*** Long chapter with lots to do! Watch out for the zesty parts...definitely M rated :) Mary gets to be a little dark and dangerous...yay! ***
Thursday 5:45 pm
Mary considered Marshall's question thoroughly. If they were going to lure Fawler in, where would be the best place? "Martin's house." she said with a slow nod of her head. "He knows we don't have any surveillance there, he's familiar with the territory, and he'll be able to see me approach and not wonder if I've brought anyone with me."
"You can't possibly think you're going in there alone. The man already tried to kill you once…and was fairly effective with the prep work if you'll remember." Marshall was intense and his expression was stony. Her idea grated against every protective instinct he harbored for her. This was when it was difficult. When loving her fought with knowing who she was and who she had to be. Mary hurled herself into her destiny and he had to let her, but he'd make sure she knew he'd be there at the end to pick up the pieces. "I just wish the pieces didn't always need bandages." He sighed internally.
Stan agreed with him, "It's a good idea, but trying to work out the tactical details to sending you in alone is going to be a nightmare. The man is a trained agent and he'd kill you before any of us would even be able to get close." He was rubbing his head and pacing slowly, "I don't know, Mary…we may just have to hunker down and wait for the evidence trail to bulk up a bit. We can still move you for your safety."
"I already told you what I think about that, Stan." She dismissed that idea again. "The thing is, Martin was quirky…hell, he was paranoid. He never opened the door, he never answered the phone on the first set of rings, he always started his car remotely. I even had to say the "code word" every time I called him so he'd know it was me for sure. He was so paranoid that he built a 'panic room'…like in that movie. A secret room where he could barricade himself with no chance of outside entry if he felt threatened. Obviously, Fawler and his team managed to either surprise him or he was expecting them." She was watching the men listen to her narrative and looking for signs of comprehension. Marshall caught on first and his lips moved in a sly grin.
"I'm going to be in the panic room. Fawler doesn't know it's there so will never know I'm there." He was starting to like this crazy idea. "I just need to be in there before he starts scouting the place. Do you know where it is, Mare?"
"Oh yeah. He was quite proud of it and showed it to me when it was finished. It'll be perfect." She was excited to see Marshall start to plan with her. She didn't want to be fighting him on this. She knew his concern for her grew every hour, especially with the attempts on her life, and watching him control his emotions was draining her. She couldn't let this go…had to finish it. As she told the men a few days before, she wasn't going to run and she just wanted to be able to take a breath and regroup. She was tired of being tired.
Stan was nodding now…warming to the idea also. "So how do you want to play it? Remember, we don't actually have the information from those IP addresses…just the fact that that's what they are. You'll be working purely on supposition here and if calls your bluff…" he let that hang out there.
"I come from a family of criminals, Stan. Surely, it was only a matter of time before I went bad." She was teasing now and formulating a story as she related it, staring at the ceiling and spinning slowly in her chair, "It's all taken its toll and I'm tired of being the one doing all the work…putting the bad guys away and taking a beating…for nothing. I didn't sign up to be a target. Plus, now the FBI and Albuquerque PD want to pin Jansen's murder on me. They say it may not have been self defense, and that it's more likely I was a co-conspirator. My status with them is iffy anyway. I'll give him the IP addresses and the locations of the diamonds for a cut…and I'll disappear. I certainly know how to make someone disappear." She looked at the other people in the office with a predatory gleam in her eye, knowing the set up would be the most fun. Marshall smiled back at her in a way that sent shivers down her spine. He was as delightfully crazy as she was.
Eleanor dropped the hint in her contacts' ears that the FBI was going to try to fry Mary for collusion and the murder of Peter Jansen as Marshall updated Dershowitz and asked him to circulate the rumor. It had to be established before Mary talked to Fawler because they knew he'd have to believe her story. Mary wasn't worried about her reputation...it was probably better than what most people thought about her anyway. The geeks and freaks were utterly delighted to be invited to the party as they were sought out to find a bug for Mary that wouldn't be found in a search. As Fawler was quite experienced with surveillance equipment, they knew he would not only quickly search the house, but Mary as well.
Scott, or as Mary like to call him… "The Head Geek"…showed the team their nifty, new toy that they had developed for Vice. It was a 10mm wide x 5 cm long piece of tape with a highly sensitive listening chip embedded within its length. Flexible and sticky, it could be placed anywhere on the subjects body and did not come off with sweat or water exposure. Not taking the chance that Fawler wouldn't go overboard in his attempt to search her, she decided to wrap the bug around her ponytail holder. If she'd learned nothing else from her job in WITSEC, she'd learned that things in plain sight are easily overlooked. Both Marshall and Stan had a receiver and they'd have the whole conversation on tape. She just needed Fawler to implicate himself and they'd be done.
