Caught in the Crossfire, Chapter 1:
A Word of Warning...
Shelly Finkel was having a good time. Granted, the situation was less than ideal, considering Mary was alone on the mountain, looking for an injured – not to mention unbalanced – witness, leaving Marshall understandably concerned about his partner's safety. Still, this was the best time she'd had with a man in quite a long time; Marshall Mann was a truly fascinating man, and she could definitely see herself spending more time with him.
"What's going on?" Stan asked as they returned to base, having failed to locate the wayward U.S. Marshal or the ATV she'd taken up the mountain.
"Temp is dropping with the sun," Marshall explained briefly, grabbing a pack from the ranger. "We need a chopper out here now."
She watched him hurriedly make his way back up the hill, taking a moment to appreciate the way his jeans clung to all the right places. Smiling to herself, she let her mind wander, imagining what his butt would look like out of those jeans...
She caught Stan staring at her speculatively, causing her to switch back to her 'serious, no-non-sense therapist' expression. Still, the older marshal didn't look away; he just kept studying her, frowning slightly.
"Can I give you a bit of friendly advice, Miss Finkel?"
"Shelly, please," she reminded him, trying to lighten things up a bit.
"Shelly," he acknowledged. "I know it's not really my place to say anything..."
"Go ahead. I always welcome insights from the people I work with," she assured him.
"I can see that you and Marshall are getting along quite well," he started hesitantly, causing her to look up in surprise. She had been expecting him to give her additional information about the witness, or some other WITSEC-related bit of wisdom. "You seem like a really nice person," he added, sounding increasingly uneasy, "and I'd hate to see you caught in the crossfire."
"I'm not sure I understand," she said, frowning.
"Marshall is a great guy, don't get me wrong..."
"He certainly seems like an amazing man," she agreed, nodding.
"The problem is... Marshall is... What I mean is... With Mary..." He trailed off, obviously struggling to find the right way to say whatever it was he wanted to tell her.
"Are you telling me there's something between Mary & Marshall?" she asked, eyes narrowing as her earlier suspicions returned. Mary had denied anything was going on when she'd asked her, but it was always possible she'd been lying. After all, fraternization between partners – while not strictly forbidden – was still pretty much frowned upon; it just wasn't a very good idea to sleep with the person tasked to watch your back...
"No, of course not," the older man replied. "Though, honestly, it's not like they'd tell me if there was," he added, shrugging. "I'm always the last to know, with those two..."
"What exactly are you trying to tell me, then?" she asked, confused. Surely the man had nothing against her personally, right?
"Even if there's nothing going on," he continued, "the relationship between those two... It's complicated... I just don't think you want to get in the middle of that, is all..."
"I don't--"
"Look, you seem like a nice girl, and I'd hate to see you get hurt, which is why I'm telling you this, even though I should just keep out of it," he rambled on, running a hand over his face. "I've seen it happen before," he added, sighing, "and it never ends well... Whatever Marshall may be to Mary, she doesn't share. Period."
"Shouldn't Marshall have a say in this?" she asked, refusing to give up. She liked this man, damn it, and she wasn't about to step aside simply because of a possessive partner!
"Yes, he should... Ultimately, though, he'll just go with whatever Mary wants." He paused, looking at her with something close to pity. "That's just the way things are."
"Well, Stan, thanks for the advice, but I think I'll take my chances," she told him before turning and walking up the hill after Marshall, determined to pursue a relationship with the man. Contrary to Stan McQueen – and to most of the male population, it seemed – she was not afraid of Mary Shannon.
Of course, had she known how events would unfold over the next few days, she might have heeded Stan's words and saved everyone a world of heartache...
