Chapter 9: Bad Samaritan

With nothing else he could do, Tom had left shortly after the ambulance had taken 'Big Bertha' away to be treated for a concussion. Katie had given her one hell of a wallop with that food tray. He did the only other thing he could do, he went home. He slept but it was fitful at best. Morning came and went. As soon as he'd gotten up and dressed he grabbed the original of Katie's file, then swung by the bank and stashed it in a safety deposit box. No one had access to it except him, if Raines or Randall wanted it they'd have to go through him to get it.

He spent the rest of the afternoon going over the copy, using his coffee table as a desk while nursing one cup of coffee after another, and still came up empty. So far nothing had popped out at him as out of the ordinary but the file was more than five hundred pages of information, much of it in Katie's neat and even script where she had already researched what he was going over. He still had a lot of material to go through but he wasn't getting any closer than she had and it nagged at him that if he didn't find it soon enough it would be too late. Tom buried his head in his hands and threw the pencil he'd been taking his own notes with on the coffee table in disgust. He was saved from shoving the entire stack of papers off the table in frustration by the phone ringing. Tom clambered over the couch and grabbed the phone before the machine could pick up.

"Hello?"

"Randall's here. You better get down here. He's about to have Kat hauled into interrogation," Doug's voice told him on the other end.

"On my way," Tom answered, pulling on his coat as he hung up the phone and darting out the door.

#**#

Meanwhile, Katie spent the time Tom spent trying to find a connection she hadn't staring at four cement walls with nothing but herself for company. Unlike Doug, Katie was not claustrophobic. It wasn't the small space that was getting to her. It was the dark and the quiet and the morbid reminder of being locked in a cell very like it in Rio, wondering when the next person would open the door and what horror that meant was coming. When she'd been locked in with the blonde woman she'd been too worried about where the next attempt on her life would come from, alone she had more time to think than she cared for. She alternated between sitting in the corner, her head rested on her knees in an attempt to ignore the memories and pacing like a caged animal when she couldn't. With no one to see her, she let go just a little. She was afraid, very afraid. Every ounce of terror she'd bottled up threatening to explode.

She was pacing again in frantic circles when the door opened. She bolted backward out of instinct and it took her a moment to remember this was not Rio and the man standing at the door had not come to use her body or shove a needle in her arm to keep her compliant. The guard gave her a confused look before speaking.

"Someone's here to see you," he said, stepping forward to escort her out in cuffs. With a deep breath Katie let him put the handcuffs on and straightened her back knowing that someone had to be Randall.

#**#

Tom came flying into the police headquarter's parking lot, vaulted out of the car and into the building, stopping just inside the entrance long enough to spot Doug and the others. He wound his way through the lobby to them and looked expectant.

"Randall's waiting on her to be brought in right now. He's in room three," Ioki said.

"Did he say anything?" Tom asked. Fuller shook his head.

"Not a word."

"He bring anybody with him?" Tom asked.

"No, he came alone. I expected him to bring agents from the Office of Professional Responsibility with him but he didn't." Fuller answered. That backed what they already suspected. If Randall was involved and he wouldn't want the higher ups to know what had happened. If they started prying they might find out what he and Raines had done.

Tom didn't wait for anything else. He slapped Doug on the chest with the back of his hand and headed for the interrogation suite. "Come on."

"They aren't going to let you go back there Hanson," Judy called after them.

"Who said anything about asking for permission?" Tom called back and disappeared through a door leading to the interrogation rooms.

Doug and Tom made their way casually down the hall way as if they belonged there until they got to the interrogation rooms. Seeing officers and guards coming up the hallway from both directions they ducked into a side hall and flattened themselves against the wall.

"You find anything in that file?" Doug asked in a whisper while they waited for the path to clear. Tom shook his head keeping a look out.

"Not yet."

"What are we doin'?" Doug asked perfectly willing to go along with whatever it was but not knowing exactly why they were doing it.