Thursday 7:20 pm
Within an hour and a half of devising the plan, she was home in her living room and calling Fawler. Marshall and Stan were sitting quietly, listening in on the speaker phone. They had been dropped off a few blocks over and took a back route into her place, just in case there were watchers reporting to Fawler. They wanted him to think she was home alone tonight. The tension was palpable and Mary's nerves were frayed. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "This is just like having fake phone sex to lure in suspects." she reassured herself, thinking of the times she had used her naughty girl persona in just that manner, "he's just another schmuck who needs to be taken down a few notches." She dialed the number.
Fawler answered in a sneering tone, "Mary Shannon…I was just thinking of you."
She smiled as she replied sweetly, "Really? Well, don't keep a girl waiting, what were you thinking about?"
"I'm just so sorry I missed you this afternoon. My intentions were to get to you exactly on time but your partner spoiled the party." he replied.
Mary saw Marshall's eyes narrow and decided she wasn't going to be able to look at him while she did this. She could read his feelings for her as they played out on his face and found herself reacting to what she saw. She shifted in her seat and stared at the picture on the wall instead. She had picked up a pen and was tilting and twirling it through her fingers and over her knuckles. It was a trick a boyfriend in college had taught her and was mindless enough to be automatic, yet tactile enough to keep from completely zoning out. Marshall knew it meant she wanted to only focus on the conversation, not on her surroundings or the people in it. He tried to remain still as to not distract her.
"Well, Tom," this time she used his correct name. She wanted him to start to think she was serious. "I'd like to schedule another party with you…this time just you and me. You see, I'm starting to think that information I told you about would be better shared between the two of us. People are starting to talk and the conversation is not to my liking."
Fawler chuckled with his reply, "Oh Mary, Mary, Mary. If you think I'm going to believe that you want to strike a deal with me, you must think I'm a very stupid man."
Mary was not discouraged, "I really don't give a flying rat's ass if you believe anything I say, Tom. All I can tell you are the facts. One: I have the information on the accounts you so desperately want, Two: I know those accounts contain the location of the diamonds missing from the shipments, Three: I know the feebs and the PD want to pin some of this on me, and Four: I have some extra special information about you that I'll gladly throw them to put them on your trail. Any of this sound…interesting?" Her face had changed now. Eyes flat and narrowed, she looked slightly feral…on the hunt. Waiting for her prey to get close enough to snag. Marshall felt his breathing match hers. Stan thanked the gods for the thousandth time that Mary was on his side.
There was silence on Fawler's end as he evaluated Mary's statement. He spoke suddenly, "I have other ways to find those accounts, Mary, and I highly doubt you have any information on me that I haven't found out about yet. You're right about one thing though, they do want to pin it on you. You'll be getting some visitors tomorrow and I hope you enjoy your time in jail. This has been entertaining, but I'm going to say good bye now."
Mary quickly interjected, "Oh…I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Fraast. And you'll be the one with visitors tomorrow." She hung up the phone.
Stan just about passed out, "What the hell did you do that for?! God, Mary…you have to work these people a little bit. You can't just give up at the first objection!"
Mary just smiled at him and watched Marshall wink at her. Her phone rang and she smiled wider.
"I'm not going to dither about this, Fawler. Your cover was so weak our idiot secretary was the one who figured you out." She was taunting him gently, "She told me and I was supposed to tell my partner and my boss but I just couldn't when I figured out I had everything I needed to end your career and put a needle in your arm. I'm giving you the chance to work a little something out with me. One chance. You want your diamonds and I want some compensation for once. I also want you off my back…seems simple." The pen twirled steadily as she was intent on her words.
They heard him take a deep breath. "You're a conniving little bitch, Shannon, but I have a really hard time believing you'd operate behind your team…especially your keeper. You can't tell me you'd pull the wool over his eyes."
Mary continued in her role, never breaking stride, "He doesn't know me as well as he thinks. None of them do, Tom. We share that. Maintaining the façade of loyalty and trust while trying to find a way to finally get what's due to us. He'll do what I tell him and he only knows what I want him to. It's time for me to stop carrying their loads. I didn't sign up to be their whipping girl or your target practice." She had interjected a sneer to her voice that was so sincere it nearly broke Marshall's heart. He had to remember she was acting, otherwise her words would tear him apart. She remained facing away from him and he was glad.
