"I've never been on a helicopter before!" Sasha yelled above the noise as she stood up from her seat, watching Ryan as he hopped out of the helicopter first.

"Yeah we know, you've mentioned that like seven times since we got on it!" Mike smirked at her over his shoulder.

"Shut up," Sasha mumbled, shoving him forwards as he followed Ryan out. Sasha followed after him, letting out a yelp as her foot caught the edge of the seat. She stumbled forward and screwed her eyes shut, bracing herself to hit the ground, but Mike spun round and grabbed her waist to keep her upright.

"You really are clumsy, aren't you?" he murmured, a small grin on his face as he looked down at her.

"Uh-huh, I told you I was," she sighed, brushing herself down and looking up at freezing, freezing when she realised their noses were almost touching. She stared up at him and Mike paused, his eyes darting down to her mouth before quickly snapping back up. "You can let go now," she whispered.

"What?" he mumbled, and Sasha looked down at his hands which were still gripping her waist. "Oh! Oh, yeah, uh," he let go of her quickly and took a step backwards. "Yeah, sorry," he scratched the top of his head.

Sasha smiled softly and brushed past him, tucking her hair behind her ears and ducking her head down as she walked quickly after Ryan. There were a couple of police cars waiting for them, and an officer directed them to the one they should get in. Ryan nodded his head and climbed into the front seat as Mike reached past Sasha, pulling the door open for her and letting her climb into the back first.

"You're such a gentleman," she whispered, putting her seatbelt on as he got in after her. He shrugged his shoulders with a grin, slamming the door after him before the car sped away from the airstrip. "So how pissed do you think Debra's going to be when she realises I didn't stay at Claire's like I was supposed to?"

"On a scale of one to ten?" Mike paused. "…Let's go with twenty-eight."

"Really?" Sasha winced.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. But you're a big girl, I'm sure you can handle it. I've noticed you're pretty good at talking your way out of trouble."

"Always has been," Ryan scoffed. "Right from when she was a little kid. She used to get away with murder."

"Oh yeah?" Mike raised an eyebrow. "Like what? I can imagine her being a little hell raiser."

"You have no idea," Ryan sighed.

"Excuse me I was a perfect child!" Sasha reached over and flicked Mike's ear. "I hardly ever got into trouble and when I did I always-"

"Pouted your way out of it," Ryan interrupted. "Like that time when you were… what? Twelve? And your mom called me because you'd been in a fight with kid at school. What was it over again?" he asked, and Sasha mumbled inaudibly. "Sorry what was that? Did you say it was over her telling you she loved Justin Timberlake more than you did? So you punched her?"

"She started it!" Sasha cried as Mike laughed loudly. "I was defending myself, she shoved me first and I thought she was going to hit me so I just put my hand out and she practically walked into my fist so- stop laughing!" she grunted, punching Mike's shoulder. "I didn't pout my way out of that one, did I? I got detention for three weeks."

"You sure pouted your way out of it with your mom," Ryan turned in his seat. "She didn't punish you at all. Actually, neither did I."

"Whatever," Sasha mumbled. "You were always too scared to punish me because you were never around so you thought I'd hate you if you grounded me. Mom always had to be the bad guy. Why don't we talk about some of the things you did as a kid, huh?" she raised her eyebrows at Mike.

"Uhh…" he paused. "So how long do you think it'll be until Debra calls?" he changed the subject, and Sasha let out a snort.

"What if…" she paused, catching Ryan's eye in the rear view mirror. "What if she sends me home? What if she kicks me off the case and send me back to New Jersey?"

"No," Mike's eyes widened. "No, she can't do that. She can't, right? I mean, I- we need you? You know stuff about Joe, you're helping us. You got us- the thing with Lilah-"

"What?" Ryan interrupted. "Who's Lilah? What thing?"

"It's nothing," Sasha shook her head.

"No, it is," Mike leaned forward. "She got us the lead, how do you think I was able to narrow down the location? Sasha got us a lead, she's the reason we're here. We tell Debra that and there's no possible way in hell that she'll send you home, I can tell her that-"

"You promised me," Sasha whispered, avoiding Ryan's glare. "You promised me you wouldn't say anything. I thought I could trust you?"

"But-"

"Don't," she shook her head and turned to Ryan with a sigh. "Dad, you have to promise you won't get mad, alright?"

"Well considering you only call me Dad when you know you've done something I won't be pleased about, I'm not making any promises."

"The thing is…" Sasha sighed nervously. "Okay, yesterday I was checking phone records and I noticed that Jacob Wells had been calling the same number a couple times a day from even before he lived with Paul, right? So I checked it out. There was a girl, Lilah Daniels… They were friends. He's been in constant contact with her for three years, she had no idea what was going on. She didn't know about him and Paul, she didn't know about Joe."

"Sasha-"

"No, Dad, wait," she held a hand up at him. "I know what you're going to say, just wait. She isn't a follower, I've checked her out. There's absolutely nothing to indicate she has anything to do with any of this, she's just… From what I can gather, she's a little hung up on Jacob. I think she might be in love with him, but the first time I called she shot me down and refused to talk about it in any detail. She… She called back earlier on. Jacob had called her. He'd called her from a different phone and she had the number. She passed it on to me and I gave it to Mike, to see if he could track down a signal or something. But I… I promised Lilah we wouldn't go in all guns blazing."

"You can't go making promises to serial killers," Ryan hissed.

