A/N: Before we continue, just wanted to note that (later than planned) there's another chapter of Missing Conversations up. Should be read between Misdirected Vengeance Part 1 and 2.

Consequences Part 2

First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire – Stephen King

Rossi leaned against the car hood with Collins.

"Are you sure about this?" the younger man asked, sounding slightly worried. "I'm supposed to be his protection detail, not just a glorified cab driver. I get nervous when I can't see what he's doing." He fidgeted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as if suppressing the urge to barge in and disrupt what Rossi was sure was a rather tense conversation.

Rossi sighed, glancing at his closed front door. "It has to be done, and she won't cause any life-altering injuries. I can't promise she won't try and thump him, but I think he deserves that."

Collins settled unhappily back against the car next to him. "Why here? Why your house instead of somewhere neutral? And why are we out front, rather than in the back where I could see into your living room?"

Rossi studied the man next to him. Collins wasn't looking around at his surroundings, focussed intently on the kitchen window, where occasional glimpses of wildly gesticulating arms could be seen. "You've been here before," accused Rossi.

Collins shook his head without breaking eye contact with Rossi's window. "No, but once Harker made contact with the General, I looked up everyone connected to her. The plans for your house were on my desk before we flew to New York. Nothing personal you understand, just doing my job."

Rossi huffed in annoyance. "Nice to know the privacy laws are being upheld so strenuously," he sniped. "I suppose you're going to tell me what I had for breakfast too."

"Coffee and a cream cheese bagel," replied Collins smartly, before catching Rossi's eye and grinning. "You've got a smudge of it on your jacket, and all marines, past or present, live on caffeine."

Rossi peered down at the mark on his lapel and allowed himself a rueful smile, glad for a distraction from wondering how it was going in his living room. He'd given Perez his address, although it sounded like he needn't have bothered; and whisked Pip out of the BAU with surprising ease, as if she'd been expecting something to happen. Rossi doubted she'd expected Perez to admit he was ultimately responsible for the op against Rostov, and he was anticipating an overblown explosion of emotion. Either rage or despair, he wasn't sure yet. Pip would see the General's silence on the subject over the last few months as betrayal and that never sat well with her. They couldn't hear breaking china, so for the moment, the discussion hadn't progressed beyond raised voices.

He'd chosen his house for their little heart-to-heart for a reason. Rossi wanted Pip to have a home advantage, simple as that. Perez owed her an explanation and Rossi was happy to facilitate, but that wasn't going to stop him making it harder on the General.

The front door flew open, startling them both. Pip stormed down the steps, Perez in hot pursuit. The General had a livid handprint across one cheek.

"Russet, slow down!" he called. "We need to be smart about this."

Pip spun around to glare at Perez. Rossi couldn't see her expression, but he knew what it looked like from the way Perez shuddered to a halt. He'd been on the end of one of those glares himself and couldn't blame the General for his suddenly wary demeanour. That glare meant you were beyond the point where giving her chocolate would help, and it would be better not to just hand her a potential weapon; even if it was only confectionary. Rossi could testify to the pain of a well-aimed candy bar.

"Smart?" she spat. "Like you've been smart enough these past years? You knew you had a leak and you never took the time to find out who it was. At least Cho never gave up," she added disgustedly. "I'm going to find out who it was and I'm going to end them for what they did." Pip jumped in Rossi's car and tore away in an impressive spray of gravel, enough to make both Rossi and Collins duck to avoid getting pelted with small stones.

"She had your keys?" murmured Collins.

Rossi dangled his car keys from his hand. "No," he said heavily, watching as his car sped off down the driveway without him. "I think I might need to get the ignition fixed." He sighed. "Can I get a lift back to the Bureau?"

By the time Rossi got back, his car had been parked neatly back in the garage with no indication of Pip's mad getaway other than the dangling ignition wires.

She was at her desk, working furiously. Griffin and Phillips had both edged their seats a little way away from their boss and Duffy had turned his to completely face the other direction. All three of them looked up as Rossi pushed open the door to the BAU and shook their heads. Rossi nodded. Pip was in no mood to talk to anyone and trying would only make things worse. Duffy and Griffin ducked back down to their work, but Phillips held Rossi's gaze. He nodded significantly towards Rossi's office.

