Disclaimer: Mary and Marshall belong to David Maples. If they hadn't been misused by others I wouldn't be writing this.


Sonn of Mann – Chapter 51 – Busted

MARSHALL POV

Mary thinks she's figured out who ordered the hit on her, me, us. She doesn't have any tangible proof, but her plan is to get the evidence. Since it's her plan, it involves considerable risk. Dad, Conran and I poke holes in it, propose changes and finally get Mary to agree. After we iron out the details we tell Mom. She listens, asks questions and finally agrees that we – that is Dad and Conran - should go ahead. Mom, Mary, the kids and I will stay here.

Before they leave Conran and I talk to Clint about what he needs to do to pull this off. It's risky tampering with the network, but Clint has access and the skills to make his manipulations look like routine patches and maintenance. Conran arranged the trip to the closest airport and gets them on a flight to DC.

All we have to do is wait.

U.S. Marshall headquarters, Washington DC, Pierson's office

Conran had outfitted himself with a tiny lapel cam. If it works as advertised we will all witness the confrontation with Pierson. Because of the time difference, Mary, Mom and I get the kids to nap so we can watch the meeting. I hope the kids sleep though the whole thing, but I'll record it in any case. At the appointed time we gather around my laptop, with cocoa for Mary and coffee for Mom and me.

"Here we go." The camera goes live.

"Can he hear us?" Mary asks and I can tell Mom's wondering too.

"No. You can MST3K all you want." I expect blank stares but Mary and Mom both seem to know what that means.

We watch Dad and Conran present themselves to Pierson's aide who controls access to her office. We can't see Dad or Conran but we can see what they see – Mr. Aaron Bernheim, Mr. Spikey Hair. The guy tries to put them off, but Dad insists. He can be pretty damn scary. Pierson hears the hullabaloo and uses the intercom to ask Bernheim what's going on. Dad leans over the machine. "Director Pierson, we are retired US Marshals Mann and Fitz here to speak to you on an urgent matter."

"Marshall Mann?" Even the poor sound quality of the machine reflects her surprise.

Dad continues speaking into the intercom microphone. "No ma'am I'm Seth Mann, Marshall Mann's father. We have critical information regarding the Marshal Service."

"Come in," the tinny voice responds. Bernheim reluctantly opens the door where we see Pierson standing behind a large desk. She gives Conran the once over, but her gaze lingers on Dad. "Marshal Mann, my condolences on the loss of your son."

I raise my eyebrow and look at Mary. "News of my resurrection hasn't made it to DC." She shrugs. Interesting.

Dad corrects Pierson. "Retired marshal Director Pierson. Thanks for agreeing to see us. We're not here about my son."

Conran takes over and gets right to the point. "Director Pierson, Seth and I have found evidence of corruption and collusion in the AUSA's office that implicates the Marshal Service and you." She steps back, trying to maintain a poker face. "We became aware of this after your visit to Albuquerque."

She sits down and scrutinizes Conran. "And what exactly did you 'become aware' of - Mr. Fitz is it?"

"During the investigation into the bombing of Marshal Marshall Mann we uncovered a plan to black mail you."

She's quick to protest. "Nonsense! No one is black mailing me. I haven't done anything illegal, immoral or fattening," she jokes.

Conran is not amused. "You don't know it yet but you will be accused of illegal conduct. There is an incriminating document in a hidden file on that computer." We can see his finger pointing to her desktop machine. "If you will give us a minute, I can show you how to find it."

Pierson scoots back in her chair. It's the end of the day and her clean desk tells me she's ready to go home. I'm afraid she's going to send them packing, but her curiosity and self interest win. "This isn't some trick to get me to install a virus, is it?"

"No ma'am, absolutely not. What you'll be doing is a standard way of viewing hidden files – part of the operating system." I can tell when Pierson decides to go along. She follows Conran's directions, finds the file and opens the document. When she reads it her mask of polite indifference dissolves into anger.

"What kind of joke is this? Did you plant this?"

"No joke ma'am. If you have your techs look at it they should be able to backtrack it to the source. Give them a call." She hesitates, probably afraid that the file could be seen as real evidence against her.

She stops and thinks then finds a contact on her cell. "Yes, it's me. I need you to come to my office immediately. Yes, that means now. Just put down the bagel and get your ass over here."

She hangs up and startles at the slap of photos on her desk. "What's this?"

Conran points to the stack. "More evidence."

She picks them up and shuffles through them one by one. "Are these on my computer too?"

I hear Dad cough, the only sound he's made since they got into the office. "No, but you'll see why you should be concerned."

I had printed out this set of the pictures without names or other identifiers. Pierson shuffles through them stopping at one, taking it out of the pile and holding it up. She lays it on the desk. The next one catches her eye. I don't have to see it to know it's the one with her boy wonder outside the door. Her eyebrows rise.