"I didn't make a promise to a serial killer, I made a promise to a girl who's in love with someone who's made a mistake!" she snapped. "I made a promise to a girl who is terrified that this guy is going to die! He's the same age as me, Dad, he's not- he's different from Paul, from Emma. I know he it, alright? He hasn't killed anyone, he's just… He's mixed up in some stuff. If we can get to him… We can talk him round. He can tell us what he knows. We can use Lilah- mention her to him- it might make him stop and think. We could end this whole thing peacefully, he could just walk right out and hand Joey over to us."

"I think you identify with her a little too much because of what happened between you and Eric-"

"Dad can we not go into this?" Sasha scowled.

"Who's Eric?"

"Eric is none of your business," she snapped at Mike. "Dad, come on. You know I did the right thing, right? I got us his number, I'm the reason we're here in the first place. I got us that little bit closer to Joey. Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't have promised her anything in the world if it helped us get him home?"

"…No," Ryan sighed heavily. "You're right. I'd promise her the moon if it brings Joey home."

"Exactly," Sasha whispered, slumping down in the seat. Ryan turned back to the front of the car and sighed, keeping quiet as he stared out of the window. Sasha felt Mike shift beside her and he leaned his head closer to hers. "What?"

"Who's Eric?" he asked in a whisper. "It that your boyfriend? I didn't know you had a boyfriend. I thought you were single. You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"Are you kidding me?" she turned to face him. "I don't have a boyfriend and like I said before, Eric is none of your business," she crossed her arms over her chest as Mike continued to stare at her. "What?" she asked in exasperation.

"Nothing, it's just that if I'd known you had a boyfriend I wouldn't have hit on you so much."

"You were hitting on me? I hadn't noticed," Sasha deadpanned. Mike watched her, before realisation dawned on him and he nodding understandingly. "What now?"

"He's an ex-boyfriend," he commented. "Sorry, I'm just curious. Your grandfather mentioned him last night, that's all. Was it a bad break up? It must have been, because you sort of stormed out last night and you went really cold, like just now. Is it a touchy subject?"

"Yes, so can you please stop asking me questions? Jesus. Why are you so interested, anyway? Am I the only member of Ryan's immediate family you've been unable to stalk?"

"I'm just…" Mike shrugged lazily. "I'm just curious about you. I want to know things about you, find stuff out. I just want to know who you are, what made you this way."

"What made me what way?"

"What made you so scared of everything, so eager to push away anyone who wants to get close to you," he replied. Sasha froze, her lips pursed as she refused to face him. "See? Like that," he gestured to her. "You've turned into an ice queen."

"I've turned into an ice queen because I won't share details of my personal life with some creep who's decided he's going to stick his nose into every aspect of my life in the hopes of getting me into bed?" she sneered. "Cool. That's great. If that makes me an ice queen, then so be it."

"That's what I mean," Mike frowned. "Why am I a creep just for wanting to get to know you? Why did you automatically assume I was trying to get you in to bed?" he asked, and Sasha raised her eyebrows. "…Okay, apart from the five hundred pick-up lines I've dropped on you. Is it really that hard to believe I want to be friends?"

"Not now, Mike," she mumbled as the car rolled to a stop outside the sheriff's station.

"Why do you always get so defensive?"

"Drop it," she gave him a pleading look and Mike sighed, holding his hands up in surrender.

With a sigh, Sasha sighed and pushed the car door open, following Ryan inside the building. She felt Mike fall into step beside her, his hands shoved into his pockets and his gaze fixed firmly on the side of her head as she tried her best to ignore him.

She didn't want him to know his words had any effect on her. She knew she pushed people away and she knew it was mostly a result of what Eric had done to her. She found it hard to trust people, she found it difficult to let people in because most of the people she'd ever loved had left her at one point or another.

Her mother had died, her father had abandoned her, she'd lost contact with Claire… Even Max had stopped getting in touch with her for a while. Eric had used her. He'd used her and he'd made her feel like an idiot, he'd broken what little trust she had left and he'd worn her down until she was unrecognisable to herself. She hated him for everything he'd done to her and she hated him for turning her this person.

Mike was right – she did shut people out. If she met anyone she thought she even had the potential to care about, she kept them at a safe distance to avoid being hurt any more than she already had been.

She was being harsh and she knew it – it wasn't Mike's fault, he hadn't asked to get stuck with her and he shouldn't have to deal with her issues, but for some reason… he didn't seem to mind. He was persistent in getting to know her, he was persistent in flirting with her and Sasha hated it, because she knew she liked him already. It had only been two days and she liked him. She wanted to know him, she wanted to tell him things and she wanted to be his friend.

But it made her feel vulnerable, and she hated it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his mouth right next to her ear. Sasha jumped, startled that he'd gotten so close without her realising and she banged her head against his, wincing and rubbing at the cut by her eyebrow. "Okay, now I'm really sorry," he pulled a face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Yeah, I'm fine, just… stop creeping up on me."

"Sorry," he said again. "I just wanted to apologise, you looked kind of sad and I didn't want you to think that was my intention. I really am just curious, Sasha. I can't work you out and it bugs me because I like you."

"What?" Sasha froze in the middle or the corridor.

"What? I like you," Mike shrugged. "We're friends, right? I like my friends."

"Oh, y-yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, sure. Sorry, I'm- I'm just anxious. I'm not sad, I just want to find Joey. I hate the thought of him being alone with those people."

"Hey," Mike put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing his thumb back and forth comfortingly. "It's okay, he'll be okay. They won't hurt him, they can't."

"I know," Sasha placed her hand on top of Mike's. "I know they won't. I'm just worried about him, that's all," she whispered. Mike nodded slowly, sighing and letting his hand slip off her shoulder. "You always make me feel better. Thank you."

