Thanks to Bujyo for betaing this story.
Spoilers for all three Seasons.
Don't own the characters whatsoever, just borrowing for entertainment purposes.
A Father's Revenge
It had been a long week at work for Mary and Marshall, as they went their separate ways he decided he didn't want to go home tonight. He knew full well Mary was going to go out and look for a way to blow off steam, and he would just end up at home alone. Marshall steered his car towards the bar he had discovered near his house. He had been going there on and off by himself since Mary's shooting. At first it was a way to deal with the guilt, but he became friends with the bartender. He was an old WWII vet and the two of them could regale each other with different stories of varying nature. Marshall enjoyed talking to Henry. It was interesting to him to hear what the man had gone through during the war. It was a glimpse at history that you couldn't get in books.
Marshall entered the bar and grabbed a stool at the end of the bar. It allowed him a complete view of the bar.
"Hi Henry," Marshall greeted the older man.
"Marshall, how have you been?" Henry smiled.
Henry enjoyed the younger man with his stories and knowledge. He was a rare find these days; a nice well mannered person who listened with interest to anyone who shared stories with him. He also showed respect for those around him, especially his elders.
"Good, can I get a beer?"
"Coming right up." Henry reached down and grabbed Marshall his beer, setting it in front of the young man.
"Busy in here tonight," Marshall said, somewhat surprised. The place was usually filled, but not packed in.
"The Isotopes are playing Las Vegas this weekend. Some of the fans came out a little early." Henry shrugged.
"Visitors and regulars tonight." Marshall understood. Since Raphael no longer played a part in Mary's life, Marshall hadn't followed the Isotope's game schedule.
Marshall stayed for a couple of hours talking on and off to Henrybefore finally saying goodnight. He was headed towards his truck when he noticed a young woman having problems with a flat tire.
"Stupid piece of junk," the woman complained. She kicked the tire.
Marshall couldn't help but smirk; it reminded him of his partner.
"Excuse me, Miss, may I help you?" Marshall asked politely. He was taken aback when the woman looked up at him. Her resemblance to Mary was uncanny. He noticed her hesitancy. He showed her his badge to offer reassurance.
"So you're a cop?"
"In a manner of speaking. Marshall shrugged. "Do you have a spare and a jack?"
"They should be in the back. Are you sure you don't mind?" the woman questioned.
"It's not a problem."
"Thanks. My name is Kelsey," she stated, reaching out a hand to him.
"Marshall," he supplied while shaking her hand.
She went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Marshall walked around with her and proceeded to pull out the spare tire, jack, and lug nut removal socket.
The woman watched him working while looking around the area. She nodded at the man that was standing around the corner and then returned her attention back to Marshall.
"There you go," Marshall stated and began to pick up the flat and the jack. He put them in the trunk and leaned down to pick up the socket when he felt something hit the back of his head before everything went black.
"Grab his legs, Kelsey, and help me get him in the trunk," the older man instructed.
They loaded Marshall into the trunk. The man scanned the area to make sure no one had seen them. Reaching into his jeans pocket, he pulled out a set of keys.
"Kelsey, my car is around the corner, take it and head to Santa Fe and then catch the flight out tomorrow afternoon."
She handed him her keys and nodded. She started to head to the other car before she turned back to the man.
"What are you going to do with him?"
"Don't worry about that, sweetheart, just get out of New Mexico tomorrow. I'll drive to Denver from here and then meet you in Miami."
"When should I tell Mom that you're coming?"
"She can't know, Kelsey. Your brother and sister should be left out of the loop also. I don't want anyone getting into trouble."
The blond man knew he shouldn't have involved her, but he needed a distraction to help him get Marshall, and he knew that his daughter would do the job.
"You're not coming home?" Kelsey stated, disappointed.
"Not for awhile. It's not safe. Take care, baby girl. I'll call you as soon as I can. Now go."
She left in the direction he indicated, while he got into her car and headed out of town.
