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A ringing phone woke Marshall around midnight on Saturday. "This is Marshall"
"Sir, they reported a mini van stolen a few blocks from the mall where the issued SUV the Marshals were driving was abandoned."
Marshall got up and walked out of his office, he spot Stan and Delia in the conference room. He walked in putting the cell on speaker, "Ok, what else do you have for me?"
"Well Sir, the mini van was located in Columbus, OH this morning. They also found a faint trace of blood, same one from the SUV."
Groaning Stan walks over to Marshall, "She's fine. If she's moving she's fine. There must be a reason she hasn't called. Do you think they are being followed?"
"I don't know Stan, but it seems like Mary is trying to lay low. I think that's what we would do if I was with her, like I SHOULD have been!" Marshall runs his fingers through his hair and looks around the conference room. He just wanted to throw something, ANYTHING!
"Sir, I have more Intel."
"Get on with it then!"
"It seems like one of the Marshals bought a vehicle a few blocks from where the mini van was located. For obvious reasons we should keep the car make and model in the DL."
"Sounds good, keep me posted. Anything you find or hear call me, no matter the time!"
Delia reached out to get the cell and closed it, "Chief, we gotta stay positive. No way Mary will let anything happen to Ben or her witness."
"Where'd you disappear to earlier?" Marshall curiously asked Delia, remembering her absence in the day.
"Oh, I just went by Mary's to check on the girls. Those little munchkins are so beautiful. You should see Norah with her little cousin Lizzie. She dotes on her as a big sister. Mary is doing a fine job with her girls." Delia looked like an excited and proud aunt.
"I haven't seen Norah since…" he paused looking at Stan and Delia, "I don't really remember when I last saw her. I'm supposed to be Mary's best friend and I haven't seen my best friend's daughter since, I think her first birthday."
Stan and Delia looked on as Marshall paced the conference room. Running his fingers through his hair, rubbing his eyes which looked panicked.
"Chief, it's ok. I'm sure Mary understands, you've been busy running this office smoothly and the preparations to your wedding." Delia tried to make Marshall understand but he wasn't having any of it.
"How often do you or Ben," he spat the name, "spend time with Norah and Mary?"
Delia looked at Stan for help, but Stan just shrugged, "Well, I come over to Mary's at least once a month. I can't honestly tell you how often Ben is over, but Norah and Lizzie adore Uncle Ben"
Marshall sat heavily into a chair and sighed murmuring, "Norah used to adore me. Mary doesn't let me in, doesn't even ask me over. Now, I don't even know if she had a second birthday party. Or any big milestones. Does she even remember me? "
"What do you mean you weren't invited?" Stan exclaimed, but Delia automatically squeezed his arm. A sign not to continue.
"Well, there is still time to change that. You can always start going by Mary's again." Stan advised, looking at Delia confused about her reaction.
Shaking his head Marshall stood up, "Abigail, sh-she wouldn't understand. I'm trying Stan, really trying to make her happy."
He walked out of the conference room leaving Delia and Stan to contemplate how to help him.
"Chief, a lot has happened since you moved to DC. Mary did invite Marshall and Abigail; I guess that's when Mary shut down on him completely." She was chewing on her lower lip, holding in her tears.
Stan rubbed his head again, "What do you mean she invited them? Then how come he wasn't there? How come he doesn't know about the birthday party?"
Confused he started to pace the conference room, much like Marshall had done a few minutes ago.
Sighing heavily Delia told Stan, "The day Mary brought in the invitations she bumped into Abigail in the parking lot. She had just come by to drop Marshall off, something about his truck and the shop. Anyways, Mary thought that maybe if she gave the invitation to Abigail the possibility of Marshall coming would be greater. But I guess Mary was mistaken, I actually found the invitation addressed to Marshall and Abigail in the trash that same night."
"And you didn't think proper to tell Marshall? Or Mary?" demanded Stan.
"Sir, I didn't feel like it was my place to put Mary and Marshall against Abigail. I mean, she's so insecure. I thought of mentioning something, but leading to the day of the birthday party Marshall took the rest of the week off. Abigail had convinced him to go away with her to visit her parents." Delia looked sad and frustrated. "Then when Mary found out that Marshall had gone away, she was…she was…I don't even know how to describe how she was. Devastated?"
Stopping Stan turned and looked out of the conference room, spotting Marshall sitting behind his desk. Going through paperwork as he awaited any information regarding Mary and Ben.
Wednesday Night. Columbus, OH
Mary was driving; all the passengers in the vehicle were quiet. She looked over at Ben who was taking a nap after driving for 5 hours. They had left their hotel in Syracuse, NY 5 hours ago and hadn't been able to stop for a charger, only gas and food. She knew she needed to ditch the mini van pretty soon when she spotted a car lot off the hwy. She slowed and got off.
"Whatsgoin'on?" muttered Ben waking up and stretching.
