Ok, this was a little bit quicker. Please review. I want to hear what you think! Also thanks for reading! Lillybeth1026

Tiffany and Julie drove up to the Bartone hacienda outside of Mazatlan in silence, both staring at the expansive grounds and noticing the armed guards by the gate and on the roof of the hacienda. As usual Julie was in a hurry, "Alright here we go." She said as she quickly got out of the car.

Tiffany was a little bit more apprehensive and was still trying to think through their best approach. She and Julie had talked to Sabrina, Jill and Kris last night. Julie turned around and gave Tiffany an impatient "come on let's get moving" look and Tiffany gave herself a mental shake, as she got out of the car. Tiffany headed up to the front door walking fast to catch up with Julie she said a silent prayer that everything would work out. Before Tiffany had time to catch her breath and knock, the door opened to reveal a little woman in a servant's uniform. The woman smiled and motioned them in, out of the heat through an inner courtyard into a gorgeous study with rich mahogany wood and leather upholstery. Tiffany accustomed to wealth recognized the artwork around the room as very tasteful and expensive. Julie was just in a hurry to get the show on the road, she always felt rooms like this were meant to intimidate the visitor and she had no intention of being intimidated by a bunch of fancy artwork, she nonchalantly started pacing the room. Tiffany moved over to inspect a sculpture on the desk. It only took a few minutes before the servant was back with a tray of mimosas. As Tiffany and Julie graciously accepted their drinks they heard a commotion and turned toward the heavy wood door to the study just as Mr. Bartone walked into the room talking to a man in Spanish. Julie noted he was extremely smooth and very good looking as he dismissed the man and approached them, kissing each woman's hand as he introduced himself.

"I must say, I don't particularly like Mr. Townsend, but I do admire his taste in woman. The ones I have met so far are both beautiful and intelligent."

Tiffany smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Bartone. Our associate said you were very charismatic and I can see she was not exaggerating."

"And which associate would that be Ms. Wells?" Bartone replied with a smile as he picked up a champagne flute. "As I recall I have met 3 of them."

"That would have been Kelly, Mrs. Haynesworth. Actually Senator Haynesworth, now." Tiffany supplied watching him closely for a reaction, she was satisfied when she noticed how his face froze for a moment, and saw the anger in his eyes, but he quickly recovered and turned to her with a smile.

"Ah, Yes, a very beautiful woman. Too bad the inside does not match the outside. As I recall very ruthless."

"Kelly, is not ruthless, she is the most caring person I know." Julie said heatedly, wanting the wipe the smirk off his face.

"Well, what else do you call a woman that seduces a man, tricks him into getting on a plane and then holds a gun on him so he can be unfairly arrested." Bartone finished with a smooth and satisfied smile, knowing he had hit Julie's buttons.

Tiffany placed a warning hand on Julie and met his eyes, "Now Mr. Bartone, I thought you of all people, would enjoy the mental sparring involved in the high stake game you play. You aren't upset that you were outmaneuvered by a woman are you?" Tiffany finished with a slight challenge.

"You are very perceptive Ms. Wells, yes Kelly did get the best of me in that round, but the game as you say is not over, yet." Bartone finished with a challenge of his own.

"No, it isn't. That is why we are here. What do you know about Senator Carl Haynesworth's assassination?"

"As a lowly businessman in Mazatlan how would I know anything about the assassination of a US Senator?"

"What do you know about Pablo Donatelli?" Julie questioned brusquely, feeling left out of the conversation.

Bartone looked at Tiffany when he answered Julie, "He was in the same detention facility I was in during that unfortunate time I was unfairly incarcerated."

Julie became more aggravated that Bartone was ignoring her and moved into his line of sight, "Have you been in contact with him recently?"

Bartone slowly moved to his desk to sit down. "Yes, I talked to him a few days ago. He was quite happy about the Senator's death. As I am sure you know the Senator was responsible, along with your associates for the death of his father and the incarceration of a close family friend and Pablo himself. So I can see where the news would be satisfying. I believe he was even at the hotel that night."

"Yes, he was. Do you know if he planned it?" Julie said. Julie glanced at Tiffany who was seemingly involved in looking around the library.

