Logan POV

I had images of going all cowboy. Of strolling into town with my six-shooter and systematically taking down all of the bad guys.

Less picturesque was the supposed reality of it. I figured they'd contracted a guy. I'd lure him out, by pretending to be John, and then we'd arrest him and hand him over to the DPD.

Then we'd get out the message that a hit on John was akin to a hit on the NYPD, and whoever made the effort was going to spend the rest of his life in jail.

We figured the interest would fizzle and the Detroit guys would decide to leave New York alone.

Of course, all that was based on the hit being about the arrests we made. Rama. Demachi. Brozi. That was assuming someone, somewhere knew it was John who set them up, putting the wheels of arrest in motion, and that someone reached out for a favor.

But it's not looking like that's what happened. Not if there were a lot of takers, as O'Connor put it. It wouldn't be me luring out the guy. It would be me facing off a whole lot of guys.

So we spent Saturday evening strategizing in the hotel bar.

"We need to spread the word that the contract's been pulled," Bobby suggested. "There won't be any payout."

"It'll sort out the true believers," Alex added as explanation. "If there are any."

"You think people are only interested in the money? Then why the 187 chatter?"

"But that's just it, it was only chatter. No one was motivated enough to do anything about it. Fifty grand would've more than covered gas money to New York," Carolyn said.

I took a long drink from my beer and thought about it for a moment. Rationally, which is something I've struggled to do since hearing the latest, about the price on John's head.

"If it came from high-up in the family, there wouldn't be money attached," I said at last. "It would've been an order."

"It would get done out of honor. Respect. The possibility of getting made," Bobby agreed with a nod.

"So the money means…what? It's not related to the gang?"

"If that's true, we need to tell them they're being played," Alex suggested. "Somebody's trying to set them up, to use them. That'll take away the possibility of someone wanting to still go through with anything."

"Let's walk through it," Bobby said.

"If it's not someone from the gang, then who does that leave us with?"

"Well, if someone did hack Mary's computer, stealthily rather than how they did John's, then they'd have her case files."

"They'd know the Albanians were a sore spot for her. A potential weakness."

"Mary doesn't have any weakness," I replied.

"John," Carolyn stated calmly. "He's her weakness. And having him threatened would make her come unglued."

"It'd make her focus all of her energy on the threat."

"Except she didn't," Bobby said. "She stayed on the emails."

"And then the threat escalated with the offer of money."

"But she's still not here. We are," I pointed out.

"Someone wanted her here?"

"Or not there."

"God, this is making my head hurt. Can't we just go roust up the entire Albanian mafia and call it a night?" I said.

"You know, I think we coordinate with the DEA contact in town, and see how we can do exactly that. We're still licensed investigators. We can be involved in something official without worrying about jurisdiction."

So I made the call to Agent Palmer, the friend of Agent Winfield, and arranged a sit-down for Sunday morning.

"You think she'll be on board with it? I mean, they've been listening to these guys for ten months, and now we want to pull the trigger on the busts?"

"She sounded grateful that we weren't going to go in with guns blazing, on our own. I think they're ready. You know the DEA. If they don't want to do something, they don't do it."

"So we can take down the bulk of the gang, and eliminate the threat, all in one fell swoop," Alex said with a smile. "I like the sound of that."

"Hopefully. Assuming they really do want to play ball."

They did.

Sunday morning, over a spread of doughnuts and bananas and coffee, the four of us met with Palmer, plus five more DEA agents who've been working the drug angle on the Albanians, and we made a plan to decimate the organization.

"If you had this much information, what were you waiting for?" Bobby asked Palmer, voicing what we were all thinking.

"We were ready two weeks ago, but then they went almost completely silent, when the New York faction fell," she explained. "We wanted to give them a little bit of time to feel comfortable again, to settle back into their routine so that we were sure not to miss anyone."

"So it's just our good fortune that they got comfortable at the same time fifty grand was tagged to John's name," I said.

"Yes and no," she answered. "I think I agree with your friends. If it were an order, there wouldn't be money involved. I think someone's using the Albanians. Someone not associated with the gang."

Her unbiased assessment makes me believe it even more, but that also leaves me with mixed emotions. If it's someone else entirely, then what's to stop them from trying again, using someone else to carry out the hit? And what if they try that, only this time we don't have anyone listening, to tip us off?

Don't get me wrong, taking down another gang of violent drug dealers is always a good thing, and I'm happy to be a part of it. But at the same time, I feel we aren't any closer to resolving John's issue.

After spending the day with the DEA and the DPD, coordinating our sting for Monday morning, the four of us went back to the hotel, where we once again descended upon the hotel bar in search of sustenance, and while we were there, I made a call to O'Connor.

"It looks like it's going to be a standard takedown," I told him, not wanting him to mobilize any local Irish to keep an eye on me.

"You're giving me the blow-by-blow on police procedure, is that it, my boy?" he asked in amusement. "Would you mind spending some time working in Boston, then? That might help me a little more."

I barked out a laugh, because I know he's not being serious, and then I said, "You know why I'm telling you. And for the record, if we were going after the Irish, I wouldn't be making this call."

"That's because you're an honest man, Mike Logan," he replied, with something that sounds like pride. "And I thank you for letting me know. I have some boys keeping an ear to the ground for me, just in case, but it's good to know there won't be any bullets flying anywhere near you."

"Well, I didn't say that," I joked. "Just that our strategy has changed."

"So the hit's a wash, is that it?"

