Frank Fuller slammed the door of the car and gave a sign of relief as he tugged his tie loose. "Whew, I'm glad that's over." He met his driver's eyes in the rear view mirror and grinned, "Home James."

"Where the hell are Hood and Young," McGruder asked.

Frank's grin faded, "what do you mean where are they? They left the embassy earlier, Alvarado said ….." he trailed off.

McGruder pulled the car away from the embassy with a jerk. "Shit, something must have gone wrong. If they left it sure as hell wasn't by the front door. When did you last see them?"

"I'm not sure," Frank admitted. "I think I saw them after dinner . . ."

Karen piped up. "It was about two hours ago. Dinner had just finished and Alvarado was talking to Jacob. Then the music started and Rachel, um, Agent Young dragged Jacob out on the dance floor."

She flushed when she realized her husband was looking at her with his jaw dropped. "What? I was bored; the conversation at these things isn't what you'd call scintillating. I was keeping an eye on Jacob."

McGruder pulled the car to the side of the road. Turning, he shot a glare at Fuller. "I'm glad at least one of you was paying attention. What else do you remember?"

Karen shrugged, "I think Agent Young must have wanted to get Jacob out of there. Like I said, Jacob and Alvarado were talking and then suddenly she pulled Jacob onto the dance floor. They danced for a while then she must have pretended Jacob stepped on her foot or something; when they were walking off the dance floor she was limping."

"What do you mean, pretended?" McGruder said sharply.

"Jacob's a good dancer," Karen said. She nudged her husband. "Unlike some, he's not the kind of partner to step on your feet."

"Ok," McGruder said, "what else did you see?"

Karen hesitated a moment. She didn't want to tell Frank and Ty that what kept her eye on Jacob wasn't anxiety. What captured her attention was how relaxed and, well, happy, Jacob looked dancing with Agent Young. Whatever they had been talking about caused Jacob to smile and, at one point, laugh.

She didn't think it would be a good idea to share this observation with the Director of the FBI and the Unit Chief of the Executive Protection Detail. They might read more into the situation than there was; she didn't want to put Agent Young's career in jeopardy needlessly. She mentally shrugged, "What's the harm in Jacob actually liking the agent he has to spend so much time with?

"Not much," Karen admitted. "They said something to Alvarado and then I saw them go into the embassy with him. I have to admit I wasn't totally surprised when Alvarado told Frank and me that Rachel sprained her ankle so she and Jacob were headed home, that they didn't want us to feel as if we had to leave the party early too."

"Good," McGruder said. "So we definitely have them last seen with Alvarado. Anything else, during dinner, maybe?"

"No, nothing." Frank said.

"No, there was something," Karen contradicted him. "Right after dessert was served, a man came and said something to Alvarado, it wasn't much, I mean he was only there for a minute or so."

"Close your eyes and think about the man." McGruder instructed her. "How was he dressed? Was he one of the waiters? Or a member of the embassy staff?"

Karen obediently closed her eyes and thought. Her eyes popped opened and she said, "Embassy staff. Definitely. The waiters were all wearing white jackets, he had on a black jacket, but not a tux, a regular suit, like the staffers."

A smile flickered across McGruder's face. "You know Frank, we may have to sign Karen up as a special agent. She sure noticed more than you." He turned serious. "I gotta say, this isn't good. Alvarado has them and he's got a couple of hour's head start on us."

"Let's drop Karen off and head to the Hoover Building," Frank said. "We need to see what we can do to trace Jacob and Young."

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Jacob sat slumped in a chair watching Rachel prowl back and forth across the room. It had been more than two hours since they arrived at the warehouse and Rachel's anger had increased with every minute of their captivity. His lips twitched; her pacing, combined with the way she was clenching and unclenching her hands, reminded him of an angry cat. He was startled out of his reverie when Rachel suddenly raised her leg and kicked the door.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked. So far their captors left them strictly alone. Jacob had a few bad moments when they were first shown into the room. Alvarado's assistant pulled out a knife. Remembering the man's attempt to strike Rachel, Jacob sucked in his breath. He was relieved when the man only used the knife to cut the ties binding their hands.

