Prologue: Goodbyes and Memories

Disclaimer: I own neither Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego, G.I. Joe, nor Law and Order. The character of Deric Storm belongs to my good friend, NoLeafClover.

Author's Notes: This is an AU related to my Lilo and Stitch: The Summer of the Spies timeline. You need not read the story to get a sense of it. I'll explain elements of the AU history as I continue the tale. This story parallels Law and Order Seasons 14, 15, and 16.

The word engel is Afrikaans for angel.

Tagline: What if, with her murder, Alexandra Borgia left the man she loved behind?

Saint Peter's Cemetery
Staten Island, NYC
Nace Bilby
22 June 2006

Nace Bilby barely felt the summer rain as he walked up the road towards a plot. He walked slowly, somberly, a lump in his throat. Walking slightly down hill towards a headstone he wished he would never have to see. Gently shifting the flowers under his arm.

He stopped in front of the headstone, blinking his eyes, feeling them mist slightly as he read each line below the engraving of an angel:

In Loving Memory of
Alexandra Borgia
31 July 1975 - 26 April 2006

He dropped to one knee, setting the bouquet of flowers at the base of her headstone. Then he stood back up, not speaking for a moment. Barely past thirty. Not an age one should die. Least of all you. My engel.

With a slight gulp Nace began, "I miss you so much."

He reached one hand into his pocket, fingers rubbing against a small metal object in his pocket.

"I am sorry I couldn't be there for the funeral," Nace continued, as he looked down, voice quavering, "Sadly duty called me away. I wish I could have been there for that case. Maybe...maybe you would be here, alive, today."

Closing his eyes, reopening them again, with a sigh he continued, "I wish we hadn't had that fight before I left for the Congo. I wish I hadn't been so bloody pigheaded. Your letter arrived when I was in Virunga. I...I have to say that I didn't open it for a couple of days. I was honestly sure that the letter meant the end. I didn't know that it was just the opposite. That you'd said yes. Yes to us spending our lives together."

Reaching into his pocket he set a small chrome circular badge on top of the headstone. A dagger inside a laurel wreath. The badge of the South African Special Forces. He leaned forward and kissed the cold stone.

Once he rose to his full height he spoke again, "Being with you was the best two years of my life and I don't think I can stay in New York any longer. I plan to return to South Africa when my tour ends in three months. I'm honestly not sure if there's really anything left for me here anymore."

With an audible gulp Nace turned around, walking away in the driving rain. As he stepped away from Alexandra's grave he swore an oath.

"If I find the bastards who did this, I swear I will send them screaming to the Acheron's far shores."

New York City Subway System
Manhattan, NYC
Nace Bilby, Deric Storm
15 March 2004, 0715

Nace Bilby opened his eyes after stifling a yawn. The jetlag of having landed in New York City two days earlier from South Africa was catching up. As he opened them he noticed a slender, dark haired woman holding onto one of the bars on the opposite side of the subway car with one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

Lovely woman. Mid to late twenties. Professional manner of dress, as evidenced by the blouse and pencil skirt. Nace thought as he glanced over.

She looked up and gave him a polite, I don't know you but you're staring sort of smile. Nace smiled back. I need to work on the subtlety bit.

The subway car jarred slightly, and Nace instinctively gripped the subway pole tighter with his left hand. He looked around the subway car again, lest the dark haired woman start to think him a threat.

Bloody crowded. Nace thought as he felt the subway car bumping along the track as it started to slow down as it reached its next stop. Nace felt the press of bodies as several people pushed to the exit. He noted the woman was one of them.

Damn. I might've approached if she'd stayed on for another stop. Such is life. Nace thought to himself.

"Hey Bilbs," a voice echoed to his left.

"Yeah," Nace said as he turned around, looking up to speak to the tall, athletic blond haired man standing next to him.

"See something ya like?" Deric said as the train started to move.

"Perhaps," Nace replied, "Unfortunately she'd gotten off at the last stop."

"The early bird catches the worm," Deric smirked, "You might've gotten a date Saturday night."

"Bloody hell, Deric, I just landed here," Nace countered, "And in all probabilities I'm not likely to see this woman again."

"You never know," Deric grinned.