"S'what I'm here for here," he grinned lazily. "C'mon, we've lost your dad," Mike threw an arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer to him, pulling her down the corridor and following the sounds of Ryan's voice.

"Chief Burke, good to meet you. I'm Ryan Hardy, this is Agent Weston and my daughter, Sasha."

"Good to meet you, Mr. Hardy," he reached out and shook Ryan's hand. "We're here to help you with whatever you need. This is Deputy Lopez and Officer Ava Marsden," he pointed to the two people behind him. Deputy Lopez nodded, reaching a hand out to Ryan and giving Sasha and Mike a smile, while the young looking blonde girl – Ava – eyed Mike curiously before smiling at him.

"Hey," she whispered. Mike smiled, giving her a nod and Sasha frowned as his slipped from around her shoulders. She rolled her eyes and shifted away from him, stepping towards Ryan to shake Chief Burke's hand.

"Chief Burke, I'm Sasha Hardy. Have you been filled in on what's happened?"

"A little," he nodded his head. "What have maps set up for you to look at, to try and narrow down the area a little," he pointed towards the front of the room and Mike made his way over to them. "Any idea where we're looking?"

"Sort of," Mike ran a hand over his hair and gestured for Sasha to walk over to him. "It's here, right?" he asked, pointing to a spot on the map.

"Uh…" she paused, grabbing her notes out of her bag and flipping through them. "Yeah, look," she pointed towards Mike's messy writing. "Only you can understand your handwriting, it looks like something a toddler's done."

"Be nice, I saved-"

"My life, yeah, yeah…" she waved a hand dismissively. "How many times are you gonna bring that up?"

"I'm thinking basically every single time you're mean to me, so a lot," he grinned. Sasha scoffed at him and looked away, trying to hide her smile. "Okay, so… The county it 820 square miles, but we believe Joey Matthew's call came from this cluster, here," he jabbed a finger towards the map and Chief Burke sighed.

"Those cell towers serve nearly half the county."

"We're gonna need your help to narrow the field," Ryan told him. "We're looking for a two storey white farmhouse set back from the road."

"Look, I can double check but that's about 150 properties. Rough terrain, fifty miles of rural farmland…" Chief Burke trailed off, and Sasha didn't miss the look of annoyance exchanged between Ryan and Mike, and she stepped forward timidly.

"I can… I can help?" she offered. "I mean, if you let me know what I need to look for and how to find it, I can help."

"It'll be somewhere remote, the only neighbours – if any – will be miles away," Mike told her. "They can't risk anyone seeing Joey."

"Yeah, I-" Sasha stopped, the phone in her hands ringing loudly and she winced when she saw the caller. "Uh… it's Debra," she looked over at Ryan, and he shook his head discreetly. Sasha nodded and quickly cancelled the call. "It- it can wait. Sorry, go on."

"I can show her what she needs to do, what she needs to look for?" Ava suggested, shifting her gaze to Mike. "If that's okay with you, sir?"

"Mike can show me," Sasha tapped his arm. "You can show me, right?"

"I don't know…" he paused. "Will you call me sir?"

"No," Sasha scoffed, raising an eyebrow and looking at Ava. "Please don't call him sir, he is not a sir and his ego will inflate to twice the size it already is."

"You never called me sir," Mike pouted.

"Because you told me to call you Mike!" Sasha cried. "You drilled it into my head that I should call you Mike, and now you're complaining that I didn't call you sir. I called you agent and you complained about that, too. Is it only blondes you don't complain about?" she raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. Mike opened his mouth to reply, but Ryan sighed deeply and offered Chief Burke and Ava apologetic smiles.

"I'm sorry, you'll get used to them," he muttered. "They do this back and forth thing a lot. You'll learn to ignore it, hopefully. Remember where you are, guys," he frowned at Sasha. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and she glanced down at her phone as it started to ring in her hands. "Parker?"

"Uh-huh," she mumbled, looking up at him. "Shall I answer it?"

"N-"

"Yeah," Ryan interrupted Mike. "Yeah, answer it. See what she wants. She might not know you're here yet."

"Okay…" Sasha sighed uncertainly and pressed the phone to her ear. "Uh… Hey, Debra, everything okay?"

"Let me guess," Debra grumbled. "You're in Dutchess County with Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber? You- you know what, you don't even need to answer that, I already know. You specifically ignored my orders, Sasha, I told you to stay with Claire. If you had done, you'd know that Joe's attorney paid her a visit a few minutes ago, and now Claire wants to get out of the house and meet a friend for lunch."

"What?" Sasha's eyes widened and she quickly looked up at Ryan. "You didn't- she hasn't gone, has she? Don't let her leave the house! I swear to God I'll kill that stupid-"

"Let's not make death threats when you're on the phone to the FBI," Mike interrupted her, snatching the phone out of her hand and throwing it towards Ryan.

"Parker," he grunted. "I brought Sasha along, I told her you were okay with it. She had no idea I was lying so please don't blame her for it. I know it was wrong of me but right now we're in the middle of something so this can wait, okay? Bye."

"Dad, no!" Sasha yelped, watching as Ryan ended the call. "Dad! That was about Claire, she- Joe's attorney went to see her and- give me the phone!" she yanked the phone out of Ryan's hands and quickly hit redial, pushing past Chief Burke and walking out of the room. "Debra, I'm sorry about that. What were you saying, what's going on?"

