I knew something was wrong when I passed the cop doing 55 in a 35 zone and she didn't stop me. Instead of going straight to Grandad's house, I decided to park in the lot of a nearby apartment complex and walk to his house. This way, I could gather more information; I just had a bad feeling. My husband was definitely starting to rub off on me.

FLASHBACK

CJ had been an international spy before being "reassigned" to domestic duty after one too many missions went awry. That duty is what brought us together. He had been sent to the MacLean Community College where I was taking a class on surveillance and information gathering. There was chemistry right away, but, by mutual agreement, we decided to wait until the class was finished to pursue it. We didn't want any questions raised as to my grade in the class. And pursue it he did! CJ wined and dined me…or sparkling cidered and dined me, as the case may be. I let him know from the start that I didn't drink and would not date someone who did. I later learned that on that very day he went home and emptied his liquor cabinet.

My Grandad was suspicious of CJ at first, thinking that CJ only wanted me for my money…and I have to admit that I had my doubts, too. I never let on that I did, though, to him or Grandad. I just continued on, figuring that if CJ were a gold-digger, sooner or later he would slip up. I tried many times to get him to let me pay for a date. Not only would he refuse, but he would take me places I never imagined he could afford on his salary. I finally put my foot down on the trip to London. "No, CJ, you're not understanding what I am saying," I argued into the phone, "I DO want to go…I'm just not comfortable with you paying for everything…Here's the deal…you pay for your part of the trip, and I will pay for mine…well, it's the only way I am going." Getting him to agree was like pulling teeth, and to be honest, my doubts about him were doing double duty at this point; but I was soon to learn the truth, and I would be shocked worse than my overactive imagination could ever have prepared me for.

The trip to London was a dream come true and then some. We stayed at different hotels, as I didn't want to appear inappropriate. CJ was so sweet about seeing me to my door.

He would always kiss me goodnight, and then wait until I locked my door. I didn't notice him waiting until the third night, so on the fourth night, just to have a little fun, I didn't lock the door right away; I came in and started getting ready for bed. Just as I was about to get in the shower, I heard CJ's voice outside of the door ask, "Lori, are you going to lock the door, or am I going to have to phone down to the front desk for a cot?" I went to the door in my robe and opened it just a crack to see him standing there smiling. "How long have you known?" he asked

"Only since last night': I replied. Then I kissed him on the cheek and shut the door, this time locking it.

When we returned home, CJ learned that he was on permanent temporary assignment to the college. That was good news, both for CJ personally, and for our relationship. He had informed me when we first started seeing each other that he may get transferred to another school. We were both very happy and celebrated accordingly. I must say that during the time that we dated, CJ was always a perfect gentleman. He knew of my beliefs and never pressured me to abandon them.

It was about this time that I began a new investigation. I really didn't have to work. Grandad had raised me, and I was his sole heir…which meant what Lori wanted, Lori got. Luckily, though, Nana Becca, my nanny and surrogate mother, didn't let me get too spoiled. It wasn't my Grandad's fault; my dad was his only child, and when he and my mom died, I was all he had left. My Gram had raised Dad, but since she died when I was six years old, Grandad just jumped in and did the best he could. He often said that "that Rebecca woman," as he called Nana Becca, "was a Godsend."

I worked as an independent investigator. I worked for corporations and wealthy individuals. I was not your run of the mill PI; I was no Thomas Magnum of Jim Rockford. I didn't do the "who's cheating who" kinds of cases. I worked more of the fraud and corporate espionage cases. I was the one who did background searches on the CEO's and six figure executives before the contracts were signed. My new case was not an assignment I came by usually, but I was by no means new to it, either. It seemed that a Lt. Davis, who worked in one of the Navy's bio-weapons divisions, was shopping around in the civilian marketplace for a buyer for some sort of new bug or super-flu he had developed. I was put in touch with a Commander Harmon Rabb in the Navy's JAG office, who would assist me with the military side of the investigation. I met with Commander Rabb and his partner, Colonel Sara McKenzie to go over what we each had so far. Only Grandad and I knew that I was working for Grandad. Lt. Davis had come to Grandad's attention via Bob Tisdale, a senior tech at Grandad's biotech company Jen-Tech and close family friend. Bob stopped by Grandad's house one night about something that was troubling him. I had happened to be over for dinner that night, so, over coffee and desert, Bob told us he had been approached by a Navy lieutenant who wanted to sell a strain of pneumonia he had developed. He said that the Navy wasn't paying him enough to be giving it only to them. Bob said that the man had left contact information in the event that Bob wanted to and was able to make the purchase. Grandad told Bob to contact Lt. Davis and pretend to be interested, and that he would contact the proper authorities. After Bob left, Grandad called the Navy with the information he had. He was told that Lt. Davis was already under suspicion and that there was already an investigation in progress. Grandad told them that he had an investigator (me), also, and that he would be more than happy to keep me on it if they thought it would help. Little did I know that this investigation would turn out to be my last, and that a great insight awaited me in the not too distant future.

I continued surveillance on Lt. Davis. This seriously cut into my personal time. Several times I had to call CJ and cancel a date. He said that he more than understood; when he was undercover or called on an assignment last minute, he would often have to cancel dates. More than once he would meet me in the wee hours of the morning at some greasy spoon or other. I would tell him anything new I had found out, and he would help me figure out what was important, and what was useless.

