*** Upped the rating for a reason...yay! The road to Quinter is paved with ice cream :) Thanks to kathiann for all her ideas and encouragement, and thanks to seren_ccd for using my songs in her iFic and letting me know Marshall likes Sonic ;)***
Manny was whiny and demanding at 5 am as they gathered their things to get on the road, and Marshall had to promise Mary a pancake breakfast in the near future to keep her from shooting his witness. While she had been sleeping, Marshall had managed to coordinate Brandi and Jinx's departure to Jersey without too much difficulty. He told them Mary needed the house empty for two weeks while the Marshal's office decontaminated it due to an anthrax threat. It was hard to keep the laughter from his voice as Jinx panicked and wanted to leave right away, but it was effective and both women promised to be packed and ready on the doorstep by 7:30 am when Stan would pick them up.
Being industrious, Marshall also called Stan and explained the possible surveillance and his concerns for Manny and for himself and Mary. Stan actually agreed that taking Manny and remaining randomly on the move was a good idea. Their boss didn't want to know where they were going, just wanted them to check in everyday. There was still no news as to where Manny would end up as the higher ups weren't even sure they still wanted him in the program. He'd keep the Marshals updated.
His nocturnal activities did not wake the two sleeping people in the room, and Marshall spent some time between calls watching the blonde woman in his bed. He liked to look at her as she slept since that was the only time she appeared relaxed and unguarded, ultimately finding some peace after shutting out the real world.
As he often did, Marshall wondered what drew him to her so strongly. He remembered meeting her and immediately recognizing a challenge. She would be difficult to work with and even more difficult to befriend and he reveled in that Herculean task. His resolve to remain her partner was solidified the first time he saw her interact with a minor witness.
The little girl was eight and being transported across the country to a new family after her parents were killed in a gang initiation gone bad. The child was withdrawn and belligerent and Mary never raised her voice or criticized her, just continued to soothe her and draw her into games or books that seemed to distract her. Each night, the girl had nightmares, and each morning Marshall would find Mary curled up in her bed with her as she had gotten up to comfort her in the night. On the last night, he had heard voices in the room and went to investigate only to quietly stand in the doorway and watch his partner play Barbie dolls with the child. Mary was smiling and the little girl was giggling as they danced their dolls to music only they could hear. It was a side of her he had never seen before, and would rarely see again…a glimpse into her true character and he was hooked. One week later he had to prevent her from castrating her next witness.
She threw up a façade that would make an Escher drawing seem like a finger painting, all twists and turns with false walls and unseen pits. Her defense mechanisms would leave you upside down and backwards and all you could do is retreat and lick your wounds. Marshall had withstood her attempts to stomp him down, run him off and turn him against her. Over time, he'd studied her graffiti strewn walls and seen the true beauty in that artwork, and when he had learned about her father and her past he understood…a little girl playing Barbie was never going to have her heart broken again. She had pushed everyone away for so long that she just didn't know any other way, and that was okay with him. He knew the façade protected her from the world, and he would fight tooth and nail to help her keep it in place. Little did he realize she had integrated him into her walls and now he stood within them instead of outside.
He remembered one definition for the word 'love': the object of attachment, devotion or admiration. He smiled as he watched her…attached to him indeed.
They grabbed some to-go breakfast food from the lobby and piled into the SUV quickly, Mary and Marshall keenly aware of their surroundings and wanting to put distance between Oklahoma City and Manny as soon as possible. Mary mirrored her partner's actions the day before and drove randomly for about thirty minutes to sight any tails, and once she was satisfied they were all alone, headed north on I-35 to Wichita.
She felt a hundred times better than the night before, amazed that four hours of sleep would be so rejuvenating. She rolled her window down to enjoy the relatively cool, early morning air and admired the sunrise as she drove. Marshall, used to her desire for fresh air over recycled, hunkered down in the passenger seat and allowed the rush of the wind to lull him to sleep. Manny attempted to have a conversation with her and was greeted by rude rebuttals. He eventually called her a bitch, got the evil eye in the rearview mirror and resorted to listening to his iPod on high volume.
Two hours later and thirty miles south of Wichita, Mary spotted a tail. She had seen the dark blue Chevy Malibu in her side mirror about a half hour ago and just had a weird feeling about it. Trusting her gut, she changed lanes lazily a few times with casual speed changes and it never passed her. Not directly behind her, but always managing to find its way into her view again. Whoever it was wasn't extremely skilled at tailing someone, but they would've been missed by a less observant driver. Needing to assure herself before waking her partner, she picked the next exit and passed a few cars in the far lane, then smoothly swept across two inner lanes to drop into the exit lane and head down the ramp.