"Why not?" snarled Rachel. She was seething with frustration. "I'll be damned if I'm going to tamely wait here for them to come and finish us off."

"Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that."

Rachel stopped her pacing and stared at Hood. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been thinking"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Of course you have."

Jacob smiled, "If they wanted us dead that would have already happened. I mean, they've had plenty of opportunity." He raised an eyebrow, "especially when we were in the embassy. They could have murdered us there and smuggled our bodies out easily. No one could prove otherwise."

"Maybe they're waiting until Alvarado gets here."

"Seriously? Why would they wait? Do you think he's going to be like a Bond villain and outline his evil plan and why we have to die?" Jacob snorted, "We don't have the faintest idea of why we were kidnapped; it's not as if we're any threat to Alvarado."

"You don't know," Rachel argued, "maybe this is payback for your breaking up that drug-smuggling ring in Texas."

Jacob pressed his lips together and shook his head. "I can't see it. Why would they care if we know why they're killing us? If they wanted revenge, wouldn't they just shoot us? Besides, they have to know by now that Frank and Ty are looking for us."

Jacob's analysis of the situation forced Rachel to calm down and think. She admitted to herself that a large part of her anger and frustration lay in the fact that she had failed to protect Hood. Shooting him a disgruntled look she also sat at the table and went over the situation in her mind. One thing Hood said nagged at her.

"You're right, if this was about that drug ring in Texas you'd have thought they'd go for pay-back a long time ago." She looked at Hood speculatively, "So, what is it about you that made Alvarado take this kind of risk?"

"Why does it have to be my fault? Why can't they have wanted to kidnap you?"

Despite the seriousness of their situation, Rachel couldn't help smiling at the look on Hood's face. "I'm collateral damage, Alvarado was trying to get you alone all evening. Why?" She shook her head, "cause you're right about the Director and McGruder. They'll be pulling out all the stops to find us, you. What would make Alvarado risk that? What could he want from you?"

Jacob shrugged, "I don't know."

"Think, what about at dinner? And before? What did he want to talk about?"

"Cytology for the most part."

Rachel looked at him blankly, "what's that exactly?"

"Cytology is a branch of biology that studies the structure and function of the cell, the physiological properties, metabolic processes, signaling pathways, life cycle, chemical composition and interactions of the cell with their environment."

Rachel sighed, "In plain English please?"

Jacob stared at her for a moment. "Have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle?"

"Uh, yeah, but . . ." Rachel trailed off, realizing this was the beginning of one of Hood's stories.

"Well, cells are like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Small parts that interlock together to build something. But before you can put your puzzle together, you have to study the pieces; figure out what parts are the border, separate them by color, size, whatever.

And some pieces look alike and you have to figure out their real function. Is that white piece the tip of the black cat's tail or is it part of a cloud? That's what cytology is about, learning how cells work together, how they interact with other cells, and how they interact with the world around them. Basically, it's the study of how things live and grow."

"And you're an expert in cytology?"

"No, cytology is more on the biology end of biophysics, my work was in the physics end of the field." Jacob was thoughtful, "but I do have a basic working knowledge of the area. Remember the problem we worked on in California? With the fruit fungus and the synergy effect?"

"Oh my god, yes," Rachel shuddered, "I still have nightmares about explaining to the Director why you thought it necessary to buy a fifteen hundred dollar bottle of wine."

"Well, that was a perfect example of a cytological problem. Figuring out why and how the fungus interacted with the scorpion venom on a cellular level."

"That's all well and good, but it takes us back to my original questions. Why you? Why now? What's going on in Alvarado's world that he suddenly needs a hot-shot scientist."

Jacob cocked his head, he could hear a footsteps in the corridor outside, "I think we may be about to get the answers to those questions."

Rachel sprang up as the door opened and positioned herself in front of Hood. As the door opened she snapped, "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but you're going to be in a shitload of trouble when the FBI catches up with you."

Alvarado and his assistant walked into the room. Alvarado smiled slightly, "No we won't." He raised his eyebrow, "diplomatic immunity. The worst they can do is kick us out of the country." The smile left his face, "and with luck, by the time your friends locate us, I'll have the answers I need."