Rossi shrugged and cocked his head in a gesture of agreement and invitation. He knew her team would turn to him for answers about her mood, and that their first and not entirely unreasonable assumption would be that he was the cause of it. It seemed Phillips had been designated as the first person to try and work out what was going on. He supposed he should be grateful – they would all leap to Pip's defence if they thought it necessary, but after seeing what Duffy looked like when pissed off, Rossi had no desire to face the Irishman if he thought Rossi was the cause of her upset.

"Sir, she's asking us to look at a lot of things we wouldn't normally touch," said Phillips uneasily, almost before Rossi's office door had shut behind them. "This all goes back to what happened to her in Chicago and we're working on something without knowing why." He perched himself against Rossi's filing cabinet, in Pip's favoured spot, so he could still watch the bullpen. And Pip, who was shooting occasional glares in the general direction of Rossi's office. "I don't like it."

"Don't call me sir, Phillips. Not in these circumstances." Rossi sat down with a deep sigh and closed his eyes. He hadn't expected her team to know so much about the events in Chicago, either historically or recently, but it appeared Pip had surprised him once again. "How much do you know about what happened?" he asked. He had to know how much information they had before deciding how much more to give them.

"She lost her team and her boyfriend. There was a leak and it got people killed. Going back dredged up a lot of bad memories. I know she's not thinking clearly because she called me Steve earlier. Somehow there's a link with the Pentagon and she is having us make some odd enquiries." Phillips listed his points off concisely, counting them out on his fingers. "She's distracted, she's drinking her coffee out of the vase she normally keeps pencils in, and she's only had two this morning." He snorted a little. "Her blood is normally 90% caffeine, I doubt today is going to be pleasant."

Phillips let out a long-suffering sigh. "I was a cop, I know what she's doing, but the other two are just blindly following orders. This isn't something we should be involved in," he added uncomfortably, "we're supposed to be your support, not an extra investigative team."

"And yet, here we are," said Rossi, running a hand through his hair. How much to say? He knew things about Pip that she wouldn't want others to hear, how was he supposed to make the distinction between privacy and protecting her? That Pip had called Phillips "Steve" was worrying – Steve Baker had been her best friend and the first one killed in the shootout. If Pip was regressing, or suffering some form of flashbacks, there was no knowing what she could do.

Phillips let him have a moment to think, keen brown eyes never leaving his face. "There's something more to this isn't there?" he asked shrewdly when Rossi took too long to respond. "Something she doesn't want us to know."

"You could say that," agreed Rossi warily, thinking of the abridged news report in that morning's paper, "although truth be told, I don't think she even wanted me to know."

That startled Phillips, something that made Rossi stop and think. He couldn't share the events of that morning, nor her involvement in Rostov's death. Too many tongues wagging with that information could eventually get it back to the wrong people and all Perez's efforts would be for nought.

"Hollis was one leak," Rossi said bluntly, shoving Phillips' untimely insight to one side. "There was another, higher up. Unknown to Pip until this morning, DoD were looking into the same crew she was investigating, and they had information control problems too. She has taken that news hard and personally, for obvious reasons, and has vowed to find out who it was." He didn't mention that Pip had vowed to exact her revenge on whoever that might be, but the knowing look on Phillips' face told him that he didn't need to. Everyone knew Pip could be scary when she wanted to be, and Phillips no doubt assumed she intended to give their mole a piece of her mind, Pip-style, once they were caught.

Phillips leaned his head back against the cabinet and let out a deep breath in a low whistle. "No wonder she's in such a bitch of a mood."

Rossi cleared his throat to halt the huff of laughter in its tracks, and Phillips rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah I know. You quite enjoy it when she's all riled up don't you?"

