Chapter 2

Sam parked behind the Charger in the small courtyard and hurried over to the stairs, where Fiona crouched next to a crumpled figure.

"Oh jeez, Mike."

Fiona turned and said, "You didn't waste any time getting here, Sam."

"Are you kidding? I probably broke a few traffic laws...okay, yeah, I did." Sam looked down at his friend, bloodied and bruised, unconscious. "What happened, Fi?"

"Uncle Mike," Esperanza breathed. "Who beat him up? Nobody beats up Uncle Mike and gets away with it. Ever!"

Fiona smiled at the girl's blind devotion to her uncle. "Unfortunately, someone, or more than one, did." To Sam, she said, "You know he had that all-night surveillance out at the docks with Jack, and something happened. I don't know where Jack is, but Michael somehow got himself home just a little while ago. I heard heavy thumping coming up the stairs, and when I went to check, he took one look at me, said, 'Fi', and collapsed."

"Where's Luke?"

"Upstairs, still in his crib."

"Espie..."

Before Sam could say another word, she responded. "I'll take care of him, Dad." She slipped past Michael, a worried crease to her brow, and quickly ran upstairs. As she opened the door, they could hear the little boy's cries.

"Fi, step back. I'll get him upstairs."Sam picked up Michael, shifted his weight until he felt stable, and carefully climbed the stairs. Fiona went behind him, her hand on the small of his back. If he tipped backwards, she'd be of no help. He just knew it was something for her to do, to feel like she had some control over the situation.

She moved around him to open the door, and he nodded his thanks. Michael was getting heavy. He crossed the loft and lay him on the bed. He let out a little groan and tried to roll to his side.

"Michael," Fiona spoke softly. "Michael, talk to me, please." She pushed a lock of hair back from his face, tracing an ugly bruise at his temple.

"Man, he's lucky they didn't kill him with a blow like that," Sam muttered. "I'll get the kit."

Given the dangers in which they constantly found themselves, they kept a well stocked medical kit at the loft for emergencies such as this. During his time in the Navy, as part of his SEAL training Sam had been well-versed in the art of field medicine, and it came in handy time and time again. So as Sam pulled the bag out and set it on the table, he knew what supplies he'd need. Unless Michael had some internal bleeding, they could most likely take care of his injuries at home and not require a hospital visit. He returned with hands full to the bed and dropped everything onto the nightstand. He checked Michael's vitals, and they were a little stressed, but nothing serious. With Fi assisting, he stretched Michael out and assessed his injuries, palpating his midsection for anything unusual.

"He's lucky, Fi. Just a lot of bumps and bruises. A couple cracked ribs on his right side. Probably a concussion. But he'll be fine."

"Sam, I can take care of the rest." She held out her hand for the roll of bandages. "You call Jack, try to find him, and see if he knows what happened to Michael. Find out why he left him..."

"Fi, you don't know he abandoned Mike. Maybe something happened to him too!"

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the rising anger. "You're right, Sam. He could be out there on the docks in worse shape than Michael." Her eyes rose and met his. "Find him."

Sam nodded and stood. He went out on the balcony and tried Jack's cell. It went to voicemail. Then he tried Jack's house and Sasha picked up.

"Sash, it's Sam. Is Jack there?"

"Jack? He was on a stakeout with Michael last night. You haven't seen him?" Panic rose in her voice.

"No. I'm at the loft, and Mike's here, but Jack wasn't with him." He bit back the fear, calmed himself, and said, "Don't worry, Sash. I'll find him."

"I was always afraid something like this would happen with him getting involved in these jobs," Sasha said, and he could hear the bitterness creeping into her voice. "I told him it was crazy, and dangerous, and he had no business..." She stopped herself and let out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Sam. Maybe I'm not cut out to be the wife of a spy."

"Well, good thing he's not one then." He tried to cheer her up. "Don't worry, I'll go out to the docks and find him. I'll call you when I find out anything." He closed off the connection and entered the loft.

