I apologize for the delay. I'd blame it on work and the holidays, but really this chapter just put up a big fight. Hopefully, you'll think it was worth the wait.

Ch. 26: A Clip Off the Old Glock

The sounds of the summer night seemed amplified by 100 percent as they waited in the quiet darkness of the Mann house.

Mary and Marshall had returned from Reynold's party several hours earlier to find that Margaret and Matty had been moved as planned, but Robert Mann sat alone in his home with gun drawn, waiting.

After watching Marshall and his father argue to no end about the fact that Robert had not gone with his wife, Mary finally pulled Marshall aside. Despite the older Mann not exactly being on her good side, she knew that the men needed to focus and she was going to do whatever was necessary to make that happen.

"Marshall, this is getting us no where," she scolded him. "I understand you're concerned about him, but think about it. Your Dad is a Marshal, a retired one, but still a Marshal. Put yourself in his situation. Would you be willing to sit back and do nothing while your son put his life on the line for you?"

"I can't do it," he snapped, "I can't concentrate on doing my job if I have to worry about him."

"Why?"

"What?" Marshall asked incredulously.

"I asked you why does worrying about him keep you from doing your job?" Mary asked calmly. Seeing the shocked expression on his face at her question, she continued and took a new approach, "Do you worry about me?"

"Huh? What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Marshall questioned in response, shifting on his feet and looking away.

"I asked you a question, Marshall," she said impatiently, "Do. You. Worry. About. Me?"

When he refused to meet her eyes, she reached up and cupped his cheek as she said, "I worry about you too, but it doesn't stop me from doing my job and I know it doesn't stop you." She allowed herself to indulge in the warmth of his gaze before removing her hand and saying, "Now stop looking at your father and start seeing Chief Inspector Robert Mann."

"I know you're right," he said, "it's just…"

"No, it's not 'just' anything," Mary said in a soft, yet strong tone. "I have never once doubted your ability to do your job and you are not going to make me do it now. And just knowing that you're his son makes me believe that I can trust in your father's capabilities as well. Now let's get over there and come up with a game plan before it's too late."

"Okay," Marshall said as he stepped passed Mary and gently squeezed her hand before making his way back toward Robert. "Okay Chief, if we are going to do this, we are going to need a plan."

***

An hour had past since they each took their posts throughout the house. Mary knew that it wouldn't be dark for much longer and she was starting to wonder whether Harrison would make his move or not. She figured it was only logical that he would come quickly and not risk hanging around town too long with the possibility of being spotted. Of course, he had no idea that he had already been made and that the FBI would be crashing his little party tomorrow. She was lost in thought when she saw a flash in the woods.

"Marshall," Mary spoke into the radio, "any word from the hotel?"

"They say all is quiet. Haven't seen any sign of Harrison or Reynolds," he replied as something in his gut began to stir and he realized that there must be a reason for Mary's sudden curiosity. "Why? Is there something you'd care to share with the class?"

"Not just yet," she said in a controlled voice as she cautiously scanned the area to the west of the house from the window where she was perched. "But stay alert boys because something tells me we may be about to get some company."

"Mary, what did you see?" Marshall insisted.

"Not sure. Now, if you would just shut up for a second, maybe I could…there you are, you bastard!" Mary whispered triumphantly as she spotted the reflection from the lens of the night vision goggles. "I got one coming in from the west, he's about 10 yards out past the tree line and closing in. I can't tell if he's alone."

"Most probable point of entry from that position would be the garage," Robert reported, "bringing him up the inside stairs from the basement to the hallway near the kitchen."

"All over it," Marshall informed them.

"No! We don't know if he's got friends coming from another direction. You're our only eyes at that end of the house and need to stay put," Mary commanded. "I already know I have company and I'm gonna make sure he gets the welcome he deserves." She scooted out the bedroom door and toward the stairs, quiet as a feral cat preparing to pounce on her prey. After finding the basement door, she hunkered down just inside the kitchen and waited, Glock in hand.

Marshall knew it was fruitless to argue with Mary and tried to focus on the task at hand, comforted by the fact that he was only a few long strides from the kitchen if things started to go south. 'Stop worrying, Mann. Mary's right. We all have jobs to do and you've never let your emotions get the better of you before. Don't start now.'

The problem was that he'd been riding an emotional roller coaster for the past week, but particularly over the past 12 hours and it wasn't easy to down shift into neutral so quickly. As he squinted his eyes and surveyed the woods at the eastern end of the house, he began his habit of reciting facts in his head to squelch his emotions and sharpen his mind.

He had only made it to the letter F when he saw it. Smiling in appreciation of the pure poetry that letter brought to the situation, he reached for his radio.