He drove to the outskirts before pulling off to the side of the road, after making sure it was deserted. Getting out of the vehicle, he proceeded to the back and opened the trunk. Making sure that his captive was still out cold, he began to search his pockets, removing the cell phone and badge he found the man to be carrying. He wanted anything that could be traced far away from where he intended on taking Marshall. Continuing his search, he felt something protruding from the one boot and reached down to discover a gun. Taking it, he locked it into the glove compartment, and checked the man one more time before getting back into the car. He drove to an old abandoned diner that was in the middle of nowhere. Dragging his captive, he moved him into an old freezer. Taking the ropes he had left there, he tied his arms to a metal bar in the freezer.
/\\\\\\\\\/
Mary walked into the office with a coffee in hand. Walking past her partner's desk she noticed it was empty and realized his truck wasn't in the parking lot. She saw Charlie, or "Beaver" as she liked to call him; since the phrase 'eager beaver' always came to mind when she saw him sucking up to Stan, over by the coffee maker.
She was just about to ask him if he'd seen Marshall when Stan walked out of his office.
"Where's Marshall?"
Stan looked at her oddly, "I assumed he was with you. He hasn't been here this morning."
"No way, I actually beat him into the office." Mary smiled smugly. Grabbing her cell phone she dialed his number. The cell phone continued to ring before going into his voice mail. Mary tried his home phone; when she got the same response her smile began to fade.
"What's wrong?" Stan asked, noticing her reaction.
"I'm only getting his voice mail and answering machine. Marshall always picks up. I'm going to stop by his place and see if he's slept in."
Stan knew that it was unlikely. It wasn't in Marshall's nature. He started to get a bad feeling in his gut.
"Call me when you find him."
Mary grabbed her coat, acknowledging Stan's request while grabbing her keys before heading off. She was almost to his house when she noticed the familiar black truck parked outside a bar.
"What the hell, Marshall?" She asked to the empty car. Making a quick u-turn, she pulled up behind the truck. After determining it was empty and locked, she looked towards the quiet bar.
Mary walked to the bar entrance and heard the sound of something moving inside. She pounded on the door until an older gentleman opened the door.
"Ma'am, we don't open till later. I'm just waiting on a shipment," he told her politely.
"I'm actually looking for someone. The owner of the black truck," Mary said pointing at the truck, "It belongs to my partner and he hasn't shown up for work."
Henry recognized the truck as Marshall's from the night the younger man had stayed and helped him clean up. He walked him to his truck while thanking him.
"You must be Mary."
Mary's eyes widened in surprise, "How do you know?"
"That's Marshall's truck and he mentioned his partner's name was Mary. I'm not sure why his truck is here. He left last night at about ten thirty."
"You know Marshall?" Mary was truly confused at the moment. Marshall didn't drink much, and if he did it was usually with her.
"Sure, the young man has been coming here for months now. It started after some incident that he felt guilty about, not being there for someone. Apparently he decided to go somewhere else and his friend was hurt. He's become a somewhat regular since then. Not that he's here a lot mind you, but he likes to stop in and listen to me tell old war stories once or twice a week."
Mary knew he was talking about her shooting, but was baffled as to why Marshall hadn't come to her. "Was he drunk?"
"Oh no. He usually only has one or two beers before leaving," Henry stated firmly. "He's a good kid that one. Not many around like him anymore."
Mary had to smile at that. Marshall would've appreciated being called a kid.
"Did anyone follow him out?"
"Not that I recall. He left by himself and I don't recall seeing anyone leave when he did."
"Can you give me a call if you see or hear from him?" Mary asked, handing him a card.
"It was nice finally meeting you, Mary. I'll call if I see him," Henry affirmed.
"Thanks. Your name is?"
"Henry Ramsey."
"Thanks, Henry," Mary said before heading back to her car. Her urgency to get to Marshall's house intensified. The time frame he'd been unaccounted for had her worried.
Mary parked in the driveway and pulled her key out. Opening the door she stepped into the house and saw the table full of origami paper.