"Does he know how good you taste?" Fawlers statement was uttered crudely in an attempt to throw her off her game. Mary's only reaction was to drop the pen she was twirling and that simple action caused Marshall to growl low in his throat. "I think about that a lot, Mary."
She was flippant when she answered, but her hands were shaking now with anger, "Whatever gets you through the night, Fawler. You want to sit down with me or not. Ten seconds to decide and then this conversation is over and you go to jail without passing go." She waited.
Marshall had developed a new level of hatred for the man. The signs were subtle and there was no change to her voice or posture, but the loss of control of that pen and the tremors he could see in her hands signaled a reaction to Fawler's statement that hit hard. She had never been riled by a man's lewd suggestions or bothered by inappropriate advances and he knew there was more behind the question asked by the man on the phone than was obvious. She had left something out of her story, he was sure, and he wanted to know why. He felt hurt and angry by the omission.
"When and where?" the agent snapped, irritated that he was now put into this position of acquiescence.
She smiled slightly, having won. "I thought Martin's house would be best. No people, no wires…we can relive our time together. I'll be there in two hours." She hung up.
She turned to the two men and said, "Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly. Stan, I know you want to brief Bobby. Let me know what the plan is there. Marshall, we need to get you to Martin's well before that two hour mark approaches. I imagine he'll be there at least an hour before hand to assure himself it's not a set-up." The look on Marshall's face was confusing her. He looked irritated and angry and she wasn't sure why. She was excited about her accomplishment and thought he'd share in that.
Stan came over to put his hands on her shoulders, "Mary, you be careful. The man is a killer and an experienced agent and I can't stress that enough. Marshall will be there, but you'll be sitting right in front of the bastard. Watch yourself." She nodded and he headed to the back door. He called back "Marshall, keep her safe."
Mary turned to her partner and asked, "What's your problem? I know you're not one hundred percent thrilled about this, but you look pissed and I don't know why." She replayed the discussion and her brow furrowed, "Jesus, Marshall, you wouldn't think I actually meant those things I said? I can assure you, it was all bullshit!"
He looked hurt and said, "Your reaction to his question wasn't bullshit, Mare. What didn't you tell me about that night?"
Realization dawned and she understood his anger. He thought she had held back, kept him from knowing about something hurtful to her when she was supposed to be letting him in. Only this man would be wounded by not knowing about something that wounded her.
"There were gaps, Marshall…periods of time I still didn't remember even after Fawler's visit. He filled in a gap tonight, that's all. I didn't keep it from you because I didn't know about it. It surprised me and that's why reacted the way I did." Her eyes met his with a request for understanding and she got up to walk over to him. She crouched down and placed her hands on his knees. "I'm not keeping anything from you…I promised I wouldn't."
"Tell me about it." he softly requested, taking her right hand and left fingertips and gently massaging them.
She shrugged one shoulder, distracted by his large hand enveloping hers and the warmth of his fingers, "Not really much to tell. A lot of groping…juvenile, obnoxious shit," her face was scrunched up in disgust, "Like the doc said, no sex." She saw the flash of anger in his eyes, but was focused on what came after…understanding.
"You know this idea sucks, right?" he gently questioned her sanity yet again, but with amusement in his eyes.
"It's the best I've got," she tilted her head as she regarded him, "and I know you'll be there to save my sorry ass if it goes bad. I couldn't do this without you, Marshall."
He smiled at her, reveling in her uncharacteristic sentimentality. He gently pulled her into his lap and suggested, "After this project is put to bed, what say you and I go back to just hiding squirrely witnesses and shooting random people for a while?"
She draped her arms around his neck and settled into him, "That sounds like the best idea I've heard in a while. God…it would be nice to heal up beyond the scab stage before getting more wounds for once." She joked, but it had the undertone of weariness that wasn't lost on him.
He reached up to stroke her cheek and ran his thumb over her lower lip and she bent her head and took it into her mouth, suckling it and gazing at him. She saw his eyes dilate, heard his breath hitch and felt him respond to her through his jeans. She continued to swirl her tongue around his thumb suggestively, pulling it back into her mouth and offering him a low purr.