ACME Field Office
Manhattan, NYC
Nace Bilby, Deric Storm, Probationary Agents
22 March 2004, 0915

Five probationary agents, recent graduates of ACME's East Coast training academy at Quantico, VA, walked in the small classroom. Along the perimeter of the classroom were long tables displaying several each of which had several different mockups of different mines, grenades, rockets, and even a couple of artillery shells. They walked among the displays around the perimeter.

The lean, athletic built man with brown hair and gray-brown eyes spoke softly into his cellphone, "I understand. I'll see you in a few minutes."

He tucked the cell phone into his pocket before addressing the five probationary agents, saying, "Right, that was Agent Darren, our guests from the New York City District Attorney's Office are running a bit late. While you wait keep examining the different mockups around the room. Again, a thing to remember is this: If you encounter an unexploded bomb, or UXB, or a booby trap in the field do not attempt to disarm it. Contact your local bomb squad to sort them out."

Agent Deric Storm, standing on the edge of the classroom, near its entrance smirked.

"Ooooh, we gonna see 'Teletubbies on Parade'?" he said in a fake Cockney accent.

"It's a bomb suit, not a bloody Gucci suit," Nace replied with a smirk of his own.

"Is the ACME Detective Agency in the business of dressing up as children's entertainment, Agent Storm?" A voice echoed from the entrance.

Nace's eyes turned towards the classroom's entrance and he noticed a tall, lean bodied man with gray hair and wearing a three piece suit walking into the room. Behind him was a woman, slightly shorter than the man to her front. Recognition hit Nace like a punch to the jaw. The lady from the subway car.

With them was a lean, athletic red haired woman that he knew was Deric's wife, Agent Ivy Darren Storm.

"It looks like our guests have arrived, so take your seats," Nace began. And any minute now Matt Saxton, with his propensity to fall asleep at the most inopportune moments is going to receive a rather unpleasant surprise.

"My name is Agent Nace Bilby," he began, "and I am pleased to welcome our guests from the New York City District Attorney's office. Would the pair of you be so kind as to introduce yourselves?"

The two attorneys headed to the front of the classroom before turning around to face the five students.

"Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy," the man said.

"Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia," the woman replied.

"Pleased to meet the pair of you," Nace replied, shaking hands with Jack and Alexandra in turn before the two headed to their seats.

"Now then, if you're wondering who the bloke with the odd accent speaking to you is, look up at the overhead."

Nace clicked the button on a handheld remote control switching the first slide which showed the class title, An Introduction to Explosive Hazards. Instructor: Agent Nace Bilby.

"Ooooh, schmancy," Deric piped up from the back before receiving an elbow to the ribs from his bride causing some light laughter from the students.

The next slide showed Nace's background:

About the Instructor:

- South African Army, 8 Years Service
- South African Citizen Militia Force, Present Day and Continuing
- Military specialties:
 - Explosive Ordnance Disposal (3 years experience)
 - Sniping (3 years experience)
 - Combat Diving (7 years experience)
- Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa

"First a little bit about myself, I served on active service with the South African Army for eight years before transferring to the Citizen Militia Force, an organization similar to your US Army National Guard and working in ACME," Nace replied, "My favorite Rugby team is the Springboks…"

"Are they always like this?" Alexandra whispered towards McCoy as they walked to their seats.

"Storm may come off as a smartass but he's probably one of ACME's most effective agents," McCoy replied.

Nace noticed the students and the two DAs were in the process of taking their seats. Something's wrong? Did I not connect the wiring right? Or did it somehow get knocked loose when the cleaners were in here last night?

It was as Alexandra Borgia took her seat that Nace would find out exactly what the disposition of his planned surprise was. A siren blared loudly and a blue strobe light underneath the bottom of the chair began to pulse loudly with the blaring siren.

"Oh bollocks!" Nace exclaimed, running towards Alexandra's chair, noticing the shock on the ADA's face.

As he reached the chair he swiftly blurted, "I'm terribly sorry about this. I'll get you sorted out."

"Googly, Bilbs," Deric said, suppressing a chuckle, "I thought the lady won a prize for a second."

"What?" Alexandra shouted, barely able to hear what the South African was saying. She craned her neck as the man dove underneath the chair.

He dove under the chair and began pulling at a couple of wires and the sound finally stopped. Nace crawled out from underneath the chair, complexion reddening.

"I am terribly sorry about that," Nace said as he stood up, tucking a Leatherman multi-tool into a leather pouch on his belt.