"Marshall?"
She continued to call out his name as she walked through the house. The alarm clock was blaring. She turned it off when she entered the bedroom. The bed was made perfectly and there was no sign of her partner anywhere. Grabbing her cell phone she called Stan.
"Where is he?" Stan questioned.
"I don't know. It looks like he never came home last night. He was last seen leaving a bar, sober, around ten thirty last night. The truck is there and it's locked. I'm at his place, the alarm was going off and the bed is perfectly made. There is no sign of him anywhere," Mary explained, feeling the panic inside her well up. "The bartender told me no one followed him out."
"I'll run a track on his cell phone and see if we can get a location. Come back to the office and we'll go look for him together," Stan ordered.
Mary looked around the house feeling lost as she was leaving. She whispered softly, "Where are you, Marshall?"
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Marshall woke to a shooting pain at the back of his head. His eyes were blinking trying to focus in on something. When he finally managed to clear his vision he saw a blonde man sitting across from him. He recognized the man immediately from the various pictures he had seen of him.
"James Shannon, or is it Griffin? There isn't another family out there that you've managed to abandon, is there?" Marshall questioned angrily. He didn't like what this man had done to Mary.
"So, you do know who I am. Interesting thing about abandonment, it comes in all different varieties. Like the way you abandoned my daughter in a bad neighborhood to go out on a date. Isn't your job to protect not only your witnesses, but your partner? Because of you, my little girl was in the hospital fighting for her life. So I'm going to return the favor. It's time for you to fight for yours," James hissed back at Marshall.
"What's with the sudden interest in your daughter's life? You left her at the age of seven. She had to raise her sister while dealing with a drunk for a mother. She isn't a little girl anymore and hasn't been in a long time, no thanks to you."
James had noticed the way Marshall had blanched at what he said, but apparently the young man had issues with him also.
"You don't deny my accusations for that night?" James questioned.
"You know nothing about our partnership. You know nothing about Mary. You gave up any right to her or her life when you walked out the door thirty years ago. She grew up burdened with a family she shouldn't have been raising. You denied her a childhood and a normal life and you can bet she's going to show you no loyalty now. This is going to backfire in your face."
James was taken aback by Marshall's candidness.
"What right do you think you have to judge me?"
"Who the hell do you think has been trying to help pick up the pieces you left behind? I manage to get her to let me in, and yes, I did screw that up. For some stupid reason she doesn't blame me and she should. The damage you have done to your entire family is a greater crime than mine. Mine was bad enough, but yours was inexcusable."
"So you play the martyr here? Is that the only way you can defend your actions. Try and turn the events around on me while you take credit for helping your partner."
"Twist it however you like, but abandonment is your specialty, not mine."
"Yet you did. Funny how that works," James had enough of this conversation. Part of what he said was to close to home, "Good luck on your survival."
James walked behind Marshall and knocked him unconscious. He loaded him back into the car and drove to the Sandia Mountains where he met a former colleague of his who had reluctantly agreed to help him by dropping Marshall off where there was a smaller chance of someone finding him. James also made sure they dumped him away from any of the well traveled paths. He laid one bottle of water next to the man, knowing it wouldn't be enough unless by some slim miracle someone happened to come across him.
"If you survive then so be it, but if you don't then that is what you get for not protecting my daughter," James said to the unconscious marshal.
Turning, he got in the car and headed out. He needed to get to Denver to catch his flight.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Mary hustled into the office, almost knocking Charlie over.
"Stan, what do we have?" Mary couldn't keep the worry out of her voice.
"Charlie has been checking in with the witnesses, none of them have seen Marshall, or had any problems. I'm waiting for the track on his cell phone. We should get it any minute. I have Charlie working on any possible threats to Marshall."
Mary sat down in her chair feeling a heavy weight on her shoulders. She looked up at Stan who was watching her with concern.