"Claire's gone to meet a friend for lunch," Debra told her calmly. "Don't worry, she has an FBI escort with her. They're not going to let her out of their sight, so she'll be perfectly okay."

"What did Olivia say to her?" Sasha demanded. "This is- Debra I don't like this, they're planning something. I'm not sure it's a good idea for Claire to go. We're close to finding Joey and now Joe send his attorney to speak to Claire? I don't trust her at all and Claire will do anything Joe tells her to if it means she can see Joey again. Please stop her from going."

"I can't do that, Sasha," Debra sighed. "She isn't a criminal. She's a victim in all this and we can't keep her locked away in her house unless we have reason to believe she's going to do something to harm herself or others. There's nothing we can do, but I'll keep you and Ryan informed about what's going on. I'm going to fly out myself in an hour or so, so I'll see you then."

"Debra wait, I-" Sasha stopped mid-sentence, her phone bleeping loudly in her ear to let her know Debra had ended the call. She grumbled under her breath and stuffed her phone in the pocket of her jeans and walked back into the room.

"Everything okay?" Ryan raised his eyebrows.

"Fine," she mumbled, her eyes following Ava as she walked towards Mike, who was putting up pictures of Emma, Jacob and Paul.

"Is it true Joe Carroll has a cult of serial killers?" Ava asked quietly.

"We don't know the extent, but yeah," Mike replied softly. Sasha scoffed under her breath, hating the unnecessary feeling of jealousy that was bubbling away in her stomach.

She'd seen look in Ava's eyes when she glanced at Mike and she didn't like it. Not that she could do anything about it – Mike wasn't hers to claim, he was nothing more than her friend, but Sasha hoped both he and Ava resisted the urge to flirt with other, because Sasha couldn't promise she wouldn't punch someone in the face.

She caught Mike's eye and he gave her a small smile, but she raised her eyebrows and looked between him and Ava, before diverting her gaze back towards Ryan.

"Chief, you recognise this guy?" Ryan gestured towards the picture of Paul Torres.

"Maybe…" he nodded slowly. "Ava, the missing girl case in Rhinebeck, could that be the guy?" he asked.

"I'll pull up the footage," Ava replied, making her way towards a desk and sitting down.

"Missing girl?" Sasha asked, following her over to the computer and standing behind her as Mike stood next to her. Ava ignored Sasha and turned her head to look at Mike before she replied.

"Local girl named Megan Leeds went missing after her shift at a grocery store," Ava told him, tapping at the computer. "We've got surveillance footage from that night. The last time anyone saw her, she was with this guy," Ava zoomed in on the CCTV still and sighed.

"It's hard to make out who that is," Sasha squinted at it.

"Hmm," Mike hummed and reached over, his hand hovering over the mouse. "May I?" he smiled at Ava and she nodded her head, blushing slightly when Mike's hand brushed against hers as he took the mouse of her. "I just want to route this through the FBI server. Advanced technology," he smiled.

"I bet," Ava whispered.

"Give me a break," Sasha mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes. Mike shot her a look, a knowing smirk on his face as he grabbed his own laptop and opened it up. "What?" she frowned at him. "We're trying to work out if these psychos have kidnapped some innocent girl and you're too busy making eyes at the local cops to focus? Get your brain out of your pants, Agent."

"Jealous?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah right," Sasha scoffed. Mike chuckled quietly and took a seat next to Ava as he typed away at his laptop. She moved to stand behind him, absentmindedly placing a hand on his shoulder as she leaned forwards to look at the cleared up surveillance photograph.

"Hardy," Mike called over to Ryan. Ryan stepped closer and stared at the screen, his jaw set.

"Paul Torres," he mumbled.

"Where was this taken?" Sasha pointed at the screen. "What store was this taken in, where is it? We need to look at properties around this area and we need to do it fast – can you deal with that please, Ava?"

"Uhm," Ava looked towards Chief Burke, who nodded his head. "Y-yeah sure, I can do that," she mumbled.

"Great. You get started on that, then. Ryan, I'm going to call Debra and let her know we've got a potential lead – she should be here for this," Sasha stepped away from Mike, ignoring his stare as she left the room and walked down the corridor, finding an empty office and slipping inside as she dialled Debra's number.

"You got something?"

"Maybe," Sasha replied quietly. "You should get out here now, I don't think they're going to hang around and you know what they're like. I think they need you to keep them in line," she scoffed.

"I'm on my way, don't let them do anything stupid."

"As if I can stop them," Sasha mumbled as she ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, turning around and letting out a quiet gasp when she bumped into Mike's chest. "Are you following me?" she narrowed her eyes, taking a step backwards. "Have you finished flirting now?" she added, before she could stop herself and she instantly regretting it when she saw the that grin spread across Mike's face.

"Hmm…" he murmured. "You're jealous."

"Oh please," Sasha rolled her eyes. "Jealous of what? You flirting with the little blonde police lady? Hey, look, if that's your thing… go for it," she waved a hand dismissively. "I just think that maybe you should focus on Joey a little more. I mean, we're pretty close to finding him and that's where my main concerns lie. It has nothing to do with me being jealous."

"You are so jealous!" he chuckled. "Sasha, c'mon. The mumbling under your breath, the glares, the hand on my shoulder? Jesus, I was waiting for you to pee on me and mark your territory!"

"That's disgusting," she pulled a face and brushed past him.

"Hey," Mike frowned, grabbing her wrist and spinning her back round to face him. "I wasn't flirting with her."