"Why should we give you any answers," Rachel said. "You kidnap us, hold up prisoners …"

"I do apologize for the kidnapping," Alvarado broke in, "but you left me no choice." A note of exasperation crept into his voice. "You resisted every attempt for a private conversation and then, when I finally got the two of you away from everyone, you," he pointed at Rachel, "attack my man and pull a gun on me."

Rachel's mouth dropped open. "What the hell? You're blaming me? You and that goon of yours," she pointed to Alvarado's assistant, "tried to force us into a car."

"Again, I apologize," Alvarado grimaced, "when I lost my temper, I'm afraid Guillermo and my driver over-reacted." He held out his hand as Jacob opened his mouth to protest. "You have to understand, we come from a country where violence is an everyday occurrence. They thought they were protecting me from you. Believe me, everything I did in the garage was to make sure no one got hurt."

"Including tying our hands?" Jacob snapped.

Alvarado laughed, "Especially that." He nodded toward Rachel. "Who knew that young ladies in your country carried guns on their dates? I was afraid she might attempt another rescue."

"So if this isn't a kidnapping what the hell is it?" demanded Rachel. "Why did you bring Dr. Hood and me here?"

Alvarado sighed. "Come with me and you'll see."

At the end of the corridor there was a large double door into the warehouse proper. At a gesture from Alvarado, Guillermo opened the doors. Rachel and Jacob gaped as they took in rows of tubs containing rose bushes with single blooms under grow lights.

"What is god's name …" Jacob trailed off.

"With luck, and your help," Alvarado said, "you're looking at the future of my country."

He smiled at the stunned looks on their faces. "We're a poor country. My people don't grow coco plants because they're evil, they grow them because they're profitable. I hope to change that, to convince people to grow flowers instead."

Rachel was skeptical, "I don't think..."

"Do you know how much you Americanos spend on roses on Valentine's Day alone?" Alvarado interrupted. .

Jacob and Rachel looked at him blankly.

"Two billion dollars." was the answer.

"You're kidding!" blurted Jacob. "Two billion? With a b?"

"And another two million on Mother's Day." Alvarado shrugged. "The United States alone spends thirty-four billion a year on flowers. Illegal drugs bring in ten billion a year. So, yes, I think turning my countrymen into gardeners is a very good idea."

"Where do I come in?" Jacob asked. "You said you needed my help?"

"Yes," Alvarado drew Jacob to a workbench containing not only cut branches of roses, some pots of soil and fertilizer, but also an electron microscope. "A number of the flower farms in the mountains have developed a particularly resistant form of mosaic fungus. Everything we've tried to eradicate the fungus has either failed or destroyed the flowers.

"Interesting," Jacob murmured. "Is this a soil sample from the affected area?"

"Eww, Hood!" Rachel felt compelled to protest as Jacob dug his fingers into the one of the pots to taste the soil.

"Oh, don't be so prissy Rachel," he responded. "Do you know how much dirt the average American eats each year? Or," he continued with a twinkle in his eyes, "fecal matter?"

"No," Rachel scrunched up her face, "And I don't what to know."

With a chuckle, Jacob turned his attention to Alvarado. "Umm, doesn't seem overly acidic or alkaline."

"Exactly!" Alvarado agreed. "The soil is fine, the fertilizer is fine, but the roses keep contracting the fungus and pesticides we use to counteract it don't do anything. I was hoping you could study the fungus and help us find a way to deal with it."

Rachel shook her head in disbelief. "Flowers, you kidnap us and make a big mystery about talking to Hood about flowers! What the hell? Why not ask for an appointment at the Hoover Building?"

Alvarado's face hardened. "Because I'm not completely convinced this fungus isn't sabotage. There are many in my country who stand to lose much power, influence, and money if I succeed in turning my countrymen away from the drug trade. Until I know what I'm dealing with, I want to keep this problem in the dark."

Jacob nodded his head thoughtfully, "makes sense to me."