About two months into the investigation, things really started to move. Early on, Harm, Mac, and I decided that the best way to catch Davis would be red handed. We told Bob to continue to be "interested". Grandad said he would put up the money to "buy" the bug if it came to that. Harm said he didn't think it would, but that we would keep that option open.

One night soon after, Harm, Mac, and I decided to meet at Benziger's. We had been at Grandad's all day and into the evening. Certain aspects of the investigation just weren't adding up, so we decided that a change of scenery just might help. I had just arrived and was waiting for Mac and Harm when my cell phone rang. I flipped it open, knowing from the caller ID that it was CJ. "Hey, hon!" I greeted him.

"Hello yourself!" he answered, "Do you have plans for tonight?"

"Actually, I do. Kind of a working dinner," I said; then inspiration hit me. "CJ, why don't you join us?" I asked. "Maybe you can help us out of our stalemate. We have been looking at the same set of intel all day, and we just can't make it make sense," I said.

"Ok," he agreed, "Where are you?"

"Benziger's," I replied. "I'm waiting for the others. If we aren't up front when you get here, we will have been seated."

"Ok, I'll see you there," he said as he hung up. Although he knew I was working with the Navy, I had never specifically referred to JAG or to Harm and Mac. I did not know that they knew each other, much less that they had worked together in the past.

Just as I slipped my phone back into my purse, Harm and Mac arrived. "Hey you two!" I said, "I was beginning to give up hope!"

Harm laughed. "Never give up on a hungry Marine!" he said, earning himself a smack on the arm. "They will ALWAYS find a way to the food!"

"Very funny, sailor," she shot back, "You don't look as though you are starving!"

"Ok you two! Am I going to have to break a switch?" I mock scolded. "Don't make me have to separate the two of you!" I knew there was more than just a working relationship between these two the way they bantered so comfortably back and forth, and I was intrigued. We were seated and given our menus before I remembered that CJ was coming. "By the way, I hope the two of you don't mind, but I asked a friend to join us. He's been helping me out a little with this investigation," I said.

"So this is a guy friend?" Mac asked teasingly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact he is," I responded, blushing all the way up to my hairline.

"Ooh!" Mac exclaimed, "Do tell!"

"We met at MacLean Community when I took a class on surveillance techniques. CJ was the instructor, but we didn't start seeing each other until after the class was over," I explained.

"Teacher's pet!" Harm teased

"Harm, hush!" Mac said, putting her hand over his mouth.

All of a sudden, both Harm and Mac became silent. I looked around for their sudden silence and noticed CJ had come in. He stood just inside the door, looking around. I got up and walked over to him. He kissed my cheek and was asking me about my day when he stopped short. I was getting just a little freaked out when I realized that CJ was staring at Harm and Mac, and they at him. "Harm, Mac," I began, "this is…"

"Webb," Harm said distastefully.

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"Um, Lori, Harm and I have worked with Clay several times," Mac explained.

"Rabb, Mac," CJ said, "Good to see you." He reached out his hand to Harm, who shook it reluctantly.

"It's been a long time, Webb," Harm said. "We thought you had been assigned to Siberia or some such hole in the wall."

CJ smiled. "No," he countered, "More like MacLean, Virginia. I am an instructor at MacLean Community College. That's where I met our Lori."

"Yes," Mac smiled, "She was just telling us. I understand you are teaching a PI course."

"Well, surveillance and intelligence gathering aren't just for the private investigator. You would be surprised at how many agents are recruited from community colleges around the country," Clay countered

They looked more than surprised. Apparently they had never considered the fact before.

The waiter brought Clay a menu. We ordered our food and then filled CJ in on where we were in the investigation, and where we were stuck. It was at this point I began to feel ill. "Lori, are you ok?" Mac asked.

I smiled, trying to hide the fact that I was starting to feel sick. "I'm ok, Mac," I lied, "I think I am just tired."

What I had not told any of them was that when I had followed Lt. Davis two nights before, he had dropped something on his way into his apartment; I picked it up after he had gone in his door, and found it was a test tube with a grayish, slick residue on it. I quickly put it in a bag to have analyzed. I was now beginning to realize that the powder on the tube was most likely the bug he was working on, and that I had probably been exposed.

By the end of supper, I was feeling quite miserable. I was freezing and sweat was pouring off me. I had rapidly developed a hacking cough, and I was seriously hurting. The others noticed, and it was then that I revealed what had happened at Lt. Davis' apartment. It wasn't until I started to get up and fainted that anyone reacted, and then all Hades broke loose. I later learned that Clay had caught me and lowered me to the floor. Mac then went into full Marine mode and began first aid. Relieved that I was still breathing, Clay called 911 and then my Grandad. The ambulance took me to George Washington Memorial; Mac, Harm, and CJ were right behind me, literally. They were in the waiting room when Grandad got there. After he filled out the appropriate paperwork and found out what they knew so far about my condition, he walked over to the waiting room. Clay asked him, "Mr. Jenner, sir, how is she?" Grandad later told me that at that moment, Clayton Webb, ex-superspy, looked like a man whose world was falling apart before his eyes. Grandad put a hand on Clay's shoulder, "They don't know much right now. All they know is that her fever is 104.5 and she's having trouble breathing. They are running tests, and the nurse said that the doctor will come out and talk to us as soon as they know something."

End Flashback

How about it guys? Is this good, or should I stick with my day job? Let me know by clicking that little purple button at the bottom. BTW, I don't own 'em, I just like playing with them...my dreams inspire my stories. Thanks!