Rossi looked away to hide the faint blush on his cheeks. He did rather enjoy it when Pip was in a temper, not least because he usually reaped the benefits once he got her into bed. Not to mention that she was incredibly sexy when she was in a full-on ferocious display. It was a little embarrassing that Phillips could read him well enough to know at least some of that. Dropping the formality of calling Rossi "sir" had made Phillips rather forward in his manner of speech, less respectful and more open. A change Rossi would normally have welcomed, if it hadn't been at the expense of the blood flushing his face.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Phillips.

The question surprised him. Rossi had assumed Phillips would follow Pip's lead. JP had thought the same, after the incident in the bar, but it seemed Phillips wasn't quite so blind in his loyalty.

"I don't know," he admitted, deciding that if Phillips wasn't just going to do what he was told, he could afford to be honest with the man. About that much, at least. He had no idea what to do. "It's not like anyone plans for this kind of situation."

"I won't inform on her, or get in her way, or do anything to jeopardise my position with her," noted Phillips. "She's my boss and my loyalty is to her, first and foremost. But that also means I'll look out for her where I can, and if that means being a bit sneaky, I can do that."

Rossi nodded. He had expected a lot less, and having someone else keeping an eye on her was reassuring.

Rossi didn't even bother going home that evening, knowing that Pip would have no desire to revisit the scene of her confrontation with Perez. He drove straight to her house instead. He had to wait for a friend in the motor pool to patch his ignition back together, which meant Pip had a good hour start on him.

Todd was on the first-floor landing as Rossi trudged up the stairs to Pip's apartment. "Tread lightly, man, know what I mean?" he said as Rossi passed. "She bit my head off earlier."

Rossi nodded absently and kept climbing, mind focussed on what he might find when he opened her door. Pip hadn't spoken to him all day, preferring to use Phillips as a go-between, and had left the office that afternoon without so much as a backward glance in his direction.

Pip was in the shower, so Rossi poured himself a glass of wine and rummaged in her cupboards for something to eat. It was easy and automatic by then, he was as at home cooking in her kitchen as he was his own, despite the disparity in size.

"Why are you here?" asked Pip abruptly from the doorway, just as Rossi was dishing up.

"Figured you'd only binge on bacon or junk food if I didn't make something for you," he replied easily, having decided that ignoring her actions over the weekend was the best way to start. Perez had been right. Once he'd had time to think, Rossi could see the logic, albeit twisted, that had led her to do what she'd done. The death of Rostov had served many purposes, one way or another, and some form of justice had been served. None of it had changed how he felt about her, and he planned to make sure she knew that. "You going to eat, or what?"

Pip ignored his gesture to the plates and wineglasses he'd set out at the breakfast counter and remained in the kitchen doorway, studying him. Rossi shrugged and sat down to eat. He was hungry, even if she wasn't. Between his meeting with Perez and the subsequent one between Pip and Perez, the only thing he'd eaten since breakfast was a half a dodgy sandwich from the canteen vending machine.

"I mean why are you still here? With me," clarified Pip, as if he was being thick. "Why haven't you run a fucking mile? You know what I did, I know you do."

Rossi nodded as he chewed. "Yes, I do," he said simply once he'd swallowed. "Makes no difference to me." He pointed to her untouched plate with his fork. "Sit. Eat. You haven't eaten all day, it's not good for you." His took a sip of his wine, as if supremely unconcerned by her behaviour.

Pip hunched herself onto the other stool, and started to toy with her food, shooting uncertain sideways looks at him as he ate. Rossi pretended he didn't notice, directing his attention instead to the plate in front of him. Eventually Pip relaxed enough to actually eat, rather than just move things around. Rossi breathed a little easier.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" queried Pip as they got ready for bed. It had been a quiet evening, Rossi choosing to read a book while Pip played on her games console. Rossi had let her isolate herself, but the fact that she'd chosen a game where the aim was to beat the ever-living shit out of someone hadn't gone unnoticed.