He drew Alvarado's attention to the plants on the workbench, the two men were quickly immersed in matters horticultural. Alvarado's assistant Guillermo hovered behind the two, fetching plants, fertilizer, or whatever was requested.

Rachel gave a snort of disbelief and shook her head. "All this fuss about a bunch of god dammed flowers.' She poked Alvarado in the back to get his attention. "Since your motives are so pure, I guess you won't have a problem with giving me back my weapon and my cell phone?"

Alvarado looked at her blankly for a second and then gave a small laugh. "Of course Senorita, or should I say Agent Young." He motioned to Guillermo with his head and the young man pulled Rachel's evening bag from one pocket and the plastic gun from another. He handed them to her shyly.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding earlier, senorita. I lost my temper and should not have tried to strike you. You were only doing your job when you attacked me."

Rachel muttered her thanks and, turning her back to the men, returned the gun to her thigh holster. Pulling her phone out of her purse she announced that she was calling the Director to check in. "Might as well let him know he can call the dogs off."

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A grim faced McGruder faced the room full of agents, Frank Fuller by his side. He looked around, "what I'd like all of you to do is to hit up your contacts, see if there's any chatter on the Internet, see what we can find out about what's going on in Columbia. Glancing at his watch, he continued, "Alvarado has had our people in his custody for over three hours at this point and we have no idea where he or they are. For all we know they could be in the embassy or halfway to Columbia."

A voice piped up from the back of the room. "Actually, sir, uh, I'm pretty sure they're in Baltimore."

"What the hell," McGruder growled. "Who the hell are you? And why Baltimore?"

The agents in the room shifted as a tall, heavily built black man lumbered to his feet. If this guy was blowing smoke they didn't want to be between him and McGruder.

In contrast, the big black man was beaming. "I'm, ah, Felix Lee sir. I was recently attached to the Special Science Advisor's team, I'm their recon and support guy."

McGruder looked at Frank who nodded, McGruder snorted, he now remembered Frank saying something to him about Young requesting a trainee agent. "And," he ground out.

Felix hurried on with his explanation. "When I heard the Doc and Agent Young went missing, I kind of reached out to a contact of mine in the Bureau, someone who's really good with computers." He was encouraged by the McGruder's nod of acknowledgement. "The Ecuadorian embassy is right across the street from the Columbian embassy. She, uh, I mean they, hacked into the security camera's outside the Ecuadorian embassy.

I had her look for any cars leaving the embassy starting with the time the Doc and Agent Young were last seen." He triumphly waved a picture in the air. And I found 'em. Here's a picture of them leaving the embassy about a half hour after they disappeared."

McGruder strode toward him and plucked the picture out of Felix's hand. He glanced at it and snorted. "It's a standard black sedan. What makes you think it's the right time or that Hood and Young are inside? The windows are tinted."

"I told him," a voice piped up from behind Felix. Karen Fuller was indignant that Ty was treating Felix's and her discover so cavalierly. Karen had insisted in accompany Frank and Ty back to the Hoover Building; she was concerned about both Jacob and Agent Young. But once there she had been shoved aside; Felix had been the only agent willing to talk to her.

"That's right," Felix said. "Mrs. Fuller here gave me some great intel. I was able to give Pen, uh, my contact a good idea of when they might have first left the embassy; then when we were watching the film, Mrs. Fuller spotted this." Felix pulled out another picture of the car, a close-up of the rear door where a faint line of pink could be seen.

"Mrs. Fuller told me that Agent Young was wearing a pink dress. I bet she deliberately let it get caught in the door."

McGruder was impressed. "Good work Lee, so they left the embassy but what makes you think they're in Baltimore?"

"D.C. has a fair amount of traffic cams and we were able to trace the car across the city. We lost it getting onto the BWI Parkway." He held up his hand as McGruder opened his mouth. "But there wasn't any trace of them around BWI itself. I had a hunch so I checked property records in Baltimore. It turns out Alvarado owns a warehouse down by the docks. My contact checked some surveillance cams there and we identified the car entering the area."

"Damned good work Lee," his lips twitched, "and you too Karen. "Now we need to go and get 'em back."