"Unfortunately he was a very troubled young man, your associate Sabrina Duncan, did some severe damage to him in Colorado. He blamed himself for his father's death. I tried to help the young man, make him understand that he had been deceived by professionals and should not be so hard on himself. But what can you do sometimes; the young can be so impulsive. I tried to talk him out of it." Bartone finished with a shrug of his shoulders as he lit a cigar and set back in his chair.

Julie looked at him, a mixture of disbelief and anger on her face, not sure whether to first defend Sabrina or making sure she understood him correctly – Pablo had killed Carl. She looked at Tiffany, who had finally settled on chair near the desk, and was looking just as surprised. "Are you telling me you know Pablo killed Carl?"

Bartone slowly looked at Julie with an insincere smile, "I hate to speak ill of the dead, but yes, unfortunately I do think he killed the Senator. He had been practicing with some of my guards and they tell me he had become quite proficient with a rifle over the last few months. Of course, I can not be sure of anything once he left here."

Julie stormed around the room, sitting down in a chair opposite Bartone's desk, completely stunned and unsure of what to say next. She had expected him to take credit for the assassination or at least indirectly take some credit, but not to push the blame on to a dead man. Wait a minute the police have been keeping that a secret how does he know that Pablo is dead?

Tiffany had quietly been observing both parties and was a little disappointed with Julie's entirely emotional approach, but maybe that could work for her, make Bartone overly confident. Tiffany did have one question she wanted to see how he responded to, "How did you know Pablo was dead? That news has not been released to the general public yet."

Bartone seemed to be caught off guard for a moment, "He was in touch with some associates of mine in Los Angeles and when he did not contact them, they investigated and found out he had been killed by Kelly at her home. I'm not sure why he was there, but I would have thought with all of her security he could have been subdued with out killing the poor man. He only wanted answers. He never could understand why the Senator disliked his father so much."

Julie jumped up, "Kelly was almost killed by him, he was there to kill her."

Bartone had an amused look on his face, "Now I doubt that. He just wanted some answers."

Julie exploded, "Wanted answers!?! He almost killed her, she may never walk again and she lost the b..." Bartone looked at Julie sharply.

Tiffany quickly interrupted before Julie could say too much, "She has lost a lot, Mr. Bartone and we are concerned for her safety. Are you telling us that Pablo killed the Senator and that Kelly is safe now, and that you or one of your associates are not out to kill Kelly, Jill or Sabrina?"

Bartone looked at Julie for a minute hoping she would complete her sentence, but finally turned toward Tiffany, "No, I am not. I have a personal score to settle with Kelly and my associates also have scores to settle with Sabrina and Jill so no they are not safe. They must pay for their actions."

Julie looked incredously at him, "Their actions! Their actions to stop a drug dealer, protect a UN ambassador and a kidnapper! They deserve a medal, not to be on a hit list!"

"That depends on where you are sitting, Julie Rodgers. Kelly caused considerable damage to my reputation and to my family. I will not let that stand."

"But why wait? You have been out for several years now, why now?" Tiffany inquired.

Bartone shook his head, tired of the conversation and worried about the direction it was taking, "Ladies, I don't know if your associates have informed you but, we are granting a one month reprieve, until the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC next month. If Kelly gives up her seat and endorses our candidate, we will let the two of you, Kris and Mr. Bosley live, otherwise we will have to take a more drastic approach towards all of you." Bartone finished with a satisfied smile crossing his lips.

Julie, started toward him and Tiffany quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "And who exactly is we, Mr. Bartone?"

"That is for me to know and you to find out Ms. Wells. I would say our business is through here, so if you will excuse me." Bartone said as he turned his attention to some papers on his desk, effectively dismissing them.

Julie looked at him incredulously wanting to show him what she thought of his offer, she walked over to his desk and knocked the papers to the floor, "Don't think for a minute that you or you associates intimidate any of us for a minute, with your servants, and fancy house because at the end of the day you are just a drug dealer, prospering from the suffering of others. We will find out for certain who killed Carl and we will take care of anyone who threatens us. I hope you become personally involved so I can lock the cell on you. I for one am not going away, you just need to start looking over your shoulder Mr. Bartone because one day me or one of my friends will be there and we will take you down, for good this time." With that Julie turned around and stormed out the door.

Bartone looked toward the door Julie had just left and then to Tiffany, "Well, that was quite a show, very reckless and stupid. I would have expected a more worthy adversary from your agency."