Rossi lounged back on the bed and nudged his pillow into a more comfortable position under his head. "Nope. Figured you'll tell me when you're ready." He turned off the bedside light on his side and lay there with his eyes closed, listening. He could tell Pip didn't really believe him, that she was waiting for his disapproval and condemnation. Neither would change what she'd done, so Rossi had made a conscious choice not to entertain either. Pip needed his support and pushing her away would only make things worse. She was enough of a loose cannon already without him adding to it.

Pip shuffled in beside him and Rossi turned over, repeating an action that by then was habit - moulding himself against her back and draping an arm around her waist. "Mmm. You smell nice," he murmured as he nuzzled into her neck. "Goodnight bella."

Then he waited.

"I had to," she whispered, just as Rossi had given up hoping and resigned himself to sleep.

"I know."

Pip sat up abruptly and turned the light back on. "Why are you so fucking accepting? Why aren't you telling me it was stupid, and impulsive, and dangerous and…"

Rossi sat up and silenced her with a kiss. "Because it's done now, and nothing I say will change that," he said once they parted. It had been all of those things, but pointing that out would achieve nothing. "I'm a little disappointed you didn't tell me the truth from the beginning, I'd rather have heard it from you than Perez, but I understand why." He kissed her softly, briefly, once more. "You think I would have stopped you." He shrugged. "I might have tried, but you and I both know it wouldn't have worked. I'd have probably ended up coming with you."

"Why?" she breathed, uncertainty flaring in her face.

"Because I love you, stupid woman," retorted Rossi with a smile. When he kissed her again, he didn't relent, continuing his onslaught until she was moaning, overwhelmed with sensation. Finally, he pulled her body underneath his to finish making his point, showing her just how much he still loved her. Thoroughly, and with great attention to detail.

Perez was waiting at the security desk again when Rossi arrived back at the Bureau the following morning. "We have a problem," he said quietly.

Rossi bit back the groan. Like he needed more to deal with. "Now what?" he asked, none too gently, and gestured for the guard to allow Perez through. He roughly thrust a visitor badge in the General's direction and started walking in the direction of the elevator. He had no intention of going for another little drive with Perez, no matter what the reason for his appearance at the Bureau for the second day in a row.

Perez caught up with him easily and blocked Rossi's path with his considerable bulk. "Her questions got someone killed."

Rossi stopped. It was that or walk into the solid figure of Perez, but shock had also halted his movements. He looked up at the General, who was several inches taller than he and a fair few wider, and studied his face. Perez looked more than a little scared and Rossi yielded. "My office then, come on."

"Where was she last night?" asked Perez urgently, once Rossi's office door was closed. It was early enough that only Pip and Morgan had seen them arrive, and Pip had played the curious on-looker well in front of Morgan. He would be none the wiser that Pip and Perez had known each other for years.

"Shut up." Rossi threw Perez a disgusted look before taking his time unpacking his briefcase and hunting for an extra mug for coffee. Three weeks previously, Pip had bought him a small coffee machine for his office to save drinking the crap in the break room. "I know there's another mug around here somewhere," he muttered to himself, shifting piles of files and forms from one place to another in an effort to locate it. "Ah! Here it is," said Rossi triumphantly. "Black with two, right?"

Perez nodded dumbly, probably a little surprised that Rossi cared how he took his coffee after barking at him. "Rossi…"

"Stow it," snarled Rossi angrily. "I'm going to forget what you just said to me, on the basis that you should know better than to even ask. I'm putting it down to caffeine deficiency-induced madness. Repeat that question and I'll turn you over to her and lock the door behind me. I'll bury what's left."

Perez nodded and kept his mouth shut, wisely in Rossi's opinion. They sat silently until the promising scent of coffee filled the air.

"What happened?" asked Rossi, once they both had a steaming mug in front of them. "I'm assuming there's a link between yesterday's events and what you came to talk to me about, or do you throw accusations like that for fun?"

Perez had the good sense not to rise to Rossi's bait. "A high-level DoD analyst was found dead this morning. He didn't show for his shift at 0400 and given the nature of his work, a security team was dispatched to his apartment to check on him. This is what they found." Perez produced a handful of photographs from his inside pocket.