"The ringing in my ears is dying down," Alexandra replied, "So the jury is still out whether any harm was done."

"My apologies again, counselor, but this particular device was not intended for you," Nace replied as he crouched down.

"Alright, who was it intended for?" Alexandra asked, with a questioning a witness tone.

"It was for a student of mine who has somnolent tendencies in class," Nace replied as he hefted some wiring, a battery, and the strobelight and siren in his left hand.

"So have you considered any alternatives other than wiring sirens into students' seats?" Alexandra asked, incredulous.

"Let's just say I received a reprimand over my alternative and leave it at that, counselor," Nace replied before walking towards the front of the classroom.

As the siren sound stopped a heavy set man with dirty blond hair in his mid-twenties turned towards Jack McCoy and asked, "Counselor, can I press charges for assault?"

"Against who?" McCoy asked, turning to his right and talking to the young man.

"Against Agent Bilby," Matthew Saxton said, whispering.

"What happened?" McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I fell asleep in class last week and he threw a chalkboard eraser at me," Saxton groused.

"Well, Mr…" McCoy began.

"Probationary Agent Saxton."

"Well, Agent Saxton, you're asking in the wrong jurisdiction as ACME is an international agency," McCoy said, "You'd better ask your own legal department."

"Right," Nace began as he stood in front of the classroom, "I do hope you realize that an explosive hazard can come in any form and its most lethal is the IED."

The South African walked up and down the front of the classroom, eyes scanning the room as he did so, "What you witnessed is an example of how an IED can be triggered. Imagine if that pressure switch ADA Borgia had sat on were wired to a half kilogram of C4 or any similar explosive agent?"

You wanker. Nace thought to himself.

The rest of the lecture proceeded without incident and after the class concluded Nace approached Alexandra and Jack and said, "I hope you enjoyed the lecture, minus the faux pas."

Despire herself Alexandra chuckled lightly, "It's not every day you sit down and find a siren under your chair."

Nace laughed lightly, "Well, it certainly beat Erasergate that's for sure."

"Erasergate?" Alexandra asked, curiosity piqued.

"Deric's nickname for the eraser incident last week," Nace replied, "Right, I'll take you two to Inspector Strickland's office. He should be done with his meeting by now."

"Thank you," McCoy said, and remarked, "And certainly amusing Agent Bilby."

"Right, this way," Nace said as he led the two lawyers out of the classroom and towards the stairwell.

ACME Field Office
Manhattan, NYC
Jack McCoy, Alexandra Borgia Gerald Strickland and Roy Randall
22 March 2004, 1022

Alexandra Borgia heard the knock on the door after she and Jack had followed the South African out of the classroom and up the stairs towards the conference room. As they walked up the stairs she made her own impressions of the man. Polite and reserved. Not to mention a little eccentric.

"Again, my apologies about the siren," Nace said as the approached the conference room door.

"No harm was done, I just got a bit startled," Alexandra said.

"I do feel rather badly that the pair of you had to get involved," Nace replied.

"It's alright, Agent Bilby," Jack replied. Nace nodded in return

"Gentlemen," Nace said after knocking on the conference room door, "ADAs Jack McCoy and Alexandra Borgia for you."

Nace stepped aside to let the two of them enter the room before offering the two of them a polite smile. Alexandra returned it before turning to face the two men in the room. One of the two men was a short, stocky bald fellow wearing a black and white pinstripe shirt with rolled up sleeves and gray slacks and the other fellow was a balding African American fellow with some graying at the beard and remaining hair wearing a three piece suit.

"Thank you Agent Bilby," the bald man said, "you may go."

Nace nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him as he left. After Nace departed the African American man introduced himself, "Chief Inspector Roy Randall. To the right is my deputy, Inspector Gerald Strickland."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries Randall began, "I understand you two had quite the introduction to our training program for probationary agents recently."

"Chief, Agent Bilby's latest scheme to try and keep Probationary Agent Matthew Saxton awake in class had got a bit out of hand," Strickland replied, "I already have a written reprimand waiting for your signature…"

"Jerry," Randall began, calmly, "Retract the claws. No harm was done. If nothing else the building got a nice little morning jolt from Agent Bilby's actions."

"Yes Chief," Strickland replied, "I will have a talk with Agent Bilby about his methods. I get the feeling he's going to drive me crazier than Agent Storm already does."