"Like I said Mike," she shrugged her shoulders and pulled out of his grasp. "Do what you like, it's none of my business. Flirt with whoever you want. You're a guy who clearly enjoys flirting and it obviously doesn't matter who it's with, just make sure you're not distracted from the job."

"Are you serious right now?" he narrowed his eyes at her. "Sasha- I wasn't flirting with her, I was being friendly. I flirt with you all the time and you never- you don't-"

"I don't what?" she interrupted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't just sit around and let you do it? I don't blush like some stupid little school girl? I don't let it get to me? Or are you bothered because I don't flirt back?"

"Oh, no, you flirt back alright," Mike scoffed. "You just don't realise you're doing it. And you blush, too. I'm bothered because when I'm flirting with you, you've never had an issue with whether or not I'm focused on the job," he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the desk, his ankles crossed. "Which again brings me back to my previous statement – you're jealous."

"I'm not-"

"Look," Mike interrupted. "Just admit that you like me and I'll let it go."

"…You go from I'm jealous to I like you?" Sasha raised her eyebrows. "That's a pretty big leap. Maybe I just don't like it when guys spend two days flirting with me constantly, only to flirt with the next piece of ass that walks by."

"I wasn't-" Mike groaned in frustration, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Okay, so what if I was flirting with her? It bothered you, right?"

"Not particularly," Sasha shrugged her shoulders.

"You're so stubborn!" Mike laughed in disbelief. "God, I keep- you know you flirt back with me, right? And then you back off, and I know why. Because you're scared, and I get it. I'm scared, too. It's a scary thing, being involved in this case. You don't know who to trust, you don't know what's going to happen… I could go out there right now and find that farmhouse, I could get shot, I could die. It's dangerous and I understand why you're holding back, why you're focusing all your attention on finding Joey but let me ask you something," he stepped closer to her. "When we've brought him home, what are you going to do?"

"I-I don't know what you mean," Sasha shook her head. "What do you mean, what am I going to do?"

"I mean you're not going to have anything to distract you. Joey will be safe, Claire will be safe and Joe will still be in prison but we're still going to be working, trying to track down the rest of his cult. What are you going to do when you've got nothing to be scared of anymore?"

"Just… stop talking," she scoffed. "You sound ridiculous. I've never met a guy who's so arrogant… So cocky… You're so sure of yourself and-"

"And you can't get me out of your head, can you?" he grinned. "Because you like me, and you're jealous. Admit it."

"Shut up, Mike," she sighed deeply.

"Find a way to shut me up," he shrugged.

"I'm- If I kiss you, will you shut the hell up and leave me alone?" she grumbled.

"I don't know," Mike shrugged. "Try it and see. Unless, you know… You're too afraid that you won't be able to keep your hands off me."

"You're a jackass."

"You're stalling," he raised his eyebrows.

"…Fine. If it's going to shut you up, then fine," she frowned.

Taking a step forward, Sasha looked up at him quizzically as he raised his eyebrows, rocking back on his heels and waiting for her to do something. She bit down on her bottom lip and reached a hand out, her fingers barely touching his arm before she quickly dropped her hand back down to her side. Mike sighed quietly and reached out to her, putting a hand on her waist and pulling her closer.

"You're taking too long."

"Mike…" she breathed, shifting closer to him as he lowered his head. She gulped, her mind swimming from having him so close to her as she felt his eyes searching every bit of her face, looking for any sign that he should stop. She couldn't do it, she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth and tell him to stop. Mike stopped, his lips millimetres away from his as he watched her through half-closed eyes.

"Your move," he murmured. Sasha let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and let her eyelids flutter closed as she moved her head closer to Mike's.

He was intoxicating.

She could feel his breath on her lips and she knew she needed to be the one to make the final move – Mike had done everything up until now, and she knew he was waiting for her. She gulped slightly, her nerves getting the better of her as she took a deep breath and prepared herself for her lips meeting his… but it never happened. There was a loud knock on the door and Sasha jumped slightly, her hands shaking as Mike kept hold of her waist.

He let out a frustrated groan and leaned his forehead against hers, before moving away completely as the door opened and Ava stepped inside the room. She looked between them suspiciously and Sasha blushed, avoiding her stare and tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Did I interrupt something?" Ava asked carefully.

"Nope," Sasha shook her head quickly. "In fact, I should probably- I should go tell Ryan that Debra's on her way, right? Yeah I'll- I'll do that."

"Sasha wait-"

"See you later, Mike," she interrupted him and rushed out of the room, her breathing shaky and her hands trembling as she walked back towards the main room where she knew Ryan would be. Mike sighed, running his hands through his hair and over his face before offering Ava a small smile.

"I'm sorry…" she trailed off. "I really didn't mean to interrupt, it's just that-"

"It's okay," Mike interrupted her. "You didn't. Nothing happened. Nothing's going to happen," he mumbled, as though he had to keep reminding himself. He knew she liked him, he knew she was conflicted over what to do and he knew he couldn't push her. He didn't understand why someone he'd only just met had had such a drastic effect on him – he could only guess that it was the situation they found themselves in, thrown together in such strange circumstances. "Find anything?"

"Uh-huh, Mr. Hardy said we're going to head out," she pointed over her shoulder and it was then that Mike noticed she was wearing a jacket. He nodded his head, gesturing for her to go ahead and they stepped into the corridor just as Ryan walked up with Sasha and a man he hadn't seen before. "Okay, there's about 20 farms matching the description within a 25 mile radius of the store, most of them to the north," Ava told them, looking up at Mike. "We should start there."

"Sounds like a plan," he nodded.