Rossi took the pictures, and only his years of experience and iron control over his stomach let him look at them without losing his breakfast. The man had been tortured, that much was clear – all the cuts had been designed to cause maximum pain without leading to death. What concerned him most however, was the single gunshot to the head. "He broke."

Perez nodded. "Eventually. There's no way of knowing who or why from his apartment, believe me, we've spent the last four hours combing the place. He wasn't trained for this kind of thing, I think he did well to hold out as long as he did, but in the end, he told them what they wanted to know. He got a mercy shot to the head for his trouble."

Rossi raised his gaze from the pictures to briefly glance at Pip in the bullpen. She looked like she was working, but he knew her well enough to see that she was watching his office intently. Rossi twitched his fingers in one of the AST hand gestures he knew: "later" he told her, knowing Perez wouldn't pick it up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pip nod. "Confirmed" she responded, exaggerating the movement to make it an order rather than acknowledgment.

"You thought she was capable of this?" spat Rossi, his hardened expression boring into Perez. He thought Perez had known her better than that. "Either there's something you're not telling me or you're stupider than you look."

"Maybe a little of both," admitted Perez. "I know how dangerous she can be, even if you will not admit that to yourself. She is more than capable, but I trust you that she didn't."

Rossi snorted ungraciously. "Back to him," he said, indicating the photos on his desk, "why bring it to me? Or did you just want my assurance that Pip never left her apartment last night?"

"No. Actually I came to officially ask for the BAU's help to find the killer. The, ah, UnSub, I believe you call them," replied Perez quietly. "You would have ended up investigating unofficially anyway, given her involvement, but I have clearance to formally invite you in, citing national security concerns. This man had access to many things best left in the dark," he added, pointing to the man in the pictures, "and we need to find his killer or killers quickly before any of that information gets into the open."

"What kind of information?" asked Rossi warily, his mind already turning over the particulars. Anger, but directed. Probably a single UnSub, one with an agenda of some sort, who'd been after specific information. The man had been given a painless death once that objective had been achieved, ruling out a sadist; the torture had been a means to an end, not for sport or enjoyment. Probably a thirty- to forty-five-year-old male, but there was nothing to categorically rule out a female UnSub. The apartment didn't seem to have been tossed, so the information had been either relayed verbally, or was off-site somewhere. Care had been taken to prevent any sound escaping the room, so their UnSub was above average intelligence, with enough planning skills to bring everything they needed with them, including a means to prevent the victim screaming.

"Off the record?" Perez prevaricated.

"If it has to be," agreed Rossi impatiently.

"Names and locations of certain operatives around the world, current objectives of same, details about past operations in the same regions or with similar objectives. Analysis of their effectiveness, their impact and where such operatives go and what they do once leaving the service." Perez fixed Rossi with a flat stare. "He had access to all the details of what Russet was, where she was, what she did, and where she's been since." He grimaced. "And who she's been associating with. Which undoubtedly includes both of us. After yesterday and her threat to dig until she found something, I can only assume she asked either the wrong question or the wrong person. Or both. The coincidence is too great to ignore."

"I agree. Well General, I guess we better brief my team."

Rossi set Pip making files without telling her of the links to her own investigation, and gathered the team in the conference room to explain, as far as he could, what they were dealing with. Whenever he got too close to what Perez wanted kept quiet, or a pointed question from one of the team did the same, the General would chime in with "classified" and defied all their attempts to wheedle more information out of him.

"This is bullshit, Rossi!" barked Morgan, once Perez had left. "He's given us a load of hints and no real information. How are we supposed to work like this? We could go off in completely the wrong direction because he didn't give us the whole picture. "National Security" my ass," he sneered. "It's his own ass he's worried about."

Rossi couldn't disagree, knowing what he knew, but sent Morgan to the crime scene anyway. Which meant he was left with JJ – his ace in the hole. Someone who knew more about Pip and what she'd been doing than perhaps the General realised.

JJ gave Rossi a secretive smile. "You wanted the Morgan out of the office, didn't you? Why do I get the feeling you kept me back deliberately?" She laughed a little at his slightly startled expression. "Dave, I'm a mom," she said. "We're all psychic to some degree. We have to be, otherwise Henry would have drunk bleach or drowned himself in the sink by now."

