A/N - Three chapter in one night - that should keep you guys busy...See if you can figure this one out

:)

Chapter Nine – The Little Things Give You Away

Peter was fast asleep when she finally found the file. The Parnornavate wasn't what she expected. There was a rough sketch, and as Walter had promised, it was the size of a frog. It had a round head and long smooth body, with webbed claws, perfect for swimming. According to Bell's notes, it had clawed feet so that it could dig itself a home in the banks of the lake. Its main diet consisted of the fungi but it was genetically programmed to evolve when its natural food source ran out, moving onto fish. But what made it shift to people, that's what she wanted to know. There were plenty of fish in that lake. Perhaps it got a taste for people and just went from there.

"Did you sleep?"

Peter mumbled and turned towards her, his eyes still closed.

"No. But I found the file. Check it out."

She waited until Peter sat up and rubbed his eyes before handing him the file.

"It doesn't say how to stop it."

"That would be far too easy."

She toyed with the idea of calling Simon for a moment before pushing the thought aside. He was probably fast asleep, like a normal person would be. She set the file on her bedside table and pulled the covers up, snuggling into Peter, who wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"So…."

"What?"

"What are you going to do about Simon?"

Olivia tilted her head slightly, catching Peter's eye.

"Are you jealous?"

Peter pulled a face.

"No."

Olivia pushed away from him, leaning on her elbow, smiling down at him.

"You are! You're jealous!"

Peter shook his head.

"It's not jealousy, its pity. Poor bastard never stood a chance."

Olivia laughed as she snuggled back into Peter's arms. It gave her a delicious tingle that Peter was jealous. He, of course, had nothing to be jealous of but that was beside the point.

"If it helps, Simon has nothing on you."

"I never doubted that. I fully believe in my awesomeness."

"I always admired your modesty."

"It's one of my best traits."

Olivia shifted in his arms, seeking out his lips. He tasted like toothpaste and home. There was nothing like the taste of Peter. When she moved away again, Peter had a small smile on his face.

"Good way to change the topic."

"Thank you. We need to figure out how we are going to kill the Parnornavate."

Peter pressed a kiss to her temple.

"How about we sleep on it?"

Olivia nodded against his chest, trying to get rid of the image of the Parnornavate from her mind. It took a while before sleep claimed her.


When they got to the lab the next morning, a tray of coffees in hand, Walter was surprisingly absent. Peter exchanged a frown with Olivia.

"Astrid, where's Walter?"

Astrid smiled slightly, taking a coffee from the tray.

"Still sleeping. I swung past on my way to work, tried to wake him but he just mumbled and rolled over. He's stopped vomiting at least. The bucket was empty."

"That's progress."

"I'll give him a couple more hours and check on him again."

"Where's Simon?"

Astrid shrugged.

"No idea."

Olivia felt the frown that touched her face. She took the file that she had found earlier that morning, slipping her phone from her pocket. She found Simon's number and waited for the ringing to stop. She left no message when the answering machine picked up. She needed to talk to Simon; this was something that she needed him for.

"Dunham."

Broyles always looked out of place in the lab. A neat and tidy man in a crazy lab would always stick out. Mrs Flinch was standing beside him, a hard look on his face.

"Broyles. How can I help?"

Francesca moved forward.

"I want to know the truth."

Olivia glanced at Broyles as she spoke.

"I'm sorry Mrs Flinch but as part of an active investigation-"

"Dunham, please tell Mrs Flinch what happened to her son."

Olivia opened her mouth to protest. Everything she knew screamed at her to remain silent. She had learnt many things over the years, one of which was that the old adage loose lips sink ships was completely true. She knew of hundreds of cases that were put into doubt because someone spoke out of turn, whispered words into the wrong ear. Lootes may safely be tucked in a cell but the case wasn't closed yet.

"Broyles-"

"That's an order, Agent Dunham."

She pondered the power that this woman had over the FBI. What connections did she have that allowed her to walk into an active investigation and make demands?

"Yes Sir."

It was at that moment that Simon arrived. He paused at the entrance of the lab when he saw Broyles and Francesca Flinch. He glanced at Broyles before his eyes touched on Olivia, his frown deepening. Olivia ignored it, cleared her throat.

"Simon, may I please speak to you for a moment?"

"Agent Dunham, I demand-"

Olivia cut Francesca off with a quick smile.

"I am happy to tell you precisely what happened to Conner, Mrs Flinch. I just wish to ensure that we have all the information, not just for your sake but also for the case."

Francesca looked her over, her face hard. It had been a long time since Olivia had felt insignificant. It made her uncomfortable. Francesca nodded once.