Esperanza sat in a chair holding Lucas, rocking him gently. He was so proud of the way she took charge of her little cousin. She offered him a biscuit to gnaw on, and despite the mess he made on her leotard, she held him close. "Honey, I want you to stay here with Aunt Fiona, okay?"

"Sure, Dad. I'll take care of Luke." She smiled at him, and he patted her head.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Fi. Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Just find Jack."

While Sam was gone, Fiona dressed Michael's wounds and made him as comfortable as she could. He groaned now and then when she moved him and took off his shirt, exposing the large ugly bruising around his ribcage where the broken ribs lay underneath. She touched him lightly, and his eyelids fluttered open.

"Fi," Michael groaned out her name.

"Shh, Michael. You're home. You're safe."

"Jack..."

"Sam is out looking for him." She caressed his face where it wasn't swollen. "What happened to you?"

"Four guys...jumped us...got us out of the car and kicked our..."

"Michael," Fiona warned and inclined her head toward the chair where Esperanza sat.

Michael saw her staring at him and he smiled weakly and nodded to her.

Esperanza looked at him with concern in her eyes, and said, "I'm glad you're awake, Uncle Mike. We were all worried about you."

"Thanks," he replied as he lay back on the pillow.

Fiona lightly placed a cold pack on Michael's cheek, causing him to wince and take it from her. "Do you have any idea who could have done this to you? Someone you're investigating, perhaps?"

"No, we're just in the preliminary stages of our investigation. They shouldn't have a clue that we're on to anything." He paused and shook his head. "It didn't make any sense."

"Well, when Sam finds Jack and he can talk to him, maybe we'll get to the bottom of this."

Sam was gone a long time. Michael and Fiona talked awhile but eventually he was too tired to continue. He fell asleep, she covered him, and took charge of Lucas. He hadn't been fed yet, and the biscuit wasn't enough to keep him occupied. She set him in the high chair while Esperanza kept him distracted long enough for Fiona to prepare some oatmeal. Still, Sam had not returned.

"Aunt Fiona, I'm getting worried about Mr. Jack," Esperanza said as she watched Fiona feed Lucas.

Fiona turned to face her and replied, "Me too, Espie." She gave the girl a reassuring smile. "But I have no doubt that your daddy will find him."

They heard heavy footfalls on the stairs, and Esperanza leaned closer to the window at the bar and looked down. "Dad's here! He's got Mr. Jack!" She jumped off her stool and ran to the door to let them inside. Sam dragged Jack over to a cot that they kept underneath Michael's office and let him down as gently as he could.

"Sam, did he get beat up too," Fiona asked from across the room.

Catching his breath, Sam replied, "Yeah. He's been knocked around pretty good."

"Dad, can I help?"

"Espie, you just play with Lucas. Fiona and I will take care of Jack."

Fiona wiped the baby's hands and face, and took him out of his high chair. She set him on the floor in an out of the way corner where his toys were scattered about, and Esperanza sat down to keep him entertained.

While they worked on Jack, he lay still and unresponsive. "Fi, he was unconscious when I found him, and he's still out. This is not good." Sam got a soft groan when he pressed on Jack's sternum, so at least he wasn't in a coma or anything that serious. But the fact that he poked him with a needle, knowing how Jack hated needles, and he didn't resist told Sam that he was in bad shape. Fiona hung the IV on a hook in the wall and sat on a chair next to the cot. She smoothed his hair back and found another cut right along the hairline as she wiped the blood off his face. His features were obscured by the stains, and it was the only way to find the wounds..

"That one looks like it'll need some stitches," she muttered as she probed the edges.

"I just want to get him stable first. Then we'll worry about sewing him up." In the end, Sam counted twenty stitches covering Jack's scalp, face, and arm. He had various bruising all over his body. As Michael and Jack were still out, he and Fi regrouped at the bar. She picked out a yogurt from the fridge, and he joined her with one of his own.

