Chapter 11

Michael and Fiona met Sam at Carlito's. He arrived alone, which surprised Michael a little. Over the past few weeks, Sam had been spending a lot of time with Gina, and she'd helped them on a couple of cases. He was getting used to her being an extension of Sam. "Where's Gina," Michael asked before even saying hello.

"Gee, that's a new one, my girlfriend rates higher than me." The corner of Sam's mouth tipped up. "Hey, Fi."

"Hi, Sam." She greeted him with a smile and asked, "Where is Gina? I was beginning to think you two were joined at the hip!"

"I wish I knew." He sighed and lowered himself into a chair opposite his friends. "She left four days ago on a mission for the Feds. She couldn't tell me where, or when she'd be back." He shook his head, disbelief on his face. "You know, it's always been the other way around, leaving the lady behind while I do my work. Now it's my turn, and I don't like it."

"The hazards of being in love with a spy," Fiona said as she sipped on her drink and gave Michael a meaningful glance.

Sam realized that Fiona usually ordered a Bloody Mary, but today she had iced tea. As he studied her, he noticed that she seemed to be in an extraordinarily good mood. "Fi, there's something different about you. What is it?"

Her eyes slid downward toward the stroller and back up to his.

He smiled. "Fi, are you..." He made a motion outlining a baby bump.

Fiona's smile widened. "Yes."

"Congratulations!" Then his look sobered. "Hey, are you going to be able to handle two?"

"I feel pretty confident that I can. Of course, it'll change things... like how much I can assist with jobs." A slight frown marred her face, but she quickly replaced it with a thin smile. "I don't think Michael's quite gotten used to it yet, but maybe if you two go shopping at the Baby Mart again, it might jog something in him."

Sam held up a hand, shook his head, and laughed. "No way, Fi. Once... twice... was enough for me!"

"Twice?" Michael asked.

"Gina dragged me there to get all that stuff for Amani when he first arrived. You think I'd be caught dead in that place by myself?"

"I guess we can't count on you to help with babysitting, then," Michael said dryly.

"Okay, now that I wouldn't mind, but if it's for Amani and your kid, I think Gina and I would have to do a tag team on that one. I've got a feeling that little Mikey or Fiona will be a little hellion." He smirked. "So, anyway, what's the job? I figured you guys had something, that's why you called."

"Not really," Michael answered. "It was more of an informational meeting. You know, to tell you about Fi's pregnancy, and that we're in the process of adopting Amani... and I've decided that once Amani is ours and the baby is born, things are going to change, and not just for Fi."

"What do you mean?"

Michael wore a serious expression as he answered, "I can't keep doing the CIA missions, not if I want to be a father to my kids. And you know I won't be able to sit still for desk duty." He paused. "Pearce offered me a job as a trainer. I haven't made up my mind yet if I'll take it."

"So you're planning on working civilian cases from now on if you quit the agency?"

"Well, I'll still maintain my relationship with the CIA to tie up a few loose ends before the baby is born. After that, I have to decide if I want the job or not. If not, yes, we'll continue to work together. We might just have to rely on Gina more to do what Fi does now."

"Except I don't think Gina is quite the explosives expert that Fi is."

"Nobody is," Fi broke in.

"That's true! Wow." Sam let out a deep breath and took a drag on his beer. "That's gotta be tough. You worked so hard to get back in, and now you want back out?"

"I know, but things change." He turned his head to look at Fiona, put an arm around her and said, "Life changes things." He returned his attention to Sam. "It'll be fine."

"Good for you, Mike. About time you got some sense." Sam heard heels clicking on the pavement, saw Fiona look up at whoever was approaching, and he turned. Immediately, he broke out a smile and stood to meet her. "Gina, baby! You're home!" Their lips met, and he enveloped her in his arms.

She kissed him as her arms slipped around his back. "I missed you, hon."

"I missed you too."

"I could tell." The warmth of her smile threatened to burn him up it was so hot.

But Sam restrained himself. The couple broke apart and he pulled out a chair for her. She sat, and he returned to his seat, raised his hand, and ordered for her. "One mojito."