"Very well."

Olivia headed to Walter's office, aware that all eyes were on her as Simon followed. She closed the door quietly behind them.

"Simon, do we have all we need from Conner Flinch?"

Simon nodded, adjusting his tie slightly.

"I believe so."

"So you can give Mrs Flinch what she's asking?"

Simon cocked his head slightly.

"I think Walter might be the best person to ask about that."

"No good. He's self-medicated himself into oblivion. I'm afraid that in this case, you are the man I need for the job."

She waited until Simon gave her a slight nod of agreement before striding out of the office. Broyles was speaking quietly to Francesca, bending slightly to be eye level with her. Olivia waited for the conversation to cease before clearing her throat.

"Mrs Flinch, if you could just go into the office here, Simon will fill you in on what happened to Conner."

Francesca nodded, before stepping around Broyles, then Olivia, the door quietly closing behind her. She faced Broyles, her arms crossed over her chest. She could hear Peter talking softly to Gene, trying to make himself absent from the drama.

"Since when do we discuss on-going cases with civilians?"

Broyles frowned.

"Francesca Flinch is hardly a civilian. Her husband is a very powerful man and he happens to be friends with a few people on the top of our food chain. I don't like this anymore then you do. Do you have what you need to return her son?"

"I think so. We have Lootes in lock up and we are just trying to find out how to kill the Parnornavate."

Broyles frowned.

"Do I want to know?"

"No."

Broyles nodded once and lapsed into stony silence. Olivia paced slightly as she waited for Francesca and Simon to re-appear. While she was waiting she was tossing up ideas in her head. They needed equipment, maybe even divers to try and locate the creature. Cameras and nets would be good. She realized, with a distinct sinking feeling, that she might have to play nice and ask Nina Sharp. Even if she could get the equipment that they needed from the FBI, she doubted that it would be as good as the ones that could be found at Massive Dynamic. She wandered over to where Astrid and Peter were feeding Gene, despite the fact that it wasn't a two person job. Olivia inhaled deeply. There was something deeply soothing about the scent of hay.

"You are both so discrete with the staying out of the way."

Astrid smiled slightly.

"Gene needed feeding and grooming."

Olivia nodded and glanced back to Walter's office.

"I wonder what Simon is saying."

Peter shrugged.

"The truth, I wager. He doesn't strike me as the type to lie."

"In that case she taking the fact that her son was murdered by a lake monster rather well."

"I believe the politically correct term is 'genetically modified' creature."

Olivia nodded slightly, the teasing comment going over her head.

"So who she?"

"Sorry?"

Astrid nodded towards the office.

"Who is Francesca Flinch?"

Olivia sighed.

"It's more like who her husband is. He has friends at the top of the FBI food chain."

Astrid protested as Gene attempted to lick her cheek. Failing that, Gene turned her attention to Peter, trying to grab a hold of his jacket. Peter pushed her head away, giving her a gentle slap on the rump.

"Hey bag of steaks, this is my favourite jacket."

Gene mooed loudly, making Broyles jump. He always seemed to forget Gene sitting in the corner. When the door finally opened, it was with a hard silence that Francesca left the room, barely glancing at any of them. Broyles nodded briefly towards them before following Francesca out of the room.

"How did it go?"

Simon shrugged slightly as he moved towards them.

"As well as could be expected. The FBI is paying for a full re-burial and a new plot for the little boy."

"It's the least we can do."

"That's what I thought. She's just heartbroken. She cried through most of it. Conner was her only child."

Olivia nodded slightly.

"It's sad."

Simon nodded slightly.

"So last night, aided by the fabulous dinner you had for me, I had a thought."

"What was that?"

"Did Deputy Geller seem surprised when you told him what Lootes had done?"

Olivia thought back to the conversation.

"Not really."

Simon nodded slowly.

"If your boss was being held hostage, would you stop to make a phone call?"

Slowly the pieces started sliding into place. Peter spoke slowly.

"You would shoot them. Why didn't Geller shoot Shawn? Not shoot to kill but do enough to distract him at least."

There it was, the entire puzzle slipping into place.

"Because Geller works with Lootes. And I let him go. Shit."

Worse than the anger and annoyance that burst into her chest was the simple knowledge that by now, Geller was long gone. He would be an idiot to stick around. Peter rubbed his hands together.

"So we go and get Geller?"

She shook her head.

"He's long gone by now. If he's smart, anyway. And we have more important things to do."

"Catching the Parnornavate."

"Well, that and something even more important."

"What?"

Olivia frowned.

"My favourite thing in the world – making nice with Massive Dynamic."