"Another one coming in from the east," Marshall reported to the others.

"Only options are the front door or up the back steps to the deck," Robert responded. "My money's on the deck and I'm ready for him." Robert had been covering the back of the house from under the deck and shifted his position to behind the steps, preparing to take out his target.

"Copy that," Marshall said now back in full Marshal mode, "I'm on the front door, Chief."

Obviously having planned their attack, the intruders hit the house at almost the same moment. Robert waited until the man had reached the fifth step before reaching his arm through the space between the steps and pulling the man's legs out from underneath him. He used the time it took the man to fall backwards off the steps and onto the ground to move out from under the deck. He placed his knee strategically on the man's chest and his weapon under his chin.

Meanwhile, Mary had been waiting less than patiently in the kitchen. This was that part of the job she liked the least, next to the paperwork, of course. 'C'mon already,' she urged from inside her head as she listened to the exchange between Marshall and his dad about the second intruder.

Finally, she heard a faint creak as the door from the basement opened slowly and she pushed back against the wall of the kitchen. When she saw the gun come into view, she forced herself to remain still a little longer and was rewarded when she saw the arms of the gun's owner make their way around the corner.

Before he knew what hit him, Mary had knocked him off his feet and had her knee in his back. He cried out in pain as she pulled his arm up higher behind his back, disarming him in the process. Hearing Robert report in that he had subdued the other man outside, Mary dug her knee in a little deeper as she placed her gun behind the man's ear.

"Aside from your friend out back, should we be expecting any more visitors this evening, asswipe?"

"Kiss my ass, bitch," the goon spat back at her.

"Tsk tsk. Is that anyway to talk to a woman?" Mary asked leaning down to talk into his ear as she pushed the gun further into his skull causing him to groan. "Especially one that would like nothing better than to shoot off your more manly extremities. Now, I'm going to ask you nicely one more time. Do you have any other friends on their way?"

"No! There's no one else. Now get off me you crazy bitch."

"What did I tell you about language?" Mary asked in an eerily calm voice as she banged his head into the floor. She kept her gun on him as she radioed to the others to tell them it was all clear. Marshall appeared in the kitchen before she even had a chance to put the radio down.

"Get her off me, man," the guy pleaded as he looked up when Marshall entered the room. "She's crazy!"

"Aww, just when we were starting to have some fun," Mary pouted as she looked up to see the proud smile that appeared on Marshall's face as he took in the situation in front of him. She matched his smile with a devilish grin and continued to look at him while she said, "Now who am I going to play with?"

"Since I see you have everything under control," Marshall said as he tried not to let Mary's insinuations get him too riled up, "I'm gonna go help with bachelor #2."

"No! Don't leave me with her!" cried a voice from the floor, but Marshall just shook his head and laughed to himself as he headed out the door onto the deck.

***

After securing both prisoners and handcuffing them together around the toilet in the bathroom, the Marshals headed down the hall to discuss their next move.

"Look, it's obvious Harrison sent these guys," Robert stated as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I'll make them tell us what their orders were."

"And just how do you think you're going to make them tell you anything?" Mary questioned sarcastically, not hiding her annoyance at Robert's assumption that he was the best one for the job of interrogating the two men.

"I can very persuasive, Marshal Shannon."

"I'm sure," she quipped back ignoring Marshall's glare in her direction.

"Stop it," Marshall interrupted before the pissing match went any further. "I have a plan. Chief, could you keep a look out? Mary, you come with me and follow my lead."

Mary followed him toward the bathroom, mumbling to herself as she went making it clear she was not at all happy about being ordered around by her partner.

"Look," Marshall snapped turning to face Mary, "You're the one that started with the 'we all have a job to do' crap. And as it turns out, you were right. I know you have issues with my father, but right now we need to figure out what Harrison's up to so we can stay a step ahead. There is no way that I am going to bury my father or my part…" he choked on the word and didn't finish the thought. Pulling himself together he simply said, "Please."

She saw the pain in his expression as he thought about losing one of them and instantly regretted her childish behavior. Then looking into his eyes, she saw only love and concern and she had to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over. 'Damn it, Mary," she scolded, 'are you ever going to learn to think before lashing out.' It was in that moment that she knew she could never live without her partner or with herself if she ever intentionally hurt him in any way. And she decided that when this was all over, he deserved to hear the truth from her.

Marshall saw Mary's features soften. And when she nodded, he knew it was time to move. They proceeded down toward the bathroom, stopping a few feet shy of the door.

"You can't just castrate them, Mare," he said loudly as he turned and winked at her. "Besides, there's got to a less messy way to handle this."