"You're right about that Ty," Frank said. "And I think we need to call out HRT."

McGruder raised his eyebrows, "Ya think? Why not use the Baltimore office's SWAT team?"

Frank shook his head, "I don't want to take any chances. We're going up against a purported Columbian drug lord. Hell, those people run their own militias. We don't have the time to investigate the warehouse, see what kind of defenses they have in place. We need the specialized training HRT has."

McGruder nodded, "I'll make the call."

Frank smiled grimly, "I already did, they're on their way but they have orders not to breech the target until we get there." His lips twitched at Felix's hopeful expression, "yes, Lee, you can come along. But you," he hugged Karen, "need to head home."

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Frank, Ty, and Hutchins, the leader of the HRT squad, huddled around the blinking computer screen in the command truck parked a few blocks from the warehouse.

"We're using infrared cameras to surveil the premises sir," Hutchins said, "We can definitely say from the heat signature that they're unquestionably growing something in there. And we're picking up traces of at least four people and they're all together in the one room."

A puzzled look crossed his face, "the only thing surprising is that we can't seem to find any signs of security, just locks on the doors, but nothing that looks out of the ordinary for a commercial warehouse. Neither the windows or doors are wired with explosives."

"They most likely don't want to call attention to themselves," said McGruder.

Hutchins nodded doubtfully. "Maybe, but we're not going to take any chances. I want you three," he nodded at Ty, Frank, and Felix, "behind my men. You'll only enter the building on my say so."

"Fine," said Frank, "let's head out."

Soon a line of heavily armed men in tactical gear were silently making their way to the door of the warehouse. Frank, Ty, and Felix, wearing bullet-proof vests, brought up the rear. As Hutchins reached the door he held up his hand, signaling the line to stop. He nodded to the first man in line, who was holding a battering ram, to get in place.

He motioned to his men, "On the count of three, we go in."

He held up three fingers, counting down one and then two. Before he could reach three a cell phone chirped.

Radiating fury Hutchens hissed at his men, "which of you fucking assholes has a cell phone?"

"Ah, that would be me," said Frank. He fumbled for his phone, blushing as the members of the HRT squad looked at him dead-panned. His eyebrows rose in surprise, "It's Young." He quickly answered.

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"Hello, Director …" Before she could say anything more she was cut off. Rachel listened with growing astonishment. "You're where? You're kidding! How did you track us?" Smiling she said, "You don't have to break down the door. I'll be right there."

She announced "We have company. The Director, McGruder, and a squad from HRT are outside. I'm going to go let them in."

"Umm, yeah, ok," Jacob answered absently. He, Alvarado, and Guillermo were absorbed in the experiment he has just begun to run.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head Rachel headed for the outside door. She had barely opened it when she was grabbed and pulled outside.

"Hey, watch it," she said angrily to the man who held her by the arm. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Securing your person," snapped Hutchins. "How many armed men are in there? What are they growing? Is it anything that could be a threat to my squad?"

Rachel pulled her arm free. "None. I'm the only one with a gun and I'm out here." She gave a small snort of laughter, "and the only threat to your squad is if any of them have hay-fever." She looked at the Director, "I tried to tell you, this wasn't exactly a kidnapping, Alvarado really did want to consult Hood."

"About what?"

"Come on inside and you'll see."

Hutchins objected. "I don't think that's a good idea, this could be a trap. For all we know they have a gun to Hood's head and they're using her to lure you in."

"The only way," Rachel said coldly, "someone could put a gun to Hood's head is if they put a bullet in mine first."

"Damn straight!" McGruder muttered.

"And," she added "I called you. We had no idea anyone was out here."

Ignoring Hutchins's attempts to argue, Rachel turned to the Director. "Honestly sir, the kidnapping only happened because Alvarado was frustrated at not being able to get Hood alone for a quiet conversation." She shot accusing looks at both the Director and McGruder. "If we hadn't been so suspicious, none of this would've happened."

"Maybe," McGruder conceded. "But Alvarado can't expect that Hood would give him advice on how to improve his drug trade. So what the hell are they growing in there?"