"I want to know what they say," Tom said and motioned for Doug to follow, the hall had just cleared. They crept along trying to look inconspicuous, a guard turned the corner with Katie escorted along in front of him as they came on the one Randall was waiting in. With a hiss of alarm, Tom skittered into the observation room adjacent to it with Doug in tow. Silently they shut the door and flipped the switch on the speaker that would allow them to listen to what Randall and Katie said. Both of them hunkered down below the two way mirror, backs to the wall.

They heard the interrogation room door open and heard the grating click as Katie's cuffs where removed. Then the guard shut the door again and waited outside in case he was needed.

"Why are we hiding?" Doug asked in a whisper.

"Because we aren't supposed to be here," Tom said incredulous.

"But it's a two way mirror. They can't see us," Doug pointed out. Tom looked slightly embarrassed. He was so focused on not being caught it had slipped his mind that no one could see them.

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly as he got to his feet. Katie was just sitting down at the table, rubbing her wrists where the cuffs had been, a stony expression on her face. She said nothing, she just leveled a piercing glare at Randall who was perched on the edge of the table with an air of indifference. Randall peered back with a look that was just as icy.

"Agent Hanson, I hope you are feeling alright," he said. Katie's head tilted back in contempt. Her eyes dark and foreboding

"I've been better," she said her voice low and tense. Randall got up and walked around the room, Katie's eyes never left him.

"I'm sure you have. Agent Hanson, would you like to tell me exactly what is going on here?" he asked stopping at the edge of the table and leaning toward her imposingly. Katie just looked down her nose at him.

"Raines thought I'd look better with a black and blue neck tie," she breathed, her temper flaring and setting her eyes alight. Randall looked surprised.

"I send two of my best agents up here on a very important case only to be called and told they are trying to kill each other in what amounts to a bar brawl. Now I want to know what's going on," he snapped.

"Why don't you ask Nick? He was the one who tried to kill me not the other way around," Katie snapped back angrily, unable to keep her temper in check.

"I can see that Hanson but why? Agent Raines was drunk but trying to kill you seems a bit extreme," Katie gave him a befuddled look. Did he really not realize one of his own agents was dirty? Could he really be that blind? Behind the two-way mirror, Doug and Tom exchanged a look as confused as Katie's.

"Rio might have something to do with it." Katie bit in frustration. Randall creased his brows, causing his receding hairline of short-cropped dark hair to creep forward on his scalp.

"What has Rio got to do with anything? That was over more than six months ago Hanson. Never mind, the why doesn't matter. I'm having Raines drop the charges on you and taking him into custody. I'll see that he's punished for his crimes and gets the help he needs. He obviously has a drinking problem," Randall said brushing off Katie's reference to Rio with a wave of his hand.

"Just like that? That's it? You aren't even curious why I said Rio might have something to do with why he tried to choke the life out of me?" Katie asked. His avoidance of the subject set off alarms in her head. People only avoided subjects they didn't want to talk about because it made them uncomfortable or made them afraid.

"Raines has gone off his rocker that's obvious. He's a danger to the case and you. For whatever reason. What I need to know is can you still work this case?" he asked again completely ignoring the mention of Rio. Katie knew he was deliberately avoiding it. He seemed to have forgotten what it was she had been trained in. Katie played along and waited to see what Special Agent Randall would do next. He flat did not want to hear why Raines had tried to kill her and that told her he already knew why. Tom knew it too as they watched from the observation room unnoticed.

"If he doesn't know Raines is dirty, why doesn't she tell him?" Doug asked confused.

"Because she knows he knows. He keeps avoiding talking about Rio on purpose. He already knows why Raines tried to kill her," Tom pointed out.

"Of course I can," Katie answered watching him intently. Randall smiled and clapped her on the shoulder but the smile didn't reach his eyes. She fought the urge to shrink away from the touch because she knew he was hiding something and she had a good idea she knew what that something was.

