St. Joseph's School for boys

Rating – PG13/R

Pairings – non, totally gen (any hints don't count)

Disclaimer – I own the copy write and the OC's of this fic, known characters' I don't own.

Warnings – off screen murder, off screen molestation, violence, drug dealing…and sexual advances of a certain nature. So this is not for children.

Summary - The McQuaid brothers are back; this time they're stuck in a home for run away boys do to the abusive situation at home. Meanwhile, they investigate the mystery of several boys at the home going missing. The rest of the gang helps out.

A/N – I don't know how long this will carry on. Hopefully it'll end at about fifteen chapters, but if not look for at least twenty. Also, I am abusing questions marks along with explanation marks and I know there is some rule about not using them both at the end of a sentence, but…I'm ignoring that rule.

0000

Chapter 10 – Interlude

0000

No one was any closer to catching the Faller when Tom and Doug showed up late that afternoon. They barley said anything to any body as Tom made for the locker rooms and Doug for Fuller's office. Not even Rum was able to introduce himself that fast. Judy, however, noticed him following Tom's moves closely; which put her on edge.

Now she decided to take a second look at the guy; today he was dressed in a khaki suit with a polo shirt, very casual but then again they didn't normally wear business attire to work. Either they were always in something comfortable (jeans and a t-shirt) or a disguise of something or other. Rum, also, didn't look out of place in the Chapel either.

He gave her a wink and that was when she realized she'd been staring. But, if it kept Tom safe, than she didn't care. She also started to wonder if Rum really was who he said he was. What if he was an imposter? The New York FBI department might not even know if he said he was from Washington and his ID looked real enough. They were so used to seeing badges and everything it probably didn't register to look for inconsistencies of a faked FBI badge.

Well – this would call for some investigation but she knew she had to go about it on the sly. If there was nothing than she wouldn't want everyone to know that she suspected Rum in the first place. And at that, she didn't even know what she suspected him about either. Was he the Faller? Well…she couldn't go that far. But he was pretty interested in Tom – so…it bore checking out.

Judy turned back to the computer, but she didn't miss watching Rum throw away his foam coffee cup and then making for the locker rooms.

She glared at her screen. Tom was a big boy; she knew. He could take care of himself.

0000

Tom closed his eyes and reveled in the silence; he was safe here. He didn't have to worry about silly laws getting in the way of his job, or private life. It also felt good to have a real shower. A real, hot, shower! Tom could have danced. The water at the school is always so cold that it was surprising no one caught sickness because of it.

The steam drifted in the air and fogged up the mirrors. The showerhead he picked spluttered and the stream of water hit his skin hard enough to make it prickle. Tom didn't care though; he was going to enjoy it.

Not long later he noted the opening and closing of the door but that could just have been Doug coming in to take advantage of the locker rooms before they headed back out to the school. Which was their plan anyway. It was just awkward trying to shower when you had to worry about fifty or more boys walking in; sure, they all had the same equipment, but it could go badly for them in court. And that was one thing they never compromised while on a case.

Tom was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't expect the water to suddenly be turned off and then being shoved into the wall. He let out a cry of pure surprise as he tried to push off; forgetting completely that he was naked, or standing on slippery tile; he turned to face his attacker. The man was unknown to him. Tom thought he'd seen the man in the Chapel as he and Doug came to give their reports. His suit was getting wet as the grappled. Tom pushed him back far enough to get the taller man to topple over the bench that sat between the showers and the lockers.

The man fell and hit his head on the locker, which put him out cold in the floor. The sound of which reverberated about the empty room and then the door banged open. Tom grabbed a large towel to wrap around himself; it was one thing to fend off an attacker naked, but he was insanely protective of his dignity and being seen naked (after the whole jail thing) was absolutely not going to happen.

"Tom!" Ioke was first through the door, "what happened? Are you okay?"

"That guy came out of no where and attacked me!" Tom pointed at the man on the floor. Ioke took one look and then passed a hand through his hair.

"The Captain ain't gonna like this," he muttered.

"What? Why?" Tom asked.

"That guy you knocked out is from the FBI," Ioke replied.

Tom cursed a blue streak.

0000

His hair still wet from his shower, Tom was dressed in his McQuaid outfit with the added bonus of a towel. He sat in Fuller's office and watched the man dress down Rum who didn't look at all sorry for attacking Tom in the locker room shower just half an hour earlier.

"I want to know why you thought that was an appropriate thing to do!?" Fuller demanded.

"He's the Faller," Rum replied.

Tom and Fuller just blinked at the man.

"Are you crazy!?" Fuller banged his desk. "Tom is too young to be the Faller! This pattern has existed ten years before he was ever born!"

Rum pursed his lips, turned and looked at Tom who stared at him incredulously. "I suppose you're right," he shrugged.

Fuller growled.

"So…ah….sorry…?"

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Fuller banged his desk again, things went rattling every which way and he was about to say more when Tom stood up; "Coach, it's fine."

"It's not fine," Fuller turned his glare onto Tom who just didn't care any more.

"Look, I don't care, it was a mistake," he shrugged, "and it was easier to get to me in a place I felt safe, let's call it a life lesson and forget about it, please?" he bit his lip and put all of his effort an effective puppy-dog look that he hoped would work.

Fuller was immune to this look, but because he knew Tom was tired and was still working on a case without much of a break, he let this one slide and decided that letting Tom think that he fell for that look – at least once – wouldn't be such a bad trade off.

"Okay," he sighed, "but if you lay your hands on another one of my people I will knock you out flat, you here me Rum?" he pointed his finger at the man.

"Yes sir!"

Tom sighed, well, at least that was the end of that!

0000