She smiled at him and laid her hand on his hand on the table. "It's good to see everyone again." Her smile faded a little as she added, "I can't tell you what happened, of course, but I can say that our mission didn't go off as we planned. I had to spend the entire morning in debrief trying to explain why a situation was out of my control." Gina paused and swept back a lock of hair. "I was so glad to get out of there."

"Do you have some time off now," Sam asked.

"Until my next assignment is ready, yes." She glanced sideways at him. "Why? What did you have in mind?"

"That case we worked on while Mike and Fi were on their honeymoon..." He met her eyes, and hers widened as she leaned forward. "It looks like it wasn't as finished as we thought. Nancy Bradley called me this morning and said that Jeremy was at it again. She called me from the hospital."

"Oh, dear God, what happened?"

By now, Michael and Fiona were completely tuned in to what Sam had to say. They both saw the naked concern in Gina' eyes for the client and how she focused intently on Sam. This job, whatever it was, clearly affected her.

He squeezed her hand. "She's okay, Gi. It was just a car accident. Some guy went over the line and hit her head on, but she was wearing her seatbelt and she just got a few scrapes from the airbag." He sighed heavily. "But she thinks that Jeremy had something to do with the accident." As he spoke the word, he made quotation marks in the air.

"Sam, you'll have to excuse us," Fiona said. "We're kind of in the dark here about what is going on."

"Okay," Sam answered as he rested his elbows on the table. "Quick recap. We were hired by Nancy Bradley to discover who was harassing her. She and her husband are going through a nasty divorce, and someone was calling her at all hours, leaving things on her door step, basically making threats. Naturally, it wasn't the ex doing it, but we found the person he hired to do his dirty work."

"That's why it was a pretty slam dunk case," Gina added. "The guy thought he was clever with masking the source of the harassment, but we managed to figure it out pretty quick." She turned to Sam. "So he's trying again?"

"This time it sounds more serious, like maybe Jeremy is thinking he'll just get her out of the way and be done with it."

Michael said matter-of-factly, "Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens sometimes, especially if there's a lot of money involved."

Nodding in agreement, Sam continued. "The accident happened out on Alligator Alley while she and her sister were coming back to Miami from visiting friends on the gulf. If their vehicle had gone off the road..." He couldn't finish verbalizing the thought. "This time we've got to catch him with the hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. Nabbing the errand boy isn't enough."

"You need someone he doesn't know," Micheal said, already anticipating the next words out of his friend's mouth.

"Yeah, and I think I know who he's going to hire next to escalate the mayhem." Sam looked straight at Michael. "Or we fight fire with fire. Either way, I know we can count on you two to help. Am I right?"

Fiona narrowed her eyes. "A scumbag terrorizing his wife? You bet I'm in. Michael?"

Michael nodded. "Sam, can you arrange a meeting with Mrs. Bradley?"

"Sure can, Mikey." He stood, put on his sunglasses, and took Gina's hand as she joined him. "I'll let you know when we get a time and place." He looked down at Fiona and said, "Again, congrats, Fi."

"Wait just a second, Sam! You're not going to just leave me hanging like that." She pulled her hand out of his grip, turned back to the table and asked, "Fiona! What's up?"

She smiled at Gina. "As far as I can tell I'm due in about eight months."

Gina gasped and a look of joy crossed her face. "Congratulations! I know after our talk a few weeks ago, you were hoping for this. I'm glad you didn't have to wait long."

"Thank you, Gina." Fiona wore a grin as she watched the couple walk down the street toward the parking lot where Sam left his car. "They are so cute together," she said finally.

"Hm, I wonder what Sam would think of that estimation."

"I don't care. I guess seeing Sam truly in love with a woman makes the difference. And I can tell she adores him." She sipped on her iced tea, which had watered down while they talked. She made a face as she stared into the mouth of her glass. "I just think she's trying too hard."

"What do you mean?" Michael raised his hand to get the server's attention. "Another round here."

"What I mean is, it's like she wants us to like her but she's afraid we won't, so she's... I don't know how to explain it. You men just don't see things like that."

"Maybe once we get working on this case together, she'll loosen up and just be herself."

"I hope so. Otherwise, Gina and I might have to have a little chat."