"Good, I'm having another agent replace Raines. His name is Martin Parker. He's not much in the field but he's a surveillance specialist. Since that's all he'll be doing he doesn't need to be that good with weapons. He's not as experienced as Raines but he is very good at his job. He'll be down the day after tomorrow. That will give you a couple of days to get back on your feet. You'll be the agent in charge on this case," he went on. Katie cocked an eyebrow at that. He was being careless, very careless. This was only her second case in the field but he was making her the agent in charge?

"You're just going to let me be in charge of this one? After the whole debacle in Rio?" she asked calling him on it. He looked unfazed by her question.

"That wasn't your fault Agent Hanson. You were afraid, you were out there too soon and I understand that. You've been through a lot since you got out of 'Casa das Bonecas'. I think you should have a chance to prove yourself and this is the perfect opportunity," Randall explained in a logical tone. Katie pinned him with a hard stare.

"The House of Dolls?" Doug muttered from their vantage point.

"What?" Tom asked. He didn't speak an ounce of Spanish.

"Casa das Bonecas means The House of Dolls," Doug answered.

"How do you know that?" Tom asked, though the translation set his hair on end. Katie had said the brothel she had been sold into had been named something with the word dolls in it…in Portuguese.

"There was this Portugese dub of 'The Valley of the Dolls' on a couple weeks ago. I couldn't sleep so I watched it," Doug explained. Tom gave Doug a strange look for his choice in TV viewing but returned his attention to the interrogation room when Katie started to speak again.

"You're part of it," Katie accused as realization dawned on her. The name of the brothel she had been sold into had not been included in any report she had filed once she had gotten out. She couldn't remember enough of the name to include it.

"What?" Randall asked feigning confusion in an attempt to hide his slip. It was so obvious from the stricken expression he had instead he might as well have written it in huge letters for all to see.

"I never gave the name of the brothel," she said, her voice calm and cool. Tom recognized that tone. It was the same one he used when he knew he had someone dead to rights. Randall pretended to be confused, but now there was an edge of anger to his voice. He'd slipped and now he knew Katie knew without a doubt that he was involved along with Raines.

"I knew it!" Tom growled through clenched teeth. The statement was equal parts vehement anger and triumph that he'd been right.

"What kind of game are you playing now?" Randall spat desperately trying to deflect suspicion off himself. Katie canted her head slightly and crossed her arms.

"Wouldn't you like to know," She snipped. She was not giving ground not now. She hadn't been sure before but now she was.

"You don't have anything on me. If you did you wouldn't be in here," Randall snarled anger making his lips loose.

Katie said nothing for a few moments. Instead she stared him down unblinking. Daring him to crumble under the accusing look and watched him wriggle like a worm under a magnifying glass.

"Are you sure about that?" Katie quipped haughtily. She didn't not really. Not unless Tom did find something in that file she had missed and now more than ever she prayed he would find something she had missed. Before she, Tom and Doug ended up dead.

Randall turned red in the face and huffed in rage before he stalked out the door.

"The charges are being dropped. Let her go. Arrange for Agent Raines to be released to my custody," he barked at the guard who'd escorted her in and had waited just outside the door.

"It would be in your best interest to forget about Rio Agent Hanson. For you and your friends," he hissed. Then he stormed off down the hallway without another word to anyone.

Katie kept her composure only long enough for Randall to disappear down the hall before she turned white as a sheet and wilted like a flower in too much heat She didn't know Tom and Doug were listening on the other side of the mirror. Katie leaned her head on to her folded arms as the tension gave way to relief that she was being released and absolute terror that Randall and Raines wouldn't stop. Now they would be after Tom and Doug as well as her.

Tom and Doug watched Katie crumble under the pressure. They both knew that last statement of Randall's had been a thinly veiled death threat. They couldn't prove it and they couldn't use anything they'd heard. They weren't supposed to be listening in the first place but now they knew and just because they couldn't use it against them it didn't mean they couldn't use it to their advantage. Forewarned was fore armed.