Rossi huffed, then chuckled with her. "Ok, ok, you caught me," he admitted. "I need you to reprise your previous role."

"Media Liaison? I don't mind but…"

"No," Rossi said slowly. "The one in between." He cast a pointed look into the bullpen. "Then one where you two talked. The one that might give me an idea which branch in the Pentagon Pip shook that made this happen."

"Rossi, you're going to have to give me more details."

She didn't deny the two had been in contact while Pip was overseas, so with a heavy heart, Rossi did exactly as she asked. He left out some things, but he could tell that not all of what he was saying was news to her. Including Pip's former association with Perez.

"…and she promised to find out who it was," he finished.

JJ sat looking at him with wide eyes for a moment before nodding. "Leave it with me."

Rossi sat in the conference room alone, with his head in his hands. He hoped Pip wouldn't take it the wrong way, him telling JJ so much. Only time would tell.

"How much later is "later"?" asked Pip from the doorway, startling Rossi from his thoughts.

"About this much later, I suppose." Rossi led the way back to his office. "I need you to stand down your investigation," he said, once they had some privacy. "A DoD analyst with information about you was murdered last night, probably in response to the questions you've been asking. Perez and I both think his mole from the Chicago op is responsible, and now it's a BAU case thanks to the bucket-load of classified intel that could be at risk. Perez invited us in. I need you to step aside so you don't end up in the files, either as evidence or as a suspect."

"No."

Well, he'd expected that. "Pip, this is important…"

"Fucking right it is!" Her eyes blazed with fury. "I will not stop trying to find out who was responsible for it all going wrong!"

"You sound like Cho," murmured Rossi. "Did you know you called Phillips "Steve" yesterday?" That brought her up short, as he'd intended. "You didn't, did you?" he asked gently.

Pip shook her head mutely.

Rossi glanced into the bullpen to see who could be watching before wrapping his arms around her. "I'm worried about you, and I have an UnSub on the loose. I can't juggle both things at the same time, or I'll drop one. And I hope you know which one I'd choose to keep hold of." He gave her a squeeze to punctuate his point. "Don't you?" Pip nodded tentatively against him. "Good. Let me catch this asshole, and I promise you can have two minutes with him. Supervised," he added hastily, prompting a muffled snigger from her. "You'll stand down?"

Pip pulled away. "Alright." She gave him a twisted frown. "I'm trusting you with this."

Rossi nodded. He understood. He would get one chance, and one chance only to resolve it before she took matters into her own hands once more.

Rossi looked down at the file in front of him. "Too easy," he muttered.

"I know what you mean," agreed Morgan. "I figured this was going to be all smoke and mirrors, no one giving us straight answers. I've never met so many cooperative people on a case before."

"Seems to fit, and everything Garcia found…" JJ trailed off. "But it does feel too simple."

They'd found him. Or so it seemed. It had been remarkably straightforward, so much so that the three of them were sat in the conference room less than five hours later, trying to work out why. They had their motive, an electronic footprint the size of Texas and had been practically gifted the murder weapon.

"This just doesn't add up," stated Rossi firmly. "Or rather, it adds up too well. Do either of you actually believe this is our guy?" Morgan and JJ both shook their heads. "Me either. I think we're supposed to jump right into a knee-jerk Islamophobic response and go in guns blazing without asking for an explanation." Rossi stood. "I'm going to talk to him. I'll wire myself into comms in case I need back up, but I doubt it. The only thing in danger from this guy," he stabbed a finger irritably at the photograph in the file, "is a veggie burger. Morgan, get Garcia to double-check everything she found. Look for something that might point to the data being fabricated or altered in some way. JJ, I want you to look again for an alibi, and see if you can find something other than this man's religion that tells us why we were basically handed him on a plate."