"Yeah, uh… Ava, you and Weston start there. I'm gonna take Officer Lopez, hit the south and cover more ground," Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sasha-"

"I'm not staying here, Ryan, you brought me for a reason and I'm coming with you," she frowned. "Right?" she looked over at Mike expectantly.

"Sorry, kid," he shrugged his shoulders. "I kind of agree with your dad on this one. It's dangerous and we don't know what to expect so maybe-"

"Kid?" Sasha interrupted with a glare.

"Actually," Ryan raised his voice. "I was going to say you go along with Mike."

"Uhm," Sasha crossed her arms over her chest, shifting from foot to foot and sighing. "I don't know, maybe I should wait here for Debra, actually," she shrugged weakly. Ryan tilted his head to the side and watched her curiously, before shaking his head.

"Get in the car, Sasha."

"Dad, come on-"

"Sasha. Get in the car, you're going with Mike. You're here to help so that's what you're going to do, you've done enough sitting around offices already, it's time you got out there properly. Mike, anything happens, you make sure you get her out. Treat her like a civilian."

"See maybe I should-"

"Come on," Mike rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the exit. Sasha huffed and pulled her arm back, rubbing it gently but deciding to stay silent as she followed Mike and Ava to the car, clambering into the backseat and pulling the door shut after her. Mike paused, frowning at her through the window but she turned away and Mike sighed heavily before he got into the front seat beside Ava. "So, uh…" he paused, glancing over at Ava as she started to drive. "Have you been working here long?"

"Two years," she replied quietly.

"Really?" Mike raised an eyebrow. "You don't look old enough," he commented, choosing to ignore the snort that came from the back seat. "So, Ava… How about if we get out of this thing alive, it take you out for a drink, hmm?"

"Y-Yeah, I'd like that," Ava glanced at him for a second, before shifting her gaze back to the road.

"Asshole," Sasha mumbled.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Mike turned in his seat to look at her.

"Me?" she feigned innocence. "Nope. Didn't say a thing," she shook her head. "Just wondering how long it's going to take to get to the first place on the list?"

"Not long, about twenty minutes," Ava glanced at her through the rear view mirror. "So Agent Weston-"

"Please, call me Mike," he smiled.

"…Mike," Ava blushed. "How long have you been with the FBI?" she asked. Sasha rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the window, making sure her seatbelt was on as she tried to ignore Mike's rambling.

Twenty minutes stuck in a car with Mike and his new toy?

Sasha couldn't think of anything worse.


"Sasha, move your ass!"

"I'm peeing!" she called back to Mike, standing up and buttoning her jeans before she flushed the toilet. "Can I not even pee in peace? Jesus…" she grumbled, pushing open the bathroom stall door and letting out a yelp when she saw Mike leaning against the sink. "Uhm, listen, I know you're an FBI agent and all, but I don't think that means you're allowed to hang around the ladies room?" she raised an eyebrow, leaning over the sink and washing her hand before she frowned when she realised she had nothing to dry them on.

"Uh-huh, just hurry up," Mike sighed. Sasha nodded, reaching forwards and wiping her hands on the sleeve of his jacket. "Seriously? Whatever. Just… come on, your dad called. There's been a sighting of Joey and the couple who called it in have been killed. They're close, Sasha. We're close. We're going to have Joey back by the end of tonight."

"It's nearly over?" she asked in disbelief.

"It looks that way, now come on," he sighed, waving his hand in the air and gesturing for her to follow him.

"So uhm," Sasha rushed to catch up to him. "You're going to take Ava out for a drink, huh?" she asked, trying her hardest to sound disinterested.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe. Why? Wanna tag along? Maybe we can find a date for you."

"No," she scoffed. "I was just wondering if you'll have time… I mean, you know, won't we have to go back Virginia once we're done here? I can't imagine Debra is going to give you a couple of hours off to take some girl out for a drink."

"It's not that far, I can always come back in a couple days and take her out then."

"Oh. Right."

"Why?" he raised his eyebrows. "I mean, what's it to you? We're barely even friends, right? There's nothing going on between us. I'm a jackass, right? That's what you said. You said I was arrogant and cocky, that I'm just a guy who clearly enjoys flirting. You said it didn't bother you and it was none of your business, so why the sudden interest now?"

"Mike… I'm-"

"Come on, we gotta go!" Ava called from the car, honking on the horn.

Sasha grumbled under her breath and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Mike watched her, cocking his head to the side and watching Sasha as she chewed on her bottom lip – something he'd come to realise she only really did when she was nervous, or worried. She clearly wanted to say something, but for some reason she was keeping it to herself.

"…Sasha? Hey. What is it?" he asked quietly, taking a step forward and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she mumbled. "Forget it. Let's go," she forced a smile and turned away from him, making her way back towards the car.

"Have you finished preening yourself?" Ava smirked and Sasha paused as she clipped her seatbelt in place.

"Excuse me?" she asked in shock.

"Are you done making yourself look pretty for your boyfriend?" she raised an eyebrow, gesturing towards Mike as he pulled open the car door and got inside. Sasha frowned at her and leaned forward slightly, ignoring Mike and staring at the side of Ava's head as she started to drive.

"I wasn't preening myself for anyone," Sasha told her. "I needed to use the bathroom because I've drank copious amounts of coffee this morning and I was pretty close to peeing myself, and I resent the fact that you think I need to make myself look pretty. And Mike isn't my boyfriend, either. If he was, honey, I can promise you he wouldn't be asking you out for a drink, because why would he go for a burger when he has steak at home?"

"Sasha!" Mike hissed.