It didn't take long for the guard to cuff her again and escort Katie out of interrogation. She trudged along in a half daze. The heights of human emotions can't sustain themselves, they ebb and flow, breaking like a wave when they crest on the peak of tolerance. It's nature's way of trying to maintain a stable balance, to ensure the continued sanity of its life forms. It was obvious Katie had reached that peak, thrown back and forth through fear, anger, suspicion, obsession and relief like a piece of debris in a hurricane.

Tom and Doug watched her go, slipping quietly out of the observation room and back out into the lobby as soon as they could. They told Fuller and the others everything they had heard while Katie was being processed out.

"So we have some questions answered, and fifty new ones when we haven't answered all the ones we had in the first place," Ioki said in irritation. Apparently, his doubts had been removed, he no longer seemed to be walking the fence about whose side to be on.

"That about sums it up. All we can do is wait and see what comes of it. I think Randall wants Raines out of here before he can screw up anything else. They both slipped. Until we have some idea of what Randall has planned we're just going to have to go over that file and hope we come up with something to prove their crooked before Randall can do anything," Fuller put in, "Until then we've got a case to work."

The security gate buzzed and Katie walked through it, dressed in what she'd been brought in wearing. Tom grimaced inwardly, if he'd known they would release her, he would have at least brought her clothes to change into. Katie looked weary and tapped out. Too much too fast. Tom couldn't blame her. She made her way over, walking slowly as if each step was a concerted effort of will. With the immediate threat gone, the adrenalin and fear that had sustained her fled, leaving just a very tired, very dismal woman in its wake.

"Somebody needs to get that girl a bed, a hot meal and a bubble bath," Judy said only half joking.

"I think it's gonna take more than that," Doug responded with a grin at his coworker. Judy always knew how to turn a serious phrase into a sardonically humorous quip.

"Gotta start somewhere," Judy rebuked.

"Captain, I think I should warn you. Randall…," Katie began, her voice hoarse and thin. Adam cupped her shoulder and squeezed it affectionately.

"I know. Tom and Doug were in the observation room the whole time. Don't worry about it right now. Let Tom take you home and get some rest," he told her, his voice was warm and soft but firm. She slumped a little, obvious relief that she wouldn't have to relay everything that had just gone on written all over her dispirited frame.

Tom reached out his arm to enfold her in it but Doug stopped her briefly. Sliding his coat off and draping it over her shoulders again to shut out the cold and to hide her exposed back, covering the brand peaking from behind the thin material of the hospital gown. She was so exhausted she'd barely managed to get it on much less tie it properly. Fuller, Hoffs and Ioki did their best not to show they'd seen it or the revulsion it imbued in them.

Katie looked up at Doug with thankful and doleful eyes. He smiled gently at her, patting her shoulder before Tom wrapped her in a protective embrace, shooting Doug a warning glance. Doug only grinned back. Tom looked for something to brighten her mood, something to say that would help break the tension. He cocked a lopsided grin as he found it.

"Come on, let a McQuaid Brother buy you dinner," he joked. That got her attention despite her enervated demeanor.

"McQua…? You're one of the..?" She babbled in surprise. Tom smiled and nodded.

"Yep, me and Doug," Tom affirmed. That provoked the inevitable declaration of…

"The McQuaid Brothers! HA!" Complete with hand slapping. Katie looked between them while the others looked on. Then she managed a wiry grin of her own, weak as it was. Her eyebrow quirked up and she tilted her head a bit as if considering.

"Well, at least one of you is cute," she popped off. Tom and Doug exchanged a look.

"Which one?" Tom asked.

Katie screwed her face up into the best impression of a grossed out ten year old Tom had seen in years.

"You're my cousin. I can't think you're cute!" she explained.

Everyone laughed at them. Doug was smiling that stupid smile of his so hard it looked like it might stick that way. Tom smiled widely despite the fact that Katie had just managed to flirt with Doug, turn the tables on him and again thwart his attempts to keep Doug at a romantic distance from her in one fail swoop. There was a little bit of the Katie he knew bubbling through. He wouldn't have traded it for the world.