"When did we pick up the tail?" asked Marshall as he sat up in the passenger seat and was immediately checking the mirrors. He knew the feel of Mary's driving and the inconsistencies woke him about five minutes ago.
"I suspected about a half hour ago. Just trying to confirm it now." She took a right at the stop light and then another right immediately into a restaurant parking lot and parked where a full sized van blocked them from the view of anyone exiting the highway. "It's a blue Malibu with no front plates."
Sure enough, the Malibu arrived at the bottom of the exit ramp as she finished her sentence. The Marshals shared a look of concern and annoyance. They watched as the car slowly turned right and cruised along well under the speed limit…hunting them. Mary knew they would be spotted, and just as the Malibu passed the entrance to the parking lot and braked, she pulled out of her spot quickly and sped onto the street behind the tail, across the divider and back to the on ramp up to the highway. She bought them a little time and was pushing 85 as she sped to the next exit two miles away.
Marshall turned on the navigation system (Mary always turned it off…she claimed it watched her all the time and was creepy) to peruse their options, and Manny started to ask a lot of questions in the back seat.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed? What's going on, Marshall?"
Marshall told him to shut up in no uncertain terms and the man sulked with his arms crossed. Mary gained the next exit without either of them seeing the Malibu in the rearview mirror and began to take a series of turns as her partner called them out to her. After about twenty minutes, they felt confident that they had shaken the tail and pulled into a grocery store parking lot to regroup.
"How the hell did they find us, Marshall?"
"I can't figure it out either. I didn't even tell Stan where we were going, just that we would be on the move and check in each day. Manny didn't talk to anyone…no one knew but us. I haven't even called Alongi yet." He was stumped.
"Is there a possibility the truck has a tracker?" Mary didn't think so as all the WITSEC vehicles were custom wired to include antibug software. If there was anything attached to the car that emitted a radio frequency within a certain range, they would be alerted.
"No…that software is too good." Marshall knew his software.
She was deep in thought and it began to run along the lines of, "What have we had with us this whole time since finding Manny?" They had confiscated and handed over the cell phone, made him leave his suitcase and toiletry bag at the destroyed hotel, only letting him keep the clothes on his back and…
Mary turned around in her seat quickly and snatched Manny's iPod out of his hands and the ear buds out of his ears. He slapped at her arms and began to struggle with her to keep his belongings. Losing the fight, Manny resorted to grabbing Mary's hair and she ground out, "Marshall."
Already moving before her request, her partner leaned over his seat and used a pressure grip under Manny's arm while ordering, "Let her go and hand it over." Manny's arm went numb and pain jacked through his torso which forced him to release Mary. She took her prize and slipped out the driver's side door with it. Marshall let go of Manny, told him to stay and left the truck to join Mary.
"We don't know if that's the culprit. You might be wasting a perfectly good playlist." Marshall smirked.
"His taste in music sucks…country and hip hop. I'd rather shoot myself."
Marshall held out his hand and she gave him the iPod with a questioning look, "What are you going to do with it?"
"Bait."
She watched him walk over to a plant container and place the device inside it. Rejoining her, he asked, "Got anywhere to be in the next half hour? If it's the tracker, they'll show up and be looking for it, if not, they'll show up and be looking for us."
"Forty minutes." She stated.
"Twenty. We've been stopped for ten."
The turned to each other for a quick two out of three rock-paper-scissors and Marshall won.
He looked at her and a slow, mischievous grin spread across his face. "Antelope!" she thought frantically, and before she could take back the offer he defined the terms.
"Loser has to share their ice cream with the winner."
The look in his eyes almost made her hope to lose and she shivered involuntarily. Marshall's eyes wandered down to her chest as her shiver perked up parts of her anatomy and he said softly, "You do have nice breasts." Winking, he headed back to the truck.
She blew out a breath of anticipation and frustration as she followed his eyes. Taking her seat again, she reached over to smack him as he continued to leer at her. Both chuckling now, she started the SUV and they drove to a bank across the street to covertly watch for their prey. Manny was sending her hateful looks from the backseat and she flipped him off.
They were rewarded twenty minutes later when the blue Chevy pulled into the grocery store parking lot. It circled a few times, then pulled into a slot and a short man got out and walked towards the planter with a device in his hand. Once he found the iPod, he pulled out a cell phone and they could tell the discussion was heated. Marshall was out his door and on the move across the street while the man was distracted as Mary watched carefully.