"Are you kidding me?" she snapped, turning her head to look at him. "She's allowed to be rude to me but I can't defend myself? Stop thinking with what's in your pants and you'll realise her good girl act is about as natural as her hair colour."

"Sasha."

"Don't Sasha me, Mike Weston!" she glared. "I'm not going to sit here and let some jumped up little-"

"I'm sorry if you took offence," Ava interrupted quickly, her eyes wide. "I didn't mean anything by it, I just thought maybe there was something between you guys after what I walked in on-"

"I already told you it was nothing," Mike told her. "There's no need to question Sasha about it when you've already asked me, and, honestly, our personal lives are none of your concern, Officer Marsden."

"You're right," Ava whispered. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just let that be the end of it. We have bigger things to focus on right now," he mumbled, glancing at Sasha out of the corner of his eye. She reached forward subtly, giving his shoulder a grateful squeeze and he gave her a small smile, his attention turning to the radio as it crackled.

"All available units, officer down, officer down. Farmhouse just west of route nine."

"Was that my dad?" Sasha sat up straight. "Was that- did he say officer down? Oh my God is he hurt?!" she reached forward, but Mike swatted her hands away and grabbed the radio. "Let me talk to my dad! Is he okay? Mike!"

"Ryan?" Mike spoke into the radio. "Ryan? Hey! Ryan?"

"It's too late," Ryan muttered in reply. "He's gone," he added quietly.

"O-officer Lopez?" Sasha stuttered.

"Damn it," Ava muttered. Mike sighed, shooting her a sympathetic look before pick the radio up again.

"Alright, hang tight. We're a few minutes out," Mike spoke into the radio and Sasha couldn't take her eyes off it, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for Ryan to say something.

"…I'm going in. There's a basement window- I can get inside the house," Ryan's reply was crackled, but she heard it and her breath caught in her throat as Mike turned to look at her.

"Give me that," she snatched it out of his hand, "Dad? Dad can you hear me?" she asked. "Dad if you care about me at all you won't go in to that house until we get there, do you hear me? Dad? Dad!"

"I have to," Ryan whispered. "I have to get Joey out of there, Sasha. I have a responsibility to him, to Claire-"

"What about your responsibility to me?" she asked angrily. "What about your responsibility to your daughter? If- if anything happens to you- Dad you're the only parent I've got. Please don't go in there. …Dad?"

"Mike?" Ryan ignored Sasha and Mike looked at her sympathetically.

"Yeah, Ryan?"

"If anything happens, you make sure Sasha gets out of here, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," he mumbled.

"I'm going in," Ryan repeated, and Sasha grunted in annoyance.

"Dad? Dad! Dammit!" she spat, throwing the radio towards Mike and running a hand through her hair. "Hey, Blondie, wanna go a little faster? You're not driving a tank, you know," Sasha leaned forward between the seats and looked at Ava.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Ava told her through gritted teeth.

"Yeah well it's not fast enough!"

"Sasha-"

"What?" she hissed, turning her attention to Mike. "Sorry if I'm a bit on edge right now, you'll still get to take her out for a nice little drink when this is over but right now I'm trying to make sure my dad doesn't get himself fucking killed, so if your girlfriend could stop being all Driving Miss Daisy and be a little more Knight Rider, that'd be awesome."

"Pull over," Mike sighed. "Ava, pull the car over."

"Are you- have you hit your head?" Sasha asked incredulously. "Ava, do not pull this car over."

"Either she pulls over or I throw you out of a moving car."

"The second option sounds pretty appealing," Ava muttered under her breath. Mike frowned at her and Sasha opened her mouth to say something back, but Ava sighed and did what Mike told her to do.

"Get out," Mike unclipped his seatbelt and pushed the car door open. "Ava, wait here. Sasha get out of the car now."

"If you think I'm getting out of this car when my father is about to walk into a house full of psychopaths-"

"We don't have time for this shit," Mike grumbled, opening the back door and reaching inside the car, grabbing Sasha by the arm and hauling her outside before slamming the door shut. He dragged her away from the car and Sasha yanked her arm out of his grasp, resisting the urge to pick up a rock and throw it at the back of his head. "You need to calm down," he pointed a finger in her face and she swatted his hand away, rolling her eyes. "Don't roll your damn eyes at me, Sasha, I'm serious here! I know you're worried about Ryan-"

"You don't know shit!" she spat. "I had to watch my mom die, Mike, I'm not about to sit here and let the same thing happen to my dad so if you don't mind, I'd like to get the fuck back in the car and get to him before he does something stupid."

"Do you even remember who your dad is, Sasha?" Mike sighed, rubbing his forehead. "He's Ryan Hardy, he's wired to do something stupid. He's there, you're here and you can't stop him. He's going in that house whether you like it or not and acting like a jealous little brat isn't going to-"

"You think I want her to drive faster because I'm jealous?" she shrieked. "I want her to drive faster because my father's life is at stake! Jesus Christ, the whole world doesn't revolve around you, Agent Weston. I don't give a crap if you take her out for a drink, I don't give a crap if you take her back to your motel room and bend her over a goddamn table for the rest of the fucking night, I just want her to move her ass and get me to that farmhouse, do you understand?" she growled.

"I get that, but being rude isn't going to-"

"You pulled me out of a fucking car because you think I'm jealous you're taking some starry eyed girl out for a drink," Sasha scoffed, throwing her hands up in disbelief. "She thinks you're some big hotshot FBI agent but you're a total douchebag with a superiority complex and if anything, anything happens to my dad because you stopped that car so we could have this little discussion, I will kick your ass so hard your grandkids will feel it."

