Chapter ten,

Maintaining an asset is a tricky business of give and take. Mostly it is take. But sometimes it is necessary to give a little. Just enough to keep them stable. It is of course important that for the little bit you give them, they give you a lot more in return.

.

They were driving back into Miami, Michael sat in the passenger seat his expression frosty, he stared out at the road ahead with narrowed eyes, while he chewed on his upper lip, deep in thought. Larry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, he had seen that same look before. A long time ago, back in the early nineties. It was a look normally reserved for those times where something had gone wrong and they were looking for someone to blame.

"I'm going stop at the next gas station, get you a couple of energy drinks and something to eat. Then you can tell me exactly where we're going." Larry commented.

"We should of gone to help Fi and Jesse first." Michael said continuing to stare out of the window. Sam had hidden the drive in the one place he should never of agreed to take Larry, yet here he was leading the man straight there. Then again, maybe Sam should of never have left the drive there in the first place.

"If they can't last a couple of hours, they deserve all they get." Larry replied, he had spotted a gas station and was slowing down to pull in. "Besides, I have a weapons cache in Miami, we can prepare properly. A couple of thermal image scopes, C4, assault rifles. You'll love it." Privately he hoped to delay returning to Fort Lauderdale and starting the search for Fiona for as long as possible.

Returning to the car loaded down with energy drinks and a variety of snacks, Larry dumped the lot on Michael's lap. As he started the engine he gave a short laugh. "This will cheer you up, every one in the store is still alive. How's that for self control."

Michael scowled back as he twisted open one of the bottles of drink. "How very noble of you." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

As they entered Miami, Michael began to direct Larry to their destination. Finally they pulled up outside the Golden Sun Motel. The food and drink had improved Michael's condition but not by much, he turned to Larry.

"Ok I've brought you here, now you wait in the car and I'll go and get it."

"No." Larry drawled back. "I'll come with you." He had expected Michael to dig in his heels at this point.

Michael looked away, he really wished the fog that seemed to be effecting his ability to think clearly would lift. He knew he was better than this, he wasn't sure who he was more angry with, himself for not being able to get out of the situation. Sam for putting him in the situation in the first place, or Larry for, well for just being Larry.

"No. You stay here, I'm not taking you with me." He meant it this time, the was an edge creeping into his voice.

"Michael we go and get that drive now, together. Or I go and get it myself, there's only one person you would put before your little gun runner girlfriend. So if you want Mommy dearest to be still breathing in an hours time get out of the car now."

Michael shifted in his seat, Larry noticed the hand curling round the grip of the handgun that he had given Michael earlier. "I don't want you near her. I'll get it."

Larry knew he was very close to getting shot, maybe it was time to back off a little bit. He was after all getting what he wanted.

"Ok you feel that strongly about it. You go in alone. You have five minutes."

Michael nodded, then left the car, slipping the gun into his waistband and hiding it under the t shirt. He followed the pathway round to the stairs that led to the upper floor of rooms. This motel had been picked as soon as Brennan had turned up on the scene as somewhere safe for his Mother to be hidden away. He was torn as to whether he wanted her to be here, or he wanted Sam to of chosen some other hiding place that would protect her from him and Larry.

..

Fiona was not going to be beat by a lack of matches, she hunted around the store room. If they had left bottles of cleaning fluids surely they had to of left other supplies. After a thorough search she had to admit defeat. At least until she could expand her search.

Leaving the store room she went to check on Jesse. He was keeping a watch on the stairs, trying to listen out for Vaughn making a move to come up after them.

"I want to set a fire." She told him. "But I need some very fine wire, to light it."

"A fire, not with us trapped up here you don't." Jesse was adamant.

"There's fire extinguishers I saw them." She pointed out, undeterred.

..

Sam came ashore at the far end of the harbour, puffing from the unexpected exercise, he sat on the edge of the wall for a moment catching his breath. His phone was gone, lost in the water as were his shoes. Shaking the excess water out of his hair, he got to his feet. He needed dry clothes, a phone and then some sort of transport. Walking along the jetty, he started to look for a yacht that might supply him with some of these things.

..

Madeline was worried, first of all Sam had turned up and informed her she had to cancel her game of canasta, Michael had got himself into a bit of trouble yet again. Which meant she had to drop everything and go into hiding. Then came the news report on TV informing her that her son was a multiple murderer. Which Sam made worse by saying it was most likely the psychotic ex spy Michael was running around with who had committed all the crimes he was getting blamed for. All this bad news had got her reaching for her cigarettes more than normal.

On top of all that, first thing in the morning Sam had brought her to this cheap rate motel filled with a party of seniors who were in Miami to escape the cold winters of their home states. That she could of coped with, but he had put her in a no smoking room. Well she couldn't take it, she had to go out. Sam's instructions rang in her head, "Try and stay inside as much as possible, and only use cash to pay for anything you need."

Under so much stress, and with a room she couldn't smoke in, she sat out by the pool and smoked until eventually she ran out of cigarettes.

It was as she stood in line to buy another box of her favourite brand, she realized how short of funds she was becoming. She remembered Sam's words and rather than use her card to pay for a book and her smokes she left the queue and went to the nearest ATM and drew out the cash she would need.

When Sam turned up a little after five pm she ripped into him, how could she stay inside if he put her in a no smoking room. He said something about it being tactically the safest positioned room available. Then he had handed her an envelope and told her to keep it safe. He was going to collect Michael and then they would all leave together.

It was now close to midnight and she hadn't heard from any of them. She had tried all their numbers and hadn't got a reply. She changed into her nightdress and decided to get some sleep, the gentle knock on her door immediately brought a smile to her face. They were back, as she started to open the door she fell back as the men on the other side shoved their way inside.