He was instantly infused with heat as she drew him into her mouth and his body responded so aggressively he grunted. He was trapped by her gaze and then had to watch her lips and tongue as she used them to illicit sensations he never expected. He wanted to touch her, but only had access to her back the way they were sitting and shifted in frustration and need.
She sensed his need to increase contact with her and grinned mischieviously, "Do you want to step into my parlor, Mr. Fly?" she huskily asked as she began to unbutton her blouse. His eyes were fixed on her fingers as they slowly revealed the skin underneath. "Oh yes…I would like that very much…" he whispered, "unless…of course…you're a spider who bites the head off her mate." Her bra clasped in front and she deftly undid it with one hand, moving her clothing to the sides and revealing her breasts. She saw him swallow and his eyes were alight.
He reached for her and she caught his hand again, this time drawing his index finger into her mouth slowly while he moaned. "I don't bite," she murmured, then lightly scraped her teeth along the length of his finger, "I only nibble." She placed his hand on her breast with a sigh of pleasure then tangled her fingers in his hair as he brought his mouth to her smooth skin. His tongue teased the nipple of one breast while his fingers gently pinched the other, and Mary's body reacted with pulses of pleasure that reached her core. "Oh my god, Marshall…more…please…." her words were uneven and full of desire and drove him to stand and slide her feet onto the floor. He moved his mouth to hers and cupped her buttocks, gently rocking her into him and growling, "Bedroom…now." She smiled and took his hand and led him into the back room.
She turned him and tripped him lightly so he ended up sitting on the edge of the bed and stepped back. Slowly she shrugged out of her undone blouse and bra, becoming more aroused as she watched him gaze lustfully at her and open his mouth to breathe faster. "Do you like to look at me?" she asked teasingly as she ran her hands over her breasts.
"Yes…" he whispered, aching for the feel of her.
She undid her pants and slid them off her legs then slowly stepped out of her panties and stood naked before him. She heard him sigh, "Oh god, Mary, you're so beautiful…" as she stepped towards him.
Marshall strained so hard against his jeans he thought he was going to go insane. The woman in front of him was merciless and he let her tease him to the point of madness because he couldn't stop looking at her…wanting her. She finally stood right in front him and he could smell her desire as she said, "Touch me."
He touched her everywhere and currents of pleasure ran through his body as she moaned and writhed and whimpered. She stopped him suddenly and was breathing heavily as she caught his hands with her uninjured one and said, "My turn." Placing his hands at his side with the unspoken command to keep them there, she turned her attention to his mouth as she undid his buckle and zipper on his jeans. Kissing him longingly, she parted his lips with her tongue as her hands released him to her touch. Her hands and tongue mimicked each other and soon Marshall was groaning and shifting his weight to work his pants further off his hips so she could reach more of him. She broke the kiss and saw that his eyes were black with desire and bent down to help him ease his jeans to his knees. Pushing him back down on the edge of the bed, she purred up to him, "No biting…just nibbles." then showed him how maddening those nibbles could be as she took him into her mouth.
He was dying…there was no other way to describe the white, liquid sensation of pure need and pleasure coursing through his veins as Mary's lips tasted him. He swore…and swore some more because he couldn't help himself. She was killing him and he wanted her to do it over and over again.
He had to have her and roughly reached down to lift her onto his lap, sliding into her swiftly…she gasped and threw her head back and he groaned. Their movements were fast and frenzied and she begged, ultimately climaxing together quickly as their desire had already reached a feverish level and shuddering in each others arms. He quickly decided that the biggest problem with making love sitting up was that complete lack of blood flow to your head afterwards. His vision faded and he rolled to his right side to lie down, taking her with him without landing her on her injured hip. She was limp and panting still and he had to smile in satisfaction. He felt somehow pleased that he was able to reduce this strong, fierce and stubborn woman to the breathless and trembling creature beside him. That she gave herself over utterly and completely to him and trusted him to protect her while she was vulnerable. "You're pretty proud of yourself, aren't you?" she murmured, chuckling as she gazed at him while catching her breath.
He smiled in amazement and shook his head as he brushed the hair back from her face and teased, "It's nice to know I can take you on a wild ride and watch you get blown away."
She smiled and raised one eyebrow and taunted him, "I was driving until you took me on that little detour." She rolled to her back and stretched, causing him to run his eyes down the length of her.
He placed his hand on her abdomen and absently traced the scar extending from her sternum to her pubic bone, knowing she had a matching one half that length on her back. He joked back, "It was a little place I'd been to before and knew you'd love it. Hope you don't mind."
