, in case you haven't noticed I'm pretty well taken care of since I escaped Pearson's clutches!" Flack felt a certain sense of satisfaction as she stood up to the agent and pointed out the efforts of NYPD. "Anyway how did you hear about what happened yesterday?"

"FBI agent gets shot at, word gets around pretty quick, you know that and you know Garcia can find out our darkest secrets."

"Well you're here on a fool's errand you should still be in Texas." She repeated, the fire from a moment earlier seeming to desert her.

"I didn't ask to come. Don't get me wrong, I would have, but Hotch got there first and sent me to help out, see if we can't profile the unsub and give you some peace of mind. I know how damned independent you are, just like Emily and JJ, but babe sometimes you have to let your friends help you." Flack noted the softer tone Morgan and lapsed into as he spoke, he also saw the agent step closer to Karla and graze his hand over her hair and cup her face. Soft footsteps at his side drew his attention briefly as Stella joined him.

"Who's that?" She asked quietly so as not to disturb the scene playing out before them.

"FBI friend of hers." He answered tersely, his stomach churning, wishing he was the one her focus was on.

"Derek, this isn't an FBI case, not anymore, it's been handed over to NYPD. Quite a few things have been sorted out today, I'm confident it's going to get better now. .... You can go home." Flack watched her step back away from his hand.

"Not an option sweetheart, you forgetting I know you as well as you know yourself, you need someone on your side right now and I'm here for that. I go back empty handed and it won't just be Garcia who'll skin me alive."

Flack noted Karla's weak smile at the agent's words. "I can just imagine her trying, too."

"So I'm staying," Morgan stepped closer to her again and this time rested his hand on her shoulder drawing her closer. "You don't always have to be so brave you know," he whispered into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her, obviously continuing to talk to her in words that only she could hear.

Flack and Stella watched as Morgan drew her into a hug and she slowly responded by wrapping her arms around him. Seeing her give in and her shoulders begin to heave Flack couldn't help but wish he was the one to comfort her, after all he had been there when two of the attempts had been made on her life.

"Don, let's give them some time, you can fill me in on what's been going on today." Stella whispered as she nudged him towards the kitchen. He cast one final look at the couple across the room and sadly nodded his head, allowing Stella to push him into the other room.

.....

Danny stuck his head into Mac's office, but remained in the doorway. "Hey Boss, we just got a lead on one of the perps involved in the bar brawl at Mirage, Hernandez is hauling his ass in and we're heading over to the precinct to talk to him, but we're pretty confident he was the last one to strike Ethan Warner."

"Good work Danny, let me know what you get." Mac looked up from the reports he was reviewing. Danny thought he looked tired, not something you often saw in Mac, but the FBI muscling in on their case and the associated politics had got to the boss. Mac hated the political games that went with the job, all the team knew it, but it was usually Stella who was the one to bring him out of the stupor and she had spent most of the day at the safe house with Aphrodite, so the boss had distanced himself and buried his head in his paperwork. Danny was still amused by her name and hoped that he actually got a chance to meet her properly. Mac clearing his throat and giving him a questioning look prompted him to provide more details about what brought them to this particular guy.

"Ah, yeah, Jackson Davis, his prints were on a table leg which match a bruise across Warner's shoulders, it would give enough force to knock him forward onto the table which then collapses and kills him." He explained using hand gestures to demonstrate his thinking.

"That's good. I suggest after that you take off, I don't think we'll get any further tonight, we'll regroup tomorrow and go over everything we know and see where it takes us."

"What about you Mac, are you heading out?" Danny replied, already guessing that the boss was in no hurry to leave.

"Not yet, Stella's still with Karla Morgan, it looks like she's ready to talk, so she's staying over there for a bit to go over everything with her and Flack, I'll wait until she gets back."

"Alright, I'll let you know if I get anything from this Davis guy." Danny acknowledged him with a nod before making his parting comment and turning away.

.....

Flack and Stella were sitting at the table in the kitchen, she had shared what little information she had gained from Karla and he was about to tell her of what happened at the precinct when the door swung open revealing Morgan at the other side.

"Sorry to interrupt, .... Detective Flack, she wants to talk to you." Stella noted the serious expression and uneasy stance of the agent.

"Agent Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"Stella Bonasera, I'm with the Crime Lab." Stella introduced herself standing up and holding out her hand.

Morgan reciprocated and stepped forward to clasp her hand. "Karla tells me you've been keeping her company, thank you."

Stella nodded as he released her hand. "How is she doing?"

"About as well as you'd expect, but she's more shook up than she's been letting on." Morgan responded looking between the two detectives.

"Will she talk to us now?" Flack asked tersely.

"She's willing to talk, but it's nothing to do with me. She said something about being let off the hook."

Flack stood up and stepped towards the door. "Stell, I think you should stick around a bit." He suggested and moved past Morgan to the lounge.

.....

Karla looked up when Flack entered the room and strode towards her as she paced next to the couch.

"Are you alright?" He asked, standing in front of her.

She nodded. "Fine. .... Don, what I said earlier, I'm serious, I don't know who you talked to but whatever you said- ... I've had the gagging order lifted, I can tell you everything." She was in that place again, one she had found herself in a few times in the recent past; where she was standing barely a foot away from him inhaling his cologne and finding herself almost unable to breathe, her mind spinning with impure thoughts about her protector, confusing her thought processes. "I never lied yesterday, I'm not married, at least not in any way that matters, I know Derek would have played that card to get your attention, he's a good friend and ... never mind, I'm rambling about stuff you have no interest in."

She bit her lip and turned away, screwing her eyes up in the hope that he wouldn't say anything. She heard him shuffle behind her, "Karla?" His voice seemed laced with concern, only making her even more confused about what she was thinking.

"I just need a minute." She choked as she almost ran into her room, closing the door she leant against it and slid down to sit on the floor, burying her face in her hands. She had just made the biggest fool of herself and now she had no idea how to rectify the situation. For a trained FBI agent she was crap at dealing with her feelings sometimes and she couldn't avoid letting them get the better of her.

She didn't know how long she sat for when she felt the vibrations of a tap on the door, "Karla, I'm coming in whether you want me to or not." The sultry tones of Morgan's voice wafted over her.

She rubbed her face and stood up, when he was determined about something there was no way he'd take no for an answer.

She stepped away from the door as it swung open. He stepped inside and closed it again. "I don't know what you just said to that detective, but he's looking pretty confused out there. Want to share?" He asked almost dazzling her with his smile.

"No and what are you doing in here?"

"Checking up on you, Flack said you seemed upset."

"I'm fine, I'm just a bit hypersensitive at the minute, probably a result of the last few days. Now I can get my head back in the case I should be better, give me a few minutes then I'll tell you all what's been happening."

"Alright, if you're sure." He commented raising his eyebrows at her, his eyes sparkling. Sometimes it didn't pay to be friends with him, he was a damn profiler and she knew that even if he wasn't trying that's what he was doing to her and he knew how she felt. "You want my opinion? He's taking his job to protect you way more seriously than he should and that little show you put on when we walked in, you're enjoying it way more than you should having him around. So tell me girl, does he light your fire?" Morgan grinned almost from ear to ear as he taunted her.

"None of your damn business **Mr** Morgan now just get out of here and wait. I'll be there in a minute." She hurriedly dismissed him not wanting to get into a debate about what her personal feelings were about Don Flack.

She watched Morgan leave before entering the en-suite bathroom and turning on the taps and splashing cool water on her face.

.....

Danny closed the door to the Messer family apartment a smile embedded on his face as he heard the babbling of his daughter, barely interspersed with comments from his wife. However he was taken by surprise when a small tornado blew through the apartment and launched itself at his legs.

"Daddy Home!" a small voice squealed . He dropped his back pack next to him and looked down into the angelic face of the other love of his life. Her honey blonde curls swinging as she chattered to him, partly in unintelligible baby talk, mixed with the odd real word like she was trying to hold a conversation.

He bent down and scooped her into his arms and was rewarded with a pair of small arms wrapping themselves around his neck almost strangling him. He was amazed at her strength.

"Too tight Luce, you have to let daddy go a little bit." He grunted through a mouthful of curls.

"Love Daddy, kissy." She answered bouncing in his arms.

"Alright." He sighed, obliging her with loud raspberry kisses against her neck making her giggle. He loved the sound, just like her mother, a sound that would get his girls anything they wanted and they knew it.

Lindsay emerged from the bedroom holding a towel. "Lucy, bath time sweetie, then if you're a good girl daddy will read to you."

"Pincess book." She squealed jumping in Danny's arms again.

"Alright, Princess book it is, but you go with your Ma and get your bath." Danny answered looking at Lindsay and raising his eyes. The princess book was currently her favourite and he knew it almost by heart now having read her the story just about every night for two weeks. He would have preferred a new story. He set Lucy down on the floor and she ran toward the bathroom. Lindsay crossed the room after her then stopped.

"I saved you some dinner, I'd have waited but I didn't know how late you would be and I thought it would be nice to eat with Lucy for once." She offered almost apologetically.

"That's okay babe, Davis interview was pretty cut and dried and Hernandez took him down to booking so I get a night at home with my girls. I'll tell you all about it later." He sighed and turned to the kitchen still listening as Lindsay chased their daughter back to the bathroom.

.....

Flack set out several folders on the coffee table from the holdall he had arrived with. Next to them a laptop, then he reorganised the files a couple of times, he knew Stella was watching him with interest.

"Don, .... relax, I know she's going to be giving us answers we've been chasing for two days, but don't push her, let her give us the answers in her own time."

Neither had the opportunity to continue as Morgan emerged from her room with a beaming smile. "She'll be right out." He grinned. Flack eyed the things on the table again then watched the door. True to the agent's words she emerged very soon after he had.

"Alright, Detective Flack I understand you have some-" He waved his hand across the table and smiled at her. "I see you read my mind. ... You should sit down this could take a while." She continued eyeing each of the others in turn. Flack reached into the holdall once more and pulled out his memo book and a pen, ready to take notes. He noticed she seemed more confident and less nervous than when they had been alone before. He hoped the smile he gave her was encouraging. Slowly the room's occupants took seats, Karla remained standing.

"3 months ago Chief Sinclair called the bureau looking for some assistance in plugging a leak in NYPD. I was working with the BAU but due for a new assignment so I was loaned out, I moved up to the city and spent several weeks holed up in an apartment going over all the information which was made available, and trust me there was a lot. Eventually I had a team of two who followed me. Pearson came on the scene about a month ago, he was supposed to support me and take charge when I wasn't around to do so, except with me working the field and planning the undercover op he was able to subvert my authority and gain the director's attention."

Flack heard Morgan swear under his breath, but otherwise the room was silent. "I found out our mark, a guy named Ethan Warner-"

"Ethan Warner?" Flack interrupted quickly, glaring at her.

"Yeah, he's fairly new to the warehouse so an obvious weak link. One of the team had him under surveillance, he's usually in Mirage at least twice a week trying to pick up girls, Pearson sent me in there two nights ago to make contact."

"Ethan Warner? You're sure?" Flack demanded standing up and glaring at her, he didn't want to believe that she could be involved after all.

"Yeah I'm sure, why?"

"Why? You have the nerve to ask why?" He practically yelled at her.

"Detective, I don't know what you're getting at here, Ethan Warner was a good age match and was still relatively new to the warehouse, he was the perfect person to feed us information from the inside, I just needed to get to know him."

"So how well did you get to know him?" He stood with his hands on his hips waiting for her to answer.

"I didn't; he never showed."

"Come on, you're telling me you never saw the guy?" He felt his stomach churning, wondering if they had made a mistake in letting her off the hook so easily.

"That's right!" She snapped back, her eyes blazing as she stood her ground a few feet away. "I don't know what you think I know, but I never met Ethan."

Flack stepped forward and took one of the files and pulled out a photo of their victim from the nightclub and shoved it at her.

"What's your point detective? I keep telling you I have no idea who this is, I've never seen him before." She answered firmly pushing the photo back at him. He continued to hold it out to her.

"Try again, try harder. .... Pretty well engineered brawl, was it really your plan to meet him or did you just want him out of the way?" He demanded.

"Look I told you I have no idea who he is, I'm sorry he's dead but it wasn't my fault."

"Guys, take it easy, this is going nowhere." Morgan intervened. "Can we at least share information like normal adults?"

"Keep out Derek, I want to know what he thinks he knows that the rest of us are obviously clueless about."

Flack rubbed his hand across his face and sighed, the lighting wasn't the best, but he could see her eyes blazing at him. "You keep denying you knew the victim, but I gotta tell you I'm getting rather fed up of being lied to. Especially when we find your prints all over photos of the vic."

He wondered if he had pushed too hard when he noted the look of total confusion on her face. "The only photo I had on me that night was a photo we had of Ethan Warner-" She stopped, a look of utter shock replaced the confusion as she grabbed the photo from his hand and studied it again. "Are you saying this is Ethan?" She asked looking up into his eyes and he noted her hand shaking as she held the photo.

* * *

_A small cliffhanger of sorts, if you want the next chapter quickly then review and let me know what you like/don't like. _


	13. Information Overload

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Thanks to Lily Moonlight for the read through and helping me to keep things real and to my regular reviewers Lily, Hope4sall, Conche & DantanaMM._

_If you haven't realised I've updated the summary to reflect the inclusion of those Mac/Stella moments, of which there are more to come. I'm not averse to D/L, but I find them much harder to write, but I'll add it bits here and there and Lucy too._

**Chapter 13 – Information Overload**

She had no idea that Ethan had cut his hair, no wonder she had found it so hard to track him down that week. She looked from the photo in her hand to another one Flack was now holding out to her. She took it from him and studied the two images for a moment.

"We stopped surveillance about a week before I started to work the undercover angle, we didn't want to risk spooking him. He must have changed his appearance after that."

"Question is why would he do that? Was he having problems with the other warehouse custodians?" Morgan asked. His easy tone helping to settle her nerves.

"According to the missing persons report, he got a lot of jibes from the others about the long hair, according to his boss he was desperate to fit in. Had his hair cut three days before the fight that killed him." Now that he wasn't yelling at her she found Flack's tone just as soothing as Derek's.

She knew they were all watching her, but she was still studying the two pictures of Warner, finally lifting her head she looked at Flack, "Do you think the bar brawl was deliberate? A set up to kill him maybe?" she asked, surprised at how confident her voice sounded considering the shock she still felt at discovering her mark and Flack's victim were one and the same.

"The evidence seems to point to the table collapsing under him when he landed on it, part of the table pierced his gut in the process. It probably wasn't deliberate, but whoever was the last one to hit him could be charged with manslaughter." Flack informed them, unaware of Danny's lead in tracking the guy down.

Karla reached down and dropped the photos on the table. "Let me fill you in on the rest of the case."

After spending the next hour going over the details with the others everyone sighed, taking a moment to process all the information. Karla knew they were shocked, they had known of a couple of cases on her radar but not how deep it really went and that Stella's decapitation case now was added to the list. She looked at Morgan. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She nodded towards the kitchen; he nodded and followed her.

"Mac and the team should hear this." Stella said, her voice carefully controlled as she looked up at Flack who slowly lifted his head and looked back.

"You can give him the highlights, I'll bring her in first thing. Maybe she'll get a chance to sleep tonight getting all this out in the open."

"You too," She whispered, "You look pretty wiped out."

"Yeah, I feel it." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "I guess it's information overload," he sighed.

"It's a lot to take in," agreed Stella, "I'll check on the team as I leave, call us if you need anything."

"Sure, thanks Stell." He answered tiredly as she stood up and collected her things.

.....

The kitchen door swung closed and Karla turned to Morgan. "What are your plans now?"

"Hotch sent me up here to help with a profile, and we have no way of knowing yet if anyone is still after you so I guess I'm gonna be sticking around a while. Both you and that Detective look pretty exhausted, so after dinner I suggest you get your cute ass in bed and get a good night's sleep, I'll take the couch and lend an extra pair of ears and eyes."

"Is it safe to leave the two of you alone?" She asked smirking at him, earning herself one of his grins in return.

"I promise I'll behave. I'll take a look at some of those files see if I can work out a profile." He offered while keeping his eyes fixed on hers.

"Thank you." She barely heard her own voice as she whispered to him. "You hungry?"

"Starving, you got something in mind?"

"Be ready in about half hour," she answered turning to the oven and setting the temperature, "I just need to finish it off, I did most of the preparation earlier and I've got plenty to feed everyone."

She knew he watched her as she moved around the table making preparations, pulling dishes from the fridge and covering them with foil.

.....

Stella went straight to Mac's office when she reached the lab, it wasn't a surprise to find him still there, he had been known to work many a night after everyone else had gone home, barely catching a nap on the couch which lined the glass wall. However she was determined that while she was around he was going to leave the lab and at least attempt to get proper sleep. Whether tonight would be one of those nights she wasn't sure. She hoped he would accede to her request for a little supper at their favourite bistro while she told him about Karla and the highlights of what she would reveal to the team.

As she pushed open the door to his office he glanced up. "Stella, how are things?"

"Better, Karla's more settled and since the Chief visited earlier she's given us more information. Seems he's known what she was doing here." She answered perching against his desk and noting that he didn't seem surprised at Sinclair's name coming up. "How did you get on with Sinclair? He tell you anything?"

"Only that the Bureau are here at his request and it's connected with the disappearing evidence from the vault." He sighed. "I wish they would stop playing politics and do their damn jobs and let us put the criminals behind bars where they belong."

"We may just be in luck. Flack's going to bring Karla in tomorrow to brief the team on her case, .. She set up the investigation, going over the evidence and planning a sting operation. She was in Mirage to try and meet Ethan Warner."

"Ethan Warner?" Mac asked raising his eyes at her, she nodded in return, "but he was the victim, I thought she didn't know him."

"She didn't, her team had him under surveillance until a week ago, they dropped it to avoid spooking him, Karla was after enlisting his help as their eyes and ears on the inside. She didn't know he'd changed his appearance in response to the taunting he was getting from the other guys." Stella informed him.

Mac rubbed his hand over his face, "So where does that leave us now?"

"A list of compromised cases about a mile long, including Dunbrook's, and our decapitation in the park. ... It's clear the katana is the same one used to kill Stanton 4 years ago." She noted the flash of concern which crossed his face at the mention of Robert Dunbrook, it was a case they could all do with forgetting, but that wasn't likely to happen soon. She did wonder what the knock on effects would be on the team with his case so closely linked with the death of one of their own the year before; wounds were still healing and delving into old cases could rip them open again, causing untold heartache. She hoped that wouldn't happen and those who weren't as close to Jessica Angell would be there to catch them if the worst happened. Those like the man in front of her still pondering her words.

"What about the death of Ethan Warner?" He asked, obviously wondering if this new information put a different spin on the officer's death.

"Manslaughter, someone knocked him down in the bar brawl, pure co-incidence he was Karla's target."

"So what now?"

"You can take me to dinner and I can tell you about Greece, seeing as we didn't get a chance to talk last night." She answered seriously, however Mac knew that the glimmer in her eyes was launching a challenge and a few hours of down time was starting to look very welcome.

"Well I guess if you put it like that-" he answered looking at her an amused gleam appearing in his eyes.

"Like what Mac?" She half giggled, "Just admit it, you like it when I take charge, so get moving." She verbalised the challenge while taking the file from his hands and closing it.

.....

Flack let his eyes flick to Karla as she stood up from the table and began to clear their dinner plates away while he and Morgan continued their discussion on sports teams and other random stuff. The discussion had started on what sport they liked and was currently well into a debate about teams and events, Morgan may not have a particular favourite but Flack had to concede that the man was knowledgeable. He felt a little sorry for Karla, she had barely been able to say two words and right now she had opted to occupy herself with clearing up; in order to make it up to her a little he decided to help, but before he could move Morgan had pushed his chair back and stood up, still continuing the debate, as he moved to stand next to Karla at the sink.

Morgan removed the dishcloth from her hands, handed her a towel and rested his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.

"I got this, you look wiped out, why don't you call it a night?"

"I'm fine, why don't you guys take the debate next door and I'll bring you some coffee when I'm done." She offered looking between the two of them.

"Not a chance, you've done enough for today, I know you didn't sleep last night, do yourself a favour and get some rest." Flack observed the exchange for a moment, wondering if he should leave them alone, especially with the look Morgan had fixed her with. However she didn't take the bait.

"Derek, I can take care of myself, so quit giving me the sad puppy look, it stopped working on me a long time ago." She snapped playfully.

"What sad puppy look? That's the second time you said that." He scoffed, in return.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, there's this look that you give all the girls and most of the time it will get you anything you want, but not tonight. Now be good and get out of my way while I clean up." Flack watched as she slid Morgan's hands from her shoulders and pushed him towards the door.

Morgan stopped her, "nah, not gonna happen, you thought we didn't notice you nearly passing out in your food, now you're practically a walking zombie, I can clear up here, stop being so stubborn and take that cute ass of yours to bed." He parried as he guided her towards the door, her energy to stop him almost completely drained. Flack thought he saw a slight flush to her face when Morgan mentioned her ass, and the fact that she had no comeback and finally just nodded at him, made Flack realise just how exhausted she was. With hindsight he could see the signs, her co-ordination during the meal had been off and she had only just avoided a couple of disasters with her glass of juice, her eyes were looking a little red and puffy where she kept rubbing them and he sensed she gave in to Morgan a lot quicker than she would normally do.

"Good girl, now don't worry about anything, we got you covered." Morgan told her pushing her out the door and turning to Flack after waiting a moment to see if she returned. "That was far too easy." He commented, while rubbing his hand over his head. "I'm gonna be in trouble tomorrow."

Flack half grinned at him, amused at the prospect of the agent being told off again. "I get the impression she can be pretty stubborn."

"Trust me, normally I would be the one to lose out, but when she's tired it's a whole different ball game, she'll try, but you saw how quickly she caved." Morgan grinned in reply. "If you want to turn in early, I'll take watch."

Flack was tempted, but for the moment his mind was too active with everything that had happened the last few days, so he knew that sleep would still be several hours away. "nah, I'm good, I'm gonna catch the highlights of the game first, clear my head a bit."

Morgan nodded in understanding. "Who's playing?"

.....

"Morning Adam," Hawkes greeted as he entered the lab and seeing him hurriedly tapping away on the computer. "What's going on, it's pretty quiet around here?"

Adam looked up, "Hey Hawkes, ... uh , Danny and Lindsay will be here soon, they pulled an early case in the Bronx, Stella's down with O'Reilly gathering the latest information on our decapitation and Mac's having breakfast with the Chief."

"Okay, so what you up to?"

"Mac asked me to pull all the information I can get my hands on regarding the issues we've had with the evidence warehouse, apparently there's a lot more going on than Dunbrook and Ann Steele's flash drive."

"Didn't I hear something about the weapon used to decapitate Stella's vic was used in a homicide about 4 years ago?"

"Yeah, Jared Stanton, Sid found trace in the wound that turned out to be Stanton's dried blood," Adam answered still hurriedly tapping away on the computer and sending the printer into action. "Flack's bringing Karla Morgan in later, apparently she's going to bring us up to speed with her investigation. Mac wants all our information ready in the conference room by the time she arrives."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, I'm still printing off data, can you take these to the room and start up the screens?" Adam asked handing over several large files.

"Sure," Hawkes was about to leave when two women wearing FBI jackets entered pulling a trolley of sealed boxes, causing him to take a second look.

"Hi guys," greeted the younger of the two, while she swished her blond hair around her shoulders. "We meet again." She made it obvious that her attention was on Adam as she spoke. Hawkes grinned as he noticed the tinge of red appear on Adam's face under the scrutiny.

"Uh, Haylen, what are you doing here?"

"Chaperoning all this stuff, we've been instructed to bring it over to Mac." She answered brightly, with her eyes still fixed on Adam.

"What is it?" Hawkes asked eyeing the boxes a little closer.

"Everything that was part of Special Agent Pearson's investigation, Chief Sinclair requested it be turned over to NYPD."

"Oh," Adam sounded a little surprised, while Hawkes inspected the boxes more closely.

"This is more than what he took out of here a couple of days ago." Hawkes surmised as he looked at Haylen for an explanation.

"This is everything that was seized, plus all the information that was gathered during his investigation."

"Excuse me but wasn't it Agent Morgan's investigation?" Adam asked hesitantly.

"May have been to start with, but once our brass knew what was involved they put someone with more experience in charge." Haylen answered flippantly, to Hawkes mind, with a hint of jealousy.

"Any of this need special handling?" Hawkes continued, sticking to work.

"Two boxes of physical evidence, one of blood and trace and 8 boxes of files." The agent who had so far remained quiet reeled off from the list in her hand. "We'll need someone to sign the chain of custody for all this."

"Alright, Adam can you secure the physical evidence, ladies, the file boxes can go to the conference room with me." Hawkes instructed, while relieving the agent of her clipboard and signing the paperwork and double checking the reference details against the boxes, leaving Adam to gather the 3 boxes from the top of the pile and deal with them appropriately.

While Hawkes and the unnamed agent moved the remaining boxes to the conference room, Haylen remained in the lab, wandering around and looking at the items laying around the room. Adam moved several documents out of her eye line and into folders which he stacked on the counter.

"I see you have a new Mass Spectrometer, you know at the FBI lab, we've got the latest version, the 7500 is so much faster and more efficient than this one, the 7250 is okay, but it's got bugs in the software and it's so awkward to enter the analysis criteria." She began, trying to play one-upmanship with Adam once again. He sneered behind her back.

"Actually the bugs have been fixed. I uh, spent sometime last month with their developers and we've made a lot of adjustments. Some will be optional upgrades to current models, including the 7500 and will be standard on the 8000 which we'll get in a couple of months when it's released to the general market to replace the 7500." Adam gushed enthusiastically, wishing to share his experience and the opportunity that had landed in his lap a short while before. He also got a certain satisfaction from seeing the smile wiped from her face at the news.

"That's just one thing, at our lab everything is so much newer and better it's such a great place to work." She gushed, trying to get the last word in.

"Perhaps it is, but I like it here, uh now excuse me, I have to put this stuff away before everyone gets here." He began stacking more files to the pile he had already collated, then began boxing them up to be moved and ignoring Haylen. He was relieved when her colleague returned and told her they had to go.

.....

Karla was a little surprised when she emerged into a quiet lounge the following morning. Morgan was sleeping soundly on the couch, his feet hanging off one end. She knew he had been awake half the night, the one time she had woken up she heard the TV still playing, now it was silent. The room was dark and stuffy, a side effect of the closed curtains and windows and minimal air-conditioning, it appeared there was going to be no let up in the weather but knowing that she would be going to the Crime Lab again she hoped for some fresh air. She had opted to dress more formally, partly for comfort as dresses were cooler than trousers, but it also gave her a confidence boost; unfortunately it allowed everyone to see the bandage around her upper right arm. She hoped that Sheldon would at least downsize the dressing when she saw him later, fortunately it had not yet been spotted by Derek; her sleeved shirt the night before had concealed it well, but that wouldn't last long and she could imagine what he would say the moment he laid eyes on it.

Easing open the door to the kitchen she began to set up for breakfast while making coffee for the guys and tea for herself. She was completely lost in thought about what the day might bring when a faint footstep alerted her to another's presence. She felt herself almost hit the ceiling when she turned to the sound and found herself barely inches away from Flack, only just managing to stifle the scream which rose in her throat by clamping her hand over her mouth.

"Karla, I'm sorry, I thought you heard me." He greeted quietly, removing her hand from her mouth and laying his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"God, no. I'm surprised for someone as tall and well built as you that you can creep up on anyone, but no I didn't hear you." She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and blood rushing through her ears as she held his gaze and it didn't help with Morgan's words about her cute ass echoed in her mind, knowing full well that Flack had heard the comment.

"I am sorry, next time I'll hammer on the door first alright?" He answered raising his eyebrows at her.

Taking a few deep breaths she nodded, "please, I'm still kinda freaking out a little," she could feel the warmth of his hands still on her shoulders and feel his gaze boring into her. She blinked, "Breakfast?" she asked before turning to the coffee pot, his hands slipping away as she moved, once again leaving her with the weird feeling she had around him.

"Want some help? I can cook pretty good when I have to."

"If you want, I was thinking eggs, bacon, and OJ. Bacon's likely to end up a little on the crispy side though the way I cook," she offered then sensed Flack stiffen at her side. "Sorry, did I say something wrong, don't tell me you're vegetarian or something and you're too polite to tell me to stop force feeding you-" She joked, turning to look at him, picking up the sadness in his eyes and the tension in his jaw line, she immediately lost the grin, concern taking over. She laid her hand on his arm to attract his attention. "Don?"

He continued to ignore her as he moved away and lowered himself into a chair at the kitchen table and was silent for a moment, "it was her last meal," he mumbled. Karla sat down too and rested her hand on his arm, she knew he was talking about his late girlfriend and memories of two nights ago flooded her mind again.

"I'm sorry, we can change the menu." She offered softly, while she watched him suppress the emotions she could detect crossing his face. His eyes were moments away from filling with tears as he was haunted by memories of that day a year before.

Finally he nodded at her, "Thank you." He sniffed before looking at her. "Sometimes-"

She waited a few seconds while he tried to form the words. She could see he was struggling and subtly tightened her grip around his arm, "sometimes things just sneak up on you and it becomes real all over again?"

He sniffed and nodded again. "She was escorting a witness, they were having breakfast when-"

"It's okay, you don't need to tell me." She patted his arm, preparing to stand up when he surprised her, curling his fingers around her hand as she withdrew it, holding her where she was, drawing her attention to their entwined hands.

"I heard it, ... we were on the phone." He continued.

Karla felt the lump in her throat, her insides churned at the thought, she had no words of comfort, how could she? His hand tightened further around hers causing her to raise her head and look at him.

"She was protecting Connor Dunbrook."

"Robert Dunbrook's son? … That's why Stella had me skip his case last night." She affirmed thinking about the stern look she had received from the other woman when she mentioned the name.

Don looked up at her and nodded, then used his free hand to rub his face. "I'm sorry," He mumbled.

"Don, you never have to apologise for how you feel about Jess, she was important to you, anyone who cares about you will know that. ... There's no limit on how long someone grieves, or what happens to make them feel better about things. It's something you have to figure out in your own time." She urged softly.

He shook his head and gave her a weak smile, "Who's saving who now?"

"I'm not saving anyone," she answered, "I wouldn't even know where to start, … I've never been in this situation before."

Flack grazed his thumb across the back of her hand while holding her gaze. "You're doing pretty good from where I sit."

"Yeah, well-" She felt the tingle up her arm where he still rubbed the back of her hand, she pulled back, whatever she might have thought of saying sticking in her throat; she was reading way more into their exchanges than was really there, she needed to get some distance between them before she did something stupid. There was no chance he felt anything for her when he'd just been talking about his dead girlfriend. "Breakfast won't make itself and you did promise Detective Taylor that we would be in early this morning. I'd better wake Derek up too." She stood up and moved towards the door.

"Karla," She stopped with her hands on the door ready to open it. "What you said, about not saving anyone, ... it's not true, .... you're making me think about things a lot more than I have in a long time and as hard as it is facing what happened to Jess, I have to do it, ... Thank you for listening."

Karla listened, her eyes fixed on the door, "You're welcome." She managed to whisper before opening the door and stepping into the lounge.

* * *

_I'm currently working on Chapter 18, so if you want me to post quicker I can do just review and let me know. Please......_


	14. Stirring Things

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Belated Happy Birthday to Lily Moonlight and for the read through of this chapter._

**Chapter 14 – Stirring Things**

She expected to have to wake Morgan, but he was busy pacing up and down, his phone pressed to his ear, sunlight pouring through the now open curtains.

"But they're alright? ... yeah I got it, tell Garcia to book me on the first flight, I'll talk to Karla and tell her what's going on. ... No she's okay, I'll fill you all in when I get there, she's in good hands here. ... Yeah, thanks Hotch, keep me posted." Morgan closed his phone as he turned around to see Karla watching him. "Hey babe, you're looking good, sleep alright?"

"Yeah, much better, how are things in Texas? Sounds like you're leaving." She answered gesturing to the phone.

"They need me back, JJ and Reid were in a car accident last night, they're gonna be okay, but they'll be out for a few days."

"What happened?" She knew he was just as concerned for them as he was for her and with them both out of action it didn't surprise her that he was needed back with the team.

"Freak storm, tree came down across the road they were travelling on, car ended up on its roof in a ditch … they'd been interviewing a witness in the next town. I'm only going to get in the way around here, I got what I came for."

"Thought you were going to help with a profile."

"Send me anything you like, I'll consult from Texas, maybe I can use JJ and Reid while they're laid up. Besides, you can profile with the best of us you'll figure things out and I left you my notes."

"Well if you're going to take off, I'll fix breakfast first and talk to Don about getting you a ride to the airport."

"Don? You on first name terms now girl?" He asked dazzling her with a smile. She shrugged, it was enough to draw his attention to the bandage on her arm. "What's that?"

"What?"

"That thing on your arm, what happened Karla?" He asked closing the gap between them as he gestured to her bandaged arm.

"Happened a couple of days ago, when we were shot at in the park, ... bullet grazed my arm." She screwed her eyes shut as she told him, knowing the reaction she would get and steeling herself to reply.

"Why the hell didn't you say they got that close?" There was an edge of concern and anger in his voice and her response met him on his own terms.

"Because I know you, I know how you'd react and right now you haven't proved me wrong." She snapped back.

He raised his hands for a few seconds then ran one down her hair, drawing her closer. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I just worry about you, promise me you'll be careful when I'm gone?"

"I promise." She answered, hearing Flack begin to move around the kitchen. "Why don't you wash up, breakfast won't take long."

"Flack awake too?"

"Yeah, sounds like he took over where I left off."

Morgan fixed her with a firm look. "It's all rather domestic isn't it? Dinner last night, breakfast this morning, sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

"Nothing, … he's been really good to me-" Morgan's phone rang and he flipped it open between them. "Morning beautiful, what you got for me?"

"_Hey yourself hot-stuff, did you find what you were looking for in the Big Apple?"_

"Yeah and she's standing right here so you best watch that mouth of yours before you give my wife the wrong idea about us." He answered, clearly unable to keep the grin off his face, as he teased both women. Karla swatted his arm. "Ow!"

"_She's there? She's alright?" Garcia's excited voice echoed around them._

"Pen, I'm right here and I'm fine. I'm being well taken care of, I didn't need you to send the cavalry." Karla replied, pleased to hear from her friend again, even under the circumstances, however she knew certain questions would be directed their way and it didn't take long before her cheery tones lowered a little and a whispered response came from the phone in Morgan's hand.

"_Are you two alone?"_

"Yes, but Detective Flack is in the next room and could walk in anytime." Karla answered hoping to stop Garcia from any further comments about the two of them.

"_So I can't ask if you took my advice?"_

"No you can't, but just to shut you up I didn't. I'm supposed to be working here not seducing the lead detective on the case."

"Not that you wouldn't like to- Ow!" He exclaimed as she struck him again. "Damn it woman will you stop hitting me." He moaned giving her a pained look.

"Stop going off script, Pen please tell me you've got him a flight."

"_10 am out of JFK, direct into Dallas, then the jet will fly you up to meet the team."_

Karla left them to work out the details while she gathered up the files from the night before and stacked everything neatly on the table, her mind swimming with the friendly jibes of her friends. She missed Morgan when he wasn't around, but she could live without him. It had been so long since she had dated anyone that the last 48 hours when both men had paid her compliments and attempted to comfort her had her emotions in a whirl. Morgan was just, well Morgan, the consummate playboy, flirting with every woman he met, while fiercely protecting his friends. The undercover gig had forced them closer than they would have been otherwise and while she had no regrets about living with him as his wife for over a year, it had been a mutual decision to take a step back afterwards to see if there was truly any chance of a romance. Gradually they had grown apart, but retaining something that few people shared. Now they were just good friends and he continued to flirt shamelessly with her, often giving people the wrong impression of them, but they didn't care.

Don Flack on the other hand was just as much of an enigma to her as she was to him. The loss of his girlfriend still affected him more than he let on to anyone, even his friends. She sensed that she was in a rare privileged position when it came to him telling her what happened, something she doubted he had done with anyone else. What she couldn't figure out was his motivation for confiding in her, she wasn't even sure if he knew it himself. One thing was certain though was that he was insanely attractive and fiercely protective, they still barely knew each other, but the time they had spent together had been ... interesting, what else could she call it? One moment they were talking to each other, comforting each other, the next they couldn't get away from each other fast enough, she was still trying to convince herself that staying professional was in everyone's best interests.

She sighed as she stacked the last of the files. She knew Morgan had heard her, but he was still on the phone so she hoped he would let it slide, if he didn't he'd want to know what she was thinking and then if she didn't tell him he'd push her buttons and guess. There was only one way out, she turned and headed into the kitchen.

.....

Danny looked over at his wife as they loaded the evidence bags and associated paraphernalia into the Avalanche. It was barely 8 am and he could already feel the sweat trickling down his back, making his shirt stick to him; Lindsay on the other hand looked cool, her sunglasses perched on her head while she moved boxes in the car's dark interior.

"Stop watching my ass Messer." She chided playfully earning a chuckle from her partner.

"Sorry Montana, but you make it far too easy," he answered handing her his forensic case as she turned and glared at him. "You're the one who offered to load, not much else to look at while you do that."

"Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?" She added while wiggling her hips. He groaned.

"You're killing me you know that?"

"I'm your wife Danny, I'm entitled to taunt you as much as I like. Now make yourself useful and put the rest of that stuff inside, I'm going to check with Scagnetti to see how the canvas went."

"Yeah, leave me all the heavy lifting won't you." He scoffed as she stepped towards him, a big smile on her face.

"Stop being a baby Danny, Lucy can lift most of this stuff. Now get a move on and get it loaded, Mac wants us at the lab by the time Flack arrives with Karla Morgan."

"Ah, yeah _Aphrodite_," He grinned, "wonder how the babysitting duty's going, I've barely seen him since she came on the scene, they seem to be joined at the hip."

"Not true, you're just stirring things, go easy on him, apart from me and Stella he's hardly spoken to another woman since last summer. Stella thinks he likes her."

"Stella?" Danny exclaimed. Lindsay laughed.

"No, Karla, Stella's spidey senses are working overtime according to what she said yesterday."

"Sure she's not talking about her and Mac? Seems they've been spending way more time together off the clock lately." Danny offered as he heaved a large paper bag of evidence into the vehicle.

"It's been a bad year for all of us, I'm glad they're able to rely on each other so much. But in case you haven't noticed, they've been a lot closer since they went to Greece last year." Lindsay sighed, stepping closer to Danny, "I think it's sweet they're so close, as for anything else, don't get me wrong, I think it would be great if something happened, but I think Mac's concerned about the Lab if they do get involved."

"Yeah, I know, he's so by the book and unemotional sometimes, I wonder if he's really human."

"The responsibilities of being in charge." Lindsay smiled. "Now make tracks cowboy and get the rest of this loaded." She indicated the remaining items on the floor around them. Danny swatted his hand over her behind as she turned away, causing her to stop and look back at him.

"Watch it Mr Messer, I could report you for sexual harassment."

"You can't I'm your husband."

"Not while we're working." She gave him a sweet smile and walked away.

.....

Flack watched as Karla and Morgan said their goodbyes, their voices low so he couldn't make out what was said, he was packing the files back in his holdall, trying to ignore them as they stood across the room, but she had obviously been touched by something the agent had said as her brief laugh echoed around them. He couldn't resist looking up, only to wish he hadn't when Morgan wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer and hugging her. Flack tried to convince himself that it didn't matter, that they were just friends, but there was still one thing he didn't understand about their relationship. Morgan had called her his wife, she had declared she wasn't married and they were just good friends, but then there was the piece of paper that declared that whatever the current situation, they were actually married.

His mind drifted to the occasions over the last few days when it had fallen to him to comfort her, the incident with the SUV was the most memorable, he wasn't sure why the SUV had attracted him, or how he managed to cover the distance to reach her first. Whatever God had been smiling on him that day, he was grateful, it seemed to wake him up from the stupor he had been in for the last year and he had spent less time thinking about Jess than he had about Karla. Even when he talked about Jess to her, he had welcomed her hands holding his, offering silent support and comfort. He still didn't know why the stuff about Jess was coming out, but somehow she seemed to understand, she never treated him with the fake compassion everyone else seemed to.

He wondered what it would have been like to kiss her if his phone hadn't interrupted him a couple of nights ago. She wasn't Jess, he didn't want her to be, but whatever she was, he wanted the chance to find out, for the first time in months he was seriously considering taking that next step and opening his heart again. For some reason, getting her into bed wasn't a high priority like it had been with those girls last summer, but just spending time getting to know her was a pretty attractive thought.

A car horn brought him back to the present. Morgan checked the street through the window and turned to them.

"Looks like my ride's here, I'd better go."

"Take care of yourself, and don't worry about me." Karla replied, resting her hand on his arm and fixing him with a firm look.

"Doesn't matter what you do sweetheart, I'll always worry about you. But I can see you're in good hands, just don't do anything stupid." Morgan declared holding her gaze as he ran his hand over her hair and caressed her cheek.

"I won't, give my love to the team and tell JJ I'll be in touch as soon as I can to come visit Henry."

"Sure. You need anything you call." He told her hugging her another time and kissing her cheek. "You know I love you."

"I know, I love you too." She answered softly and Flack felt that tight knot in his stomach twist like a knife. He kept his look neutral as Morgan turned to him.

"Flack, I know you took a chance on me and I thank you for that. I know you've been told to watch out for her, but I'm trusting you to take care of my girl here and keep her safe." Morgan told him, keeping his left arm round her waist and offering his right.

"I'll do my best." Flack replied, taking Morgan's hand in a courteous farewell gesture.

"Walk me out?" He asked, nodding towards the door.

Flack looked between him and Karla wondering who he meant, but a final kiss to her cheek before lifting his holdall from the floor gave him the answer as Morgan turned to the door, Karla remaining where she stood.

Flack followed him aware of Karla watching them for a moment before she headed to her room.

Morgan turned to Flack as they reached the door, "finally, I thought she'd wait it out." He sighed. "She won't thank me for what I'm about to say, so I'm gonna talk then go, what you guys do then is up to you." Flack frowned, he couldn't make out what the agent meant. "Our marriage was one of convenience, we thought we could make it work in the real world, but it wasn't mean to be. Neither of us has been in a relationship where we wanted more, so it didn't bother us that we didn't go that final step. .... She likes you, she trusts you, don't let a piece of paper hold you back, ... Look man whatever we had was over a long time ago, she's got her own life and can make her own choices, it's no business of mine what she does anymore. I just don't want to see her get hurt." Morgan pulled the door open, slipped on his sunglasses and proceeded to saunter down the path to the waiting car.

Flack closed the door, unsure if he had heard SSA Morgan's parting words correctly, had he just been given the green light to ask his wife out? He rubbed his hand over his face.

After a few moments of indecision and noting that Karla had not returned he walked across to her room and rapped on the door. He waited for her to open the door, the knot in his stomach seeming to tighten with every passing second. When she opened the door she had her sunglasses perched on her head and greeted him with a smile.

"Is it time to go?"

"Can we talk for a minute first?" He asked gesturing to the couch, "are you alright?"

"You know I'd be a rich woman if I'd collected a dollar for every time someone asked me that." She sat down, "I'm fine, it was good to see Derek, but-" Flack watched as she pulled off her glasses and ran her hands through her hair, before looking at him, "What do you want to talk about?"

Flack felt his mouth dry, he wasn't sure what had prompted him to say what he did, maybe it was just apprehension about taking her out of the house, letting her become visible again, out there it was less easy to contain the situation and protect her. He could tell she was waiting for him to speak. He had a lot of questions, but most of them related to the other FBI agent rather than her current situation or the case. Questions he really had no right to ask.

"Is there anything else I should know before we leave?" It was lame, but at least he stopped himself asking the more inappropriate questions.

He noted the look she gave him and the weak smile which crossed her lips. "No, I told you everything last night and I'll repeat it for your team, ... I guess then you want me to get out of your way so you can do your job?"

He sat down on the coffee table facing her. "Actually, I'd rather know you're safe before you leave, and if that means you working the case with us, I guess I can live with that, ... with you for a few more days while we do that." He reached forward and held her hand as he spoke.

"You want me to stay?" She asked softly, her eyes widening.

"You seem surprised." He couldn't resist the grin which crossed his face in response.

"Yeah, I guess I expected a territorial battle, which kind of happened already, and now that it's NYPDs case again I thought you'd want me out of the way too, after all I'm a civilian now I quit my job."

"A minor technicality," the smirk remained as he watched her.

"Well I'm all for co-operation." She answered a smile growing across her lips and letting her eyes sparkle as she leaned towards him, practically whispering in his ear as she stood up. "We've got work to do detective, so in the spirit of co-operation I suggest we get moving."

"We should huh?" he replied, raising his eyebrows at her, his hand still wrapped around hers stopping her from moving away.

"Why? You got another idea?" she asked, her eyes fixed on his, .

"Nope." He shook his head and slowly released her hand, silently cursing himself for not voicing the thought going through his head.

.....

Mac tapped on the open door of Stella's office and entered before she looked up from her computer.

"Something about this scene just isn't right," he smirked.

"What's up Mac, you jealous because I'm in before you?" She grinned back.

He entered her office and sat down in the chair opposite her. "It is a little unusual," he commented the half smile still plastered firmly across his face, his eyes twinkling.

"Spending the day with Karla yesterday has put me behind on my reports, so I thought I'd get a few hours in before she comes in and we're pouring over her files."

For a few moments they dropped into silence as Stella shuffled files on her desk and signed a few documents while Mac seemed in no hurry to move.

"You have plans later?" Stella asked finally breaking the companionable silence and firmly closing a file.

"Other than catching up on all my paperwork?" he returned, raising his eyebrows at her, wondering what she had in mind.

"Paperwork which will still be there tomorrow or the day after," she replied emphatically, a firm look on her face. "Paperwork will always be there Mac, come on you've gotta live a little."

"I take it you have something in mind," he commented his face displaying faint amusement and curiosity and challenging her to tell him what she was thinking.

"Would I ask if I didn't?" Her lips curled into a smile which reflected in her eyes, before he could answer though, she continued. "I've got tickets to the opening of the new exhibition at MOMA and thought you might care to escort me."

Mac's smile widened. "Art?" he questioned, "I remember the last time you and I bonded over art." He couldn't fail to miss the hesitation and flash of fear that ran through her eyes.

"That was a long time ago Mac," her tone was serious, the happy look from moments before banished by painful memories.

His own look had turned serious too, "I'm sorry Stella, I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't, it was just a time in my life there are things I'd rather forget." She gave him a sympathetic look. "The artwork was impressive, but the artist got what he deserved for killing his benefactor ... I'm sure tonight's display will be fine. I mean MOMA aren't likely to be promoting jealous killers." Mac was relieved at the half smile which followed her little speech.

"So we're good?"

"Only if you promise to go with me, then after I'll return the favour and cook dinner," she offered. Mac nodded approvingly.

"I think I can go with that, tell me what's on the menu?" He grinned again.

"Oh, let me think," he watched her expression for a few seconds, knowing that she would come up with something he would like. "how about a little Tyrokafteri, followed by Yemista."

"My favourite," he wasn't sure if his face could stand the strain of smiling any wider, "and dessert?"

"Well, that will be a surprise." The smile she gave him was a genuine one, the darker thoughts from a moment before now gone and he was again drawn in by the sparkle in her eyes.

"mmm, you know surprises aren't my thing," he reminded her and felt his stomach flutter as she scrunched her nose up in that uniquely Stella way.

"Trust me Mac, you'll love what I have in mind," she taunted.

"Is that so?" He asked, knowing nothing else would be revealed and he would just have to wait for events to unfold.

* * *

_It seems the site is having a problem tracking the stats, so I have no idea how many of you read the last chapter, I hope you liked this one..._


	15. The Files

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Thanks for the reviews, replies will follow later, also to Lily Moonlight for the additional review of this chapter._

**Chapter 15 – The Files**

Stella looked up as the door opened and watched as Flack held it while ushering Karla into the room. With the team assembled ready for the briefing, she noted Karla's look of composure while introductions were made for those she had not met before and everyone took a seat around the table. The boxes Hawkes had brought in earlier were stacked around the room and several files littered the table. Hawkes had consulted briefly with Karla when she entered and uploaded information from a flash drive to their screens. Mac had remained standing. Stella, observing him, knew he was observing the team, gauging their mood, as well as assessing their new temporary member.

"Let's get started," he began, causing everyone to stop their whispered conversations and look his way. "The Chief has asked Karla to meet with us and bring us up to speed with her investigation, a number of the cases she has been looking into have passed through this lab, I'm sure we're not at fault for the evidence going astray, but I want to leave no stone un-turned in the search for whoever is responsible and be able to assure the Chief and anyone else who asks that we are above suspicion."

Stella drew her eyes off Mac and let them drift over her co-workers around the table, they all looked rather glum, but she knew they would understand Mac's concerns and help them to do what was needed to put an end to the leaks.

"As you know there have been a number of cases the last few years which have been compromised because of loss of evidence. Karla will be walking us through them, later we'll be looking for ideas on how we move this forward and close this leak as quickly as possible. Karla, when we're done here I'd like a word, but for now, I'll leave you the floor," Mac continued at a steady pace, his eyes circling the table, observing the team alighting on Karla as he concluded.

Stella noted the deep breath from the other woman as she pushed herself to her feet and reached for the remote control.

"Thank you. First I want to tell you a little about me, I grew up here in the city before going to college in Chicago and joining their Police Force, a long undercover assignment led me to the FBI where I've worked their organised crime task force and the Behavioural Analysis Unit," Stella noticed Karla glance around the table at the faces of those in attendance; she thought the look she gave Flack lasted just a smidgen longer, perhaps the result of the nod of encouragement he gave her. "Three months ago I was recruited to look into the issues with your evidence warehouse."

Karla aimed the remote at the large screen and clicked the button several times as she spoke, "as far as I can tell the first item to disappear was Ann Steele's flash drive, which was related to the Robert Dunbrook investigation, I know you're all familiar with that so I won't dwell on it now. In the two years since that case I know other units as well as yourselves have had items go missing or evidence destroyed, affecting at least 20 cases, many of them high profile." The screen filled with images of individuals and items relevant to some of the cases she was referring to. The display , slowly building on itself so the pictures of Robert Dunbrook and Ann Steele that she had started with were soon covered, ending with the images of the Katana, Jared Stanton and Giles Ashton, eliciting a number of gasps from around the room. "These are only the ones I've identified."

"Um you mean there are more?" muttered Adam glancing around, Stella smiled at him kindly, she knew he got flustered easily and was still surprised by some of their discoveries.

"I don't doubt it, you may never find out the exact number, but if you can catch those responsible this will be enough to put them away." She waved the remote at the screen behind her.

"So where do we start?" Danny asked as he leant on the table and pulled a file closer to him.

"At the bottom, I can cut you a few corners based on my investigation and your own history, but nothing is going to get you away from reviewing what's in those boxes." She waved her hand around the room. "My suggestion detectives is that you all take a box and learn the contents, then we regroup later and compare notes, see if anything crosses with anything else. .. If that's alright with you Detective Taylor." Stella noted the way she deferred to Mac as the senior person present.

"I think that sounds sensible, is there anything you more you can tell us before we get started?"

Karla nodded, "I still think it's a viable option to try and get a link to the inside, they're going to have to replace Ethan Warner, can the chief pull some strings and get us a man on the inside?"

Mac grinned, Stella knew he had an idea forming, "How about a woman?" he voiced after studying Karla for a moment.

"If you have someone, I'm not going to play the gender bias card." She responded, Stella held her tongue, she knew none of the team from the lab could do it they were too well known, as was Flack, so that left an outsider. "You have someone in mind?"

"You." Mac had barely spoken before Flack was on his feet.

"You can't do that Mac! She's already a target, this just puts her in the middle of everything!"

"Don!" Stella noted that Karla's use of his first name caused him to pause a moment and look at her. "As much as I appreciate the chivalrous gesture, I can speak for myself and you need to consider this rationally; Detective Taylor makes sense, I know the case and I am an outsider, the chances of anyone knowing me are fairly slim. It's an option worth exploring." Stella watched the pair as Karla firmly held her stance and several expressions crossed Flack's face. He seemed about to say something else but was stopped by the ex-FBI agent. "I'm not committing to anything right now, but it is an option we need to think about." She announced to the room at large, but her eyes returning to Flack at the end, Stella watched, waiting to see what he would say next, but he merely nodded and sat down again.

Karla turned her attention back to the rest of the room, "one thing that's intrigued me is that it's often the same people on duty when the evidence is logged into the warehouse, that might just be co-incidence as we don't know when the items disappear or get tampered with, but it could be worth exploring." Karla clicked the remote and 4 photos appeared on screen of the warehouse custodians concerned.

"I think a coffee run is in order, we've got a lot to do, Lindsay, you want to tag along?" Stella suggested. Mac rubbed the back of his neck, and looked around the room.

"That sounds a good idea, Adam why don't you check everything in the lab is alright and we'll regroup in 15 minutes." Danny pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the message he had just received, "something up?" Mac asked looking at him.

"O'Reilly's got a lead on mine and Lindsay's case from this morning."

"OK you go, read Hawkes in, Lindsay I think you'd be more useful here." He instructed, Lindsay nodded her agreement.

Stella quickly passed round a pad of paper to collect everyone's orders, several people tossed money her way in the process, Karla quickly added her request to the list and went to get her money as she pushed the pad to Flack.

"I got it," he mumbled quietly tossing some notes towards Stella and adding his own request. Stella didn't miss either his gesture or the frustrated look he was given by Karla.

Everyone filed out of the room, Mac gestured to Karla to join him in his office and she nodded. "I just need a minute." She replied, turning her attention to Flack who remained seated at the table.

...

Flack heard the door click shut as the last person left and looked up at Karla who was still standing at the end of the table. She didn't say anything for a moment, but he knew there was a problem.

"I get that you feel responsible for me, that it's your job to look out for me, but what I don't get is the way you did it, this should be a job for you, that little outburst just sent signals to everyone in this room that you're way more protective than you should be. What's going on Detective?"

He scrubbed his hand over his face, he had no real idea why he had reacted the way he had, he could get pretty passionate about his job, but why now, why her? Normally he could rationalise decisions, what did this tell him about what was going on with him? Maybe it was a result of all the talk about what happened to Jess, wanting to ensure this didn't happen to anyone else. Would he have done the same for Stella and Lindsay? ... Probably, and indeed he had, a couple of months before when he had dragged Stella unconscious from that pool, all the time his heart hammering in his chest that he might be too late ... again. He knew Karla was still there, waiting for an answer, but he didn't have one to give. Instead, he raised his head and looked at her.

"Honestly? ... I don't know." He couldn't fail to notice the twitch in her jaw and the glare in her eyes.

"Then I suggest you figure it out fast, I don't appreciate becoming the subject of water cooler gossip, which any more stunts like that will do, ... I know you're having a tough time because of what you told me, but you can't let your feelings over what happened to Jess influence what is going on now. ... I'm capable of making my own decisions and weighing up the options, I've been doing it for 10 years, get used to it."

He remained silent as she walked out. She hadn't shouted at him, but it felt like he was a kid who had just been told off, her tone a mixture of annoyance and compassion, but the bottom line? She was pissed at him for the little outburst. He scrubbed his hand over his face and pushed himself from the table, he needed to clear his head, and it wouldn't happen there, he needed a walk.

...

Mac watched as Karla entered his office and took the seat he offered. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"I think so, I'm just not used to someone speaking up for me like that. I know there's probably a million reasons behind why he did that, it just takes a little getting used to."

Mad nodded, he sensed she already knew part of the reason. "You know about Jessica Angell?" He needed to know she knew at least what was most important, not the details, but just the fact that they had been close.

"I do and I know that leading a protection detail is not what he needs right now, ... Detective Taylor-"

"It's Mac, and you're probably right, but circumstances conspired against him. If you don't mind me asking, has he talked to you?"

He watched the conflicted look cross Karla's face before she nodded slightly. "It isn't my place to divulge what was said though so please don't ask." Mac admired her integrity, he already knew what had happened the day Jess died, he had stopped Flack from confessing the truth twice because of the red tape that would be involved if he ever heard the actual words; not to mention the number of people who would be affected by the fall out, they had all crossed the line that day in one way or another.

"I'm not going to ask you to say anything. What I wanted to do was to discuss your role in the investigation and to give you these," He removed some items from his desk drawer and slid her FBI service weapon, a Glock 19 and an NYPD gold shield across the desk to her. "They get returned to me at the end of the case. You can claim your back up from the evidence taken in the nightclub which is in Adam's custody, as that's your personally registered weapon you'll be able to keep it."

He expected Karla to move to retrieve the items but she remained seated opposite him. "Det- Mac, ... I know you have no leads from your investigation into the attempts on my life, are you really comfortable with me joining this team not knowing what is potentially waiting for me or your team if my detail is lifted?"

"You're detail is lifted, that's the other reason I wanted to speak to you. Stella will take you to the safe house later to collect your things, I understand you have an apartment in the city, she'll drop you there after, someone will collect you tomorrow morning. We'll do what we can to minimise the time you're alone, but there is the risk that whoever is behind the attacks could try again."

He waited for Karla to assimilate the news, which she did calmly, before speaking again, "My apartment is an FBI set up on 85th and East End, no doorman and minimal security, it was planned like that so that I looked like I was on a similar level to the guys at the evidence warehouse. Too upmarket would have raised too many questions."

"Alright, if you're happy to stay there I'll have Adam rig up some additional unobtrusive surveillance, we can fit a panic alarm and CCTV in the hallway and on the windows." It wouldn't do any harm to have a backup plan in place in the event she was targeted.

"Actually the bureau already did that, I'll show him how to access the surveillance system."

"Then I guess that brings me to my next question-" As he paused for breath he noted the uneasy look which crossed her face.

"How do I feel about you putting me on the inside?" She asked confidently.

"My lips didn't even move," he smirked, leaning on his desk and clasping his hands.

"In my line of work you learn very quickly how to read people, especially when you're undercover, ... anyway, I came here to dig into this case, my easy option has failed, I appreciate that your team are good, but I also suspect they're too well known to the staff at the warehouse, as are most of NYPD, that leaves you limited options on who to use on the inside. Like I said to Detective Flack, I know the case, I'm an outsider, it's obvious I would look like the best choice right now."

Mac raised his eyes. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a maybe, I'm not keen to jump into the unknown, I'd like to see what your team come up with when they've reviewed the files, we may have another option, if not then I guess I'm going back into uniform."

"Seems fair, shall we say review the situation tomorrow?"

"For now, I suggest we keep an open mind, who knows what we'll find in the files that may throw us a bone."

Mac nodded. "Agreed." There was little more to say, his few minutes in her presence had shown him her integrity, thought process and eagerness to work with his team and the evidence to reach a solution.

"I'll go make a start on those files, is there somewhere safe I can lock that up." She asked pointing to her gun still lying on Mac's desk.