And it's little wonder you're bald. Alexandra thought as she saw Strickland and Randall take their seats. As she was about to take her seat, she turned around and crouched down to examine the underside of the chair.

With an amused chuckle Randall said, "I assure you, Ms. Borgia, there isn't a siren wired underneath your seat."

"Evidently around here you can't be too careful," Alexandra replied. McCoy shot her a look.

"Gentlemen, the District Attorney has reviewed your proposal for dealing with international crimes in New York City," McCoy began, "And frankly he agrees with ACME assisting the NYPD in cases involving international crime as well as select cases. He sent us here to take care of some of the details of this arrangement."

The meeting continued, as Alexandra took notes on a legal pad. She listened as McCoy, Randall, and Strickland continued to discuss said smaller details.

ACME Field Office
Manhattan, NYC
Nace Bilby, Deric Storm, Ivy Darren
22 March 2004, 1033

As Nace Bilby walked into the Break Room he could smell the aroma of a freshly brewed pot of coffee. He grabbed his mug, hanging from a set of hooks on the wall, and poured himself a fresh cup.

He took a sip of the cup and exclaimed, "Ivy, for God's sake, your coffee should come with a warning label that reads 'do not dump at cemetery lest the zombie apocalypse kick off'."

"Either that," Deric said, emptying his cup into the sink, "or kill us all."

He flashed a playful wink at the glowering redhead as he rinsed the mug out and put it back in its proper place.

"Speaking of waking the dead," Ivy countered, sipping from her own mug of coffee, "That siren you rigged under ADA Borgia's chair could also do the same."

"For the last time she wasn't the intended target," Nace groaned as he leaned against the counter, "Saxton was."

"We know that," Ivy replied with a smile, "But that still doesn't change the fact that ADA Borgia wound up triggering your little surprise."

"I was attempting to avoid a reprimand from the Inspector over another Erasergate," Nace countered.

"So you went with Sirengate instead? Well done," Deric said with a slow round of applause, "Well done."

"Don't rub it in, bru," Nace remarked, after sipping more coffee from the mug, "I feel like enough of a wanker as it stands."

"Aye yi yi," a lean, suntanned Latin man wearing a three piece suit and a string tie said as he walked into the room, "Nace, were you the one responsible for that racket earlier?"

"Did the entire building hear about this?" Nace asked.

"More like the entire building heard it happen," Armando said as he took his mug down from the rack and headed to the coffee pot.

"I may as well have thrown an eraser at Mattie the Narcoleptic again," Nace replied sourly, "It would result in a lot less grief than I'm currently receiving."

"So what happened with the siren?" Armando asked.

At this Deric gave a great belly laugh, "This one's a classic, Manny."

"For God's sake," Nace replied, "Can we forget the last hour and a half elapsed?"

"Nope," Deric said, laughing, "He's gonna hear it eventually, dude. Might as well tell him yourself."

"Well, it was during my introduction to explosive hazards course that I believed I'd found a solution to the Mattie the Narcoleptic problem," Nace replied, with a sigh, "I stayed late to sort this out too. I dismantled one of the chairs in the classroom, the one he always favors too."

"The one with the really comfortable leather cushioning," Ivy affirmed, "Good pattern analysis."

"Ivy, let the man finish his story," Armando said, as he poured a cup of coffee.

"Well, having removed the cushioning from the chair I inserted a pressure switch made of two thin pieces of metal separated by hollow squares of balsa wood. Once my intended quarry sat down on the chair it would close a circuit wired into a battery powering a flashing blue strobe light and one of the warning sirens that I attached to the underside of the chair," Nace replied, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Okay, I understand how the thing works," Armando said, "And I have to admire your ingenuity. The sixty four dollar question remains: how did ADA Borgia get mixed up into this?"

"Evidently the chairs got switched around somehow between Friday night and class this morning. Perhaps when the bloody cleaning crew went through," Nace replied, "ADA Borgia wound up finding the seat that had the siren rigged into it."

Armando started to laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha ha," Nace quipped gruffly, only for Deric to join in the laughter.

"So, how do you think the meeting Inspector Strickland and Chief Inspector Randall are having with our guests from the DA's office is going?" Ivy asked as the laughter began to subside.

"I'm not going to speculate, given I was in the conference room for a grand total of five minutes," Nace replied.

TBC