"Roses." Rachel smiled at the looks on the faces of the men. "That's what I meant about hay-fever. Come in and see for yourself."

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"Cool!" Felix breathed out as Rachel led the men through a maze of roses. "You mean our big drug kingpin is a florist?"

"A gardener." corrected Rachel. At the Director's raised eyebrows she shrugged. "It turns out flowers are an even bigger business than drugs. Alvarado wants to turn Columbia into one big flower garden."

Alvarado and Hood were so absorbed in their work they didn't notice anything until Frank Fuller burst out, "Jacob, what the hell is going on here?"

Jacob looked up from his work, surprise on his face. "Frank, Ty, what are you to doing here?

"Recuing you," Frank retorted.

"Rescuing? What are you talking…?" Jacob trailed off, a look of satisfaction on his face as he spied Felix lurking in the background. "Felix! I'm glad you're here, could you help Guillermo load some of these roses into a car? I need take them to the Hoover Building to confirm my tests."

This was too much for McGruder. "Hoover Building? Tests? What the hell are you talking about? Do you know what time it is?"

Jacob gaped at the anger in McGruder's voice and he fumbled to find his watch.

Felix took pity on him and called out, "Twelve-forty-five Doc."

Jacob nodded his thanks and turned to McGruder, "It's a quarter to one."

Rachel almost laughed at the look on McGruder's face. "Uh, Hood, that was a rhetorical question. I believe Detail Chief McGruder is implying that it's rather late to running any experiments."

"Oh," Jacob was relieved, "it's ok Ty. I don't need to run an experiment, I just need to run a DNA panel on this fungus to confirm my hunch."

This statement caused an uproar, Alvarado taxed Hood for details while McGruder and the Director demanded Hood tell them what was going on. Hutchins kept asking if his men should secure the warehouse. Rachel sighed, and putting two fingers in her mouth, blew a shrill whistle. The men turned to her mouths agape.

"Ok, this is what we're gonna do," she announced. "Felix, you and Guillermo get fungus samples from a few different rose trees." She held up a hand as Hood opened his mouth to protest "No, you said you only needed to confirm a hunch, so you don't really need the trees do you?" She raised an eyebrow at Hood and he reluctantly nodded. "Good, let's get this show on the road."

Ty and Frank looked at each other and shrugged. It was obvious they weren't going to get any explanations until they were back at the Hoover Building.

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It was a smaller crew that made it back to the Hoover Building. Alvarado sent Guillermo home after he helped Felix harvest the fungus samples. Hutchins and the HRT crew likewise headed for home as it was obvious they weren't needed. The rest of them crammed into Felix's sedan. To McGruder and Frank's relief, they were able to get most of the story from Alvarado and Hood on the way back to D.C.

Once they arrived at the Hoover Building, McGruder elected to stay; he didn't quite trust Alvarado and he was curious about what Hood was up to. Frank would have preferred to head home, but if Ty was staying he felt honor-bound to stay also.

To Frank and McGruder's disappointment what happened next wasn't very exciting. Alvarado and Hood were hunched over a computer while an automated DNA sequencer ran in the background. Prowling about the lab McGruder was amused to see that Young had already begun the paperwork to account for this night's activities. He was not amused to see that Lee was playing with his phone. The pinging of the DNA sequencer caught everyone's attention.

Jacob reached over and pulled out the print-out. Scanning it carefully, a smile broke out on his face. "Yep, I was right!"

"What?" Alvarado was elated. "You know what the problem is? Why I can't kill this damned fungus."

"You can't kill it," Jacob replied, "because it's not a mosaic fungus."

Alvarado's reacted angrily. "What the hell are you talking about? You idiot! And to think I was pinning my hope on the great Dr. Hood. Do you think I'm a moron? That I don't know mosaic fungus when I see it?" He gestured to the computer screen and the microscope. "Plus, we've been looking at the molecular structure of the fungus, comparing it to other samples, it's identical."

Jacob was unfazed by the outburst. "Yes, I know it looks identical." He held up the print-out from the sequencer. "But this proved the DNA isn't a 100% match."