"Please…detour anytime." she assured him. Marshall was the only person she had ever allowed to touch her scars. It soothed her somehow and she didn't understand it. She didn't understand most of what this man did to her and had quit trying to figure it out some time ago. She rolled to face him, her eyes now slightly sad as she said, "You have to go now. It's getting late and I have to get ready too." She moved quickly off the bed as he reached for her, not wanted to prolong the time she had to think about how much she wanted to stay lying there next to him.
He understood her need to disconnect, but the abruptness was disappointing nonetheless. He sat to finish undressing with plans for a quick shower and said, "You'll have to tell me how to get into the panic room and what I'll be looking at in there." Letting her have the timing of the situation under her control.
Mary went into the bathroom to quickly wash up and then began to dress in a simple pair of black jeans and black t-shirt for the meet. "The room is through the back of the linen closet across from the guest bathroom. The switch for the door is on the backside of the left end of the clothing rod as you face the back wall. You can disable that switch once you're in the room so no one can enter after you're in. There's a charged laptop in the room with a feed from a small "nanny cam" that gives you a limited view of the front room. I don't know if you'll be able to see Fawler and me, but I'll let you know where we are through the audio. Once he implicates himself, come on out and join the party." She grinned at him as she headed out the bedroom door to complete getting ready in the front room and let him have the bathroom for his shower.
He ran scenarios through his head as his showered, trying to think of every possibility that could occur. Unfortunately, the possibility of Mary being killed before he could reach her was real. "Get a grip, Marshall, that's always been a possibility in your line of work and you've never shied away from it before." he told himself firmly. He knew he trusted her…trusted her instincts and her skill…and he had to play his part perfectly in order for her to do her job. Their teamwork had always been impeccable and he set his mind to the task at hand in order to extend that streak.
By 8:15 he was ready to walk out the back door and make his way to the ride that would take him to Martin's neighborhood. He and Mary checked the reception to his transmitter from the wire in her hair band repeatedly until they were sure there would be no garbled signals or shorts. He double checked the layout of Martin's house with her and they talked about communicating dangerous situations or if she felt compromised. Finally, there was nothing left to say and he had to leave. He tangled both fists in her hair and kissed her ferociously, she responding in kind. As he pulled away he whispered, "Promise to stay safe." She nodded and replied, "If you promise to come home." He kissed her forehead in agreement as he ducked into the night.
Thursday, 9:20 pm
As Mary pulled up to Martin's house, she thought, "One week ago at this time this nightmare had begun. It's time to end it." She was determined to bring Fawler down tonight and fully immersed in her role. Thoughts of Marshall and her injuries were pushed to the very back of her mind and she was thinking cold and calculating thoughts. One of the perks of her job…and she thought it was a perk…was that in associating with criminals and learning their lifestyles, she could think like one. She could assume that self serving, arrogant and sadistic character they all shared. Make it work for her in a situation like this. Not a woman to follow the rules anyway, crossing into immoral territory was not as distasteful to her as it would be to others. She didn't like it…but she could do it convincingly.
Mary knew he would be waiting for her in the house. That's what she would've done in his place. He had likely searched the house and the grounds thoroughly, gathered any information concerning her story from his informants and would have a weapon at ready. She carried her sidearm and ankle piece as usual. He would be suspicious if she was unarmed. She had no way of knowing if Marshall was in place and could only rely on her gut to say he was. Stan and Bobby had parked around the corner a block away ten minutes earlier and let her know they were listening. There was nothing left to wait for and she turned off the engine and slid out, walking up to the house.
Her weapon was out and she gently pushed open the front door, slipping inside when she could fit. There was a faint rustle to her right and she drew on the figure materializing in the dim light. Fawler.
They stood there face to face with the other's weapon pointed at their heads, breathing heavily with fear. Both wanted to pull the trigger, both knew they couldn't yet.
"Put down your weapon!" Fawler snarled at her.
"Not a chance." She replied with venom, continuing to steadily keep him targeted. She had to keep the upper hand right off and knew he wouldn't pull the trigger. She was right.
He sneered, "Bitch." And reluctantly holstered his weapon. She did the same and turned her back on him to walk towards the dining area.
"Hold it," he stated as he followed her, "I need to make sure you aren't wearing a wire."
She turned back to him as if distracted and replied, "Of course. Have at it." and held her arms out to her side and assumed the wider stance of someone about to be searched.