Because of the danger involved, Sam and Gina went to Nancy Bradley's house to pick her up. Sam parked the car in back, where the wide drive curved around the house, partially blocking it from the street, with the back of the car obscured. He and Gina went to the back door, knocked three times, and Nancy appeared with a large suitcase.

"Are you ready to go," Sam asked.

She nodded and handed him the case. Then she slipped past Gina and into the back seat of the car. "Do you really think this is going to work?"

"It'll at least get you to the meet with our friends. After that, we'll have to see what kind of plan we come up with. I think it's pretty safe to say, though, that you won't be back here for a little while," Sam replied. "Hey, Gi, where's that blanket?"

"It's right here," Gina replied as she handed it to Sam. "I put the suitcase into the trunk, and the house is locked up." She stood with her hand on her hip studying the house. "Sam, what if he comes around and sees that Nancy's not here? Do you think he'll figure out that we've got her in the back seat?"

"Hopefully we'll be long gone before he figures it out. When I pulled in I saw that him sitting in his car right across the street. He doesn't even pretend anymore."

"I stayed away from the windows, just like you said." Nancy's voice shook slightly with fear.

"You did good. Now, cover up and we'll be out of here."

Nancy did as Sam told her, and he got into the driver's seat. Gina closed the back car door, got into the passenger side, and Sam followed the drive back to the street. Jeremy sat in his car, but he leaned down when Sam's eyes roved over to the vehicle. He turned right, and in the rearview mirror, Sam saw the man sit up straight again.

"So far so good, he's not following us." Gina looked in the vanity mirror on the sun visor as she touched up her lipstick.

"Keep an eye on him and look for anyone else who might be following. Nancy, stay down until we get to Mike and Fi's place." He tapped his earpiece. "Call Mike."

"Yeah, Sam."

"We have Nancy, and we're on the way. Our ETA is ten minutes."

"Great. We'll be ready."

When they arrived, Sam noted that Michael parked the Charger on the street and left the courtyard open so he could park inside. Both Michael and Fiona stood beside the gates and closed them as the car cleared, then locked them from the inside. He turned off the engine and spoke over his shoulder. "You can get up now, Nancy. You're safe here."

Carefully, slowly, she pulled the thin blanket off of herself and sat up. Her hair was messed up a little from the covering, and she tried straightening it with her hand. As she did so, she got a good look at her place of refuge. To the left stood a two story warehouse with rusted metal walls and an equally rusty staircase. The courtyard held a workbench, tools, a shed, and other items. She wrinkled her nose.

"This is the safe house?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, it doesn't look like much, but I guarantee this is the last place Jeremy would expect to find you. I just have to warn you, it gets a little loud sometimes at night with the club downstairs."

"I suppose I don't have much choice right now, do I?" Sam opened the back door and let her out, while Gina came around to meet them. "Mike, Fi, this is Nancy Bradley. Nancy, this is Michael and Fiona Westen. They're my friends, and we're all going to help you with this... problem... once and for all."

Nancy shook their hands. "Nice to meet you. Sam says that you have a background with some government agency."

"Yeah, I've done some covert stuff," Michael answered coyly. "We've all had a bit of experience in this sort of thing. Let's get you upstairs and settled in, and then we can talk about what's been going on."

"Okay. Thanks."

Michael and Fiona led the way, and as they climbed the stairs, Fiona glanced back now and then at the street when she was able to see it over the fence. "It's clear, Michael."

"Good. I hate when our safe house gets found."

"We set up a nice little place for you while you're here." Fiona showed Nancy to a makeshift bedroom created by several sets of room dividers. Inside, the bed that Michael used when he was single lay in the middle of the room. After Fiona had moved her things back into the loft, they used her bed, which sat off to the side in the open concept living area. Nancy looked around at the meager furnishings in the room set up for her.

"Fiona, is there a place to put my things?"

"You might want to just live out of the suitcase, on the off chance that we have to move you in a hurry. It'll prevent a delay in getting you out."

Nancy agreed with a nod. "That makes sense."

Fiona smiled at her. "You look a little tired."

"Overwhelmed is more like it. I never knew when Jeremy would harass me. I haven't been able to work, or sleep."