"Did you know he's been going to that bar since the shooting? On and off but never getting drunk. He and the owner seem to be kind of friends. Stan, he never used to go to the bar unless he was with me, and I usually had to drag him there. How did I not know?" Mary was wondering how they became so distant.
"You were at the hospital healing. Then you were dealing with your engagement and family. You had a life outside of the job and Marshall. He needed to make a life for himself that wasn't based around your needs all the time. You were engaged, Mary. It changes everything about your partnership. Instead of hanging out with Marshall, you went home to Raph. What was he suppose to do? Sit around and wait until you needed a shoulder to cry or lean on? Marshall likes to gain knowledge in everything and anything. You know that as well as I do. If talking to the vet made him happy then what is the problem? He has a right to have a life that doesn't revolve around you, especially if you are spending less and less time with him." Stan knew the truth would hurt Mary, but she needed to realize that she can't expect Marshall to sit around waiting for her to need him.
Mary thought about what he said and realized he was right. She had been cutting Marshall out in order to make everyone else happy. That could be the reason happy was buried under scared and a whole lot of other things when Marshall asked her about Raph.
"I get what you're saying, but why didn't he come to me to work out the guilt factor in the shooting? I'm supposed to be his best friend, Stan, not Henry the bartender."
"When has Marshall ever come to you with a problem? For that matter; when has he come to any of us? He carries his own burdens on his own shoulders. One in awhile I get a little bit from him, Mary, but it's few and far in between. I think he figures we all have enough to deal with so he takes care of himself. Talking to someone you don't know is sometimes easier then talking to someone you do know."
Before more could be said, the information came in on the location of his cell phone.
"His phone is in the desert on the outskirts of town," Stan informed Mary.
"Charlie, we're heading to the location. You find out if there are any security tapes or video footage outside the bar that can give us a clue to what we are looking for. I want to know the second you know anything."
"Yes sir," Charlie answered.
"He's in serious trouble, Stan. Marshall wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere."
Stan could hear the worry in the words and felt it inside him, but knew better than to not be the boss. "I know, but we'll get him back."
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Marshall came to finding himself surrounded by spruce and fir trees with his hands still tied by rope. Next to him was a bottle of water. He rolled around until he could find a way to sit up. The first thing he looked for was something to use to untie his wrists. Finding a rock with a sharp point, he began to run the ropes up and down feverishly to cut through the rope.
He could feel the rope loosening as his skin was being rubbed raw from the movement. Looking around he knew he was in either the Sandia or Manzano Mountains. Which one and where, he had no clue. He assumed he would be dropped off in a less traveled or restricted area. James wanted revenge for Mary's shooting. Leaving him in the mountains with not a lot of options was his version of revenge. The part that hurt was he didn't blame the man. He readily accepted the fact that he deserved to be punished for not being there for Mary.
Not letting his mind wander too far, he also knew Mary would be worried and that his promise to try not to die for her was still in play. As if she would ever let it expire, he thought sarcastically.
He grabbed the bottle of water and inspected it. He wanted to make sure it was sealed and that there was no evidence of a hole that something could've been injected into. Not seeing anything, he began to walk down slope knowing there was nothing for him at the top except a nice view that wouldn't help him out of his predicament. There was little water sources if he was in the Sandia Mountain wilderness on the west side. He also knew that the trails on that side of the mountain were steeper. His mind was still somewhat foggy from getting hit, but he knew he could at least get an idea of which side of the mountain he was on as soon as it cleared. He knew he had to get to a lower elevation to find both people and to find shelter. It was monsoon season and the afternoon thunderstorms that usually occurred could form quickly. It wouldn't be good to be out in the open and exposed to the lightning.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Stan and Mary floored it to the desert location. Half way there Charlie called to give Stan an update.
"McQueen."
"Sir, we found surveillance footage from an ATM and a store across from the bar. I printed up the pictures of the two individuals that took him and have forwarded them to airports, bus stations, train stations, and car rentals in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nevada and Texas. I'm running their photos through the database to get a name on them."