"Julie might me a little rough around the edges, but she is a damn good investigator and an even better friend. And while I would not have said it the same way, make no mistake that I feel exactly the same way. Now you have a good day Mr. Bartone, you don't have many left." Tiffany said as she confidently handed him the papers she had gathered off the floor and then turned with a smile on her face and walked through the study doors and out to the car where a fuming Julie was waiting on her.

"What took you so long?" an impatient Julie asked Tiffany before she could even close the door. Before Tiffany could answer, "Can you believe that man? I can't believe him, to accuse Kelly and then Sabrina of seduction! Ohh and me, I can't believe I almost told him about the baby. Kelly would kill me, I was just so mad and I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face."

Tiffany had written an address on a pad in the car and was pulling away from the hacienda only partially listening to Julie. Julie finally noticed, "Hello! Are you listening to me? Say something."

Tiffany seems in deep thought when she realized Julie was talking to her, "Thanks for distracting him, which was exactly what I needed. There is a shipment of coffee being sent out today at 2. Special delivery to a Mr. Jamison in Los Angeles."

Julie looks incredulously at Tiffany, "What are you talking about? Who cares about coffee? Special delivery? Wait, where are you going with this?"

Tiffany looks patiently at Julie, "Don't you see, I bet that is a drug shipment. Why else would that be on his desk, marked special delivery. I just have a feeling this is where we need to go. We need to find this address." Tiffany gave the paper to Julie. "Get the map out and let's see where we are going."

Julie looks over at Tiffany starting to catch up. "How did you figure that out? You know it could be a trap."

"It could be but I bet it isn't. Bartone is too confident, too smug. I saw the paper after you knocked them out of his hand and he was talking about adding special protection to a shipment leaving today when he came into the study." Tiffany finished with a big smile. "Not too bad for an attorney. Guess I did pick up something from working for Charlie for that year."

"You get my vote for investigator of the year. I missed everything." Julie said feeling badly.

"Don't feel bad Julie, I could not have found all that out with you getting him upset and distracted."

"What ever you say." Julie said rolling her eyes, studying the map. "We need to go back to the main road and go north. Any idea what we are going to do when we find the shipment."

Tiffany grinned, "None, but I bet you can think of something by the time we get there." Julie looked at Tiffany in amazement pointing to herself. "I think that is only fair, I found the address." Julie nodded her head and smile, Tiffany had her on that one.

"Let's go get them." Julie grinned, "I'll think of something by the time we get there."

Tiffany nodded with a grin and hit the gas, this day was finally looking up.

Twenty four hours later Tiffany was following an 18 wheeler up the highway toward the US border. They had swapped out drivers twice so far and now Julie had fallen asleep about 2 hours ago. They had called Charlie from the car, to update him on how the meeting went and their current plan. They had also requested that Charlie have Bosley contact the hotel and have their clothes packed up and sent back to LA for them, since they were planning on following the truck into the US. They had followed Mex-15D along the Sea of Cortez and now they were on Mex-2, running parrellel to the US border. Tiffany was betting they would cross the border somewhere around Tijuana, Mexico, they had just stopped in Mexicali, Mexico and continued to head west on Mex-2. The truck had stopped twice on the trip north, but only for gas and food. Tiffany was tired and ready for a long hot bath and a good night sleep, but that would have to wait. Tiffany and Julie had discussed options for hours and they had finally settled on following the truck until it crossed the border and then waiting until they stopped and some how diverting the truck. Tiffany had revealed she knew how to drive an 18 wheeler and it had taken a good 20 minutes to convince Julie she wasn't kidding. Then only when Julie remembered Kris talking about learning to drive an 18 wheeler for a case they had worked. Suddenly the truck veered north, Tiffany slowed down and decided to make the block so it would not be so noticeable she was following them.

"Julie, hey Julie. Wake up."

"Huh, 5 more minutes." Julie mumbled as she tried to snuggle down in a blanket they had picked up at their first stop.

Tiffany grinned, "Wakie, Wakie. Something is up."

Julie continued to ignore her so Tiffany reached into her cup and pulled out a couple of almost melted cubes of ice and dropped them down the back of Julie's shirt.