Halfway down the ramp to the elevator, something caught Rossi's attention, and he veered off towards the AST. "Where's Pip?" he asked roughly, heart already pounding. No…she wouldn't, would she? She'd seen the same file he had, surely she didn't believe… "Where is she?" he demanded when none of them responded, looking at each other instead. Griffin and Duffy turned back to their work. Phillips gave Rossi a long look before fishing something out of her desk drawer, ignoring Griffin's warning hiss of disagreement.

Rossi recognised the .308 shell instantly and grabbed it from Phillips unresisting hand. It was empty. He threw it back and broke into a sprint towards the door. Pip was going after the wrong guy, and she didn't know it.

With Garcia's help, it took Rossi less than an hour to track down Faizal Mohammed, contentedly chewing his way through a vegan all-day breakfast in a non-descript café. His position near the back wall and the volume of customers around him had probably saved his life.

Rossi roughly grabbed the cutlery from the man's hands and flashed his badge in front of his face. "Mr Mohammed, Agent Rossi, FBI. I need you to come with me please. I have reason to believe your life is in danger."

Mohammed blinked and swallowed heavily. He stood to follow Rossi out the door, but Rossi blocked his way. "Through the back."

"You're serious, aren't you?" breathed Mohammed, paling rapidly. "I work at the Pentagon, but not with anything, you know, interesting. Shipping manifests, mostly. Some translation work for other teams if they're overloaded..."

"I can't explain right now," replied Rossi hurriedly. "Move, if you want to live."

He hustled the man through the kitchens and out into a back alley that ran parallel to the main street. A brick next to Rossi's head exploded in a spray of shards and he dragged Mohammed behind him, knowing the only way to protect him from Pip was to put himself between her target and a bullet.

"Move." Her voice over comms was cold, focussed.

"He's not your guy," objected Rossi, awkwardly toggling his mic while still holding his gun. "This man is innocent."

"Well, I did try pot in college," rambled Mohammed, stared dazedly at the hole in the brickwork where his head had been only moments before. "I didn't inhale, I promise." He was pale and shaking.

Rossi rolled his eyes. "Believe me, neither of us care," he said shortly. Mohammed had pissed himself in terror, he realised, the dark stain was quickly spreading on his pants. Deep in shock, the man hadn't even noticed.

"Move down the alleyway," commanded Pip. "I can't cover you and get a shot at the asshole until we force him to relocate."

Rossi nearly fainted with relief and holstered his weapon to take a moment to wipe his face. Pip hadn't gone rogue. For a moment, a moment of brain-numbing horror, he'd been sure that she had. He took two steps forward, then jumped back in alarm as another shot impacted the ground by his feet.

"Other way, stupid." Pip sounded amused now.

"You could have taken my foot off!" cried Rossi indignantly.

"If I really wanted to shoot you, I wouldn't miss," replied Pip airily. "That first one though," she mused, "that was him. He isn't very good, is he? By the way, you better get going, the bait's gone rabbit."

Rossi glanced behind him to see Mohammed running in the opposite direction. "Oh, for fuck's sake," he muttered and started to run after him. "Mohammed, come back!" he called. "We're using him as bait?" he panted into his mic. "Who authorised that?"

"You tried to do it your way," commented Perez in his earpiece, "and it didn't work. Russet and I decided we'd deal with it together, just like we used to."

"Are we handing out FBI radios to anyone who asks these days?" grumbled Rossi. "I'm supposed to be in charge!"

"Turn left," ordered Pip, and Rossi obeyed instantly, grabbing Mohammed's arm to swing him into the left turn as he did so.

Perez chuckled. "I think we both know who's in charge, Agent Rossi."

"Quiet." Both men stopped talking immediately. Rossi felt a shiver run down his spine. It was Pip as she had been Before, and he felt a flush of heat in his groin. There was no denying how unbelievably sexy that commanding tone was, especially knowing how she looked, cradling Angel in her arms. "I have the shot. Aphrodite requesting clearance."

Rossi pulled Mohammed to the ground with him as Perez's voice, now also cold and collected, echoed over the channel.

"Herald."

A/n: Another chapter of Missing Conversations is up and slots in midway through this chapter.