"Locker room, down the stairs outside, find yourself an empty one." He replied, watching as she confidently picked up and handled the weapon, checking whether it was loaded and that the safety catch was secure. Satisfied she then removed the badge and looked at it.

"Before I go, I owe you and your team an apology, I wanted to come clean right from the start, but I was ordered not to, as a result it probably created a lot of unnecessary work for you and I'm sorry."

"I know, Chief Sinclair explained everything, but I know you tried to duck under the radar to help us." Mac answered.

"You do? How?"

"It's my investigation, I know everything." He grinned, hoping he was putting her at ease again. "Now I suggest you go find a locker before Stella gets back with the coffee."

"Thank you Detective." She offered softly as she turned to leave the room, meeting Adam in the hallway. Mac watched them speak for a moment before Adam lead her into one of the labs.

...

When Adam returned to the room, the previously stacked boxes had been moved, a number of them littered the table as Mac, Stella, Lindsay and Karla gradually emptied their contents burying the empty space under files which began to rise like skyscrapers in front of them. He must have stopped and stared as Stella looked over.

"It's okay Adam, we saved some for you." She quipped.

"Gee thanks," he muttered as he looked around the room feeling rather overwhelmed and out of place. Taking his previous place at the table he pulled a box towards himself and started to unpack it, just like the others had. Once completed he allowed himself a look around the room.. Lindsay was sorting her files, glancing at each one and creating a new order of them at the side. Stella had taken about half of hers and opened them in front of her, as a result spreading them across a large portion of the table. Mac had taken his boxes to a table at the side and laid the files in neat rows, unopened but with all the jacket information visible; Adam was reminded of a military movie with all the soldiers on parade. Karla had yet another approach, she had just emptied her boxes into two piles, then took the files one by one, flicked through them making notes on a pad at the side. Two boxes and a takeout coffee mug remained untouched; with Danny and Hawkes pulled away for another case he figured those were intended for Flack when he eventually returned.

With the room so silent Adam jumped when Karla looked around the room and spoke, "Mac, can we get some whiteboards in here, I'm used to plotting things out and a note pad won't cut it I'm afraid."

Mac looked up, a file in his hand, "No problem, Adam," he jumped again when Mac mentioned his name, "can you help Karla with what she needs.

He looked up, "uh sure Mac," he hurriedly stacked his files neatly before turning to Karla, "If you come with me I'll show you where we keep that stuff." He mumbled as he moved towards the door.

...

By late afternoon Lindsay had left for the day, Danny and Hawkes were wrapping up the other case and Adam had returned to the lab. Mac, Stella, Flack and Karla were still going through the files in the conference room. Mac and Stella were conferring on one side of the room, Flack was working at the table while Karla was adding yet more information to the boards her and Adam had brought in earlier.

Flack flicked through the pages of the latest file in front of him, then closed it and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a moment to rest them before tackling the next one. He knew Karla was somewhere behind him, but didn't realise how close until he took a deep breath and the scent from her perfume seemed to engulf him. They had barely spoken since the morning, except for the few occasions they had tossed suggestions and thoughts into the pot as the others had. One time she had asked something about his files, but with the room hosting other people there had been no opportunity for them to speak about anything else. Not that he was sure he wanted to, the walk had been a futile attempt at getting his head straight but the heat had only served to add to the headache which had been building; thankfully the air conditioned room and coffee had helped to suppress that a little on his return. He didn't like the idea of Karla going undercover into the actual warehouse, which still seemed their best option.

He leaned forward and rubbed his face as he pulled another file his way, the back of his neck tingling, knowing that he at least owed her an apology for his outburst even if he couldn't tell her why. The thud of a file hitting the floor drew everyone's attention and he spun his chair to see what happened, aware that Mac and Stella had both looked up.

"Sorry," she muttered kneeling down to retrieve the file and its contents which had scattered across the floor. He soon joined her on the floor, helping to gather the papers from what had been a thick file. Once everything had been picked up he handed her the stack he had, she was on her feet faster than he was and stood several feet away while she reordered the file. He tried to turn his attention back to his files, but the only thing making any impression was the shuffling of papers coming from her.

"Mac, I'm sorry, I'm done for, all these are starting to look the same, I need a break." He announced after several minutes.

"I think we all do. We'll finish up the ones we're on and then I think we'll call it a night." Mac replied while glancing at his watch.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Flack responded wearily heading towards the door with barely a glance in Karla's direction. He had heard her say goodnight like the others before turning back to her files.

Passing the conference room a few minutes later he saw her in a deep discussion with Mac and Stella.

* * *

_Should be concentrating on a college assignment, but opted for posting this instead, I have a great knack of prevaricating right now. Of course it doesn't help when after disappearing in the week, the mused returns and demands I do her bidding! Tomorrow I will demand she leaves me alone, in the meantime perhaps you will review and provide me encouragement._


	16. Night Off

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Finally got the assignment finished and in the post, however the wretched muse has still to learn when is a good time to stay quiet. So instead of writing what I should be on this, she is writing the end! Hopefully I'll wear her down and get back to writing chapter 20 soon, in the meantime I have a few chapters in reserve to share with you, including some heavy Mac/Stella interaction._

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter and pointing out my mistakes, hopefully I've corrected them now._

**Chapter 16 – Night Off**

Stella pulled up at the side of the building, Karla turned to her.

"Thank you for the lift and the running around. I'll let you get home."

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Karla noted the concerned look on the other woman's face, she knew it was hardest on her and Flack to step back as they had spent the most time with her the last few days.

"I'll be fine. Adam made sure I had all your numbers before I left and that the CCTV surveillance is working. Thanks to Mac and Chief Sinclair I'm armed again, I doubt anything will happen, everything else has happened in public and if they were going to try again I think it would have happened by now." Karla was sure she sounded more confident than she felt, but she still had the feeling that Stella was concerned.

"Alright, well Danny and Lindsay will pick you up in the morning as they will be nearest, but if you need anything at all you call one of us."

"I will, thanks Stella." Karla acknowledged as she opened the car door. "Enjoy your night off."

After retrieving her case and a bag of groceries from the trunk she let herself into the building and waved goodbye to Stella. Tugging her case the two floors up to her apartment was enough to aggravate the wound on her arm making it throb by the time she reached the right floor. Opening the door she glanced around, nothing appeared tampered with so in the quiet hallway she gave a thumbs up to Adam who, she had been warned, would be checking the tapes and stepped inside. She dropped her keys into the bowl on the table by the door and dragged her case towards her bedroom, emerging a few minutes later to head into the kitchen and unload the groceries.

...

Adam was intently watching several monitors in front of him when he heard the door to the AV lab creak announcing the arrival of another soul, apparently with little to do. The smell which accompanied them was welcome too.

"Hey Adam," it was Flack's voice which finally made him look up and take note of the brown bags he carried, along with two take out coffees.

A closer look at the bags revealed a surprise, "Wow, you've been to Shake Shack!" he gasped before looking concerned. "But you can't bring that in here, Mac would have a fit." He panicked, suddenly going into lab mode. Flack didn't seem surprised.

"Okay, well how about I sit here for a bit and you take a break and get this while it's hot?" Adam offered him a nervous smile, although they had worked together for several years, and even gone head to head on video games, sometimes the detective still scared him. However someone who came bearing gifts from his favorite place to snack was pretty good.

"Alright, Agent Morgan arrived home a few minutes ago and she's confirmed her apartment is fine. So there's not much to see, my guess is she's going to be in for the night." With the offer of food and a break from staring at the screens he lost some of his nervousness.

"That's alright, you deserve to eat, I'll stand watch."

"I thought you'd gone home," Adam suggested as he took the bags from Flack.

"Nah, not yet, I'm gonna hang here for a while make sure the surveillance is working while I wait for Danny, we're supposed to be going for a beer."

"Last I saw of him he was with Lindsay and Lucy in the break room about 10 minutes ago, if I see him I'll tell him."

"Thanks." Flack dropped into a chair in front of the monitors while Adam hurried down the hall to eat.

...

Flack walked into Sullivan's and saw Danny already seated at the bar, holding a bottle of beer and placing his own order he sat down next to his friend.

"Thought we were meeting up at the lab first, Ross had to break it to me that you'd stood me up."

Danny shrugged then looked around before greeting him.

"Lost your shadow?"

"What?" Flack's facial expression conveyed just as much confusion as his words, as he tried, and failed, to understand what his friend was referring to.

"Thought you'd be bringing _Aphrodite _with you, don't seem to go anywhere without her these days." Danny responded as the bar tender placed a pint of Guinness in front of Flack.

"Stella's taken her home, now they've lifted the protection order she's free to do what she wants." Flack answered factually, realizing that what he had avoided discussion of so far was about to haunt him. Best option? Ask about his family, "how are Lindsay and Lucy? Heard they were in the lab too before your little disappearing trick."

"Come on Flack, you're not changing the subject like that, we're here to talk about your latest fling." Danny made it sound like it was a common occurrence and that there was actually something to discuss. Since his bachelor days had gone, Danny seemed to live vicariously through the single men around the lab. More than once Adam had buckled under Danny's interrogation and confessed all about his latest girl. Flack tried to further postpone the inevitable, he didn't want to talk about Karla, at least not until he sorted out a few things for himself first.

The look of confusion crossed Flack's face again. "Fling? You know damn well I haven't seen anyone since last summer."

"You trying to tell me you don't feel something for the Greek goddess,?" Danny continued, a broad smile crossing his face. Flack took a long draught of his drink, his gaze deliberately kept off his friend while he considered his response.

"I knew it, you can't leave it alone," he sighed finally, replacing his glass on the counter, his expression neutral.

"So there is something going on between you?" Damn it if the man wasn't persistent.

Flack shook his head. "Nope, and if you must know, she's married, husband works for the bureau too." Well, technically she was, even if only on paper, maybe that would shut him up.

"Whoa! Didn't see that coming, she doesn't look married," he commented waving his hand in front of Flack's face, displaying his wedding ring.

"She's supposed to be undercover, remember." Flack pointed out, taking his glass again, grateful for that small nugget of information that had suddenly entered his brain.

"So you spend the last 3 days, mostly alone together and you haven't even thought about-"

"Mess you're on dangerous ground here. She was in protective custody and I was assigned to look out for her, you think after what happened to Jess I'd let someone do that to another person?" His tone was clipped, an image of Jess on the floor of the diner assaulting him at the same time as the memory of pulling Karla from the path of the SUV, he shook his head and gulped another mouthful of his drink. He needed a moment to suppress the memories before the tidal wave raging in his stomach took control.

"Look I know you cared for Jess, but admit it man, _Aphrodite_, was there, available … no doubt grateful for you saving her life and all." Danny nudged his friend, his voice dropping low and suggestive. "I'm just saying that the two of you alone, maybe you needed to work out some tension or something."

Flack sighed heavily and glanced in the mirror behind the bar. "Danny, will you just stop, her name's Karla, Aphrodite was the name she was using undercover, wasn't her choice, that ass Pearson chose it without consulting her." Messer could be a real pain sometimes.

"Alright, what is she doing tonight?"

"I have no idea, except that after working with Stella and Mac she went home and it doesn't matter, it's none of my business what she does anymore."

"But you'd like it to be." It was more a statement than a question.

"In a few days or so we'll have wrapped this up or picked up all the information and she'll be back in Washington working something else, there's nothing to get excited about." Flack wondered what it would be like once she left, he was enjoying her company and hell if he really admitted it he was attracted; not because he wanted to use any opportunity to forget Jess and what he had done to Simon Cade, but because there was something about her that made him take notice.

"Now that there just screams the opposite, you want to get excited, … we've been friends a long time, I know losing Jess hurt like hell, but man, she's a beautiful, intelligent woman, and she digs you, ask Stella if you have to, but you dig her too and so what if it's only a few days, you might as well enjoy them right?"

"It's not that simple Danny, …. One night stands are complicated." Flack lifted his glass again, having realized that was not the thing to say when the other man was waiting for any excuse to challenge his distraction, he waited for the backlash.

"Complicated? Flack what's with you man, since when has it stopped you before?" Flack crashed his glass back on the counter, he had heard enough.

"What's with you and this obsession with Karla? ... Forget it I don't want to hear it. I'm going home." Flack announced abruptly standing up and pushing his way through the after work crowd towards the door, before Danny had a chance to open his mouth again.

Flack strode over to his car parked at the kerb, and got in. He sat for a moment behind the wheel, before sliding the key in the ignition and pulling away. He headed for home, but as he approached his apartment block he was stopped by a traffic intersection with the lights on red, he had barely spoken to her since she had scolded him in the conference room that morning and now he couldn't get his mind off her, the trip to the lab with food for Adam had been a ploy to watch the surveillance footage in the hope of catching a glimpse of her, now since the bar, she was still on his mind. Seeing the light change to green he swung the car to the left and turned uptown, unclear what his intentions were, he figured he could start with an apology.

A few blocks from her apartment he stopped at a flower stall.

...

As they walked through the doors of the Museum, Stella linked her arm through Mac's as they were blasted by the warmth from the evening air, she shivered, realizing how cold the air conditioning had been inside the building.

"Thank you for coming with me Mac." She practically purred as they descended the stairs. "I really enjoyed your insight into the display."

"Is that what you call it?" he chuckled, in fairness all he had done was criticize the artist and his work, but it had been fun listening to Stella defend both.

"I know you were being a little antagonistic, but that's what makes it fun going to stuff like this with you. We always have a good laugh." Stella cajoled, still hanging on to his arm as they reached the kerb and he flagged a cab.

"Well we've still got time, you promised me dinner in return." He smiled as she finally released his arm letting him open the rear door to the cab.

"As if I'd forget," she grinned as she proceeded to get in. Mac followed her, at the same time giving the driver their destination.

"So is dessert still a surprise?" he asked with a smile, but holding out little hope for an answer.

"Mac, you should know better than to ask." She chided gently, as she wrapped her arm around his again as the cab pulled away.

"I get the impression you had more than one glass of wine tonight," Mac commented, she shook her curls, taking great delight when he had to stop them smacking him in the face.

"I had half a glass, I was too busy trying to persuade you how good the artist was." She giggled, "however I'm sure I still have a bottle at home that will go nice with dinner, and you'll be able to drink with me because we're not on call and you're not driving."

...

Adam rubbed his hands over his face, he had been staring at the screens for the last 2 hours since Flack had left, he wasn't due to be relieved for a couple more, so he needed to focus. Looking around he figured a cup of coffee would help revive him, and it would give his eyes a break too.

Pushing himself up from the chair he looked around him, the labs visible beyond the glass window were all in darkness, a sign that everyone had long gone. He was there alone, he figured being allowed a bathroom break would also mean he could take a quick walk down to the break room and leave the screens, so with a final glance to check all was quiet on the monitors he slipped out of the room.

At this moment with his back turned if it had been a movie the cameras would have rolled in to focus on the screens, but this wasn't a movie, however they did show the figure move down the hallway and knock on the door to Karla's apartment.

...

Lindsay left Lucy's bedroom just as Danny arrived home and stopped to kiss him as she passed on her way to the kitchen.

"Hey, thought you wouldn't be home 'til later. ... How did it go with Flack?"

"He took off," Danny sighed.

"I take it that means you pushed him about Karla and he didn't like it. Danny! I told you not to." Her exasperated voice wafted from the kitchen as he stowed his weapon in the lock box in the cupboard by the door, then he approached the kitchen and stopped in the doorway, watching her dish up some food for him. "So did you?" She asked turning to stare at him.

"It was just a little friendly banter," he answered, when Lindsay kept that stare fixed on him he frowned for a few seconds, "What's the problem? He used to do it all the time to me."

"Danny! ... You are so thick sometimes. Did you actually stop to think for even a minute that right now he may not know what he thinks. It's only been a year since Angell died, Karla's kind of been forced on him this week because Sinclair wanted to keep her protection detail small and Flack was involved with her from the start, it's not exactly the best situation for him to be thinking rationally." Lindsay turned away to finish serving the food then turned back and held out a plate to Danny. "Just promise me that from now on you will wait for him to talk before you wade in with your size 10's." She instructed dramatically.

Danny took the plate of food, maybe she had a point, "alright, Montana, I promise." He grumbled.

"And it wouldn't do any harm to call him and apologies, after you've eaten and checked on Lucy, she's asleep by the way, so we have the night to ourselves." She told him as she swept past him into the lounge and sat down picking up the remote and switching the TV on.

"Hey you know the game's on in a minute," he called with a mouthful of food, hearing the TV.

"Won't hurt to miss it for one night, there's a film I've been waiting to see for ages and didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to talk while your mouth's full?" She called over her shoulder.

...

Karla opened the door, her hand behind her back on her weapon in the waistband of her track pants. She was surprised no one was there when she looked up and down the corridor, however before going back in she saw the bottle on the floor in front of her with a note beside it. She knew whoever left it couldn't be far away, there were no sounds on the stairs so they had to be watching her. Carefully she bent down and picked up the gift catching sight of the name on the note.

"I don't know why you're hiding, I'm not going to throw it at you." She called from the doorway and waited for a few seconds until he was standing in front of her. "Thought you'd be at home in front of the TV watching the game."

"Yeah, well I guess I got other things on my mind." Was the response she received as their eyes fixed on each other.

"You know Adam's watching us right?" She smiled at him.

"Wanna give him something to watch?" She felt her stomach flip and her grip tightened on the bottle for fear of dropping it, but she didn't break the staring match that was going on between them. The intense look in his eyes were making her go weak at the knees. She couldn't decipher whether he was just teasing or whether it was much more predatory.

"If I thought you were serious I might say yes." She erred on the side of caution, as much as she wanted to do something daring, she knew he wasn't ready to get involved with anyone and the last thing she needed was to seriously fall for him and have it end up hurting them both. "You'd better come in, I'm not about to drink a whole bottle of wine by myself," she finally broke the staring match and looked at the bottle in her hand, "especially the good stuff. Looks like you know your wines."

"A little hobby of mine." She stepped back from the door allowing him to enter. Closing the door behind him she turned to see his eyes fixed on her TV screen. "You watching the game?" He asked.

"Would you be surprised if I said yes?"

"Wouldn't have thought it was your thing, you never said anything last night."

"Didn't really get a chance with you and Derek trying to outdo each other over teams info and players stats, you forget I'm a city girl, but I hate baseball so I'm hoping I might pick up Wimbledon." She parried, as a genuine smile crossed his lips, "have you eaten?"

"I was going to grab a slice on the way home, why you got a better suggestion?" he asked following her into the kitchen but having to stop at the doorway due to the size of the room.

"I was about to dish up, I've got plenty for two, I figured someone would come by to check on me ... I have to confess I'm a little surprised it's you after this morning." She pulled two plates from the cupboard over her head causing her shirt to ride up a little, she knew he was there and felt rather self conscious about the fact that he couldn't have missed seeing the scar across her hip. She focused on preparing the dishes so she didn't have to look at him.

"I was an ass okay? I shouldn't have talked for you and you let me know it. I guess the last couple of days, ... can I be honest here?"

"It's alright you don't need to." She replied, still focused on the food.

"Yes I do, ... I'm not here to check up on you, there's something I need to say ...it has nothing to do with Jess, it's gonna be a long time before I get her out of my system, maybe I never will, but there's one thing I'm sure of, I can't go on living in the past, I have to let go and you made me see that."

"But I haven't done anything," Karla answered finally looking at him, only to have him take a step closer.

He tentatively raised his hand and ran it over her hair, she could feel her heart pounding, half tempted to wait and see what happened next, but she knew there was still a lot of stuff he needed to work out. "Yeah, you did, ... you're the first person I've told that stuff to, everyone else was because I had to, the department shrink, my dad, her dad, even then they got the edited version, ... you're the only one to hear the truth and for the first time I felt I wasn't being judged for it, ... thank you just doesn't seem enough."

She took his hand and lowered it, "you've saved my life twice, you practically held my hand when we were in that stupid puppet theatre, I thought we already said we're even. ..." She whispered, still keeping eye contact. "Don't torture yourself about it. I told you I'd listen anytime you wanted, just because we're not in the safe house any longer that hasn't changed."

In the dim kitchen light she was unable to fully read his expression, but his intention became clear when he raised his hand and caressed her cheek while lowering his head towards hers.

_

* * *

_

I know I've left you wondering ... I'd like to hear your views on what you think happens next.


	17. Distracted

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter which is dedicated to any readers who are Mac/Stella fans._

**Chapter 17 – Distracted**

Stella placed two plates on the table and sat down, the smile on Mac's face as he smelt the food showing she had made the right choice of menu. While they sometimes ate out at Greek restaurants in the city, this was a dish he would only ever eat when she cooked it. He always said no one could cook it like her. She returned his smile.

"You can't just look at it all evening you know, if you don't eat it soon, I'll think you don't like my cooking," she teased, knowing full well that it wasn't true.

"Now Stella, you know how much I love your cooking, ... I think it's one thing that I've learnt to appreciate over the years."

"Just one thing?" She chuckled, shaking her curls, feeling her stomach flutter when a tinge of pink graced his cheeks. Something he must have been aware of as he quickly covered half his face with a napkin in a sudden gesture of wiping his mouth.

After a moment he lowered the piece of fabric, his composure seemingly back in place, however the twinkle in his eye and the almost nervous smile he greeted her with showed her differently. "Well, I guess there's a few more, but we don't need to discuss those."

"You can tell me later, I'd like to hear which of my _assets_ you appreciate." She took her time to respond and emphasised assets, knowing that she would elicit a certain response from him, she hadn't accounted for him taking a mouthful of wine at that instant, causing him to almost choke on it.

"Wow, you don't hold back do you?" he replied when he managed to speak again.

"You know me Mac, have I ever held out before from telling you what I think?"

"I- I guess not," he whispered as he finally took his first mouthful of food. "This is really good," he offered as he swallowed, before taking another bite.

...

Adam took up his seat at the monitor, his coffee cup firmly placed on the free counter space in front of him. He noticed the shaft of light spill into the hallway and watched as it disappeared, indicating her door had closed.

He muttered to himself for a few seconds then reached for the phone, only to succeed in knocking over his coffee. With a few choice swear words he grabbed the lab coat draped over a nearby chair and used it to mop up the spilled liquid, while keeping half an eye on the screens.

Once he was sure that the machines were safe from his little accident he pulled the phone from the cradle and dialled. He listened to a few rings before there was a click.

"_Hi you've reached Karla, I can't take your call right now, but leave a message and I'll call you back."_

"Um hi, it's Adam from the Crime Lab, ... I uh, just saw your door close and wanted to check everything is okay, call me back."

Hanging up, he dialled another number. Getting voicemail there too he left another message.

"Uh it's Adam, Adam Ross, I don't know if it's anything but someone just went into Karla's apartment, I didn't ssee who it was, I just thought that uh, maybe someone should check on her, ... I called her, but got her uh voicemail." He stammered as his heart pounded fearing he was going to be found out for taking a coffee break.

Hanging up the phone he sat back to watch the activity, or lack thereof, on the monitors. The thought of checking the recorded footage for what had happened not even occurring to him.

...

While the team were enjoying a rare night off, over at the evidence warehouse the nightshift were just clocking in. Due to the size of the place a team of four were always on night duty, with a fifth often drafted in for inventory checks and the like. This particular night it happened to be made up of the guys who worked with Ethan Warner.

Johnny Horton and Dwight Farland watched through the door as the youngest of their team, Luke Vincent returned from securing the gate after the departure of the previous shift. When Luke finally entered the warehouse and closed the door, securing the bolts, their shift commander Sergeant Mitchell MacCroker, an old school beat cop who was nearing retirement, turned and addressed them.

"Okay, tonight's roster, Johnny, Dwight, you're on inventory check in section K, also perimeter check every two hours. Luke, internal patrol every two hours, phones and paperwork. I'll be in the office going over what shipments need to be pulled for collection tomorrow. I'll let you know what they are at break, meantime you need anything, you know where I am."

Horton eyed Farland knowingly and half raised his hand, "er Sarge, do we know if Warner's going to be replaced on this shift?"

"Why you want to make the new guy's life difficult too?" MacCroker commented with a cynical look, knowing full well that they had taunted the new guy since he joined them a couple of months before.

"Just curious an' all," he replied with a slight smirk.

"Well I guess we'll have to wait and see, homicide have only just finished their investigation in to how he died."

"Any news on a funeral Sarge?" Vincent piped up.

"His cousin is due in tomorrow to claim the body, I guess we'll know more then. I'll be sure and let you boys know when I hear anything." He finished, flipping the paper on his clipboard then turned and walked away.

Horton and Farland nudged each other, and Horton looked at Vincent, "Well Dwight, we'd better get going lotta boxes to shift down the back, have fun with the paperwork Vincent."

"Not a problem boys, if I finish early I'll come and give you a hand," he offered, Farland shook his head.

"No need, we got it under control. You just do what the boss wants," he sneered condescendingly, as they walked away. Vincent watched them go, they had a good few years seniority on him, and didn't want to be bothered with a relative rookie, the status he'd regained in the days since Warner's death, he knew that one day they'd figure out that it would be better to play nice with him. He hoped that the new person, whoever that was had a tough skin, the guys were pretty good at dolling out derogatory comments, and were good at keeping their distance. In the year he'd been on shift, he'd learnt to ignore them for the most part, when they got into one of their games, however there was the odd occasion when they drew him along with them. It left him in the unenviable position of straddling two camps, and trying to play peacemaker when the sarge wasn't around.

...

Adam rubbed his temples, it had been a good 10 minutes since he had left the 2 messages and felt sure that one of them should have answered by now. Everything seemed quiet at the apartment, no one had left or arrived, so that meant that if anything was happening it was going on inside the apartment out of sight. He sighed heavily.

"I'm dead, I let a possible killer just walk in there and..." He stopped and rubbed his temples again before reaching for the phone again, once again getting voicemail.

"Hi um it's me again, I already left a message like 10 minutes ago, but it's important, I think someone's in Karla's apartment. ... I know you wanted to know first, but I'm gonna have to call someone else."

Adam hung up the phone and peered at the screen for a minute, then sighed again and picked up the phone.

"Danny, I'm glad, I ... uh did something I shouldn't and now there's someone in Karla's apartment and she's not answering her phone, and whoever it is is still there, I tried calling Flack, but he's not answering either and all I get is voicemail," he blurted out in one breath the moment the call was answered.

"_Whoa, slow down Adam, Flack's probably gone for a run, he'll get your messages when he gets back, what's up?"_

"Someone's in Karla Morgan's apartment and I didn't see who it was, ... Mac's gonna kill me, I took a short break to get some coffee and when I came back it-" he confessed, rubbing his hand through his hair as he stood from the chair, feeling the need to pace around, but unable to due to the phone cable.

"_Adam one thing at a time, what you did can wait, tell me about the apartment, what did you see, exactly?"_

Adam was a little relieved when Danny focused on the potential security breach rather than his transgression. "The door to the apartment closing," he answered as clearly as he could, his heart pounding in his chest.

"_That's it? Is that all that's on the tapes?" Danny was thinking more logically than the lab tech at that moment and started firing questions at him._

"No that's what I saw," Adam insisted, a measure of panic in his voice, raising the pitch.

"_So what's on the tape?" Danny was obviously a little exasperated when Adam failed to get the point and needed it spelled out for him._

"Uh, I –" he faltered, rubbing his head again as Danny's words spun in his head.

"_Adam tell me you checked the tape from before?" _

Danny sounded a little mad, "Uh no, but I will and call you back," Adam slapped his hand against his forehead, of course, he should have done that first, before calling anyone.

"_Do it fast, but I'll start heading out, let me know if Flack calls."_

Adam heard Danny hang up and then turned his attention to one of the screens where he replayed the time code concerned.

He watched as a tall figure, holding something walked down the hallway and deposit the object on the floor outside her door before backing away, the figure looked sort of familiar, but from the back he couldn't place it.

Scrubbing his hand through his hair again as he peered at the screen, he watched the door open and Karla half appear a moment later the same tall figure walked back into the shot and stood by her for a moment.

"Noooo, I'm seriously dead, ... They're both gonna kill me," he groaned as he finally recognised the figure as he moved the picture in for a close up of the visitors face, albeit in profile.

Letting the rest of the tape play through he watched as Flack entered the apartment and Karla waved at the camera before closing the door.

Adam banged his head back against the chair a couple of times and groaned again, just as the phone rang making him jump.

He tentatively picked up the receiver, but before he could say anything a rather firm voice greeted him, _"Adam, call off the damn cavalry, and if you told Messer, you'd better tell him something other than where I am right now or so help me you'll wish you were dead."_

"I'm sorry, I was-" The caller didn't wait for him to finish, but jumped right back in after stopping for breath.

"_Everything is fine, I'm gonna be here a while longer, go take a break and stop trying to wake the dead."_

"Alright... What should I tell Danny, don't you want him to know you're checking things out."

_This time the caller was a little calmer, but still firm, "Look man, we're not on the same page right now, just let him think I went home."_

"If you're sure."

The click at the end of the phone gave him his answer. That conversation had gone better than he expected. He stared at the screen for a little longer before taking courage to call Danny.

"Hey, it's me, it's a false alarm, she's fine, she just uh, must have heard something and opened the door to let me know all was cool. ... Yeah I'm sorry, and say sorry to Lindsay for disturbing you," he muttered quickly to the voice on the other end, trying to avoid mentioning the previous caller.

"_Have you heard from Flack yet?" _

Adam banged his head on the back of his chair, "Yeah, he's cool, says he's at home," he lied, anxious in case Danny picked up on it.

"_Alright, well we'll talk tomorrow, and whatever you did that you shouldn't have done, make sure the evidence is cleared up and maybe Mac just doesn't need to know."_

The line clicked and went silent.

...

Mac watched Stella as he relaxed at the table, his legs stretched out before him; she was moving gracefully to the music that was playing around them, he could tell she had been a dancer, her moves and stature full of poise and elegance. He wondered how often she was able to practice and if she ever got to go out dancing. She hadn't dated in well over a year, her relationship with the fireman fizzling out almost before it had begun, of course he knew she was wary after what had happened with Frankie and Drew and he couldn't blame her, but he often felt that she was missing out. He would never urge her to take the steps she wasn't ready for, but he still felt she was missing that something special that he had been fortunate enough to share with Claire. He wondered what she would say about him if she was asked, if she would think the same things; he had lived his moment, Claire had been a hard act to follow, several women had tried but they never quite managed to open that part of his heart.

As he sat pondering while Stella made the coffee, he wondered what it would take someone to break through that tough barrier he had created. Stella was still moving gracefully around her tiny kitchen, her hair and hips swaying to the soft music, he wasn't sure but he thought he could hear her humming. It was moments like this that he treasured their closeness and admired how she could relax so completely in his presence, they had been friends a long time, she had been his rock in the dark days after 9/11, always there, always supportive, never asking anything in return, just being there to help with the slightest thing. If it wasn't for her he wouldn't be where he was today and he was beginning to wonder whether he had ever adequately thanked her for her constant friendship and support.

As his mind whirled over a myriad of thoughts about his life since Claire his eyes remained focused on one thing, the person to whom he owed his current place in life.

...

Danny hung up the phone and turned to Lindsay while removing his leather jacket, "Sometimes I swear I don't know what planet Adam lives on. He's freaking out over a light in a doorway because he missed Karla giving him the all clear sign, which he missed by going to get coffee!" He gushed, to find Lindsay smiling at him and shaking her head as she stood in the middle of the lounge. "At least it means I don't need to get all hot and sweaty going out on the bike to check things out." He watched her for a few seconds as the look changed on her face, "Alright what's that look for?"

"What look?" she asked innocently, half smirking at him as she tossed her hair around her shoulders.

"That look, the one that says I'm in trouble, what have I done this time?" he half groaned.

"Nothing, yet," she answered slowly and deliberately taking a step towards him.

"So why the look?" he asked, getting a brief smell of her perfume. "What you want Montana?"

"You don't need to get all hot and sweaty on the bike-" she began suggestively as she took the jacket from him and tossed it on the back of the couch. "But we could probably think of a few other ways."

Danny gulped as her hand ran down the front of his shirt and began tugging it from his jeans. "You're gonna be the death of me woman, you keep doin' that," he mumbled as he crashed his lips on hers and wrapped his arms around her.

...

Stella spun on her toes as she efficiently lifted the coffee cups and moved back to the table, she smiled at the faraway look in Mac's eyes as he sat with a small smile on his face. It was a look she had seen before, but one which he only had when he was truly at ease, she had never asked what he was thinking about, but she knew from the angle of his head and his eyes that at one point he had been watching her. She didn't mind, they were both completely at ease in the others company, something that had begun when they first met and she had seen the "at home" Mac when Claire had invited her to dinner on more than one occasion. Of course after 9/11 she had been the one at his side, first of all searching the wreckage to help look for survivors and then in the aftermath as he struggled with the fact that he had never really been able to say goodbye to the love of his life. She had seen him slowly open up again over the years until the break up with Peyton had left him more wary of getting involved. Aubrey had succeeded in putting a smile on his face for a few months, but as a reservist she had been called to duty and they had parted amicably, not wanting the strings which accompanied a long distance relationship.

She had put the coffee cups down; however, Mac was still starring into space and while he seemed happy she left him. She sat down and began to think about her own life, he would argue that he had been there as much for her as she had for him; she would argue about it but he would then reel off a list of times just to prove his point. The bad cases, Frankie, the whole Greek coin thing with Professor P. and her HIV scare sprang to mind; then there were the things which affected them both, Angell, Aiden, Drew and the whole stalker thing, Flack's injuries in the bombing, Danny's escapades which were too many to count. She smiled, they made a pretty good team and it was probably true what the lab rats said, they were the parents of the team. She wondered what the future would hold for everyone. Danny and Lindsay held no concerns and despite a rough patch, Hawkes was doing alright again. Adam still feared for his job security, but seemed settled in the lab. Of all their friends Flack was the one who concerned her most, he had suffered most with the loss of Angell, but the last few days seem to have had a positive effect on him, the quick wit was coming back like it used to be and he seemed to smile a little more when she had seen him. She was happy for them all, but something at the back of her mind plagued her and she wondered if she would ever really be able to put Frankie behind her and be able to give herself unconditionally to someone. She had tried with the fireman, but as patient as he had been, she was never as comfortable with him as she was with the man sitting at her table with her.

She looked up and shook her head, he was watching her, and she knew he was as the far away look was gone and a sparkle had replaced it. There was a look of peace and contentment about him so she was grateful for their evening.

"You looked lost in thought," he commented softly while reaching for his coffee cup and adding two sugars.

Stella nodded. "So were you, I guess the last few days have just stirred up old memories with the evidence throwing up cases we'd rather forget. Not to mention trying to protect a Federal Agent. You spoken to Flack yet?" she asked reaching for her own coffee and standing up.

"Not really had the chance, you've seen more of him than I have recently, how is he doing?" Mac looked up at her as she towered over him for a few seconds as she passed him on her way to the sofa.

"Pretty good, it probably helps that she's pretty easy going, I don't know how much she knows about Angell, I was wondering if we should tell her," she mused as she settled herself on one end of the couch and patted the seat beside her as an invitation to Mac to join her.

"It's not directly relevant to the investigation, I think it's Flack's call if he wants her to know, and between you and me, I get the impression that she knows more than either of them are saying. She told me they talked, but refused to go into detail," he informed her as he joined her on the couch.

"Smart girl," Stella smiled only to see it reflected back by the smile from Mac.

"So what about you, what does Stella Bonasera want for the future?"

"Something that's never going to happen I guess, I see Danny and Lindsay with Lucy and wonder if I'll ever have the chance. Of course it doesn't help that I'm 40 next birthday." She sighed heavily as she felt Mac's hand cover hers, causing her to look at him. "Don't worry Mac I'm not going all morose on you. I have the best friends and mostly a good life. I just wonder if I'll ever meet the right man and have a family."

"Do you ever consider that you already have?" Mac's tone was soft and quiet, almost like he was afraid to ask.

"I work with some fantastic people and when you consider Hawkes, Flack and you are the only single ones I would even consider as possible, I think Hawkes is too busy right now rebuilding his life, Flack and I have a good laugh and a number of people have suggested it over the years, but I don't see romance. That leaves you, and-" She felt Mac adjust his hand so that their fingers were now entwined as his raised her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. She felt the tingle of his breath as it crossed her skin, making her heart beat a little faster and her stomach flutter.

"You were saying," he murmured, a glint appearing in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Uh ... I was?" she answered, distracted by the fact that he still held his fingers entwined with hers.

"That leaves me," he prompted.

* * *

_I thought it was time to stir things a little for them and I'm working on Mac taking Stella on a real date. Stay tuned ..._


	18. Wrong Ideas

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter and now that you've been kept in suspense long enough here's what happened with Flack/Karla and Stella's answer to Mac._

_Sorry for the delay, the muse is being obstinate and I've not been able to progress the next step in the story._

**Chapter 18 – Wrong Ideas**

Flack watched Karla as she flopped into a chair, her phone pressed against her ear and with the conversation she was holding he couldn't tell whether she was upset or frustrated at the interruption. He was leaning against the wall by her kitchen his hands stuffed in his pockets to stop them shaking, or at least make it less noticeable. He felt like he was in some sort of twilight zone he felt there was something he wanted so badly but couldn't get his head around what it was in that moment. He played over his evening, he was totally pissed at Danny for trying to put him on the spot over Karla, but then he came here, not exactly a subtle move when anyone seeing the tapes could tell he'd turned up. Then their conversation on the doorstep, Jess would have thought he was busting out his game, but it didn't seem that way, it all just seemed so ... so natural. Then she'd invited him to stay for dinner and in her tiny kitchen things had got a little more heated than either of them intended, he couldn't get his head around how one minute she was consoling him and the next he wanted to kiss her senseless, almost like it had happened with Jess over Sam. He had sensed Karla's hesitation, he figured she probably didn't want him to rush into anything, after all he'd spent the last few days spilling his guts to her about Jess, but in that moment it felt right, it wasn't Jess he wanted.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, it had been going a while and he had been so consumed with what was in his head he had missed it. Checking the call log and the messages he cursed and dialled the lab.

Threatening bodily harm to Adam or Danny probably wasn't his wisest move, but until he worked out what the hell was going on in his befuddled brain he didn't need any more jibes about the woman still on the phone across the room. Looking at her again as he stuffed his phone away, he watched the smile play across her lips and the deep shade of pink she developed when she realised he was watching her.

"Look Pen, I'm glad Derek got back safely, but I need to go before- ... No Way! ... Oh God please don't." She practically squealed.

Flack kept his eyes on her as she curled herself into her chair and dipped her head, wondering what her friend had said that caused such a reaction, because he was sure it wasn't all down to him looking at her.

"No Pen, I forbid it! ... Damn you, I'm not going to get any peace am I?"

With those exasperated words Flack made up his mind, he needed to finish what was started in the kitchen and whoever was on the phone was in the way, and Karla was clearly uncomfortable with the call and him just watching her, so something had to give.

He marched across the room, gently prised the phone from her grip, ignoring her protests and put it to his own ear, "I'm sorry, Karla's busy right now, she'll call you back." He never waited for a response and cancelled the call. A moment later having forwarded all her calls he handed her phone back to her as she stared at him with her mouth open.

He smiled at her and offered her his hand which she accepted and he pulled her to her feet.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you just did that!" He watched the smile break over her face and her eyes sparkle. "A little jealous were we?" She taunted.

"I'm sorry, okay, it just sounded like they were giving you a hard time and you did say something about dinner," He tugged her hand gently, drawing her closer until he could wrap his arm around her waist, his heart thumping at the thought of how easy a move it had been as he lowered his head towards her as he whispered conspiratorially into her ear, "and something smells funny in your kitchen," his stomach rumbling squashed any further thought and he spun her towards the tiny room and nudged her forward before she could answer.

He heard her swear as she pulled the pan from the oven, and the clatter as it landed on the hob. When she cursed again he decided to see if he could help, but stopped in the doorway and leant against the frame folding his arms across his chest as he observed her inspecting the damage.

"It's a little singed around the edges, but I can salvage most of it if you're still willing." She offered, obviously concerned whether it would put him off.

"I'm a city boy, with a cast iron stomach and you haven't poisoned me yet with your cooking, so I'm willing." He answered seriously, causing her to look up; she looked relieved when he wiggled his eyes at her before she giggled.

"Glad to hear it," she returned and he watched as she pulled two plates from the cupboard and set them to one side before turning to him, "now make yourself useful and stop distracting me while I finish up here." She instructed taking the wine glasses and giving them to him. He couldn't help grinning at her.

"Distracting you?" He challenged.

"That's what I said detective now get out of my way," she responded placing her hand on his chest and pushing him back a little. He couldn't resist laughing at her, "What's so funny?"

"You like being in charge?" he asked, turning on his charm and practically daring her to respond, but he hadn't accounted for the way she came back at him.

"When I need to be, and now I obviously need to be, so go do something helpful and pour the wine." She ordered forcefully, but with a hint of amusement.

"Fine, but we're not done yet." He warned turning and leaving the room, he had expected the shy shake of her head and the colour rising in her cheeks, but she had stood her ground and given him his orders once again. As he poured the wine and set the table with the items she brought out, he cursed that it was her phone this time that had stopped his actions.

…..

Mac smiled softly, amused at Stella's confusion, it was a side of her he saw too infrequently and it gave him a thrill to think that he had created her current state. He could tell she was quickly trying to work out what to say, a way of evading the question without hurting his feelings, but something about this moment was telling him he needed to push home his advantage and have her admit what he was finally ready to admit for himself.

"You?" She whispered, unable to voice anything else, the hesitation and anxiety evident in her eyes. Mac nodded slowly at the same time as running his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Me," he reiterated, "you said that only leaves me." He reminded her.

"Εσείς φτάσει πρόκειται να αποτελέσει τον θάνατο του μου" She sighed, he knew she hated being pushed and he had no idea what she said, except it was about him and her, he hoped it was something good and to enforce his current bold streak before the knots in his stomach reached his tongue he knew this was a defining moment.

"One day you'll have to tell me what you just said." He murmured, taking her coffee cup from her other hand and setting it on the coffee table in front of them, at the same time as turning himself to face her.

"May be I will one day," She whispered.

"So are you going to-" Mac began, Stella shook her head emphatically stopping his probing further.

"Mac you're a good friend, I don't want to lose that with any stupid gossip about which men in the lab I would or wouldn't consider dating," she answered seriously, the look on her face passive as he noted the shift to a more formal demeanour than the one she wore a few minutes ago. Maybe he had read the signs wrong, given himself the wrong idea about their friendship; maybe she didn't feel the same way he did, but then who was he kidding, he knew exactly how she felt, he always did.

Whatever it was the moment had passed, he reluctantly removed his hand from hers and reached for his coffee cup and swallowed the remaining contents while he pondered what to say. "Whatever you think Stella, there is someone out there for you, someone who can give you everything you deserve and I'll be there to tell you I told you so when it happens." He answered returning his cup to the table, before turning back to her. "Now didn't you say something about dessert being a surprise?"

"I did, I just don't know if you're ready for this though." She smiled at him as she pushed herself to her feet, he watched as she headed for the kitchen.

...

Karla saw him check his watch as they finished dinner. "Don't let me stop you if you have to go."

"Trying to get rid of me now?" He taunted, a grin plastered across his face.

She shook her head, "I didn't say that, it's just that's about the 6th time you've checked your watch in the last 10 minutes. I really don't mind if there's somewhere you need to be."

"There isn't, I just-"

She saw him scrub his hand over his face, she had developed a certain understanding of him the last few days, at first she thought it meant he was thinking, now she realised it was what he did when he needed that time to think before saying something, when he was uncertain of the reaction he would get. It didn't take a genius to know that he was going to get some reaction from his friends about the amount of time they had spent together. "You worried about what your friends will think when they playback the tapes and find out you've spent the evening here?" She asked softly.

"Danny's like a dog with a bone, I just don't want you caught in the cross fire," he grumbled.

"I've got a pretty thick skin most of the time, why don't you fill me in."

"You're the first woman I've spent more than a couple of hours with in over a year, except for Stella and Lindsay."

"So you think he's got the wrong idea about all the time we've been together?"

"I don't need to think; I know." He muttered.

"How do you feel about that?" She asked, detecting he seemed bothered by the attention from the guy he called his best friend.

"It's none of his business-" Flack stopped abruptly then looked at her, she could feel his eyes boring into her, he was obviously thinking about what he was saying, or trying to say, but seemed to have reached a stumbling block.

She pushed herself from her chair to gather their plates, but he still hadn't spoken, so she stopped as she reached for his plate and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You're right it's none of his business, but he's your friend, you're best friend, judging by what you've told me and he's probably concerned about you. ... Us being together had nothing to do with your choice, don't let him get to you, just do what you're comfortable with, don't think you should be doing, or not doing something because of someone else." She wondered if any of what she had said made sense, so she tried to clarify it, "they're not you, they don't really know what you think or feel." She resisted the urge to run her fingers through his hair and stepped back, collecting the plates she had gathered moments earlier.

"How do you?" He asked, his voice croaking, displaying his emotions.

"How do I what?" She glanced at him as she turned towards the kitchen.

"Know what I think and feel?"

"I don't, I only know that you're dealing with a lot of stuff right now, Danny obviously needs someone to talk to him about respecting privacy, want me to have words with him tomorrow? ... or I could just have a word with Lindsay and she'd do it for you."

She paused to gauge his response, relieved to see a small smile cross his lips, "I'm sure you would too." He mused.

"I'm going to get rid of these, d'you want some coffee?"

"Actually, I'd better head out, ... will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, I'll be right back," she headed to the kitchen and deposited the plates in the sink, then switched on the kettle.

"Actually, can I change my mind?" His voice behind her startled her.

"I thought you were going to stop doing that!" She exclaimed, then realised from the look on his face that he had done it deliberately.

"Doing what?" He asked trying to look innocent.

"You know exactly what and stop trying to look innocent, I know for whatever twisted reason you did it deliberately."

He held up his hands, "could be guilty of worse things," he answered smoothly. "So, coffee?" he added, bring them back to the reason for him being there.

"I've only got instant that okay?"

"Fine."

A few minutes later they were sitting on the couch, Karla was curled up at one end facing Flack as he stretched out at the other. "So why the change of heart?"

He answered as he leant forward resting his elbows on his knees and staring blankly in front of him "You were right, I should be doing what I want not listening to anyone else, ... and right now there's no where I'd rather be." Once he had finished he half turned his head and looked at her.

"I'm glad." She answered. "You're welcome anytime."

...

Stella scooped up the dish from the fridge and some bowls from the cupboard and placed them on a tray, returning to the fridge she picked up the cream jug and added that to her collection, then added two spoons and a couple of sprigs of mint from the mini herb garden on her window sill. It was rare in New York to find a kitchen with a window, but she had been lucky; she loved to be able to open the window when she was cooking, it allowed the heat to dissipate a lot quicker than the vents that normally existed. Casting an eye over the tray she added some shot glasses and returned to the fridge for the bottle of Ouzo she kept there.

The Ouzo hadn't been part of her plan, but it seemed a good way to round off the evening. Lifting the tray she made her way carefully back to the lounge and set it on the table. She was aware of Mac watching her and no doubt casting his eye over her surprise.

"Truffles and Ouzo, nice." He murmured; without looking at him she knew he was smiling, not just any smile, but that uniquely Mac Taylor smile, where his lips curled slightly and his eyes sparkled like a kid with a new toy.

"Not just any truffles Mac," she rebuked gently a smile gracing her lips too as she drew out things just a little more. She felt guilty for sidestepping Mac's conversation before, but she wasn't quite ready allow herself the hope that really there could be something more than just eternal friendship with the man she spent most of her time with. "They're cardamom chocolate truffles, I made them for you."

She heard him snigger a little, "something you just whipped up?" he questioned.

"I made them last night if you must know, after you dropped me off, I couldn't sleep and already had the ingredients, I would have brought them into the office, but I figured that rung too much of bribing the boss."

"You couldn't sleep?" He asked, she noted the hint of amusement in his voice, "thought that was my trick."

"Sometimes it gets all of us Mac, maybe I'm still jet-lagged from the flight." She answered finally looking at him as she sat down.

"So bringing me here, cooking my favourite Greek meal and an exotic dessert isn't bribing the boss?" he teased good naturedly.

"Here you're not the boss Mac, I'm cooking dinner for my best friend." She answered pouring them each a shot of Ouzo and handing him one. "and I know this is supposed to be an aperitif, but someone once told me that it helps bring out the flavour of the chocolate." She informed him holding up her own glass and chinking it with his, "σε φίλοι" she added before swallowing the contents in one go.

She saw his eyes raise briefly at the move, "that I understood," he acknowledged raising his glass briefly, "to friends," he echoed, but this time in English before also swallowing the contents in one go.

Stella reached over and served up a generous helping of truffles and handed it to him waiting for him to taste it before serving her own. She could tell he was a little self-conscious under her scrutiny, but he soon obliged, spooning a cream covered truffle into his mouth.

Once he had savoured the flavours and swallowed a little he mumbled, "it's good, very good."

"Of course it's good, I made it," she answered with a slight tone of indignation as she spooned some into a dish for herself.

"You know I've missed these evenings while you were away." Mac announced seriously, Stella paused briefly.

"I was only gone 3 weeks." She answered, wondering where he was going with the comment. In truth she had missed him too, eating alone in a Greek restaurant in Greece lost all its charm after the first night.

"Three weeks is a long time when I've got no one to distract me from my paperwork."

"Mac Taylor! Is that a hint that you like being distracted?" She exclaimed, giving him a look that was supposed to say she didn't quite believe him.

"We all like being distracted some times." He parried as he held her gaze. "You know I never realised how much time we spend together until you weren't there and I missed it, I missed you." Stella felt her stomach flutter, it was the second time tonight she had that feeling, if she were honest with herself she would admit that she had missed him too, but there was still that independent stubborn streak about her which refused to allow herself to open up and let him completely into her heart. She left his words hanging as she took a mouthful of the dessert she had prepared, enjoying the cool smooth cream and the bitter-sweet flavour of the cardamom chocolate. She didn't know why she was holding back, she was really comfortable in his company, he was already her best friend and had been for a long time, but something about her past experiences held her back, she knew he wouldn't hurt her, but if they went down that route there would be a whole lot more to consider with him technically being her boss.

They finished dessert in silence, making her feel guilty once again that she was holding out on him, the look he wore had turned sombre, the sparkle in his eyes had gone, she could tell he was trying to work out what to say next and it was all her fault. She placed her empty bowl on the table and poured two more glasses of Ouzo and handed him one.

"Mac, I'm sorry, I love spending time with you, I missed you too while I was away, but I'm not ready to have you say I told you so just yet, you know my experience with men has been less than thrilling and I don't want to upset what we already have."

"Someone told me once that you sometimes have to take a chance so that you can give one to someone else." He stated quietly while reaching for her hand and holding her eyes with his.

Stella heard herself giggle a little, "Reed right?" Mac nodded slightly.

"For all his rash behaviour he's a smart young man." He affirmed. "So what do you say? Do we take a chance?" He asked, grazing his thumb over the back of her hand as he held it in his.

"Baby steps Mac," She answered before downing the drink in her other hand, her stomach fluttering like a trapped bird, was she really telling Mac, that she would consider them being romantically involved?

"Alright, baby steps it is, but it doesn't mean I won't try and persuade you that things could be a lot better if you'd just allow yourself to fall."

"I hate falling," she whispered.

"I promise I'll catch you." He replied softly as he gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, his fingers grazing her cheek as he leaned over and chastely kissed her lips.

_

* * *

_

**AN: **I'm sure a few of my readers will be screaming with this, please let me know.

_And just in case you don't speak Greek and still wonder what Stella said to Mac …  
__**Εσείς φτάσει πρόκειται να αποτελέσει τον θάνατο του μου - You're going to be the death of me**_

_Just forgive me if you do speak Greek and this isn't quite right, I had to use an online translator. I'd be happy to correct if you let me know._


	19. Step Back

**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun..

Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter, even though it was a while ago.

Sorry for the slow updates the muse has decided the hot weather is too much and run away! All the chapters I've written ahead have come to a grinding halt and I am struggling to finish chapter 20, although I'm now nearly there. Hopefully I can catch up after that.

_**Cha**__**pter 19 – Step Back**_

Mac watched as Stella entered her office and carefully sat down at her desk, her focus on placing the takeout coffee cup precisely on the table. He knew how she felt, his headache was only just lifting after almost a litre of water and a couple of painkillers. A couple of toasts from the night before had turned into a few more and neat shots of Ouzo had soon had both of them rather tipsy.

As he stood in the hallway he glanced around at the activities in the lab. In a few more minutes it would be swarming with he rest of the day shift going about their business. He rubbed his temples and looked up on hearing the elevator open, then started to walk towards it to head off one of the occupants that seemed to be disgorged.

"Don! Got a minute?" He asked, wincing with the sound of his voice as his head throbbed a little more.

"What's up Mac?" the detective replied as they headed into Mac's office, where he closed the door before leaning against his desk. Flack stood a little uneasily before him.

"I've been going over the details from yesterday. We need someone on the inside at the warehouse and right now, Karla is looking like our best shot, ... We're all too close to this we have to step back a little, distance ourselves from her but if we put her in there she's going to need a contact on the outside, we need a plan." Mac paused briefly, trying to gauge the detective's reaction, while he gave himself a minute to let the throbbing in his head subside again. "Anyone on your team that can step up and do that?"

Mac watched the flicker of emotions running across Flack's face, his unease reflected in the way he rubbed his hands together. When he failed to say anything Mac continued.

"I know you were at her place last night, I don't have a problem with that, but in order to stop this haemorrhage of evidence from that warehouse we have to bring our A-game, we can't be personally involved. Don, you have to step back, I think you know that, but I want one of your guys on hand to back her up if by the end of today it's our only way forward." Mac's tone was controlled and even, waiting at any moment for Flack to react.

After a few seconds of uneasy silence, Flack nodded, "What are you thinking Mac?"

"Someone to pose as boyfriend or family member, someone who could pick her up or drop her off without raising too many questions."

"You know most of my guys Mac, they're old school, that means they're old enough to be her father, the younger ones are still green."

"Which could be good, they haven't worked a name for themselves yet, the guys at the warehouse won't know them so well and you'll be working with them behind the scenes." Mac continued to remain calm and stoic as he rested his hands on the edge of his desk as he leant against it. He wondered if he could see the wheels turning inside the detectives head what he would be seeing, it was a strange thought, maybe he was still suffering from the shots the night before.

A frown appeared on Flack's face as he rested his hands on his hips, "I just got one question, how come we're getting to run this and not IA? They usually get involved with internal investigations."

It was a valid point but one which Mac was waiting to hear, in fact he was surprised that it had only just been raised, "This is too big for them to handle, Sinclair is keeping them in the loop and they'll advise as we need it, but for now it's ours. We just need to keep the Chief informed of progress, obviously he wants things wrapped up as soon as possible, but we've got a month window."

"A month?" Flack questioned, running a hand over his face, "that's a long time."

"One thing we do know is that things haven't disappeared within two weeks of a new person joining the team. So we expect everything to work normally for at least that time." Mac repeated the information he had discussed with Karla the night before.

"You still think Warner's crew are responsible?"

"It's where we start, so far all the evidence points their way." The evidence so far was circumstantial and if they were responsible he wanted to catch them in the act, rather than rely on what seemed logical. They were moving in more informed times, juries were less likely to accept testimony based on circumstances rather than hard evidence. Show them a finger print or blood spatter and they were more likely to convict; the CSI effect is how the media referred to it, probably as a result of some rip off TV shows that managed to solve a murder in under an hour. If only the truth was that good. In New York they were lucky if they solved a murder in a week with the time it took to get the test results.

"O'Reilly," Flack announced into the silence that had descended, drawing Mac's attention back to matters at hand. "He's green, but keen to learn, I know he's got a sister on the force based up state, it might work."

"So a brother?" Mac smirked, picking up the resistance to her being considered romantically involved with their contact while he watched Flack for a reaction, which if there was one was hidden well. "Warn him we may need him later for a briefing."

Flack nodded, but Mac could tell that he was conflicted about what they were planning. Sudden banging which rattled the glass doors drew their attention and made them both smile as Lucy Messer banged her palms against the door. Flack glanced at Mac who nodded then crossed the room to open the door for the toddler who raced in and threw herself at Mac's legs. Lindsay rushed in behind a few seconds later looking a little flustered.

"I'm sorry Mac she got away from me."

"Mac, Mac!" Lucy squealed causing Mac to bend down and pick her up.

"What are you doing up here young lady?" he questioned.

"She wanted to see you and wouldn't go to day care unless I conceded. I told her to wait until you'd finished your meeting, but I swear she's already showing signs of the terrible two's, throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her own way."

Mac smiled at the girl and her mother. "She's a smart girl just like her parents, now Lucy I've got a lot of work to do right now so you go with your mother and I'll come and see you soon."

"Mac, if we're done, I'll go make that call." Flack interrupted. Mac looked up and nodded.

"We'll talk later." Flack ruffled Lucy's hair, said his goodbyes and left. Lindsay tried to take Lucy from Mac, but the little girl wrapped her arms tight around his neck.

"Tell you what, I have a few minutes, why don't I take you to day care?" He suggested earning a grateful smile from Lindsay as Lucy buried her head against his shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

...

Karla entered the conference room and switched on the lights. It was still early, Lindsay had taken off to see her daughter into day care and Danny was checking up on some details for another case. She had seen Stella in her office and the lights on in Mac's office indicated he was around somewhere, as for the rest; Flack, Adam and Hawkes were yet to show, giving her some quiet time to think through what they had already discovered and to wonder where things might lead them during the day.

As she stood looking at the boards where she had made notes the day before it was looking more and more like they would have to have some eyes and ears inside the warehouse and to that end she grabbed a notepad and jotted down some notes, building up the vague undercover ruse that would hopefully stand up against any inspection by those she would be investigating. As much as she wanted to have Flack act as the link between her and the team, it was clearly obvious from her knowledge of the files that it would be a bad move, he was too high profile, as were the CSIs, even Adam was earning a reputation which would raise suspicions. She reached for a file which Mac had left the night before when they had discussed their options. She was reading through the papers in the file when the door creaked a couple of minutes later.

She didn't need to raise her head or look to know Flack had walked in, his aftershave wafted comfortingly around her as he approached. She sensed him stop behind her and guessed he was looking at her notes and the file.

"Which one would you recommend for back up?" She asked, dispensing with any formal greeting.

"You want me to step back too? I already had this conversation with Mac." He grumbled.

She closed the file and lay it down before turning to look at him. "I don't want to fight over this, I think we both know this is our best shot to stop them and that –"

"Remember last night," he interrupted.

"I remember a lot about last night, any specific bit you're referring to?" She countered quickly, half turning back to the file, while watching him, a smile breaking across her lips.

She caught him rubbing his chin, then shake his head before he returned a smile of his own. "You think I'm falling for that?" He chuckled.