"Oh, what is that?" Julie started twisting and turning trying to find the culprit until she shook the cubes out of her shirt, she looked over at Tiffany grumpily, "Alright you win I'm awake. What is so important?"

"Remember how we thought they were headed to Tijuana, well they just turned north and are now headed for Caliexico, CA.

Still a little foggy Julie looked at the road and then to Tiffany, "Why would they do that?"

"Maybe they have a connection that will help them get a cross the border."

"Maybe. I guess we'll see soon. That sign just said the border is 20 miles away. The traffic has really thinned out."

"I'm a little worried about getting spotted, but I don't want them to turn off somewhere on me either."

Julie nodded in agreement, "Let's call Charlie and let him know where we are just in case."

"Good idea. See if he knows anyone with the border patrol that could help us if we need it."

Julie called an updated Charlie who promised to have help waiting for them at the border if they needed.

Thirty minutes later they pulled up to the border crossing. Tiffany stayed several cars behind and moved into a different lane from the truck. After a few minutes both vehicles made it through the border check point and pulled into a convenience store a half mile up the road. Tiffany moved her car around to the back of the store and they took our their guns and picked up their purses.

Tiffany looked over at Julie, "You ready?"

Julie was looking a little worried, "Are you sure you can drive that thing?"

Tiffany grinned confidently, "Piece of cake."

Julie nodded, still not convince, "Well, let's get this over with."

They moved around the side of the building just as 2 of the guards went into the bathroom. Julie motioned to Tiffany to be quiet while she quickly went back behind the store, picked up an old piece of wood and quietly jammed it between the door knob and the ground. Julie gave Tiffany the thumbs up signal and they quickly moved single file to the front of the store. Tiffany spoted the driver in the store looking around, she motioned to Julie that she would take the driver, leaving the last guard for Julie to handle. Tiffany quickly walked in the store and flashed the young male clerk a smile as she passed him 2 $100 bills. "Honey, I need some help. My mean ex-husband has sent these bullies to take me back to him and I just need a few minutes head start so can you delay him for a few minutes?" Tiffany smiled her sweetest, most helpless smile as the clerk looked at her in disbelief. He smiled, took the money, "No problem, ma'am. How long you need?"

"Just 15 minutes and don't get hurt, these guys can get rough." Tiffany was belatedly have a twinge of conscience that the guy could get hurt.

The clerk pulled out a shotgun from under the counter, "I think I can handle him."

"One more thing there are 2 guys locked in your bathroom." With that Tiffany headed out the door.

Mean while Julie had hid her gun, unbuttoned her shirt to below her bra and walked to the back of the truck and called to the guard pumping the gas. "Excuse, sir, sir. Could you help me? Please?" She gave her best helpless female look as the guard started walking toward her. Julie let him get right beside her, so he was looking down her shirt instead of at her. Julie brought her knee up hard into his family jewels and brought her heel down into the side of his leg, as the guy doubled over, Julie jumped up using all her weight to come down on the back of his neck, knocking him to the ground. Julie smiled down, "Not too bad for a girl." She said as she stepped over the guard and headed toward the truck cab. Just as she started to move away the guard reached out and tripped her causing Julie to fall to the ground hard. Julie rolled over quickly seething. The guard still held on to her leg started to pull himself up. Julie quickly placed a well timed kick with her heel to the guard's nose causing blood to explode all over his face and he started screaming at Julie. Just then Julie heard the big 18 wheeler come to life and she knew she needed to move fast, she thought "I hope that's Tiffany in there" as she ran to the cab door and jumped in just as the truck pulled away from the store.

"What took you so long?" Tiffany said with a grinned that quickly faded as she saw all the blood. "Are you hurt?"

Julie held up her hand to give her a minutes, Tiffany took turns looking Julie over for any wounds and toward on coming traffic. Julie finally caught her breath, "Wow, that was a rush! No this is not my blood, I'm fine, just a few bruises from hitting the ground and wow, you really can drive an 18 wheeler."

Tiffany grinned, "It's the 19th wheel you have to worry about. Just wait until you see me back her in somewhere."

Julie looked over puzzled, "The 19th wheel?"

Tiffany started chuckling as she pointed to the steering wheel, "Kris was right."

Julie still looked a little puzzled, but she threw her hands in the air, "I'm impressed. Now let's get out of here."

Tiffany smiled, "10-4, we are out of here."