Chapter 10

"Hey, I know my rights, I already said that I want a lawyer, and I ain't saying anything until he gets here." One of the men said as Walker and Trivette walked in.

"Okay, you don't have to talk, we'll talk." Walker said as he and Trivette sat down across from him.

"I'm telling you, that was one huge shipment of pure Columbian powder, what'd you say that's worth, a couple million?" Trivette said as he looked at Walker.

"More, maybe closer to ten million, boy, if I was the owner of that shipment, I would be madder than hell." Walker replied.

"Yep, I would want nothing more than to get my hands on the person who let that huge of a shipment get into the hands of the cops." Trivette said.

"There would be no where they could hide." Walker replied.

The suspect gulped, the rangers could tell he knew what was waiting for him in prison without the state's protection.

"You're facing federal drug charges and I can tell you that the feds aren't going to give a damn if you get shanked in prison or not. But if you help us nail your boss, we can protect you, and give you segregation." Walker said.

The man rubbed his hand over his face in exasperation, he knew he had no choice.

"You promise that you'll protect me." He said as the door to the interrogation room opened and the DA came in.

"You have our word." She said.

Walker's eyes never left the man's face as he pushed a pen and paper toward him.

Walker looked up to see Sydney standing in front of his desk, holding a sheet of target paper in her hand.

"I'm here to be reinstated to active duty; I've already passed my shooting exam." She said as she plopped the paper in front of him, it consisted of fifteen shots straight through the bullseye of the target.

"Okay, but you still have to be cleared by the doctor…" He began. "Already done." She said as she handed him a signed form, Walker sighed, there was no way he could argue with her. If the firing range instructor and the company B doctor said she was ready, then he had to defer to their expertise. He smiled at her as he handed her papers back to her.

"Okay, Sydney, but you don't have to prove anything to me, I know that you are a capable ranger, and a strong person." Walker said.

"I know, Sir, I was proving it to myself." She said with a smile, Walker nodded to her as he watched her grab some coffee from the pot and return to her desk. He watched Gage enter about five minutes after her and head for the coffee, he seemed to take a bit longer then was needed to prepare his cup and stood, took a few sips and looked anywhere but in his partner's direction.

Walker sighed and rubbed his face, he was going to give them by the end of the week to work it out, if they couldn't, then he would have no choice but to assign them new partners.

"Hey." Gage said as he sat at his desk across from her, he glanced up at her, she acted like she hadn't even heard him.

"Is this how it's going to be? Two grown adults acting like kids?" He said, his temper starting to flare again, it seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

Sydney slammed her pen down on the form she was writing on and looked him dead straight in the eye, coldness her dark eyes harbored chilled his very soul.

"I am not saying anything because there is nothing more to say, I think you made everything crystal clear the other night." She spat at him.

Gage slammed his fists down on his desk as his temper took his tongue hostage once more.

"FINE! If that's the way you want it, I'm done! I'm done working with you!" He bellowed, as he jerked to his feet, upsetting his chair in the process, not caring that all of company B was now silently staring at both of them.

"That's just fine with me, because I was about to tell you the same thing!" She retorted as she stood as well, her dark eyes ablaze as her own temper flared.

"That's ENOUGH, you two!" a commanding voice rose over all the commotion, Gage and Sydney both turned, still seething to see Walker striding towards them, his face set and his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Look … I don't know what happened between the two of you, but it's obvious that you aren't going to be able to work together, at least for now, so I am going to assign both of you a new partner. Now SIT while I make a few phone calls." Walker said, both Gage and Sydney did as they were told, both refusing to look in the other's direction.

As Walker returned to his desk, he noticed the large audience the scene had attracted.

"Don't you all have something better you could be doing?!" He barked to the room, everyone quickly busied themselves with more productive tasks, even Walker's brother officers had a healthy respect for him that bordered on fear.

Even Bruscoe knew better than to give Walker an order, he knew that Walker was the better ranger and it should be him heading up Company B, but Walker had turned down the position, saying that he could do more good in the trenches than he could from behind a desk.

"Sir, you wanted to see me …" Sydney trailed off, shocked into silence as Barker stood from his seat in front of Walker's desk.

"Yes, Sydney, meet your new partner, Ranger Barker. I think you two know each other" Walker said.

"I … don't understand …" Sydney trailed off.

"Ranger Barker heard you would be in need of a new partner, so he applied for the position." Walker explained. Sydney looked to Barker; she was at a loss for words.

Barker shrugged sheepishly. "I was in the mood for a change in scenery, this was the perfect opportunity. Sure San Antonio's great, but there isn't enough action there for me." He said.

Judging by the look he was giving her, Sydney had a suspicion there was an ulterior motive to his decision, and she would have to set him straight right out of the gate.

"Okay then, I will leave you two to get reacquainted." Walker said as he left their company to refill his coffee cup.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Sydney hissed at him.

"I think you misunderstand my intentions, Ranger Cooke." Barker said as he flashed her a dazzling smile.

Sydney felt a traitorous blush rising to her cheeks as she spoke. "Oh, I think I understand your intentions quite well." She said as she quirked an eyebrow and waggled her finger at him.

Barker chuckled as he held his hands up in front of him in a defensive pose. "Fine, guilty as charged." He said.

"Look, not that it's any of your business, but I am going through a lot of personal stuff right now, so I really can't handle any more baggage …"

"Fine, fine. We'll be partners and friends, nothing more, I promise. Scout's honor." He said as he held up his hand.

"Were you even in the Scouts?" Sydney asked, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Sure was, made it all the way to first class." He said with a grin, Sydney laughed in spite of herself.

Walker was talking, and Gage knew he should be listening, he was introducing Gage's new partner, a man who looked just a little older than himself. He was tall and lean with light sandy blonde hair. He carried himself like he knew some form of martial arts.

"Gage, I want you to meet Trent Malloy. Trent, this is Ranger Francis Gage." Walker said as Trent stepped forward and offered his hand.

"It's a pleasure to be working with you, Francis." Trent said, his attitude seemed genuine.

"Nice to meet you, everyone calls me Gage." Gage said, making a valiant effort to be cordial and failing miserably.

If Trent noticed his surly attitude, he was either really good at hiding it, or it just didn't bother him. Gage had a feeling it was the latter.

Then his eyes fell on the Sydney and Barker getting very … chummy at the desks that used to be theirs and a wave of nausea washed over him. Trent was talking, something about martial arts, but Gage wasn't listening.

"I need some air." He said abruptly as he stormed out without another word or look at anyone.

"You weren't kidding when you told me he was a tough one to crack, were you, Walker?" Trent said with a chuckle.

"If you're not up to it, Trent, I'll understand. Gage went through his fair share of partners before Sydney." Walker replied.

"What happened with them? They sounded like a pretty good team by the way you talk." Trent said.

"They were, that is until …" Walker trailed off.

"Until what?" Trent asked.

"Well … I'm not really sure and anything I say would be hearsay, besides, it's not my place to talk about it anyway." Walker said.

"Okay, then let the fun begin." Trent said with a chuckle as he saw Gage return, looking every bit as sour as he did when he left.

AN: Wow! When I first posted this story, I never thought it would get this much traffic! I will really try to post as many updates as I can, thanks to all who PM'd, reviewed and followed it! And yes, I decided to bring on Trent because I really liked him as a character and I think he is what Gage needs right now.