Mary had to keep herself from laughing, impressed at how good he was getting at roll playing. "Ah, c'mon. I promise I'll put plastic down first."

"Fine, that'll take care of the mess, but how are you going to explain it to the Chief? I don't think he'll believe that they accidentally fell on the knife."

"Who said anything about having to explain. By the time I'm done with them, they'll be nothing left for anyone to find. I mean, if they aren't going to be of any use to us, we don't need them, right?"

"I guess so," he drawled as if considering her proposal. "We can't let the old man find out what you're planning though, so I'll go distract him while you find some plastic bags."

With that, they stomped away loudly, only to double back quietly in order to be able to listen in on their captives.

"Man, I told you she was a crazy bitch. What the hell have you gotten me into?"

"Don't blame this on me, asshole. You were the one that said that said it was easy money and would get us in good with Harrison."

"It was just suppose to be the old man and his wife. He said to surprise them while they slept and call it in. That's it. Who the hell are these other people?"

"Don't know, but Harrison'll kill us if we rat him out."

"He can't kill us if we're already dead, you idiot. I say we play nice and then get the hell out of town. I've always wanted to see Mexico."

Mary and Marshall grinned at each other and then headed back to fill Robert in.

***

The phone call had been made and the three Marshals prepared themselves for Harrison's arrival.

The team from the hotel contacted Marshall to let him know that Harrison and Reynolds had just headed to the parking garage. He instructed them to follow at a distance and set up a perimeter along the edge of the property to prevent anyone from being able to escape by car.

Mary had positioned herself off to the side of the house so she would have a view of the men as they arrived.

"Reynolds is alone, I don't see Harrison," she reported into the radio.

"Damn it!" Marshall cursed. "They left the hotel together, so he's got to be on the property."

Just as Marshall finished speaking, he heard ringing and realized it was the phone used to call Harrison ringing. "Answer it!" Marshall ordered as he uncuffed an arm the phone's owner. "Tell him everything's fine. Do it now!"

"Yeah, boss. No, boss. Everything's fine. We got the place secure. You're clear to come in. Um, okay then boss."

Marshall had listened carefully to the one sided conversation and didn't like the uncertainty of his prisoner's last words. "What did he say? So help me if you…" he said grabbing the man by the collar.

"I did just what you told me, I swear. He must be really suspicious or somethin' because he said he ain't coming in until one of us goes out to the car." Marshall released him, checked that they were still secure and unable to move before closing the bathroom door.

"Harrison knows something's up," Marshall informed Mary and Robert via radio. "He called and said he wants one of those morons to go out to the car before he comes in. What's Reynolds doing?"

"Just sitting in the car," Mary replied. "Harrison's got to be close enough to see the front of the house, right? And since he's not standing here with me, there are only a few other places he could be. I'll find him."

"Mary," Marshall began, but stopped himself. He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say, but the realization that his father was listening kept him from continuing.

"I know, Doofus," she said in response to his unspoken words causing him to smile. "Now eyes open, boys. Radios silent."

***

Marshall moved down the hall to living room to check in with his dad when Mary came bounding through the kitchen, and she wasn't alone. She was holding Harrison's hands up behind his head with one hand and had her gun shoved in his back with the other.

As she pushed him into the living room, she noticed Marshall and Robert turn toward her in surprise. She knew she'd apprehended Harrison quickly, but what made her smile more was the change in Robert's expression from shock to one of admiration.

"Now how about a little help," Mary quipped nodding toward her prisoner, "or do I have to do everything around here?"

"Hello, Robert," Harrison hissed as he took in the men in front of him, "it's been a long time." The star on the belt of the younger man and the family resemblance did not go unnoticed. He cursed himself for not following his instincts at the party because as it turned out, the couple was not so harmless after all.

Robert didn't respond and Marshall moved to assist Mary in finding a place to restrain Harrison when they heard a noise behind them.

"Dad!" Marshall warned when he saw Reynolds coming in the front door. He reached for his weapon and moved toward his father just as Harrison swept one of Mary's legs out from under her, causing her to lose her balance. Since he hadn't been restrained, he was able to elbow Mary in her side and grab her sidearm before she was able to recover.

Marshall realized what was happening too late to help her. He spun on his heels just in time to see Harrison put his arm around Mary's throat and the gun to her head. His heart began pounding in his chest and he thought he was going to be sick. Taking a deep breath to try and steady himself, he saw the grin on Harrison's face and anger took over. The only thing he could think about was blowing the man's head off.