She pushed her chair back and stood up, curling a finger around a stray hair across her face, she turned to him, "I think you're avoiding the subject, but I'll let you off, seeing as we're supposed to be working."

Turning to the boards she reached for a pen and added a couple of notes to the trail of information she had put up the day before. "For what it's worth, I said last night, I would do whatever we have to to stop those guys at the lock up, ... I may not like what you're planning, but I agree that right now it looks like the best way. Can you handle it?" the question was hesitant, his tone unable to hide his concern.

"It would be nice to know who's been after me this week, but I guess that will have to wait until we've solved this case." She answered honestly, a shiver running down her spine as she thought about the attacks at the beginning of the week.

There was a few moments of silence, the only sound the squeaking of the pen on the white board as she added more notes. "O'Reilly," was the only thing she heard before silence descended again, Karla finished what she was writing and capped the pen before turning to face him, only then did he explain his thinking. "He's young, eager, he'd easily pass for your little brother."

"I see, does Mac know?"

"We talked earlier, the guy's been called in early, give you two a chance to plan."

She felt his unease as he watched her carefully as he spoke, he had already admitted he didn't like it, but she was glad that he was now considering things more rationally. "You'd rather it was up to you to watch my back wouldn't you?"

"Honestly? ... Yeah, this is too important for some rookie to screw up."

"I read his file Don, he's been a detective for two years, most of the last one in homicide, if he's as eager as you say, he'll do fine, after all if he's helping the case it'll be a feather in his cap when the dust settles. ... We talked about this last night, you can't put yourself that close, the guys would smell a rat as soon as you show your face, I mean how long is it since you set foot in the Evidence Lock-up?"

"A while," he answered quietly.

"My guess is you get your guys as you call them to do your leg work over there, or the lab techs do it. You know this plan makes sense." She watched him for a moment as he crossed his arms over his chest, she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. She stepped closer and rested a hand on his crossed arms. "I'll strike you a deal, when this is all over you can take me to dinner, just you and me and you can play protector all you want."

He fixed his blue eyes on hers, "what if I don't want to play protector?" he asked, his voice low, as he dropped his arms and took her hand.

As she opened her mouth to respond the door clicked and someone stepped into the room, Karla let her gaze flick across Flack's face one last time before stepping back and breaking their contact as she reached for a file. "O'Reilly sounds good, when do I get to meet him?" She asked, straining to keep her voice even as she waved at Adam who was depositing more files on the end of the table, while contending with her heart hammering in her chest and her legs feeling like jello.

"Sorry," he muttered, Karla thought he looked rather flustered. "I didn't know anyone was in here yet, Stella wanted me to bring these in. She'll uh, be in soon." He continued looking warily between Karla and Flack. Karla smiled at him.

"Thanks Adam, you're not interrupting anything, we're just going over details of my back up." Karla answered evenly, watching him put the files down and arrange them a few times until he was satisfied with the order.

Adam still cast a further uneasy glance between the two and Karla and Flack exchanged glances as he backed out of the room.

"I think you scared him last night" Karla commented as the door closed. "Is he always that flustered? I mean he didn't look like he knew where to look."

"Maybe I should go talk to him." Flack answered half shrugging. "You and me though ... we're not done yet." He answered handing her the file he had picked up a few minutes earlier then turned and walked out, pausing at the door to wink at her.

With the door closed behind him, Karla sank into a chair and turned her attention back to the files, or tried to, between her heart thumping and her cheeks burning. Taking a deep breath she scolded herself silently. _He's not ready to move on yet, you can't fall for him._

"Fat chance, when it's already happening," she sighed as the door opened again.

...

Spending the morning researching the files brought them no closer to finding an alternative solution to their problem. Reluctantly everyone concluded that the undercover op was the only way to move forward, so arrangements were made for Karla to join the night shift at the evidence warehouse. The sooner they got her in the sooner it could all be over, but no one was under any illusions that it was going to be a quick result. If the perps stayed true to form, then nothing would happen for the first two weeks, which then gave them two weeks to get a result under IABs terms.

Flack watched as Karla and Mac finished the briefing with O'Reilly through the glass walls of Mac's office, wishing he was the one involved, he was the one to have her back. He knew he was too well known, and his lack of visits to the warehouse in recent years would immediately raise suspicions if he suddenly turned up frequently; everyone knew it was the new guys that got to do the leg work over there.

For now he was at a loose end so had taken a break and was sitting with coffee and a crossword in the lab break room. Danny dropped into the chair at his side as he stared absently at the paper before him.

"I heard you turned up at Karla's last night." It was the first time Flack had heard him use her real name so it immediately gained his attention.

"You got a point to make Mess?"

"Thought your bodyguard stint was over." Danny commented casually swallowing a mouthful of his own coffee.

"It is, but you know how it felt to have Casey after you, Lindsay was there with you the whole time, Karla doesn't have anyone, ... None of us like this plan, but if it'll get us the bad guys it's worth a shot right?" He asked changing the subject.

"Anything is worth a shot, this has been going on for too long. ... Does she know about Angell?" Danny asked carefully, Flack looked up at the meeting breaking up in Mac's office, the only response he offered his friend was a brief nod of his head. "She been reading up on you?" Danny pressed.

Flack shrugged, "no need," he paused, rubbing his hand over his face hurriedly, "I told her."

Karla entering the break room stopped any further conversation. "We're all set. Mac's told me to go home and get some sleep, although I'm not sure how successful that will be." Karla announced, looking more at Flack than Danny. He glanced up at her and nodded.

"Is there anything else you need me to do?" Flack asked casually.

"Yeah, if you're not busy could you run me home? Sean's got called out."

"Sean?" Queried Danny attracting her attention as Flack sniggered.

"O'Reilly, if he's supposed to be my brother, I'd better get used to using his name, less suspicion that way." Karla quipped almost without a breath.

"So I take it he has roots in the old country," Danny teased, Flack knew he was trying to get a reaction from him, but refused to rise to the bait.

"Yeah Mess lap it up, after all if Lucy was a boy what was it you were gonna call her, Cosmo wasn't it?" Flack laughed as Danny seemed to wither under his gaze.

"I can't imagine that it was very popular with Lindsay," Karla commented.

"What wasn't?" Lindsay's voice floated around them as she approached the table.

"According to Don, your husband had plans to call the baby Cosmo if it was a boy."

Flack felt Danny cringe as his wife's attention turned to him and she shrieked which for the size she was could be quite terrifying. "Cosmo? Are you serious? "

Flack stood up, "I think that's our cue to go," he smiled at Karla turning her around with his hands on her shoulders and guiding her to the door. Danny's spluttered response ringing in their ears.

...

Vincent noted the unexpected car pulled up at the warehouse door as he drove in. Not expecting anyone to be collecting or depositing evidence at the time he wondered what was going on. He found it hard to take his eyes off the occupants as he walked past into the building. A blond guy in a suit and a woman wearing NYPD uniform. He still had a few minutes before shift and was able to take his time signing in while he watched what went down in the parking lot.

He figured that he should find something to do when the woman got out of the car and headed towards the open door. Backing up he picked up a clipboard from the desk and pretended to read it. Careful not to watch as the car pulled away.

"Hi, Excuse me." Knowing he was the only one around at that moment he looked up. "I'm Karla Morgan, Sgt MacCroker's expecting me."

He let his eyes wander over her, she looked fit, but figured she'd look a whole lot better out of uniform.

"You are?" She asked tersely drawing his attention back to her face.

"Sorry, Luke Vincent. You here to collect something?"

"I wish, I just got reassigned, my first day, moved up from Baltimore PD, I guess the powers that be decided to stick me here while I learn local procedures." Vincent grinned, she sounded kinda bored and maybe a little pissed off at being stuck in the dump they had to work in.

"So why come to the big apple?"

She grinned, "Family issues, Dad needs someone other than my baby brother to keep an eye on him, stop him drinking himself into oblivion now mom's not around any more." He thought he noted a slight sad look in her eyes even though she virtually spat the words out about her father. She might look all girl next door, but underneath he had the feeling that she could be quite the tough cookie.

"You gonna introduce me to the sarge or what?" She demanded, "I better do things right my first day."

Vincent lead her through the warehouse to the sargeant's office and then disappeared back to the desk, arriving at the same time as Horton and Farland seemed to blow in.

"Hey Vinnie! Sarge in yet?" called Horton, tossing his bag at his side while he scrawled his details on the attendance log.

"In his office with the new girl." Vincent answered half heartedly.

"New girl?" questioned Farland, "no-one mentioned any new girl to us."

"Me neither, she just showed up, said it's her first day, transferred from Baltimore." Vincent answered. "Are you gonna give her stick just like the others?"

"Vinnie, us? We're just here to help all you damn rookies understand what it's like out there in the real world." Horton answered swiftly a condescending look on his face.

"Alright boys, break it up," Sgt MacCroker's voice broke the banter as he joined them, Karla at his side.

"Wow, 'bout time the brass sent us some eye candy," Farland quipped, Vincent noticed how the other guys eyes drifted over her. "Hey honey, how about you and me get together for breakfast after shift," he asked lecherously, "we can get to know each other better and have some fun."

Vincent noted how Karla rolled her eyes before answering, "sorry boys, I've already got plans, … I may be new to NYPD but I'm not new to the job or guys like you, we all do our jobs and I'm sure we'll get on just fine." She answered, her voice confident, maybe even a little arrogant.

"Boys this is Karla Morgan, she's just transferred in from Baltimore, she'll be with us for a bit learning how we do things in NYPD and filling in for Warner until someone's permanently assigned." MacCroker began with introductions. "You already met Vincent, these two show offs are Dwight Farland and Johnny Horton, both got a lot of years and been through a few precincts, could probably learn a thing or two from them."

Karla shook hands with them, "Yeah like how to make the sarge his coffee, he's rather particular." Horton sneered quietly as he held her hand for a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Cool it boys, Karla is a trained officer, she'll get treated the same as everyone on this team and if I hear you're ragging on her like you did Warner I'll write you up, no questions. I let it go too far last time. It stops right here, right now." MacCroker warned them, then turned his attention to their duties for the night as the day shift made their way out of the building.

* * *

_Please review and help me drag the muse back from where she is hiding..._


	20. Surprises

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.._

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual._

_The muse is still missing, although I half expected her to make a dramatic return last week while producing an assignment for my degree! That didn't really happen, but I do have some ideas to work through and the assignment is in the post so hopefully I can now move this forward. The good news is that I have now finished this and the next chapter which are kind of linked as things have jumped forward two weeks._

**Chapter 20 - Surprises**

For the next two weeks the heat wave holding New York in its grip barely faltered; one thunderstorm had given the city a brief respite, but the temperatures were climbing again and not just to normal levels; however, there was talk that previous records would tumble in the next few days. Tempers frayed and frustration was evident in everyone involved with the investigation into the disappearing evidence from the warehouse.

Stella pushed the door hard as she stormed into Mac's office, causing him to look up. "I would like to keep my door on its hinges if you don't mind," he responded tersely, almost glaring at her.

"I'm sorry Mac, I'm just so-" she groaned, "it's just so damn frustrating, apart from what Karla told us at the start we know nothing more about what's going on at that warehouse and we're no closer to finding who's behind it all."

"I take it she hasn't managed to find out anything else then," Mac answered tossing the pen he was using on top of the file he had been working on and leaning back in his chair.

"Not a damn thing. O'Reilly met her this morning and apart from being ready to throttle Horton and Farland for the constant stream of sexual innuendo and female put downs and declining Vincent's requests for a date, she says nothing is out of the ordinary. MacCroker is close to retirement and spends most of his time in his office, he knows what the guys are like, but apart from a brief stand her first night seems to have no interest in curbing his teams pick ups and put downs," Stella ranted as she stood in front of Mac's desk, her arms gesturing wildly as she spoke.

Mac watched her carefully, she often spoke with her hands, but these movements were more far more exaggerated than normal and clearly showed her frustration. "Well she did say we were unlikely to see anything for at least a fortnight, whoever is behind this will be covering their tracks, making sure that the new person is only there for the job and not a plant. We knew this wouldn't be quick," he counselled carefully.

He knew she was wound up, her body language clearly showed her irritation and was enhanced by that hot fiery temper of hers. He was tempted to try and ease her tension, by crossing his office and trying to massage the feeling away with his hands on her shoulders like she had done for him in the past, but concern about how it might look to anyone seeing them held him back.

"I know all that Mac, I do, I just hate these cases that haunt us and that have no leads."

"We will get these guys Stella, it may take time, but we'll get there, we always do." He tried to keep his tone calm and reassuring although he was just as frustrated about events as everyone else.

Stella half chuckled and half snorted. "We're never out of evidence, right?" Mac nodded, allowing himself a brief smile as she crinkled her nose.

"You remembered what I told you," he answered allowing a momentary pause, "sometimes we just have to dig a little deeper."

"So we go over everything again?" she sighed, he nodded, it wasn't ideal, but after two weeks perhaps they would spot something they had missed in the files before.

"And ask Flack to talk to IA and do some more digging about Farland, Horton and Vincent, let's see if we can find out what's not in their NYPD files."

Stella nodded and turned to leave.

"Stella." He waited for her to turn back before saying anything else. "I'll pick you up tonight at 6.30, wear a dress, we're going out to dinner." He smiled bashfully, thinking about the evening ahead of them. One he had been planning since watching her dance around her kitchen a few weeks before. "We're going to take the night off and have some fun."

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing?" she asked a smile breaking across her face. Mac shook his head.

"And spoil my surprise? I think not," he replied a smile reflected on his lips as he watched her about to protest, then change her mind and leave, the way she walked away and the smile she had told him she was feeling a little less stressed. He nodded to himself, it gave him a good feeling when he knew he was responsible for the smile on her face.

...

Flack walked into Lindsay's office later that day. "Mrs Messer, you want some good news?" he asked.

"Right now I'll take anything if it will give us a lead on the Warehouse, you got something?" she asked looking up from the information on her computer and pushing her hair back, a grimace crossing her face as she considered his presence.

"Call from the tip line, a cook at some downtown chow house was putting out the garbage and reported that they saw some collectors sword in the trash asked if it was stolen merch and if he could get a reward for finding it and turning it over. Landed on my desk when unis ran a search of stolen property and we had it flagged, sounds like it might be that sword thing you've been looking for. I told them not to touch it and we'd get someone down there, I figured you'd want to make a personal collection," he informed her, barely stopping for breath.

Lindsay hurriedly pushed herself out of her chair relief apparent in her face that there was something else to do. "You're driving," she stated pulling her gun from her desk drawer and shoving it in the holster on her hip.

They were waiting for the elevator when Danny swaggered towards them.

"Montana, you wanna go get some lunch?" he asked clapping his hands together, looking hopeful.

"I can't Danny, we just got a lead, I gotta go, would you tell Stella," Lindsay answered apologetically, a look of regret passing over her face, as the doors next to them opened.

"Yeah, sure," Danny offered uncertainly as Lindsay and Flack stepped into the elevator.

...

Stella pulled her robe tighter around herself and went to open the door. She'd barely been home an hour and now Mac was on her doorstep and she wasn't dressed. Thankfully her hair was now dry and she only had to actually decide which dress to wear and she would be almost ready. It would have helped if he had actually told her what they were going to be doing, but he had remained tight-lipped all day about their date. Date. It sounded strange thinking about the two of them having a real date, they had shared so many dinners and evenings together it was giving her butterflies that her partner was making this grand gesture.

It had been two weeks since the dinner in her apartment and they'd talked about taking baby steps towards a relationship, since then things in the city had been busy with most of the lab working double shifts just to keep up with the cases coming in. She drew back the bolts on the door and eased it open to let him in, careful not to let her neighbours see her.

"Stella," he greeted as he stepped into her lounge then stopped as he obviously noticed her attire. She flipped one of the locks on the door and stepped back.

"Yeah I know, can't go out in this, right?" she grinned as her stomach fluttered. She was unable to work out why she was so nervous, after all they'd had dinner many times. Mac caught her hand before she could move away, and drew her closer.

"You look beautiful," he whispered as he grazed his lips against hers. She smiled, the simple gesture told her he was just as nervous about this as she was, but the look in his eyes told her he was determined to follow through, a tiny smile curled his lips as he glanced once again at her attire. "But I do think something else would be more appropriate."

"I know, but I can't decide, you said a dress, but unless I know what we're doing I can't decide what's appropriate." She half whined, taking his hand and leading him towards her bedroom.

"Stella, I thought we said baby steps," He offered stopping near her bedroom door. Stella felt the flush rise in her cheeks as she realised he had the wrong impression of her actions.

"Mac it's okay, I need your help, you won't tell me what we're doing so you can choose the dress," she consoled tugging him into her room.

On her bed she had laid 5 different dresses, her two favourite short tight black ones, that she knew he'd seen her in before, but then there were two new ones, and another old favourite. She noticed his approving smile as he looked at them, but after a momentary glance at each of them his eyes rested on an emerald green dress.

"That one," he stated firmly, "it's perfect."

A moment of awkward silence followed as they both stared at the dress, Stella felt her hands tremble as she reached to lift it up. This was ridiculous she was feeling more like a nervous high schooler with her first boyfriend than a mature woman going out with a friend. She shouldn't feel this way, it was Mac she was having dinner with, the same Mac she often had dinner with, so why was she so nervous?

Mac cleared his throat breaking the silence, "I'll uh, wait out there," he gestured to the lounge, inching his way towards the door.

"I won't be long, I promise," she answered, undoing the bow on her robe as he pulled the door closed between them.

...

Hawkes was processing his own crime scene in an alley when he was approached by a uniformed officer. "Hey Dr Hawkes, you call anyone out to search the next alley?"

Hawkes looked up and shook his head. "No, looks like everything is going on here, although the perp probably took the murder weapon with him. Why, you got something else?"

"Couple of uniforms and detectives just headed into the alley a block down." Instructing the uniformed officer to stay put he pulled off his gloves and walked down the street towards the newly arrived squad cars; he immediately recognised Flack's car parked alongside them and the alley sealed off and went for a closer look.

"Hey guys, what brings you down here?" He asked crossing the yellow tape and approaching his two colleagues who turned on hearing his voice.

"Could ask you the same thing Doc," Flack quipped.

"If I'd have known you were in the area I could have saved us a trip," Lindsay greeted in turn.

Flack smiled, "Not this time you wouldn't, you've been looking for this weapon for weeks." Flack responded quickly, only to have Lindsay flash him a sweet smile.

"You're right, this one's mine."

"Is anyone going to fill me in or do I need ESP?" asked Hawkes looking around and not seeing anything of interest.

"According to the witness, it's right over there in the dumpster." Flack proceeded pointing to a dumpster further down the alley.

"You could have warned me I'd need my overalls." She groaned looking at the state of the container; apparently oozing with the debris previously discarded by the restaurants and bars in the vicinity, along with the contents from someone's stomach which nicely decorated the side of the dumpster.

"Sorry Linds, I didn't know until I got here," Flack apologised sincerely.

"Maybe I can help, I got a spare set in my truck," Hawkes offered and received a grateful nod from Lindsay.

Hawkes hurried away to his truck and returned a few moments later with the overalls, he watched as Lindsay finished photographing the dumpster then quickly slid into the protective suit.

"Is anyone going to let me in on this little escapade?" asked Hawkes watching with some amusement.

"Just watch and wait," teased Lindsay with a smile as Flack gave her a boost into the dumpster. "Now that's what I'm talking about," she continued as she bent down. "One lethal murder weapon and collector's item," she mused as she stood up drawing the katana with her from the debris around it. It shone in the light which spilled into the alley.

"That's a serious blade on that thing," scoffed Flack as Hawkes pulled on a pair of gloves from Lindsay's open kit and helped bag the item, before helping her out.

"I take it that's what beheaded your guy a few weeks ago?" Hawkes asked.

"Yep, now I get to take it back to the lab and do something more than search computer files."

As they prepared to leave the alley, Hawkes stared at the brown evidence bag Lindsay carried, the contents had his mind working overtime and he needed a second opinion on something, "Linds, can you take a look at something first."

Leading them into his own alley a few steps away he asked her to look at the wound on the body he found.

"Definitely sharp force trauma, clean wound, does it go all through?" she asked taking a closer look.

Hawkes rolled the body a little so they could see the wound in their victims back. "I'm thinking it could have been made by someone stabbing him with that katana." Hawkes surmised, taking another look at the evidence bag which Flack was now holding. Lindsay turned her head as they lay the body down again and nodded.

"I'll get it back to the lab and start working trace on it, as soon as you can have Sid send me a DNA profile for this guy and I'll see if I get a match," she offered standing up and taking the bag from Flack.

"Good idea, I'll see you back at the lab," Hawkes confirmed and watched for a moment as they walked away, while wondering what had happened in the alley and how the weapon made it to the next one.

...

Mac rested his hand against Stella's back as he guided her towards their table, the Maitre D leading the way through the tables laid with white linen cloths, fine china, silverware and crystal glassware. It had taken some research to find this place and it would probably cost him a significant portion of this month's pay check, but for Stella it was worth it. They had eaten together so often and in numerous restaurants this had to be special, something to set this night apart from all the other meals they had shared. There was soft music playing and the atmosphere was calm, candles on each of the tables provided muted lights while the overhead chandeliers were set low, giving just enough light to see where they were going. He was unable to see her face at that moment, but from the way her eyes lit up when they entered he was thinking he had chosen well.

The restaurant was still quiet, a bonus to booking early, leaving them the whole night ahead of themselves to relax and enjoy the food and the atmosphere. Of course she was currently still oblivious to the other half of the surprise he had carefully tucked away up his sleeve. He had the feeling this was going to be a good night.

His thoughts were distracted as they reached their table; the Maitre D pulled out her chair and settled her when she sat down, before handing over their menus and the wine list. Finally he moved off and Stella paused and looked around the room before letting her eyes rest on Mac, who was now also seated. He tried to keep the grin off his face which he felt had been plastered there since he turned up at her apartment, if he smiled too much someone might think he was a simpleton, but however hard he tried, he couldn't help himself and he met her eyes still with the silly grin.

"I've heard about this place, but never been here," she enthused, before quickly turning serious and even a little secretive as she leaned forward to whisper, "are you sure about this Mac?"

"Stella, it's fine, you deserve something special, I want you to have fun." He knew what she was hinting at and there was no way he was going to disappoint her, he entwined his fingers with hers as their hands rested on the table. "Do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous, the food is supposed to be pretty good," her apprehension about the implied cost momentarily forgotten as they turned their attention to the menus, trying to decide what to eat.

...

Danny sat on the bench near the exit to the crime lab. It was still early and the sky was a clear blue with the odd wispy cloud, the heat permeated from everywhere, the sidewalk radiated heat, he could feel it through his trainers, even the bench he sat on was burning through his pants, at least Lucy seemed cool, under the shade of her stroller as she covered herself with ice cream from the rapidly melting cone. He turned to look at the entrance doors and wondered whether they would be better off waiting inside, at least it would be cooler, but then people would think he was working and he wanted to enjoy the rest of his day off. He wondered what possessed him to bring Lucy to meet her mom after shift with the heat burning as it was. According to the weathermen the records were falling, the last two days were approaching the record book temperatures; the low 90s had risen to the high 90's and earlier that day had hit 100 degrees in Central Park.

"Dada! Look," Lucy giggled, pointing to a bird flying over head, Danny looked and had to laugh himself as he saw ice cream over her face and down her thin summer dress, her hands opening and closing with more of the now sticky mess.

"Ah Luce, I think we'd better get you cleaned up before your Ma sees you," he groaned pushing himself up from the bench.

"Mama, work."

Danny shook his head. "Yeah she is, but not for long, we're meeting her remember?" He spoke as he crouched down by the stroller and attempted to wipe off some of the goo with a tissue. "I think we're gonna have to go find some place and get you changed, you like the ice cream?"

"Mmmm, ice ceam" she answered, rubbing her tummy and further spreading the mess she was already covered in, her angelic face squinting up at him from under her hat.

"Come on munchkin, let's get you presentable to meet your Ma," Danny chuckled standing up and turning the buggy towards the entrance doors as Lindsay emerged into the heat and sunlight. He watched her pause for a moment to acclimatise from the cooler interior. "Oh dear Luce, looks like we just got caught," he added as they approached each other.

"S'pise," Lucy squealed loudly as she saw her mother at the same time as she tried to free herself from the reins holding her in the stroller.

Lindsay waved at them as she closed the final few steps, her smile turning to a frown as she took in the state of her daughter. "Hey sweetheart, you and Daddy look like you've had a good time, … what d'you do Danny bath her in a vat of ice cream?"

"Uh, about that, she kinda had an accident," he replied hesitantly.

"Mama, s'pise," Lucy giggled holding out her hands to Lindsay.

"Oh yeah baby, Mommy's definitely surprised," she answered still glaring at Danny.

...

Stella had to admit she was buzzing as she felt Mac's hand on her back as they left the dance floor, the low cut of her dress allowing his fingers to graze her skin, sending a warm tingling sensation up her spine. She also felt the ache in her jaw where she hadn't stopped smiling all night. His choice of restaurant had been a surprise, but she'd got an even bigger one when the band began to play after dinner and he'd stood and offered her his hand, asking her to dance. There wasn't much about Mac Taylor that surprised her, but he obviously still had a few secrets, like dancing, he was actually very good. She felt the skirt of her dress sway around her knees as she walked, he was right it was the perfect dress to go dancing in, with the halter neck, low cut back and flared skirt, it allowed smooth graceful movements as they had swayed to the music.

Once again seated at their table she looked up at Mac and noted the amused smile that danced across his face, his eyes sparkling at her; maybe she would let him surprise her again another time.

Taking her wine glass and raising it to her lips she appraised him carefully, "So what other secrets are you keeping from me?" she asked finally, returning her glass to the table, but not removing her eyes from him.

"I don't have secrets from you Stella," he reached for her hand across the table and held it in his, she felt his thumb graze across her skin sending tingles up her arm.

"Oh but you do," she challenged suggestively, "I never knew you could dance so well."

"My mother was old school, she wanted me to be able to court a lady properly." He answered, she knew he was watching her reaction and she gave him one. Her eyebrows raised at his choice of words.

"That's something you don't hear much of nowadays; a lady being courted, is that your plan Mac? Courting me?" she teased as she leaned forward a little.

He nodded slightly, "you deserve it." He paused for a moment as they listened to the band strike up a new song, "Do you think it's too old fashioned?" He asked suddenly.

"Courting?" she clarified, "I think it depends on the people, I can't exactly see Flack and Danny wanting to but Hawkes on the other hand, I think he would court someone if he thought she was special."

"So what about us?" he asked tentatively.

Stella smiled, "I think it's perfect, … I like being independent, but I like to be taken care of sometimes too," she assured him, but then added quickly, "as long as it's the right person doing the taking care of, and you take good care of me."

Mac nodded understandingly, then gestured to the dance floor again, "would you care to dance Ms Bonasera?"

"Thank you Mr Taylor, that sounds divine," she fought the urge to giggle as they stood up and he guided her back towards the dance floor with his hand resting against her back, the touch of his fingers making her spine tingle.

* * *

_Please review and help me drag the muse back from where she is hiding..._


	21. Fowl Play

_** Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.. _

_ Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual._

_Sorry for the delay in posting this, I'm still fighting the muse to write the next part, the good news is that the ideas are there and the next chapter is part written, I just need to make sure everything is tied together! The bad news is that I'm going away this week with no computer! _

**Chapter 21 – Fowl Play**

It was getting late and Flack was sitting at his desk going over the files on the evidence warehouse once again. He'd started this task several hours ago hoping to stumble across something that would help their case, but all he had got so far was a headache. The squad room was hot and stuffy and most of the guys on duty were out, so at least it was quiet. Several fans wafted the stifling air around him, serving only to make it almost impossible to breathe. He tossed his pen onto the pile of files and sat back in his chair, linked his fingers and stuck them behind his head as he stretched his aching muscles.

Shifting in his seat, he dropped his arms and glanced at his watch, technically his shift was over, but for the last few weeks he had been burning the candle at both ends. He was anxious to make some progress on the case, while at the back of his mind he was puzzled by the sudden cessation to the attacks on the FBI agent who was invading his thoughts more frequently. He hadn't seen her since she started working the night shift at the warehouse.

Flack scrubbed his hands over his face as he tried to get his head back into the files he was reviewing, but the sound of the door creaking drew his attention and he looked up. A tall dark-skinned officer entered and approached Flack at the only occupied desk. He carefully flipped over a couple of files so that the information could be kept under wraps as he observed the burly stature of the officer, his long hair in dreadlocks, held back by a pony tail.

"Lookin' for Sean O'Reilly, was told he works outta here and he's on tonight." The guy hadn't waited for any acknowledgement or introductions before opening his mouth, making demands.

"He's out right now, what d'you need?" Flack offered no introduction either, recognizing the officer and trying to play it cool despite his heart skipping beats. The officer and O'Reilly? He instantly thought of Karla.

"Sergeant over at the evidence warehouse sent me to take his sister home, but she's insisted on being dropped here, she's busy puking in the john."

"Oh," Flack answered non-committally, "what happened?"

"Dunno, she seemed okay a few hours ago when we started, then she just keeled over and spewed her guts, tell ya, I can handle a lotta things, puke ain't one of them so I'm glad she held it in on the ride over. You know where her brother's at? Can you call him or somethin'?" The officer ranted. Flack almost turned green as his stomach churned.

"Yeah, who shall I tell him brought her in?"

"Sorry, Dwight Farland, she's recently been assigned to our shift, says she's been bunking with her brother since she hit town."

"Yeah, I'd heard something, don't worry we'll get a message to him, he's on scene right now."

"I gotta get back, tell her I hope she feels better soon," he gabbled and hurriedly took his leave.

Flack reached for his phone and dialled a number as he cleared his desk and locked the files away. The voicemail picked up the call as he headed into the corridor.

"O'Reilly, it's Flack, when you get this call me, … your sister just got dropped off at the precinct, she's sick, I'm guessing you're still tied up with the case, I'll do you a favour and take her home." The message was simple, the pretence of the relationship kept up just in case anyone ever eavesdropped the call. He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed towards the women's' bathroom.

...

Vincent pulled his cell phone from his belt and reviewed the caller ID. He was looking forward to a quiet night, but there was only so long he would be able to ignore the person currently wanting his attention, even if only at the end of a phone call. Finally after staring at the screen for a moment he answered, a scowl embedded across his face.

"I told you not to call while I was working, make it quick, Sarge is about to appear with new orders." He snapped at the caller. He listened intently for a few moments before running his hand through his hair and responding. "It's not going to be easy, we're a man down and we're already being watched by Internal Affairs. You're going to have to make it worth my while." He was silent for a few seconds, "I get that, so what do you need now?"

Conversation was stilted for a minute or two longer, before Vincent saw their sergeant and Horton conversing in the delivery bay, obviously the Sarge was doling out new orders since their new rookie had been taken home sick. Unfortunately Farland was given that duty, pissing him off a little, she needed someone to take care of her and if he'd have taken her he could have found out where she lived. He still hoped she'd be worn down by his requests for a date, working the night shift didn't really allow for such things and he liked her, it would suit them both. He'd zoned out of the telephone conversation and yelling in his ear brought him back to why he was standing in the parking lot pretending to be on a cigarette break.

"I told you it won't be easy, but I'll see what I can do, just wait for me to call you, it could take a couple of days. ... yeah you always want it yesterday, but this time I'm going to have to handle this a little more carefully. ... Be patient." With a round of goodbyes he cancelled the call and wandered away to join the others, wondering just how he was going to extract himself from the latest request.

...

Karla leaned over the sink as the water ran from the tap. Swallowing a mouthful of foul tasting bile she reached her shaking hands under the flow and slowly raised them to her face, letting the water refresh her before falling back into the sink.

She wasn't sure if she heard anything at first, but turning off the tap she definitely heard a voice.

"Hey Karla, you in here?" She realised he must be standing at the door. For a split second she wondered how he had earned the job of checking on her, but it was soon over taken as she was torn between letting the sickness consume her so he would take care of her or suppressing everything so that she could keep the distance they had been forced to maintain for the sake of the case. She needed time to work out what was going to be best.

Another sense of bile rising in her throat had her swallowing hard, not wanting to wrench her stomach muscles any further by throwing up again.

"Don?" She began hesitantly, "You're safe, there's no one else here." She informed him, letting him make the decision on whether he entered the bathroom or not. Leaning on the sink she wasn't sure if she could stay upright without support after the way the sickness had so violently consumed her in the last hour.

"Farland came looking for O'Reilly, but he's out, you've got me," he replied, she allowed herself a brief grin at the offer he seemed to make, but it was short-lived, to be replaced by the thought that he was a little wary of the situation.

"My hero," she responded with a touch of sarcasm. "If you're staying out, make yourself useful and find me some 7-Up," she instructed.

"Are you alright? You need me to find Hawkes or anything?" She was beginning to sense his nervousness as her stomach slowly settled, partly, she felt, because she wasn't going to have to struggle alone, he would look out for her and make sure she was alright. She always hated being sick when there was no one around to take care of her, show her a little sympathy and TLC.

"I'll be okay, … just the 7-Up," she answered weakly as her stomach churned again.

Taking her uniform jacket and tie from the shelf where she'd pushed them when she rushed in, she tried to keep her breathing even as she made her way to the door.

As she emerged into the hallway Flack was returning from the vending machine with the requested soda. She leant against the wall and waited, watching him snap the can open as he stopped next to her and held it out.

"Thanks," she whispered, taking the can with a shaky hand and raising it to her lips and sipping a little of the cold liquid.

"I talked to O' Reilly, I'm going to take you home, he'll see you in the morning ... you feel okay to move?" He asked, his eyes never wavering from her. She took another sip of the drink and nodded.

"I'm feeling a little better, hopefully it'll pass soon."

"You get sick often?" it was a strange question, but she could understand, it might have a bearing on how quickly she would recover.

"Can't remember the last time, I can handle being ill, just not sick," she muttered as she pushed herself gingerly away from the wall, pausing for a moment while her stomach settled again.

"Yeah, I get that," he smiled wryly, "you sure you're okay to go home?"

She nodded briefly, her eyes focused on the door as she turned to leave the building, Flack at her side. She didn't need to look to know he was somewhat uncertain, she guessed he was afraid that she might throw up in his cruiser. She couldn't blame him for that, she knew she looked frightful and since she'd emptied the contents of her stomach she was probably a little dehydrated too, which meant that she should think about getting something inside her to stave off any light-headedness.

She must have veered off their destined path as she felt his hand on her back, "Car's this way," he nodded down the street as they emerged into the muggy night air, sending another wave of nausea over her.

...

Hawkes entered the morgue and cast his eyes around; the temperature was several degrees colder than was normal which was probably explained by the gurneys lined up in every conceivable space, the gaps between them just enough to squeeze through. No wonder it had taken Sid most of the afternoon and evening to get to his victim. But they were there now and Sid stood in the middle of the chilly morgue looking exhausted, his glasses hanging limply from his neck; his hands supporting him as he leaned on the edge of the table bearing the victim from the alley earlier.

"Busy night?" Hawkes asked by way of greeting, nodding his head towards the sheet covered trolleys.

"Yeah," Sid sighed tiredly, "Gang fight in the Bronx left 3 dead, drug deal gone bad in the east village sent me another 2 and two multiple pile ups on the freeways left another 7 not to mention the mummy found in a basement of a refurbishment. The weather's making everyone a little cranky. Sorry it's taken so long to get to your man here." He acknowledged tipping his head at the body resting between them, the sheet only covering the lower half of his body.

"So what can you tell me?" asked Hawkes.

"One would think with all those stab wounds COD would be sharp force trauma, but it's not."

Hawkes frowned, his eyes meeting the ME's, "it's not?"

"Everyone of those wounds missed a vital organ, of course had he lived long enough he would have bled out, but he died before that could happen."

"How many did he have? I thought I counted about 5 at the scene." Hawkes clarified for his report.

"Actually there were 7, it would have been a slow painful death and certainly left him incapacitated for what came after. I also suspect that he was tasered first, size and position of the marks" he paused to point to the victim's lower right rib cage and the two tiny pink marks there, "would have given your perp enough time to inflict the wounds before starting on the main event." Hawkes eyed Sid suspiciously before looking again at the body on the table between them.

"So if that wasn't enough, what came after?"

Sid looked up at a monitor at the head of the table, and squinted at the image of the man's torso. "You'll never guess."

"Am I going to have to play 20 questions here or are you going to cut to the chase?"

"Why shouldn't I make you feel my pain?" Sid smirked, readjusting his glasses and peering once again at the images on screen.

"Okay, I'll bite, this our vic?" Hawkes asked stepping over to the screen and casting his professional eye over it. "As you said all his organs are intact. Looks like there could be fluid in his lungs," Hawkes surmised as he carefully observed the image and using his little finger to indicate the area he was looking at.

"That's what I thought, in fact the lungs were pretty clear except for a small amount of pulmonary oedema, but I did find something else." He handed his colleague a petri dish with a few fibres inside. "I pulled those from his nasal cavity and between his teeth," Hawkes held the dish up to the light and studied the object for a moment.

"I'll get them up to trace, see what we find. …. So what have you determined as COD?"

"Fowl play," Sid deadpanned, removing his glasses and letting them rest against his chest.

"I think that's pretty obvious with all those holes in him."

"Wrong fowl, I'm talking birds. There was evidence of duck feathers in the folds of his clothes, probably from a pillow or something as they were pretty clean, I sent them up with his clothes a while ago."

Hawkes eyed the contents of the petri dish he was holding, "these could be fibres from a pillow case. Are you suggesting that he was suffocated?"

Sid shook his head, "Whoever your perp is he meant business, these wounds were meant to disable, the pillow was only a means to an end. I found traces of salt water in his stomach, I think your boy was drowned, but that doesn't explain how he's got virtually no fluid in his lungs. I sent his stomach contents upstairs to make sure."

"Dry drowning? I've seen a few cases, any signs of laryngospasm?"

"As a matter of fact there was, now you mention it, if the airway constricted then it would explain the lack of fluid. You know what I think, it's going to be nigh on impossible to prove, but I think your vic was tortured."

Hawkes looked puzzled. "Tortured?"

"I've read about cases where a cloth is place across the nose and mouth of a victim and water poured over them, in this case your man would have been totally helpless to defend himself. This was a well orchestrated attack by a very sick individual," Sid announced sombrely.

"Then we'd better do something to catch him fast," Hawkes agreed, turning to leave. "Thanks Sid."

…..

While he waited for her to clean up and change Flack wandered into her kitchen and started to make himself some coffee, but then stopped, figuring that Karla would probably feel sick again with the smell. He decided to keep things simple and poured two glasses of 7-up from the bottle in her fridge. Feeling his stomach rumble he realised he had been so engrossed in the files that he had missed dinner. Not wanting to leave her alone, he hoped she wouldn't mind if he helped himself to something.

He had just set two plates and the glasses on the coffee table when he heard the squeak of her bedroom door. Looking up he noticed the baggy Rangers sweatshirt and leggings, allowing his eyes to linger on her face he was relieved to see her looking less worn and pale. The moment she had emerged from the restroom at the precinct had his stomach churning at the thought she was suffering. She had almost been the same pale colour as the hallway walls, dark circles under her red eyes a stark contrast to her washed out face. Now she looked better, still pale, but less corpse like.

"How are you feeling?" He asked stepping towards her.

"Better. I see you followed my instructions," she commented eyeing the table briefly.

"Yeah, hope you don't mind I haven't eaten since lunch," he answered a little bashfully.

"There's stuff in the freezer too if you want something more than cheese on toast."

"I'll be fine, you should try and eat a little too, just some lightly buttered toast, at least then if you're going to puke you'll have something in your stomach." The caring tone all but disappearing as he mentioned _puke_.

"_Thanks!" _she groaned taking a seat on the couch and reaching for the glass of soda. "I feel like my stomach has been ripped inside out and you want me to eat."

"I'm just sayin'. My Ma swore by it when we were kids, soon as our stomachs started to settle out would come the toast. You don't want to eat it that's fine." He wasn't sure if he'd offended her in some way with the suggestion, so his tone was a little more clipped than it could have been.

"Don, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that ... it's probably a good idea, but I'm always wary about eating for a few hours after."

They lapsed into silence for a bit as he ate his snack and she appeared to doze. He was thankful, she could probably use the rest, but curled into a ball probably wasn't the best option. He was starting to wonder if he should move her when she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"You don't have to stay you know,"

"I know, but I wouldn't feel right desertin' ya when you're not feelin' so good." He answered seriously, feeling the frown on his forehead.

"I'm probably going to sleep the rest of this off soon, by morning I'll be fine."

"You sound pretty confident," he smirked, wondering when she became clairvoyant.

"It's how it goes, I've got an intolerance to soy products and all they had to make coffee earlier was MacCroaker's soya milk, I didn't know until I'd downed half a cup."

"Did they know it would make you sick?" His mind whirled that this could have been a deliberate attack, trying to get her out of the picture at the warehouse and if it was then perhaps Warner's death wasn't so clear cut.

She leaned forward, a flash of discomfort crossed her face as she rested her hand on his arm. "I know what you're thinking, I can almost hear it, they didn't know so they couldn't have targeted me. ... As far as they're concerned I'm the dogsbody who answers the phones and does most of the paperwork and filing."

He felt himself relax a little and she sat up again another flash of discomfort at her sore stomach crossing her face.

"Can I get you anything for your stomach, there must be a drug store around here that's open if you need some medication." He didn't want her to suffer unnecessarily.

"I'm fine, just sore, most of the nausea's gone ... tell me how are you getting on with the little information I've been feeding Sean?"

Flack shook his head, "not good, we've got IA on our side and they're digging a little deeper into the guys, but on the surface they all appear above board. You pick up anything at all?"

"Horton and Farland think they run the place, Vincent is hiding something, he gets a lot of calls on the job, usually takes them outside where he can't be overheard, MacCroaker is months away from retirement and doesn't have the balls to stand up to the others. I'm sure he's clean, but the rest, I can't rule them out and with no activity so far I've found nothing."

"You sure you can handle going back in there? If not I'll have you pulled out right now."

"Don, it's the job, we agreed it's our best shot to get the guys, their two week self-imposed silence is up something's going to happen soon. We'll get them this time."

"I hope so, but you do something for me, you take care of yourself, anytime you think it's all going south you get out of there." He offered seriously, fixing his eyes on her.

...

Mac unlocked her apartment and Stella followed him inside as he switched on the light and cast a glance around her apartment. Turning to face her again he took her hand and gently placed her keys in the palm before taking a step back allowing himself to see her standing before him. Out of the dim restaurant light he was able to get a better look at her; the dress had been a perfect choice, fitting her like a glove. He watched, mesmerised as the skirt swirled around her knees as she walked across the room and lay down her purse and keys on the table. Memories of the way she moved in his arms as they danced. It had been a perfect evening.

"Mac!" Her hand waved in front of his face drawing him from his thoughts. "Coffee or a nightcap?" she asked when he returned his focus to her face.

He shook his head, "No, it's late and we're both on early, I think I should go." He offered weakly, not wanting to leave.

"Always the chivalrous one, what's this now you've walked me to my apartment you're going to desert me?" she teased.

Mac allowed a grin to form across his face. "Isn't that what courting is all about? I ensure you're safe return." He paused for a moment then taking her hand and raising it to his lips he deposited a light kiss. "I've had a wonderful time Stella; please tell me you'd like to do this again."

Her brilliant smile was enough to give him the answer he wanted, but when she stepped forward, closing the gap between them he raised his eyebrows. "I had a wonderful time too Mac and I would love to do it again."

Their lips met in a gentle exploratory kiss, lasting a few seconds before he pulled back. Her smile sending a shiver up his spine as he also noted the darkening of her eyes.

"Next time is my choice of date."

He agreed wholeheartedly, after all it was only fair that she got to surprise him once in a while. "Tell me where and when, I'll be ready," he confirmed seeking her lips briefly once more before whispering _goodnight_ and turning to the door to let himself out.

_

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I will send replies later today, have to go deal with some RL stuff for the vacation now. I still love to hear from you and would welcome your thoughts on what you think is going on.


	22. Revelations

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual._

_Sorry for the long delay, the muse has made a brief appearance, so I now have two chapters completed for you and a third in preparation. I also promise that review replies will follow shortly, thank you for your support._

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**Chapter 22 – Revelations **

Two weeks after Karla's bout of sickness when Farland had brought her to the precinct Flack practically barged into Mac's office; he didn't wait for the lab boss to look up before launching into the information he'd found.

"You know that digging you asked me to do? I hope you like the results, 'cause with what I found I'm wondering what the hell we put Karla Morgan into in that warehouse." He was almost yelling, but then he'd had time for the news to assimilate and his stomach to churn several times as the consequences started to become apparent.

Mac stood up and looked at Flack. "Don, calm down, tell me what you found out."

"The good news? MacCroker's legit, the rest you can probably start at murder and work your way up." Flack wafted his arm as he spoke, the calm look on Mac's face doing nothing to stop the bad feeling he had about what he was about to reveal.

"You realise you're not making sense?" Mac questioned as he circled his desk, "take a breath and talk to me," he counselled firmly.

"Luke Vincent didn't exist until 4 years ago when he joined the force, I finally got a warrant to open his records, he was born Luca Venetti, that's just for starters." Flack saw some sliver of recognition cross Mac's face, "Yeah same Venettis, Bobby was his brother and his uncle is Angelo Venetti, still wanted in association with the disappearance of Bobby's killer, whole family is a piece of work, they're connected all over this city, probably gives them the right outlets for the stuff from the warehouse and that's not all ... Johnny Horton, he's been on the force 15 years, never out of uniform, done everything from beat patrol to traffic, complaints as long as your arm, Dwight Farland, similar story; Mac, tell me we did the right thing putting Karla in there with these lowlifes?" He glared at Mac as he stood and scrubbed his hand over his face before resting both hands on his hips, his feet planted firmly while he tried to suppress the tidal wave churning up his stomach, making him feel queasy.

"We still don't know they're involved, although we've certainly got cause to bring Vincent in and ask him some questions. It was the right move Don, deep down you know that and if she were here she'd tell you so herself ... if I'm right she probably already has, more than once." He finished with a look that Flack knew meant Mac was still aware of the protective streak he had for her. However, it also had another effect, to help quell the wave crashing in his stomach, that someone else knew what he was feeling.

"It still doesn't help the feeling that she's in there alone with those scumbags," he answered in a calmer but firm tone.

"She's been in there nearly a month and nothing has happened so far," Mac reasoned.

"And we don't have any real leads either," he grumbled removing his hands from his hips and wringing them together. "We're no closer to getting these guys than we were two years ago."

"Send O'Reilly over to claim something, check with Adam what's on our books for re-evaluation. It'll give him a chance to check in with Karla, give us a heads up before we try and pick up Vincent."

"I should go Mac, if there's trouble, O'Reilly's too green." Flack rubbed his face again, worried that the warehouse was off limits and anything that happened there was out of his control.

"O'Reilly has been working out just fine, you have to trust him to do what we need, you've held out this long, let him do it. We stick to the plan, you go in there it could cause more harm than good."

"I still don't like it," Flack grumbled, the waves once again crashing through his stomach.

Mac smiled a little and leaned against his desk a distant look forming across his face. Flack himself was oblivious to the change until Mac opened his mouth, obviously voicing something that had been on his mind for a while, either that or Stella had whispered in his ear about sharing his feelings. "Starting again is never easy, it was 4 years before I even thought about a date with another woman after Claire. It was another year before Peyton and I started going out ... ten years is a long time, but sometimes it feels like yesterday. I know Claire wouldn't want me on my own forever, but I have Stella and the lab to keep me company, I'm happy with my life. You need to find that for yourself. I know it's only been a year for you, but I'm sure Angell is up there somewhere wanting the best for you and if you and Karla get on, why shouldn't you see where it goes... if that's what you want." Mac briefly raised his eyes to the ceiling when he mentioned Jessica Angell.

Flack felt his stomach churn again, he felt his jaw tighten, he had never heard Mac say so much about his personal life in one go. He felt certain that Stella heard more, after all they had known each other before Claire died, but for him to share that personal part of himself with anyone else was unheard of. A couple of times Mac had confronted a killer and commiserated with them over the loss of a loved one, Eckhart being one, but this was different, this wasn't like him at all. Flack wasn't sure what to think, but it didn't stop him from using the opening and asking the question that had been on his mind for the preceding weeks, since that moment standing on a street corner having saved her life the first time. He wrung his hands unconsciously. "Mac, I appreciate what you're saying, but ... do you ever feel guilty? That you're with someone else or thinking about someone else like those other feelings and memories don't mean anything?"

Mac's expression was sombre and even a little distant, but his manner calm as he replied, "I used to, after the shooting in the coffee shop, when I went to meet Rose, we had pleasant conversation, but I just didn't feel right. Time heals in its own way, when Peyton came along I was more ready ... the thing is Don that what's right for me isn't going to be right for you. Go with your gut."

Flack smirked, his stomach temporarily still, "Does it mean something that right now my gut is telling me that I should go and pull her out?" he answered referring to Karla.

"That I can't answer, but I would advise against it. The ruse is working, I'm asking you not to get in the way."

Flack thought for a moment then nodded, "... I do hear you, I'm not going to interfere but I can't stand on the sidelines forever either."

"I understand. We said a month, that's almost up, I know you found it hard to let go, you were her protector for several days, you saved her life, not once but twice, it's affected you and the way she's involved in the case hasn't allowed you time to sort out how you really feel."

Maybe the lab boss was right, maybe he needed to take that break he'd thought about, he'd accepted losing Jess finally, but realising that he was attracted to another woman this way was eating at him, not really because of the attraction, more because of what people would say. "Maybe you're right. After all this is over I'm gonna take off for a few days sort out where I go from here."

"I think that's a good idea. Now back to why you're here." Mac drew them back to the issues at hand and they spent the next while sorting through the finer details.

...

Lindsay entered the office where Hawkes was working and sank into the chair at the desk opposite. "Please tell me we're not going in circles again," she sighed tiredly.

"I'm not sure, I think I might be onto something." Hawkes handed her a file and sat back. "I think I've found our John Doe from the alley," he commented smugly, "According to official records he died 15 years ago in Afghanistan. He was part of a black ops detail that were considered in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So what now? If we go talk to the family we could be opening up a lot of wounds, especially if they still believe he died overseas."

Hawkes nodded thoughtfully as Lindsay scanned the file. Suddenly she sat up and rested her arms on the desk. "We need to see Mac, guess who was in his unit in 1995?"

"By the look on your face it's someone we know."

"Yeah and if my gut's right then we've got to work fast." Lindsay stood up as she closed the file and headed for the door.

"A woman on a mission," Hawkes mused shaking his head as he followed her.

A few minutes later they were briefing Mac who had just been wrapping up the meeting with Flack as they arrived so he stayed to hear their discovery too.

After considering a few options Flack's phone rang and he stepped out to answer it, returning when the call was complete. Mac looked up.

"Get O'Reilly briefed and send him down to check up on the warehouse and find out if there's any way of getting Karla wired."

"No can do Mac, that was Sythe, O'Reilly's just been shipped off to Trinity after a 15 foot fall and busting his ankle."

"Okay, we'll move to plan B, Hawkes go bring Sid up to speed and tell him we need his services tonight. Lindsay, call Gus and give him the heads up, Flack go find a yellow cab."

"We're seriously going to pull her in and tell her all this stuff then send her back in against three potential murderers, on her own?" Flack exclaimed scrubbing his hand over his face.

"You got a better plan?" Mac shot back

"We put her in a wire and they get spooked and frisk her she's dead. You know that right?"

"At least we'll have ears on the inside."

"Then have Adam round up some bugs she can plant, that way she may stand a chance if they get suspicious."

"Fine, Lindsay talk to Adam. One way or another this ends tonight."

"What are you gonna do now?" Flack asked as the others left. Mac glared at him.

"Call Danny, Stella and the Chief to brief them, we'll need all hands on deck and a SWAT team on standby. Let me know when we're ready to proceed and we'll talk again before you meet with Karla."

Flack nodded and turned towards the door.

...

It had been barely half an hour since Karla had received the call from the bar where her so called father was currently entertaining the patrons with stories of his glory days while he downed a bottle of whiskey. The message had been brief, her brother was busy and she needed to sort out the old man before the cops were called and he spent the night in lock up, doing no favours for either of his children.

She pushed the door open to be met with the stench of stale beer and sweat and a crowd of people who should have had better things to do with the night. She began fighting her way through the crowd to the bar; although fighting was probably a bit strong, seeing as she was in her police uniform and the patrons fought each other to dodge her in case she was there for them. It showed something of the clientele that frequented the place, probably most of them would pop in the system if she was to try, but her focus was on the figure hunched over the bar, if the patrons had outstanding warrants it wasn't her problem at that moment.

Reaching the bar she slid onto the stool next to her "father" wondering why they'd chosen to play that reserved card and hoping that the man delegated with the task of playing a drunken Samuel O'Reilly wasn't really drunk and could quickly resolve her questions.

Glancing around she finally fixed her eyes on the man slouched over the counter, a nearly empty glass in his hand. "This better be good Daddy, you promised me that if I came home you'd stop drinking, well I'm home and so far you haven't been sober for more than an hour. Do you know I'm late for work because of you," she paused a moment, glancing in the mirror behind the bar, gauging if anyone was listening. "For once can't you think about Sean or me and what this is doing to us?" She ranted a little more before the man at her side turned his face towards her then haphazardly pushed himself up, making her reach for him as he threatened to head backwards off the stool.

"Aaaaah, Kallie! Hey Gus, …." He called to the bartender, waving an arm like a windmill, "Theresh someone I want to … Heresssh my girl, shesh a good g-," He turned towards her and looked her up and down, a glassy haze hanging in his eyes. "Oooh, you growed up, Gushhh, get my daughter a drink and you can get to know her, she'd make a good wife … you need a good woman and sheshhh very good, aren't you darlin'?"

Karla almost cringed, wondering if alcohol was really forming a part of this strange meeting. She hoisted him up onto the bar stool again and felt an arm go around her waist.

"Gus, don't worry about it, I'm just gonna get him out of here, and next time he dares come near the place just make sure you don't let him in."

"Come on sweetheart, he's one of my best customers."

"I don't care if he's the president, you don't serve him." She threw at the man behind the bar as she hoisted "her father" to his feet and attempted to stop them both falling over as the older man staggered. "Daddy you reek of alcohol," she gasped getting a whiff of the odour of booze he wore like cheap cologne.

"Kallie, pleeesh, just one more for the road."

"No, not happening, I've got to get you home then get back to work and my name's Karla not Kallie, you'd think you'd remember your own daughter's name," she snapped at him trying to manoeuvre him towards the door. Thankfully after one more attempt to return to the bar he allowed her to manhandle him outside. Once outside the bar she searched the street and flagged a cab. She caught a glimpse of one turning on his meter and pulling out from the kerb about 50 feet away, it eased to a stop next to her and the drunken man she was still trying to hold up.

"Where to darlin'?" the driver asked with a heavy New York accent.

"34th Street." She sighed and opened the door letting the older man crawl in. She quickly followed him and the cab pulled away from the bar heading towards their destination.

They travelled the first few blocks in silence, then Samuel O'Reilly, pushed himself upright and peeled off the jacket he was wearing.

"Think that worked okay?" he asked, as Karla let out a sigh of relief.

"Very believable, but I seriously hope we don't have to do that again." Karla responded quickly, trying to wave away the smell of alcohol.

A low chuckle emanated from the driver. "You wouldn't like a drunken Sid for a father then?"

"Are you serious Don? I wouldn't like a drunken anyone for a father." She parried, having recognised Flack when they got in the cab, "no offense Sid."

"None taken my dear." Sid answered patting her hand and opening the window.

"So what was so urgent you had to pull plan B?" she asked, sharing a look with Flack in the rear-view mirror.

"Mac wanted you brought up to speed with the latest developments."

"So why couldn't Sean come over like usual?"

"Yeah, that's a bit of a problem," Flack answered hesitantly as he pulled up at a red light and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don, I don't have time for twenty questions can you just fill me in so I can get back to the warehouse," Karla demanded. "I should have been on the clock about an hour ago."

"O'Reilly's in the hospital, busted his ankle taking down one of our scumbags earlier. He's okay, should be out tomorrow if they can set the bone. How are you doin'?" Flack asked as he eased the car forward when the lights changed.

"Fine… what's happening that you needed me for?"

"IAB just came through on the info I requested two weeks ago. I had a case a few years back, actually it was Lindsay's first case-"

"Don, get to the point, I don't have all night, you can give me a history lesson later." Karla pressed, looking at her watch.

"Somethin' up?" Flack asked. Sid sitting quietly while the detective and the agent parried back and forth, his role over for now.

"I just don't like being late, especially when I work with asses working on a sexual harassment suit."

"You okay?" he asked seriously, while trying to catch her eye in the mirror. She avoided looking at him, instead opting to stare out the window.

"I said I'm fine. What did IAB tell you?"

"Vincent is actually Luca Venetti, brother was murdered by some other Italian low life who disappeared before we could pick him up. Suspicion is that Venetti's uncle and cousin persuaded him to leave town, and not in a nice way, we never picked them up, lack of evidence." He sighed. Karla thought about the young man, sure he was being rather overzealous in trying to date her, but she didn't exactly figure him as dangerous, but if violence ran in the family she needed to watch her step.

"I take it there's more, if there wasn't then you wouldn't have risked bringing me in like this."

"I hate it when you're right," he scoffed. "Horton and Farland are no better, Hawkes and Lindsay have made a link to Horton with their John Doe two weeks ago, when we found the katana, right now we can't specifically tie him to the murder, just that he knew the guy 15 years ago." he spent the next few minutes filling her in with the other information he had fed Mac earlier.

"Do you really think they're capable?" she asked when he finished.

"Messer once said anyone is capable of anything, they've skated on some thin ice over the years, I guess it depends if the right opportunity came their way, but my money's on Venetti, of course doesn't mean they aren't doing his dirty work."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing, we just needed you to know what you're up against. Any sign of anything happening?"

"No, it's been business as usual, which makes me wonder if they're working up to something big. We've got a number of valuable pieces in right now ready for a Grand Jury hearing next week. They're kept under extra security and MacCroker's the key holder when he's on duty, when he isn't it'll fall to Horton as next in the chain."

"If they go for big it'll be too difficult to ignore their involvement," Flack rationalised.

"But what if this is the final haul and they're going to make the break, move on?" Karla replied.

"It would have to be big to consider that, what's there right now that could fit?"

Karla thought for a few minutes. "A couple of old masters, part of a forgery raid, some high tech electronics from a cargo heist, a few high profile cases, councilmen and the like, and then there's the Dunbrook evidence which has been recalled from upstate ready for his appeal."

"Who knows about all of that stuff?"

"We all do,"

"Alright, I'm gonna drop you off down the block, you head in like nothing's happened. Anyone asks where you were, your brother's in the hospital and you needed to round up your ol' man, hopefully they'll buy it. Keep your eyes and ears open and make sure you call us the minute you get wind of anything happening," Don instructed as he eased the cab through the traffic and stopped it at the kerb.