"Good job. Let me know immediately if you get a hit on any of them," Stan ordered.
Mary waited for Stan to hang up the phone. "What?"
"Charlie managed to get a couple of surveillance photos and has sent them to all the nearby states' airports, bus terminals and any other means of transportation. We should be coming up on his cell phone at any minute," Stan cautioned. "Pull over."
"There's nothing but desert here, Stan," Mary said worriedly.
"Dial his phone," Stan ordered, figuring it would be the easiest way to find him, plus it would give Mary something to do.
Mary did as she was told for once, and they both listened intently for the ringing. When she heard it she ran towards the sound with Stan on her heels. When she reached the phone her heart almost stopped beating. Right next to his phone was his badge. There was no way he would've left that on his own accord.
"He's in trouble, Stan, you and I both know he wouldn't leave his badge here. Who the hell would take him and why?"
Stan pulled his cell phone out.
"I want a helicopter in the area and scanning the desert over this location and then fan out from there. If you see anything I want to know about it," Stan ordered as he gave them the coordinates. They began to walk around the area looking for any sign of Marshall.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Kelsey had followed her father's instructions and headed to the airport. She was early enough to meet the required time allotment for the airlines, yet not too early to appear anxious. A part of her felt like she should be looking over her shoulder, but she chucked it up to nerves at not knowing what her father had planned to do to the man they took last night.
A part of her felt guilty for hurting the man since he had really been sincere with helping her out with changing the tire, but he had somehow gotten her father's ire up about something. Her dad punished people only if there was a reason.
Heading up to the ticket counter, she placed her ticket with the agent while checking her bag in. The woman was pleasant, but seemed to be distracted.
"Is there something wrong?" Kelsey asked, concerned.
While paying attention to the woman at the counter, she missed the supervisor who grabbed the phone to call security. The system sent up a warning as she was checking in.
"Computer glitch. I've been fighting the system all day," The agent replied back calmly while proceeding with the check-in process.
Kelsey thanked the woman once she received her tickets and headed to her gate. While sitting there waiting to board, she heard her name paged over the intercom. She approached the gate representative.
"Excuse me, but my name was just paged."
Two security guards approached her from behind and the main one addressed her.
"Miss Griffin, we need you to come with us."
"Is there something wrong?"
Security had been told not to alert her of anything. The police had just arrived at the airport.
"We think one of the baggage handling crew members may have taken something from your belongings. We need to verify nothing is missing from you bag."
Kelsey agreed and they led her to the security office, where the police were waiting for her.
"Ms. Kelsey Griffin?" the officer questioned.
"Yes." Kelsey felt a panic rise in her at the sight of the two officers.
"We need you to come to the police station with us for some questions," the officer explained.
"Because of my suitcase?" Kelsey knew full well that wasn't why they wanted her.
"In regards to the disappearance of U.S. Marshal Marshall Mann."
"I don't know a Marshall Mann," Kelsey informed them.
"We have several pictures of you and another man loading him into a car trunk after rendering him unconscious. They would suggest otherwise."
"I want an attorney," Kelsey demanded.
"You can call for one when we reach the police station."
They led her out of the airport and she began to contemplate who to call. She couldn't call her dad, and she wasn't sure if Lauren or Scott would be better for this.
Stan and Mary had looked for over an hour with no sign of Marshall when Charlie called telling them they picked up the woman from the photo. He relayed the name to Stan. They were still working on the man's photo as they didn't have a clear shot of his face.
Stan looked at Mary when he was given the name. "Ever hear of a Kelsey Griffin?"
"The last name sounds familiar, but not sure why," Mary replied. She began to track through her brain trying to figure out why that name sounded familiar.
"Make sure the police know we want to talk to her. I don't give a damn who she wants. Just make sure it happens," Stan hung up. "She already asked for a lawyer according to the police."
"Why do I know that last name?"
"Don't push it. It will make it harder to recall if you force the issue," Stan cautioned as they took off towards the police station.