Disclaimer: Fox own'em but I luuuuurve them
Author's note: I hope you guys are keeping up okay. I'm surprising myself with this one. Please let me know what you think. I will tell you what Guerrero is up to soon. Promise.
"How are you doing sweetheart?" Winston asked. Maggie hadn't said a word since he'd helped her and Georgie in to the front seat of the van. Chance was getting changed out of his blood stained business suit into the jeans and t-shirt he kept stashed in the back. Chance caught Winston's eye in the rear-view mirror and nodded towards Maggie who was slowly rocking back and forth with Georgie in her lap, pressed close to her chest.
Winston took the hint. It was all too easy for a person unused to extreme stress to go in to full-on shock in a situation like this. Getting her talking would help keep her focused on the here and now.
"So how did a nice girl like you get herself in a big ol' mess like this then?"
Chance rolled his eyes.
Real subtle Winston, thought Chance. At least you didn't talk about the weather.
"Huh?" Maggie stirred a little at the sound of Winston's voice but her eyes were still dangerously distant.
"How did you meet Georgie's dad then?" Winston push on, determined to get a coherent response.
"He came to my booth on the beach one day. Bought some wind chimes." Maggie seemed as if she were waking from a deep sleep, taking notice of her surroundings for the first time and reassuring herself that Georgie was still safe in her arms.
"He asked you out?" Winston prompted, trying to draw her in to a proper conversation.
"No. He came back the next day and bought some more. He came back every day for a week, always buying the same thing. I offered him a bulk discount and he laughed."
"And?"
"He turned me down and I offered to buy him a drink so he could explain what he found so fascinating about my wind chimes." Winston though he saw a hint of a smile as her thoughts drifted back to happier days.
"Smooth operator…" Chance mumbled.
Maggie frowned. She wasn't sure whether Chance's comment referred to herself or Ethan but she was suddenly painfully aware she was sharing very personal, very private memories with two men she hardly knew.
"It doesn't matter now. It's none of your business anyway."
Winston smiled. If she was up to telling them to but out, she was probably going to be okay. Her eyes were much brighter and alert, if still puffy.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Grandma's house." said Chance.
"Swedish Grandma's house." added Winston, noticing her puzzled look. "It's an apartment belonging to an old buddy of mine. He's on deployment at the moment so it's empty. He won't mind us using it to lie low while we figure out our next move. It's probably not a good idea to head back to our office right now."
"Why do you call him Swedish Grandma?"
"You'll see." said Chance laughing.
As they stepped in to the apartment she did see and let out a little laugh. Winston's old buddy was clearly a fan of Ikea. He seemed to own every item from the store's back catalogue and in contrast to each item's sleek simple design, the overall effect of such a multitude of items confined to one apartment was that of an elderly female relative hoarding trinkets.
Winston smiled when he saw Maggie got the joke.
"Yeah, my boy sure knows how to shop. Hell of a marine though."
Chance and Winston left Maggie in the lounge, settling an exhausted Georgie down in front of the TV to watch Sesame Street with a box of crackers. Chance pulled the kitchen door shut most of the way behind them, leaving a gap wide enough so he could keep an eye on his clients.
"Did you speak to Ethan Cartwright?" he asked. Winston nodded.
"It's kind of complicated but I'll give you the gist. Bateman had some deal on the table with some Russian mafia types, he was going to trade some fancy stolen artwork for a weapons shipment. Only problem was, he hadn't quite acquired the artwork yet."
"Let me guess," Chance said. "Ethan Cartwright got to the artwork first?"
Winston nodded. "It gets worse. Bateman drops Ethan's cousin Harvey, his accountant, in it with the Feds."
"And Ethan pulls a few strings and Harvey avoids jail. I see where this is going."
"Oh, there's more! Ethan sells the artwork to the Russian buyers that Bateman had lined up, cutting Bateman out of the deal and making him a laughing stock from here to Moscow. Now Bateman has to hit back or say goodbye to his reputation for good. Word is he's going to ransom Ethan's kid back to him for the full cost of the Russian deal, plus interest."
"I'm guessing that's a lot."
"Millions. He's offering a bounty to anyone that brings him the kid and his mother alive."
"So I can expect more trouble then."
"In a word, yes."
Chance poured himself a coffee, never taking his eyes off his clients in the next room and asked, "Where does Harvey fit in with all this?"
"Ethan thinks he's trustworthy after he hauled his ass out of trouble with the Feds but I have my doubts. He's got to be looking for a way to pull himself out of this mess. He could well try and ingratiate himself with his old boss by handing over the kid. Where is Harvey anyway?"
"I sent him out of the front of Maggie's building as a decoy." Chance smiled, sipping his coffee, "I said we'd be in touch."
"You do realise he could still be on our side? He could be innocent in all this. Relatively speaking."
Chance sighed. He didn't trust Harvey but he couldn't exactly just leave him hanging either. The sound of a cell phone ringing cut through his thoughts.
"Harvey? Are you Okay? Where are you?" Maggie's voice drifted in from the lounge.
Damn, didn't I take. her phone at the office?
He couldn't remember.
Looks like I'll have to make a decision about Harvey sooner rather than later. He thought.