You have all been so nice with your reviews. Thank you so much. I will try to contact you individually to thank you as well within the week. Alicia, LOL!!! That was one of the funnier responses that I have ever seen! Thanks for the laugh!

Capital Pursuits

Chapter 10

As the lights blinked back on, there was pandemonium as Joe looked wildly around him. He had been awakened by the sounds of screaming and breaking glass, and then by the rush of people around him. Alarms were buzzing repeatedly. Taking a moment to focus, he noticed at once that several people were running to his right, and that another one or two were stopped in a small circle by a post in the corner.

That's where Frank was, Joe thought in panic, and ran at once to the spot. In horror, Joe looked down at his brother, who was lying unconscious on the ground, with a large mark on the right side of his forehead that was bleeding heavily. An officer of some sort was stopped beside Frank, trying to help him, and Jenna was crying by his side, holding his hand.

"Apply pressure to the wound," the officer said to Jenna, handing her a towel, "while I get help."

Jenna looked terrified. "B... but it's bloody," she said, looking woozy. "I don't do well with that."

Joe immediately pushed Jenna aside and gratefully took the towel from the Officer, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. As he did so, he willed Frank to open his eyes, but Frank remained immobile.

"What happened?" Joe asked the officer, who looked confused, himself.

"I… I don't know," he stammered. "Things were pretty quiet around here, and then all hell broke loose! Something was taken, probably, over there," he said, motioning to the right, down the corridor. "I guess your brother got in the way or something."

Joe looked up, momentarily puzzled as to how this guy knew that Frank was his brother, and then he remembered that Jenna had briefly introduced them as they had entered earlier in the evening. And, Joe thought, as it dawned on him, this guy was with the D.C. police, so he knew that we're working with the Chief. As he was about to say something, the officer winked at him.

"I have to get going, Joe," he said, verifying that he knew who Joe was. "I have to see what's going on. Stay here. We can call an ambulance for your brother, as soon as we see if anyone else was hurt. I'll be back in a few."

At that moment, Frank's eyes fluttered open, and he moaned softly. He closed his eyes again at once, the light blinding him, and he felt a searing pain as his head starting pounding.

"Frank? Frank? Are you okay? Open your eyes, bro."

Joe's voice pulled him back from the darkness, and weakly he opened his eyes again, looking into Joe's concerned face. He also saw Jenna looking at him, crying.

"H… help me up," he muttered to Joe, who was still holding the towel to Frank's forehead.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Joe responded. "Stay still. I can call an ambulance."

"Don't need ambulance," Frank stuttered. Weakly, he raised a hand to his head. "Wha… what happened?"

Slowly, Joe helped to pull his brother into a sitting position. The cut on his head was still bleeding pretty badly, but Frank reached out and took the towel from Joe, trying to stop the bleeding himself.

"Oh, Frank, are you okay?" Jenna cried, and before Frank could respond, she reached over and gave him two quick kisses on the cheek.

"Jenna, knock it off!" Joe said angrily. "My brother's hurt. Just…. Go find out what's happening or something," he said, knowing it was the only way to get her away. If she thought she was being useful to Frank, she'd pretty much do anything. Joe had her number pretty quickly.

"Oh! Oh, okay," she said, and, with one last glance at Frank, she hurried off to the corner. Joe knew in minutes the police would be arriving, and some special agents as well. He was dying to know what was going on, but, at the moment, he was more concerned with his brother.

"Frank," Joe said slowly, concerned. "You look like you got hit pretty badly by something. Do you remember anything about it?"

"No," Frank said softly, grimacing in pain.

"Okay. Let me get a doctor for you."

"Joe, I'm fine," Frank said weakly, barely able to meet his brother's eyes. His head was throbbing. "I'm not going to the hospital. I want to see what's going on."

"No way!" Joe argued back. "I'LL find out what's going on. I'm… I'm… I'm calling Callie and Vanessa, and I'm having them pick you up and take you to the doctor, OR take you back to the room to get some rest," he said, deciding on his course of action. Gently, he pulled the towel back from Frank's head. Although the cut was still bleeding, Joe was almost positive he wouldn't need stitches.

"It's kinda late," Frank mumbled, slurring his words a bit, but trying to focus. "Girls… they'll be mad," he finished.

Joe snorted despite himself. "Frank, we're in the middle of a big robbery. Alarms are going off; something must have been stolen, and you're hurt. Only you would think they'd be mad about this!" He smiled, but his smiled quickly softened when he saw how pale his brother was.

Giving Frank's hand a quick squeeze, he dialed the girls' room, and woke up Vanessa. After he quickly explained the situation to her, she agreed to hop the Metro over with Callie right away to get to Frank. Knowing they wouldn't be allowed in, Joe told her that he and Frank would be waiting for them outside. He knew that he'd be staying well into the night to find out what had happened, but Frank was in no condition to be there.

As they waited for the girls to arrive, Joe took a few minutes to focus on what was going on around him. Jenna came back a few minutes later, saying that she was unable to get any info because there were so many people around.

