Chapter Three
Steve's back was to the office door where the two 'Secret Service' men stood at full attention. "I understand," he told Jaime softly. Was she safe now? He had no idea, but decided he needed to get off the phone and get to her as quickly as possible. As he placed the receiver carefully into its cradle, his eyes told Oscar as much as he could manage non-verbally. Steve debated simply going out the window, but that would mean letting the men at the door know he was onto them; leaving Oscar in their hands in that situation was unthinkable.
Instead, he shook his head, feigning bewilderment, and turned to Hansen. "I'm supposed to tell you to wait here. Your team found something at Rudy's house, and they're on their way." He rose to his feet, hoping the lure of possible evidence would be enough to keep the pseudo-penguins from following him. "And since we're all apparently gonna be here awhile, why don't I run down to the deli and grab some sandwiches?" He was prepared to run if he had to, but was able to leave the building and the grounds without a struggle.
The coffee shop Jaime mentioned wasn't one they normally frequented, but Steve judged he was in the right place by the wide-eyed looks on members of its staff. "Where's your back office?" he asked the girl at the register. Wordlessly, she pointed to a door at the end of a short hallway.
"I don't need an ambulance; it's make-up – I'm an actress." Steve heard Jaime saying as he opened the door without knocking. Jaime was sitting in a chair, surrounded by several waitresses and someone he guessed was the manager.
"An out-of-work actress, if you miss one more call, Missy," Steve said in a scolding voice. "I'm so sorry for the disturbance," he told the staff. "If I could just have a few minutes to talk to my 'talent' here, we'll be out of your way." The staff headed reluctantly for the door. "Any autograph hunters show up, send them away for me, would you?" he called after them as the door closed.
"What happened?" Steve asked, crouching down to encircle Jaime with his arms.
"The second we were in the parking garage and out of sight, one of them put me in a choke hold and the other pulled a gun. They tried to push me into a car. Steve, I should've let them – they'd probably have taken me to Rudy!"
"Or to an empty field somewhere, to shoot you in the head," Steve said pointedly. "No way – you did exactly the right thing...What did you do?"
"I fainted." Seeing Steve's worried face, she quickly added "Not for real. But when I went limp, the first one picked me up under my arms; when the one with the gun went to grab my legs, I kicked out with both feet. While we went down, I elbowed his buddy in the gut and then ran like hell."
"Sweetheart, you did good. I'm proud of you."
"No...you know how I feel about -"
"Jaime, listen to me. You got away and you're safe; that means you did it right."
"They're probably looking for me by now. If I go with them -"
"No. Way."
"I could find Rudy."
"It's too risky."
"I could wear a tracker..."
"Forget it, Jaime."
"But -"
"No."
Jaime sighed. Steve was probably the only person who could 'out-stubborn' her, and they both knew it. "What about the other two 'suits'? Where are they?" she asked quietly.
"In Oscar's office, guarding the door."
"Oh, God – then they've got Oscar & Lynda...they can have Hansen, for all I care, but...Steve, what are we gonna do?"
"They don't know we're onto them, so we could play it cool and subtle, but -"
"I think we need to barge in and take 'em down," Jaime theorized, "before anything else happens."
"I was just about to say that." Steve extended a hand to help her up. "Let's go."
"Great minds..." she agreed. "Out the window?"
"My thoughts exactly," he told her. As Steve opened the window and turned to help Jaime climb out, his eyes latched onto something he'd missed when she was seated, and his heart did belly-flops. Beneath the huge fake bloodstain on the front of the shirt she still wore, there was a new stain – still wet, and spreading. "Jaime...?" he began, unable to look away from what his gut knew was not faked.
"When I was almost out of there, one of them...fired a shot..." she confirmed, right before passing out into Steve's waiting arms.
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