"Not necessarily, but we have our doubts. I'll explain more after we get back."

"That you will, my boy. Another weekend in Boston will do you good."

I promised to make the trip when time permits, and then ended the call.

"I hope he's not tapped," I said wryly. "IAB might not get his sense of humor."

"I had the same thought when I called him," Alex admitted.

"I'm sure he'd know, if he were," Carolyn said.

"Yeah, it's funny how feds always think they're being so sneaky, listening in on mafia guys, but nine times out of ten, it's common knowledge," Alex remarked.

"I guess it's that one time that makes it worth it," Bobby said.

The waitress came to our table, bringing us a fresh round of drinks, so then I said, "Okay, guys, my brain is maxed out on this whole thing, so let's see if we can go one solid hour without talking about work."

Everyone agreed, but after about two minutes, no one was talking, and as we all realized what was happening, we started laughing.

"What are we supposed to talk about?" Carolyn asked with a smile. Her hand is clasped in mine, and she's pressed against me in the booth, and I'm once again hit with such a strong feeling of love for her. It's nearly overwhelming. I still have trouble sometimes, believing that we're here.

"Alright, work talk," I conceded. "But not current work. Old stuff. Good memories."

"Chicago," Bobby said.

"Are you kidding me?" Alex responded. "You mean, Chicago where you got shot, and nearly bled out all over Mike?"

"Chicago where I got my ass whipped in a jail cell?" I added, going along with Alex's incredulity.

But Bobby just smiled, and Carolyn started nodding in agreement, and then she said, "Chicago where we took down Carver. God, that was so much fun."

"Yeah, okay, that was pretty great," Alex said, finally smiling, too.

"I wonder how he's enjoying prison life," I mused.

"About as much as Moran, I imagine," Bobby said. "Another good memory."

"Uh huh. That's the case where I nearly drowned," I pointed out.

"Your glass is always half empty, isn't it?" Carolyn teased. "That's the case when I asked you to marry me."

"In a text message," I said, feigning disappointment. And it's definitely just a tease, because I still remember how I felt when I read her text. Absolutely euphoric.

"Don't let him fool you," Alex said. "He was so excited about your text that he completely forgot he can't hold his liquor. I drank him under the table that night."

"Yes, you did," I admitted. "That hangover still hurts a little. But it was worth it."

After my words, I leaned down to kiss my wife, hoping the action would properly express my love and gratitude over having her in my life.

The way she smiled at me after I pulled back says that maybe I succeeded. But just in case, I'll have to be sure to show her a little more, after we get back to our hotel room.

That thought had me pondering how quickly we could pay the check, but before I could signal the waitress, my phone rang, and I checked the display to see that it's Mary.

"It's connected to the emails," she stated firmly, bypassing the formality of a greeting altogether.

"How do you know?" I asked, putting her on speaker and then setting the phone on the table.

"We have record of a single burner in New York making calls to two different Michigan numbers, once each, on the days associated with the 187 and the fifty K."

"That's a stretch," Bobby said skeptically. "How many people in New York made calls to someone in Michigan on those same days?"

"Don't even ask me that question," Mary said on a sigh. "We're in phone log hell at the moment, but I'm telling you…it fits."

"Okay, but how does that fit with the emails?"

"The tower signal correlates with the location of the sent email, the one from last Thursday. The person who made that call was within a three-block radius of the internet café where the email went out."

We all looked at each other as we considered the new information.

"So this is all a distraction," Carolyn said after another moment. "Detroit. The Albanians. It's a red herring."

"Meant to get you out here, maybe," Alex told Mary.

"Or it was an honest hope that someone might kill John," I said. "Whoever did this knew what buttons to push. They made it seem like John was responsible for what happened with Brozi and his boys."

"It was a hail mary with no downside," Bobby said. "It might get you out of the city, it might send an assassin after John, or worst case it worries you to death and disrupts John's life."

"Have you been able to track the purchase of the phone yet?" Alex asked.

"We're working on it. The phone logs came courtesy of Mulder and Cecilia, so Mike Cutter is working on bringing us back to this side of legal. He's going to get warrants for the records, and once we obtain those, and officially make the connection, we can get the full log of the cell in question, complete with purchase date and location, and then…"

She trailed off because we all know the drill, so she didn't need to say it. Check security footage at the location of purchase, cross-reference all other numbers called by the phone…it's a process, and not one that'll be finished tonight.

"But no one's come after him, even after the offer of money," she said after a brief pause. "So you think there's no real threat from there? You think it'll come from here?"

"That would be my guess. Although you've got him changing up his schedule, and working a lot from the hotel, and security on the door…"

"Not to mention his wife is a bad ass marshal," I added, hoping to bring her a little levity. She snorted out a sound of mild amusement and then said, "Okay, so you guys can come home, I guess."

"We will. Tomorrow night," Carolyn told her. "We're going to stick around and help the DEA get this gang off the streets, just to make doubly sure. You know, since we're here."

"Well, yeah, you know they couldn't do it without the Gorens and Logans," she said smartly.

"Hell no," Alex agreed with a grin. "And honestly, I'm going to enjoy it after everything Christina put us through. I don't want there to be anyone left for her to attempt to start over, should she ever find her way out of prison."

"Well, she won't," Bobby said. "But I'm with you."

"Keep me up to speed tomorrow," she said. "And I'll let you know what we find out about the phone."

"Sounds like a plan," Alex said.

"And Mary," I added quickly, before she hung up.

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe."

TBC...

Next up: Bobby & John