Looping around behind the Chevy, Marshall was able to walk right up behind the short man and grabbed him around the neck like they were old friends. It was an effective chokehold and if the man struggled, his air was immediately cut off. He went with the Marshal to the Malibu, and as he opened the driver's door, Marshall knocked him out with the butt of his gun and piled his unconscious form into the seat. Taking the cell phone, the tall man jogged back across the street to jump in to the running SUV.
"Nicely done, geekwad." Mary had latched onto Marshall's unspoken plan when she saw him snag the phone. Now they had someone to talk to, and the whole plan was based on luring the perps to Quinter. Also, with no one tracking them any longer, they could detour to get rid of Manny before heading to their goal…both only too glad to get rid of the dead weight.
Marshall called Stan as Mary once again headed back to the highway, updated him on their status and activities and listened for a while with nods and occasional questions. He finally snapped the phone shut.
"Take the next exit onto 54, we're taking Manny to Topeka." Craning his neck to look into the back seat at the scowling man, Marshall added, "We found you a nice home, fella. I told them you needed a rabies shot and a flea bath."
"I think they should neuter him too." quipped Mary. Marshall laughed as they turned towards Topeka.
On the way, Marshall pulled numbers off of the cell phone he confiscated and sent them to Stan. Having discussed possible plans with Mary, her partner then texted the last number called on the phone.
"Since you liked Quinter so much, we decided to take Manny for a visit."
Without the tracking device, whoever was on the other end would not know they were leaving Manny in Topeka and would walk into a world of hurt.
Mary smiled at him with a gleam of anticipation for the hunt, and Marshall felt his thighs tighten slightly at that look. His wildcat.
Five hours later and one witness lighter, Marshall called in his bet. It was another hot day and he was sick of being in the car and had just seen a sign for a Dairy Queen in the upcoming town of Salina. Mary was more than happy to take a break, especially if it involved ice cream.
Kansas City Marshals met them in Topeka and took Manny under their naïve wing. Marshall warned them of his propensity to belly up when a woman was involved, but he knew in his gut Manny would never survive until trial. It was depressing, really, and Mary noticed the souring of her partner's mood. He perked up slightly as she treated him to Sonic for lunch, and by the time he was driving for an hour he was humming and seemed back to normal.
Mary called Tony Alongi in Quinter as she and Marshall agreed he could be trusted with some sensitive information. She let him know they were returning to Quinter for a sting operation and requested his help. Asking him not to tell anyone for the time being, they promised to update him with further info after they got there. Alongi agreed, curious and eager to help.
As they pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot, Marshall looked at his partner and warned, "There's no number six for you today. My heart can't take it."
She laughed and drew a cross over her heart, "Swear not to abuse any chocolate covered bananas today." He made her pinky swear and she narrowed her eyes at him.
They both got hot fudge sundaes and saw some picnic tables in the shade across the street in a little park. Wandering over, they chit chatted about the events of the day.
"So, what the hell are we going to do when we get to Quinter?" Mary asked as they sat on one of the benches.
"Shit, I don't know. I'm making this up as I go."
"Seriously? You don't have a plan?" she was looking at him incredulously, "Marshall, you have a plan for everything. I was expecting timelines down to the minute here. Mr. Spontaneous you are not."
"It's all been thrown at us pretty fast, I think you would agree. I'm still in reaction mode." He was trying to defend himself.
"I'll give you that, but I've seen you foil a bank heist with a security guard, two meter maids and a nerf gun in under thirty minutes. Surely we have a little more to work with here?"
He had to chuckle at that memory…good times. He looked over to see her sundae half gone and protested, "Hey…you have to share some of that with me."
"Fine." She relented with an eye roll. Taking a spoonful, she held it out and he ate it. Watching him take the ice cream off the spoon, Mary felt the temperature in her little universe rise about ten degrees. There was something oddly intimate about feeding him. Looking up, she met his eyes as realized he was probably thinking along the same lines.
"I can be spontaneous." he said softly.
"Really? I don't believe it."
He took his finger and dipped it in her sundae and put a drop of melted ice cream on the hollow of her neck. She sucked in a breath.
"You had no idea I was going to do that." he teased, licking the rest of the ice cream off his finger.
"Still not impressed or convinced" she teased back.
His eyes had become darker and he shifted to sit right next to her. Leaning forward, he bent his head to her neck and licked the drop off. Mary's hormones clapped in glee as they ran amok.
"Okay…I'm convinced, but you'll have to do better to impress me." She murmured.