"Come out here for a little while." Fiona's smile widened. "After you tell us what's been going on, you can take a little nap, and we'll come up with a plan."

"Is it really that easy?"

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Fiona gave her a reassuring smile and led her into the open area that served as their meeting area and living quarters. "While you're here, make yourself at home. There's plenty to eat and drink in the fridge, or I can make some coffee."

"Thanks, but I'll take something from the fridge." She took in the entire place as she moved across the room to sit at the bar next to Gina.

Michael and Sam stood on the kitchen side of the bar, and Fiona gently pushed Michael out of the way with her hip as she reached for the refrigerator door. "What would you like, Nancy?"

"Whatever you've got." Her attention was riveted on Michael, Sam, and Gina as they pored over some of the notes that were left when Gina and Sam helped her. "I have some more," she said, and she laid a short stack on the surface. "I think it's pretty clear from those why I had to call you again."

Sam met her gaze. "It's okay. We hoped that getting Jeremy's fall guy busted would make him cool it, but apparently he's not that smart."

"This guy's got a lot of rage," Gina remarked as she dropped one sheet on the bar. "Can you tell us what happened? Has he always been possessive, or does he have a lot of stress at work?"

"I don't know. He never used to be like this, and then a couple of years ago he thought I was having an affair. I did everything I could to convince him otherwise, but it was like the cork came out and he just got more wary and more angry. I couldn't take it anymore, so I filed for divorce."

"I think we should look into his business, see what's going on inside. Maybe we can use that to figure out a way to use it against him." Michael said. "Then either he snaps and does something that'll put him away for awhile, or he gets the idea and backs off permanently."

"As much as I hate what he's doing to me, I don't want him dead," Nancy said with eyes full of fear.

"No need to be killing anybody," Sam said. "We're just going to make trying to kill you a lot less appealing." He shuffled through the pages. "Mike, you think we can have Jesse do some intel gathering on his company? The guy's seen me and Gina, so neither of us could do any snooping, although I can try to get something online."

"Yes, you do that, Sam. I'll contact Jesse and see what he can find out. After that, we'll decide how we want to approach this."

"I hope we can do a turnabout strategy," Gina said with a hint of a smile. "Those are always fun, and usually nobody gets hurt."

"Usually?" Nancy swallowed.

Gina looked at her. "At least, nobody who matters. Whatever we do, we'll keep you safe, Nancy. That's a guarantee."

Once they were able to ease her mind, Nancy went to her makeshift room to take a nap. Fiona and Gina worked on making some lunch, and Michael and Sam retreated to the balcony. Michael read the notes and the diary that Nancy was smart enough to create that outlined every phone call, late night visit, and note. Sam booted up his computer and started searching for something to use against Jeremy Bradley.

While he waited for it to come up, Sam spoke. "Mike, you said Pearce offered you a training position. What would happen if you took it?"

"I'd train new agents. Nothing really special about it." He stopped reading and looked up. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if you did decide to take it, you'd have to move wouldn't you? I don't think they have any spy training facilities here in Miami." Sam's eyes bored into Michael's. He knew the truth, and as much as he loved Michael like a brother, if circumstances took him elsewhere, their friendship would still endure. It would just mean that they could no longer work together.

"We'd probably have to move to Virginia," Michael admitted softly.

Sam could see that Michael didn't like that idea any more than he did. "Something to consider then." A half-hearted smile crossed his face. "At least you can finally get away from your mom, huh?" He let out a weak chuckle.

Michael gave him a thin smile. "Funny, I'm not so keen on that. My being here has changed her."

"I know. She's stronger, and she's been one heck of an asset. These days, she doesn't complain about every little symptom she has." Sam paused. "She just needed to know that someone cared about her."

"You're right, Sam." He looked away and focused on something far across the river. "I'm... I'm a little afraid that if Fi and I have to move, especially with grandkids in tow, it'll set her back. And as much as I hate her hovering and nagging sometimes, I love her too much to see that happen."

Sam shrugged. "Well then, it's easy. Turn down the job. If you've got so much more at stake if you left, it's not worth it. Besides, there are a lot of people in this town who need us."

Michael nodded and grinned. "I'll think about it, Sam."

"You do that, brother, because it used to be just about you, but not anymore."