"Stop," Mike whispered, grabbing hold of her arms and making her look at him. "Sasha, stop it. Look at me."

"I want to go back to the car," she whispered, avoiding his gaze.

"Sasha, look at me," he repeated firmly. She shook her head and Mike sighed, hooking his fingers under her chin and lifting her eyes to meet his, his glare softening when he saw her trembling lip and the tears in her eyes. "C'mere," he murmured, wrapping an arm around her neck and pulling her into a hug, kissing her forehead softly. "He's going to be fine."

"He completely ignored me, I need him and he completely disregarded that. He has a responsibility to Claire – what about me, Mike? What about my mom? Doesn't he have a responsibility to me? To make sure he stays alive for me? He doesn't even care-"

"Hey, don't do that," Mike interrupted. "He cares about you, of course he does. He loves you, Sasha, but Joey is a kid. He has no idea what's happened and Ryan wants to make sure he's safe. Can you honestly tell me if it was the other way round, if you were there now and Ryan was here begging you not to go in there, that you wouldn't do it? You'd ignore him and you'd go get Joey, you know you would."

"Maybe," she mumbled, pulling away from him.

"Exactly. But that doesn't mean you don't care about him, right?"

"I guess so."

"So it doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you, either," Mike rubbed her arm gently. "So we're going to get back in that car, you're going to remember to breathe, you're going to calm down and we're going to kick some ass when we get to that farmhouse, right? And we're going to get Joey home. Deal?" he held a hand out to her.

"…Deal," Sasha mumbled, reaching out to shake his hand but Mike smiled, wrapping his fingers around hers and leading her back towards the car. "I'm not going to run away, Mike, you don't need to hold my hand."

"I kinda like it," he shrugged his shoulders, pulling open the door to the backseat and gesturing to Sasha to get inside. "Oh and uh, just for the record?" he paused, his tongue snaking out and wetting his lips as Sasha turned to look at him. "It isn't her I wanna bend over anything."

Sasha's mouth drop open in shock and Mike smirked, raising his eyebrows and hopping into the front seat. Sasha snorted in amusement, unable to hide the smile that tugging at her lips as she got back inside the car and closed the door after her, leaning forwards and flicking the top of Mike's ear.

"Pervert."

"Be nice," he reminded her with a grin. "I saved your life."


Olivia Warren smiled tightly at the prison guard as he buzzed her in and pushed the door open, allowing her to step inside the room where her client was waiting.

Joe Carroll sat patiently at the table, his hands and feet shackled so he couldn't move. He kept his eyes on his unwilling attorney as she took a seat opposite him.

"You asked for an update?"

"Mhmm," Joe nodded his head.

"The FBI has located the farmhouse where they're holding your son," Olivia told him.

"Do they have him?"

"No, not yet. I've also delivered your message to the press."

"And? How did it go?" he asked, somewhat eagerly.

"Besides my appearing like a raving madwoman? It was heard by everyone, both local and national news picked it up," she confirmed.

"So my story has caused quite the sensation," he smiled wickedly, feeling a strange sense of pride and Olivia felt her skin crawl.

"The FBI has done a good job at minimizing the details, but yes, the press has been considerable," she nodded slowly, shifting in her seat, desperate to get out of there and away from him.

"Hmm. And Claire?" Joe pressed.

"I delivered the message to her, as well. I haven't heard anything."

"Well, when you do, I'll need another update," he gave her a smile. "You have been very helpful today. Thank you."

"What have I done, Joe?" Olivia asked, her façade slipping as her voice trembled with a mix of anger and nerves as Sasha Hardy's words echoed in her mind. "The poem I read, I triggered something, you sent a message to someone. What am I a part of?"

"Oh, I'm surprised at you, Olivia," Joe sighed in disappointment. "I chose you precisely for your ambition and lack of conscience! Has someone gotten to you?"

"I won't be your messenger," she told him, her voice steady and tone hard.

"Well, the messenger is somewhat preferable to that of recipient, I'm sure you'd agree, hmm?" Joe gave her a knowing looked and Olivia glanced down at her left hand, her missing fingers, memories of the last time Joe sent her a message flooding her mind and she shook her head. "Tell me, Olivia, how is Ryan Hardy? Is he causing many problems?"

"No," Olivia shook her head slowly. "No. He's focused on getting Joey home, and not much else. His daughter, however…" she trailed off.

"Ah, yes!" Joe nodded his head. "And how is Sasha doing? Settling in? Getting involved in the investigation? I can imagine it must be hard, working with the father who abandoned you when you had no one left."

"She's asking a lot of questions," Olivia pursed her lips. "From what I've gathered, she's been working most of the investigation with an Agent Michael Weston. She spent a little time with Claire this morning but other than that and what happened with your friend Maggie, that's it. She's a girl, Joe, and between you and me…" Olivia paused. "Ryan Hardy is not your biggest problem. I'd be more worried about what his daughter is capable of."

"Hmm…" Joe leaned back in his seat contemplatively, his fingers drumming against the table top. Had his plan to involve Sasha backfired? Was she more of a threat to him than he realised? Perhaps she needed a little distraction, something to take her mind away from matters at hand… He smiled, waving a hand at Olivia and leaning forward, looking her square in the eyes. "I have one more job for you, Olivia. I need you to get a message to another one of my friends. His name is Eric."


sooo a couple of people wanted to know who eric was... now you know ;)
he'll be making an appearance again, too!

don't forget to let me know what you think! :)

becca
x

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