"Tell Sean I hope he feels better soon," she answered, gathering her bag and opening the door.

"You be careful." The edge in his voice wasn't the only thing that showed he was concerned as she exchanged a brief glance with him via the mirror as she got out of the cab.

…..

Karla watched as Horton strutted into the reception area of the warehouse as she arrived nearly two hours late for her shift. Farland as usual was at his elbow, both looking rather smug. With a brief glance at Vincent, who was doing paperwork at the desk, she thought there was a flash of concern cross his face. She knew why, when Horton strutted about it wasn't good, an indicator that MacCroker wasn't around and this early in their shift it didn't bode well for the rest of the night.

Horton and Farland were prize assholes regardless of shift or who was around, but they got ten times worse when MacCroker was out. She fought the butterflies in her stomach and tried to appear disinterested as Horton seized the clipboard from the desk and turned to them. He reminded her of a peacock puffing up his feathers as he stretched to his full height and scanned the orders.

"Now that you've graced us with your presence Princess we can get started." The leer which accompanied it made her feel dirty, she hoped that they could really find something concrete soon so that she didn't have to come back. "Sarge ain't gonna be in, somethin' about a family emergency," he started with a slight sneer. "Okay, we got a full schedule, Vincent, you got destruction, all this stuff has to be taken to the incinerator ready for tomorrow, guys over there are expecting you at 10." He pushed a bunch of papers from the clipboard at the young man.

"Just me Johnny? This is a two person job," he commented.

"Got no one else to spare," he scoffed then turned to Farland, "Dwight, you got the Mackenzie case, DA wants everything ready for 8 am for the court rats to collect."

Farland glared at Vincent and Karla, she suppressed the eerie shudder which seemed to want to take over her body. "It's a big case, lots of boxes, but I'll get it done," Farland answered with a smile. Horton chuckled.

"Just the attitude I like, see rookie you could learn a lot from my friend here," he replied while prodding a finger into Vincent's chest.

"Now then you two get to work, I need a few words with our resident hottie," he instructed as he leered at Karla. She felt her stomach clench. When this case was over this guy was so getting busted on a few charges of his own, top of the list was sexual harassment; she determined and nothing would stop her.

Farland hurried away with a list of his assignment, Vincent hovered a little. "Vincent, you haven't got all night, it's gonna take a while to load the truck, you'd better get moving." He snapped.

Karla was very aware of Vincent's reticence in leaving and Horton's arrogant supervision. For some reason she had an uneasy feeling about this shift and she hoped she'd be able to work alone so that she could get word out for someone to check up on them later. It might sound a bit extreme, but rarely was her gut feeling wrong. Pulling her concentration back to Horton she knew he was watching her without looking at him.

"You, office now," he snapped, she finally looked at him.

"Whatever you have to say to me can be said here," she replied firmly obviously surprising Horton as he puffed himself up again and took a step closer. She didn't think he would try anything on, but why put herself in the position of being alone in a closed room with him?

"Look here, miss goody two shoes, you're under my command, tonight we're doing things my way, none of this creeping to the old man suggesting better ways of doing things, this is my turf and we're playing by my rules, and the first one is that if I say jump you ask how high, you get my drift?" he sneered close to her ear.

"Is that a threat officer?"

"Don't really matter what you call it, coz no-one heard anything, so it's gonna be your word against mine. This is my turf, you waltz in like you own the place, well I got news for you sweetheart you're crossing the wrong man."

While Horton paused for breath, she saw an opening, "I'm not trying anything, I just come here to do my job, just like anyone else. I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, I just thought those suggestions would make life easier for everyone."

"Things work just fine around here; don't need you poking your nose in where it ain't wanted," Horton scoffed.

"Fine, that all you wanted or do you want me to actually work tonight?" she snapped, maybe it was antagonising him, but right then she didn't care.

"Alright you got it for now, you can file the paperwork in the office, should keep you busy for a few hours, just stay out of the warehouse, we got a big shipment coming through, we're gonna be busy for a while."

"Sure you don't need an extra pair of hands?" she questioned having learnt that big shipments usually meant all hands on deck helping out.

"Nah, don't need all of us I got it under control, 'sides women should be kept outta the way of machinery doing the stuff that you do best, like the filing. Oh and by the way the AC in the office is broke, so it will get a little warm, feel free to dress down. Uniform's optional tonight." She was sure he was leering at her again, but she tried to ignore him, concentrating on regulating her breathing and suppressing the rage building inside her at his openly sexist comments. He had been bad before, but nothing like he was now. She was certain the attitude was because he knew no-one was going to be able to stop him, there was no chance of MacCroker returning and catching him throwing his weight around.

She finally locked her eyes with him. "If that's all then I'll set to work, but don't worry about the temperature, I'm sure I'll cope."

"Sure you will," he scoffed finally allowing her to walk away while a wicked smirk spread across his face, his eyes fixed on her backside. If he played his cards right, he figured he might just get a little something extra out of this shift.

_

* * *

_

Hope you'll find a moment to give me some feedback and help me to keep the muse occupied so she doesn't feel the need to run off again.


	23. Waiting

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual, hope the changes read better._

**Chapter 23 – Waiting**

Mac had gathered the team in the conference room with several screens showing a video call, a couple of SWAT officers and an IA rep were already visible sitting in their own rooms.

"Okay, we have a secure line," Adam piped up, tapping the keyboard in front of him, as Flack entered the room and stood behind the seated CSIs.

"The situation at the warehouse has changed. We know MacCroaker was a no show and Horton's put himself in charge. Agent Morgan has been able to plant two bugs in the warehouse so we know that Luke Vincent, also known as Luca Venetti, will be taking the warehouse truck with a cargo for destruction in Jersey. You realise gentlemen that Agent Morgan will be left alone with two suspects, ones who we feel at this stage are more of a threat to this operation so we cannot risk delaying things any further. We still don't know who is involved with the thefts from the warehouse, but whatever is going on Horton and Farland are definitely guilty of something, their attitude is too brash not to be hiding something. We have warrants on their way to enable us to raid the warehouse and search all parties. Luke Vincent will be detained by Detective Flack's team before he can leave our jurisdiction, but we have to move fast so that we can make a simultaneous assault to ensure no possibility of communication. Chief Sinclair is arranging a back up team to take custody of the warehouse once we confirm it's secure. Any questions before we continue with the details?"

"Does Karla Morgan know what we're planning?" asked the SWAT commander.

Mac shook his head. "No, and to protect her cover we're not going to tell her until the last minute, she's armed and is aware that all three of the team have questionable records at best."

The briefing continued as Mac filled in all parties on the latest discoveries and his plan of attack.

...

Vincent pulled the truck out of the warehouse shortly after 9 for the 45 minute trip to the incineration complex in Jersey. With unloading time he'd be gone for 2 to 3 hours, his gut was churning, something was off, but he was unable to define what it was. It was a two man job for a number of reasons: apart from preservation of the chain of custody there was also the matter of more routine issues like being in a traffic accident and needing back up, not to mention the lifting required. He knew Farland and Horton were up to something, but his attempts at discovering their secrets were still getting him nowhere and it was pretty obvious why Horton hadn't sent Karla with him, they were sexist pigs and wanted her to themselves to taunt her. He didn't think they would do anything more, but with those guys he would never be 100 percent sure, so he felt guilty for leaving her behind to fend for herself.

Karla was pretty smart, she hadn't fallen for his lines any more than she had for Horton's advances and while he was a little disappointed she hadn't pandered to his youthful crush he was pleased that she had remained rather elusive and that only served to piss off Horton, which could only mean trouble. Checking his mirrors Vincent felt sorry for Karla that night, left with the two morons for company, he really hoped she would be alright.

About two blocks from the warehouse he drew up at a red stop light and noticed a black truck turn and head towards the street he had just come from, but he didn't get a good look at the driver or see if there were any passengers. There were a number of warehouses in the area and trucks moving around at this time of night wasn't unusual so he didn't think too much about it. He shook himself to get his focus back on his task as the light turned green and he pulled away from the junction.

...

The black truck pulled up a short distance from the warehouse and the driver quickly moved to the rear doors, opened one and climbed in. Flack was with Adam in the back and both were listening into the bugs which Karla had managed to plant. All seemed quiet. Flack removed his headphones and turned to the SWAT officer who pulled off his cap and turned it onto his head backwards before speaking.

"We just passed the truck heading out to the incinerator, our boys have it on lo-jack and will keep your team informed where it's at ready to bring him down. Confirm only the driver visible," he informed them as he stripped off a dark coloured sweater and pulled on a SWAT jacket over his Kevlar vest, then checked his personal weapon.

"So Horton's flouting protocol by only sending one man," Flack commented tersely. "Why is that not a surprise?"

"We got company," Adam groaned watching the monitor which relayed the feed from the cameras built into the truck. "Looks like it's going into the warehouse."

"I think you're right, something big is going down if they're risking a truck that size," The SWAT officer exclaimed. "That's easy a 26 footer, about the biggest thing you can get in the warehouse."

Flack frowned and watched as the truck was admitted into the warehouse grounds and backed up to the loading bay. Once it was in place there was little they could see of what was happening at the doors, convenient for the thieves as they prepared to gather their haul.

Flack hated this part, the waiting, it gave his mind too much time to play over the possibilities, but they had to be sure whether it was legit or not, Adam had already sent the details to Mac to check the license, he didn't need to have seen it or been consulted to know their lab rat knew his job. The other scenario was that Karla would somehow give them the heads up. He just hoped that one of them would come through fast so that he didn't have to sit too long and feel the knots tightening in his stomach. He wondered if that's how Danny had felt the day Lindsay did that undercover stint with the Hollies case. That had worked out okay; he silently prayed this would too.

...

Karla was in the office completing the filing when Horton entered. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, but tried not to let it show when she greeted him.

"Now that the kid Vincent is gone you and me are gonna get down to business."

Karla looked around and brushed some hair from her face as she considered her response. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't need that kid in the way, you need a real man," Horton stated as he edged closer to her.

"No offense but I'm not looking for anything right now, I just left a bad marriage and with my Dad's issues I need time to get straight," she answered hoping he would back off.

"Hey, I'm not talking marriage, just you and me havin' a bit of fun when the mood takes us," he sneered.

Karla stepped back. "Sorry but that's not my style, now all the filing's done what do you want me to do next?" She forced herself to breath normally, it was a loaded question with the way he was talking, but it was a chance to bring him back to warehouse business, she also took the larger distance between them to move around and head for the door.

She pulled on the handle and the door opened a few inches, but Horton stopped her, his hand on the door forcing it closed and stepping in front of it. Karla stepped back attempting to keep some distance between them as she glared at him.

"What's your problem Johnny? We've got work to do," she spat, her stomach twisting in knots at the way she was cornered. She just needed to keep her head.

"And I'm in charge, we're takin' a break," he hissed, Karla knew he was using his position of authority to make demands, but she didn't need his advances right then.

"I'm not due for a break yet, do you want me to help unload the delivery from Albany?" she asked trying to remain calm. The situation seemed to be deteriorating and she needed to get word out to the team.

"Nah, Dwight's got it covered, the truck's just pulling in, their own guys can help unload," he answered.

"Okay, why don't I go make some coffee or something for everyone?" she suggested, trying to keep things light and give her a reason to escape.

Horton seemed to think for a minute then nodded. "Yeah, you do that and when you're done I'll have something else for you to handle," he sneered as he stepped away from the door.

Karla quickly took the opportunity, pulled the door open and headed into the warehouse. The kitchen area was on the other side of the building so she made her way across the reception area, trying to ensure she wasn't followed; the encounter had left her shaken. She knew the delivery was fake, it was very rare for large deliveries to happen at night and the way Horton was keeping her away from it and that he'd sent Luke out alone meant that something was happening and she had no back up, she had a really bad feeling settling over her. She needed to talk to someone on the team and share her gut reaction, but with O'Reilly out of the loop Flack was her contact and there was no way she wanted to call him, she already knew what his reaction would be. Get out. But that wasn't an option, she needed to be on the inside to feed them information.

Horton watched her go, then followed her, circling the reception and using the shelving as cover.

...

Mac looked around the team as they gathered in small groups around the warehouse across from the Evidence Store. Quiet conversations flowed, creating a low hum. He fixed his eyes on the SWAT technician sitting behind a table lined with electronic equipment, just as the young man looked up.

"Detective Taylor, your man just sent over a license plate and I've got some images of the truck from a street cam a few blocks away," he announced. Mac nodded and strode over to the table, standing behind the officer and squinting at the screen.

"Get me everything you can on the truck and see if you can run facial recognition on the driver and passenger," he instructed.

"Already running the plates, the image isn't very clear, I'm not sure how successful we'll be, but I'll do my best sir," the tech replied.

Mac nodded, he was looking at the images the tech had to work with and from his own experience it was going to be tough to get anything. "Good man." Mac turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back, if they were in for a long night he didn't want to be called Sir the whole time, and told the young man as such.

"Yes sir," the tech responded automatically, then apparently realised his error, but could not bring himself to give Mac the answer he wanted. "Erm, sorry sir."

The young man had turned several shades of red, Mac just shook his head and walked away, sometimes respect for authority was so ingrained that it was hard to break the habit, he knew, after the Marines it had taken him quite a while to break himself of the habit in the outside world. Maybe that's why he didn't like it now. It separated people, it shouldn't when they were all working for the same goals.

He joined Stella and the rest of his team as they stood by the catering wagon that had been drafted in. Stella handed him a lukewarm coffee. "It's crap but it's caffeine and at least you'll be able to drink it in a hurry if we have to move."

He sipped it and thanked her, watching the face she pulled, the one that crinkled her nose. He liked it when she did that and smiled at her.

"What's the plan now boss?" Danny asked, breaking the private moment between his supervisors.

Mac turned to the team. "A large truck has pulled into the warehouse, we're waiting on word either from Karla to confirm the purpose, or if we receive no word then we take down the truck and the warehouse when it leaves."

"So we're waiting?" Lindsay asked.

"Just make sure you're ready to move when the word goes down, Hawkes, Lindsay, you focus on finding Karla before joining the action. Once we start to move we'll be in radio silence, so make sure you know where the bugs are planted and use those as a guide to locating her."

Hawkes and Lindsay nodded. "You got it Mac," Hawkes confirmed.

"Hawkes when you've found Karla make your way out to EMS, we may need your services there too."

Hawkes nodded again.

"Danny, I want you to stick like glue to Flack, don't let him go off alone, focus on the guys in the truck, to do that you'll probably need to go in via the loading bay, Stella and I will take the main entrance and look for Horton and Farland, they'll probably be near the loading bay so keep your wits about you. SWAT will provide back up for everyone. Understood?"

"I hear you Mac," Stella confirmed. Danny nodded.

"Where is Flack?" Danny asked eventually, looking around the warehouse.

"Outside in the surveillance van, thought it was a good idea for him to be contained for a while otherwise he'd be in here pacing demanding action. Adam and a SWAT officer are with him."

...

Flack was once again sitting listening to the noises broadcast from the warehouse, one ear from the headphones pressed against his head the transmitter from a radio clasped tightly in his other hand as he stared at the screen of the camera shot focused on the loading bay.

"Tell me Adam are there cameras inside? Can we tap into them?"

"They're on a protected circuit, it's practically hack proof," he answered, his hands flicking across the keyboard in front of him.

"Get us in, I want to see what's going on inside," Flack muttered forcefully.

"I already tried, but I'm still working on it," he answered, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"If anyone can do it Ross you can," Flack encouraged gruffly his eyes not leaving the screens in front of him, his knuckles turning white where his grip tightened around the radio transmitter.

...

Karla kept her ears on the warehouse as she made the promised coffee, her spine tingling, giving her the sensation that she was being watched, but whenever she turned around she saw no-one. She'd only had that feeling once before, when she and Derek had nearly been caught right before they took down the guys from their undercover assignment. She hoped this time she was wrong and she was just reading too much into the discoveries about her colleagues.

Lifting the tray she turned around and found herself face to face with Horton and jumped, barely holding on to the drinks she had prepared. She had never heard him approach, but as her heart settled in her chest she realised he was probably the one watching her.

"Surprise," he leered, standing in front of her, "the boys are all thirsty as hell, hard work moving all that shit," he added, "take them back I'll be down there in a minute," he instructed stepping back out of the door leaving her a way passed him.

Karla moved quickly through the door and headed into the warehouse. She thought about taking a detour and muttering something to the bug, but what would she say? That Horton was being a jerk? He'd actually said nothing specific even if his tone and the assumption was there. Maybe she was just overreacting because of all the stuff coming to a head with the case, this was one shift she'd be grateful to have over.

…..

"Do we have eyes on the inside of the warehouse?" Mac asked trudging over to the SWAT tech still monitoring the array of equipment in front of him.

"Nothing yet Sir," he responded automatically. Mac winced, it was going to take too long to break this one of the habit, so he let it ride and resigned himself to hearing it more than once during the night. He looked at his watch.

"If we don't get anything soon we could lose the advantage with Vincent," he commented as he mentally calculated how much time they had left before Vincent and his truck were outside their jurisdiction.

"Your man's keyboard skills are way better than mine, I don't think I can do any better. He's working on it," the tech informed Mac as his eyes stayed on the screen providing the feed from Adam.

"Alright, you got anything else for me?"

"We're still trying to ID the guys from the truck, we've got several hundred possibles so far and they're being cross checked against DMV records." Mac nodded. It was painfully slow going and was only working to make everyone more agitated as they knew their window of opportunity was small to start the raid.

"Keep at it, do we know where Vincent is now?" he asked and the tech checked one of the monitors which displayed a tracking dot on a map.

"In the city, just reached Battery Park." Mac frowned. "Hard to say which crossing he'll take the route is varied. I'm guessing it'll be one of the northern crossings as they used the Holland Tunnel last time." The tech added.

"Gives us a few more minutes, what's the traffic situation?"

"Busy but moving, pretty good for the time of night."

"Any chance we can slow it down?" Mac asked staring at the moving dot on the screen.

The tech thought for a moment then looked at Mac. " I could tap into the traffic signals and shorten the time cycle for anything northbound."

"Do it, we may need it," he urged then turned to move towards the SWAT commander to discuss their next move.

…..

Karla set the tray of drinks on a crate and made to move away as a crashing and churning sound echoed behind her. Spinning around she saw that the forklift moving some crates had backed into one of the racks of shelving.

Farland walked over. "Benny, what have I told you, you have to go slow reversing those things," he grumbled as Benny moved the vehicle forward again allowing Farland to inspect the damage, well he gave it a cursory glance, then something caught his eye. As he bent down to retrieve it Karla realised what it was and began backing away slowly while their attention was diverted. Her heart was pounding, she hoped that the surveillance team was still picking up a signal.

"What ya got there big man?" a second man asked, seeing the officer studying the small black device in his hand.

Farland looked at his two cohorts and put his fingers to his lips then turned his hand and let the object drop, a split second later he stamped on it with his heavy work boot ground it beneath him. "Shhh," he added as one of the others opened their mouth to say something. "There may be more" he whispered.

Karla backed around the stack of shelves and ran into Horton.

"What you sneaking around for?" he hissed, as she pushed herself away from him.

"Trying to keep out of your way if you must know," she snapped, her heart pounding, as she hoped it would take a bit longer for the news to reach him of Farland's discovery.

"Now why would you want to do that?" he sneered, "I think it's time you and I reached an understanding."

Horton leaned to his side a little and peered around the shelves, a frown crossed his forehead when he saw there was no one in the area.

"You seen Dwight and the boys?" he asked, staring at her, she fought back a shudder as he seemed to undress her with his eyes.

"They were there a minute ago when I left their coffee," she answered calmly, despite the adrenalin now coursing through her, preparing for them to turn on her.

"Ah, there y'are," Farland whispered, rounding the shelves from the other direction, then his eyes fell on Karla, "You got some 'xplainin' to do bitch," he spat his face close to hers as he seized one of her arms and yanked her closer to him, allowing him to gain a firm grip on the back of her neck.

Horton looked a little perplexed. "Hey pal what you doin'? She ain't-"

"The little bitch had us bugged man, she's gotta pay for that," he announced pushing her towards the open area by the loading bay which was scattered with crates. As he thrust her forward he twisted her arm up her back until she yelped.

"Don't worry you'll feel a whole lot more hurt before I'm through with you," he muttered into her ear.

* * *

_Next chapter should be up in about 2 weeks, it's nearly finished._


	24. Whose rules?

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual, hope the changes read better._

_Just a warning this chapter is more of an "M" rating._

**Chapter 24 – Whose rules?**

Adam was relieved at that moment that Flack had stepped out of the van for a few moments to head into the warehouse to talk to Mac. The door had just closed when he heard the crash coming from the warehouse and a moment later the signal dying from the bug. He grabbed his phone and dialled Mac's number as he cursed to himself over and over again.

"Mac?"

For whatever reason Stella answered. "Nah, it's Stella, what is it Adam? Are you okay?" she asked as he fought to stop his heart bursting out of his chest and speak.

"Um … yeah, Karla,…. The .. bugs, Oh shit!" he uttered as he saw the signals from two more bugs dying, it left them only one more, unfortunately at the far end of the warehouse, so hearing what was happening at the loading bay was going to be impossible.

"Adam, take some deep breaths and I'll give you to Mac, where's Flack?"

"On his way … to see … to see Mac," he continued to gasp. "They found … the bugs."

"Alright, I got it, what do we have left in there we can use?" she asked, "I'll have Mac call you right back for the answers, look sharp." She hung up. Adam tossed the phone on the desk in front of him and rubbed a hand through his hair, before following the trail of existing signals to see what he could hear, while casting a furtive glance at the SWAT officer with him.

"Take it easy Ross, we've all been there," he offered as he patted Adam on the shoulder while he concentrated on listening via the headphone pressed to his ear. "It always seems worse than it really is, because our minds take over and conjure all sorts of images, I'm sure Agent Morgan will be fine."

…..

Stella turned to Mac after she hung up and immediately cut into his latest conversation with the SWAT tech. "Mac, that was Adam, we have a problem."

Mac turned to her and raised his eyebrows, "how bad?"

Stella caught a glimpse of Flack entering the warehouse and entwining her arm in his she drew Mac aside. "They found the bugs, we lost our inside scoop. I think we need to assume too that they have Karla."

"What does Flack say?" Mac asked, not having noticed the detective heading their way. Stella frowned knowing she had about 10 seconds to fill her partner in.

"He doesn't know, Adam said he just stepped out to come and see you," she whispered, tipping her head in Flack's direction as he hurried towards them.

"Hey Guys, how much longer are we going to sit around? You know the longer we sit here the worse it could get in there," he questioned waving his arm around for emphasis.

Mac glanced at Stella. "Alright, round up the team and the SWAT commander, I want a full sitrep and see if Adam got any eyes inside yet." He ignored Flack for a moment, Stella knew he was bracing himself for the fallout. "I want anything you can get, even heat signatures are better than nothing. I want a location of everyone in that warehouse."

"You got it." She nodded, confirming she understood his directions then hurried away leaving him to break the news to the detective.

...

Farland pushed a resisting Karla forcefully into a crate that reached hip height and bent her forwards, allowing him room to kick her legs apart. He wasn't quick enough and she managed a good kick to his shin in the process.

"Dwight, what the hell are you doing? Let me go!" she yelled as he held her in position. Twisting her other arm up behind her back too, forcing her to stay doubled over the crate.

"Shut up, bitch, if I want you opening that pretty mouth of yours it'll be doing something more productive than talking," he snarled.

"You're hurting me, I'm sure whatever you think is wrong can be explained rationally, but whatever's got you pissed has nothing to do with me," she hissed as he leant over her and pressed her against the rough wood.

"Looks like you wanna learn the hard way, I said shut the fuck up!" he yelled in her ear, making her flinch, as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs and slipped one quickly around her right wrist.

"Hey man, careful you're hurting her," one of their cohorts muttered anxiously as Karla struggled against Farland's strong grip.

"Didn't take you for one who's into women's rights Benny," he scoffed, starting to wrap the other cuff around her left wrist.

"No man you got me all wrong, think the bitches need teaching a lesson, but we could make something outta her if we're careful like," Benny answered a little nervously, after all the man stood a good head taller and several muscles bigger than he was.

"What are you suggesting?" Horton asked as Karla tried to struggle again while Farland continued to hold her against the crate, her arms still bent up her back, effectively immobilising her.

"I know what Benny's thinking, we know this guy, he's always on the lookout for new merchandise, but he's very particular about how he receives them, she'll need special handling," Joe answered.

"What kind of special handling?" Farland asked, his attempt to put on the other cuff stalled temporarily as he listened to their cohorts.

"You still hoarding all that gear you told us about, from the vice raid a few months back on that S&M club?" Joe questioned walking towards Farland and Karla.

"Yeah, it's in one of the cages, what are you thinking?" Farland pressed Karla harder against the crate and tightened his grip around her wrists until she groaned.

"Let go of me, you ass, you do anything to me and the city will be looking for you the rest of your lives," she threatened.

Farland leaned over her and put his mouth against her ear. "Watch your mouth, bitch or I'll watch it for ya, I had enough of your high and mighty play by the rules attitude, you're playin' by our rules now." He took a certain sense of pleasure when she tried to wriggle away from him. "Hold still, you ain't going nowhere 'less I say you are."

"She looks a feisty one, Victor will like breaking her." Joe stopped by the crate. "I'll need to send him some pictures, see if he's interested like, let me get a better look at her."

Farland held her wrists in one hand and with his other around her throat he pulled her upright, allowing Joe to snap a few frames on his phone.

"Someone find me some ropes or something to restrain the bitch until we're ready to go." Farland barked, his voice echoing around the warehouse causing Karla to flinch unconsciously.

"You need something that ain't gonna leave any marks, Victor likes to brand them himself," Joe announced as he watched Karla writhe in Farland's grip. The latter wasn't prepared for her stamping on his foot and scraping her heel down his shin, causing him to swear and lose his grip a little.

Karla broke free for an instant, but he managed to push her towards Horton who had just stepped into her path and took great delight in wrapping both his arms around her, pinning hers to her sides as he crushed her against his chest.

"Somebody get those cuffs done up then we'll take her out back and string her up in the cage." He demanded. Benny stepped forward and grabbed her wrists and drew them behind her back and secured the cuffs.

"Bitch drew blood this time," Farland cursed adjusting his pant leg where he had just inspected the injury she had inflicted, then he walked over to Horton and pulled Karla away from him and slapped her face. "You try anything like that again and you'll be dealing with me before Victor ever gets a chance." An enigmatic smile crossed his face as he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down, "on your knees, that way you can't cause any more damage." Horton held the cuffs and put his foot to the back of her knee, causing her to drop down regardless of the resistance she had put up.

...

Stella moved over to the rest of the team, allowing Mac to draw Flack away in the opposite direction to talk to him.

"What's going on?" Danny asked, his eyes on the two detectives across the room.

"Danny, talk to Adam, see if he's got anything we can use to get a look inside the warehouse; Lindsay, talk to the SWAT tech, see if he can help we need a location on everyone inside, especially Karla." She emphasised the last bit, gaining the others attention even more.

"Something happening?" asked Hawkes.

"It seems that the surveillance mikes have been discovered and Karla hasn't checked in."

"So what are you saying that her cover's blown?" snapped Danny.

"I'm saying the bugs have been destroyed, the rest is speculation, but it's a logical step to assume that they have her, whether as a precaution or because they know she planted them we don't know," Stella replied, as she tried to keep calm and think things through rationally.

"How'd Flack take it?" Hawkes questioned as he looked over his shoulder to the two detectives across the room, at the moment huddled quietly.

"We're about to find out," Stella sighed, waiting to hear from clear across the room. "For now focus on getting a sit rep, Hawkes you're with me to speak to the SWAT commander. We need to prepare an assault."

...

Across the room Flack was glaring at a silent Mac. "I'm not gonna like what you're about to tell me am I?" he asked rubbing a hand over his face.

"No," Mac answered simply, he had a pretty good idea of the reaction he would get but he hoped the younger man would control his temper and listen, "but I need you to focus ... Don, surveillance has been compromised, and while we don't have a clear picture on what is happening inside-"

Flack didn't wait for Mac to finish "Karla's in trouble isn't she?" his voice was quiet and strained.

Mac felt for his friend, "it's possible," he admitted. "We still haven't got eyes inside and now with the audio taken out the truth is we have no way of knowing what is happening."

"Are we going in?"

"Soon, Adam's still working on getting us back in via surveillance."

"And we're just gonna sit around and wait while they-" Flack stopped, Mac noted the look of despair in his eyes.

"We're going to do this by the book," Mac stressed, a veiled reference to the gunfight that ensued in the recovery of Connor Dunbrook when Flack ended up alone with Angell's killer.

"Maybe we shouldn't, they're cops Mac, they know the book same as us, they'll be waiting for us and Karla's gonna be stuck in the middle." Flack growled back, as they were joined by Stella and the SWAT commander.

"Detective Taylor, I suggest we move now, they have less time then to work out what's gonna happen, and from what Bonasera told me we have to assume that Agent Morgan is going to be somewhere in the middle of everything, if she's been compromised they'll use her as a shield, if not and she hears us coming in, she'll be there to help." The SWAT commander greeted them.

"I agree Mac, we've gotta do something," Flack snapped. Mac looked around the faces of those standing with him, then around the warehouse where everyone was making their final assault preparations. The sound of guns being checked and loaded and seeing everyone don their Kevlar vests made his mind up. They had intended to take down the truck when it left the warehouse, but the stakes had changed, they had no choice.

"Let's do it." Mac's confirmation was short and calm, a nod from the SWAT leader began a chain of events there would be no returning from.

...

Karla smiled inwardly at Farland's curses, it had probably been a stupid thing to do, after all there were four of them and now she was in an even more vulnerable position than before, but she was determined to tough it out and inflict as much pain as possible whenever she got the chance.

She could feel Horton's hands pressing down on her shoulders, his fingers just brushing her throat as he stood close behind her, keeping her down while the others whispered a few feet in front of her.

Eventually they turned towards her and she sensed Horton's weight shift, "we got a plan?" she heard him ask, the sinister tone in his voice even more creepy considering her current predicament.

"Yeah, Johnny we got one, no sweat," Farland leered, Karla could guess what was coming, but she hoped the surveillance team had gained some knowledge and knew she was in trouble. As she let her mind drift to what could be going on outside she felt a large hand encircle her neck and use it to pull her to her feet, then with her at arm's length he pushed her towards Benny and Joe, who looped their arms through hers as she struggled to avoid them.

Joe glanced at Farland. "Where we going?"

"Dwight, wait, you said she had the place bugged, don't you think we need to check to see if she's wired?" Horton, questioned, stepping in front of Karla and lifting her head up to look at him.

"Yeah we should, don't want the bitch giving away what we got in store for her." He returned, "I know you's been lustin' after her since she got here you want the honours?"

"Don't mind if I do," Horton gloated, his hands cocooning her head while he checked her hair, behind her ears and then let his fingers caress her neck as he started working his way down her body, the guys holding her ran their hands over her arms as Horton pulled the shirt from her waistband and ripped it open, he seemed surprised to find her wearing a t-shirt underneath, but didn't let that deter him. "Looks like you're a little overdressed, but don't worry we'll soon sort that out." Karla struggled again as he reached his hand forward to pat her down, except that it wasn't likely to be done by the rules, Farland was right, Horton lusted after her, she knew that, so this was the start of his dream come true, but that didn't mean she couldn't dream a little either. "Hold her still, I don't want to miss anywhere doing this." He practically drooled as he stepped a little closer, she imagined so that he could get a real close contact with her body. Just one thing though, they were all focused on one thing, they missed the fact that her feet were free and she wasn't about to pass up any opportunity to deal a few blows of her own.

As Benny and Joe tightened their hold around her arms it provided the leverage she needed to push back slightly before bringing her knee up in front of her; for a split second there was silence, then several things happened at once, Horton released the most bone shattering squeal before falling on his ass his hands clutching his groin as he writhed in agony. Joe and Benny shoved Karla towards the box as fast as they could to avoid her flying feet, which had also successfully scraped Horton's leg.

Farland roared at the two, "get a hold of her and for god sake watch her feet!" He crouched down near Johnny Horton, Karla couldn't help but gain some satisfaction from the tears running down the latter's face, maybe he'd think twice about going near her. Unfortunately the opposite was likely to be more true, "I'm gonna restrain this bitch while you check on Johnny junior, don't worry you'll get your revenge," Farland assured his friend before turning to the two holding her, "bring her," he snapped, then headed towards what they referred to as the cages. A more secure area where the evidence was further locked up in secure enclosures within a secondary area of the warehouse. Joe and Benny with Karla firmly in their grasp, dragged her backwards behind, leaving Horton now uttering unintelligible curses as he tried to regain his composure.

...

Adam had spent some time frantically trying to access the warehouse CCTV, but was still having no luck. A couple of SWAT members were now trying to infiltrate the compound to gain access to the roof to get eyes in through the skylights, they were also equipped with infrared cameras to try and pick up heat signatures.

The one bug that remained active in the ware house was pretty ineffectual as it only picked up distant muffled sounds that were too quiet to translate into anything intelligible. It had been nearly thirty minutes since Flack had gone to see Mac and he was somewhat relieved, the detective had been on edge all the time Karla had been in the warehouse but it had gotten far worse since that morning when he discovered the real reason for those officers being assigned to the Evidence warehouse. They were no good screw ups and this was pretty much the end of the line as far as NYPD was concerned.

"Guys are in, we should get some pictures soon," the SWAT officer next to him announced, having heard something via his headphones. Adam adjusted some of the equipment ready to receive the signal and they proceeded to wait in tense silence for several minutes.

Finally the screen in front of him flickered and he got the first glimpse inside the building, everything seemed quiet and in order as the camera panned around, all they could see were rows and rows of shelving filled with boxes of evidence. While the equipment used was capable of picking up sound all they had was an eerie silence. Adam looked at the officer beside him, "I'm not hearing anything."

The officer nodded, acknowledging Adam's concern and spoke rapidly in coded sentences into his hand held communicator. A moment later he looked back at Adam, "everything's working, they think they're too far away from the loading bay so they're going to take the other camera and shift position. They'll leave this one as it gives a pretty good view of the whole area.

"Okay, well I'd better relay all this inside to everyone else." Adam replied a little hesitant and providing information which seemed essentially useless.

...

Karla found it hard to keep upright as they virtually dragged her through the warehouse, as it made it hard for her to keep her feet under her, obviously their temporary solution to keeping her from kicking out. She heard the click of the locks and squeal of the door as Farland opened the caged enclosure, twisting her head around she tried to see where they were going but had little success. She knew if they got her inside it restricted her options more, but with the way they held her captive and her hands cuffed behind her back her choices were already limited. As they waited for Farland to fully open the door she'd been able to get her feet under her and she was about to land a couple of blows to them where she could reach, however they must have realised and she was slammed into the side of the metal cage, the force enough to knock the wind out of her, leaving her slightly dazed.

Farland's hand on the back of her neck helped to hold her in place as he hissed in her ear, "If you want out of this alive I suggest you start playing nice, or you can forget Victor, I'll deal with you myself right here and dump your bleeding body in the ocean as shark bait."

"You're never getting away with this," she grunted as he ran his hands over her shoulders and back then up and down her front as he frisked her, reaching her hips he slipped his hand in her pocket and removed her phone which he dropped on the floor and stamped on, smashing it into tiny pieces.

"That should stop you from calling for help, not that you were gonna be able to use it anyway, got anything else on you? You can either tell me now or I just have to take a look myself,"

Karla twisted her head to try and look at him over her shoulder, "Doesn't matter what I say you'll probably search me anyway so just get it over with," she snapped.

"Alright, you want to play tough, we'll do it your way."

While Farland removed his hand from her neck it was replaced with Benny's, whose other hand still had her elbow in a firm lock. Joe had moved away to answer his phone, but now returned a smile crossing his face. "Victor's interested, wants a meeting to check her out personally, if she's the bitch he thinks she is he's prepared to pay big bucks for her, he didn't want to go into details over the phone, but said to be real careful of her, she's a wolf in sheep's clothing."

As Joe finished speaking Farland had was completing his search at her right ankle, Karla waited for the fall out as she felt the holster ripped away, almost taking her foot with it. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked snidely as he removed the gun. Grasping her shoulder he spun her out of Benny's grasp and pushed her back against the metal wall of the enclosure and with his hand back around her throat he cocked the trigger and held the gun in front of her face. She glared at him, while hoping that someone would come by or call or something to realise she needed help, unaware of the cavalry preparing outside, but still oblivious to her plight.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Why you carrying a backup piece?"

"None of your business," she grunted, barely able to speak with the pressure on her throat.

"Well it ain't done you any good, in fact it just got you a whole world of hurt." He stood up straight and pushed her at Benny who was standing next to them, "get her inside."

Unbalanced from the shove and the pain in her ankle from the discovery of her gun, Karla was easily pushed into the enclosure. Farland glared at Joe, who gave him a serious stare back. "What do you mean a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

Joe nodded to the gun in Farland's hand. "She's no city cop, the attitude, the self defence, the backup piece, my guess is she's undercover FBI."

"And I'm about to send her a message she won't soon forget," rasped Horton as he limped past them and followed Benny and Karla into the cage.

_

* * *

_

AN: I know the team outside seem to be going a little slow, but that is dealt with in the next chapter ...


	25. Rescue?

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual._

**Chapter 25 – Rescue?**

Flack was pacing up and down, his Kevlar vest already in place for the raid on the warehouse across the street. Seeing Mac leave the conversation with the SWAT leader he marched over to him.

"What the hell's taking so long Mac, it's been more than 30 minutes since we lost our ears on the inside, we should be in there stopping these guys," he asserted angrily, waving his arm in the direction of the evidence warehouse. "The longer we sit around here the longer they have to-," he stopped unable to put his thoughts into words, "we need to get Karla out of there."

"Don, I know it's not easy waiting, but the SWAT Commander wants to be sure everything is done right, that we know where she is so she isn't caught in the line of fire if things turn ugly," Mac attempted to console the detective.

"Sir! Um Detective Taylor, we got some infrared signals, looks like there's 4 in the loading bay and one in the vaults," the SWAT tech called over, attracting their attention and causing them to hurry to the table loaded with monitoring equipment where they could see the images being transmitted from the guys on the roof.

"Looks like the one in the vault isn't moving, they could be knocked out or something, definitely all the action is in the loading bay."

"You happy now, looks like things already turned ugly!" Flack challenged, "can we go now?"

The SWAT Commander joined them, "first wave are all set on the perimeter, your team ready Taylor?"

"We're ready," Mac confirmed waving to Stella and Danny that they were moving. Flack didn't wait for anything else, he grabbed a shotgun from the table where he'd placed it a short while before and was out of the door before anyone could stop him. "Danny! Go after him, don't let him do anything stupid," Mac instructed as the technician closed the lid on his computer and headed out towards the surveillance truck to co-ordinate things with Adam.

...

Danny rushed out of the door his eyes peeled on the street and catching Flack running towards the building opposite.

"Don't do this Flack," he muttered, checking his own weapon and running across to catch the detective.

He kept his eyes on the door of the loading bay, knowing that was where their entrance point was supposed to be. In the dark he could just make out Flack pausing against the wall and ran across to join him.

"Don wait up," he gasped, leaning against the wall.

"Don't try and stop me Danny, Karla's in trouble and I need to get in there," Flack whispered harshly.

"You don't know that, all we got is a few hot spots on the radar, maybe she got herself out of there," Danny tried to rationalise.

"Then why is her cell phone going straight to voicemail and-"

"What? You called her?" Danny exclaimed, his face screwed up in confusion, "you know that could put her right in their sights if they heard it."

"Well it didn't, Adam lost the signal 10 minutes ago, her phone's off and none of his fancy gadgets can switch the damn thing on, you tell me if that sounds like she got out?" he responded, checking his weapon again and turning to the door, "she's in there and I'm going to find her."

"Flack, you can't do that, wait for SWAT, we'll find her."

"Yeah?" Flack snapped turning to Danny, "you figure she stands a chance against 4 guys? Horton and Farland are bad enough, we have no idea who they're working with, we have no idea what they're doing in there!" Flack ran a hand over his face, "look, all I know is that I put her in there, I'm responsible if something happens."

"You didn't put her in there Don, it was hers and Mac's plan, she knew the risks, she's a federal agent for God's sake," Danny stopped his rant and stared at Flack for a moment, "what's going on with you and her? You've been different ever since you met her."

Flack glared back then tiredly leaned back against the wall, "honestly Mess, I don't know what's going on, I wasn't looking for anything, but one day she was there and then-" he pushed himself away from the wall suddenly, "nah, we're not doing this now, we're wasting time, Karla needs help in there and you're busting my ass about God knows what!"

He turned to the door about to open it when a couple of SWAT team arrived. "Flack, Hawkes and Lindsay will find her, that's their job, we're going after the rest, we do this together, ...right?" Danny insisted, glaring at his friend.

"Fine," he snapped and nodded to the SWAT team letting them know he was ready.

Danny rested a hand on Flack's shoulder, "I'm right with you," he muttered as one of the team raised a battering ram ready to strike the door.

...

Karla let her eyes wander around her, at least as far as she could. Her ankle still throbbed from where Farland had wrenched her gun away from it earlier, but equally it probably had something to do with the way the strap was wound around it and secured to the frame of one of the shelving units in front of her. She tried to rotate her feet to relieve some of the muscle strain, but it only served to point out that she wasn't going anywhere unless someone released her. Her hands and arms were tied behind her around another metal frame, a leather strap had been secured around her arms and waist and another was tightly wound around her neck and held her upright against the frame.

They had left her to think about their plans without being too specific about what they were, but whatever they were hinting at didn't sound good. She had put up a pretty good fight so far and she was determined she wasn't going to go along easily with whatever they had planned. Unable to move she was forced to wait, her fingers were getting cramped after trying to undo the restraints around her wrists, but she either couldn't reach them or couldn't manipulate her fingers to undo them. She just hoped that someone was listening to those bugs she had planted earlier and came to her rescue soon.

...

Lindsay and Hawkes took their final instructions from the SWAT team with them as they completed the task of donning harnesses as they stood on the roof over the vault area, a member of the team cutting through the bars on the skylight to aid their entry.

"Okay, we've got it," Lindsay confirmed following the instructions. Hawkes nodded his understanding, "where are you putting us in?" she asked as the team leader took an end of rope and tied it off around some sturdy pipe work nearby.

"You're going in with 2 of my guys, you find and extract the girl then the rest of us follow to back up the main assault party, once you are all safe."

Lindsay and Hawkes shared a glance, "let's go," she snapped, checking her gun was loaded and ready as Hawkes did the same.

"Okay, we just need to wait for the green light," the SWAT officer replied.

"Look we can see where everyone is, we know Agent Morgan's cover has been blown and that she's in trouble, so why don't we go in now while everyone is occupied in the loading bay," Lindsay hissed angrily.

The team leader shook his head, "I know you want to effect a rescue, but we have to do this right, we wait for the signal, we move when we're told and not a moment before," he replied firmly, his eyes darting to the computer image that played in front of them on a small handheld screen.

...

Farland watched as another crate was loaded into the truck. "About another 30 minutes and we'll be ready to roll out of here and take your prize to Victor," Joe smirked as he drove the forklift at another crate nearby.

"You really think Victor wants her that bad?"

"Oh yeah, he was very specific," Joe responded to Farland's question.

"What does he want with her?"

"Hey, I have no idea and you don't ask those questions if you get my drift," Joe answered. "My guess is he'll have some rich client ready to whisk her off to their private domain, then who knows what'll happen. Of course there is the odd one or two he likes to keep for himself."

"And keeping her trussed up like a Christmas Turkey isn't going to hurt her?"

"Trust me, it's better than her injuring herself trying to escape, at least this way we know she'll still be there when we're ready."

"I guess, it just seems a bit extreme,"

"I know, takes a bit of getting used to, but Victor's right, gives them time to reflect on their misdemeanours and the future punishment, coz they can't do anything else."

While Joe and Farland had exchanged words, Benny and Horton had been running another sweep of the warehouse for bugs. Horton reached under the shelving at the front and ripped out the tiny device secreted there. Taking great pains to squash it to smithereens under the heel of his boot.

"Think anyone's tapped into the CCTV yet?" Benny asked, looking up at a camera above his head.

"Not possible, gets turned off and a tape substituted, everyone's watching a normal night, also the thing is hack proof, configured by the best, so it'll take days for anyone to crack the firewall. Now I'm gonna set a distraction in the offices, you'd better finish loading so we can get out of here." Horton instructed heading for the stairs to the gallery. Benny looked around then headed for the mensroom.

...

Adam and the SWAT Tech were watching the monitors as the truck moved inside the perimeter of the evidence warehouse.

They watched as the four blips moved around the loading dock area for several minutes before splitting up, eventually leaving two in the loading bay and two more splitting near the front of the building.

"Oh no this isn't good," Adam muttered nervously tapping his pen on the counter as he watched the final bug signal disappear.

"Don't worry we still got thermal imaging, the teams know where everyone is," the tech at his elbow assured him as the van stopped. "Well at least we did," he commented as the image disappeared to be replaced by a screen of snow.

"Can we get it back?." Adam moaned as he tapped furiously at the keyboard in front of him trying to activate any surveillance device.

"It's out of our hands now buddy, it's all up to our pals out there unless you can hack the CCTV, which I'm told could take days and even then there's sniffers and stuff on the system and the failsafe could kick in," the tech answered factually between informing the SWAT commander

"What about the emergency codes? Someone must have them?" Adam asked.

"You're boss already talked about that with mine, Chief of police has them under lock and key in the vault in his office and no one's getting them until he gets back from vacation."

"And he's the only one?" Adam glared at the tech as if he had grown another head.

"So I'm told," the tech responded as he listened to chatter in his earpiece.

Adam huffed, "then we're screwed."

...

The SWAT commander edged up to Mac, "my guys are all set, we're going to make a simultaneous assault, thirty seconds after we drop the first team into extract Agent Morgan. They've switched on counter surveillance so we have no eyes or ears on the inside anymore, but their last positions tell us Agent Morgan is likely to be alone in the vault area, everyone else is in the main warehouse."

"Then we should move now before things change," Mac acknowledged.

"My thoughts too," he nodded then pressed the button on his communicator, "Alright everyone listen up, prepare to move on my mark, team one, go now, we want this clean, no shooting unless absolutely essential."

Mac glanced at Stella and tried to silently reassure her as they checked their weapons and waited for their cue to move.

...

Karla could hear something up in the rafters, but was unable to move her head to see anything, after a moment it seemed to stop and she could hear the odd footstep approaching. She closed her eyes to help her concentrate, trying to make out who it was that was nearby.

The two SWAT officers edged quietly towards the vault, Hawkes and Lindsay on their heels, weapons raised as they all kept alert to the possibility of discovery. Reaching the door to the vault the SWAT team stopped and drew out a pair of bolt cutters and snapped the padlock locking the gate. It opened with a squeak, Lindsay saw Karla inside and stopped, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle the gasp which she couldn't prevent escaping. Hawkes rested a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Is someone there?" Karla called out opening her eyes and trying to turn her head.

The SWAT team moved forward checking the area as Lindsay and Hawkes hurried towards their target.

"Karla, it's Hawkes and Lindsay, we're gonna get you out of here," Hawkes assured her as he dropped to his knees at her side. Lindsay stopping short and looking around.

"Careful, they're planning on taking me with them," Karla gasped as Hawkes began undoing the straps around her neck.

"Don't worry the others will deal with them," Lindsay answered taking the bolt cutters from one of the SWAT team and moving to cut the padlocks securing the restraints at her wrists and elbows. "We're gonna have you out of here in a minute, just hang tight."

"Just hurry, we need to stop them," Karla hissed as Hawkes gently touched the marks on her neck.

"First we're getting you out of here, Mac and the SWAT team have everything covered, they're not getting away. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "nothing serious, just a few bruises." The snap of the cutters against the metal padlocks echoed in the quiet room, then Hawkes hurriedly removed the restraints allowing Karla to bring her hands in front of herself and rub her wrists to return some feeling to them.

Within a few more seconds her feet were also released and she started to push herself up as Hawkes leant a hand, "take your time," he advised as she stumbled a little.

"I'm fine, have you got a back up weapon?" she asked straightening herself up and pulling off the torn uniform shirt, leaving her in a t-shirt.

"Not necessary ma'm, we're taking you out," one of the SWAT officers announced at her shoulder. Hawkes noticed Karla jump at his voice and proximity.

"No one is taking me anywhere, I'm here to take down these guys and that is exactly what I'm gonna do."

"Karla, you've been roughed up and tied up let's get you to a medic," Hawkes advised.

She shook her head, "Hawkes you're a doctor you can clear me now, I've got a few bruises, nothing that I haven't had before or that's gonna kill me, this is my case, I'm staying," she snapped. Hawkes and Lindsay shared a glance. Lindsay reached to her ankle and extracted her back up piece and handed it to Karla, who quickly checked the magazine in a well practiced manoeuvre.

"Alright, you stay together, and take my vest," Hawkes warned ripping at the Velcro straps and removing his vest before handing it to Karla who lost no time in strapping it on.

"What about you?"

"My instructions are to be on hand outside in case my medical skills are needed," he advised glancing between the two women, "be careful, don't take any risks or Flack will have our heads."

Karla nodded, "thank you," she whispered as the SWAT team edged towards the door and looked back at them. "I'm ready," she confirmed as she moved forward stiffly, clearly still suffering from being restrained for a while.

"Karla are you sure about this? These guys are surrounded, they are not getting away, you don't have to do this," Lindsay advised, concern in her voice.

"Trust me, I can do this, I know how they're thinking, they're mine," she almost growled moving towards the door.

Outside the vault everyone waited while Hawkes retreated to the team's ingress point and was safely winched out.

...

Flack's eyes remained fixed on the door as he heard the order given for the team on the roof to begin their move, the next 30 seconds were agony as he tried to imagine what was going on inside and fought the urge to break protocol and push forward before their call. Danny's hand remained firmly on his shoulder, letting him know he wasn't alone. He shifted his weapon ready to move and finally the team leader with them showed his hand and counted down the last 5 seconds to their assault which began with the ram to the door alongside the large roller shutter.

En mass the team moved forward, eyes alert for movement ahead or around them. As the team spread out and took cover behind some crates, Danny and Flack moved to the truck and Danny opened the door and Flack held his weapon angled towards the interior. They both breathed when they realised no-one was inside. Sounds of weapon being fired off to their right caught their attention and they headed towards it, using the stray crates and shelving for cover.

Danny caught a glimpse of something moving at the edge of his line of sight and tapped Flack's shoulder and pointed where he had noticed the movement. Flack nodded in acknowledgement and they side stepped their way around some more boxes which seemed to have been pushed over in a hurry, a forklift nearby with an engine running drew their attention. Creeping closer, Flack reached over and turned it off before pulling the keys from the ignition and pocketing them, all the time his eyes taking in the scene around him. Slowly they edged forward until they noticed someone cowering behind a crate, and two of the SWAT team approaching them head on. Before Danny could react Flack had charged the 20 feet or so between them and barrelled into the man, sending them and their weapons sprawling across the floor.

He roughly pulled the man's hands behind him and cuffed him as Danny and the SWAT officers joined them holding their weapons ready in the event of a struggle. There wasn't. Flack yanked him to his feet and pushed him against the box. "Name?" He demanded, yelling in the guy's ear.

"Benny," he gasped in return, "you're hurting me, let me go," he begged.

"Nah, I want something from you first, ... where's Karla Morgan?" he snapped, "what have you done with her?"

"Bitch is getting what she deserves, Johnny won't let her out without a little something to remember," he answered snidely.

Danny pulled on Flack's arm stopping him from beating up the guy, "get him out of here," he directed to SWAT as his partner reluctantly let go. As they all marched away Danny studied Flack, "Hawkes and Lindsay will get her out, these scumbags won't be able to do anything, you gotta stay cool."

Flack nodded and moved to retrieve his weapon as Danny picked up the one Benny had been holding, he emptied the clip and stuffed the gun in the waistband of his pants before they moved forward again, looking for more of the criminals.

...

Mac and Stella stayed together as their team edged forward at the front of the building, everything was eerily quiet and without any type of surveillance they only had their eyes and ears to guide their way. The SWAT commander appeared at Mac's shoulder as they crept on.

"Mac, think you and Bonasera can check the offices up there and see what you can do to get us some eyes?" He whispered looking up to the office area above them.

Mac glanced at Stella who nodded. "Anything to help," she edged closer to Mac to whisper in order to keep their infiltration quiet, the noisier entry having been made from the rear of the building. They had already heard gunfire, but that had quickly stopped, the indication being that everything was under control, as the number of SWAT team vastly outweighed the number of criminals present.

Carefully they made their way towards the stairs and moved towards the offices.

...

Lindsay and Karla with their SWAT escort stopped at the entrance to the main warehouse and looked around, Karla pointed to her right, "loading bay," she whispered, "if you're right and the other teams have front and back we should take the middle," she gestured towards the rows of shelving in front of them. The team leader with them nodded his agreement and silently signalled to the team with them what they were going to do.

Their team of six split into pairs and each took an aisle, moving cautiously forward, always looking and listening.

...

Flack wasn't sure how it had happened, but when he turned around to check behind him, Danny was nowhere to be seen. He figured that somehow they had opted for different pathways around the shelving in their way. The SWAT team were equally invisible and he felt just a little edgy as he crept around the end of the shelves.

"Detective Flack, nice of you to join us," a voice snarled behind him and he heard the distinct click of a gun being cocked for firing.

* * *

_I know, I'm really mean, but the good news is the next chapter is already written, so there won't be such a long delay until I post. _


	26. Checked Out

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual, hope the changes read better._

**Chapter 26 – Checked Out**

Dodging crates, Danny edged around the shelving his eyes peeled for the partner he'd lost a few minutes earlier while he held his weapon firmly in his grasp ready to respond to any threat. He had no idea which way Flack had gone after passing the crates so he pressed forwards hoping for some clue to lead him in the right direction. In the corner of his eye, between the boxes on the shelves, he could see the SWAT officers moving down the aisle next to him, alert for any sign of their targets.

The warehouse was eerily quiet; no voices, no footsteps, no sounds of anything and as far as he was aware there were still three felons out there to capture. He wondered if Mac and Stella were faring any better, but the thing that concerned him most was what had happened to Flack and how they had managed to get separated.

...

Mac and Stella had so far fared little better: they had searched several rooms in the office area and found nothing, the SWAT officers with them were poised at the door to the locker room.

"I can hear something," one of them announced and receiving a nod from Mac they pushed open the door and stepped inside. With the officers moving in one direction Mac and Stella turned the other way.

As they rounded the line of lockers a clanking sound echoed around the room and they were faced with a locker door closing. Glancing at each other they quietly stepped forward and braced themselves either side then Stella seized the door and yanked it open while Mac trained his gun on the individual trying to squeeze himself inside.

With a small curl of his lips he looked at the man inside: he stood sideways, his arms crushed between his chest and the locker wall; a gun grasped in his hand, pointing towards the ceiling. Mac's eyes drifted downwards to the guy's feet, which seemed to fill the tiny space and gave a partial clue to his height; the other giveaway feature was the back of his head pressing against the top. He had pretty successfully wedged himself in the small space and it was fairly clear he was not going to get out unaided and however serious the situation, this ridiculous hiding spot gave a brief moment of humour.

Mac reached forward and prised the gun from his hand as Stella kept her gun trained on him, just in case they had read the situation wrong and he wasn't really trapped. "I'm guessing you don't belong here, and it looks like you might need a little help getting out of there," Mac commented as the man tried to squirm.

"I bet he was hoping he could hide himself in here until we'd gone and then make his escape," Stella grinned, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.

"I can't breathe, get me out of here," he gasped, turning a little blue.

"Should have thought about that before you tried to hide in there," Mac answered dryly.

"How about you help us first, where's Karla Morgan?" asked Stella.

"How about you get me out of here first." He tried to extract his arm from where it was wedged against his chest.

"Karla Morgan?" Repeated Mac .

"Ask Horton." His wheezing was getting worse, in another minute or two he'd pass out without being extracted.

"Looks to me like you need to get out-" Stella began as their SWAT escort joined them, "perhaps you should have thought about that before trying to hide in there."

"Detective Taylor, we just got word Karla Morgan's safe and unhurt, she's with Detective Monroe downstairs."

"Well it looks like it's your lucky day." Taking Joe's elbow, Mac hauled him out of the locker and into the hands of Stella and the SWAT team to be cuffed and led away.

The SWAT team took no time in removing him from the room and escorting him out of the building. Mac and Stella then proceeded along the row of remaining offices and were now searching the Sergeant's office and trying to locate and access the CCTV footage to support their evidence in the case.

"There's nothing here Mac," Stella groaned dropping a heap of papers back on the desk. "There's got to be something we're missing."

Mac nodded as a SWAT officer entered the room. "Detective Taylor we may have something." They exchanged glances and followed him to another room, barely bigger than a closet and certainly not big enough to fit the three of them in, so the SWAT officer stood by the door allowing Mac and Stella to squeeze inside and inspect the various controls and gadgets inside.

"We've got everyone I want Adam in here going over this with a fine tooth comb," Mac instructed.

"You got it," agreed Stella, her eyes wandering over the array of equipment.

...

Flack froze, when he heard the click in his ear and felt the barrel of the gun pressed to the nape of his neck.

"Drop the weapon then on your knees, detective, I'm not giving you the opportunity to do to me what that federal bitch did," he snarled, Flack felt the gun pressed harder against his neck as he raised his hands, for the moment still holding his shotgun in one, while wondering what Karla had done to the guy behind him. He couldn't be sure who the perp was, but he was certain it wasn't Farland, the voice was different.

As he fought to suppress the sickening feeling rising in his stomach and control his breathing, he tried to focus on remaining calm, anything else would be disastrous, not that this wasn't, but he hoped that somehow there would be a way out of his current predicament. He knew Danny couldn't be far away, and he hoped that voices might attract him if he could get the guy to keep talking.

"Toss the weapon, in front of you, far as you can," the voice demanded while jabbing the gun at his neck again. "Either you do it or I just save the effort and blow your head off right here."

Flack winced; he didn't want to give up the weapon, but keeping his head, in more ways than one was the key right now, so he slowly released his grip on the gun, ready to throw it away, only it was violently snatched away instead and tossed somewhere behind him. Taking a breath he asked in the firmest tone he could muster, "where's Karla?"

"None of your damn business, now on your knees!" the voice hissed in Flack's ear, again prodding him with the gun. For a moment an image of Natalie Lederman flashed into Flack's mind and the muzzle print on her forehead, he wondered if he would end up in a similar state. He wondered where everyone else was and if there was a chance they could take the guy out before he put a bullet in his brain.