"I suggest you let her go, Harrison," Marshall said in a controlled, yet dangerous tone as he steadied his Glock and aimed directly at the man's forehead. "You've just drawn your weapon on a US Marshal, don't be a complete idiot. Put down your weapon or I'll have to shoot you."

"No. I'm afraid I can't do that," Harrison replied in a cocky tone.

Just then, Reynolds came into view holding a gun on his father. He had overpowered the older Marshal in all the confusion. "I think you have some explaining to do, Mr. and Mrs. Miller."

"Shut up, you idiot," Harrison ordered. "You told me they were nobody and that you had everything under control. You almost ruined everything!" Harrison turned his attention back to Marshall and said, "Well, isn't this interesting. Robert's son is a U.S. Marshal. You're just a chip off the old block, aren't you? Now be a good boy and put down that gun before someone gets hurt."

Marshall glared at Harrison, still holding the gun to Mary's head, as he tried to formulate a plan. Glancing at Mary and then his father, he could see them both wordlessly urging him to keep his weapon and he saw their looks turn to shock as he placed his gun on the floor. 'Just trust me,' he tried to convey with a look to each of them as he stood and faced Harrison.

"You know, Robert, I came to make you pay for taking my father from me. I planned on killing you, but maybe I'll kill your son instead," he said tightening his grip on Mary as he aimed the gun at Marshall. In a melancholy tone he added, "Nothing hurts more than losing a child."

"Now, kick it over here," Reynolds said in regards to the gun now lying on the floor and Marshall complied. Then Reynolds bent down and picked it up before shoving Robert in Marshall's direction.

Catching his father's eye, Marshall saw something that he interpreted as a challenge and nodded slightly in response.

"What the hell is wrong with you, son?" Robert growled at Marshall. "You never lay down your weapon. Never!"

"So, you're disappointed in me. What else is new?" Marshall replied with contempt in his voice. "Maybe the people I love mean more to me than some stupid star."

"What's this? A little family feud," Harrison laughed. "I guess it's not always like father, like son."

"Why the hell would I want to be like him?" Marshall spat.

"You should be proud of that badge you wear," Robert interjected.

"It's what I do, not who I am! You don't even know me. You never gave a crap about anything but your damn job." Marshall said getting up in his father's face.

"It's about respect," Robert said angrily, "something you obviously don't have."

Robert's comment wasn't even out his mouth when Marshall took a swing at him, sending him flying into Reynolds. Harrison's attention was immediately on Reynolds and Robert, allowing Marshall the time he needed to reach into his boot for his other weapon.

In a matter of seconds, Robert had wrestled his gun away from Reynolds while Marshall had taken aim at Harrison once again.

"Ha! Go ahead and shoot him!" Harrison told Robert, who was aiming at Reynolds. "You'd be doing me a favor. He's been mooching off of me for years and he couldn't even handle the one thing I gave him to do!"

"Mikey! How can say that? Your dad was like a brother to me," Reynolds pleaded.

"Don't call me Mikey!" Harrison screamed getting agitated. "How many times have I told you not to call me Mikey? My dad's the only one that called me Mikey. I'll kill you myself, you bastard." Mary could feel the change in Harrison and knew he was starting to lose control.

"Harrison," Marshall warned, "There's no way out of this."

"No, Boss. Please. You know your dad asked me to look out for you, take care of you. Haven't I always taken care of you and your family?"

"My family! What family? My wife, my boy…gone! Don't talk to me about family!" Harrison barked as he turned his gun on Reynolds.

Knowing he was distracted, Mary used the opportunity to change her position under his loosened grip and tried to get Marshall's attention to signal him of her intentions.

"This is the last warning," Marshall announced. "Now drop your weapon."

Everyone in the room could tell that Harrison had definitely lost control. His eyes were wild and he kept moving his gun from person to person.

He pressed the gun to Mary's head and she felt him tense in preparation of pulling the trigger. Finally catching Marshall's eye, she thought about all the things left unsaid and tried to communicate them in that last look. Then, she closed her eyes.

"Mikey, think about…"

"Don't call me Mikey!" was the last thing everyone heard before a shot rang out and then another.

Mary felt Harrison's arm fall and she pulled away as he sank to the floor. Marshall was at her side in an instant. Seeing the bullet wound in Harrison's head, he lowered his weapon and wrapped his arms around her.

She gazed up at him with a questioning look to which he shook his head no. Immediately, they both searched for the source of the shot and smiled in relief when they saw Stan standing in the open doorway of the house, gun in hand.

Their relief didn't last long as they looked around for Robert. Marshall lunged, pushing aside Reynolds limp corpse, only to find his father on the ground as well.

So, what did you think? We're almost to the end now and I'd love to know your thoughts.