"These have been photoshopped?" Her voice is sharp, accusatory, and I can't blame her for hoping it's not true. She's beginning to see how serious this is, what a threat it poses to her career. All Dad cares about is the reputation of the Marshal Service. All I care about is Mary and the kids safety. All Pierson cares about is herself.

"Not that we can tell without a lab. I can tell you the pixels match up." Conran assures her.

There's a knock on the door and the tech arrives. Dad and Seth move to the visitor chairs which gives us a clear view of Pierson's desk. She scoops up the photos and lets the tech sit in her chair. It takes a few minutes for him to examine the metadata to determine the routing information on the document. I can tell he's double and triple checking his results because I see him repeating the same keystrokes. He shakes his head and then whispers in Pierson's ear. She's visibly shaken. She nods and dismisses the tech with a thank you and a threat to keep this to himself. He nods.

Mary huffed. "Wonder what she has on him? He's got to get something out of this. She's not the type to inspire loyalty." I have to agree.

After the tech leaves she holds up the photo with Mr. Spikey Hair. "Where was this taken? When was this taken?" Her voice trembles.

"We don't know ma'am. We do know some of the people." Conran gets up and points. "That's Ferguson, the AUSA in New Mexico, this is Randy Fetwell who's mentioned in the document on your computer." He sorts through the photos. "These two are Stephen Roach and Harmon McDaniel who are supposed to be smugglers but the Border Patrol and the FBI suspect them of human trafficking."

Pierson drops her head, her tone soft, confused. "I can't believe Aaron is mixed up with them. He's been with me for years. Why would he do this?"

I hear Dad's gravelly voice issuing more of a command than a suggestion. "Why don't you ask him?"

She thinks about it for a few moments then pulls out her center desk drawer. She swivels her chair to face the wall and makes a call.

"I'll bet she's calling building security." Mary whispers. "One of the few smart things I've seen her do."

Facing Dad and Conran Pierson toggles the intercom, folds her hands and in an calm even voice asks, "Aaron, are you still there?" We don't hear it but the reply must be positive. "Please join us."

Sound proofing must be better in those offices. If Aaron had been listening he'd be long gone.

I had wondered about Dad's actions outside Pierson's office. "Maybe Dad turned off the intercom function on his desk phone. That would explain why I saw Dad's hand on the speakerphone when he leaned over to speak to Pierson."

"Didn't know your old man could be so sneaky," Mary approved.

Bright eyed and spikey haired, Aaron opens the door and comes in standing between Dad and the desk. Conran turns so I can see Dad move to block the door. I didn't see any other doors in the office so there's no way he's getting out.

"Aaron, these two marshals have brought some interesting photos." She holds up one and asks. "Do you know where this was taken?" I can't tell for certain but I bet it's the one with Aaron's face clearly on display.

Bernhiem swallows, but plays dumb. He squints. "Hmm, let me see." He steps closer. The camera jumps as Conran braces himself for action. Pierson slides it across the desk. He picks it up. "Looks like a bunch of people at a conference, lobbyists maybe?"

"He's nervous. We got him," Mary crows.

"Isn't that you on the right?" Pierson asks calmly. "I remember when you got that suit. It's hand tailored. It fits you perfectly. It's very impressive, especially on your salary."

Bernhiem's not ready to give it up. "Ah no. It looks sort of like me, but I'm not the only one with that style of suit."

Pierson's expression says she thinks otherwise. She stretches out her hand pointing to a detail on the photo. "What about the watch he's wearing? Isn't that a Rado Centrix identical to the one your 'grandparents' gave you?"

"You go girl! She's done playing games," Mary chuckles.

Bernhiem swivels quickly, runs to the door not expecting the old man to block his escape. We can see his grim determination as he puts his head down to knock Dad aside. Mary giggles, "Like that's gonna work." Dad's ready for him. Years of arresting fugitives make his actions smooth, almost choreographed as he steps aside and locks on Aaron's elbow. The camera and Conran stay perfectly still. Dad doesn't want help. Unable to move without increasing the painful hold, Aaron starts hollering.

"That's not me. It's a fake. You know me Allison. Would I betray you?" He's wriggling like a fish on a hook, trying and failing to escape Dad.

Pierson raises her voice. "That is the question isn't it? I know loyalty can be bought, and I know you are ambitious. I will have the photo checked, but you know Aaron, an innocent man wouldn't run."

"Like hell he wouldn't. I know how this place works." He grunts as Dad increases the pressure.

Pierson must have triggered an alarm because we hear the door open. Conran turns so we can see two burly US Marshal's enter. Pierson does the honors. "Aaron Bernheim you are under arrest for consorting with known felons to subvert this office."

Bernheim has a lot to say. "You'll never prove anything. It wasn't me. You're still going to jail for agreeing to take a cut of Fetwell's profits." Conran, Dad and Pierson exchange a knowing look. No one had mentioned Fetwell. Good thing I'm recording this exchange.


A/N: That's part of the mystery solved, but nothing's ever straightforward. Will it be safe enough for Mary and the Manns to go home? Stay tuned. Thanks Meg for the review.