"Alright, but get this, the place is crawling with SWAT, you're not going anywhere except jail," the detective uttered. With no sound around and no indication he was about to be saved he determined that somehow he needed to get himself out of this situation and gain an upper hand. He couldn't reach his back up weapon, and even if he dropped to his knees there was less chance, he closed his eyes, time seemed to slow down as he took a breath and began to lower himself, it was enough to relieve the pressure of the gun barrel against his neck; he had to take a chance. Another breath to steady himself and dropping another inch or two he swung his elbow back at the guy behind him, knocking him off balance and forcing the gun away from his head.

Gaining a glimpse at the guy Flack immediately recognised Horton and as he pivoted around he was able to block the attempt to raise the gun, successfully sending it skittering under a set of shelves, now time sped up again and with the immediate danger to his life over he hoped he at least stood an even chance against the guy. Unfortunately Horton didn't go down as easy as he had lost his gun; Flack grunted as the other man's seemingly iron fist collided with his jaw. He shook his head to clear the stars which were circling and staggered backwards slightly, his hand reaching for his face; thankfully there was no blood. Horton stepped forward, pulling his night stick from his belt and swung it at Flack, catching him across his wrist as he pushed his arm out to protect his face. Horton grinned as Flack cursed with the pain that ran though him.

Cradling the injured arm against his body Flack raised his other hand to protect himself from the blow that was about to follow, but this time he successfully caught the stick and despite the stinging pain shooting through his hand he gripped it tightly, stopping Horton, at least temporarily from raining down more blows. He tried to push him back, but right now he was in the weaker position and Horton looked the more capable of winning the fight and he knew it.

"Thought you detectives were good, think you can waltz in here and rescue that undercover bitch and not get a little resistance. That's lame, well just so you know I like it when they try and fight back, don't get 'em far, she sure tried, but you know that's what makes it all the better when I take 'em and boy was she-" Horton didn't get to finish, Flack yanked the night stick away from him and jabbed it in his stomach, winding the guy.

"You better not have laid a finger on her or you'll-" Flack spat angrily.

Horton looked up and smirked. "I'll what detective? Be sorry? Be dead? You know the little bitch, wonder if she's the same between the sheets as the little firecracker I just saw."

Flack felt the rage build inside him, but was confronted with the dead face of Angell's killer and he froze, he felt sick, he wanted nothing more than to pulverize the guy for what he was saying about Karla, but he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he gasped, trying to draw in air. He'd been wracked with guilt over shooting that lowlife who'd taken Jess away from him and as much as he wanted to pound the guy in front of him into oblivion for what he said, he'd promised Mac that he would never cross the line again, he couldn't do it. He bent over, nearly hyperventilating; he needed to control himself, regain control of the situation before Horton took him out. God where was Danny? Anyone who could take the decision away from him?

"What's up detective too much desk work, not as fit as you used to be?" Horton sneered, snatching the stick back as he noted Flack's laboured breathing.

"No, more likely being cautious, it pays to know who you're up against," Flack heard the voice over Horton's shoulder, but the stars now clouding his vision were from lack of oxygen. "Flack you alright man?"

"Yeah," he answered slowly as he started to straighten up, forcing himself to breathe normally, thankful that Danny had appeared. Taking his eyes off Horton for a split second to catch Danny's eye would be a move he would later regret as Horton once again swung the nightstick only this time it met the side of his head and as he crumpled to the floor, a gunshot rang out.

...

Lindsay and Karla were nearing a break in the shelving and approached it cautiously when the echo of a gunshot made them both jump. Glancing at each other, they turned their attention back to their task and edged forward as a large black figure backed around the corner in front of them, he was too busy focusing on the area in front he hadn't noticed them behind him. Lindsay watched as Karla leapt forward and landed a swift kick to the back of his right knee causing him to fall forwards, landing on his hands and knees with a groan, she placed her gun to the back of his head as Lindsay hurriedly moved forwards and grabbed his gun.

"Down!" Karla demanded, prodding him with the gun for extra emphasis.

Farland twisted around to look at Karla, "You bitch! How d'you get free?" he spat.

"I said down!" Karla kicked his arm away from him causing him to land on his face, then she sat on his back and with the cuffs Lindsay tossed her she secured his hands behind his back. "You're under arrest for the assault and attempted abduction of a law enforcement officer and other charges you'll hear later," she hissed as she stood up.

"Nice move, how did you know he'd go down that easy?" Lindsay asked as a couple of SWAT officers approached them their weapons still out and now trained on Farland.

"Inside information," Karla answered with a small grin, "I got a few shots of my own in earlier." Turning to the two SWAT officers she said, "get him out of here, any news on the others?"

"He makes three that I know of, the other cop's still out there someplace." The officer replied.

"Horton," Karla muttered. "The gunshot?" she asked as the officer pressed his earpiece to his ear obviously taking a message. She glanced around, Lindsay also was still on alert as the second officer kept his gun trained on Farland who remained prone on the floor.

"Not one of ours, Detective Messer just shot our other perp."

Karla leant heavily against the shelf and Lindsay rushed to her side. "It's over, let's get you out of here."

Karla let Lindsay lead her towards the exit. As they were about to step outside Hawkes rushed in.

"Is everything okay?" A worried look crossed Lindsay's face.

"Danny put a bullet in Horton's shoulder, Flack's down, don't know how bad yet. That's where I'm heading." He answered and ran off into the warehouse, EMS following. Karla turned to go too but a pair of hands stopped her.

"Miss, they've got it under control, you need to get checked out too," an EMS technician urged guiding her towards a waiting ambulance.

"But-"

"I'll check it out, soon as you're looked at you can come and find us," Lindsay reassured her before turning and heading back into the warehouse.

...

Mac and Stella acknowledged the information from the SWAT officer and left the little closet room heading for the exit. The SWAT commander stood just inside the door issuing instructions to the officers charged with escorting the criminals back to the police station for interrogation and booking.

Once complete he turned to Mac and Stella. "Taylor, good result, one of them is being taken to the ER for stitching up then he'll be returned to your custody for interrogation. Detective Flack took a blow to the head, he's being checked out now, Agent Morgan has a few cuts and bruises but she's fine. I'm having one of my teams remain here to secure the premises until Sinclair gets a team over here and your team release the crime scene."

"Appreciated," Mac acknowledged. "Any news on the truck with Vincent in?" Until now he had been furthest from their thoughts as they focused on the events inside the evidence warehouse.

"One of my teams took him down near the Lincoln Tunnel same time as we bust this end open. He'll be joining the others in interrogation. I assume you'll want your detectives to handle it."

"Thank you, we will." Mac shared a relieved look with Stella. "Why don't you go and check on Flack while I brief Adam and-" he was interrupted by voices outside.

"That's Karla, Mac," Stella said a little nervously. "Who's she yelling at?"

"Let's find out." He headed for the door Stella at his heels.

Outside they could see Karla with a blanket around her shoulders standing over the gurney with the injured Horton on. Stella felt sorry for the poor EMS tech trying to draw her away.

"You and him got a thing going?" snarled Horton, propped up on the stretcher with a heavy bandage around his shoulder and an IV in his arm, his other wrist cuffed to the frame. "He was pretty pissed when I alluded to what was in store for you."

Karla ignored the comment and just snapped back, "you're just lucky that I wasn't there when you cornered him, because unlike Detective Messer I shoot to kill."

Stella stepped in and pulled Karla away. "Don't do this, Don's going to be fine, he's been through worse. ... Karla we've got them all, they're not getting away with anything, SWAT even picked up Vincent."

Karla looked anxiously at Stella. "Where is Don?"

"Still inside with Hawkes."

Karla nodded. "I want in on their interrogations," she stated, watching the ambulance with Horton inside, pull away.

"We'll deal with that later, first you should go to the ER and get a full work-up," Mac suggested gently, joining them.

"Mac, I'm fine, they never had the chance to ... do anything. They threatened, but apart from tying me up and heavy handling-"

"Karla we still need to process you, gain all the evidence we can to add your attempted abduction to their charges," Stella stated.

"Fine, but can someone at the lab do it, do I have to go to hospital?" Karla implored looking between Mac and Stella.

"As long as EMS clear you medically, Stella can do it." Mac looked at Stella to gain her agreement.

...

Watching Flack crumple in front of him Danny had instantly released the trigger on his gun, taking out Horton with a shoulder shot, SWAT were there to take over as he stepped back, for a moment unable to process what was happening as images of Lindsay shooting Shane Casey ricocheted in his mind. He felt one of the SWAT team relieve him of his weapon, standard practice when an officer shot someone, he could hear a cacophony of noise echo around the room and shouting was replacing the previously guarded silence. An indication that either everything was all over or had gone to pot, he didn't know which. Shaking his head to clear his mind he heard Hawkes voice talking to the SWAT guys with Flack and he tried to focus.

He missed it as the medics triaged Horton and wheeled him out with a SWAT escort and phased out completely until he felt an arm wrap around him and the waft of strawberry shampoo invade his senses and he looked down to see his beautiful wife looking up at him. "You okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm good, sorry I couldn't stop this before Horton got in a swing at Flack with his night stick." He answered as they separated and turned their attention towards the small crowd a few feet away. The EMS team were taking Hawkes orders, Flack, who was now, at least partially conscious was sitting propped against a crate while Hawkes shone a light in his eyes.

Batting the light away he mumbled, "Karla?"

"She's fine man, saw her myself not five minutes ago, they didn't hurt her." Hawkes tried again to check his eyes only to have his hand batted away again. "Don, I gotta check you out, you were knocked out cold."

Gradually becoming more alert he finally nodded and let Hawkes give him a cursory exam. "We get everyone?"

"All four, they're on their way in for questioning." Danny spoke, after clearing his throat first. Flack looked up to him quizzically, "they even took down Vincent before he left our jurisdiction."

"Good." Flack glanced around, "Karla's really okay?"

"She's fine, even took one of them down solo, and from what she said she even landed a few blows of her own on them when they took her down earlier," Lindsay announced.

"She did?" Flack slurred slightly, Hawkes eyed Lindsay and Danny cautiously then looked at the EMS tech.

"Bring another gurney, you can take him in for a CT scan." The tech nodded at Hawkes and ran out.

Flack started to push himself off the floor, Hawkes rested a hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy, they're gonna take you to the hospital, make sure you don't have a concussion."

"I'm fine doc, don't need a hospital," he hissed and raised a hand to his jaw and touched it gingerly. "Horton's got some right hook."

"Don, it's a precaution, you were out for a couple of minutes, you have to get checked out," Hawkes cajoled.

"All you doctor's are the same, just want us on our backs in some hospital bed, I got better things to do-" He trailed off. "You're sure Karla's alright?"

"I'm sure, checked her over myself, she's a tough cookie," Hawkes tried to reassure him.

The EMS tech returned with the gurney and Hawkes and the tech helped Flack onto it, and raised the back rest so he was half sitting up.

Danny heard footsteps approach and turned around and saw Stella and Karla walking towards them.

"Hey, how is he?" asked Stella nodding towards Flack, who once again seemed to be arguing with Hawkes.

"Stubborn, trying to refuse the trip to the ER. Hawkes says it's precautionary, to check for a concussion," Danny answered.

"Hey, I'm right here and I hear you talking about me, that should tell you I don't need a hospital." Flack's voice interrupted them, Stella shrugged as she glanced at Danny and Karla.

"Maybe I'll have better luck." Karla suggested quietly, Stella nodded and she wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself and stepped forward.

Stella watched for a moment then tipped her head towards the exit. "Let's give them a minute, we'll wait outside."

Lindsay nodded her agreement and they began walking away. "How's she doing?"

"A bit shaken up, but she'll be alright," Stella answered.

Hawkes and the EMS techs stepped back as Karla approached. She reached a hand out and rested it on Flack's as his lay at his side. "Hey, I hear you're giving the doc a hard time," she chided gently causing him to turn his head to look at her.

"Wouldn't be me if I wasn't," he retorted with a brief smile, before wincing at the pain in his jaw.

"That looks sore." She nodded towards the bruise forming on his face and the gash on the side of his head. "You should get them checked out."

"You ganging up on me now too?" he asked, curling his fingers around hers. "Karla, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I've got a few bruises but nothing serious, I'm going back to the lab with Lindsay."

"Good, don't want you alone," he whispered, looking at her carefully.

"Hey, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, you should ask Horton sometime," she grinned.

"I think he alluded to something ... Karla-" Flack squeezed her hand tighter as he stopped abruptly and rested his head back, closing his eyes. Karla rested her other hand on his shoulder letting the blanket fall away from her shoulders.

"Don, listen, nothing happened, they were all talk, I promise." She waited for him to open his eyes and look at her again, "they didn't hurt me ... now you need to get that wound looked at and I need to go make a statement, we can catch up later."

Hawkes took her little speech as the cue for him to step back in and he retrieved the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders again without a word and they silently headed for the exit. Karla remained alongside the stretcher holding Flack's hand until they reached the ambulance.

* * *

_Ecda – sorry can't send a personal review, but thank you for taking the time, hope this doesn't count as messing Flack up too much._

_Next chapter is almost ready folks so if you want a quick update you know what to do ..._


	27. Clean Up

**_ Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun._

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter as usual, hope the changes read better._

_ Hope you all had a pleasant holiday and I wish everyone a belated Happy New Year, I hope you like this update._

**Chapter 27 – Clean Up**

Lindsay was meticulous about documenting Karla's injuries and taking swabs and samples from her and her clothes before she was allowed to shower and change. Stepping outside the locker room once she had finished, she handed a box of evidence bags to Mac in silence.

"I'd like Karla to give you her statement then you can go home, we'll let everyone stew for a few hours while we get some rest, they're not going anywhere and Karla may be able to give us more we can use against them."

"I understand," she answered wearily. "Has Danny gone?"

"He's in your office, said he'd wait for you."

"Thanks Mac." She started to walk away.

"Lindsay, you've done a good job, this wasn't an easy case. Were we able to get much from Karla?" he asked tipping his head towards the box of evidence in his hands.

"She's good Mac, knows what to do, she knows she scratched at least one of them, Farland's blood may be on her boots from where she scraped it down his shin, as for the rest, someone needs to test all the swabs for confirmation."

"Sounds like we need to get on all this right away," Mac acknowledged and walked away. Lindsay proceeded to the office she shared with Danny.

"Hey babe, you look beat," he greeted as she walked in.

"Yeah, it's been pretty intense tonight. Karla's pretty brave, I don't think I could have kept going into that warehouse for a week let alone a month."

"Yeah, but don't forget she's done undercover before and for longer, you did what 15 minutes with no warning, tell you though, I'm so glad you don't work undercover, I'd never have kept my cool."

"You referring to the Hollies case again?" she asked, a smile crossing her lips.

"What if I am?" Danny yawned as he stretched his muscles.

"You're never gonna let me forget it are you?" she teased.

Danny grinned. "Why should I? It's the first time I got to hold you, I'd kinda hoped it would be under other circumstances but back then I'd take what I could get from the country girl from Montana," he sighed, crossing the room and wrapping his arms around her. "You staying for Karla's statement?" he asked before kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, Mac wants Stella and I to do it, he thinks she'll be more comfortable with us rather than some of the guys from Flack's squad. ... How is he by the way?"

"Haven't heard yet, Hawkes is with him and will let us know as soon as they have the CT results." Lindsay had rested her head on his chest and sighed deeply allowing herself a few moments to bask in the arms of her husband.

...

Stella approached the tiny closet-like room where Adam had been located since the warehouse was raided. She had finished supervising the collection of evidence and it was ready to leave, fortunately the truck with the items being removed was going back to the lab for full processing, so she only needed to clear the loading bay and vault where Karla was held which had made it a pretty quick task.

"Hey, how are you doing?" she greeted Adam, stopping outside the door.

"I got nothing, looks like everything was looped from right after Vincent left in the truck. There's nothing happening in the loading bay according to CCTV, so even if I had of hacked the system we still wouldn't have seen anything." Adam's brow furrowed as he scanned more images on the tiny TV screen in front of him, not turning round even to answer her.

"Bring the drive back to the lab for a better look, but I think we've got all we need to take these guys down and with Karla's testimony should be enough to lock them up for a long time."

"I'm gonna check a couple more things and I'll be with you," he answered, "any word on Flack?"

"Not yet, but Hawkes is there too and with the way he was arguing when he left here I think he'll be fine, they'll probably keep him the rest of the night for observation," Stella commented checking her watch and noticing it was now nearly 2am; they had been cleaning up since around 11 after the raid.

"Detective Bonasera?" a male voice asked from behind her and she turned to greet the uniformed sergeant.

"Yes, Sergeant Fisher?" She continued when a look of confusion crossed his face, "we were told to expect you, I understand you have a team to take over here?"

"They're just gathering downstairs. Do you have a few minutes to go over some details?" He responded.

"Adam, I'll be back soon," she told the lab tech and walked away with the sergeant towards the office.

...

Karla pushed open the door to Flack's room and slipped inside. All was quiet and he seemed to be sleeping, just as Hawkes had told her not five minutes earlier as they talked in the hallway. The good doctor was going home to get some sleep, now that his charge had been convinced to stay a few more hours and was actually resting. Karla tip-toed across the room so that her heels didn't clack on the tiled floor. She dropped her bag next to the couch under the window and sat down then ran her fingers through her hair and pushed it out of her eyes. For a moment she watched the sleeping figure in the bed then she curled up on the couch and closed her eyes.

She knew he had taken some convincing to stay in the hospital, but she understood that tough image; they all projected it when they were injured and usually had to be so out of it that they didn't know where they were before they conceded to a trip to the ER. She was confused herself; one minute she was in a cab on her way home to the dingy makeshift apartment, the next she was talking to Hawkes, the bit in the middle a blur of mixed emotions. She had no reason to be here, but this is where she felt she should be. There was no question she found the detective devastatingly handsome and with those eyes he only had to look at her for her to agree to practically anything he asked, but realistically she knew there were still things he needed to do first, it was only a year since he had lost Jess and from their conversations it was clear he still hadn't fully let go.

She heard a movement and opened her eyes. Flack was still sleeping, he'd merely moved in his sleep. She closed her eyes again and rested her head on the arm of the couch.

...

Mac was still in his office when Stella and Adam arrived with the additional evidence to process. He watched them walk through the lab to deposit the additional evidence they had returned with. For a few minutes he turned his attention back to the papers on his desk until footsteps outside his office made him look up again. Glancing at his watch he noted it was nearer 30 minutes since they he had seen her walk into the lab with Adam.

"Adam's beat, I sent him home; I assume you've done the same with everyone else," she greeted pushing his door open and stepping inside. "I also thought you might have gone yourself."

"I couldn't go until I knew you and Adam were safe," he answered, rubbing a hand across his face.

"I should have known," she grinned conspiratorially. "Where else would you be? Well we're all done now, I'm going to head out too."

"I'll see you home." Mac switched off his computer and stood up.

"Not necessary Mac, I'll be fine," Stella protested, attempting to protect her independence.

"Not tonight, I'd feel better walking you home," he persisted, escorting her towards the elevator, his hand resting gently on the small of her back. "Humour me, I'm just worried about you wandering about in the middle of the night alone," he continued.

Stella eyed him curiously as they waited for the elevator to arrive. "What happened to Karla has put all of you guys on edge. I know Danny waited around for Lindsay to finish just so they could go home together."

"Can you blame us trying to protect our women?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator car which had now arrived.

"Possessive much?" she grinned. "Perhaps you'd like to sleep on my couch too so that you can be sure there isn't a monster in my closet that's out to get me while I sleep," she teased.

"You're going to relegate me to the couch?" he was disbelieving. "I don't even get the spare room?"

"Let me get back to you on that," she smiled and kissed his cheek, then wrapped her arm in his.

...

Flack opened his eyes and let them focus on the lights in the hallway, wondering what had woken him up. At least the earlier pounding in his head had reduced to a dull ache now, probably due to the meds they'd made him take when he arrived - that and the few hours sleep he had managed.

Then he heard it again, a voice and although he couldn't make out what they were saying it was clear enough not to be coming from outside the room. It was probably what had stirred him and if it was in his room it needed investigating, so despite the dull thud in his head he looked around. He couldn't help smiling when he saw the figure on the couch and he recognised that the subconscious memories of the evening's events were probably responsible for her talking in her sleep. Slowly he sat up and pulled off the covers, thankful that someone had managed to find him something to sleep in that wasn't a standard hospital gown. He swung his feet to the floor and stood up, making his way cautiously towards her; the last thing he wanted was to scare her.

He wasn't sure why she was there, but he was glad she wasn't home alone having nightmares; she called out again, he only made out the odd word, but it was enough to know it was about the warehouse so he sat on the floor at her side and stroked his hand over her hair.

"Karla, hey, wake up, you're dreaming, everything's okay, you're safe now," he murmured, "it's all over, they're in jail they're not taking you anywhere."

"Don?" She sounded upset and confused.

"I'm right here." He waited as she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the light. "Hey," he whispered as she sat up and looked around.

"What am I doing here?" she asked, turning her glance back to him looking confused.

"I have no idea," he shrugged, "I woke up and here you are."

"I'm sorry did I wake you?"

He didn't answer, instead pulled up a chair and sat facing her, a little hesitant to probe into what happened, but at the same time wanting to offer his support, "Karla ... what happened tonight ... what did they do?"

"Nothing ... they never touched me, not the way you're thinking," she answered quietly before looking at Flack. "They tied me up ... they made veiled threats about ... stuff, I think they were waiting until they left before they tried anything... they were going to-," Flack noticed the violent shiver that ran through her and stopped her speaking; he stood up and pulled the blanket from the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders before taking the chair again.

"How did you get away?" he asked changing the subject slightly.

"Hawkes and Lindsay found me, I told you all this at the warehouse." She looked up, hugging the blanket around her.

"I'm still a little fuzzy about that, I just remember you being there," he answered rubbing his temples. "Horton said that he'd -"

Karla rested her hands on his as he leant forward, his arms on his knees, stopping the train of thought he was trying to put into words. "He got more from me than I got from him, if he said anything he was trying to gain a reaction, he _never_ touched me."

Flack held her gaze in the dim light. "So what did you give him?" he asked finally.

Karla smirked. "Apart from boot marks down his legs?" she quipped and before Flack could press for more she continued, "a rather hard knee to the family jewels."

Flack winced and shuffled in his chair. "Ouch ... I guess you're not gonna be on his Christmas card list anytime soon."

He watched the smile cross her face. "I guess not. Now shouldn't you be sleeping? After all it's still early and you look like you're still sore," she commented as he carefully ran his hand over his bruised jaw, his wrist showing the dark bruising from the earlier strike from the night stick. Reluctantly Flack pushed back the chair and returned to bed.

"I'm doing this on one condition, that you stay over there and sleep too." He fixed her with a determined look. She nodded and curled up on the couch again. In a few minutes they were both sleeping again.

Outside the dawn light crept across the night sky, hopefully banishing their nightmares as it brought a new day.

* * *

_Sorry for the delay in posting new chapters but December was pretty busy in RL, as I'm sure it was for most of you. The next chapter should be up quicker._


	28. Interrogations

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun.. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight as always for the beta and the additional thoughts in return there is a present for you in here._

_Also thank you to my reviewers, hope this lives up to expectations and_ _Ecda - Apart from being a little beaten around the edges Flack's fine._

**Chapter 28 – Interrogations**

The light streamed into Stella's eyes as she opened them, introducing her to the day which had already started outside. She smiled at the thought that she was still fully clothed and had been sleeping on her couch, but what made her smile wider was what, or rather who, she had been sleeping against. A warm body, also still fully clothed was stretched out beneath her, his arm carefully wrapped around her waist holding her safe and close.

The buzz of her phone on the table drew her attention and she carefully sat up, not wishing to wake up her sleeping partner until she had to. Opening the text message she read the contents and sighed. They had both slept longer than intended and now the call had gone out to let them know that their culprits from the warehouse were on their way to interrogation and they were needed.

Placing the phone back on the table she sighed and for a moment lay her head back on the chest of the man with whom she had spent the night. Well, the few hours since they had left the lab. She drew in a deep breath, revelling for a few seconds in the faint smell of his aftershave from the day before. Allowing herself the brief respite she smiled again when his other arm also wrapped around her and he murmured her name.

As content as she felt in that instant she knew it was a doomed feeling. In under an hour they were needed back at the lab to review the overnight results and report for the interrogation of their perps from the warehouse. She also knew Mac would wish to check on Flack and Karla to ensure they were both alright and not just putting on a brave face; he would also want to be sure the evidence was secure. With a final breath she began to push herself away.

"Don't go." The murmur of his voice rumbled through him; she had felt the vibrations through her hand on his chest.

"We have to Mac, we have an interrogation to do." She groaned a little at the thought, it was the farthest thing from what she wanted but it was their job and they were good at it and they would be there.

She heard his phone beep as the message now reached him, delayed by a moment from the one she received due to some priority sending system based on surnames. She watched as he reached out a hand and retrieved his phone, cancelling the message while keeping his eyes closed.

"I'll make some coffee," she whispered hoarsely as she pushed herself off the couch and he finally opened his eyes and sat up.

"Ow! Next time can we at least share a bed?" he asked a cheeky grin crossing his face before he grimaced and finally stretched his aching muscles.

...

Karla stood in the observation room watching Horton pace up and down, he, like the others had been kept in solitary confinement over night and brought to the interrogation room about an hour ago. She'd toured all the rooms, psyching herself up ready to help with their interrogations.

The door clicked behind her, making her jump. "Conas ata tu mo chailín álainn?" a familiar voice asked, making her turn around.

"I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded good." She smiled. "I'm guessing it's Gaelic, but are you going to tell me what it means?"

He shrugged. "Something I learned from my Grandpa when I was little, he used to say it to my Grandma all the time."

"So why now? With me?"

Flack stuffed his hands in his pockets and leant against the wall looking through the one way glass. He seemed to ponder things for a moment. "Ta tu go halainn," he answered finally.

"But you're not going to tell me what you're saying?" she probed, feeling a little self-conscious under his gaze which had now settled on her. A small tingle ran down her spine when he spoke, but she had no idea whether it was what he'd said or more how he had said it. Either way, a strong sense of anticipation engulfed her.

"Nah, don't think I will ... not yet anyway," he replied, seeming quite comfortable as he folded his arms across his chest, a mischievous smile playing across his lips.

"You know I can find one of those translators or look it up or something." She wanted to know what he was telling her, but at the same time she was a little afraid that whatever he said wasn't going to sound as good in English as he made it sound in Gaelic.

"First we got a job to do ... are you ready for this?" He became serious then, waving a hand towards Horton who was still pacing in the room next to them.

He had a point, but she wasn't sure if she was ready, there again they couldn't hide out all day, she glanced into the interview room and took a breath, "I'm ready, are you sure you're fit to be here?" She gestured to the steri-strips near his hairline above his ear which the doctors had applied to hold together the gash inflicted upon him by the man they were about to face. Not to mention the bruises that were also forming on his face and arm; visible to anyone who looked at him, but it was his posture that had also caught her attention, he seemed to be a lot more guarded in his movements than she remembered. She knew why, she'd seen it before, he'd gained more bruises that were not visible, unless he removed his shirt, when she guessed his torso would show evidence of strikes to his ribs and kidneys. She'd asked the question and knew the answer he was likely to give, after all she'd heard him say it numerous times already since they'd left the hospital when anyone had asked how he was.

"I'm good, headache's gone and I'm not seeing stars anymore." He turned to the door, pulled it open and waited for her to step through the opening before following.

...

Mac and Stella walked into the interrogation room which housed one of their warehouse arrestees. Danny and Hawkes were going to grill Vincent, while Flack and Karla took Horton and Farland, the remaining two were Mac and Stella's targets and they were starting with Benny who they'd fingered for nothing more than a foot soldier, so they believed he would cave pretty quickly. Their tougher job would be the other guy, although how important he could be was debateable after he'd got himself wedged into a locker. The image still gave them the giggles when they thought about it; of course the evidence photos were a pretty good reminder.

"Alright Benny, you're looking at charges of abduction, grand larceny, assaulting an officer and that's just for starters." Stella slapped a folder on the table as Mac stood back near the one way glass. "And you know what, they're all felonies and all mean serious jail time, so I suggest you come clean and talk to us, tell us what we want to know then it'll be easier for all of us."

Benny looked aimlessly around the room. "I got nothing to say," he blurted out.

Stella pressed her hands flat on the table then leaned forward on them.

"Benny, you know you're not doing any good by stalling, in fact the longer you sit there the deeper your pals will be digging your hole, you really want them to talk first?"

"I got nothing to say," he blustered once more. Stella pushed herself upright then pulled out the chair and sat at the table opposite him.

"Alright then, let me tell you what I know, and then see if you want to fill in the blanks."

As she opened the file and laid out a couple of photos, Mac had the opportunity to watch her. He noted her stiff posture, she was much more tense than usual, but then maybe they all were, it was still less than 12 hours since they had broken up the gang in the warehouse and they had barely managed a few hours sleep. Because of the heat she was wearing a sleeveless top and no jacket, allowing him a good view of her toned skin. Her hair was swept back into a loose pony tail keeping it off her slim neck and he flexed his fingers which ached to massage her taut shoulders as they had done numerous times in the last month. He slowly paced around the room, trying to get the image of his fingers on her soft skin out of his mind and his focus back on what they were there for.

As Mac paced behind Benny, Stella looked up and caught his eye, giving him a look that told him she was getting frustrated with the vibes he was giving off - her way of warning him that she knew what he was thinking and that he was distracting her. He half nodded and moved back behind her, his glare fixed on the man opposite.

"Benny, this is your last chance, talk now or we throw the offer open to the others, and I'm sure they won't waste time rolling on the rest of you," Stella insisted. Benny, meanwhile, stayed stoic a small glint in his eye, his mouth remaining tightly shut. "Alright, your choice," she said, standing up and taking the file and striding out the door.

Mac glared at him. "Sit tight, we're not done yet," he added before following his partner.

...

Flack opened the door and stepped into the room where Horton had now been pacing for nearly an hour. "Sit down!" he commanded.

Horton shot him a look and remained standing although he did stop pacing. "You've got nothing on me, this is false imprisonment, so it's time you stopped all this crap and let me go."

"Sit!" Flack commanded again as he glared at Horton, "you're going nowhere until we've sorted out a few things."

"Nothing to be sorted, you've hauled me in on false charges, I was-" Horton responded, belligerently.

Flack held up his hand, "Sit and shut up!" He pointed at the chair facing the one way mirror. "We're going to do this, so if you want a union attorney, talk now."

"I don't need a snivelling stuck-up lawyer, I've done nothing," Horton spat.

"That's a matter of opinion," Karla's voice echoed from the doorway, "Detective Flack asked you to sit down, so do it." She exchanged a brief look with the detective.

"Look what the cat dragged in, they got no one else to "talk" to me, they have to bring in the rookie." Horton scoffed and pulled out the chair and lowering himself into it. "This could get interesting," he sneered, his eyes lewdly observing Karla.

"I'd say so, because there's a few things you don't know about me Johnny, or at least you didn't until last night. Joey was right, I am FBI, Special Agent Karla Morgan, and I'm no rookie." She gave him a moment to assimilate the information. He sat passively giving no outward sign that the information had any bearing on his current predicament, "you just got caught in my trap. Now you're going down and not just on charges relating to the thefts from the warehouse."

"Like I just said ... you got nothing on me," he taunted calmly, Karla exchanged a look with Flack.

"That's where you're wrong, Johnny; I've got everything I need including a few additional charges on the side. I witnessed you loading an unauthorised truck with items from the warehouse, you sent Vincent on a destruction run alone against policy then you held me hostage, Joe and Benny were not authorised to be in the warehouse, but you know what the icing on the cake is?" Karla ranted at the man still leering at her, like he was undressing her.

"You are sweetheart, you might think you're free now, but I guarantee I won't forget your pretty face and when I get my slap on the wrist, I'm coming after you, then we'll see how much of a little firecracker you are."

Flack noticed Karla stiffen slightly at Horton's tirade and her eyes glare at him. "Nice try, but it's going to be rather more than a slap on the wrist, I think someone mentioned something about life, so you'd better start getting used to it, I'll make sure you get the best room in Rikers."

Flack watched her eyes flare with anger as Horton tried to rile her, but although her eyes showed anger, he noted there was something else, a determination to put an end to the hell she had been put through the night before. He couldn't blame her and in her place he wasn't sure he could control his temper.

"Not a chance sweetheart, you got nothing on me, all that crap that just spewed from your mouth, is just that- crap, there ain't nothing gonna happen to me."

"Watch your mouth!" Flack practically yelled.

Karla flung the door open and called in a uniformed officer, "Get him out of here," she instructed, indicating Horton, then waited until he had been hauled out of the room before looking at Flack.

"I'm sorry, I had to do that before one of us killed him," she mumbled as she leant against the wall.

Flack scrubbed his hand over his jaw. "I'm glad you did," he sighed, then slowly crossed the room and stopped in front of her, resting his hand against the side of her face. "Can you still do this?"

Holding his gaze, she nodded slightly. "I have to, ... it's my way of dealing with what happened. What about you?"

"If you're doing this so am I, I can't let you go in alone," he answered finally removing his hand after briefly grazing his thumb across her cheek. "I'm responsible for you."

"No you're not, but I'm not going to argue with you, let's get this over with." She pushed herself off the wall and left the room.

...

Mac followed Stella into the interview room with Joey who was sitting calmly at the table, his eyes fixed on the window to the observation room, unaware that it was empty.

Stella dropped the file onto the table while Mac leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest, trying to adopt a casual pose as he had earlier with Benny; she couldn't resist a sideways glance at his muscles rippling under his shirt as he did so. With a slight grimace she turned her attention to the other man in the room, her personal desires would have to wait, well at least any that involved a semi-naked Mac Taylor.

Trying to regain her focus she thought about the others and wondered how they were getting on with their interrogations. Danny and Hawkes probably had the easiest task with Vincent, who had been out of the action the previous evening. Flack and Karla probably had the toughest job with Horton and Farland, not only because it was clear they would face additional charges and lose their jobs, but because for Karla the whole thing had turned personal and terrifying when they had tied her up. Stella shivered briefly as she turned her attention to the second detainee her and Mac were facing and prepared to open their questioning.

"Joey Brownlow, before we get started I'm going to give you a chance to come clean because we're talking to all of you and I guarantee one of you will tell us what we want to know. But more importantly we've got the evidence which proves you were involved in the events at the custody warehouse last night and on previous occasions."

"You can speculate all you like, you got nothing on me, and like my rights I ain't saying a thing, so you can wait here all you like, but you'll be wasting your time," he told her a smug look on his face.

For several minutes silence reigned, finally Stella looked at Mac and turned back to Joey, "Fine, if that's what you want we'll just get you charged on conspiracy to commit murder along with everything else."

She stood up and they headed to the door leaving Joey to ponder his position.

...

Farland was slouched against the table when Karla entered the room causing him to look up.

"Well if it isn't our little mole, you're lucky the cops got to you before we did."

"How's the knee Dwight?" she asked sweetly, doing her best to ignore the comment he made. "I heard you had 24 stitches too, that can't be much fun," she taunted, dropping a file on the table and stopping while Flack entered the room and closed the door. Just the thought of the gash she'd created down his inner calf was enough to make her cringe in sympathy, but she contained the urge and kept a neutral look on her face, although she wasn't sure how successful she was.

Farland looked between her and Flack and a flicker of recognition ran across his face. "I believe you have met Detective Flack," Karla added finally pulling out a chair and sitting opposite the discredited Police Officer.

"Yeah, we met," Farland answered eventually, still focused on the two of them.

Karla had the feeling that he wanted to say more, but still hadn't worked out how they were connected; she wished him luck with that, after all she didn't know herself where they stood.

Taking a breath she could feel Flack's eyes on her back as he leant against the wall. She knew why he was letting her take the lead, she needed the control, she needed to be the one to put the guys down after working with them for weeks and suffering all the sexist comments and put downs they'd thrown her way. Then being captured the night before- she took another breath. Right now she wished Flack would butt in and say something before her nerves snapped and she fled the room, anything to shake off the sensation of his hands holding her down and his fingers around her neck. She entwined her hands and rested them on the table, trying to hide the tremor she felt in them as they all remained silent.

As if sensing her unease she heard Flack step forward. "Is féidir leat é seo a dhéanamh." The words were barely more than a whisper in her ear as he leaned over and took the file from the table. It didn't matter what the words meant, she guessed it was meant to be reassuring, to settle her nerves, without giving anything away to the guy sharing the room. But she definitely needed to figure out what his sudden preoccupation with talking to her in Gaelic meant; however, that had to wait until they'd finished what they were there for.

She took the file from him, placed it back on the table and flicked through it for a moment before looking up at Farland. "Whose idea was it to start up your little business stealing evidence?" She asked finally, Flack took the seat next to her at the table and opened his memo book to take notes.

"Don't exactly remember," he answered belligerently. "Anyway who says I stole anything?" he questioned, then seemed to take great interest in his nails.

"Alright then, what do you know about the murder of Kevin Cross?" she pressed, finally getting her nerves in control and applying her years of experience in the interrogation room.

Farland looked up but said nothing; the move was enough to indicate he at least recognised the name. Flack pressed on, "yeah, that Kevin Cross, the one who worked with you for 6 months before turning up in an alley with a bullet between the eyes."

"We've already identified more charges and the crime lab is making connections to cold cases going back years, so I'd say it's in your interest to co-operate or we may just claim Cross was murdered by a criminal conspiracy and charge all of you." Now into her stride Karla barely allowed Farland time to take a breath before continuing, "I've got news for you Dwight we are not letting this go, we are going to find out the whole story so do yourself a favour and just tell us."

"I got nothing to say."

"Alright, that's your choice," Karla replied, standing up and heading to the door. Flack picked up the file and followed her. In the hallway she turned to him, "I'm inclined to let him stew a while, grab a cup of coffee and try again, something about his attitude tells me he wants to talk ... a lot."

"I'm with your there," sighed Flack.

"You know you don't have to agree with me on everything," she smiled leaning against the wall.

"No, but I know this great place for coffee," he grinned back.

...

Danny stepped into the hallway and looked around, noticing Flack and Karla standing by an interrogation room a short distance away. He was glad they were both okay after the raid the night before and he didn't fail to notice the steri-strips on his friends face, or the bruising now beginning to show.

He meandered towards them rather than head straight for the lab. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked generally, knowing that they were heavily involved in the interrogations.

"Like trying to get blood from a stone," grouched Flack glancing back at the room Danny had just left to see Hawkes directing Luke Vincent towards the front of the building. "You?"

"He's clean, gave a full account of his dealings with everyone, he's only been part of that shift rotation for a year and is looking to move out."

"He's clean?" Flack asked surprised, after all he was part of the Venetti family who weren't known for their honest ways and upstanding character.

"Only thing he's guilty of is being born into the wrong family," Danny sighed, thinking of his own background, "and I know what that's like."

"I'm surprised he can get out of their clutches, the Uncle seemed to be keeping a tight rein on the family and what they got up to."

"Still is, Vincent gave us a few tips on what the uncle's into, including the disappearance of his brother's murderer. He's a good kid trying to make up for the family's past, but he's getting stuck with all the crap jobs because all everyone sees is the links to the Venetti family, hence the change of name when he joined up, he's trying to forge his own path."

"So he's not involved in everything at the warehouse?" Flack asked.

"Nope, Hawkes is turning him loose, anyhow, how are you doing with your guys?" Danny gestured to the interview rooms containing at least one of the disgraced police officers.

"Nothing useful, they're all pleading the fifth right now, so they get to sit and wait while we get coffee," Karla responded, "Want to join us?"

"Another time, I need to go follow up on some of the stuff Vincent gave us. I'll catch you later. Good luck, sounds like you're gonna need it." Danny half smirked and wandered away.

* * *

_For anyone who's interested, the Venetti link goes back to Zoo York._


	29. Best for Last

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight for the review of this chapter._

_For anyone reading the last chapter and expecting translations of the Gaelic I'm sorry I didn't comment on them. I know it's mean, but I'm keeping you waiting a bit longer, I promise all will be revealed later on. If you are desperate to find out what Flack says to Karla, let me know and I'll PM you._

_Lov3good - Thanks for the review, I'll leave you to tell me if Flack can be more adorable. _

_This chapter sees a return cameo by Penelope Garcia of Criminal Minds._

**

* * *

Chapter 29 – Best for last**

Danny entered the lab and noticed the figure in the break room, a smile crossed his lips and he changed direction to go to her. Pausing in the doorway he watched as she rolled her shoulders to relieve tension, glancing around he moved silently towards her; she hadn't noticed him as she had her back to the door as she pored over the files in front of her. He expected her to turn around and catch him as he stopped behind her, but she didn't, she just rolled her shoulders again, a move which he found incredibly arousing. Almost tentatively he reached his hands out and rested them on her shoulders, his thumbs making circles against her taut muscles, massaging away some of the tension.

"Mmm, that's so good," she murmured, shaking her head a little and resting her cheek against his hand. "Just be careful you don't get caught by my husband, he's quite the jealous type."

Danny's smile widened and he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We'd better not get caught then," he whispered, his lips now almost pressing against her ear. He felt her shiver beneath his fingers as they continued to relieve the knots he felt in her muscles. "You like that," he muttered as her head fell back against him and she looked up as he straightened, his eyes fixing on hers.

"Always,"

"What are you doing?" He asked, glancing at the papers in front of her.

"Reports, someone around here has to do them seeing as you're all downstairs grilling our friends from the warehouse."

"Wouldn't call them friends in front of the others, Flack and Karla nearly throttled one of theirs a little while ago."

"I'm not surprised, they're all a piece of work." She signed a few forms then closed her files, "What are you doing now, apart from loitering around me?"

"We'll everyone's busy so I thought no one would miss me if I snuck my wife into the supply closet for a little something something." He growled in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

Lindsay laughed. "Well Mr Messer I think that will have to wait, I've got a truck load of evidence to start work on next. If you're at a loose end you can help me."

"Hawkes will, I'm heading over to records to dig up that old case on Bobby Venetti, something his brother just said got me thinking and I want to check it out. May be a lead."

"Bobby Venetti? My first day, the tiger, you were so mean to me then," she pouted, memories of her first experience of Danny Messer swirling around her mind.

"Me? Mean?" he scoffed, "I haven't got a mean bone in me, besides you liked the bad boy."

"Really? Maybe I need to go find me one then," she joked, earning a huff from Danny.

"I'd better go get this stuff and put a few things to rest. We'll grab a slice or something for lunch?"

"Make it take out and you're on." She grinned.

"Isn't it time you two got a room, oh I forgot you already got an apartment, aren't you supposed to keep that behaviour out of the lab?" Hawkes' teasing voice echoed from the doorway, surprising them with his presence.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny Hawkes," Danny answered in a dry tone as he planted a kiss on Lindsay's cheek before letting her go. "I'll see you guys later." He turned and headed past Hawkes into the hallway heading for their office.

"You're looking better than last time I saw you," Hawkes commented.

Lindsay smiled. "A few hours sleep and a bad boy massage can work wonders, of course having the grandparents baby sit works too."

"I don't think I need to know anymore," he commented crossing to the worktop and helping himself to a mug of coffee from the pot on the side.

...

Flack watched Karla as she entered the interrogation room ahead of him, taking a seat opposite Farland once again. The break had been a good idea, a chance for them to meet with Mac and Stella and formulate a plan and get a coffee. He leant against the wall and crossed his arms, waiting for her to make their opening gambit. None of the creeps had talked so far and although the evidence was, there they wanted the satisfaction of hearing them admit to their wrong doings.

He kept an impassive look on his face as she laid out several photos on the table, his stomach churned that they were doing this, that they were using the evidence photos of her injuries to elicit a reaction. He was surprised she had consented, even more surprised when she turned down Mac's suggestion that he stepped in and questioned Horton and Farland this time.

He forced himself to focus on the man at the table, as Karla started speaking. "Dwight, this is how things are going to work, when we're done here IAB will want to interview you, after that you'll be taken down to central booking, before a trip to Rikers. You don't have to speak if you don't want to, but you should know that the evidence is stacking up against you and it starts here." She shoved one of the photos towards him.

Flack noticed him looking at the photo, although he tried to appear not to. He wasn't sure if Karla had noticed, but he couldn't remain quiet any longer. "That's it take a good look, does it get you off laying your hands on women like that?"

"I didn't do that," he answered as if he was bored, "must've been one of the others."

Karla shook her head. "Yeah you did Dwight, you forget that those pictures are of real bruises, or did you think your hands around my neck wouldn't leave marks?" She shoved the chair back and stood up. Flack caught the flicker of anger in her eyes and stepped forward to take over, but she turned back to Farland and leaned on the desk with one hand while she yanked the collar of her shirt to one side with the other. "This make it any more real?" she practically shouted, "you can't get away from the fact that you hurt me and that the lab were able to pull your prints from my skin! Now admit what you did!" She really shouted this time, making him look up briefly the smug look on his face from earlier now rapidly fading. She pushed herself away from the table and readjusted her collar.

Flack knew that it would only take something small for her to crack and the shock and emotion she'd contained from the night before to come spilling out and he didn't want that to happen now in front of her captor, but at the same time she needed to confront the demons and deal with them.

"I never meant for anyone to get hurt," Farland said quietly.

"Well they did, maybe you'd like to explain how Kevin Cross ended up in a back alley with a bullet in him," she continued, her tone a fraction calmer, but Flack could see the stiff posture and knew she was still on edge.

"I don't know anything about that, one day he was working with us, next he disappeared then he turned up dead. Believe me I have no idea who did it."

"But you were involved in the thefts from the evidence warehouse, I saw you helping to load that truck last night, I've been in there building my case for a month." Karla stopped talking.

Flack watched her closely for a few seconds then stepped forward. "Not only are IAB going to throw the book at you, you're facing felony charges as long as my arm, Rikers will only be the start, there'll be two options, solitary confinement or general population and we all know what happens to cops inside," he taunted, half an eye on Karla as she slowly circled the room.

"I'll talk, but I want something in return," Dwight answered quietly.

"That'll be up to the DA, you tell us what you got then we'll see," Flack replied calmly. Karla turned and glared at him, he knew she might be upset at the direction things had taken so for the moment he deliberately avoided looking at her keeping his eyes on Farland.

"First she leaves, I'm giving this to NYPD not the Feds."

"I'm not going anywhere," Karla snapped defiantly.

"That's my terms, you leave and I give Detective Flack here the whole shooting match." Farland said smugly.

"Karla, outside, a word." Flack indicated the door, Karla shook her head, her eyes still on the detective as she countered what she thought was about to happen. This was her investigation, her arrest, no one was going to have the chance to screw it up now, and that included Flack, not that she figured he would, she just could take the chance.

"Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to manipulate us. This is just some game to him." Karla turned her attention to Farland, "you're a real piece of work Dwight and as half your charges are Federal, Detective Flack is only here as a courtesy, I'm the one you have to negotiate with. So talk."

For a moment silence reined, eventually Farland shifted in his chair, the cuffs around his wrist rattling. Flack resisted the urge to speak, waiting to see what happened next.

"Fine, I'll make a statement, just find somewhere out of state for me to serve my time and keep the others away or I'm a dead man." Farland finally caved.

"Make it worth it and we'll support your case." Karla answered firmly and returned to sit at the table thrusting a notepad and pen towards him that she removed from the shelf in the corner of the room.

...

It was late in the afternoon when Mac and Stella prepared to return to the interrogation room housing Joey Brownlow. They had fairly swiftly gained a statement from Benny at the second attempt when Mac finally impressed on him that they would keep turning up like bad pennies until he talked. Stella had been right, he was only a foot soldier, doing everyone else's bidding, but they had established that he was also the cleaner for the group and had, under orders, dispatched Kevin Cross two years earlier and that he was a person of interest in several other unsolved murders since.

Flack and Karla had broken Farland and he had spilled his guts on the evidence warehouse and who on the inside had been involved. Mac and Stella had taken a break and watched them attempt to gain a confession from Horton, but he held out and they had finally given in and sent him to booking. Everyone was exhausted but they still had one member of the gang in custody and it was looking like he was intending to hold out on them.

For over an hour they questioned, harassed and pressed him for answers, but he sat looking smug and silent.

Flack and Karla were in the observation room watching everything that was going on. They too had been silent for most of the time they had been there. Finally Karla rested her hand against the one way glass and leaned her head forward. "He's not going to talk," she sighed.

"They're not done yet, there's still time."

She stepped back and shook her head. "He's like Horton, he won't tell us anything, he's protecting someone higher up the food chain, he never laid a hand on me but of all of them he scared me the most, once he arrived he seemed to be the one in charge."

"Yeah and you know how clever he was at avoiding arrest? Mac and Stella pulled him out of a locker, that tell you he's in charge?" Flack tried to allay her fears and ease the desperation he detected in her eyes.

"I heard, but it doesn't change what happened before."

"No, but the good thing is that he's not going to be able to keep his job, he's going down regardless of his connections."

"I know, I just want to know who Victor is," she sighed.

"Let's deal with one thing at a time, these guys are going down, we have nothing on Victor, Joey could have been making it all up to keep you quiet."

"Rationally I know all that, but it still gives me the creeps."

Flack nodded in acknowledgement and they focused back on the interrogation. Stella was standing this time, Mac still lounging against a desk in the corner of the room.

"Last chance to tell us what's going on, Joey, before we send you downtown for a trip to Rikers."

"I'm going to tell you five things, then I want a lawyer," he finally answered, his eyes wandering over her body. Stella stiffened her back, trying not to shudder under his gaze.

"That's a bit random," Mac interjected.

"That's the deal," Joey retorted, an air of stubbornness in his voice.

"Alright, what are these five things? They'd better be what we want to hear," Stella demanded walking around the table in an effort to get his eyes off her.

"One, I never laid a hand on that FBI girl, Johnny he's got some beef with her, him and Dwight. I barely even saw her."

"That so?" Stella questioned as she sat at the table and flicked through the file before her.

He continued for several more minutes giving random bits of information, the importance of which wasn't immediately obvious. At the end he sat and looked around, his eyes on the one way glass separating them from the observation room. Mac and Stella remained quiet waiting for him to proceed under his own steam.

When he made no attempt to get to point number 5 Stella lost her patience. "Okay, we're up to number 5, what you got to tell us that we don't already know?" Stella demanded, staring Joey in the face. "You'd better make it good," she added standing up and collecting the file.

"Oh it's good, what is it they say? Save the best for last? ... " Joey stood up, his eyes still fixed on the one way glass opposite him. "She in there?" he gestured, and approached the window.

Karla almost stepped back into Flack as she tried to distance herself from the man on the other side of the glass.

"Karla, think changing your name would hide you? Think Victor wouldn't find you? Of course, all it took was sending him your picture, he's got something very special planned for you and he's going to claim, you won't know when, but he'll collect and then we'll see how long me and the boys stay in jail, after all with their key witness missing the case will be dismissed." Joey sneered as he closed to within a few inches of the glass. "You're in there, I know you are, hope you've got eyes in the back of your head baby, because Victor will pick you off when you least expect it."

Mac grabbed the back of Joey's collar and pushed him towards the door into the arms of a uniformed officer who had just opened the door.

"Get him out of here, keep him in solitary confinement and no phone calls or visitors until we've talked to the DA." Mac instructed.

When they had gone, Stella was left standing motionless in the centre of the room and she looked up at Mac.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"I have no idea. We need to speak to Karla." Mac sighed.

...

On the other side of the glass Flack had seen Karla flinch and her shoulders brace at the words from the scumbag's mouth, he stepped forward to rest a hand on her to comfort her, ready to whisper something reassuring, but she was quicker, she turned and placed her hand squarely in the centre of his chest, like she sensed what he was about to do.

"I need to make some calls," she choked, staring at her hand for a few seconds.

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Flack asked lifting her chin so he could look her in the eye.

"Not now Don, please." In the darkened room he was unable to read her expression, but clearly the guy had spooked her. He never got the chance to press further as she side-stepped him, yanked open the door and disappeared.

...

Karla had bolted from the room, she needed time to process everything that had just happened and headed for the only place that she felt Flack would avoid, the ladies' room. Leaning over the sink she fought the panic and incoherent thoughts running through her mind, Joey's words had struck a chord and she wasn't exactly sure why, nor why the mention of Victor had her on edge.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly scanned the call list, finding what she was looking for she called the number. Standing up and raising the phone to her ear she was aware enough of her surroundings to realise she was alone, but that anyone could walk in at any time.

"_Hey, gorgeous how's my hunk of chocolate's favourite woman_?" The voice greeted her.

"I thought you were his favourite." Karla greeted trying to suppress the edge in her voice.

"_Second only to you my dear, so tell me what has you calling me on such a fine day?"_

"I need some research and it stays between you and me for now," Karla stated firmly.

"_What's going on up there in the big apple that you need me to do the research, I thought you had those CSIs at the Crime Lab eating out of your hand,"_ she answered, while tapping the keyboard in front of her.

"Pen, they can't get these records... I need you to run some names through my cases, and you're not to mention it to anyone, especially Derek. I don't want him getting antsy over nothing."

"_It must be something if you need me to look up your old cases. Are you sure everything is alright up there?"_

"It's fine, we wrapped up the case early this morning, we've been interviewing the culprits all day, but one of them just said something and it got to me; I just need to be sure I'm not missing anything."

"_Alright, but if he gets word and asks me I will not lie."_

"Just make sure he doesn't come looking for me again. ... The names I want you to search for are Joey Brownlow, the other one I've only got a first name, Victor. I just need to be sure they haven't come up during a previous case."

"_I'm on it, hang tight and I'll get back to you when I have something. Tell me how's that hunk of blue-eyed detective you've been seeing?"_

"We're not seeing each other Pen, and I've seen him all of 3 times in the last month, the rest I've been under cover."

"_I've got news for you my sweet friend, word has reached me of your little party last night, tell me did he come with his armour all shining to rescue you?"_

"Penelope Garcia watch your mouth, he is not my knight in shining armour, he's-" she stopped as the door opened and Stella stepped inside. "I've gotta go, we'll finish this conversation when I get home," Karla continued her eyes on Stella, who was obviously waiting for her to finish the call.

"_Alright my little chickadee, I'll hold you to that, but I'll get back to you on that other matter_." Penelope Garcia's lilting voice held the promise that the next time they met, there would be no escaping an in depth conversation about the NYPD detective with the piercing blue eyes.

"Thank you," Karla sighed and cancelled the call pushing the phone back into her pocket, while total silence hung in the air between her and Stella.

"What just happened out there? Do you know Joey?" The other woman asked finally, adopting a concerned but friendly tone. Karla fought the shudder that was waiting to overcome her as Joey's words echoed in her head.

"No and before you ask I have no idea what he meant."

Stella seemed to watch her closely for a few seconds. "If there's something you don't want to discuss in front of Flack we can arrange for him to be absent," she pressed gently, Karla knew she was being given the option to talk in private but that wasn't what bothered her.

"It's not that, the truth is I don't know why I'm so spooked suddenly about what he said." Karla finally admitted. It was like the answer lay just out of her grasp and whatever it was carried a real sense of foreboding.

"Well Mac wants to see you to figure out what we do next."

"I thought he would."

"I'll give you a minute to freshen up, but I'll warn you there's a very anxious detective lurking outside."

"Could you do me a favour?" Karla asked, "find him that other place to be for a little while, I just need some space right now to figure out a few things, tell him I'll call him later."

"He's worried, he just isn't as good as the rest of us in hiding it when it involves someone he cares about."

"I know, but right now he's just a little too over-protective and I don't need him hovering."

Stella gave a wry smile, "I'll have him hover someplace else."

She turned and left the room, leaving Karla staring at her reflection in the mirror wondering why she suddenly felt so afraid.

* * *

_I know I'm mean, stirring things up again, but I've still got some unfinished business with Karla so stay tuned. _


	30. Ghosts

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Thank you to Lily Moonlight my wonderful Beta._

_Following Garcia's cameo last chapter, her and Morgan appear here too._

**Chapter 30 – Ghosts**

Mac waited patiently in his office until Stella and Karla arrived, then he directed them into the conference room, where for the first time in almost forever he dropped the blinds, shutting them off from the rest of the lab. Karla skirted the table, her eyes darting from one pile of information to the next, then to the boards, covered in more notes, before she looked at Mac and Stella who were waiting for her to find some equilibrium.

"I'd rather we didn't need to have this conversation, but I think you know why it's important to be honest with each other." Mac started.

Karla nodded hesitantly. "I want to, I just don't know what it is that I should tell you, I have no recollection of anyone called Victor or Joey on any of my cases. I have a friend in Quantico going through my case history to find something, but this seems somehow more involved."

"There's nothing you can think of that would link with this case?"

Karla shook her head. "Nothing... I wish it was easy, that I had answers, but I don't. Maybe he's just spouting random stuff to scare me."

"Is he?" Mac asked carefully, his eyes not missing a second of her behaviour, which had his spider senses in overdrive. The young woman who had worked with them, run an undercover operation and joined a SWAT take down, was not the one standing before him now. This one was edgy, hesitant and hyper-attentive, the sign of someone in fear of their life, he'd seen it before, mostly on soldiers faced with battle, but he'd seen it before in her when someone had tried to kill her a month ago.

"I know it's irrational, but yeah, he's scared me."

"Is there someone I can talk to at the FBI about getting you some added protection?"

"No!" Karla's voice was firm and commanding as she snapped at Mac. He watched her for a few seconds, "I'm sorry, I just don't want this getting any worse than it already is. You call in my unit and I'll be shunted somewhere into a safe house, probably hidden away somewhere until the trial. I don't want to do that, I want to face this and get it resolved. ... It's just the not knowing who's behind everything that scares me and that they're using threats to make me do something stupid."

"Alright, that's not gonna happen," Stella stepped in forcefully. "We'll keep you here for now, until we've had a chance to do some digging and you hear from Quantico."

"I agree with Stella," Mac added giving his second in command a reassuring nod. "I'll have bodies posted around the lab as a precaution, you'll be safe in here."

Karla nodded and sank into one of the chairs. "I'll bring you some coffee, and get Danny to order some food," Stella offered.

"I'm not hungry, but some tea would be good," Karla conceded, Mac wondered what would be in store next for the young Federal Agent. A difficult undercover case on top of three attempts on her life for which they still had no leads, were clearly starting to take their toll, her eyes seemed somewhat glazed and she needed Stella to ask her latest question twice before she seemed to pull herself together a little.

"Do you want me to have Flack come back?" Stella asked again, moving towards Karla, who looked up a little startled.

"No, not right now, I need some time to think and do some research of my own." There was suddenly an edge back to her voice as if something had just occurred to her.

"You remember something?" Mac asked.

"No, I just want some time to check a few things out, it may be nothing."

He guessed there was more to it than that, but he decided to trust her instincts for now and not to press, or he may antagonise her and she wouldn't share anything. Up to now he had no reason to doubt she would hide something, delay maybe, not hide.

"Alright, but if you get something, don't go after it alone," he told her, making his point clear.

"I won't Mac, you guys have had my back the last month, I trust you to have it a bit longer, I just need some time to process everything you know."