Taking the bowl from her, he dipped his finger in again and put a drop on the swell of her breast just above the edge of her t-shirt. Her breathing increased and she caught his hand as he pulled it away, bringing it up to slowly draw his finger into her mouth and suck the ice cream off. She watched his face change to reflect his growing desire and smiled.
"Didn't know I was going to do that…did you?"
His answer was to lean in a capture her lips with a teasing kiss that made her tingle in all the right places, catching her lower lip with his teeth as he drew back. His jeans were too tight and he wanted to throw her down right here in this little park and have his way with her. Feeling her tongue swirl around his finger sent his brain to wonder what else it could swirl around.
He placed one hand behind her shoulder and drew her towards him as he licked the drop of ice cream off the top of her breast and she hissed in a slow breath at the trail of heat left behind. Marshall watched as his action caused her nipples to harden and let out a soft "oooh" of want. Another dip into the ice cream and he dripped a portion into the valley between her breasts, making her jump slightly at the coldness.
Having him watch her body react only fueled her own need and she encouraged him, "Aren't you going to get that?"
Suddenly, he reached over and drug her into his lap to straddle him and she gasped. He was so hard against her and she shifted to settle onto him, causing him to moan and squeeze her hips. Meeting her eyes again, his hands slid up her sides until both thumbs rested on the undersides of her breasts and was rewarded with her lips parting and her eyes flashing. He dipped his head and slowly licked the ice cream from between her breasts as his thumbs then moved to caress her nipples through her shirt.
"I need to take this man home with me." She thought desperately as her body urged her to shift her hips over him again as she arched her back slightly. "Marshall…we're out in broad daylight." she whispered, slightly concerned they were giving Salina, KS a very improper show.
"There's no one over here…I looked." He growled against her breast as he continued to nuzzle and lick along the edge of her t-shirt while his thumbs continued to circle. He moved his mouth over one nipple and exhaled to heat it through the shirt and she looked down at him quickly with anticipation. Smiling up at her, he slowly slid the material of her shirt and bra aside until he uncovered her. She was watching his hands and made a little moaning sound with his actions.
His eyes traveled back to her bare breast and he sighed, "Oh my God, you're exquisite." Tracing his fingers over her slowly, he took in the feel of her beneath his hands as she writhed slightly on his lap. Knowing what she wanted, he lowered his mouth and teasingly traced her nipple with his tongue. The taste of her inflamed him and his other hand traveled to her lower back to pull her against him snugly.
She tangled her hands in his hair and urged his mouth closer with little pleas. He teased her mercilessly for a few moments more but couldn't resist her sounds and finally opened his mouth to suckle her. Her body arched into him as she squirmed on his lap and he almost came undone. His tongue circled and lapped at her nipple as he jerked his hips against her.
"Ah, God…Marshall…slow down. I'm too worked up…you're going to kill me." she panted.
Her words penetrated his brain and he remembered where they were. Licking her slowly a few more times, he reluctantly covered her back up and ran his hands up her chest to cup her head. She was flushed and beautiful on his lap and he drew her down to him to kiss her slowly and deeply.
She fell into his kiss and allowed the sensations of his lips and tongue to pleasurably course through her, moaning as she ran her fingers through his hair. This man kissed her like no other man ever did…like she was the most desirable woman on the planet.
He decided his could live the rest of his life just kissing this woman on his lap and feel complete. Every molecule in his body was melting and he was happy to become a puddle. Her lips were intoxicating and when she moaned his gut clenched.
Suddenly, they heard children crossing the street to enter the park and one said, "Are those people kissing? Ewww!"
Laughing and embarrassed, the pair drew apart and Marshall made a face and said, "Ewww…kissing."
Mary giggled and agreed, "Gross."
She scooted back a bit on his lap and he ran his hands down her arms to lightly grasp her wrists. "I don't know what we're doing, Mare, but I like it."
She raised one hand to brush the hair off his forehead and said, "I think we're filling in gaps."
"What do you mean?"
She was remembering her dream with her father, "I think we've both been trying to find something, or someone, to fill gaps where things are missing. The problem is, we've been using the wrong stuff and it doesn't stick."
"Washes out."
"Yeah…or crumbles, and the gap is still there." She took a deep breath and plowed foreward, "I've figured out that you're made of the right stuff Marshall Mann. I'm kind of hoping you stick."
Her words filled him with hope and he smiled, "I'm kind of hoping you stick too Mary Shannon."
He stood and slid her off his lap, laced his fingers through hers and walked back to the truck while telling her the story of how he washed his own mouth out with soap when a girl kissed him on the playground in fourth grade.
*** oooo...that's a toe curler! Stay tuned for more gunplay and foreplay! Reviews!!! ***