"That's impossible," Alvarado insisted. "Your machine must have made some kind of mistake." He once again pointed to the microscope. "You can see for yourself that the sample is identical to the mosaic fungus."

"Be that as it may," Jacob replied. "But just because they look identical doesn't mean they have identical DNA."

McGruder was confused, "I gotta say I'm with Alvarado on this one. I thought that was the point of identical? Like identical twins. They're completely identical, same fingerprints, same blood type, same everything."

Jacob turned to him, McGruder had hit the nail on the head. "Yes, you would think that, but recently researchers have discovered that there are differences in the DNA of identical twins."

At the quizzical look on McGruder's face, Jacob nipped in his lip and tilted his head in thought. "Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?

McGruder went from confused to incredulous. "What the hell? What does a 90s rom-com have to do with DNA?" He looked at Young as if asking for an explanation of Hood's non sequitur.

"Welcome to my world," she murmured. She turned to Hood, her eyebrows raised. "Groundhog Day, yeah, it's the movie about the weatherman who repeats the same day over and over again." Comprehension dawned on her face. "Except he doesn't."

"Yes he does," Ty broke in in exasperation, "I saw the damned …."

Felix interrupted him, "nah, Agent Young's right. He doesn't have the same day, he acts like a jackass at first, doing all kinds of weird stuff, but then he changes, learns from the day, until he gets it right."

"Exactly," Jacob said. "When he decided to reform himself, he takes what he learns and incorporates it into the next repeat of his day. He reacts to stimuli by making slight changes. But the day itself doesn't change, everyone else, everything else is exactly the same." Jacob's eyebrow rose, "and more to the point, no one else realizes that he's acting any differently. Which is what we've recently discovered can happen with DNA. The entire organism stays, looks the same, but at its most basic level something has changed."

"But how can that be?" Alvarado asked. "Is this a mosaic fungus or not? Or is it some new type of fungus?"

"The problem," Jacob said, "is that when we speak of DNA most people think in monolithic terms. DNA isn't a single thing, it's a combination of chromosomes. A fungus has thirteen chromosomes; in our fungus here, one of those thirteen is different from the typical mosaic fungus. I'm guessing that's the reason it's so resistant to the herbicides you've been using."

"So this change," Alvarado was thoughtful, "is it natural or," his face hardened, "man-made?"

Jacob scrubbed his face with his hands, "that I can't tell you." He rummaged on the workbench and came up with a pen. He scribbled something on the print-out and handed it to Alvarado. "But he might. David Sooner, he's a friend of mine, he's the leading botanic geneticist in the country. He should be able to tell you if it's a natural mutation and how to kill it."

Alvarado clutched the print-out and stammered his thanks.

Felix stood and stretched, "So, I guess that means we're done here?"

Rachel and Hood exchanged glances and Rachel nodded at him in confirmation.

"Anyone hungry?" He held up his phone. "I found a place that's open 24/7; says it's got the best biscuits and gravy in the District."

"Sounds good to me." Jacob shrugged into his tuxedo jacket. "How about it Rachel?"

Rachel tilted her head, lips pursed. "I could eat," she admitted. Looking down at herself she grimaced. "I wonder if I have any sweats in my locker."

"Nah, don't change," Felix said. He winked and offered her his arm, "It's not often I get to go out with such a classy looking lady."

Rachel laughed and took his arm. Jacob fell in beside her and the three left the lab laughing and talking easily amongst themselves. Three pairs of eyes followed them, the expressions on the three faces thoughtful. All three wondering at the interpersonal dynamics of this team. Alvarado broke the silence.

"A formidable team, Director Fuller"

Frank grunted in agreement, but before he could respond, Alvarado continued smoothly,

"Yes, I'm so impressed with the results, I'm sure I won't need to report that you smuggled a weapon into our embassy."

Frank's eyes widened in dismay and he looked at McGruder, whose face was turning red, "Ty, you . . ."

Alvarado interrupted with a twinkle in his eye, "Who would have thought such a beautiful woman could be so lethal." He chuckled, "she took out one of my most experienced bodyguards without turning a hair. Yes, she's a very effective concealed weapon."