"I'll be in my office, if you need anything just find me."

"Thanks," Karla said as he moved to the doorway with Stella on his heels.

...

As Mac moved towards his office he caught Hawkes working on something in one of the labs and went to investigate his findings, leaving Stella to go about her own business.

"Hawkes, you got something?" he asked the doctor turned CSI.

"I'm not sure, I'm still processing evidence from the warehouse, just got around to Joey and Benny's personal effects... I've still got a way to go but Joey's phone records are showing a lot of calls to one number, I'll have Adam run it down and see what we get."

"Alright, keep me in the loop."

"Will do."

As Mac turned to leave Hawkes started scrolling through images on a large screen and one caught the Boss' attention. "Stop, who's that?"

Hawkes jumped back to the image Mac had seen and took a closer look. "Wasn't he one of the guys following Karla around after Ethan Warner was killed?"

"Yeah, FBI muscle, let me know what else you find before we decide how we're going to handle this."

Hawkes acknowledged the instruction as Mac's phone rang.

"Taylor... alright, good idea, apologise to Lindsay for me." Cancelling the call, he turned to Hawkes again. "Danny and Lindsay just got pulled in to a double homicide in the Bronx. So you're next on call."

"Got it."

...

Flack absently flicked through his emails, then the files on his desk, it didn't matter how much paperwork he had he couldn't focus on any of it; his mind was going over what could be happening up in the lab. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't seen the haunted look in her eyes or felt the way her fingers trembled when she had stopped him from plying her with questions after Joey's interrogation.

He tossed the latest file back on his desk, sat back in his chair and sighed with frustration. It was taking every ounce of will-power not to go storming up to the lab and insist she talk it out with him, but his patience was wearing thin and he hoped for something to happen soon so, just for a little while, he could think about something else.

The Gods must have heard his prayer as a pair of tanned arms wrapped around his neck and he was given a hug. He didn't need to ask who it was, Stella had done it before, she seemed to know when he needed a boost. That time when the kid had died on him in custody and everyone had ostracised him, she had sought him out and helped him with the crossword.

"How are you doing?" She let go of him and propped herself against his desk.

He shrugged. "This whole thing's even more screwed up. You talked to her?" They both knew who he was talking about.

"She's shaken up, she needs time to go over some stuff, Mac's called in extra guards around the lab as a precaution," Stella informed him.

Flack scrubbed his hand across his jaw, wincing when he touched the bruise, which was turning a more obvious purple/black colour. "You think she's still a target?"

"I don't know, but while we've solved the evidence warehouse case, there's something still going on and Mac's not prepared to let it go just yet."

"You think this Victor will still go after her?" Flack sat up straighter in his chair.

"Honestly Don, I have no idea. We don't even know if he's real."

"You didn't see her react to that slime ball, she believes he is," Flack snapped, then immediately fell silent. Resting his arms on his desk he looked up at Stella. "I'm sorry Stell, I just-" he stalled, what could he say? He needn't have worried, she seemed to understand.

"She'll be fine, just give her a little longer then it might be a good idea to bring her something to cheer her up."

"Yeah, Victor's head on a silver platter, and believe me if I knew where the bastard was I'd do it," he growled, his frustration evident.

"I'm sure you would, but think it through, maybe something a little less-" she stopped unable to come up with the right word immediately.

He glanced up at her and grinned. "A little overkill?" he asked.

"Just a little, I was thinking maybe dinner, it's likely we'll be up there a while, we're still processing stuff from the warehouse."

"I can do that," he answered seriously. "You got an order?"

"How did you guess?" She grinned pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and handing it over. "It's all from that Thai place two blocks over."

He took the list and ran his eyes over it as she stood up. "What am I? Feeding the 5,000?" he snorted reading the lengthy order.

"Just get it, we'll pay you back later," she instructed before resting her hand on his shoulder for a moment and leaving.

...

Karla was staring intently at the screen when her phone rang, she grabbed for it and tucked it between her ear and shoulder while she continued typing into the search engine on the computer.

"Morgan."

"_Hey beautiful,"_ the smooth tone of his voice washed over her and she nearly dropped the phone, for a moment the search forgotten as she now held the object properly, _"I hear you got the guys for the evidence warehouse."_

"Penelope's been bragging again?" she sighed and smiled when she heard him laugh.

"_I hear things got a little rough, are you okay?"_

"I'm fine. I inflicted more pain on our scumbags than I got."

"_That's my girl. So tell me what's happening now?"_

"I'm not your girl Derek, as for now, we're still sifting through a ton of information and evidence I'll be here a bit longer."

"_Well how about you take a few hours off and I take you out to dinner?"_

"What are you talking about?"

"_We've been working a case in Jersey City, wrapped it up a couple of hours ago. JJ headed straight back home, the rest of us are about to hit the bright lights of the city before we go home tomorrow, you want to come with us?"_

"I can't," she stopped, wondering what excuse she could give him that wouldn't raise his suspicions.

"_Is everything alright?"_ she could tell he was concerned and could picture the look on his face, but she didn't need him around right then.

"Fine, it's just been a long few days, and I didn't get much sleep with everything happening last night and being in interrogation all day. We'll talk when I get back to DC."

"_Karla, you can't fob me off like that, you know I can tell with you when something's wrong. Talk to me."_

"I'm fine Derek, just tired and besides, I don't need you and Flack getting in each other's faces." She hoped she sounded convincing and after their earlier meeting she didn't need her ex and the protective blue eyed detective fighting over her.

"_As long as he's taking care of you I won't, but it sounds like you need a break."_

"And I'll take one when everything's finished here. I've decided to take some time off while I decide what I want to do next. This case has been tough and I'm not sure the Bureau is where I want to be any more." She decided to start laying the path for the conversation they knew would come one day, but she wanted to wait until they were both in the same city with no cases hanging over their heads.

"_What about whoever was coming after you? Have there been any more attempts?"_ She knew he'd ask and he'd smoothly directed her away from the subject of their future.

"No, I have no idea what that was all about, but I want to try and figure it out before I come back."

"_You sure you don't want me to come over, I know something that will help chase the ghosts away?"_ Even down the phone the way his voice resonated sent shivers down her spine. If only they could have survived by him constantly whispering in her ear, but at the same time another voice seemed to play in her head, whispering Gaelic to her, the lilt of his voice and the look in his eye as he spoke, drawing her thoughts away from the guy on the end of the phone. That was past, and she didn't need him around to complicate things any further.

"No, we stopped going there a long time ago, I've got friends here now too, I'll be alright, you enjoy your night out with the team and tell them I said hello." It didn't matter how long ago they had stopped being husband and wife, there were still things about the man that could send her weak at the knees, but she was determined to face up to what was happening and deal with it, on her own, she had been through worse than this and now was not the time to cave in to emotion. Hearing him sigh at the other end of the phone she knew he wasn't going to press the point.

"_I will, you take care now ya hear?"_ he urged.

"I hear you. Night Derek."

She ended the call and put the phone down, wondering if she had made the right decision to brush him off. If she had confided her suspicion to him she knew he'd be on the first thing moving with his team to get to the bottom of Joey's threat about Victor. No, she didn't need him, she could do this, after all hadn't she been a part of the BAU too? Granted her skills were a little rusty, but maybe it was time to get them out and brush them off and show that she could handle everything.

The one thing that still played in the back of her mind was that her past life was about to meet her current one, she hoped not, but her memories were still vague about exactly what went down at the end of the undercover case so she couldn't even be sure there was any connection.

...

Hawkes was crossing the foyer towards Mac's office when Flack stepped off the elevator.

"Flack, can I have a word?"

"You got something new?" Flack indicated the computer tablet in the CSI's hand as he spotted Adam and handed him the bags of food he was carrying, the tech got the idea and scurried off to the break room with them.

"Yeah, but right now it's a puzzle, I'm not sure what to make of it. I downloaded and analysed Brownlow's phone, I found these." Hawkes handed over the tablet and pressed the screen a few times, Flack's instant reaction was to rub his jaw.

"This for real?" he asked, scepticism evident in his tone.

"Yes, what we don't know is what his connection is, I'm about to show them to Mac and Stella, you may want to give Karla the heads up." Hawkes nodded towards the conference room. Flack scrubbed his hand over his face again.

"How sure are you that this has anything to do with what went on at the Warehouse?" Flack asked, hoping for an answer other than what he expected.

"I have no idea," Hawkes answered just as anticipated.

"Can I just avoid telling her?" Flack asked hopefully, only to see Hawkes shake his head.

"You can't keep something like this from her, besides she may be able help figure it all out."

"We never got anywhere a month ago, you think this will-" Flack caught the movement of the conference room door over Hawkes shoulder and he stopped abruptly.

Karla walked towards them, then turned to Sheldon, obviously detecting he was the one with information. "You got something useful Sheldon?"

Hawkes glanced at Flack trying to silently encourage him to talk to her. "We don't know yet, there's a possibility-"

"Shouldn't you talk to Mac and Stella first?" Flack interrupted. "Let me know if you hear anymore, alright?" he continued, taking Karla's arm and guiding her away.

Hawkes shrugged at Flack's reaction and moved towards Mac's office, rapping firmly on the glass and opening the door.

Karla glanced back behind them. "Don, what was all that about and where are we going?" She eased her arm from his grip and stopped.

Flack stopped too then guided her to the side of the hallway and scrubbed his hand over his jaw again as he worked out what to say. "Hawkes found something on Joey's phone, but right now we don't know how it connects to anything else."

"You look spooked, what's wrong?"

"I need a few minutes to check something out first."

He watched her eyes flick over him, she looked concerned. "No Don, you're not shutting me out now. Hawkes found something and you're trying to hide it from me, you don't have to, I'd rather know than be left guessing. Trust me the fantasy is far worse than reality and if I know I can deal with it. ... Please, don't leave me chasing ghosts."

He nodded, "I'm not hiding anything, I just wanted-" He stopped as someone walked past them, then checking out the hallway again he turned and glanced in the conference room they were standing next to, opened the door and guided her inside.

She stopped in the middle of the room, making no effort to sit down. She just kept her eyes on him. He scrubbed his face again, trying to find the right words to tell her what he had just seen.

"The thing is-" he didn't want to do this, "Hawkes found something-" He stopped again, wondering why he was finding it so hard.

He watched as she stepped closer to him and rested a hand on his chest, putting them close enough for him to wrap his arms around her, but he was frozen in place the images he had just seen spinning in his mind. "Don, whatever it is I need to know what Hawkes told you."

He wrapped his hand around hers. "They found photos on Joey's cell ... they were taken last month." Pausing again giving her time to process the information, "they were pictures of you right before, and some after- he knew about the shootings and the car." There he'd said it, well most of it, she was clever she'd work out the rest and she did, very quickly. He watched the colour drain from her face and felt her fingers tighten against his as if they were holding her up.

"How?" she croaked, "How did he-?"

"We don't know yet how it all connects, do you have any idea?"

She shook her head, then wished she didn't, she felt light-headed and nearly missed her phone ringing, Flack grabbed it from the table and handed it to her.

He noticed her hand shaking as she answered it, putting it on speaker by accident, Flack never corrected her. "Morgan," he could hear the hesitation in her voice.

"_Karla? You alright?"_ the panicked tone of the FBI tech reflected that she had detected something was wrong. _"Oh my God, what's happened, never mind, I'll call-"_

"No Pen!" Karla snapped out of the semi trance she was in. "You leave Derek out of this." Flack couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips when she so vehemently instructed that her ex was left out of the picture. However, it soon faded when the bubbly tech spoke again.

"_I'm not sure that I can, if what I've found is right, it affects him too."_

"What do you mean?"

"_I'm still digging, but those names you gave me, I've pulled their DMV records and not only have I cross checked their names against your cases like you asked, but I also ran their faces against mug shots and I got a hit. You probably never met them, but they knew all about Mrs Hannah Lewis."_

Flack watched Karla's eyes frantically meet his for a few seconds before she dropped the phone and raced from the room with her hand over her mouth. He was torn between going after her and finishing the call, in the end he picked up the phone.

"_Karla? You there sweetie? Talk to me, are you alright?"_

"Hello, this is detective Flack, who am I speaking to?" He asked not having been formerly introduced.

"_FBI technical analyst Penelope Garcia and a friend of Karla's, is she alright?"_

"I'm not sure, she just hightailed it out of here, I should check on her."

"_Wait my blue eyed friend, I've got more, this is going to stir up a lot of old wounds, she knows these..."_ Flack listened to the brief information the FBI tech imparted as his mind spun while he wondered if their involvement in the evidence warehouse was deliberate or purely co-incidental. Penelope's change of tone brought him back to take full notice of the conversation. _" A word of warning blue eyes, she won't thank you for being over-protective, let her come to you when she's ready. She may buckle but she won't break, she's trying to process everything that's happened, but she needs to do it in her own way."_

"You know her pretty well?"

"_I do, so take some advice, check up on her if you must, but don't say you weren't warned. Of course from your perspective the other downside is that I can't keep Agent Morgan out of the loop, because if they're going after Karla he's the only one who can fill in the details of what happened 7 years ago. I'll call him and have him meet you somewhere."_

"We're at the crime lab." Flack answered flatly, wondering just how bad things could get. Cancelling the call he dropped the phone on the table and followed Karla.

...

Stella, Mac and Hawkes were in the Boss' office as Flack left the conference room, he paused for a moment wondering whether to go in or to find Karla first. He looked around then pushed open Mac's door.

"Flack, come on in," Mac beckoned. "Hawkes was just telling us about Joey's phone."

"Yeah, I've got something else, ... a friend of hers at the FBI has done some digging into her past cases, they crossed paths when she was working undercover about 7 years ago. She thinks her partner may be able to help, she's going to call him."

"Did she say anything else?" asked Mac resting his hands on his hips and frowning.

"She matched Joey's photo from his DMV photo to the second in command of the gang they were after. It's possible Victor is Vladimir Kharlamov, the guy at the top of the food chain back then."

"Did she say anything about the undercover op, what the gang were in to?"

"No, and Penelope Garcia, her friend, said not to push her on it."

"Did she say why?" Stella asked.

"No, but Karla's really spooked about this whole thing and the way she reacted earlier, it's like she knows something but doesn't if you get what I mean."

"What, like she doesn't remember?" asked Hawkes.

"I don't know, it's either that or she's hiding something."

"Where is she now?" Stella glanced around as if looking for her.

"She took off a couple of minutes ago, I'm guessing she's in the locker room."

"You want me to talk to her?" Stella's soft voice floated over him.

Flack stared at the floor for a moment, wondering what would be the best option. He felt that he'd already wimped out earlier when Stella went after her after the scene in the interrogation room. If he let her go this time he wouldn't get the chance to show her he was on her side. But there again, Stella could probably handle the situation better, being a woman, having that bond of sisterhood. He slowly looked up to meet her eyes, "no, I'll do it." He answered quietly then turned and left.

Mac looked between the others then rubbed his hand over his face. "Hawkes, when we've eaten I want you to pull everything you can find on Vladimir Kharlamov, we need to figure out what we're dealing with here. Stella, you work with Karla try and coax her into talking about what happened back then, anything she can tell us will help."

"Is that a good idea? Shouldn't we wait to hear from her partner?" She protested.

"Stella's right, if we press her too much and she's blocked out what happened back then we could do more harm than good."

"Alright, we wait for her partner to get in touch." Mac conceded.

_

* * *

If you're wondering about Karla's attitude and mood swings, things should start to become clearer in the next chapter._


	31. A New Lead

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS. _

_Hi all, I know I've been AWOL for most of the last year, work and studying have left me little time to indulge on this site, but this chapter has been nearly ready for a while and I'm trying to cajole my muse into co-operating and finishing things. I'm sorry to have left you all in limbo and hope you like the update._

_My thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta all those months ago and I hope all is well with you._

**Chapter 31 – A New Lead**

Flack approached the locker room and tried to prepare himself for what he might find. Garcia's words of warning were ringing in his ears, but she hadn't been there to see Karla's reaction as she left the conference room.

He was just about to reach out and push his way in when the door opened and she stepped out. For a few seconds she seemed to stop in the doorway oblivious to his presence, then she finally looked up at him. He was a little relieved that she looked better than when she had rushed from the room minutes before.

"Are-" he barely opened his mouth before the surprised look in her eyes switched to an angry glare and she held her hand up to him.

"Don't start," she snapped, "I don't need you hovering, Don. I told you I needed space to get my head straight, there's a lot of stuff going on and I need to process it all, I get that somehow this whole mess with those attacks and Victor and my undercover case are all linked, but right now I'm struggling to work out how, you can't do that for me and as much as I don't want him here I know Derek's going to be showing up and there are things that I'm going to have to hear that I don't want to know." She stopped when he grinned at her as a thought occurred to him, "so it's funny is it?" it seemed as if her angry glare just got worse, if that was possible, but he couldn't help himself.

He raised his eyes at her and she looked away. "You didn't give me a chance to say anything, yeah I was going to ask if you're okay, but clearly that was the wrong thing to do, the other thing I was going to ask was if you're hungry. Stella gave me this huge food order for Thai and right now it's getting cold." His tone was a little more edgy than he'd intended, but she'd surprised him again and put him off guard.

She was quiet for a moment then looked back at him, the steely grey of her eyes softened a little. "Oh, I'm sorry," she murmured. "I guess I'm just feeling a little sensitive right now and-"

He raised his hand, attempting to stop any further rant that might start. "Karla stop. ... I get that you're independent and all that stuff, it's good, I'm on your side, just because we closed the case at the evidence warehouse, it doesn't mean we're not going to figure out what else is happening, ... I think what I'm trying to say is- I'm here if there's anything you want."

She stepped forward and traced her fingers down his bruised jaw. "I know and I'm grateful, but right now there's only one thing I can focus on."

"Figuring out who Victor is?" Don asked, certain of the question.

"That's second, I was wondering why I felt like my throat was cut, you mentioned food. I've been too hyped up all day to eat properly, I'm starving."

"Seriously?" He laughed and she nodded. He was a little confused over her attitude, the way she was acting now was the complete opposite to what he expected when she left the conference room before.

"And you know something else?"

He wasn't sure if he was ready for the next revelation, but he bit the bullet and asked. "No, what?"

"I love Thai food." He was amazed at how her eyes danced as the smile spread across her lips.

...

It had been over an hour since they had all eaten and everyone was focused back on processing evidence. Flack was back at the precinct going over some paperwork and Karla was running computer searches in the conference room. Mac was the first one to see the two men in casual dress step off the elevator and put down the report he was reading and stood up from his desk as they looked around. He'd already been warned by Flack that Karla's old FBI team were in the city and would want to help and right then he was grateful, maybe her old partner could answer questions she couldn't.

By the time he reached the door to his office they had located their destination and were heading towards him.

"SSA Hotchner, from the BAU at Quantico, SSA Morgan. I believe you're expecting us."

Mac nodded, introduced himself and shook their hands, before directing them into his office and all of them taking seats around his desk.

"We came straight over when Garcia called us, we just finished a case in Jersey and were spending a night in the city, so forgive the casual appearance. Three other members of my team have gone to the hotel and my media liaison can be back here tomorrow if needed. We're at your disposal, just tell us what you need us to do," Hotch opened.

"I appreciate it, except that right now we're not sure exactly what we're dealing with. You know that Karla Morgan has been here for several months working with NYPD on breaking a ring of thieves who have been stealing from our evidence warehouse. She's been working in there undercover for the last month, last night the latest theft was underway and we were able to raid the place and take out the inside guys and two others. It seems that for the most part it was a pretty small operation but a couple of things came out during the raid and later in interrogation and we're not sure how it all links up at this stage. We think there may be another party involved someone the team called Victor, but we're beginning to wonder if it may have something to do with a threat from Karla's past, someone called Vladimir Kharlamov."

"Kharlamov?" questioned a stunned Morgan, leaning forward. "I never thought I would hear that name again. What makes you think that he's involved with this case?"

"I thought your technical analyst was briefing you," Mac said, a little confused about the agents apparent lack of background.

"I'm sorry, we only got the basic details - that Karla had been working undercover and may have found a link to an old case she and Agent Morgan worked a while back. She thought it best we got all the details from you." Hotch explained.

"How is Karla?" Morgan asked as he looked over his shoulder to see if he could see her.

"She's shaken up, but safe, for now. We need to figure out if what we heard is a viable threat and how to deal with it if it is. What can you tell us about Vladimir Kharlamov?"

"About 7 years ago Karla and I were brought in for an undercover op with Chicago PD. I was tracking down guns and drugs through a gang, Karla was my wife, she started out as my handler, but the guys were getting a little suspicious when I bailed out to see her a couple of times, so we upped the ante, she moved in with me and we got married. She started teaching school and the gang liked that I had a nice respectable white wife. She'd get information out through a delivery driver visiting the school. About 16 months in things got a little shaky, there was a shuffle of the top dogs, new orders started coming out, but us guys near the bottom didn't know who was running the show. I had to step things up a bit, get more proactive, trying to get nearer to finding out, we were getting close to bringing the whole thing down but we needed to take out the new leaders too." Morgan paused for a minute and ran his hands over his head. "About a week before the final raid, I was hauled in, Karla's photo was shoved in my face and they told me that the new boss had plans for her if I didn't do what they wanted me to."

"What was that?"

"Kill a state senator."

"And what about Karla?" asked Hotch, not having heard the details before.

"They made it quite clear that there were worse ways than death to handle the situation. ... Do you have pictures of Joey?"

Mac was a little taken by surprise at the sudden deviation from the explanation Morgan was giving, but he opened the file before him and handed over a picture. Morgan took it and stared at it for a moment.

"Morgan do you recognise that man?" Hotch asked.

Morgan ducked his head for a moment, then rubbed his hand over his face before looking up, his expression a mixture of anger and fear. "Yeah, I do, he was the guy I met with that night, he was Vladimir's right hand man. ... Dimitri Koslov."

"We didn't detect a Russian accent." Mac felt confused over the vastly different names.

"He was second generation, born in Miami, his parents died when he was a baby, grew up in foster care most of his life, started hanging out with the Russian gangs as a teenager but when most of the gang was split during the raids in the late 80s he started moving around ending up in Chicago in the mid 90s, he never perfected much of any accent, didn't learn to speak Russian either."

"So the guy we're holding as Joey Brownlow is really Dimitri Koslov?" Mac asked, clarifying the situation and for a moment Hotch merely listened from the sidelines as Mac and Morgan traded information.

"Yeah, and Karla's seen him?"

"She was with him in the warehouse and she witnessed part of his interrogation."

"And she didn't remember?"

"He certainly managed to spook her, but she doesn't know why." Mac detected some confusion and concern emanating from the junior of the two agents.

"Then she still hasn't remembered."

"Remembered what?" asked Mac.

"That he abducted her." They were all silent for a few minutes, Mac cleared his throat to speak, but Morgan continued. "We were planning to raid the gang's hideouts, just before I was due to shoot the senator, but the night before several members of the gang broke into our house, I was knocked out, when I came to they had me in a warehouse chained to a wall, they told me that Karla was with Dimitri. They showed me video of Karla tied to a bed in some sleazy motel and said if I didn't complete my mission the boss was going to –" Morgan stopped, clearly emotional at the memories which were being raised. He dropped his head and stared at the floor for a moment as if composing himself. Mac was tempted to press further, but as the other man looked up again the hint of unshed tears stopped him. It was clear that whatever had happened had left a lasting emotional scar. Morgan glanced at his superior and when he spoke his voice was only semi composed, "I can't Hotch, I can't go there."

"Morgan, you know I'm familiar with some of the details, but what I think Detective Taylor wants is to know if anything happened to her?" Hotch responded gently, trying to move things forward.

"No, they kept her pretty drugged up and she'd tried to fight them off when they broke into the house, so she'd got pretty beaten up, including a skull fracture when they banged her head against the floor. After we found her she was in the hospital for a couple of weeks and unconscious for several days, she never remembered what happened, lost all memory of that night and the day after. Doctors said she was unlikely to ever recover it... Are you sure this is all connected?" he asked, clearly hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

"Unfortunately yes. I gather from what you're saying that somehow Vladimir and Dimitri escaped the raid." This time it was Mac speaking, his tone even and sympathetic.

Morgan nodded, taking time to scrub his hand over his face before launching into another monologue, laying out more details of how the undercover operation ended. "When Karla didn't make a scheduled check in about an hour after the raid on the house, everything went crazy, the warehouse where they were holding me was a bloodbath by 8am, pretty much the rest of the gang's hideouts too, SWAT hit hard and fast. ... It took us all day to find Karla, somehow Vladimir and Dimitri slipped the net, but the motel owner told us she was lucky, most of the girls that he saw with them didn't stay there too long, they were shipped off to other cities and abroad."

It was becoming clear to Mac that the case was becoming far more complex, the further they dug into it. It was also apparent that the agent before him was deeply concerned, something that became clearer when Morgan looked out to the hallway, obviously looking for the woman under discussion. Unable to locate her he turned to the Crime Lab boss, "Can I see her?"

Mac nodded, "we'll take a break, Karla's in the conference room down the hall to the right. Make yourselves at home, break room's across the way, coffee's usually fresh if not the best quality." Morgan nodded his head briefly, pushed himself out of his chair and left the office.

Mac was tempted to leave things as they were, but there was something bothering him about Karla's history. "There's something else I hope you can clarify for me," he waited for Hotch to nod his agreement. "Has anyone actually told Karla what happened at the end of the raid?"

Hotch sighed heavily, "at the time doctors said she had short term memory loss and it would come back gradually. In the months that followed, after they joined the BAU it was clear that she wasn't going to remember, so Morgan took her back to Chicago and told her everything, she chose to deal with it by compartmentalising, blocking it out if you like. I'm no doctor but it's possible that's why she's so vague about the details." Hotch held Mac's gaze for a moment, then glanced down the hallway before checking his watch, "I should check in with the rest of my team, but with the time, maybe we can pick things up in the morning? I assume after being up all night your team need a break," he suggested.

"I think that's a good idea. We just need to arrange safe accommodation for Karla."

"I think we can take care of that. We're booked into a local hotel and I doubt Morgan will want to be far from her side tonight, I think I'll be able to placate him if I have her bunk with one of my female agents."

"If Karla agrees, I'm happy with that," Mac concurred.

...

Karla was alone in the conference room and was grateful for the silence as she worked. She had managed to finish her report on the warehouse and was starting to turn her attention to the latest developments, but the events of the last 24 hours were starting to loop over and over in her mind, like a never ending movie. She rubbed her eyes and rested her arms on the table, letting her head rest on them for a minute while she tried to regain her focus, she was tired, but she didn't want to sleep. If she did she was scared that the dream that had plagued her for a year after the undercover op and again last night would return. Dream may be the wrong word, it was more like flashed photos, creepy images in black and white.

She couldn't fight the fatigue any more, she just couldn't help giving in to the blackness that engulfed her.

_She never got to scream as she saw the butt of the gun strike the back of Derek's head, a hand clamped over her mouth, she tried to fight, she felt the force of the blow to her abdomen and the hands release her as she slumped to the ground gasping for breath, except she didn't feel her arms cushion her fall; instead, her head hit the stone floor of their kitchen._

_It was foggy, that was funny, she remembered it being a nice day before, her head was fuzzy, her mouth was dry, there was a strange smell, she coughed, she tried to move her arms to sit up but nothing seemed to work, then she could see a black figure with white mist for a face,, then she saw the syringe getting closer to her and she tried to scream, but it was like no sound would come out. She fought frantically trying to stop the advance of the creepy figure and the drugs she knew they were going to pump into her, she had to fight, she had to scream, to let someone know ..._

Karla bolted upright, her hand over her mouth stifling the scream she felt building, her heart was pounding, her breathing ragged. It had happened again. The same damn dream, why now? Well she knew the answer to that: being tied up and having your life threatened had opened up something, but she still had no idea what.

She looked around; several papers had been pushed on the floor so she set about picking them up, her mind still more on the dream from a moment before as she thought about something that hadn't occurred to her in a long time until a few hours before. The undercover case, why did she have the sense that they were connected?

Three quick raps on the door before it opened drew her attention as she stood up. She dropped the papers on the table as Morgan entered the room.

The moment of him being hit over the head flashed into her mind and all she could feel was relief that he was there standing before her. As he stepped towards her she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly round his neck. "My god, you're alright!" she gasped in his ear, before kissing him.

Shocked at the reception, he gently cupped her cheek and stepped back, still keeping contact, but far enough to stop the kiss. "It's a nice welcome babe, but not what I expected and what do you mean I'm alright?"

Karla flopped back into a chair and hung her head in her hands for a minute before pushing her hair back and looking up as he took the seat next to her and took her hands. "What's going on sweetheart?"

She thought about not telling him, but she knew he wouldn't buy her excuses for a minute. "The nightmare and flashbacks from the undercover op are back. I'm sorry, I guess I was a little disoriented, I'd just dozed off and the damn thing started, I guess you caught me before I had things straight in my head again."

"How are you now?"

"Tired, confused. Something about this guy Joey has my spider senses running riot, but I don't know why."

"How much do you remember about the end of the undercover op?"

"You being knocked out, mostly just brief images, flashes of things, I remember being held down, not being able to stop what they were doing to you."

"I know, but they didn't really hurt me. We talked about that. But you know that the two guys running the show got away?"

"Yeah, Vladimir and Dimitri I think you called them when you told me. What about them?"

"They're here in New York, well at least Dimitri is."

Karla raised her eyes to look at him from where she had been staring at their hands. "What does that mean?"

"For Dimitri, nothing other than a 6 by 8 cell at Rikers. Right now, we don't know where Vladimir is."

Karla studied him for a moment as he held his eyes on her. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"I think deep down you know, but you've just not been ready to admit it. The team are here, Hotch is talking things over with Detective Taylor, you have them watching your back too, now could be the time to let this go once and for all."

"I don't understand." Karla couldn't make her brain engage and get around the words flowing from him. His calm voice doing more to sooth her and help her relax in her exhausted state than she really wanted.

Hearing the door open Morgan decided not to press her, she was clearly too exhausted to follow half of what he was saying and if she was able to sleep he didn't want to give her new nightmares with the new information. "Alright, I'll leave it for tonight, you need to get some sleep. Where are you staying?"

"She's coming with us, I talked to Prentiss, they'll share a room tonight. Karla, Emily can't wait to see you and catch up on the gossip," Hotch announced taking the opportunity to let them know he was there, uncertain if they'd heard his entrance.

"Actually that sounds really good. I've missed talking to her and JJ the last month," Karla agreed with a brief smile.

"JJ's back home but I guess you two girls will have fun," Hotch said, while eyeing the piles of folders and information spread around the room.

"A bit like old times. Thanks Hotch, I feel kind of stupid having you all here dealing with something I'm not even sure of myself."

"And here I thought you were going to try and kick us out and claim all the glory for yourself," teased Morgan.

"Not seriously, I just didn't want you to whisk me off to a safe house miles from anywhere and keep me in the dark," Karla replied.

"Not this time, we need you just as much as you need us," Hotch answered. "So how about dinner with the team for old time sake?"

"I've just eaten, but I won't stop you guys. How soon do you want to leave?"

"Now?" suggested Morgan.

"Give me five minutes?" she asked standing and peering into the lab.

"Alright, you have your go bag?" replied Hotch.

"I'll get it on my way, I just need to speak to someone."

"Anything to do with that detective bodyguard you had last time I was here?" asked Morgan smiling at her.

"None of your business.," she answered smiling back before leaving the room and the two agents alone.

"That went a whole lot better than I expected," Morgan sighed, pushing himself out of the chair. "I thought she was going to fight me at every turn."

"She's exhausted, she always gives in to you when she's not slept for 24 hours," Hotch stated, repeating what Morgan himself had told Flack the month before.

Morgan chuckled. "You're right about that. Maybe I just struck lucky."

...

Stella was still working in trace and looked up to see Karla heading her direction. "Hi Stella, have you talked to Flack since dinner?" she asked, hovering in the doorway.

"I think he was called out, Hawkes left a little while ago saying he was meeting him at a scene," Stella answered with a thoughtful look.

"Okay, if you talk to him later can you let him know that I'm going to spend the night with my old team, I'll see him tomorrow."

"Will do. You get a good night's sleep tonight."

"I hope so. I hope you're all done soon."

"Just waiting on a test result and then I'm dragging Mac out of here. I think we've all had enough for today." The machine beeped indicating her results were ready and she pulled them off the printer.

"Hope it's good news, 'night." Karla turned away as Stella called goodnight before reading the results.

A few minutes later as she put the finishing touches to the report on the sample and signed it she noticed Karla leaving with two men. One she recognised as the FBI agent she had met the month before. Quickly clearing up she headed to Mac's office.

"Karla just left and my results are in. I think it's time we got out of here. I know the perfect place for a nightcap."

Mac looked up wearily from the file he was reading as he lounged in his chair, his feet on the desk. Seeing Stella he sat up, and gave her a smile. "You know that's the best offer I've had all day. You think we could combine that nightcap with a little massage?"

Stella smiled. "It's a great idea, you feeling a little tense Mac? Want me to rid you of the knots in your shoulders?"

He stood and turned off his computer and the desk light, then circled the desk and rested his hands on her shoulders as he planted a brief kiss on the back of her neck, thankful she still had her hair tied up, before gently moving his thumbs over her skin. "Actually I was thinking I could return the favour tonight, I saw how tense you looked with Joey this afternoon."

She slowly turned around out of his hold and cupped his face. "I thought you'd never ask," she whispered before giving him a brief kiss and linking her arm with his as they left his office "Are the FBI going to help?"

"We'll talk about that tomorrow, let's just say we've got a new lead."

* * *

_Please leave me some feedback on your way out, it will encourage me to update again soon._


	32. The one who got away

_A big apology for disappearing again for so long. I've finally worked out this chapter and got a handle on the direction they are going with the case. Next chapter is underway, so I really hope not to have such a long gap in future._

_As always huges thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta._**_  
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**Chapter 32 – The one who got away**

Karla bolted up in bed, her eyes wildly trying to pick out the features of the furniture in the dark as she gasped for breath, while trying not to make any noise and wake Emily. She was bathed in sweat and shaking while her stomach was churning violently. She could almost feel the bile in her throat as the latest memories from the nightmare danced in her head. In an attempt to keep quiet she pressed her hands over her mouth, but no matter what she tried to think of, the images that had haunted her for so long, images that until now had no real distinction, came back to her. Whatever had happened in the last 24-hours had somehow triggered something and the reality of what she had gone through 7 years before was coming at her like a freight train. She needed to work it all out and there was only one person who could help her do it.

Dropping her hands and throwing back the bed clothes she almost threw up as she climbed out of bed, but her determination to let Emily sleep gave her the energy to make it to the door without any noise. With a final glance at the sleeping figure Karla slipped into the dimly lit hotel corridor. She hadn't waited to change and barely even noticed that she was wandering the hallway in her pyjamas and bare feet.

The sound of the elevator opening around the corner seemed to register with her and she glanced anxiously around her then began pounding on the door a few away from her and Emily's room.

…..

The pounding on his door roused Morgan from sleep, reaching out he switched on the bedside light and glanced at the clock. He knew it was unlikely to be one of the team, if something had happened they would have called his cell phone, it was quicker and probably safer. Reaching for his gun as he climbed out of bed he was prepared for anything after the latest developments with Karla. Peeking through the spyhole and noting his early morning visitor he replaced the safety on his gun and set it on the shelf inside the closet as he opened the door. Still weary he opened the door without any thought to his current sleeping attire, a pair of pyjama pants, his chest bare. He rubbed his hand over his head as he forced himself awake and took in Karla's haggard appearance. His immediate thought was why she was here and not with Emily. He knew the other Agent wouldn't have let her out still wearing her pjs, so what had happened to her?

His level of alertness was suddenly increased as he began piecing things together.

"Hey, what is it? Where's Emily?" he asked huskily as he cleared his throat, reaching out to Karla as she stumbled into his arms unable to speak for a moment, despite his gentle encouragement.

He acted instinctively and wrapped his arms around her and drew her into his room settling them on the bed, while his mind worked through the possible scenarios. The key was locked in Karla's head and he coaxed her again to tell him what had her so spooked, "Karla, baby is it the nightmare? You're scaring me here; you have to tell me what's going on. Does Emily know where you are?"

Without any answers he reached for his phone on the bed stand, it was clear he couldn't leave Karla alone from the way she clung to him and he needed someone to check on Emily, "I'm calling Hotch."

Finally something made a connection and she reached up and wrapped her hand around his, stopping him from making the call, "no."

It was the first coherent thing she had said so he tried again to get through to her, "then you've gotta talk to me, is Emily alright?" He couldn't help rubbing his hand up and down her back.

"She's … sleeping," Karla managed to voice, before slowly pushing herself up to sit facing him while she wrung her hands. "I think I remember." He reached out to take her hands, but she pulled back, climbed off the bed and began pacing the room. "They took me… they kept me tied to a bed … in a sleazy motel … they drugged me!"

Satisfied that Emily was apparently in no danger, for several minutes he let Karla rant, working through what she hadn't remembered after the undercover operation. He couldn't be sure how much was real and how much she was fabricating, but going by what he had been told when they had found her, he guessed that it was mostly true.

She continued to pace the room in silence for a minute, suddenly she stopped, her hand flying to her mouth again. "I know who he is," she mumbled behind her hand. The signs were not good, this had been her reaction when she began gaining the fleeting memories years before after they left Chicago. All he could do was be there for her when she needed him and judging by the pallor of her skin and the low moan it wasn't going to be long.

Standing up and moving towards her he gently removed her hand from her mouth and caressed her face, "who are you talking about?"

She had barely looked at him since she practically fell into his room, but now her eyes were fixed on him, her pupils dilated, the whites of her eyes almost glaring in the low light, showing how freaked she was right then. "Joey Brownlow, it's been eating at me all day … he's Dimitri, he was at our house, he knocked you out and took me."

Before Morgan could say anything, she had broken away from his grasp and run into his bathroom; it was barely a few seconds before he heard her throwing up. He opened the mini-bar and pulled out a bottle of soda and unscrewed the cap as he followed her.

…..

Stella watched as the FBI team entered the lab the next morning and made their way to the conference room where Mac had gathered their own team. After quick introductions she looked around.

"Is Karla joining us?" she asked, noting her absence and that of Agent Morgan.

"She will later. Karla didn't sleep well and her nightmare triggered something, we've had a long talk over breakfast and Agent Morgan has taken her to meet with an FBI therapist. Its standard procedure for her to have counselling after an operation like your warehouse raid, however, they have given us some information to start working with," Hotch informed them all.

"Then let's get started," Mac confirmed, directing the teams to take seats.

The BAU team set out the information provided by Morgan and Karla at breakfast, really it was nothing more than details of the undercover operation they had been involved in years before, but at least it meant they were all apprised of the facts in order to understand the connections.

The teams were beginning to wrap up, planning their tasks for the day when the door opened and Karla entered with Morgan close behind. Flack had the seat next to Stella and she couldn't help notice the way he sat up straighter and watched the pair, the tension in his jaw the only thing giving away what he might be feeling. He'd noticed, just as she had the comforting hand Morgan had on Karla's back as they stood at the head of the table and observed everyone for a moment. It wasn't hard to notice the anxious look on their faces or Karla's pale complexion either.

Hotch glanced between them before summarising quickly the discussions and action plans. When he finished Morgan stepped forward and looked as if he was going to speak, but everyone noted the way Karla rested her hand on his arm and drew him back.

"Derek, I should do this," her voice was shaky, but she seemed determined. Everyone waited while she paused for a minute, the BAU team eyeing the duo, perhaps waiting for Morgan to argue with her, but he conceded with a brief nod to her as he rested his hand on hers for a few seconds before breaking the contact and letting her continue. "Agent Hotchner will have given you the details about the sting operations Derek and I were involved in 7 years ago, but what he couldn't have told you was what happened to me during those 24 hours after I disappeared from our home."

Stella stole a glance at Flack and could see there had been no change to his facial expression, his tight jaw and the firm gaze still on the female agent. They had spent some significant time together in the early days of the investigation, but it seemed that their connection was running a little deeper from their encounters since the raid on the warehouse.

Turning her attention back to Karla she noted how she fixed her gaze on Flack's as she spoke.

"For a few weeks now I've been having the same nightmare, or what I thought was a nightmare, it seems this case somehow has triggered repressed memories of our undercover operation. Yesterday when I saw Joey Brownlow I thought I recognised him, but couldn't remember why … I was awake half the night trying to work out why he was haunting me so much. After that the nightmare was more real and less vague," she paused for breath, regulating her breathing. "In the struggle at the house I pulled the mask off one of our attackers after Derek was knocked out and a few seconds before I passed out myself. It was him, except that wasn't his name then. He was there when I first came to, but it was his boss who taunted me and injected me with drugs; his boss is Vladimir, the same guy we identified as Victor, the one behind the warehouse thefts."

Morgan stepped forward and rested a hand on her back again then looked around the assembled group, outlining more of the facts Karla had remembered. That she was destined to become his latest conquest in a forced prostitution ring, but somehow Vladimir had been tipped off and he and Dimitri escaped. Meeting the eyes of each of his team Stella watched the slow breath he blew out before he spoke again. "I talked to some of my old contacts, rumour has it that they've tracked her down to the city and Vladimir wants to teach her a lesson."

Stella noticed the way Karla linked her fingers with Morgan's and the quick reassuring glance he gave her, before she faced the two teams again, but this time she avoided looking at Flack. "I'm the one who got away … what we thought were attempts on my life last month were probably just intended to scare me so that they could corner me and..."

Karla stopped, for a moment she met Stella's eyes before she turned to Morgan, "I thought I could do this..." Her voice trembled at first, but then cracked as she swallowed her words, giving a hint of the myriad of emotions she was feeling. Flack was clearly unsettled as he fidgeted in his chair and Emily too was anxious as she watched the couple at the head of the table, as she linked her own fingers and rested her chin on the prayer-like stance she had taken.

Morgan turned to her and cupped one hand against her face holding her attention on him as he lowered his voice almost to a whisper, "hey, it's okay, we talked about this, you can stop anytime you want to, it was your choice to do this, but you don't have to, you can wait somewhere else while I tell them if you want." Stella barely made out the words, but there was no mistaking her determined response.

"No, I need to do this," Karla replied after taking a few deep breaths, then she turned back to the two teams gathered around the table. Her eyes settled on Emily this time and the brunette gave her a nod of encouragement and a fleeting smile.

"You can do this Karla," she coaxed gently.

Karla fixed her gaze and nodded at her friend, "I'm the one they want, if it wasn't for you," she suddenly swung her attention back to Flack who seemed to fidget uncomfortably under her intense look. "If you hadn't been there, I have no doubt that one of those attempts would have been successful, and they would have taken me. … I am determined that they are not going to get away with making me a victim, but I have to accept that for the moment, I am and I've been advised to take a step back from this case, to give myself time to process what happened back in Chicago and the warehouse here. They recommended I return to DC."

"It sounds a sensible decision," Hotch answered drawing her attention.

"I said I was advised, but I can't stand the thought of going back right now, all my friends and family are here, so Derek and I have talked about it, I'm going up to my father's for a couple of nights. Close enough that if you need me I can be back here in an hour."

"Is that wise? If someone's after you shouldn't you think about going back to DC we can arrange protective custody," David Rossi voiced the concerns everyone in the room had.

"I'll be fine, I'm going to be armed, my father has connections and since he retired access to his home address is restricted to a handful of people who I can trust."

Morgan must have realised there were more questions forming from his team and stepped forward, his hand once again resting on Karla's back. "Guys, I know you have a million questions, but Karla needs this, being with family right now is going to be better for her. I've spoken to the local sheriff's department, they'll have a regular patrol and there'll be a hot line to the local station, Garcia's setting it up now, under the direction of the head of the New York Field Office."

"Alright, JJ's on her way back, here, she can stay with you," Hotch began as he stood up and moved to the head of the table, speaking initially to Karla then turning to the rest of the group. "Dave, you liaise with the New York Bureau Chief and ensure that the details are kept on a strict need to know. Detective Taylor, I'm counting on the discretion of your team, no one outside this room knows Karla's whereabouts unless it is cleared with you or I first."

Stella glanced between the two men and before Mac could speak she interrupted as he opened his mouth. "We should tell Adam, he can help."

Mac looked at her briefly then at Hotch. "Adam Ross is our electronics expert; he can work with your field office to set up any necessary surveillance."

Stella sat back; pleased Mac had followed her suggestion through. For a moment she tuned out of the on-going exchange as she caught a sense of Flack's frustration as he shuffled in his seat. Taking her pen she quickly scribbled a note on her pad, and slid it across the desk to him, prompting a hastily written note back. His scrawl wasn't the easiest to define, but over the years she had got used to it and the words held no mystery now for her.

She wasn't sure how long she had tuned out for, but it was Mac's voice that drew her attention back, "Stella?"

"Sorry Mac..." She looked around and noticed everyone packing up their notes and leaving the room. Morgan and Karla were in quiet conversation in one corner while the others filed out.

"Stella, you work with Karla on a facial reconstruction for Vladimir, she's the only survivor to know what he looks like."

"It's been 7 years Mac; he may have changed his appearance."

"It's our best shot right now. Once it's complete work with Adam to run the facial recognition on all known associates of Joey Brownlow."

"This is getting confusing shouldn't we pick a name and stick to it so we know who we're talking about?" interjected Flack as he hovered nearby seemingly waiting for something.

"We'll stick with Victor and Brownlow, but make sure your reports document their aliases," he advised Stella then turned to the detective again, "Flack you got any contacts in the Russian community that might give us a surname for Victor?"

"I can talk to a few people that might get me something," he offered a little reluctantly.

A moment later they too left the room to go about their business.

…..

It was after lunch when JJ and Karla were escorted by Morgan and Hotch to a waiting FBI Field Office SUV to take them out of the city.

As JJ climbed into the vehicle Morgan and Karla exchanged a hug. "I'm gonna miss you babe, but you can call me anytime," he told her.

"I'll be fine. I'm glad you were there last night."

"I'll be there every night if you need it; you know where we're staying."

"I know, but it's time we both stand on our own two feet and too much has happened to go back now. When this is all over you know what we have to do."

"You stay safe now you hear," he whispered hugging her tightly, brushing her hair from her face and kissing her cheek, ignoring the comment she had just made, but he knew it was inevitable, they had been apart too long to consider trying to repair things now and they were still good friends, so it was a good time to deal with things.

"You too." She turned and climbed into the car and Hotch pushed the door closed, signalling to the driver he was free to go.

Hotch was aware of Morgan watching the vehicle as it joined the flow of traffic towards the route out of the city.

"She'll be fine, JJ's capable and surveillance is ready, if anyone goes near her we'll know." Hotch tried to reassure his senior agent, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Now let's get this SOB before he does any more damage."

Morgan nodded slowly, running his hand over his head as he turned to re-enter the building. "He's mine," the agent snarled, bringing his focus back on the case at hand.

…..

The women were both quiet for a while after beginning their journey, but eventually JJ gave up on the silence and with quiet coaxing encouraged Karla to talk. Soon they were both engrossed in catching up about how big JJ's son had grown and other gossip from the team. They paid little attention to the city that was gradually disappearing behind them as they joined one of the major routes north towards the suburbs.

…..

After the briefing earlier Flack had deliberately avoided Karla and the BAU team. He was feeling pretty useless right then, not to mention slightly put out that since her old team had shown up his advice and support no longer seemed needed and she had always been with her ex. Rationally he knew there was a reason for it, but he didn't want to admit that he wanted to be the one to help her. He scrubbed his hand over his face; it was eating away at him that the first woman who had got under his skin since Jess was out of his reach. Trying to distract himself he pulled out the case file and decided there was something he could do, he could shake up a few of his informants and try and get info on Victor.

He stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, not that he intended to wear it, the weather was still scorching, having seen no real let up in the weeks since he had first laid eyes on her in a dingy bar. Making his way to the exit he saw his rival for Karla's attention approaching. He knew that Karla and her escort had just left and he wanted to avoid any dealings with the FBI but he wasn't given the chance.

"Flack," called Morgan reinforcing his presence as he gained the detective's attention.

"Morgan." Flack wasn't in the mood to be sociable, but equally he didn't know why he was suddenly so invested in the woman he hardly knew. Maybe Stella was right when she wrote the note. He needed to talk to Karla and work out his feelings.

"Karla asked me to give you this," the agent held out a piece of paper, which Flack took and glanced at before pushing it into his pocket. "She was hoping to see you before she left." Morgan reinforced her words in the note.

"I was busy," Flack answered a little petulantly and for several minutes they awkwardly shared information about the case and he was about to make his excuses and leave when Morgan's phone rang.

"Yeah Hotch? … Are they sure? … Alright, I got it. How long? I'm with Flack now, we'll take it."

Listening to the one sided conversation and the sudden concern lacing Morgan's voice Flack frowned, his concentration on what was about to hit him between the eyes.

"What's up?" he asked when Morgan finished the call.

"Where's your car, I'll explain on the way," he nudged his arm and turned to the exit.

"This way," directed Flack leading them towards the garage.

"The girls are in trouble, they've picked up a tail so they're heading back here, and Hotch wants us to intercept them for back up."

….

They had all spotted the vehicle at about the same moment, when it raced through an intersection after them as the light turned red, but instead of speeding past it slammed on its breaks and sat on their bumper as they drove on. Now they had made it to the city but were still several blocks from the Crime Lab and Karla had her eyes peeled for signs of the back-up they'd been promised.

However, before anyone could identify the support vehicle, their driver pulled into the left-hand lane ready to turn at the following junction, but that left them open to the street they were just crossing. No one saw the truck pull away from the kerb and they were blindsided as it ran the red light.

The driver slumped forward over the steering wheel, blood flowing down the side of his face and the last thing JJ remembered was the sound of buckling metal and shattering glass as the windows on the side of the impact flew in and the darkness consumed her.

* * *

_Lily - I left the first scene with Stella's note to Flack alone, but there will be more about what was in it later._

_To everyone else, thanks for reading and please exit via the blue button.  
_


	33. Intercepted

_Hi all, sorry for the delay again, RL has taken over again, I've been on the road a lot the last few months and not had as much time for writing. I do hope to improve my posting timelines and not keep you waiting as long next time, although there is an exam looming which I have to study for!**  
**_

_Thanks to Lily Moonlight for the sanity check._

_.  
_

**Chapter 33 – Intercepted**

Flack and Morgan were a few cars back as the FBI SUV approached the intersection: both were focused on its movements, trying to keep it in sight as they followed it back to the Crime Lab. With alert senses they were not only watching the FBI vehicle, but looking for anything else out of place that could indicate danger, which was how they spotted a tailing vehicle, another SUV. They slotted into the traffic lane next to both vehicles and hung back a couple of cars to keep watch. As they approached the next intersection the trailing SUV appeared to slow unnecessarily as they had a green light and then Morgan noticed the truck from their left as it ran the red light and careered into the FBI vehicle.

Due to their positioning they were fortunately spared injury from the impact, but they saw everything and noticed that there was no movement from the Federal Agents in the immediate aftermath; however, the door of the other SUV opened quickly as the vehicle braked.

"Damn it," cursed Morgan flying out of the car almost before Flack had stopped it, leaving the detective to radio it in. Sounds of gunshots began to rain down on them and Morgan dove for cover behind another vehicle, as the street quickly became blocked. Flack pushed his driver's door open and slipped out, pulling his own weapon as he gauged the number and location of the gunmen while he sought cover from the vehicle.

"Flack! There's 2 of them, they're making for the SUV!" Morgan called from several feet away.

"Got them," he called back, firing a couple of shots towards the gunmen, who promptly retaliated with several rounds of automatic fire in their direction, but their trained ears also picked up the sound of two shots from a handgun.

"We've got a third, but I can't make out where they are," Morgan added. "We've got to get to JJ and Karla."

Flack raised his head a few inches to peer in the direction they needed to go only to be met with a few rounds going over his head. "These guys are pissing me off!" he yelled.

…..

Stella rushed into Mac's office, not waiting for him to acknowledge her. "The FBI car's been ambushed, Flack just radioed in for back up and EMS. I didn't get a lot more out of him but they're pinned down by automatic gunfire. Patrols have been directed into the area and warned there are our guys there."

"Okay, do the FBI team know?"

"Danny's telling them now, I'm sending Lindsay, Hawkes and Adam down there to process when we've got everyone out," Stella answered quickly.

"Let's go and bring Danny too." Mac removed his service weapon from the drawer of his desk and clipped it to his belt as he followed Stella from the room.

…..

Hotch finished his conversation with Danny in the hallway and hurried into the conference room where the rest of the team were going through the files.

Emily had seen the exchange and frowned when she saw the anxious expression on the unit chief's face. "Hotch?"

"Karla and JJ have just been ambushed. Morgan and Flack are pinned down in a fire fight."

No one commented; they simply grabbed their things, hurrying after Hotch as he turned and headed for the elevator.

…..

Morgan managed to manoeuvre himself around a few vehicles to a fairly good position. Flack was still pinned down by his car, but the good news was that while he and the detective were held back, so were the attackers trying to reach the FBI team in the SUV.

He got a look at the destruction littering the intersection and let out a deep breath. There had still been no movement from the FBI team and that worried him. He worked his way back closer to the police department car and managed eye contact with Flack.

"There's no movement..." Any further explanation was cut off when another burst of gunfire shattered the temporary silence. Risking another look he saw what he hoped was a mirage, but his training and experience told him that it wasn't. The FBI car was spewing black smoke and flames from under the hood. "Flack, we need to get in there before it blows up. We've got maybe a couple of minutes."

"We're still waiting on backup," Flack answered while risking a look at the vehicle. "Got any suggestions how?"

"I'll take the driver's side, you take the other, we come out shooting like an old western movie, might hold them down enough for us to get close."

"Detective Flack," a uniformed officer greeted sliding down between them with his own gun drawn. "What do you need?"

"Morris, good, can you and your partner lay down some cover fire so we can get the FBI team out?"

"Got it. Tell us when."

Morgan watched as the officer crept back to his cruiser and took cover with his partner.

"On 3?" Flack suggested to Morgan.

"Let's do it," he agreed.

After a brief pause they made the count and moved simultaneously towards their target, accompanied by another burst of automatic fire, backed up by shots from 2 police issue revolvers and a third hand gun.

Ducking together behind another vehicle about half way to their destination there was no mistake about the additional 2 shots they heard, followed by the guttural moan of someone in pain.

"Looks like someone's on our side," Morgan commented, checking out the path they needed to go. "One's down."

Without further discussion they took off for the SUV again. Morgan began shooting directly at the remaining gunman as he ran and took him down with a shot to the stomach. Kicking their weapons away as they reached the vehicle Morgan moved straight to the driver's side, pulling open the rear door and finding an unconscious JJ. "Get Karla," he called to Flack who was already at the other side of the vehicle.

Pulling the door open, he was met with a gun aimed at his head.

…..

The team in Hotch's vehicle were tense as they sped through the New York streets after the Crime Lab vehicle. Emily continuously rapped her fingers against the window as she sat in the rear with Reid. Hotch's expression was firm, his eyes, had she been able to see them would have shown how concerned and angry he was, but his white knuckles on the steering wheel also showed that. Reid was unusually quiet, he seemed to have lost any will to spout random facts. The only one to try and rationalise everything was Rossi.

"The fact that Morgan and Flack are there is a good sign," he began.

"Assuming they've held off the gunmen," Emily snapped. "We shouldn't have listened to Karla. We should have put her into protective custody like we planned."

"Emily, there's no guarantee you know that. These bastards are determined to achieve something and we need to fix it before they do." Rossi's tone was equally tense.

Hotch's phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket and handed it to Rossi. "You take it."

"SSA Hotchner's phone, SSA Rossi speaking. … Mac? … Yes we're right behind you. … They are? … That's good news have they been able to check on the rest of our team yet? … Okay, we'll see you there." He hung up the phone and turned to the others. "NYPD have 2 suspects in custody and the gunfight is over. Flack and Morgan are okay and dealing with JJ, Karla and the driver."

"How are they?" Emily asked before he'd finished speaking.

"The car is in imminent danger of exploding so they're focused on clearing the vehicle. EMS are already on route. Mac said to follow his vehicle, NYPD are clearing a lane through for the Emergency services."

"We're just a few blocks away now," Hotch confirmed as they slowed in the traffic that had built up around the area.

…..

Flack was aware of Morgan lifting JJ away from the vehicle as he followed the line of the gun raising his eyes to meet Karla's. For a few seconds he thought she might shoot him, she seemed so unaware of him and her surroundings.

"Hey, Karla, it's me, Flack, it's all over, you can let me have the gun now," he tried to coax her with words, but she didn't respond or move, so he took the chance and rested his hand over hers and lowered it until she finally let him take the gun from her. A flicker in her eyes told him she was no longer in the catatonic state she first appeared.

"Hey, are you hurt?" he asked glancing at the driver who Morgan had returned for.

"No, I don't think so. Smoke?" she asked a little confused as the acrid grey plume began to spew into the car from somewhere under the dash.

"Yeah, we gotta go now, can you walk?"

She nodded and he helped her out of the car and over to the police cruiser as Morgan joined them laying the unconscious driver on the ground nearby. JJ was now sitting on the kerb holding a cloth to her head looking dazed as a young officer stood with her.

Flack was going to give way and let Morgan stay with Karla, but he felt her hand clasp his tighter, then she looked at him. He was a little taken aback by the intensity of the look in her eyes, a moment later he understood why.

"I'm back on this case, Flack," she stated. "I'm fed up with being the victim. We're going to start playing by my rules. I want these guys behind bars."

….

The team from the Crime Lab assembled quickly as they arrived in three vehicles. Mac quickly assessed the scene as he was joined by Flack and Karla. "Mac, we got two bad guys, one for Dr Hammerback the other is with EMS and uniforms en route to Mercy Hospital. The truck over there caused the accident, we're not sure who was driving, but it was all too convenient, so..."

As he paused for breath, Mac creased his brow and finished Flack's sentence, "it's connected."

"The silver SUV was tailing us, our driver took a detour to shake him off, but he stuck like glue," Karla added, indicating the vehicle in question parked at the intersection.

"Okay, Hawkes, Danny, take the truck, see if you can get us some prints." The male members of the team moved off towards their target as Mac turned to Stella and Lindsey. "Stella you and Lindsey take the silver SUV. They moved off and he turned to the remaining member of the team and waved his arm around the surrounding area, "Adam you and I will take the scene and police all the brass, we've had at least 2 bad guys shooting plus Flack and Morgan."

"And me," Karla offered. "I'm fairly certain I'm responsible for the dead guy."

"Fine, then you need to stay with Morgan and Flack until there's been a preliminary investigation. Are you hurt?" He asked casting a critical eye over her and noticing the faint trace of a seatbelt burn on the side of her neck.

He didn't miss the self-conscious move as she rested her hand over the bruise. "A few bruises, nothing serious, I just got shaken about. JJ and the driver got the worst as they were sitting on the side of the impact."