"I really wish I knew what happened to them," Sam spoke softly, hoping Espie wouldn't hear their conversation. "Somebody really kicked their asses, but why?"

"Maybe an old enemy of Michael's?"

"We've got nothing until one of them wakes up and tells us something more than a bunch of guys." Sam leaned against the bar, elbows on the surface, and let out a deep breath. "I'm thinking I should go through our case files, see if I can find anything recent that might have sparked this, but Fi, I'm worried about leaving you alone with two incapacitated men. What if these guys know where Mike lives and come back to finish the job when I'm gone?"

"Call Samuel. Maybe he can get them for you and bring them here."

"Only I have a key to that drawer."

"Oh, like he's not capable of picking a lock?" She smiled.

"I have a better idea." He slipped his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Take my car, go to my house, and get everything in the bottom left drawer in my desk. This one is the desk key. It's all the old stuff going back to just before Lucas was born. I know Mike wasn't involved in a lot of those cases, but you never know. And the new ones are in the drawer right above it. Oh, hey, grab my journal while you're at it. It's laying on top of the new files." He paused and glanced at Esperanza. "And Fi, take Espie with you. If something goes down, I don't want her here."

Fiona nodded and grabbed her hip pack. "Come on Espie, I'm taking you home."

"Be careful, Dad," the little girl said as she hugged her father.

"I will, honey." He hugged her back. "Fi, be careful. Make sure nobody's tailing you."

With a sigh, Fiona cocked her head. "Do you really have to remind me, Sam? Seriously?" She shook her head and reached out for Esperanza's hand. "Come along, sweetheart. Let's get you home." They walked to the door, she opened it, and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Fi. Tell Eve not to worry."

She smirked. "I will."

Not that it will make any difference. Sam sighed as the door closed, and he moved to lock it behind her. He heard her talking to Esperanza as they got into the car. The engine started up, and she backed out onto the street. He watched them drive away and then turned to Lucas, who sat on the floor playing with a stuffed toy. "Well, looks like it's just you and me kid, to take up guard duty."

Lucas smiled and babbled at him. Sam smiled, remembering how not too long ago Samuel did the same thing whenever he talked to him. He approached the child and picked him up.

"Uhoh, I should have had your mommy check you before she left." Careful to avoid the wetness seeping through the baby's diaper, he carried Lucas over to the changing table to take care of business. As he finished the job, taping the diaper in place, he heard feet on the stairs. "Fi?" He turned, but there was no one at the door. It was still closed and locked, as far as he could see from his vantage point. "Huh. Well, let's just see if we can see who was there..." He looked out the window and caught the backside of a woman running for the open gate.

"Sam..."

Sam turned and saw Michael trying to get up. "Mike, great timing! Here, you hang onto Lucas, I need to check on something. Be right back." He put the boy on the bed next to his father and ran for the door. Quickly, he unlocked it, ran down the stairs, and got out to the street just in time to see an old beater speed away. He got a partial plate number and burned it into his memory. Then he ran back to the loft, and on his way inside he found an envelope with his footprint pressed into it. The open grating embossed itself into the paper. He picked it up by the corner and brought it inside.

"Mike, I missed whoever it was, but they left something for you," Sam said as he brought the envelope to his friend.

Michael saw it and groaned, fell back into the pillow, and threw an arm over his eyes. "Another one."

"Another one, what?"

"It's nothing, Sam. Just some woman who thinks she's...she's my fan. Can you believe it?" He laughed weakly.

"Your fan? How the hell would someone become your fan? Not that you're not fan worthy, Mike, but jeez...that's just...weird." He examined the pink envelope. A faint scent of lilacs emanated from it. "Does Fi know about this?"

"No."

"I take it this isn't the first time she's delivered something to your doorstep."

"No, actually, it is."

Sam sat down in a chair near the bed and leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Okay, tell me how this all started."