"Do we know where she is now?" said Laura.
"Shopping." said Jack, "That girl can shop for hours and still never think she has anything to wear."
"I need to know where Granger is." said Steele, "Did she say anything at all?"
"Only that whoever she thought it was was here, in LA. I don't know how she knows anything."
"Maybe she searched other desks."
Jack nodded. "At times like this, I wish I'd been a grocer."
"Would he be using his own name? I mean, if he informed under his own name, maybe it cleared a few of his own little crimes."
"She knew his other names. She'd recognise them."
"I can remember two, Ben Baxter and Joseph Dawe. I'll get Murphy to check them out."
"To keep Kate away?" said Jack.
"Of course. What else?"
"Paul, if you'd been caught the night you brought Kate to me, you'd have been locked up for years. There's nothing you owe me and I don't want you to go near Granger. Remember, he was the one who always thought we should carry guns. I bet he has one now. If you need to send someone, send this Murphy."
"I can handle Granger." said Steele, affronted.
"Yes, I'm sure you can, but can you handle Fabrini? He was never much good at walking away from a fight if he thought a friend had been hurt."
"Don't worry. Granger isn't worth risking everything I have now."
Jack gave Laura a knowing look and grinned, "I can see that."
Steele looked out of the window. "Kate's just getting out of a cab. I'll go and have a word with her."
When he'd gone, Jack said to Laura, "Paul Fabrini isn't his real name, you know."
"I know. Do you know what is?"
"No, but watch enough Bogart films and you get to know his main aliases. It's no good asking him about the past. He always used to just laugh and say that the past was over and there was no point in going back there. It takes a lot of courage to put everything you've worked for in the hands of a man you don't know, but I promise you, he may not tell you everything, but when you really need to rely on him, he won't let you down."
"I know what I need to know." said Laura, "I'm not saying I'm not curious, but whoever he is, I know I can trust him, most of the time, anyway."
"Do you think he'll go after Granger?"
"He promised he wouldn't. No, come to think of it, he promised he wouldn't let this harm me or the agency."
"But he knows you'd be against the idea?"
"Yes, he knows that."
"Good. Fabrini was always hot-headed, but never an idiot. Thoughts of revenge may tempt him, but he's been looking for you so long, he won't want to lose you over this."
"Looking for me?" said Laura.
"The man who introduced me to him, Daniel, once said it was a pity that someone with such a natural talent for making people believe in him had spent a lifetime looking for someone he could believe in. Laura, I think he's finally found one."
When Kate saw Steele, she hurried over to him. "I'm glad you came, Paul."
"I didn't come to plot revenge with you."
"I know. I shouldn't have asked you. I've always thought of you as the one who rescued me from school and took me to the airport. You're a hero to me. I grew up, but I didn't stop to think that if I've changed, so has everyone else. Why should you care about us, when you have this new life? And I understand the problem. Laura seems great, and she wouldn't want to be with a criminal. Even if she could turn a blind eye, she'd probably lose her license. I wish you were with me on this, but I don't blame you for choosing her over some vague friendship from a past you'd rather forget."
"It's not that I don't care, and there is more than a vague friendship between you, me and your father. I'll do anything I can to help you in anything at all, except things like this. Kate, I know in the movies, wrongs are avenged, but real life doesn't allow for revenge without a price."
"If I'm willing to pay the price, that doesn't matter."
"Your father told me he doesn't want either of us going after Granger." said Steele.
"He said that because he loves both of us. You can bet, if anyone hurt you or me, he'd go after them."
"What if Granger kills you?"
"You're the plan man. How can I avoid that?"
"What?"
"If you want to keep me alive, tell me how I can hurt Granger without risk. I don't have your experience, or your genius. Dad used to say your ideas would come like lightning from a clear sky. You don't need to be involved. Just tell me what to do."
"Kate, I don't want you to do anything."
"I swear, I'll never tell Laura." she said.
"I thought you said you understood my decision."
"I do, but a bit of advice won't cost you anything."
"My advice is to forget the past. Granger can't touch any of us now. Don't give him the way to destroy all our lives."
She shook his hand. "Whatever happens, we're still friends, Fabrini."
"Promise me you'll stay away from him." said Steele.
"I can't. I won't lie to my father's most loyal friend. All I can promise is that I'll be careful."
"I can still call the police."
"You can't, Paul. That would mean they'd find Dad."
"Then I'll tell your father to lock you in your room."
"Lock me in? I can pick locks."
"I won't let you do something stupid."
She looked behind him, into the lobby. Her eyes widened, "Granger!"
"Where?" he turned to look, but couldn't see Granger. When he turned back, Kate was running down the street. He ran after her, but she was fast. She reached a cab and jumped in. He watched helplessly as it drove away. From the look the driver gave him, she was already spinning a good tale about the man chasing her.