"They're being taken care of," Mac confirmed without moving his eyes from the young Federal Agent. Turning to the detective he issued more orders, "Flack, make sure she gets checked out then head back to the lab and wait for us."

"Mac, I'm fine," Karla protested.

"This is by the book, with two law enforcement agencies involved and major disruptions to the city streets the Chief is going to want answers, we don't want him or anyone else questioning our motives," Mac answered firmly, with a glance at Flack. "Goes for you too. You head back and wait for IAB." Receiving a confirmatory nod from Flack he turned to join Adam who was laying out markers where bullets or casings were located.

Flack glanced sideways at Karla; she was turning in a slow circle taking in the scene, "Something wrong?"

She completed her circuit and faced him. "I'm not sure, can I get a look at the earlier reports, from the attacks last month?"

"I'll bring them personally, but I'm not sure what they'll tell you that we don't already know."

"I've got a new theory," she answered without elaborating, making Flack frown as he wondered what she was thinking.

"Which is?" he asked trying to be patient, but really wanting to know everything right then.

"I want a look at the crime scene photos and bullet reports from the first and last attack." Turning slowly again and letting her eyes wander over the scene, Flack waited but she said nothing else and completing her twirl she marched off towards the BAU team.

…..

She stood next to Morgan who reached for her hand, which she let him squeeze briefly before pulling away. "How are JJ and the driver?" she asked as they turned their attention to her.

"Emily's gone to the hospital with them, but they were both conscious, driver has a broken arm and they probably both have concussion. We expect them to be kept in overnight. What about you, how are you doing?" Morgan spoke, turning her towards him so he could get a good look at her.

"Just a few bruises. I never lost consciousness and I never hit my head," she confirmed as he cast a critical eye over her.

"You should get checked out too," Hotch advised from behind her and she turned to the rest of the team.

"I will back at the Crime Lab."

She sensed she was about to get an earful from Morgan so she just held up her hand to him and glared at Hotch, much to Rossi's amusement as he stifled a smile. "Don't start Derek, Dr Hammerback or Dr Hawkes are perfectly capable of looking at a few bruises. I've got something more important to do. I have a theory, Flack's going to bring me some files, Reid, do you think you could lend me your awesome skills to review them while I work it through?"

"Sure," Reid answered.

"I would have thought Morgan was the one whose awesome skills got you through the bad stuff," Rossi's interjection was accompanied by a wicked grin.

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Rossi, our days are over, she's got a new admirer now," Morgan replied good-naturedly. "A certain NYPD detective is hoping for some action."

With furtive glances Rossi and Hotch turned to Flack who was oblivious to the conversation, which Karla was thankful for.

"Guys please, we've got more important things to think about right now," Karla groaned before they could say anything else.

"I'm sorry, baby, you're just too easy to wind up sometimes," Morgan soothed, rubbing his hand up her back.

"Okay, Morgan, Reid, you head back to the lab with Karla and Detective Flack and we'll meet you there," Hotch instructed as he indicated to Dave to walk with him as he headed towards where Mac was working around the FBI SUV, which was now barely smouldering after having the fire taken care of by the Fire Department.

…

Arriving at the lab, Reid and Morgan headed for the conference room while Flack escorted Karla to the Morgue where Sid Hammerback checked her out for signs of concussion and broken ribs.

"You sure are getting yourself into some scrapes, looks like you got off lightly this time and while it is always a delight to see you, I don't want any scrapes to bring you in here the wrong way if you understand."

"I do and it's not what I want either. Thanks Sid and I'm sorry for giving you more work," she answered.

He smiled as Flack reappeared in the door way and tapped on the frame, "I'm always happy to receive visits from the living."

"Actually Sid, it was the dead body I was referring to."

Sid nodded. "Happy to help with that too. Whose case is it?"

"Give the report to Stella or Mac, we've had to recuse ourselves until IAB clears us," Flack replied without further comment on the detail of the shooting.

Karla thanked Sid again for checking her out and left with Flack to head back up to the lab.

….

"Hey, baby girl," Morgan greeted their technical analyst back at Quantico as he answered the phone and put it on speaker.

"Don't you baby girl me, I told you not to go scaring me like that again," An annoyed voice sounded.

Morgan grinned at the protest as Karla and Flack arrived.

"Calm down, we're all okay, Karla's just come in with Detective Flack, you want to talk to her?"

"She's there? She's okay?" the panicked tone was clear even through the phone as she seemed to forget about ticking off the other agent.

"I'm fine, Pen, and I just spoke to Emily at the hospital, JJ's fine too, they're just keeping her overnight for observation."

"Oh thank God." They could all hear the semi-relieved tone of their technical analyst. "Now you, my chocolate God and you, Mr blue eyes detective I hope you're going to take better care of my girl. I want her to come home safe."

Morgan smirked. "We're working on it Garcia, but we need some help from you. I know you looked up stuff for Karla yesterday, so send us everything you found on Joey Brownlow and a buddy by the name of Victor. Also if you can work your magic with Chicago PD we'd like the original files from the undercover case and anything they have on Vladimir Kharlamov and Dimitri Koslov, including other known aliases, and open cases which might also link to them."

"Hold on, Pen, Detective Flack has spoken to a contact and the Chicago files are already on their way, they'll be here tomorrow morning. But what you can do is run a nationwide search for missing girls and women between 16 and 25 from the last 10 years. You're looking for multiple disappearances in a short space of time, if Chicago is typical, it'll be around 3 or 4 women over about 3 months. The sort of cases we're looking at is where the trail goes cold quickly and nothing has been heard since," Karla advised as she exchanged a glance with Morgan.

"Nice work, blue eyes," Garcia replied as the tapping of her computer keys could be heard in the background. "You're request of the great oracle has been heard, my friends. Later." The phone clicked and it was clear Garcia had ended the call.

Morgan turned to Karla as Flack choked back a laugh. "Tell me is she always like that?" he asked a little dumbfounded.

"Always," Karla replied.

"Wouldn't be Garcia if it wasn't," Morgan added. "You'll get used to her."

Flack grimaced. "I'm not sure I want to."

"She's harmless most of the time," Karla answered quickly earning a strange look from Flack. She grinned as she stepped closer to him and rested her hand on his chest, "don't worry, she may sound crazy but it's the way she handles the job. Now while we wait for the files to get here you said something about buying coffee."

"Flack she's a woman on a mission, I'd give in graciously," Morgan added with an amused smile.

"Alright," Flack conceded, holding his hands up. "Anyone else want one?"

* * *

_Please let me know what you think, I'm off now to celebrate, just got news my promotion has come through! _

_posted: 3 September 2012  
_


	34. Slow Progress

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_ Hi all, I know I've been AWOL again, work and studying have got in the way again, but this chapter finally came together and I've started on the next one. _

_Huge thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta and still being willing to help despite my erratic focus._

_Update: Just to remind you the BAU are in town helping out, so they'll pop up again in the next few chapters.  
_

_.  
_

**Chapter 34 - Slow Progress**

Reid stood in front of the white boards displaying photos of the scenes where previous attacks on Karla had happened. A thick file was balanced in one hand while he flipped the pages with the other.

He looked up as the door opened and Morgan, Flack and Karla entered after having been giving statements, or more precisely after being grilled by NYPD internal affairs and a representative of the FBI New York Field Office.

"Hey guys, how did it go?" he asked trying to be supportive.

Morgan answered for them with a shrug of his shoulders. "How it always goes. They try and twist things and in the end condemn you for chaos in the city and clear you anyway."

"Well I might have some good news," Reid continued, still eyeing the file in his hand.

"Tell us," demanded Karla tiredly.

"I think I know your theory," he replied as he glanced up at her and then turned to the board. "They didn't want to abduct you, not then; it was more of an attempt for them to let you know they could have."

"Reid, what are you saying?" Morgan asked, his tone heavy and serious as he began to get the drift of his colleague's thinking.

"That they wanted Karla to know they were watching her, that they could get to her anytime they wanted," Reid spoke without looking up from the file, he didn't want to see the looks given him by Morgan and Flack he could already feel the fury building. He did eventually look at Karla and directed his next statement to her. "That's why the first attack was at the precinct - you'd think you were safe there."

Flack was unusually quiet and watched the looks between Karla and Morgan before she spoke. "But that doesn't explain the other times."

"But it does: you were being followed by 2 FBI agents for protection, the fact that you tried to evade them played right into the unsubs' hands. They hadn't accounted for the presence of Detective Flack and it was a mistake, which is why they tried again in the park, to send the message that it didn't matter who you were with they would get to you."

Flack finally found his voice. "That's absurd!"

Karla turned to him from where she had been studying the photos. "No it isn't. They got to us before … 7 years ago, when we thought we had back up."

"Flack, they're playing some sick psychological game and they're ramping up to a grand finale, today could have been it." Morgan tried to keep his voice calm and controlled as he added his comments as he took a step closer to Karla, about to give her some form of physical contact for comfort.

Reid gave them an uneasy glance and stuttered a little and Karla moved away putting some distance between herself and the others. After hesitating a moment, Reid voiced the next piece of information. "If they'd have got Karla, chances are they would have taken JJ too, she fits their profile."

"They've got a profile?" Flack grimaced.

"Garcia's dug up cases all over the country, predominantly successful women in their early 20s mostly blonde with a smattering of brunettes and red-heads. She's still trying to pull information together, but she's identified about 100 women in the last 10 years who fit the profile you gave her."

"She's been able to get all that in a couple of hours?" Flack questioned incredulously.

"That's why the team needs her and why they're so good at what they do," Karla informed him.

"So what happens now?" asked Flack.

"We're going to take them down." Karla's rapid and determined response left no room for argument from the 3 men in the room, except the unasked question as to how.

The opening door announced the return of Hotch, Rossi and Mac from the crime scene. All wore serious expressions as they looked around.

"Flack, can you work with Danny and Hawkes to track down the owners of the truck and find out where it's been today?" Although framed as a question, Mac's sombre tone indicated it wasn't a request and Flack recognised it.

"Sure Mac, what about Karla?" he added shooting her a glance across the room.

"We've got a lot of work to do here she'll be fine with us," Rossi answered, resting an encouraging hand on the detective's shoulder.

A moment later the NYPD detectives had gone to pursue their own enquiries leaving the FBI group to catch up on the information Garcia had provided and review Reid's view of events.

All teams worked late into the night, barely stopping to grab the food which had been kindly supplied by Rossi with a call to one of his favourite New York restaurants.

…..

The following morning dawned early for Flack. Even though he was exhausted when he fell into bed he hadn't slept well, every time he closed his eyes he was launched back to that intersection, the echo of the bullets flying round him, the smoke billowing from the FBI vehicle and the vacant expression Karla wore when he came face to face with her pointing a gun at him.

For a few minutes he lay on his back, the eerie glow of a clock shining onto the ceiling told him that it was too early to try and get up, but then he figured he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon either. At Mac's suggestion the emergency shelter became Karla's latest safe house, accompanied by himself and Morgan. The others either at home or a hotel. The entrance contained within the building meant there was no need to go outside and put herself in harm's way.

Flack grinned in the darkness, it had not been well received at first, but against the mighty machine of Mac and the FBI's Agent Hotchner she had eventually conceded.

Flack's active mind ran through the discussion around who would stay. He'd been sent as the NYPD representative, fulfilling the requirement for a city employee to be present. Of course the other person was Morgan, she didn't seem to be able to move without her ex being on hand the last few days.

There were no sounds in the room and had no idea whether Morgan was sleeping or not and he wasn't about to ask, he didn't want to hear the agent's views right then.

Clasping his hands behind his head he continued to stare at the eerie green glow of the clock, taunting him with the slow passing of the time, it seemed to echo the slow progress they were making on figuring out what was happening with Karla. He hoped that she was sleeping a little more peacefully in the room next door, although he doubted it. The night at the safe house previously was testament to how she dealt with the first attacks. He forced his eyes closed so that the time couldn't haunt him anymore. The quiet sigh and shuffle from the other occupied bed nearby told him he may not be the only one awake after all, but not wanting to talk he kept his eyes closed.

The rap of knuckles against wood caused him to open his eyes again and this time the green glow informed him that a couple of hours had passed since he'd last looked, although he still didn't feel like he'd slept. The knocking came again, this time followed by a sliver of light creeping across the room as the door was slowly opened. Letting his eyes acclimatise he lifted his head and then pushed himself to a semi seated position resting on his elbows.

"Hey, sorry to disturb you, but everyone's on their way back in, so I thought you might like some coffee before I head up to join them for breakfast. Derek's gone out for bagels and croissants."

He felt a smile cross his lips as he pushed himself up properly and turned to set his socked feet on the floor as the object of most of his thoughts and nightmares crossed the room.

"Now that's a sight I could get used to, a woman bringing me coffee," he greeted while noting her casual attire.

Karla chuckled. "Don't get used to the idea, tomorrow you get to return the favour." She held out a steaming mug to him, which he took and sipped before resting it on the table next to the bunk.

"How are you doing?" he asked as she began to head back out, the only light around them spilling through from the room next door and surrounding her with a kind of golden glow.

Karla stopped and turned around. "Tired, I doubt anyone got much sleep last night, I talked to Stella a little while ago and she told me Danny and Adam have already been in the lab over an hour to continue processing the evidence from the intersection. Lindsay's just dropping her daughter at day-care then she'll be here."

"I'm surprised you're still here," he replied. "I expected you to be up there digging through files."

"Chicago files aren't expected for another hour and Derek has given me strict instructions I'm not to go near the lab until after 7."

Flack grinned. "You don't strike me as the type to take orders like that."

"Ah, well you see detective I can follow orders when I want." She returned his grin and he was pleased to hear the lilt in her voice as she spoke. "Especially when I have ulterior motives."

"And they would be?" Her tone and words had intrigued him and he wanted more.

"Now that would be giving my secrets away."

Without any further comment she turned and left the room leaving the door ajar to give the detective a little light to see by. As he drank his coffee he thought about Karla, she reminded him a little of Jess and he missed the taunting she used to give him.

The noise of a door banging and heavier footsteps had him on alert and he reached for his gun as there was a rap on the door.

"Hey Flack! You keeping your lazy ass in bed all day, some of us have already done half a day." He set the gun back down on the bed as Danny's voice wafted towards him.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he mumbled pushing his feet into his shoes and heading into the kitchenette with his empty coffee mug.

Turning to Danny he glanced around and failed to hear anything from the other room, he obviously wasn't as discreet as he intended as Danny picked up on it.

"She left as I came in, you know you should just go for it, take her aside find out the answer to the questions you've got."

Flack tried to play dumb, "what are you talking about?"

"Karla, she's got under your skin, you need to figure out if she feels the same before you disgrace yourself."

"There's no future for us, in a few days she'll be back in DC and forgotten all about us."

"At least you might get a little something something for your trouble."

"Watch it Messer, you're not talking the women you used to date here, she's way outta my league."

"So was Angell, but you made a cute couple."

Before either could say anything else Flack's phone rang, "I'll get you Mess." Flicking his phone open he answered the call. "Flack … yeah, he's with me, we're just on our way up."

…..

Karla was standing in the lab by the large picture window watching the sun set across the New York skyline. She had been standing there for a while trying to sort through her thoughts. The team had gone back and forward all day trying to come up with a plan to get to Victor, but things had finally fallen into place only about an hour ago. In a short while they would venture out on a journey that could either haunt her for the rest of her life or put the ghosts to rest once and for all.

She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had failed to notice the figure that appeared at her elbow. Gradually she sensed she wasn't alone and glanced to her right, into a pair of striking blue eyes. She had barely seen the detective all day, he had been called out on other business, now he was back and had no doubt been brought up to speed with the plan. His eyes held hers for a moment and she found herself wondering about the warmth and sparkle that seemed to be missing from them.

Eyes had always been her way of reading people, she had become quite adept at it. Morgan's had shown acceptance at the plan she had devised with Stella and Emily, he had known too well that to argue with her would only push her away and make her more determined. The others had shown their analytical qualities, clearly reviewing the plan for any loopholes that would put her in greater danger, but now she found that his eyes were devoid of anything, she felt like she was looking inside him, seeing what he was feeling. It struck her that seeing his eyes was affecting her more than any of the others.

The silence lengthened. She knew that he was there for a reason, one neither could decipher or would admit to at that moment. She broke their gaze and turned her head back to the view out the window.

"I thought you would be mad at me," she ventured quietly, eventually breaking the silence.

"I can tell you I don't think it's a good idea, that I don't like it, but better men than I have vetted the plan, you're an agent, you know the risks, I can't tell you not to do this."

"But you don't want me to," she turned her head and once again their eyes locked. "I can see it in your eyes Don, you're scared this is all going to go wrong and I'm going to get hurt."

This time he broke her gaze and turned to the window. "It's got nothing to do with me, we want the guy in jail, you've got his attention, you've got undercover experience, we're never going to have a better chance." He stated the facts, his tone clipped and she waited for him to continue, to tell her what he really thought.

Silence hung heavy for a few minutes and she knew that neither of them were going to say what they were really thinking and she needed to finish preparations so she rested a hand on his arm as he leant on the rail across the window. "I'll be careful; the teams are going to be right behind me. Adam's managed to rig up a listening device for me to wear that should avoid detection; it will mean you can hear everything that happens. … I'll see you … after-" She paused, briefly wondering if she should say anything else, but then decided against it and while she still had the courage to go ahead with the plan she turned and walked away, leaving him where she had been minutes earlier.

She returned to the conference room they were using, grateful to find it empty giving her some time alone to process the discussion she had just had and the operation they would begin in just a short while. She shivered. The thought of setting herself up as a target almost made her want to run away, but on the other hand she wanted this over, to set her ghosts to rest and protect everyone who might otherwise become a target for the gang. She studied the information on the plans which were pinned to a board, she was confident in her back-up and somewhere out of sight ESU would also be on hand, they were determined that by the end of the night Victor would be in custody.

….

Another hour passed and everyone was ready: Stella and Emily left for the club they were going to use, making it look like they were two women out for a night on the town; Hawkes and Reid were making it look like they were a couple of work mates heading out for a few drinks. The plan was that they would all be inside by the time Karla arrived, alone. Danny and Lindsay were then set to follow her in. This would ensure the inside of the club was covered. On the outside, Adam and Flack would be inside the NYPD undercover van parked nearby, while Morgan and Rossi would wait it out a few blocks away and Mac and Hotch were set for a business dinner in the restaurant across the street.

They'd got to this point by further digging and a few threats from Rossi when interrogating Joey again, giving them enough information to piece together that Victor frequented the club when he was in town, but they were still no further forward in discovering his identity, or even knowing if he _was_ definitely in town. But the fact that Karla had been the centre of a shoot-out the day before indicated that something was happening, so they saw it as a good bet that he would be at the club.

Flack and Morgan had both been a little irate when Hotch and Mac insisted they weren't allowed near the club, that they couldn't take the risk they would be recognised after the events of the previous day. Flack had been placated when told he could be in the van as back up. Morgan had been harder to appease, hence his deployment with Rossi who would be able to talk him round and help him see reason, or so everyone hoped.

The only one of the BAU team not to make an appearance had been JJ, her bang to the head the previous day was still giving her dizzy spells and an enforced stay in hospital, which Flack thought seemed to relieve the FBI team.

Emily and Stella had just left to go to the club when Karla emerged from the locker room and joined half the team in the conference room. Morgan was the first to set eyes on her as she pushed the door open and his exclamation drew the attention of everyone in the room. "Damn girl you look hot, you may not make it to the club looking like that."

Flack quickly assessed the men in the room; Rossi gave her an encouraging smile while Hotch and Mac nodded approvingly before resuming their discussion. She avoided looking at Morgan who was fixated on her, his expression saying what any red blooded male would be thinking. It surprised Flack a little that she ignored her ex and sought his attention. Her outfit conjured up in his mind night they met, when she had assumed a persona and let him believe what he wanted, she was wearing the same dress, shoes and jewellery. She was just as alluring now as she had been then and he needed to focus on the case, so he forced his eyes to the floor so he didn't do something he would regret later.

As he dropped his gaze he didn't miss the look in Adam's eye as the scientist looked up from the items he was arranging on the table and ran his hands through his shaggy hair while his skin flushed pink. "Wow, that's … um … you're right … there isn't-" he dried up, unable to get the words out.

In an attempt to hide his own feelings Flack fixed his eyes on the lab tech and admonished him good naturedly. "Stick your tongue back in, Ross."

Picking up on her movement into the room he finally fixed his eyes on the floor, but it didn't stop his awareness that she had stepped into his personal space. "Something wrong detective?" she asked, her voice low and sultry as she barely whispered in his ear. It was clear that she wasn't going to allow him to ignore her. Slowly he raised his head, as he did he was overwhelmed by the smell of her perfume, the fit of the dress and the memories of the way she had taunted him that first night when they were in the bar and later in interrogation, when he'd had no idea of her real identity. He needed to escape before he tried to talk her out of the undercover operation.

"No," he answered firmly. "Nothing at all." He wanted to say more, but there was a gut feel that this could all go horribly wrong and he didn't want to think of the possibility that someone else he was beginning to care about could end up like Jess. He stepped back turning to the door. "Let's go, Ross," he called as he walked out.

Entering the elevator Adam couldn't contain himself. "Man, she really wanted you to notice her. You see the look on Morgan's face? He looked so jealous."

"Not interested," Flack answered tersely, jabbing his finger on the floor button and watching the doors closed, thankful that the conference room was out of sight and he didn't have to look at her again.

* * *

_Thanks for reading and I hope you'll leave a note on your way out._

_Also for reference there is a better description of Karla's outfit in Chapter 1._


	35. Sting in the Tail

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Hi all, apologies, not as fast an update as I wanted, but hopefully this is a nice Christmas present. I am off work until 2__nd__ January so hope I might get this finished soon._

_Huge thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta._

_.  
_

**Chapter 35 - Sting in the Tail**

Morgan's phone rang as Flack left the room. His eyes still on Karla, he quickly accepted it. "Hey, Garcia, you're on speaker," he announced, having recognised the ring tone he'd reserved exclusively for her.

"Don't you dare _hey_ me mister, what is going on up there? You've had me doing all this icky research all day and won't tell me anything else. You're planning something big, I can tell. You all go quiet when it's something dangerous..."

"Garcia, calm down, everyone can hear you freaking out," Morgan attempted to appease her, even as a smile crossed his face at her panic.

"Well how about you fill me in and maybe I won't be freaking out so much," she demanded.

Morgan shared a look with Karla and nodded at his phone. She shook her head, seeming none too willing to take over the call.

"It was your idea not to say anything; don't look at me," she murmured.

"Karla, you're okay? Please tell me you're gonna stay safe and come home." Garcia's voice rose from the phone.

"Everyone's watching out for me, Pen, please try not to worry, we'll call you later," Karla answered.

"See my little sugar plum, everything's cool," Morgan cooed down the phone, hoping it was having a calming effect. He knew Garcia struggled with the gory part of their job, even more so if one of the team was involved, but she always came around in her own time.

"You might be my chocolate Adonis, pal, but right now I'm getting seriously pissed off at you not answering my questions. My girl there I forgive because she's been through hell, but you don't get off so lightly," Garcia's voice continued to rant from the phone in Morgan's hand.

"I promise, baby girl, we're going to watch out for Karla and nothing is gonna happen."

"Morgan, it's time to go," Hotch announced leaving his conversation with Mac and walking to the door.

"Hear that, princess? Duty calls." Cancelling the call quickly he looked at Karla. "Don't worry, she'll chew me out later and we'll be fine."

"Only if you get your ex-wife back to DC in one piece," Rossi declared following the two senior officials to the door. "You've got one minute while I check up on the two doctors, then we should be on our way so that we can follow Karla's cab."

Morgan waited for the door to close, pushed his phone in his pocket and stepped towards her. "I had that lab tech guy Ross programme speed dial 1of your phone to me so if anything hinky goes down you call me right away."

"That's risky, if they check my phone..."

"It's cool babe, he got me a burn phone of my own. There's no way anyone can trace it back to the agency or NYPD. I'm listed as Tyson."

"Tyson?"

Morgan relaxed a little at the smirk which crossed her face.

"Yeah, I wanted something that wasn't gonna raise a lot of questions," he said with a grin.

"Well I hate to disappoint you, but I had Adam trump your call sign; I've got Mac and Hotch on speed dial. You need to keep out of this. I know what you're thinking and how much you want to be there, but you're not my partner any more, you need to let this happen. When we're back in DC we'll talk."

Reluctantly he nodded; knowing this wasn't really the time. "You promise me you'll be careful," he said, cupping her face in his hands. "I want you back home safe." The temptation to kiss her was almost overwhelming, but she must have sensed something because she pulled away, which was probably the right thing.

His musing was interrupted by her voice, quietly affirming she was aware of the meaning in his words. "I know and I'll be careful. We're going to put a stop to Victor and his pals, but it won't happen unless we get out of here."

On that final note he had to agree with her, just as Rossi stuck his head around the door to usher them out.

…..

Flack sat impatiently in the back of the unmarked delivery van a couple of blocks from the restaurant and nightclub. It was filled with various technological gadgets that Adam had used to tap into the network of cameras in the area. One gave them a good view of the front door to the club, where they had seen Stella and Emily be admitted immediately. Hawkes and Reid hadn't been quite so lucky and were made to join the line waiting to get in.

The team had waited until they had been given entry before Karla was dropped off by the undercover officer driving a yellow cab.

Flack gripped the microphone tighter as he watched her on the monitor. For a moment she stood and looked at the queue then the doorman stepped forward and opened the rope barrier, then took her hand and escorted her inside, reappearing a moment later to resume his post.

Pressing the button on the microphone Flack took a breath and spoke into it, giving the teams the pre-arranged signal to confirm the plan was proceeding.. "All teams stand by, the bird is in the nest."

….

Inside the club the noise was overwhelming. Music blared through large speakers around the room, the crowd attempting to hold conversations adding to the cacophony. Hawkes noticed Stella and Emily with drinks in hand gyrating on the dance floor, several men watching them avidly.

He nudged Reid's arm and nodded to them. "They're into the beat."

Reid glanced at them then turned back to the bar tender to order drinks. Hawkes switched his attention away from them and leant on the bar. "You always this quiet?" he prompted the young doctor.

"No point in trying to talk above the noise, it'll give you a headache and sore throat," Reid shouted back to make himself heard.

Hawkes found himself nodding in agreement with the FBI Agent, "I know what you mean, what is the noise level? 100 decibels?"

"More like 120," Reid replied casually making Hawkes laugh.

"You can tell that?"

"I've got sensitive hearing. Of course anything over 85 is likely to cause permanent hearing damage if you're in it for too long-"

"Or too often," Hawkes interjected earning a nod from Reid.

With conversation stalled, they took their drinks and moved to the end of the bar which gave a good view of the exits.

Reid was first to notice Karla and this time nudged Hawkes and nodded to the entrance.

"Wow, she's gonna get noticed dressed like that," the doctor remarked.

"Wasn't that the idea?" Reid responded.

Across the dance floor, Stella also had noticed Karla's entrance and the male attention she was already attracting as she edged through the crowd.

"We got competition." Stella pouted, pretending she was disappointed at the way the two guys dancing with them edged away.

"Oh well, let them, maybe she'll give them some horrible disease and it'll serve them right," Emily huffed. "Wonder how much she charges?"

"You're not serious?" Stella almost choked at the line the conversation had taken.

"They want to be careful her ex isn't watching, I hear he can get a little possessive," Emily added with a grin.

The two of them watched as Karla reached the bar and leaned over to place her order, obviously giving the guy a look at her cleavage. "She's good," Stella acknowledged.

"As long as she plays it cool from now on."

….

"Will you sit still," Rossi admonished Morgan who had spent the time fidgeting in his seat since Flack's confirmation that Karla had entered the club.

"I should be in there with her," he groaned.

"If you were in there, they'd know this was a bust the minute they set eyes on the two of you. It's still a risk with her going in, but one which we know will get their attention," Rossi counselled in an even tone.

"Rossi, these guys are ruthless, you haven't seen them in action, they won't think twice about-"

"Morgan, she isn't alone, there are two agents and four detectives in there with her, we're here with three others and ESU all close-by, nothing is going to happen. She's a trained agent, she knows the risks."

"Two days ago she couldn't remember what happened the last time we got involved with them, it's like she's walking into the Lion's den!" Morgan continued to rant as they sat in the vehicle waiting for a signal to move.

"In a pride it's the lioness that does the hunting and she has them in her sights. I've known her long enough that when she goes after what she wants, she doesn't let go. This time is no different. The preparation this afternoon will pay off and we'll get the bastards and put an end to it."

"I hope you're right, Rossi."

"Of course I'm right; three ex-wives tells me I know what I'm talking about."

…..

Inside the restaurant Mac and Hotch took their seats at a table near the window, giving them a good vantage point across to the club.

"Greek?" asked Hotch, referring to the restaurant food.

"It's a favourite place of Stella's; we had no idea of the notorious neighbours though."

"So you've eaten here before?"

"Once or twice," answered Mac letting his gaze linger over the entrance to the nightclub. He observed Danny and Lindsay being dropped off in a smart limousine. Both had dusted off their best clothes to appear influential and money laden.

"Perhaps you and Stella should be the ones in here and I should have gone with Prentiss," Hotch smiled briefly.

"I'm not about to argue with Stella when she's on a mission and tonight she had the right idea; the women will attract the sort of attention we want, so hopefully we'll get this over pretty quick," Mac answered as he continued to watch as Danny offered Lindsay his arm and they were immediately ushered inside.

Hotch turned to see what had Mac so focused. "Those your people?"

"Yeah, now we wait," sighed Mac who turned his attention back to the menu before him. "Stella recommends the Kleftiko, unless you're ready for something more exotic like kalamari or octopus."

"I'm fine, I think I'll stick with a salad," Hotch grimaced. There was very little he didn't eat, but slimy sea food was high on the list and seeing what other patrons nearby were eating he felt the salad was the safer option.

….

The atmosphere in the club was oppressive, the heat and crush of bodies made her wish she was anywhere else, but she had a job to do and she wanted an end to the case. The risks were higher than anything before and the potential repercussions were huge. She was aware of the eyes on her and the cameras around the room, although she deliberately avoided looking at any of them, pretending she was oblivious.

She had seen Emily and Stella on the dance floor and the guys trying to talk at the end of the bar as she approached and placed her order.

Standing at the bar with a drink she looked around, picking out several people who appeared to be keeping an eye on things. Although whether it was for security or other reasons wasn't clear.

"Here all alone?" a voice murmured in her ear. Turning to see who had spoken she quickly assessed a man about her own age; he was smartly dressed and didn't immediately appear a threat.

"My boyfriend's working late he's supposed to meet me here," she answered, not wanting to appear completely available.

"His loss is my gain then, I'll keep you company until he gets here." The assured tone in his voice told her he was not likely to take no for an answer. Certainly not easily, which made her wonder if she had already been made or if he was just a jerk. Causing a scene for either reason would jeopardise the case so she had to be careful.

"Isn't your girlfriend here?" she asked casually.

"No, I'm alone, I'm not suggesting anything more than talking or dancing. Tell me with a figure like that are you a dancer?"

Karla hadn't been surprised by someone approaching her, after all that was part of the plan, but this guy was far too smooth and self-assured to be a run of the mill patron. The way his eyes seemed to devour her as he spoke to her had her on alert. It was clear he was set to hang around a while as he edged into her personal space, his cologne churned her stomach, but she kept a neutral look about her.

Karla took a sip of her drink and briefly exchanged a glance with Stella who was approaching the bar, before she answered. "No and I've got two left feet so it's not something I would recommend unless you want to go to the Emergency Room."

"Okay, so if you're not a dancer, what do you do?" he asked.

"I freelance," she answered absently, letting him read into the statement what he wanted. It caught his attention even more and he reached out and rested a hand on her hip, drawing them closer.

Ducking his head to her ear he whispered. "That sounds..."

Without warning a jolt from behind him startled both of them and gave Karla a few seconds to back out of his grip as he turned around to confront the person who had collided with them.

"Oh I'm sorry, these heels are a little higher than I'm used to and I twisted my ankle, I hope I didn't spill anything on you," Stella apologised sweetly.

Karla gave her a brief smile as the guy studied the CSI. "It's no problem, are you alright? You haven't hurt yourself?" he gestured to her ankle.

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm sorry I interrupted you."

"It's no trouble at all," he answered smoothly, his eyes clearly taking in the tight fitting dress with low cut neckline that Stella was wearing. "If you're alone, why don't you join us, I'm just keeping ah-" he turned to Karla. "I'm sorry we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Nikolai, my friends call me Niko," he drawled smoothly with a hint of a Russian accent as he held out his hand to Karla.

"Aphrodite," Karla responded shaking his hand and watching as he raised an eyebrow at the name. She shrugged, "my mother had a thing about Greek mythology."

"I bet that sucked at school."

"You get used to it."

Stella shifted ready to walk away when Niko turned his attention back to her. "Excuse my manners, I'm Niko and this is my new friend Aphrodite."

"Taylor," Stella answered quickly.

"So, Taylor, would you like to join us?"

"No, thank you, I'm with a friend." She smiled brightly and turned away.

Karla noted the way he watched her edge across the dance floor to Emily and hand her a bottle. Slowly he turned back to her. "Forgive me, I can't resist admiring beautiful women."

"Nothing to do with me, I'm not your girlfriend or your wife. I'll be fine if you want to go after her."

"No, it's okay, I'm sure I'll have time to dance with her when your boyfriend gets here. Now, tell me more about your freelance work," he said in a low voice, edging closer again and running a finger down her arm.

Karla took his wrist and moved his arm away from her, breaking the physical connection he was attempting. "I'm sorry, I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate seeing your hands on me when he arrives."

"I'm just being friendly, besides you're a beautiful woman, he's a lucky man," Niko answered appearing a little put out by her approach.

"Yes he is," Karla agreed.

Niko hung around for a while, occasionally trying to touch her, but she successfully deflected further attempts, before giving him the slip and heading towards the opposite end of the bar.

…..

Stella hadn't been feeling 100% all day, but it was something she had kept to herself and with Mac focused on the case and the FBI agents, they had barely seen each other, so he had no idea. If he had, she knew he wouldn't have let her join the operation and she would have been sidelined with Flack in the truck. The lack of sleep and erratic meals in the last few days had caused one of the rare times she had been left with a headache. Then the vague fluish feelings had left her hot and thirsty, which was partly to blame for the non-alcoholic drinks she had bought.

She had practically downed the juice she'd bought in one go much to Emily's surprise.

"Thirsty?" Emily shouted, grinning at Stella's apparent antics. "It's a good job there's no alcohol in it."

"I need the bathroom, be right back," she replied, handing Emily the bottle and weaving her way towards the bathrooms in time to the music. It was her signal to Emily that she was going to check out the bathrooms and the lay of the land for later. Her other excuse was that she needed a moment away from the dance hall to try and ease the jackhammer that was pounding in her head.

Once in the hallway, a slight breeze helped to cool her down and soothe her head. As she made her way towards the ladies' toilet, she really wished she hadn't been so stubborn as to keep quiet; now she was paying for it. Sitting in the truck with Flack was beginning to seem better by the minute.

….

It had been a while since Stella had disappeared from view, but Emily continued to dance as she was lavished with attention by some of the apparently single men trying to dance with her. As yet unconcerned about Stella, she was careful to watch Karla and noted she was occupying a stool at the end of the bar near Hawkes and Reid.

It was only when she noticed the blonde guy from earlier approaching Karla again that she looked around and noticed Stella had still not reappeared from the toilets. Catching sight of Hawkes and Reid she could tell they were also concerned. Reid made his way towards her and she disengaged from the Neanderthal attempting to dance with her and turned to him.

"Excuse me," Reid shouted wanting to be heard over the music and she smiled at him warmly as he grinned nervously in return. If it wasn't for the lighting she felt sure she would see him blushing to the tips of his ears as he pushed his slightly long hair behind his ears. "Do you like magic?"

"That all depends," she answered coyly, getting closer so he could hear her. "Does it mean you won't tread on my feet?"

"Oh I don't dance, but you look like you could use a break, can I buy you a drink?"

"I'd like that," she answered then got a lot closer and wrapped her arm around him. "Looks like I've found myself a toy boy, but you'll forgive a lady if she has to freshen up first? You can buy me a soda." Aware that they were attracting some attention and they had to shout to make themselves heard she pressed a kiss to his ear and murmured, "I'm worried about Stella."

"Me too," he mumbled back as they broke apart and he nervously pushed his hair back behind his ear again.

Emily was instantly aware of the breeze blowing in the passage as she stepped out of the dance hall and the door swung back behind her. Edging close to the wall she let a couple of gossiping young women pass her and heard the heavy beat of the music as the door opened and closed as they left the hallway. She quickly found the women's bathroom and pushed the door open.

…..

Karla hadn't had to sit alone for long at the bar; a succession of young men approached her, all wanting to dance. Every one of them had spent a few minutes with her and then moved on, apparently accepting her standard answer that she was waiting for her boyfriend. She had barely been alone for a minute when Niko appeared at her elbow again having muscled through the growing crowd around the bar.

"Boyfriend not here yet?"

"No, he's running late, he'll be here though."

"I wonder, who is he? The FBI Agent or the New York Detective?"

"You must have..." Karla attempted to deflect the questions by denying his assumptions, but she had barely got the words out before he was talking over her and what he said made her blood run cold.

"We'll get to that later, we were onto your little sting operation the minute your buddies showed up. Must say, you brought us some fine looking merchandise though."

"I think-" she tried again, desperate to check on her friends and alert them to the changed status of the operation, but he was blocking her view of the club as well as getting closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leaning his head towards her ear.

"I don't have you confused with anyone sweetheart. Victor knew you'd come after him, that's why he's been keeping his distance; but he planned this whole thing. Now before you do anything stupid to alert your back up I suggest you take a look at this." He pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and pressed a few buttons before he held it out to her and scrolled through a couple of screens. "Must say, both of them put up a fight, but a little amyl nitrate was just enough to throw them off balance and take them somewhere nice and quiet. Don't worry they haven't been hurt … yet. If you do as you're told then they'll be fine. Victor wants to talk to you."

Karla's mind whirred as she saw the photos of Emily and Stella, she wasn't given a lot of time to study the pictures but they looked like they were bound and blindfolded, possibly in a back room or a van. They hadn't accounted for this, everyone had thought her back up inside the club was unknown to Victor and his crew, it was now obvious that he had done his homework and had been ready for them. She had one chance to raise the alarm thanks to Adam's technical wizardry.

Karla went to open the bag resting in her lap, but Niko stopped her. "You're not going to need this where you're going," he murmured in her ear as he slipped the chain off her shoulder and carefully handed it over to the bartender who had appeared in front of them. "Get rid of it."

"Niko wait, could I just touch up my lipstick first? I'd like to look my best to meet your friend." She forced herself to be compliant, hoping that he would buy the ruse.

Exchanging a look with the bar tender he nodded. "All right, but no tricks, Mikhail, give the lady her lipstick."

The bartender slid the bag behind the counter and opened it handing over the required object. "Diversion's ready, just waiting on the word."

Karla took the lipstick and adjusted it, applying a fresh coat to her lips, before Niko took it away and tucked it in his pocket.

"This is more fun than I thought it would be, I hope her friends like the sting in the tail."

The corner of the bar which she had thought would provide a good vantage point was now working against her as she was hemmed in, plus the fact that her access to her phone and other items had been denied. There seemed to be no way at all of letting the team inside the club know what was happening, so she hoped that Adam's trick worked.

Niko switched his grip from her shoulder by taking her upper arm in his hand and squeezing tightly. "Now we're gonna take a nice easy walk out of here. Victor's waiting for you."

* * *

_Thank you for reading, please leave a comment on your way out._

_Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it and Happy Holidays to everyone else._

_Posted 24-Dec-12_


	36. Victor

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Hi all, hope you enjoyed the holidays and if in the UK have not been lost in the snow. Ours has all gone now._

_My usual huge thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta and additional prodding to finish and post this.  
_

_.  
_

**Chapter 36 - Victor**

Flack fidgeted inside the van anxious to get moving as the audio feed from the club was not instilling him with any confidence. Surrounded by a bank of electronic gizmos that he had no idea about, they were barely able to make out more than a word or two in a row due to the background noise. It meant they were solely relying on the team inside the club for information and confirmation when Victor made his move, he wanted to be in there, provide more eyes on the situation and he guessed that Agent Morgan felt the same. Never very patient at stake-outs this one was making him edgy with the thought of what was at risk.

"I thought you said this would work, I can't hear a thing, there's too much interference," he complained, turning one of the dials in front of him.

"Don't do that," Adam scolded at the same time as an ear splitting squeal had them throwing off their headphones in shock.

After a moment they had recovered from the deafening sound enough to focus again.

"What the hell was that?" Flack gasped, tentatively picking up his headphones again, hoping that the tech wasn't going to blame him for touching the dial.

Adam hurriedly checked a couple of the machines and then looked at Flack with his mouth open and a nervous look on his face. "I need to call Mac."

"Why? What's happening?"

"That was Karla's alarm, something's gone wrong and… and she's in trouble," Adam offered almost apologetically, his voice wavering in anticipation of the reaction from the detective at his side.

Flack was off his seat before Adam had finished speaking, but despite his nerves the lab tech had grabbed his arm. "Wait, you can't just go barging in there, we have to alert the whole team, see if we can find out what is happening. Please, Flack I don't want the boss mad at me because I let you go in there without back up."

Reluctantly, Flack sat back down and pulled out his phone sending a text to Danny while Adam grabbed his own phone to bring their leaders up to speed.

….

Hawkes and Reid watched as Karla was led across the dance floor and through a guarded door to what they knew were the back offices and storerooms from their study earlier of the club blue-prints.

"Looks like they're making their move," Hawkes stated unnecessarily.

Reid nodded in agreement, his mind racing at the possible scenarios. Looking around he frowned, "Emily hasn't come back and neither has Stella, I think we've been made. We need to check the women's bathrooms, make sure they're not out there."

Before they could move from the corner booth they'd set themselves up in Danny and Lindsay joined them. "Are these seats taken? My wife's feeling a little light-headed and needs to sit down for a few minutes." Lindsay was doing her best to look a little spaced out to keep the ruse and Hawkes waved them into the empty seats.

Having taken the corner seat she was now partially hidden by Danny and she visibly dropped the act to focus on the discussion. "We saw what happened with Karla. Where are Stella and Emily?"

"We don't know, someone needs to check the bathroom. That's where they were going about 5 minutes ago," Hawkes informed them.

Danny fished out the phone from his pocket prepared to send a message to the team, but it buzzed in his hand as he did so he read the incoming message. "It's from Flack, Karla triggered her alarm, but they're not sure if it's all of us who are busted or just Karla," Danny added to the scant information they had.

"We have to assume it's all of us as Stella and Emily appear to be missing, so we should stick together in pairs at least," Reid said.

"Okay, we'll take the bathrooms, you go for the guard on the main door," Lindsay ordered, ushering Danny out of the corner and once again picking up the ruse that she was ill.

"Out, I'm gonna be sick," she moaned, pushing against Danny's arm, urging him to move faster.

He conceded and slipped out of the seat and held his hand out for her. They moved to the door, by the time they were out of sight Danny had his arm around her and seemed to be supporting her, giving him a reason to go to.

"Let's hope _we_ haven't been recognised yet," Hawkes muttered pushing his half-drunk glass of beer away from him.

"And let's hope the doorman goes quickly and quietly," Reid answered as they exited their seats and moved towards the entrance ready to put the team's plan into action.

They reached the door and watched the tall muscled man reach out to lift the rope barrier and let a few people in. Quickly they moved forward and Hawkes smoothly slid his hand onto the rope catch and assured the other man, "I got this." From the corner of his eye he saw Reid put a hand on the doorman's shoulder and a couple of fingers in his back.

"I'm FBI and we're gonna take a quiet walk across the street, you try and break free and I shoot you straight in the spine and paralyse you for life." Reid's tone was quiet and sweet, the man nodding in quick compliance and with a final glance between Reid and Hawkes they moved across the almost deserted street towards the NYPD undercover van and Mac and Hotch who were now standing on the pavement.

Hawkes quickly secured the rope preventing anyone else passing, much to the disappointment of the crowds. "Sorry folks, there's a slight technical problem at the moment, we'll get you moving just as soon as it's fixed."

…..

"Good work," Hotch muttered as Reid and the doorman moved out of sight of the club and Flack quickly pushed the latter against the side of the van and cuffed his arms behind his back while a uniformed officer read him his rights.

"Who's in the club?" Flack urged the man, still holding him against the van and hissing in his ear before spinning him around with his back now against the van.

"Everyone, it's a busy night. But you won't find them. Victor knew you'd come, he knew she'd come, he's been waiting a long time to be able to get his hands on her and he's gained those two hot chicks as a bonus. You think Victor is here? Not when he knows the place is gonna get raided, he keeps his nose clean."

"Which two hot chicks?" Flack demanded, not sure he'd like the answer.

The guy grinned maliciously revelling in the pain he was inflicting, "those two cop chicks, pretending they were just out for night out, I made them the minute they arrived and you know, Victor's boys took them out so easy."

Flack wedged his forearm across the guy's neck pushing him hard into the metal side of the van causing a grunt from his prey. "Where are they and where's Victor?" he demanded.

"Safe, watching you all twisting in the wind while he takes delivery of a new batch of women who he will enjoy-" Any further attempt from the doorman to speak was thwarted as he gasped for breath from the pressure Flack had on his neck and starting to crush his wind-pipe.

"Where are they?" hissed Flack applying a little more pressure.

"Nowhere you'll find 'em" croaked the doorman.

"Flack, hand him over, he's not going to save himself," Mac's tone indicated there was no debating the point and reluctantly Flack let the uniformed officer remove the doorman as he turned his attention to the lab boss while adjusting his Kevlar vest. He noticed the frown cross Mac's face and the determined look appear in his eyes. They hadn't figured on Stella and Emily becoming targets and now it seemed they were in at least as much trouble as Karla. Neither of them had raised the alarm and now Mac was standing with his phone trying to call Stella, clearly hoping that the news was better than he feared.

Having momentarily disappeared, Reid returned strapping on his own FBI vest and Mac barely waited for him and Hotch to stand still before he prepared them for the raid, "our priority is stopping any escape. Danny and Lindsay will have the back alley door covered and ESU are in position around the perimeter. We'll go in the front, Morgan and Rossi will take the right hand door, Reid and Hawkes will ensure the patrons are moved out smoothly."

"The minute we move they're going to know, so be prepared for anything, they'll come out fighting and we would prefer that Stella, Emily and Karla aren't in the crossfire, so watch your aim," Hotch instructed, as much into his comms device as to the detectives in front of him.

"Adam can black out the cameras, that should give us an advantage," Mac confirmed.

"Let's do it. Everyone in position, we move as soon as the cameras are down," Hotch announced into his comms unit while Mac went to instruct Adam.

Flack checked his weapon and then stood with Hotch watching the entrance to the club. He had a bad feeling about this.

…..

Karla could feel the bruising forming on her arm from Nikolai's grip as he pushed her through the club. She had seen Danny and Lindsay glance her way as she was escorted towards the large muscled man guarding a door. There wasn't time for her to make any attempt at communication other than a warning look before she was whisked behind the private door and lead down a dark hallway. The team had discussed this moment at length and decided that in order to get Victor she had to play into their hands and be taken to him, everyone clearly aware of the fact that this was the most dangerous part of the operation and they needed to be patient, They had figured without them being identified, and she had jumped the gun by raising the alarm when she did, after all she wasn't 100% sure he was in the building, but by the way Nikolai spoke she was fairly confident. She just hoped Adam's trick with the lipstick had worked and the cavalry were now on their way.

"You're surprisingly co-operative," Nikolai observed urging her forward. "I'll let Victor decide on how to restrain you, but I'm warning you, if you try anything your friends are all dead and I don't just mean those two women cops who were scoping out the place earlier." The edge in his voice and the hope that the teams outside had got the message helped keep her compliant as he escorted her through another door and up some stairs. Stopping outside a steel door she was able to take in the bodyguard on the door and the keypad set to one side, currently displaying a green light, indicating its unlocked state.

"This is the one he's waiting for," Nikolai announced to the guard and the door was opened to admit them.

With the grip on her arm tightening she was pushed inside and held facing a man at the ornate carved desk that formed the central feature of the room. The room was set up to look like a businessman's office with the usual office paraphernalia spread across the desk. Heavy and imposing, the furniture fitted with the general décor of an enthusiastic collector of ancient cultural artefacts which probably better belonged in a museum.

"Bring her closer." Victor's order in a heavy Russian accent brought her attention to him and for a few fleeting seconds a faceless hooded figure crossed her mind before she was able to focus on her enemy.

She was getting her first real look at the man behind her previous abduction when she worked undercover with Derek in Chicago. He seemed at ease, after all this was his domain, he was a little younger than she'd expected, probably in his early 40s with dark curly shoulder length hair, which probably on its own would have looked rather unimposing, but the moustache and goatee seemed to add an extra level of menace to his features along with the dark eyes which seemed cold and unforgiving. She figured his stature put him somewhere close to six and a half feet tall and his frame while not as muscular as his other henchmen she had seen still gave him an oppressive presence.

Without breaking his hold, Nikolai pushed her a couple of steps forward where Victor eyed her carefully before removing himself from his position against the desk and circling her. Taking his time, Karla could almost feel his eyes boring into her as he critically appraised her.

"You're still a fine woman; I can still make good money from you. Of course, the bonus is that your two friends will also bring an excellent price," he taunted.

Karla bit her lip to stop herself from answering back, knowing it was the worst thing she could do. He was trying to goad her, but she was determined to wait him out, trying to buy time for the team to make their entrance.

"Is everything ready for her?" Victor asked turning to Nikolai, receiving an affirmative nod in reply. He smirked at Karla before glancing at his henchman again. "And where are her friends?"

"Her friends were packed according to your instructions and left ten minutes ago for the camp; Mikhail will be taking care of Mrs Messer as we speak, no doubt having to kill her husband in the process. Shame about their little girl, being left all alone," Nikolai gloated with an equally evil looking smirk.

Karla felt sick at the way they discussed her friends, but she had known going into this operation that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Good to hear, the boys will get some pleasure from breeding her."

Karla shuddered; she knew that if they really got away with their plans then more than just the four lives of the women would be shattered. Danny and Lucy would be collateral damage and she didn't want to think about the effects it would have on Morgan, Hotch and Mac.

The sting from a hand striking her face brought her back to the present and her focus onto Victor. Nikolai was gone but she still felt the impression from his hand on her arm. The good news now was that there was only Victor in the room. The bad news was that he was out to settle an old score and her chances of taking him down alone were going to be limited.

"I don't expect you to obey me immediately, but you will in time," he said, his eyes raking over her body again. "I'm surprised you have nothing to say, I've been watching you, you're an opinionated, independent woman. Never mind, there will be plenty of time for you to curse me when you begin your training."

Karla tried to keep a neutral look on her face as she maintained her silence, hoping he would get mad, because then she would have a better chance of trying to take him down as he wouldn't be thinking clearly. She tried to mentally prepare herself for anything and be ready for whatever he had planned next.

"So I'm getting the silent treatment. You're a little disappointing, Zaika you had more fight in you when you were drugged and tied to a bed in that motel in Chicago seven years ago. I thought I would never see this day again, but imagine my surprise when I heard from my boys that you were in town. I knew then that this time you would not escape me, no matter what back up you had."

As much as she wanted to respond, she knew the moment she did he would have the upper hand. She had to hope that she was buying time for the team to get there.

Victor stood before her and caressed her face, surprisingly gently and while inside she felt her skin crawling, outwardly she kept still. "It's time to go. By the time your back up gets in here we'll be long gone. You think you have this place covered, well I have a little secret that isn't on any of the blueprints," his voice dropped as if he was sharing a secret.

He wrapped his hand around her arm and she felt the bruising from earlier manifest itself again. For a moment she refused to move, if he managed to get her into a secret area of the club the team would lose their trail.

"Move it, my car's waiting downstairs" Victor hissed in her ear, as the door swung open admitting the guard.

"It's started. ESU are downstairs rounding everyone up, they've already knocked out the surveillance cameras."

"You know what to do, I need about ten minutes to get out, make sure they're kept busy downstairs for that long and tell Nikolai to meet me at my car with the other one," Victor ordered.

"On it," the guard answered and left again closing the door behind him. Victor pulled Karla towards it and locked it by the code pad at the side.

"Just an extra precaution, to get in they'll need the code, their battering rams won't work it's been specially reinforced, this whole office is like a panic room." The icy tone of his words chilled Karla as her first suspicions on seeing the door were confirmed.

He had only made one mistake that she had detected so far: if she could get away from him, she had clearly seen the numbers he had entered on the pad. The six digits corresponded to the day she had come to the notice of NYPD at the bar where she had first met Flack. He looked at her curiously. "I see you recognise the date, I thought it was quite prophetic, that you should turn up undercover in Mirage where my boys were enjoying a night out. Of course they recognised you immediately and we set in motion the chain of events that brought you here. Having you at the evidence warehouse was a happy co-incidence."

Her lack of reaction caused Victor to stop again as he moved them towards a corner of the room.

"That didn't seem to surprise you, had you guessed my little game plan? We should have picked you up yesterday with that blonde FBI agent, but something must have tipped you off and you evaded me for the last time. Shame I didn't get my hands on her, watching the two of you together would have been quite entertaining."

Karla fought the urge to cringe at his words, while glad that JJ was still safe, although his next words felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks. "Don't worry though it's merely a small set back. Before the night is out, she'll be joining you in your new home." Gripping her arm tighter he looked at her and laughed. "You thought she was safe in the hospital? Oh my little Zaika, how much you have to learn about me. I don't back down when I find what I want and I'm going to enjoy the two of you. We're wasting time, let's go."

He turned his attention to the wall panel and she knew now she had to make some sort of move. If he made it to his car with her it would be the end, not only that JJ was in trouble and no one would know until it was too late if she let this go further. This time as he moved her she resisted harder, prying his hand from her arm.

"You're hurting me," she hissed, taking a step back from him towards the desk.

His response was swift and decisive. He stepped forward and back handed her causing her to fall across the desk. It was what she had expected; he barely struck her and she had been able to partly control her landing, reaching for the ornate letter opener as she fell. She felt the hand fist in her hair and he used it to pull her up, or that was his intention, however all he got was the handful of the long wig she was wearing, which he tossed aside amid several Russian expletives. It allowed her a few seconds to push herself up and be ready when he lunged at her again, which he did without hesitation, but he found himself with the letter opener in his side for his attempt. A roar of pain echoed around the room as he yanked the object from his side allowing blood to spurt out of the wound, giving her a chance at leaving a trail if he managed to get her into the secret passage.

He lunged for her again, as heavy knocking on the door started. It was clear that the guard was trying to get back in, but was thwarted by the locks. For the moment Karla needed it that way, she wasn't in control yet. Dodging sideways from Victor's lunge had left him out of her line of sight and as she turned to face him again, she felt the bolt of pain rip through her side and her muscles seize with darkness threatening to engulf her as she lost control and the floor rose to meet her.

…..

ESU and the teams quickly converged on the main hall of the club and corralled everyone together, taking out those who were clearly the workers and ensuring their separation from the patrons. The DJ had been removed with the other staff and his music shut down, enabling instructions and conversation to be shared among the teams. Danny and Lindsay joined Mac, now wearing their own Kevlar vests and armed ready to continue the raid. Hotch and Flack were ready to move, already standing near the doorway to the back offices.

"Are you okay?" Mac asked as the young couple joined them.

"Fine," hissed Danny as Lindsay rested a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him.

"It was touch and go for a while, but they hadn't accounted on the country girl fighting back," Lindsay breezed with a hint of false bravado.

"Good you were prepared," Mac acknowledged, glancing around the gathered club-goers who were starting to be quizzed by uniformed officers. Although he had been told about Stella and Emily's disappearance he had still half expected Stella to be greeting him when they got inside, the realisation that she really wasn't there caused his stomach to churn at her absence. It strengthened his resolve that they needed to press on and clear the rest of the building without any delay, every minute counted. He made a final check of his weapon and looked at Hotch, who glanced at the NYPD team and nodded.

"Morgan and Rossi are taking the other exit hoping to meet us upstairs," he confirmed.

With a team of ESU accompanying them they opened the door to the dark hallway and began to enter, searching each room they passed.

The ESU officer in attendance with a battering ram made short work of their entry to each room off the hallway and they quickly cleared them as they made way towards another door at the end.

Flack reached the door first and yanked it open, quickly aiming his gun up the dark staircase on the other side.

* * *

_Now working on how everything is resolved and who gets out unscathed. Hearing your views will help the muse._

_posted - 27 Jan 13  
_


	37. The Upper Hand

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Hi all, here is the next chapter, slightly quicker than recent updates so ... enjoy (probably the wrong word, but I've used it anyway)._

_My usual huge thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta and additional discussion forming the next chapter. Thanks for the last reviews I will reply properly later.  
_

**Chapter 37 - The Upper Hand**

Stella was starting to be more aware of her surroundings, not that it helped the thumping in her head, but at least she was able to discern enough to realise that her hands were tied behind her, and she had a blindfold and gag around her eyes and mouth. This prompted her to focus more with the senses she did have available to her. Initially channelling everything to her ears, she heard the drone of an engine soon after the smell of someone's cologne and the mustiness of the van mixed in her nose, almost making her want to sneeze. A conversation was going on between two people somewhere forward of her position. It didn't sound particularly friendly, nor could she understand what they were saying, although she identified the language as Russian. Turning her attention inward she found herself lying on her side and took a moment to piece together what had happened; her head had been pounding from the beat of the music and she had escaped to the bathroom to take a break, hoping that Karla would follow so they could compare notes. She hadn't even made it to the door before she had been grabbed and pulled into a dark storeroom by someone she figured was at least a head taller than her. The surprise move had caught her off guard and before she could recover they had already wafted something under her nose and she was losing her senses.

She wasn't sure she had actually passed out, but it had been enough to make her more compliant to their wishes, and it now angered her that they had got to her so easily. A lurch in the vehicle as it braked hard and turned a corner also alerted her to another person nearby and judging by the way they rolled into her and moaned they must be similarly tied. Her first thought was that it was Karla, but the perfume now irritating her nose from the close proximity wasn't the same as she had been wearing. It took her a moment or two more to surmise that it was possibly Emily. After all if they had got her, Emily and Lindsay would likely be on their list as well as Karla. Lindsay she felt certain she would have identified immediately and besides she had been with Danny the last she saw of them, so that left the brunette FBI agent.

Piecing together where she was and who with helped ease Stella's head a little and her attention turned to her bonds, but struggling to free her hands she found that they had been tied too well, so she resorted to rubbing her head against the floor trying to remove the blindfold. With this she was a little more successful, freeing one eye allowing her to look around the darkened area of what she found to be a transit van and discover that it was indeed Emily who had also been taken.