"I'll be happy to stay with Frank, though, if you want to try," she said.

"Don't get bloody," he muttered sarcastically under his breath.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at him.

Joe sighed. "I said it's a bloody good idea," he said, and headed over to the scene of the crime, leaving Jenna staring in confusion after him.

When Joe arrived at the scene, he immediately saw the police officer who had helped Frank. Deciding it was his best bet to get information, he made his way through the crowd.

'Joe," the officer said, looking at him. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here."

As Joe went to protest, the officer steered him away from the crowd and spoke with him. "Listen," he said softly, "your mission is to work undercover as tour guides. Now, I know you need to know what's going on, but don't you think being here might- I don't know- blow your cover?"

Joe nodded, slowly. The officer was right. Still, he had to find out what had happened.

"Meet me in five minutes in the back, and I'll quickly fill you in, okay? By the way, I'm Brian," he added.

Joe smiled. "Nice to meet you. Will do," he replied, and went off to meet the officer in the quieter location.

True to his word, Brian met Joe five minutes later.

"Okay," he whispered, trying to remain discreet. "This is what we know so far. What was taken wasn't the most valuable of items, but, of course, that means it was still worth thousands," he said with a rueful smile. "It was the handcuffs that prisoners were wearing when they tried to escape from Alcatraz prison decades ago. I guess the thieves were right; of all things to be heavily guarded, THAT wouldn't be it."

Joe was puzzled. "Did it have that same saying as the others, and AGIB?" he asked.

"Yeah," Brian responded, looking around nervously. "And it was on a pink envelope this time."

"But you knew all the people in here, didn't you? I mean, doesn't the museum keep track of who's here at all times? If it's an inside job, there's got to be some way of finding out," Joe said.

"Well, there should be, unless someone rigged it, or sneaked in, or STAYED in from a job. I don't know. That's what we're trying to find out," he said to Joe.

Joe smiled. Normally, he didn't have much luck with police officers, as they would turn him away for his age. This guy seemed pretty nice, and it was good to know someone on the force. "Thanks, Brian," Joe said, sincerely. "If anything else comes up, would you let me know? Actually, do you mind if I hang around here for a while? I'll be discreet."

Brian smiled. "Well, pretend not to know me, and you'll be okay," he joked. "How's your brother?" he asked.

Joe groaned. "Oh, man, I forgot about him!" he said ruefully. "He'll be okay. His girlfriend and mine will be taking him back to the hotel for some rest. I should get ready to take him outside. Thanks again for everything," Joe replied.

"Any time," Brian said, and headed back to the investigation.

Joe returned back to Frank, who looked a little better, but still unsteady. It looked like the wound he had sustained had stopped bleeding as heavily. With Jenna's help, they guided Frank outside. Just as they had promised, Vanessa and Callie were waiting for them as close as they could get to the museum.

Joe noticed Jenna, who had her arm firmly around Frank's waist, staring at Callie, checking her out. He had to smile to himself. Even with no makeup, in sweats and a tee shirt with her hair pulled back, Callie had Jenna beat in the looks department, hands down. Maybe that's because I like Callie and I can't stand Jenna, though, he thought to himself.

Vanessa immediately ran up to Joe and gave him hug, as Callie went to Frank, sitting beside him on the steps to the museum. Seeing she had nowhere to be, Jenna at last excused herself and returned inside.

As Joe explained to Vanessa what had happened, Callie held Frank's hand. "Hon, are you okay?" she asked with concern, noting the bloody towel. "Let me see," she said, and gently removed his hand.

"That looks like it hurts," she said quietly to him.

"Yeah," Frank said, with a small smile. "It does."

Since Joe had briefly told Vanessa about Frank's injury, Callie had hurriedly put alcohol swabs and bandages from the hotel room's first aid kit in her purse. Although she hadn't known how seriously Frank had been hurt, she was now glad she had done that. Carefully, she removed the towel from Frank's hand and applied the swab, not worried about getting bloody.

"Ow," Frank winced, grabbing for her hand.

"No 'ow,'" Callie replied with a smile, as she helped him clean his cut, and applied a large bandage to his forehead. "You'll thank me later," she said to him.

Frank weakly looked at Callie, his head throbbing. "I see three of you," he managed to get out.

"Um, lucky guy, I guess," she said, and Frank let out a small laugh as well.

"The middle," she said to him.

"Huh?" he asked, still dazed.

"Concentrate on the 'me' in the middle. That'll help you focus. Don't forget, I know a little about how to get through headaches," she gently reminded him, thinking of her recent ordeal. "Ready to go?" she asked him. "I'll take care of you."

"You always do," Frank replied, feeling a renewed sense of love for his girlfriend, despite his pain. He squeezed her hand.

"Let me… let me just finish cleaning you up," she said, as she gently wiped Frank's cheek with a tissue.

Frank didn't hear the hesitation in her voice, nor did he stop to think that Callie was touching his left cheek, and his injury had been on the right hand side. If he would have stopped, he might have realized that Callie was upset.

She had just finished removing lipstick from Jenna…