Fawler was taken aback slightly. He had expected some protest, but Mary seemed almost nonchalant about the whole thing. "Well," he thought nastily, "let's see how she likes my search methods."
His hands searched everywhere and lingered entirely too long in some places. She stood completely still and watched him with narrowed eyes, controlling her breathing. Her insides curled with disgust as he felt along the underwire of her bra and she finally drolled, "Are you nearly done, Tom, I'm bored and you're slow and time is ticking away here."
It pissed him off and he slapped her across the face. She sucker punched him and he doubled over with a gasp as she grabbed a fistful of his hair and hissed in his ear. "You've got no cronies to save you or drugs to keep me off your ass tonight, you stain. You don't know what I'm capable of." Shoving him away from her she went over to stand near the dining room window and gazed out. The slap had hurt and she was pissed because the bruise to her face had just started to fade…now it would be ugly again.
Marshall had placed himself comfortably in the panic room about an hour before. There was a chair and a blanket, some snacks and bottled water and the laptop. He disabled the entry way, but Fawler had never discovered the switch or suspected there was another person already in Martin's house. He had a view of the front door, half the living room and most of the dining room from the "nanny cam" and watched Fawler stand to one side of the door to ambush Mary as she entered. It would've worried him except he knew she'd be expecting it. He was tense anyway as she whispered to him that she was coming in and his gut clenched as the two people in the house stood with murderous intentions and weapons drawn to each other's heads. Proud of her for dominating the first exchange, there was no rest for his anxiety as she submitted to Fawler's search. She never flinched as the bastard's hands touched and groped her, taking liberties Marshall swore to break limbs for. Even before they had been lovers, Marshall would've maimed a man who touched her that way. Now it was even harder to watch. He smiled as she insulted his efforts then nearly gave himself away when she was slapped. It wasn't a gentle tap, but a full blow and he was impressed at her ability to shake it off quickly and retaliate with a punch he could see her put her full weight behind. The words she hissed into Fawler's ear caused his grin to change to one of malice and anticipation. The woman was good, and he knew her well enough to know it wasn't all acting. He hoped the foreplay was out of the way and that the rest of the meet would be less eventful.
Fawler struggled to catch his breath and restore his dignity. He moved Mary into his crazy bitch category and decided this wasn't going to be a cake walk after all. "I could kill you right now" he stated with intent.
"You could've killed me five minutes ago too, but you didn't and you won't now." She turned to look at him while she spoke, arms crossed over her chest. "You want your diamonds and your freedom and I want my deal, so let's cut the foreplay and get down to business." She amused herself internally knowing Marshall would've referred to the previous actions the same way.
"Tell me what you want." He stated, not willing to give up any information himself yet.
She smiled at him tightly, "I want fifty percent of the profit from the diamond auction for two of the shipments up front. The third is entirely yours. It's simple, like I promised."
He looked at her in disbelief and huffed, "Simple?...you think that's simple? I don't have any diamonds and I don't have any money from an auction."
She knew he was trying to play dumb, keeping from saying anything incriminating in case this was a set-up. "I know how to hide people, Tom, so I know to hide myself. If I walk out this door without a deal set up I'll disappear. You'll never find me. But what will be found is an email to my partner telling him all about your ventures as CEO of New Central Trading Company…about your torture of Martin Swartz and my positive ID…your alter ego as Mr. Wohelm Fraast. Even if you can convince on or two people that none of it is true, my people will never believe it and they'll dig and dig until they've uprooted every lie you've ever told and every deed you've ever done." She let that hang in the air as she walked slowly over to the opposite of the window just to change her stance and move. "You really only have three choices: Shoot me right now and run like hell. Your career is over and you'll never rest…or you can shoot yourself. Saves me the trouble and I still walk out of here free and clear…or you can work with me and make a deal. That last choice is the only one that keeps that email from being sent and it's also the only one that gets your diamonds back." Her stomach was churning as she delivered the speech.
Marshall sat back with a smile. The bravado was out and waving like a banner in a breeze.
Fawler was not going to go easily. He wasn't used to being outfoxed, outwitted or put into a defensive position and it stuck in his craw. The woman was certifiable and he no longer thought she was setting him up. Her words dripped venom and he knew her reputation for being impulsive and rash. He also couldn't chance the real possibility of an email with that information in it. He decided to revise his options and play along for a while.
"Tell me about the accounts." he submitted.
