26

"What kind of idiots do you have working for you, Agent Davis?"

"My agents were maintaining their distance, Mr. Deline--waiting for the Group to make contact. If we'd put him in protective custody we would have blown our only chance to make contact."

"Well, it looks like you did that anyway," Ed looked up as Danny and Mary entered the room, quietly arguing with each other, followed by Mike. He gestured for them to have a seat and went back to his conversation, putting the FBI Agent on speakerphone.

"My team has just joined me. I'm going to put you on speaker, Agent Davis. Tell us exactly what happened."

"Mr. Benton was returning to his apartment this afternoon. I had two pairs of agents on his detail. One set posted at his apartment and another that trailed him from the Montecito to his residence. While he was walking from his car to his front door a light-colored sedan approached at a high rate of speed and struck Mr. Benton. He was killed instantly and the car left the scene."

Despite Danny's protests Mary had insisted on being in this meeting. She knew him well enough to know that whatever information Danny learned from this meeting would be sugarcoated and glossed over by the time it reached her ears and she felt the need to be aware of exactly what was going on. After hearing the horrific account of Mark's last moments she was beginning to regret that decision. While Mary did harbor fear and anger towards him since he'd been one of her captors, she would never wish that fate on anyone—no matter what they had done. She reached for Danny's hand and pulled it into her lap. Grasping it tightly between both of hers, she drew on the strength that his touch always gave her. Danny sensed her discomfort and leaned over to press a soft kiss to her temple while Ed's voice chastised the veteran agent, "You had agents on the scene. Did any of them think to follow the car?"

"I'm doing you a courtesy by keeping you informed, Mr. Deline. You'd be wise not to push your luck," Agent Davis spat, obviously taking issue with Ed's tone.

"Don't threaten me, Agent Davis. I have your Director on speed dial. Now, did the agents on the scene initiate a pursuit?"

"Yes, but they lost him in traffic," Davis ground out, trying to reign in his temper. He hated having to answer to this guy, but he did have a point. Ed Deline was a legend in the CIA as well as the Bureau and the Director would have his head if he was shown anything but the utmost respect. "They called Metro for back up, but by the time the chopper got there the car had been abandoned. It had been stolen earlier that day from a local shopping mall. My techs are going over it right now with a fine-toothed comb."

"So, what now? I'm assuming you have some sort of a plan."

"Like I said, our evidence techs are going over the car now. We're also interviewing witnesses from the parking lot where Mr. Benton was killed. There were several of them who got a look at the driver."

"Sounds like these guys might have gotten a little sloppy," Danny chimed in. They must have known Mark was talking to the FBI and felt the need to get rid of him as soon as possible-- not even going to the trouble of making it look like a suicide.

"That's what we're banking on."

"Keep us informed, Agent."

"You do the same."

Ed disconnected the call and looked at his employees. Mary was still gripping Danny's hand, her gaze focused somewhere in the wood grain of the coffee table.

"You doing okay, kid?"

She looked up when Ed placed his hand on her knee, suddenly realizing that he was addressing her. Danny gently pulled his hand from her grasp so he could put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," Mary replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just want this to be over. I let myself relax and think that everything's going to be okay and then…"

"We're going to find these guys," Danny assured her with a squeeze.

"Yeah, but how many more people are going to die before that happens? I know Mark wasn't a saint, but he just made some bad decisions. He didn't deserve what happened to him. And who's going to be next? What if they come after one of you?"

The three men in the room exchanged nervous glances, none of them wanting to confirm that that scenario was a very real possibility. Ed finally broke the silence, deciding a change of subject was probably the best way to go. "Look, there's nothing we can do right now. We'll wait to hear from the FBI and Mike will check in with his buddies about that virus and we'll go from there. Why don't you let Danny take you out for a nice dinner--assuming that's okay. I'm sorry I forgot to even ask you. How did it go at the doctor's?" Ed looked from Mary to Danny, expectantly. When he saw the tears pooling in Mary's eyes he immediately thought the worst.

Danny noticed Ed's face fall and turned quickly to look at Mary. Realizing that his boss had misinterpreted her tears he jumped in to reassure him while at the same time rubbing his hand up and down Mary's arm in a comforting gesture.

"Everything's fine. The doctor said the baby looks great and Mary doesn't have to stay off her feet. She still needs to take it easy, but at least she doesn't have to be in bed all the time."

"Oh, good," Ed said relieved.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I'm just a little overwhelmed right now." Mary swiped nervously at her tears, ashamed that she'd let her boss see her in such a state.

"That's okay, sweetie. I'd forgotten about that part of Jillian's pregnancy. So, will you promise not to worry about this for at least the next few hours?"

Mary nodded her head. "I'll try."

"Good," Ed said as he stood up to escort everyone from his office. "You two have a good time and make sure you take her somewhere expensive, Danny. I know how cheap you can be."

"Hey, I am not cheap," Danny protested. "Mary, I'm not cheap, am I?"

Ed didn't wait to hear her answer as they exited his office—Mike heading back to the security room and Mary and Danny heading down to the casino.

"You feeling a little better?" Danny asked, concerned that the details of Mark's death had been too much for her to handle in her fragile state.

"No, but I'm trying really hard to stay calm. I'm going to take Ed's advice and try to relax—at least for tonight. Just promise me you'll keep me in the loop, Danny." She stopped and took both of his hands in hers so he could see the serious expression on her face. "I understand why you're concerned and I love you for it, but it will be more stressful for me if I have to constantly wonder if you're keeping me in the dark on things. Okay?"

"I'll try, Mary, but I just don't want you to worry about any of this. You've been through enough and you need to concentrate on your health and on the baby."

"I will," she smiled and reached up to cup his face in her hands, sliding them around to play with the short hairs she found at the base of his neck. "Now, about that dinner…I'm craving a big juicy steak."

"But you don't eat red meat."

"Well, I may not, but your baby certainly does because it's all I've been able to think about today."

"You mean when you were practically tearing my clothes off in the lobby all you were thinking about was food?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "I think it was the other way around, buddy, but you're right. I definitely had a big, juicy piece of meat on my mind at that moment, but it wasn't a steak," Mary's sexual innuendo accompanied by her mischievous wink left Danny speechless and he shivered as she ran one of her hands down his chest.

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat, still unable to speak.

"So, Mr. McCoy, the sooner you feed your child, the sooner we can get upstairs and take care of that other craving." She stood on her tiptoes to give him a lingering kiss—letting her tongue explore his mouth as her fingers gently massaged the muscles in his stomach just above his belt. Danny's eyes remained closed for a long moment after Mary ended the kiss, still enjoying the taste of her that lingered on his tongue. Taking a deep breath he finally opened his eyes to her smiling face.

"Mmmm, N9NE alright with you? I think I can get us in without a reservation."

"Let's go."

---
"Hey, Mike. It's Arnold Levine at MIT."

Mike sat up straight in his chair as he held the phone closer to his ear. "Hey, Arnie. You got some info about that virus I sent you?"

"Actually, I've got the ultimate info."

The blood pumped loudly in Mike's ears and he held his breath as he waited for his old friend to speak. "Well? What is it?"

"I know who wrote it."