Emily groaned again as she now regained her senses and repeated for herself Stella's earlier attempts at freeing herself. The blindfold seemed to fall from her eyes easier and she looked around, her eyes eventually landing on Stella and they nodded at each other by way of checking the other was alright, then both turned their attention to the driver and the passenger.

Shuffling together they lay back to back and after a few minutes were able to undo each other's hands allowing them to quickly remove the remnants of the blindfolds and gags. They had achieved it without attracting the attention of the two kidnappers sitting in the front of the van who were still holding a heated debate and not exactly being quiet about it.

Emily sat up and snatched one of the coils of rope nodding to Stella to do the same and in the dim light afforded by the passing street lights she gestured to her neck and pointing at the two bodyguards in the front of the vehicle, indicating her plan.

Stella nodded eagerly, anxious to stop their unwanted travel and try to return to the club to help their colleagues.

…..

Flack climbed the stairs slowly, his ears pricked for the slightest sound. His hands gripped his gun tightly trying to keep it steady, ready to shoot anyone who posed a threat crossing his path. Of course he also needed to be ready for the other scenario where he met Karla or another law enforcement agent. The air around him seemed oppressive and he could almost feel the tension from those following close on his heels. Immediately behind him was an ESU officer with a battering ram, Mac and Hotch were right behind him with Danny and Lindsay following to mop up anyone who suddenly appeared.

Reaching the top of the stairs he heard yelling in Russian coming from somewhere to his left and he signalled to the others, even though he was sure they could hear it too. Peeking out into the hallway he quickly assessed that there was one guard at a sealed door at the end and that the stairs were somewhere in the middle of the floor, meaning they had 2 directions to go. His gut told him that the door to his left with the guard was not opening easily and therefore it would likely take more than the ESU officer with a ram to get through it. Indicating that the ESU officer should break right while he went left had Mac turning to Danny and Lindsay to signal that they should follow the man with the battering ram while he and Hotch would go with Flack.

With everyone nodding their assent to the division of labour they prepared once again to move forward. Flack having lowered his weapon slightly, lifted it up and gripped it tightly as he stepped out into the hallway facing the guard, who was busy hammering on what he assumed was a locked door further down. He could practically feel Hotch breathe as the FBI agent followed closely behind.

It was only after they had taken several steps that the guard looked up at them as they advanced and spat something in Russian at them.

"NYPD, put down your weapon and hands in the air!" Flack ordered.

…..

Karla landed heavily on the rug in front of the desk, immediately aware of her vulnerable position as the muscle contraction subsided. Fortunately she hadn't taken the full blast from the taser Victor had used to subdue her, thanks to a special lining to the dress which helped absorb the shock. It allowed her a slightly faster recovery time than he would expect.

Thinking he had the upper hand he leered at her as he pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and advanced on her; however, as he bent to flip her over and secure her she was able to kick out at him and although still somewhat weak she was able to catch his side which she had wounded earlier and the heel of her shoe caused another spurt of blood to erupt, partially covering her dress and spreading more across his shirt and the floor. Dropping the cuffs which skittered across the floor and under the desk he clutched his hand over his side as he waited for the pain to fade while issuing another series of Russian expletives, none of which she felt would be complimentary if she understood them. But her kick had been sufficient to slow him down and she was able to push herself to her knees, keeping an eye on him and preparing for his next move. The desk at her side allowed her a brief opportunity to reach underneath and grab the handcuffs.

He must have seen an opportunity because she suddenly felt herself flying backwards and pain radiating across her chest as he dropped onto her trying to pin her arms above her head and wrest the cuffs from her, but despite her lack of mobility she fought back hard. The stab wound in his side and her higher than average fighting skills meant he was exerting himself, his breathing heavy as he pushed down on her arms and held her against the floor.

"Give up, Zaika, I don't want to damage that pretty face, but I will if I have to."

The menacing tone in his voice encouraged Karla to use every ounce of strength she could muster and she tugged her arm free from his harsh grip and feinted a slap to his face, but as he moved to stop her it gave her room once again to land a punch squarely against the bleeding wound on his side. The pain and eruption of blood was enough distraction to give her time to push him off her and encircle one of his arms with the cuff. Up to that point he had only used one hand, but his realisation that she was getting the better of him caused him to let go of his wound and bring his other hand into the fight by grabbing her wrist and trying to twist it up her back, unaware that the blood which coated his hand now provided lubrication for her to slip her arm free and get up, quickly anchoring the free end of the cuffs around the leg of the heavy table.

Stepping back she allowed herself a moment to take stock of the situation. The door to the secret passage was open. She hurried over to it and pushed it closed; satisfied that it was secure to anyone outside when she heard the lock click into place. In the room there was just her and Victor and he wasn't going to move far.

Approaching him she slightly curled her lips in a smile as he tugged his arm and fought to free himself. "Sorry Victor, I've got my own plans for us. When my friends get here the next time we meet will be with you in an NYPD interrogation room."

"Zaika, I swear, you will not get away with this," he threatened trying to reach for her ankle as she stood just out of his reach.

"No, this time it's you who is not getting away. I have 6 different jurisdictions already looking for you and I suspect that when they're done with you and word gets around there will be a lot more who want their pound of flesh."

Noting that the wound on his side had slowed to more of an ooze she was satisfied that he didn't need urgent treatment and the gash was largely superficial, but it was causing him enough pain and blood loss to have given her the edge she had needed. Circling the desk she began opening drawers and inspecting the contents. Removing another set of cuffs she returned to Victor who had gone quiet, seeing that he had sat himself up and was trying to unlock the cuffs with a paperclip. She snatched it away and tossed it across the room, catching him by surprise. So much so that she had the cuff wrapped around his other wrist, behind him and to his already secured arm before he could react.

"There, that should help keep you restrained until you're taken away. Oh, and by the way, by the powers invested in me by the state and city of New York and on Federal authority I hereby arrest you on 3 charges of kidnapping, one of attempted kidnapping and at least three counts of sex trafficking. That's just for starters of course." Before he could utter anything she proceeded to Mirandize him to ensure he couldn't wiggle out of it on a technicality later.

"You think your puny laws can convict me?" he scoffed, fidgeting as he tried to escape his bonds. "You're foolish, Zaika, no American laws can stop me, I'll get a lawyer and they'll have me out of the jail so fast, especially when I tell them that you didn't tell me my rights, after all it will be your word against mine. I may have done many things, but your courts will never hear of them."

"That's where you're wrong," she held up the object in her hand, allowing him to see that she had his phone which earlier had been lying on the desk. "Adam did you get all that?"

"_Every word. Are you okay? Everyone's worried about you."_

"I'm fine, where's my back up?"

She detected a slight hesitation before he answered, so she knew that he wasn't going to tell her everything that was happening and when he spoke she guessed that he was holding back information about Stella and Emily. _"There's a team looking for you, do you know where they took you?"_

"I'm in an upstairs office, left at the top of the stairs, then near the end of the hallway on the right. When I came in there was a guard on the door."

"_Alright, they'll be with you soon, sit tight."_

"I'm not going anywhere, but Adam I need you to do something for me, can you get some trusted unis or someone over to the hospital, they may go after Agent Jareau too."

"_Right away,"_ he confirmed.

"Adam, one more thing, are Lindsay and Danny okay?" she asked pointedly looking at Victor who was sitting still, but she could tell by a slight shake in his shoulders that he was still trying to work his cuffs off.

"_They're fine, Lindsay kicked ass big time."_

Karla smiled. "Never underestimate a country girl. Okay last request, about 20 minutes ago a vehicle left from one of the back entrances I want you to track anything that moved, they've got Stella and Emily and they're probably drugged, so when we find them we'll need EMS on standby."

"_You know?"_ he answered sounding surprised.

"I'll explain it all later; you've got work to do. I'm going to leave the phone on speaker so you can record anything else my prisoner decides to say."

"_Got it."_

The line went silent as she thought she heard Adam tapping away on a computer keyboard. Throughout the conversation her eyes had never left Victor, apart from a slightly surprised expression that briefly crossed his face when he realised she had a witness to his last statement he had remained impassive, carefully controlling his features.

Unwilling to let him out of her sight grabbed the remote for his big screen TV that adorned the wall behind the desk and flipped it on, switching channels until she found the security feed and the camera watching the corridor outside. Victor couldn't see the image she was watching but she saw enough to know it was safe to open the door. As an extra precaution she picked up the taser that Victor had dropped earlier and checked the setting.

"Do you wish to tell me where you're sending Emily and Stella?" she asked, as she fingered the object in her hands.

"Don't know who you're talking about," he answered adamantly.

"Okay, we'll find them anyway with or without your help." She shrugged as she stepped towards him and knelt down. "With all the charges mounting up against you it doesn't matter if you help us or not, you're still never going to see the outside of a prison cell for the rest of your life."

"You going to use that thing on me? Try and torture the information out of me?" He nodded at the taser in her hand.

"You worried about that? Despite what I may want to do to you, I'm sworn to uphold the law and unless you give me reason to use it to protect myself, this will just end up in evidence along with the photos of where you used it on me."

"You think you have all the answers, Zaika? You know nothing," he spat.

"Enjoy thinking that." She looked over at the TV screen again. "You're soon no longer going to be my problem, although I will enjoy taking your statement later."

She stood up and stepped back away from him again, before turning and moving to the door, quickly pressing the code into the keypad. The red light switched to green and the locks had almost silently slid back, with a final glance at the screen she pulled the door open.

….

"NYPD, put down your weapon and hands in the air!" Flack ordered firmly.

"It's too late man, there's no one here," the guard answered rather jubilantly.

"If there's no one here then why are you still guarding the door?" Flack asked quickly.

"It's my job."

"Yeah? Well this is my job, get your hands up." He flicked his gun slightly as he spoke, but the guy still stood with his hands by his side.

"You got a warrant? I've done nothing wrong, you can't arrest me," the guy bluffed.

"Well I got news for you buddy, I can arrest you on suspicion of aiding a kidnapping and until we're satisfied either way your ass belongs to NYPD." Flack was anxious to get inside the room and this guy was starting to seriously piss him off.

A sliver of light appearing on the floor behind the guard drew his attention for a split second and he prepared for another member of the gang to appear.

Unfortunately the guard must have noticed something too and he looked around, then everything seemed to happen in a flash.

The guard turned reached out and grabbed a figure appearing in the doorway, pulling a weapon and aiming it at her head as he pulled her in front of him. The team watched helplessly as Karla appeared and became his hostage, but what they weren't prepared for was the almost immediate sound of a strangled squeal and a gunshot.

The bang echoed along the walls as a body fell to the floor.

…..

Emily took her time coiling the ends of the rope around her hands, giving Stella an uneasy smile in the passing streetlights as she noted the CSI was copying her. She was waiting for her chance to make a move. With what she had in mind they were risking a pretty big crash if the vehicle was moving too fast, they needed to pick the right moment and she hoped there would soon be a stop sign or something to slow them down.

While she waited, she tuned into the on-going argument between their two captors. They were disputing various facts about Victor and his plan in their native Russian tongue, unaware they had an audience and even less aware that she was following every word. They were so engrossed in their debate that neither had even glanced behind them to check on her and Stella.

The discussion suddenly grew more heated and she heard the driver curse about a problem up ahead. In preparation she slid closer to the driver, Stella mimicked her move and edged silently behind the passenger.

"Niet," the driver argued, followed by a string of expletives, he was clearly unhappy about what he was seeing.

The passenger offered some supposedly soothing words which only seemed to incense the driver further and suddenly the vehicle picked up speed.

The sound of a horn broke through the more localised sound of the engine and their captors' voices, a moment later a rumble beneath them told Emily that they were crossing some train tracks, the horn sounding again, this time more of a warning burst than she would expect. It was then clear to her the driver was racing the train across the tracks ahead of the train barrelling down upon them.

For a few seconds she held her breath and closed her eyes, the smoother road beneath them and the roar of the train racing behind them told them of their close call.

It was enough to risk the crash before the driver obliterated them in another foolish stunt. Turning to face the back of the driver's head she raised her hands, aware that Stella was already in place.

"Now," Emily whispered harshly dropping the rope around the driver's neck and pulling hard.

As she expected the driver let go of the wheel with one hand to attempt to relieve the pressure around his neck, but Emily pulled harder. Still slightly dazed from the drugs her strength would not hold out for long, so she had to make this quick and effective.

Leaning her weight backwards it allowed her a little extra force, causing her target to let go of the steering wheel completely in order to pry at the rope to stop himself from passing out. Emily was prepared though and with a final tug he slumped into a black hole, giving her a minute to check on Stella and look out the window.

Stella's prey was still conscious and between grappling with the rope was trying to reach his pistol which sat openly on the dashboard, but just out of reach. She trusted Stella to contain him and turned her attention to the road ahead.

With the driver's foot still hard on the gas they were barrelling along a relatively deserted road, veering from side to side as the wheel whipped round according to the bumps in the road. And then her stomach lurched as she saw the oncoming lights of an 18-wheeler.

* * *

_OK, no resolution in this chapter, but I promise it's coming._

_posted - 7 Feb 13  
_


	38. I'm Fine

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_My usual huge thanks to Lily Moonlight for the beta and additional prodding to finish this chapter. Also thank you to Madison Bellows, my 200th Reviewer!  
_

_You do get a little resolution in this chapter, but I won't spoil the fun of reading ..._

.

**Chapter 38 - I'm fine**

Morgan and Rossi were creeping along a deserted corridor when the gunshot echoed through their ear pieces. Rossi noticed the pained expression that crossed the features of the younger man as they shared a startled look.

"I'm sure they're all fine," he counselled as he rested a comforting hand on Morgan's shoulder and they edged forward.

"Do we know where this goes?" Morgan asked, clearly agitated and wishing he was somewhere else entirely.

"It wasn't on any of the plans according to the lab tech, but it looks like it's set up for an escape route of some kind."

Morgan huffed a little. "I want this guy."

"And we'll get him," Rossi assured him calmly.

"Before he kills or abducts her?" he snapped. "Anyone got eyes on Victor?" he demanded into his comms unit.

"No, but we've found Karla," came back the concerned voice of their unit chief.

…..

Emily launched herself over the driver and grabbed the wheel, wrenching it hard right, missing the 18-wheeler by a hair and running them into a ditch at the side of the road amid a cacophony of scraping, squealing and crunching. Although it seemed like it would do for a few terrifying seconds as it lurched sideways, the van didn't actually roll over.

When the vehicle finally settled, she was virtually on the dash of the van, Stella was lying on the cargo floor and the passenger was cursing again in Russian and desperately trying to undo his seat-belt. The driver was out cold, a red blotch down the left side of his face and red on the remains of the broken window. When she saw the tree branch sticking through his neck, Emily cringed. At least it was one less for her to worry about.

In the crash, the pistol on the dash had disappeared, but she was alert enough to know that it couldn't be far away and the desperation in the passenger to free himself told her he was going after it.

She looked around: the driver's door was completely blocked and with the conscious passenger she had little chance of escape that way or out the back of the vehicle. Her only option was to aim the heel of her boots at the windshield behind her and hope the glass was already fractured and would shatter easily.

She was lucky. It gave way easily and with a kick back at the passenger, winding him, she ignored the glass shards and rolled out onto the hood of the van as footsteps edged closer and a flashlight flickered around.

"You crazy broad! What kind of a stunt was that?" the angry voice of the 18-wheeler driver darted her way.

"You might want to ask the dead guy that question," she snapped, brushing her hair off her face with the back of her hand to avoid smearing blood over herself. "I'm an FBI agent, you got a cell phone?"

"Yeah, not that it's gonna be a whole lotta use out here lady," he answered gruffly. "Signal's crap along this road you need to be within spitting distance of the city towers before you can make a call."

Emily heard the passenger door click and she moved towards it, thrusting it back at the body emerging and ensuring that he crumpled to the ground.

"Hey! Was that necessary?" the driver demanded.

"Extremely, now you got anything to call help? Tell them there's an undercover FBI agent and NYPD CSI in trouble and to send the cavalry. We'll need the ME and a bus."

"Emily?" Stella's weak voice from the back of the van stopped her rant at the driver briefly.

"Right here, you okay?"

"Where the hell are we and how did we get…" Stella's voice was cut off.

Emily looked towards the back of the van, it was too dark to see much and she figured Stella was injured from the crash and needed help, so other thoughts got set aside momentarily as she turned her attention to the big rig driver again. "You got a name?"

"Bobby Dorkins," he answered.

"Bobby, go call for help, and if you've got a weapon in that rig of yours I need it."

Emily left him to waddle his overweight frame back to the road as she turned her attention to the passenger again, perturbed to see that after her last attempt to contain him had failed.

"Hey, FBI lady, take the flashlight, I got enough light from the road to find my way back."

The truck driver tossed the flashlight over the hood of the van and it landed in the soft grass at Emily's feet.

She picked it up and shone in around the area, dismayed to see drag marks moving away from the van leading into a nearby coppice. Leaving him for the moment she moved to the back of the van to check on Stella, but she found nothing, except one of her shoes.

"Stella?!" She called out into the darkness. Her head throbbed and a wave of nausea passed over her as she tried to formulate a plan. While she didn't know the other woman well, they had formed a working camaraderie and she felt guilty for not checking on her earlier. She only hoped that the suspect was as dazed as she was and didn't get far.

…..

Mac had seen Hotch push Flack aside the second the gun had fired, the man had lightning reflexes, a good thing or the bullet which the guard had fired would surely have hit him. None of the team had got off a shot.

Looking past Flack and Hotch sprawled on the floor he noticed Karla was down as well as the subject, but as he caught the female agent's eye as she moved to check on the guard, he saw she didn't immediately seem injured which made him sigh in relief.

Again casting his eyes to the two people in front of him he heard Hotch say something into his comms unit, but it was Flack who caused him most concern. Flack had barely moved. Mac was thrown back to the time they had both been caught up in a bomb blast.

A groan drew his attention back to the present as Flack sat up. "Son of a bitch," he cursed reaching for his weapon.

Hotch, now on his feet moved towards Karla and the guard, leaving Mac to tend to the detective.

Flack used the wall to help him stand and he pressed a hand against the side of his vest. Feeling something unexpected he pulled his hand away and handed something to Mac, who dropped it in a plastic bag.

"A bullet? You were shot?" Mac questioned turning his attention from the evidence back to the tall detective.

"I'm okay, Mac, it got the vest," Flack panted, still regaining his breath from the force of the bullet hitting him.

"I can see that. We're gonna need it for evidence, and you should let EMS take a look at you and check for broken bones."

"Soon as this is all over, you can have what you like. How's Karla?"

"Agent Hotchner is taking care of her."

Mac watched the detective look over to the two FBI agents hauling the guard off the floor before more ESU agents arrived and the prisoner was handed over.

…..

Free of their responsibility for the guard, Hotch moved Karla into Victor's office critically appraising the state of her dress. "Morgan's going to take some convincing you're okay when he sees you," he offered with a slight grimace.

"He'll freak a little, but I can take it. It was worth it to have Victor in custody." She pointed across the room to where Victor was propped against the leg of the desk.

"Nice work, I could use an asset like you at the BAU." His subtle praise and offer of a job didn't distract her and she was quick to respond.

"Nice try, Hotch, but even though Derek and I get along it's against the rules, besides I'm thinking I may want to try something new."

"Karla?" Flack's voice cut in, stopping any further discussion.

Hotch turned briefly to the detective then to Karla. "I'll take care of Victor, you go with Detective Flack and make sure EMS check you out too."

Hotch stopped when she spoke again, giving him new information. "Nikolai was also here, he's Victor's right hand and took me out of the club. He may be in an unmarked escape route," she informed him before walking across the room opening the panel again and then tapping in a code on the keypad. "I don't know where or how far it goes, but I'm sure he went down it."

"We'll check it out, now get out of here," Hotch ordered.

"Karla, if you're able, Adam could probably use some of your inside knowledge we believe he has Stella and Emily so anything you can tell us would be helpful," the voice of the Crime Lab Boss drew her attention and she nodded briefly.

"He's already working with what I know, but I'll check on how he's doing. Victor's cell is on the desk with a direct link to Adam recording everything in case he wants to talk." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Victor and she noted the quirk in Mac's eyebrow questioning her. "It's my insurance policy to ensure he can't wriggle out on a technicality."

"Does he know he's being recorded?" Mac asked.

"Told him when I read him his rights, but it wouldn't be a bad thing to remind him of them," Karla added.

"Get Hawkes to check you out and there's a spare set of overalls in the back of my truck if you want to change, we'll need your clothes as evidence."

"I'll find Lindsay and make sure you get them."

Mac glanced over to Flack who was standing a few steps away issuing instructions to a uniformed officer who had appeared. "Take Flack with you when you go, he might listen to you if you insist he gets himself checked out."

"Don't you need to know what happened here?"

"We'll talk later, I prefer to look at the evidence first."

"Alright," she answered, knowing that it was now time to leave she stepped towards the New York detective, but paused for a moment to look back at Victor who grinned at her lecherously.

"This is not over Zaika, you will pay for this."

Karla couldn't resist the shudder that shot through her body at the words and tone of voice he used. Turning away from him she took the final steps to Flack's side and rested her hand on his arm. "I'm told to take you to see EMS, so let's go."

"Me see EMS? You're the one covered in blood," he said

She squeezed his arm a little in reassurance. "I'm fine, it's not my blood. I'm just glad he's in custody."

"Prove it," he demanded suddenly, then seemed to swallow whatever words he was going to say next.

"I will if you will, I can see the bullet hole in your vest, so there's at least a nasty bruise forming or maybe a broken rib and judging by the way you're r holding your side I'd say the latter." She was not about to back down until she was satisfied he really was okay too.

"Do you notice everything?" he asked.

"What can I say, I'm observant," she quipped turning to the door hoping he would follow her.

…..

Stella felt the thumping in her head again before any of her other senses returned to her. It took her a few moments to realise that she was being dragged somewhere and her pulse rate rose rapidly sending a surge of adrenalin around her body as she fought internally to control her muscles ready to defend herself. The memory of the back of the van returned to her and she opened her eyes, looking around for Emily.

The panelled walls of the truck had gone and she was in the open, her visibility clouded by the tall grasses and the lack of any discernible light, including anything the moon might have provided. Clearly it wasn't a full moon night and she would have to rely on her other senses again.

Grunting from the person dragging her by her arms increased and she figured that despite her size 6 frame he was struggling, either because he was injured or he had dragged her unconscious form some distance. Now the pain in her shoulders was beginning to become apparent and she tugged heavily on her arms, or at least as much as she could from her awkward position.

The tug had two effects: the first in her favour; the second not. First, her abductor stopped abruptly, the second found him pitching forward on top of her, breathing heavily.

"Bitch!" she heard him curse as he lay dazed.

Her arms were pinned underneath part of his body, so she was unable to lever him off her and put him down for good.

She felt him shift slightly as he started to push himself up and she took advantage of his face being in line with her knee and summoned enough energy for a quick sharp jab. She wasn't sure but she thought she heard his nose break. There was no time to revel in that victory - as he roared in pain and surprise he lifted his bulk a few inches and she seized the opportunity to slither out and push him off her.

She pushed herself to her knees and seized his arm as he grappled for the handcuffs sticking out of his pocket. Summoning every ounce of energy she elbowed his bloody nose and grabbed the cuff, snapping it around his wrist and hurriedly looked around her finding a tree within easy reach whose gnarled roots lent themselves well to securing a prisoner. Seizing the opportunity while he was groaning over his bloodied nose she yanked him closer to the tree and clicked the free end of the cuff around the root.

"You bitch, you won't get away with this, you're going to suffer for your foolishness," he scoffed, hovering between wiping the new blood pool that had appeared at his nose and trying to sit up.

Standing Stella was just able to make out a large vehicle parked on the road some distance away. She couldn't make out much else though between the blurred vision and the lack of light and the woozy feeling was increasing, causing her to stumble a little. Taking a breath she righted herself and stepped towards the road, intending to go check on Emily and the other guy, but a combination of dizziness and nausea had her stumbling again and she pitched forward several feet away from her captor, unaware of his angered expletives as she blacked out again.

…..

Morgan and Rossi left the club and began heading towards a dark SUV parked down the street. Morgan looked around his eyes settling on the ambulance across the street. He first noticed the tall detective sitting on the gurney at the side, his shirt and vest discarded nearby. Then his eyes dropped on the woman with him clearly holding some form of conversation. She was also tending to his injuries, probably broken ribs by the way she was winding a thick bandage around his torso. EMS staff seemed distracted by other injured. Breaking away from the SUV he walked towards the ambulance wanting to let her know that Emily and Stella had been located, but as he got closer and he was able to see her better in the dim light he couldn't fail to notice the darker patches on her dress and the bruising appearing on her arms and neck.

"Karla, you alright honey?" he greeted, resting his hand on her arm and drawing her attention.

"I'm fine, just a few bruises," she sounded tired and from experience he knew she would be fed up with the constant questions, but he wasn't going to be denied, he needed to know that she really was alright.

"You don't look fine, you're bleeding," Morgan asserted, indicating her dress, while at the same time drawing her away from what she was doing. "You need to see a medic."

He wasn't ready for her to resist him and standing her ground caught him by surprise. "Derek, I'm fine, the blood's not mine. I've been checked by Dr Hawkes and given the all clear. What are you doing here?"

"Emily and Stella have been located, we're going to get them," he told her.

"Are they okay?" she asked.

"We haven't got the full picture yet, but Emily had some truck driver call it in. First responders should be there any minute."

"Is Mac going with you?" she asked looking around for the lab boss.

"He's issuing instructions to the team staying here, he'll be following us."

"Then get going, make sure they're okay," Karla urged taking his elbow and nudging him towards Rossi and their vehicle.

"Alright, I'm going, but we're not done yet, we'll talk later."

Karla stepped back away from him and turned to Flack taking the bandage from him where he had been trying to finish the job himself and Morgan heard her say, "what are you trying to do detective? That's no way to treat your ribs, quit twisting and let me finish the job."

"Thought you might not come back and I can't be sitting here all night, got things to do," he responded.

"Not until you're properly fixed up, now sit still and let me work my magic." Karla's tone was playful but serious at the same time. It had been a long time since he had seen her that way and he hoped that she wasn't going to get hurt. "I've got some news, .. they found Stella and Emily."

…..

Stella opened her eyes and found herself staring up at the stars. For a few seconds, unable to recall much, she wondered where she was and how she had got there. Slowly flashes of memory came back and she remembered the van running off the road and then being pulled through the tall grasses. The sound of a man's voice cursing nearby had her turn her head to see one of her abductors handcuffed to a tree root. She smirked as she recalled their struggle; he hadn't expected her to be able to fight back in her compromised state, but he'd figured wrong - she'd experienced worse than him and had been determined he wasn't going to win.

Staring back up at the stars, her smirk faded. She knew she had to move, but she couldn't help trying to work out how long it had been since she had really got out of the city to enjoy moments like this, she needed to persuade Mac to take a break and be able to appreciate more than the city lights. The man worked way too hard, they all did and it had been years since he had taken any extended vacation, maybe she would mention it to him. Even if she could only get him away for one night to appreciate some of the beauty of the world it would be worth it. She would have to discuss it with him later, but to do that she had to get herself moving again.

Her head pounded as she rolled over and pushed herself to her feet. Looking about, she raised her hand to her head as the world spun around her. She could just make out the road with something parked there and in the distance she could hear sirens and concluded that Emily must have found a way to get help.

Emily… She wondered how the other woman had fared after they ran off the road and after taking a look at her captor, Stella decided to leave him where he was. It wasn't worth taking the chance that he would overpower her again. Turning she began to make her way towards the road.

"Stella!" the sound of Emily's voice nearby was reassuring and she felt relief wash through her.

She tried to call back but her voice was barely more than a croak, her throat was sore and her head still throbbed. Pressing forward she headed towards the sound of the FBI agent calling her.

Breaking into the clearing where the van had ended up she practically stumbled into someone's arms.

"Oh, thank God, are you all right?" Emily gasped.

Stella registered the concern in her voice, but could do little more than nod. "How - how are you?" she rasped finally.

"I'm good," Emily responded.

"Where's the other guy?" Stella asked looking towards the van, as the sirens drew closer, and the first squad car pulled up.

"Didn't make it out of the crash." Emily paused a moment and looked to the road. "Looks like back up's here, let's go find out how the others are doing."

Stella felt her surge of energy slip away and she only nodded again, before stumbling towards the road, unusually grateful for the additional support with Emily holding her arm.

* * *

_Thanks for reading and hope you will leave a note for me. _

_Posted: 26 March 2013_


	39. Tired and Cranky

_Sorry there has been such a long wait for this. I hope some of you still want to know what happens. Summer has been very busy for myself and my fantastic beta Lily Moonlight._

_Without further ado ..._

**Chapter 39 – Tired and Cranky**

Flack had watched Karla with Morgan for a minute and decided that he didn't need to see anymore. He had things to do, so he took up the end of the discarded bandage and began wrapping it around himself, clearly not doing as good a job as Karla had. Eventually he began pulling it off, intending to go without, after all no one was watching him now to know if his ribs were strapped or not. He felt there was no need for the medical attention, he was a bit sore, but he could handle that for a few days. He reached for this shirt as Karla left Morgan and walked back to him.

The amused smile she gave him as she chastised him had him smile briefly in return, and realise how much he was going to miss her when she left. Things had certainly been interesting since she'd shown up. For a few seconds he sat in silence and let her wrap the bandage around him while his mind wandered. A faint trace of her perfume wafted around them as she moved efficiently to patch him up following the instructions of the paramedic who was busy elsewhere. Fixing the bandage in place she looked up at him.

"There, you'll do for now until you get the X-rays." He didn't immediately answer, even though he was aware that she had spoken. Images of them in the interrogation room, the café where he had bought breakfast and the puppet theatre flashed through his mind before he met her gaze, their faces only inches apart. It brought back memories of the night they had spent at the safe house where he had made the confession about Jess and the guy who'd shot her, the same feelings washed over him now. "Well, that's a surprise, I thought you'd try arguing with me next," she quipped.

He reached out and touched her face, her eyes seemed to question his action but otherwise she didn't react. "I'm okay you've done a good job, I don't need to go to hospital," he tried to appear reassuring and calm, but her reaction was swift and forceful, catching him off guard a little.

"You were shot Don! You have to go," Karla countered quickly pulling his hand from her face.

"It's a bruise, the bullet hit the vest," his attempt to deflect her tirade did nothing to sway her opinion however.

"Yeah more by luck than judgement," she scoffed. "Have you forgotten I'm an agent? I know what it's like and a 357 in the ribs lays most people out for days if not longer with broken ribs. I know you're a tough guy, everyone in law enforcement is the same, but sometimes you just have to give in and do things the right way, if I've got to go and there's nothing wrong with me then so should you."

"So who talked you into it?" he asked warily, wondering if he had just stepped into a hornet's nest.

"I didn't get a choice, it seems the men in my life want to have me wrapped up in cotton wool and kept safe and maybe I'm taking my frustration out on you because if I don't go voluntarily Morgan and Hotch would basically throw me over their shoulder and march in there with me kicking and screaming, which is not very ladylike."

Flack smirked, unable to resist teasing her, "so under all that agent bullshit you're actually a woman then?"

Karla was about to explode again when she must have caught the look he was giving her and she smiled, "oh, detective, you have no idea how much of a woman I am when the special agent bit gets left at home. Besides, don't you remember getting all up close and personal after that SUV tried to run me down? That should have given you a clue."

Flack felt himself flush a little and was thankful for the dark street that could hide his reaction. As the silence between them stretched for a moment Karla looked at him, "I'll strike you a deal, you go to the hospital and when we're done with all this we'll have dinner and I'll leave the special agent at home."

He had to agree it was a tempting offer and one he hoped they'd get to fulfil before she was dragged back to the nation's capital and out of his life. It had been a while since he'd indulged in female company with anyone who didn't work in the Crime Lab and he liked the way they seemed to get along so easily. Finally he nodded, "you got yourself a deal."

"I'm glad," she whispered reaching around him for the plastic bag Lindsay had left earlier. "I've got to change, Lindsay is waiting for my clothes," she edged back a step, turning to leave.

"Need me to help you?" he teased without thinking, earning him one of her rare smiles as she looked at him. He was sure his face must have turned a nice beetroot shade of red as he realised what had come out of his mouth and that twice in as many minutes he had apparently propositioned her, fortunately she took it in good spirits.

"I think I can manage on my own," she answered sweetly. "This time anyway," she added before walking away.

He picked up his shirt and pulled it back on as he watched her meet Lindsay at the doorway. He couldn't resist the smile which crossed his face as he saw her look back at him briefly before disappearing inside the club.

…..

Mac practically jumped from the SUV before Danny had stopped it and hurried over to the ambulance where Stella now sat on the back step, a bloodied cloth held to the side of her head as the paramedic checked her blood pressure and other vital signs.

"Stella?"

She looked around at hearing her name and began to stand to greet him, but he rested a hand on her shoulder keeping her sitting. "Stay there, are you alright?" he asked somewhat anxiously as he took in her appearance. Her face and arms were scratched and the cloth against her head oozed a trickle of blood. Her clothes were torn and dirty and he felt his heart thump in his chest. As he waited for her to answer he forced his gaze away from her and took in the scene around them. A couple of ambulances were parked up, the 18-wheeler was still parked on the side of the road and the roof of the van was just visible over the top of the ditch. Emily was stood at the roadside with Rossi and Morgan waving her arms about, clearly having a heated conversation with them out of his earshot while Morgan tried to assess her for injury.

Without a response from the woman at his side he turned his attention back to her, "Stella?" He seemed to hold his breath for a moment until she finally looked up at him.

"I'm okay, Mac, just got a little blindsided. How are things at the club? Did you find Karla?" Her voice was quiet and a little shaky, but he knew better than to question it at that moment.

He nodded. "She was with Flack they were both getting checked over, you'll probably see them at the hospital in a while."

"I don't need a hospital Mac, just a good night's sleep," she answered more forcefully as she dropped the cloth to the gurney and pushed herself up while giving him a firm look, which quickly turned confused as she wobbled on her feet and pitched forward, her hand reaching for her head at the same time as his wrapped around her breaking any fall that was likely to ensue. He set her back on the stretcher and transferred his hands to her shoulders to encourage her to stay put.

The paramedic looked at Mac, searching for his support. "She insists she doesn't need to go, but that gash needs stitches and you should have a head CT," he responded splitting his attention between the two of them. Mac gently touched her chin and tilted her head to get a better look at her head injury before drawing her attention back to him.

"Stella, you're going to hospital," he insisted firmly before directing his attention to the paramedic. "I suppose she didn't tell you she's also been drugged?" The look on the medic's face gave him the answer.

"I'm..." Stella began to protest again.

"It's not up for debate Stella, you need a proper exam, you're going to the hospital," Mac told her firmly, his no-nonsense tone giving way to a more gentle tone. "You're lucky it wasn't any worse, but your head's bleeding pretty bad and some of those cuts could be infected. You know the rules, I need you with me on this please don't be stubborn."

"Fine, but I'm not staying," she huffed petulantly and Mac knew that although he had won this part of the battle, another was sure to follow once she'd been assessed and stitched up.

"You'll follow the doctor's orders," he told her before turning away and looking at the scene again, noting Danny was already walking through on a preliminary assessment and taking photos. He turned back to Stella, "I've got to go help Danny, I'll see you at the hospital as soon as I can get away" he added earning a glare from Stella. For a while on the journey over he had barely been able to focus at the thought that she may be ripped away from him as Claire had. Then seeing her had almost blown away all of his professionalism as he fought the urge to take her in his arms and prove to himself she was still there. He was pleased she still had some spark, it allayed his fears more than if she had conceded straight off. The apparently professional exchange would have to do for now until they were in private, he had to focus on the job at hand.

As he walked away he passed Rossi and Emily arguing over the same thing and smiled wryly to himself: he knew he was stubborn, but the women seemed to be worse. For Emily he was glad to leave the ordering or cajoling to someone else, but Stella was his responsibility and he needed to make sure she was truly okay and not just for the sake of the lab. He was beginning to rely on her more and more and the thought that one of their suspects could have taken her away from him had scared him more than he was willing to admit.

…..

By the time the suspects had been moved to the precinct, the evidence collected, statements taken and the scenes released, daylight could be seen edging across the city. Reid and Hotch had escorted Flack and Karla to the hospital, giving them the opportunity to check in on JJ and Emily who now shared a room and were moaning bitterly about the stubbornness of men insisting they had to follow doctor's orders. Satisfied that they were both on the mend Hotch was now headed for the prison ward to check on Victor and to ensure that there was no risk of him getting away he could go before the Grand Jury.

Having been bored waiting in a cubicle in ER, Flack was relieved to see a friendly face when Karla stuck her head around the curtain.

"Hey," she greeted.

"What are you doing here?" he answered, sitting up, grateful for the distraction.

"I'm all done, I get to go back to the hotel and sleep for a few hours before we can get our hands on Victor, so I thought you'd like some company until the doctor's finished reviewing your x-rays."

"Don't know why I needed them, it's just a bruise," he grumbled.

"Didn't we already discuss this? The bruise was because you were shot in your vest, now stop moaning and enjoy the attention," she chided with a slight smile.

"Thought your FBI team would have whisked you away to some secret hideout," he commented, looking around her at the door, half-expecting someone to have followed her.

She shrugged before edging closer to the bed, but not before also glancing around at the door herself to make sure there was no one else there. She seemed a little pensive as she gave him a rundown on what everyone in her team was doing. "They're busy, Hotch is checking up on Victor, Rossi and Morgan are dealing with JJ and Emily and Reid went back to the Lab to help Adam go through the CCTV and other data we collected at the club. His reading skills will save us several days' work. Of course now that the case is over they'll be heading home later. You'll have my company for about a week while this all gets processed and reported before I head back to DC."

He was surprised, when she'd told him they were leaving he assumed Hotch and Morgan would have insisted she went too. For a moment he felt some relief that this wasn't the last time he was going to see her. But then the implications of her staying on pervaded his mind and he wondered why she wasn't leaving straight away like the rest. "So you're not going back with them?" he asked

"No, I was brought in by Sinclair, so I get to stay to wrap everything up and go through the files we got from the club. According to Reid's early review it looks like we've shut down more angles than just the thefts from the evidence warehouse. Victor had quite a business in human trafficking with a probable side-line in drugs."

"Another scumbag off the streets," Flack scoffed.

"A big scumbag. It's worth it," she agreed.

The way she had echoed his words and stressed the word "big" it grated on his nerves and he could hear the echo of inter-agency rivalry. That's why she was staying, so she could take the credit for a bust that should belong to NYPD, one that she had used them all to set up. It was how it went, they did all the leg work and the Feds took all the credit when the dust settled. The adrenalin from earlier was now out of his system and exhaustion was beginning to set in so any tact and diplomacy he might have had was gone and he couldn't help but voice the echo in his head. "I suppose you Feds are taking all the credit?" He was tired and cranky, he didn't need to be in hospital he just wanted to do his job, so he didn't care about what he was saying.

"Why is it that all police forces think that? Happens all over the country," Karla moaned, waving her arm around to emphasise her claim, if he had been more with it perhaps he would have noted the slight inflection in her tone and taken the point in the manner intended, but right now he wasn't prepared to give the benefit of the doubt.

"Maybe it's because when the big stuff happens we always get shafted." He was angry and it came through in his tone, which he began to regret a minute later.

Now he'd succeeded in pissing her off as she angrily replied giving him no chance to say anything else. "Fine, think what you like. It's clear you think I'm the bad guy here, so I'm going to head back to the hotel. Look after yourself detective," she snapped, then turned and walked to the curtain and pulled it back before stopping and turning around. "Thank you for looking out for me the last month. I won't forget it." This time her tone was softer but she didn't wait for an answer and was gone before he had a chance to say anything more, leaving him seething at the idea of her taking all the credit for the bust.

Further thought was banished though when the doctor arrived almost as soon as she walked out. "Detective Flack, good news, your X-rays are fine, no cracks or breaks, just some nasty bruising which will slow you down for about a week, so I recommend riding a desk for the time being and some ibuprofen for the pain. When the paperwork is done you're free to leave."

"Told you, Doc, takes a lot to put me down," Flack answered pointedly, his anger from just before still eating at him as he reached for his badge and wallet on the counter at the side of him.

"The paper work will take about 30 minutes," the doctor advised before walking out, leaving Flack alone contemplating the churning in the pit of his stomach. Lying back against the raised head of the bed he took a few deep breaths, a combination of the pain from his ribs and the myriad of thoughts swirling through his brain. Trying to set aside thoughts of the altercation with Karla he wondered how Stella was doing and if Mac was still in one piece after telling her she was going to hospital. Maybe he could see her before he went home.

…..

Mac noticed the young FBI agent, Dr Reid hovering in the hallway outside a room on the women's floor. He was on his way to visit Stella and assumed from the agent's presence that the two female members of the FBI team were probably in this wing also. He paused to ask after everyone and just managed to halt the young doctor from giving him a blow by blow account of their time since he'd last seen Emily at the scene with the van. He was grateful that despite them being in a more dangerous situation than Karla they were both in good shape and doctors were prepared to let them out after a few hours observation. He asked Reid to pass on his best wishes and moved purposefully towards Stella's room a few doors away.

On entering her room he was pleased to see her resting and he quietly moved to sit in a chair at her side for a few minutes. He was contemplating taking her hand, but at the same time he didn't want to wake her, but he realised when she turned to him and opened her eyes that he should have known better: she hadn't really been asleep.

"Mac," she mumbled a little sleepily.

"It's okay Stella, I'm just going to sit here for a few minutes, you rest." This time he reached out and took her hand, raising it to his lips and kissing the back of it. A gentlemanly gesture, one which they had shared on occasion in recent weeks and one which always made her giggle and blush. This time was no exception except that her reaction was dampened a little by her condition.

"What time is it?" she asked, looking round. "How long have I been out?"

Before she could launch into a tirade of questions Mac squeezed her hand, answering her last one first, "not long, it's around 9 am. The doctor said you have a concussion and need to rest for a few days and that after you've had some sleep you can go home."

"Can't I go home now? I'll sleep better in my own bed," she asked trying to persuade Mac, but he was ready for her arguments.

"Stella, you're not missing anything, the team are all at home, we need to make sure there's no opportunity for these guys to wriggle out of a conviction and for that I need the team at the top of their game. We've been burning the candle at both ends lately everyone's exhausted." Mac tried to reassure her that all was under control.

"What about you? Are you going to get some sleep?" she probed and he realised how well she had got to know him over the years.

"Even I give in now and then," he grinned at her. "Now that I know you're okay I'm going to head home and later I'll come and get you, before going back to the lab. Do you want to stay at my place while you recuperate?"

For a few minutes they discussed their options and finally settled on Stella staying in her own place and Mac staying with her, before her attention turned back to the events of the previous night and she asked after Emily and Karla.

"Both are fine, Emily is down the hall with Agent Jareau, they are both going back to Quantico later with their team unless Dr Reid has talked their ears off about some random medical fact and they decide to stay put to get away from him." Mac's slight grin was reflected on Stella's face, but before she could comment he continued, "I saw Karla downstairs and she's been given the all clear by the doctors. She took down Victor single handed, he's up on the prison floor being patched up from a stab wound she inflicted on him. Flack took a round in the vest during the raid on the club, but he's also been cleared to go home with a few bruised ribs," Mac told her, casting an amused grin at her reaction to hearing about the detective.

"I can just imagine how much he liked that and what he said to the doctor."

"We're all the same Stella, it goes with the territory, we don't like appearing weak, but you know the upside?" She shook her head slightly at his question. "If you're always tough and independent I don't get to take care of you."

Stella appeared to think for a minute then settled into the bed a little, "I think I might like that upside" she declared conspiratorially, much to Mac's amusement.

He had watched her features soften and the girlish smile cross her face and he couldn't help a small chuckle at her reaction. He knew she would use it against him at some point, but in her concussed state he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"You know that goes both ways? You should get some sleep too," she almost ordered, taking advantage of the quiet moment between them.

She was right of course, but he hated the idea of leaving her. If it had been Lindsay and Danny he could imagine them sharing the small hospital bed and getting some decent rest, but as much as he wanted to stay and be close to Stella at that moment it was too soon to contemplate. He stood from the hard plastic chair and perched on the edge of the bed and cupped her face with his hand. "I just wanted to check up on you first, make sure you were alright and were behaving yourself."

She pouted, trying to glare at him, but rather than the tough detective she reminded him of a small child about to throw a tantrum, but there was a softness to her features as her eyes drooped. "I .. always .. behave," she mumbled as she finally drifted off to sleep, leaving Mac smiling with amusement. Very few people got to see the vulnerable side to Stella and he was glad she was able to do that with him.

Leaning forward he kissed her forehead, "sleep well beautiful."

* * *

_The good news is that the next chapter is written and so are at least part of the one or two after that. I need to work on my other sub plot and add it in, but hopefully there won't be too long a wait for something to be updated._

_posted: 30-Sep-13_


	40. Banishing Demons

_****__**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own them, just borrowing them or previous events for a while to have some fun. Also any characters from another show that you recognise belong to CBS._

_Work is crazy, but I've found an hour to review this chapter and post it for anyone still reading. Thanks as usual to Lily Moonlight for the beta._

**Chapter 40 – Banishing Demons**

It was late in the afternoon when Karla joined Mac outside an interrogation room at the precinct.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I just want to get this over with so I can move on. I appreciate you letting me do this."

"On one condition, Flack will back you up."

"He doesn't..." she had barely opened her mouth when Mac raised his hand and interrupted her, he could understand her desire to get on with things and gain closure, but at the same time he needed to ensure everyone's interests were protected and for Karla most of all he didn't want Victor escaping on a technicality.

"It's not up for debate, I may need to leave for a meeting with Sinclair before you're done and I want someone we both trust in there with you."

Mac knew she could see his point of view when she conceded. "Okay, does he know?"

"He's on his way. Says you don't go in there until he gets here," he told her. He had bristled at Flack's words when they'd spoken a few minutes earlier, so it was no surprise that Karla reacted.

"I'm a trained federal agent Mac, not a child, he doesn't need to order me around, I know what I need to do with Victor, or at least what not to do. I am not about to jeopardise this case, I promise you." Her response was swift and emphatic and he could detect a little anger and frustration in her tone and was pleased her mini rant wasn't particularly aimed at him.

"I'm pleased to hear it. Flack's a good detective, but fiercely protective of his friends and there's not many that get in his inner circle for him to do that."

Karla shook her head a little, "I don't think that's it, probably more the interagency rivalry after the way he bit my head off earlier. He needs to realise I'm not the bad guy here." They were both silent for a moment then she changed subject, "how is everything going with the evidence? And Stella? Is she alright?"

"She's doing okay, the hospital released her a few hours ago she's at home resting. She has a slight concussion from the accident and needs to let the residual drugs leave her system but she'll be back in a few days." Mac's attention drifted a moment to the woman of the discussion and he wondered if she was following his and the doctor's orders and was indeed resting at home, his thoughts were interrupted though and he was brought back to matters at hand when he heard Flack arrive.

"Mac I'm here, let's do this," he announced as Karla turned on hearing his voice behind her.

"You two good to go?" Mac asked and Karla nodded. When the detective nodded too, Mac half-turned away, "There'll be someone in the observation room at all times if you need anything."

"Thank you," Karla acknowledged and Mac opened the door next to them and stepped in.

…

Before Flack could say anything Karla moved a few steps down the hallway and was just about to open the door to the interrogation room when he hurried after her and gripped her elbow, drawing her away.

"Wait a sec. There's a few ground rules here," he started as she wrenched her arm away from him, he was still ticked off about their earlier encounter and it was evident from her reaction, so was she.

"This isn't my first scumbag interrogation, detective, I know the score. There's one thing you need to understand this is mine. I agreed to you being here because it's what Mac wants, but get this clear, it's a concession: I don't need you in there."

Flack knew he shouldn't be giving her orders, but the scene at the hospital, the lack of decent sleep and the fact that she seemed ready to claim the case for the FBI still grated on his nerves, so her little tirade did nothing to immediately sooth the current situation, especially the way she was glaring at him. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want her looking at him like that and he wondered what he could do to stop it. It needed to be something she wasn't expecting, she was a federal agent for God's sake she could probably tell him what he was going to say before he said it. He felt she wanted to crush him like a bug and his immediate thought to throw her off guard left him feeling a little lost for words as he composed himself. "Karla, I didn't mean it to- Hell I don't know what I meant, … I know you can do this, you've been waiting a long time for it, forget what happened this morning , tell me what you want me to do now."

The offer seemed to appease her a little and her response was softer, "watch my back."

"Tá tú láidir, is féidir leat é seo a." He couldn't stop the words falling from his mouth although he hoped the whispered tone would mask the sentiment.

"I wish I knew what you were saying when you do that," she responded. No, he wasn't so lucky, she'd heard him, but at least it helped break the ice a little more as she pressed him for a translation.

"It slips out sometimes. Karla, _you_ can do this, you don't need me, but I don't trust _him_." He pointed at the interrogation room as he answered her, giving her a summary translation.

"Then let's do this before Mac changes his mind."

...

Stella opened the door to the observation room and stepped inside. She heard Karla's voice as she questioned Victor. Mac turned off the speaker and the room dropped to silence as he frowned at her.

"You're supposed to be at home resting."

"I'm fine Mac, besides I needed some things from my locker," she answered. She could tell by his frown he wasn't happy with her, but she was quite capable of catching a cab and collecting her own things. Of course she could also have chosen not to have seen him and just gone straight to her locker and straight home again, but she wanted to see the guy who was behind everything.

"I could have brought them over later."

"You've got enough to worry about without fetching and carrying for me," she answered briefly caressing his cheek before turning and watching through the window. "So that's Victor? How are they doing in there?"

"Slow, Victor's playing a waiting game, trying to rile them. Have they talked to you lately?"

"What about?"

"Anything? Karla didn't seem too impressed about having Flack in on the interview and he was all business, it was a little different from the vibe they gave off a couple of days ago."

Stella chuckled. "Listen to you, talking about vibes."

"Stella," Mac chided gently and with a smile, "I can vibe with the best, I just save it for the right moment, like gooey."

"You're not going to let me live that one down are you?" she challenged now laughing outright. "And for the record, no I haven't spoken to either of them since before the take down. Is something wrong?" Her tone sobered as she wondered why Mac was asking about them.

"Maybe it's the lack of sleep talking." Mac effectively closed off the conversation but Stella still knew that something at the back of his mind was nagging him, there would be time later to ask him about it.

For a few minutes they turned their attention to the interview room in silence.

…..

Karla's attempts to get Victor to talk were being ignored and she schooled her features so as not to let him think he was getting to her. Flack was standing behind him and she knew the detective was watching her closely.

As she asked another question her eyes raised briefly and she met Flack's and she caught him wink at her and nod to the door. She knew what he wanted and for a moment she thought about ignoring him. But although she hated him for it, he was right.

She focused on Victor again, "fine, say nothing, the longer you wait the more evidence we get that stops your wiggle room," she told him, gathering the file in front of her and moving to the door. "I'll give you some time to think. We're going for coffee."

Flack followed Karla into the hallway and closed the door behind them. She turned suddenly on the detective, taking out her frustration on him. "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Flack confused by her apparent anger at him.

"You wanted me out of there, why else give me that look?" she shot back at him.

"We've been going at that scumbag for over an hour: even if you don't need a break, I do."

"I'll get a break when he makes a statement and we have him before the grand jury getting sent to jail!" She was aware her voice was raised, but she felt like he still held a grudge after the scene at the hospital and he wanted her out of the way.

"He's taunting you, he wants you to be dangling on his hook again and this time he won't win, I won't let him," Flack answered her just as heatedly, earning them looks from anyone passing them in the hallway.

"It's not up to you detective, this is my case and I want this guy, I am not going to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life," she snapped. "I'm going back in there and calling his bluff, if you want coffee go ahead, don't let me stop you."

She turned to go back into the room, but Flack stopped her. "Wait, hear me out … please, Karla."

Hearing his plea she relaxed a little and turned to face him. "Don, I know you're trying to protect me, you don't have to, this is as much my job as it is yours, I know what I'm doing."

"I know and we're all still tired, I know I didn't sleep well after last night. Let's get that coffee and work out another strategy, he's clearly not going to talk the way we've been going and he's not lawyered up so he feels safe. We've got another 36 hours before we have to charge him, we've got time." She was about to answer back, but he pressed a finger to her lips throwing her off guard, "I've barely eaten in 2 days, I need food before I start to think my stomach's been slit open. There's a diner down the street, 30 minutes, we'll grab a sandwich and come up with a new plan. He can sit and wait."

Although he'd removed his finger almost as soon as he'd touched her she still felt the tingle and their proximity allowed her to see the almost glazed look in his eyes. He was right, but she felt that if she stopped, slowed down and took a break she would never be able to do what she had to in order to banish the demons of her past. She never responded to Flack's suggestion, but he pressed the point. "What's stopping you from taking a break?"

The question broke her from her inner turmoil, "I can't let him walk, Don, if he does I'll never stop looking over my shoulder, the undercover case always haunted me, but I never knew why until this week. I have to stop him."

"We will, I'm gonna help you, but you've got to take care of yourself too. He'll still be there in 30 minutes. Karla, we have to do this by the book, we don't want him walking on a technicality and right now you're frustrated and angry and I get that, but you can't take it in there." He pointed at the interrogation room. "I don't want him or his kind back out on the streets."

She was surprised at his mini profile of her, but more so that he'd read her well, she was frustrated and angry and she knew she couldn't continue the interrogation until she calmed down. She nodded her head slightly. "Do you really feel like your stomach's been cut?" she asked feeling a little calmer and picking up on his comment a few minutes earlier.

"It will do if I don't get some chow soon."

"Then where's this diner of yours?"

At that point the door to the observation room opened and Rossi stepped out. "Hey kids, what's happening?"

Karla looked round. "We're taking a break. Did Mac leave?"

"Yes, something about a meeting downtown. I said I'd take over until someone else could get down here. Mind if I take a crack at him while you go get some dinner?"

Karla stared at Rossi while she pondered the thought. "I know what you feel my dear," he said, "but I've got fresh eyes and no history with this guy, I'm just suggesting maybe it would help?"

Finally, too exhausted to argue, she sighed heavily. "Go ahead."

She sensed Flack still hovering at her side while she listened to the guy who had inspired her work in law enforcement during a college lecture tour years before. She knew Rossi wanted to say more, but he was wise and kept his thoughts to himself, she didn't need to hear the words to know he, like all the others, wanted her to sit this out. For a moment she was unaware of the silence between them until Don cleared his throat and nudged her elbow to get her attention. "My stomach does feel like it's cut now," he grumbled good naturedly.

She looked up and smiled, as she turned to him, thinking his expression reminded her of a two year old with a tantrum. "Well I guess we can't have that happening."

Turning back to face Rossi she noted the smirk on his face and chose to ignore the thoughts she guessed he was having. It had always been a rule at the BAU that you don't profile your team mates, but sometimes he was so easy to read. "What time are you leaving?"

"About 8, the jet's at La Guardia. The others are going to meet Reid and I at the lab around 7."

"I'll be back to before you go. Good luck with Victor."

…..

Mac looked up from the piece of evidence he was discussing with one of the technicians and saw Flack approaching. Giving a final instruction the lab boss stripped off his latex gloves and moved to the door, leaving his lab coat on the stand nearby.

"How's it going with Victor?" he asked.

"He just lawyered up, so we're stymied until he gets here."

"You think he's ready to try and deal?" Mac turned and they walked through the lab towards his office.

"Hard to say, but something Karla said to him had him change his tune."

"What did she say?" Mac was curious.

Flack shrugged, "something about a tattoo."

Further discussion was stopped as the door to the conference room opened as they passed by and noisy chatter escaped into the hallway. Flack and Mac entered to find the FBI team and CSIs saying their goodbyes.

Mac noticed Karla and Morgan standing to one side in a quiet discussion and he was pleased to see Emily and Agent Jareau looking better than when he last saw them. One had a bruise on the side of her face and the other her wrist in a bandage as a result of their encounters with the so called unsubs.

"Detective Taylor, we'll be leaving in a few minutes, but we'll be back for any hearing on this case if needed and we'll always be available to consult with again should you need it." Hotch's words were formal, but friendly. The two men shook hands.

"Thanks for your help, having the extra man power made a difference. I hope you all have a safe trip home."

"Good luck with all the paperwork."

"Dr Reid has been very helpful in giving us a start on sorting through everything. Karla is going to spend the next few days finishing it off and cataloguing it for the DA."

The two agents talked for another minute or two as other conversations continued around the room.

Morgan glanced around the room then turned his attention back to Karla. It's not too late to join us on the jet you know."

"We've talked about this, I'm staying here to wrap up all the reports and paperwork, besides I want to be at Victor's arraignment."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked already half knowing what her reaction would be, but she surprised him as she replied casually.

"I need to do it for my own sanity, it's my way of gaining closure on what happened to me 7 years ago. I'm also hoping to see Dad and my brothers before I come back, I've not seen them in over a month and it's my niece's birthday so it would be good to see everyone."

Morgan could tell she wasn't going to be persuaded otherwise and he knew she would be taken care of by the CSIs, "alright, I won't push, but we're having dinner when you get home." He noted a flicker in her eyes as he mentioned dinner.

"That would be good, there are things we need to talk about."

"Okay everyone, the jet's got a schedule to keep, we need to go." Hotch's voice rose over the hum and silence fell for a few seconds before final goodbye's were called. Morgan pulled Karla into a tight hug.

"Call me if you need to talk about the nightmares, I'm always at the end of a phone."

"I know you are, but I think I'll be fine," she answered, feeling him being pulled away as JJ hugged her.

"We'll see you in a week."

Morgan watched the rest of the team say their own farewells and realised the CSIs had left although Flack was hovering in the hallway. The FBI team moved towards the elevator and Karla and Morgan trailed after them.

"Karla, the lawyer and the DA are here." Flack informed them as they passed him.

"I'll see you downstairs in a couple of minutes," she answered. "I want to see what he has to say."

Everyone piled into the elevator and the doors closed.

Emily's voice broke the silence, "Garcia will want a girls night out when you're back in town."

"With all the juicy gossip about the hot New York men," Rossi added making everyone laugh.

"Nothing ever changes," Karla sighed.

When the elevator doors opened and they all got out Karla left them in the foyer as they turned to the main door and she headed for the precinct and the interrogation room to watch with Flack as Victor tried to strike a deal with the DA. Fortunately the evidence against him was stacking up and police forces were combining their information and were ready to tackle him head on.

Leaving the observation room after he was led away Flack glanced at her, "you okay?"

"Better than expected, I'm going to collect my stuff from the lab and go back to the hotel, I'm exhausted and I need to start co-ordinating all the information tomorrow morning ready for his arraignment on Monday. You have a good night."

Before he could even think of offering her a lift she had walked away and his phone was ringing.

* * *

_Please leave a message on your way out._

_Posted: 29-Nov-13_


End file.