She wanted to dance. "They're IP addresses. Each one corresponds to a file displaying the location of the stolen diamonds. Tell me about how the auction is payed."
He warily replied, thinking up a strategy, "The buyers login and only communicate with a series of numbers. This allows the bidding information to be anonymous and not tracked easily by legal agencies. I now understand the highest bidder receives the IP address and can view the file and retrieve their goods."
"Hmm. Interesting." She replied to his description. "I still don't understand why Martin was keeping those IPs a secret. He sure pulled the wool over your eyes." She chuckled to add sting to the statement.
"Martin was an idiot. He thought he'd sell those addresses to the South Africans. Apparently, he still maintained a connection even after disappearing to Alburquerque. He was tougher than I thought, even with you as a lamb." Fawler was irritated.
Mary had a thought and voiced it, "You know, Tom, torturing me probably worked against you with Martin. He likely would've sang for you pretty quickly if I hadn't been there…he wasn't a particularly brave man. He once told me that when he watched me do something it gave him confidence to do it himself. Too bad for you that he watched me outlast your efforts." She was saddened again by the loss of her witness.
She refocused on Fawler and reeled in the deal, "So all that's left is for you to tell me where and when I can collect my share, and I'll give you those addresses. Oh…and I'll delete that file from my computer tomorrow before I leave. She had pushed away from the window sill and stood facing him near the door.
He moved to stand in front of the bookshelves about four feet in front of her. His plan was in place and he just had to draw her in. "You can use my cell phone number as a combination to a large locker facility next to the New Central Trading Company building in San Diego. Locker 511. The money is already there and I'll tell my people to just leave your share, I just need the diamonds to deliver." He held out his hand as he saw her pull a slip of paper from her pocket.
She knew if he took the paper the deal was done, and handed it to him. He lunged, grabbed her wrist and pulled the taser from behind the books on the shelves. She used his momentum against him and let him pull her into him to knock him off balance and he wasn't able to fully utilize the weapon. The contacts slid off of her arm as he fired and she lost feeling to her left arm while he was jolted by the same shock since she still was in contact with his body. They went to the floor and she yelled, "Marshall!" as she landed on top of Fawler. Rolling swiftly to her side, she reached for her weapon as Fawler triggered the taser again and the shock hit her lower back. She lay there stunned and unable to move as the agent fumbled at his gun and pointed it at the back of her head unsteadily. Mary closed her eyes and silently apologized to Marshall. The shot was loud in the small house and she waited to feel pain.
Marshall hadn't like the stance of the FBI agent as he moved to stand in front of the bookshelves and left the panic room at that time. As he moved silently down the hallway the scuffle ensued and Mary shouted his name. Clearing the doorway, he saw Fawler slowly raise his weapon to aim at his still partner and he fired instinctively and accurately. One shot was all he needed and Tom Fawler now only needed an alias to place on his tombstone. He moved swiftly to Mary's side as the front door flew open allowing entry for Dershowitz and Stan.
Bobby assessed the scene quickly and said, "Is she o.k?" as he watched Marshall reach his partner on the ground. Stan was calling the incident in and requesting an ambulance.
Marshall's pulse was pounding, but he was sure there had been no other shot and replied, "I think so…just tased." As he kneeled down to look at her she slowly opened her eyes and he saw relief and surprise.
"Not…dead." She managed to croak out as the rewiring of her body's circuitry by the shock made it difficult to speak coherently. She was completely incapable of moving her large muscles and felt as though she was paralyzed.
"No," he said with a smile, "You're not dead. That wasn't in the plan, if you'll remember." He was checking her pulse and looking for signs of any other injury as they waited for the ambulance. "You have to go to the hospital this time, Mare. The taser can cause arrhythmias and seizures sometimes and I want you watched." Her occasional twitches and shudders disturbed him and he gathered her up to hold to his chest as they waited.
She attempted to communicate again, "Get…him?" She really wanted to hug him but other than her eyes, her body continued to thwart her efforts at command.
He eyed Fawler's body with contempt and snarled, "Oh yeah…I got him."
She gave him a small, twitchy smile and uttered, "Know a…secret." He leaned down and whispered, "What?" with a grin.
"I love…bad ass…lawman." Her eyes twinkled and his heart ached.
*** Hope you liked this one...please keep reading. There's a little more of the story before it loosed its grip on me. Boy...those steamy bits are hard to write...but fun! Please review...I'm addicted to the reviews :) ***