"We need new wheels Bill, if we keep driving this vehicle we might get pulled over. I'm sure by now the owners have report it stolen." She turned onto the first street off of the hwy and parked the car on the curb a few streets down a car lot.
Ben looked back at the car lot and asked, "Another hot car?"
Rolling her eyes she gets off, "I'll be back, keep your eyes open"
She walked around the car and entered the lot. Ben kept an eye on her until she disappeared between the cars. He was starting to worry when 20 minutes later a yellow hummer pulls up behind the mini van. Ben automatically pulls out his gun looking over his shoulder to Martha, "Stay down"
Jumping out of hummer she comes around and says, "Come on Bill, we gotta hurry. Get Martha in the truck."
Mary walks over to the mini van, pulling out all the bags, moving them all over to the hummer.
"You couldn't find a more conspicuous vehicle?" smirks Ben.
"Don't say conspicuous, you're starting to sound like the Chief" just the statement reminds her that she still hasn't gotten in contact with Marshall. "Dammit Ben, we gotta find a way to call the Chief."
"I know, I know. Let's go, I'm driving." He jumps behind the wheel and sees the keys dangling from the switch, "You bought this?"
Mary smirks, "I swiped the keys when the kid wasn't looking," saying sarcastically and rolling her eyes she laughs, "Yeah, of course I bought it. Now, let's go."
They drove about an hour before they saw a motel by the hwy. By the time they all piled into their rooms they were exhausted and sleepy. Mary heard Ben collapse in bed and then a few minutes later she heard him snore lightly. For whatever reason she felt restless and no longer sleepy, deciding instead to stay up and keep an eye out. Something was going to happen soon, she just wasn't sure how soon. Martha's breathing evened out a sure sign that she finally was resting. Mary felt bad for the other woman. Losing her life and having to start off with a hot pursuit. Looking at the night table she spotted the phone. She reached for it, she was about to start dialing when her gut screamed, NO!
Getting up from the bed she went to a window to look out and secure the area. Looking out she couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. She shook her head and hands and decided it was just her nerves. Plus, unless she called Marshall on her cell she wasn't sure if she should use any phone. What if there was a leak at the Sunshine building?
Marshall, how I miss you. Damn it, I will NOT cry. I'm just tired. But I miss my best friend, my partner, my every—NO!, not you're anything anymore. Just your boss! her conscious scolded.
Thinking about Marshall, Mary finally let sleep claim her.
She shifted nervously on the stool, her eyes drawn to the beer bottle the bartender set in front of her and the hotel key. She looked up and her green eyes met blue across the bar. Marshall.
He grinned at her and she blushed, and Marshall raised his own beer bottle in salute.
She gets up and shoves the hotel key in her back pocket. Moving to the middle of the dance floor she starts dancing alone to tecno music. She sees him moving towards her, cursing she turns her back to him. She wants him, can't help but want him.
Whoever was in charge of the music had a sense of humor. Marshall was still five feet away from her when the song changed, bled into a slow grinding tempo.
She was watching him through the corner of her eye, when another man stepped up behind her and slid an arm around her waist. She instinctively whipped her head to the side, her snarl just loud enough for the man to back off.
Ignoring a few men she spun around and Marshall caught her in his arms, pulling her body flush with his. Moving his hand he reached into her back pocket, pulling the key out. He held it in front of her as he bent over to her ear "Do you want to go upstairs?"
She turned in his arms and stepped back against him, rubbing her body to his. Her ass rubbed against his hardness. She shimmied along with the music, "Dance with me"
Thrusting against her ass she drew in a breathe, "Do you really want to dance?" he trailed his lips over her neck and suckled.
Twisting in his arms again she pressed her breasts to his chest, "I need you" she panted raggedly. She whimpered and stretched up, trying to rub her hips against his. "Take me upstairs already"
Marshall squeezed her ass with both hands, "I thought you'd never ask"
He kissed her hard, just a second, ignoring the catcalls from the crowd. "Give me the key"
/
He picked her up and turned at the same time, pinning her against the door. Her body melted against him, arousal burned through her, fast and out of control as she struggled to lose their clothes.
He laved her skin with his tongue as he pushed her legs apart and nudged his hardness against her. He finally - FINALLY - bit down on her neck with enough force to mark her skin. Before she could do more than register the faint, fleeting pleasure-pain, he entered her with a long, quick thrust.
Marshall lifted my legs over his hips as he thrust inside me, his hands were all over my body, and mine were all over his. It was messy...
"Fuck!" groaned Mary closing her eyes and pulling his ass, getting him deeper, harder. Desire clawed at her until she tightened her legs on his hips. A few dozen more thrusts had her digging her heels into his back and screamed "MARSHALL" as pleasure shook her and her throat felt hoarse. She came apart in his arms. Marshall's arms.
He rode out her convulsions, then slipped away pulling her against him.
TBC
