Mike was staring into space, taking deep, slow breaths, knowing he had to get through this without letting his emotions get the better of him. The irony of the situation was not lost on him, the simple fact that he was now the victim telling his side of the story, albeit to a friend instead of someone whose neutrality might be called into question.

He inhaled deeply and held the breath for several long seconds before letting it out slowly. "The next few seconds are a bit of a blur…" He swallowed heavily. "I know I grabbed the bastard and threw him out the door into the dirt. I know I was straddling him and beating the hell out of him… And I know I wasn't thinking straight…" His voice began to shake and he stopped, closing his eyes.

Steve waited without moving, his heart breaking as he stared at his devastated partner, knowing how hard it was for the older man to admit to his failings, to admit that he had lost control. He remembered how contrite Mike had been after he had gone after Leonard Cord in the office when he found out the newly released scumbag had been following and photographing his daughter.

Mike exhaled softly and opened his eyes. They flicked briefly in the younger man's direction. "That's when I got shot. It came from inside the car… from whoever was sitting behind the wheel. It, ah, it stunned me… I really didn't feel much pain, I was… in another zone, I guess… but it really didn't hurt all that much. But it rattled me enough for the little bastard underneath me to get away. He crawled to the car and it took off."

He stopped and closed his eyes again, taking another deep breath. His pinched features relaxed slightly, as if the worst of the story was over, though Steve knew it wasn't.

"I, ah, I carried Jeannie back to the store. I wanted to call the local cops, tell them what happened, but the store was closed and the lights were off." He looked at Steve, frowning. "We had no choice, we had to get out of there, so we got in the car and started towards town. I didn't have time to change the fan belt and I was praying it wouldn't snap.

"We weren't on the road for long before the car, that red whatever-it-was, suddenly showed up behind us…" He made eye contact with the younger man again. "They must've been sitting just around the bend, waiting for us to leave." He swallowed heavily and looked down. "They stayed behind us for little while, like they were trying to taunt us. I told Jeannie to put her seatbelt on… I knew it wasn't going to end well."

He looked up again. "And then the fan belt finally snapped. I lost the power steering right away, of course, but I knew I could push the car to make it to town if I had too. And that's when they came after us. They rode my bumper for a bit, trying to get alongside but I straddled the center line. I knew they had a gun and I couldn't let them get any closer. And that's when they rammed us." He looked at Steve and raised his eyebrows. "We were going about 60. I didn't have a chance. We started to spin and I had no control… we went straight for the trees."

Mike looked down at the half-eaten BLT quarter in his hand and shrugged slightly. He put the sandwich back in the aluminum container. "So I woke up god knows how long later, in what looked like a doctor's office, with the doctor and the… the chief standing over me talking about the accident and the dead guy…. I had no idea what they were talking about at first. I was in a lot of pain and I think I was drifting in and out. And by the time I got my wits about me, I found out I was being charged with murder." He looked at Steve and shrugged again, this time with resignation.

"The murder of who?"

"The guy that tried to rape Jeannie. Johnny Seddon was his name, from what I gather."

"What the hell?"

Mike snorted softly. "I don't have all the details…they've been very… circumspect when it comes to telling me what's going on… but it seems they found the… the muscle car in a ditch near the gas station with Seddon behind the wheel and a bullet in his head."

"And they said you shot him?"

Mike nodded solemnly. "Not only that, but I was told they found the murder weapon in my car, with one bullet missing and my fingerprints all over it."

"What? Was it the same gun they used to shoot you?"

Mike shook his head. "I don't think so. The one they used on me didn't sound that big… I'm pretty sure it was a .22. The gun they say they found in my car was a .38."

Steve's brow furrowed. "You didn't bring your -?"

"No," the older man cut him off, "of course not. You know I don't take my piece with me on trips like this. Hell, I don't even bring my badge. That's why they still don't know I'm a cop."

Steve leaned back slightly. "Jeanne's right, it is a set-up."

Mike snorted softly, a soft smile playing over his lips. "She said that?"

The younger man smiled back. "Umh-humh."

Mike chuckled, his eyes growing fond as he looked away.

"So," Steve began slowly, "I've got my work cut out for me, it seems."

Mike looked at him sharply. "You're not thinking of doing this on your own -?"

"No, of course not," Steve chuckled, echoing his partner's words. "Don't worry, I'm not that foolhardy, believe me. As soon as I leave here I'll give Roy a call and tell him what's going on and get him to send a couple of the guys down." He frowned. "So what do you think… we both come clean as cops to let them know what they're up against, or stay incognito for the time being to see how deep this frame goes?"

Mike raised his eyebrows. "Good question. I think we stay under the radar as long as we can and hope you can uncover something before the others get here… and then we can make that decision as a group. What do you think?"

"I think you're right," Steve nodded slowly. "So I guess I'm going to be Gerry O'Brien for at least another twenty-four hours."

The older man smiled. "I guess you are."

"Well, could be worse," Steve chuckled. "I guess the first thing I have to do is find out who this… Johnny Seddon, you said?"

Mike nodded.

"Find out who he was and why someone wanted him dead, despite the obvious, of course. And from what I've seen it's not a big town, so I guess it'll depend on how open everyone is." He raised his eyebrows. "But I think if the police chief and the hotel manager, not to mention the guy at 'Charlie's Gas & Go', are any indication, it's not going to be easy."

"Yeah," the older man sighed. "You be careful, you hear. We don't know what's going on and we don't how how much they are going to push back when you start to ask questions."

Steve smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll be the soul of discretion."

Mike chuckled and shook his head. His eyes wandered down to the container and what was left of his dinner. He looked up at his partner and chuckled again. "It's a good thing I don't mind cold fries…"

# # # # #

They finished the rest of their dinner in almost total silence, both of them mulling over the seemingly overwhelming dilemma facing them. It seemed almost inconceivable that a simple vacation could have taken such a horrifying turn so quickly and so easily.

Swallowing the last bite of his sandwich, Steve looked at his watch. He snorted. "I've got five minutes, if Hogan is a punctual man. And I have a sneaking suspicion he is." He started to get to feet and gather the empty containers to put them back in the paper bag.

"Thanks for getting my duffel bag," Mike acknowledged as he picked up his empty sandwich container and held it out.

"No problem. I figure you needed a change of clothes, even if they do smell like fish."

The older man chuckled then sighed. "Well, it could be worse in here, I guess. At least I have a sink and a toilet and, all things considered, I've slept on worse." He patted the cot beside him then looked at his partner with a twinkle in his eye. "But I do envy Jeannie her TV…"

Steve laughed softly. "I'll tell her that. Listen I'll try to get a newspaper or a paperback or something for you tomorrow so you don't go completely stir crazy."

"Thanks." Mike smiled warmly.

Steve had packed everything away and was now waiting for someone to come in to unlock the cell door. "Hey, ah, you want me to help you take the sling off so you can sleep better?"

Mike glanced down as his arm under the shirt then looked up and shook his head. "No, it's okay, I can do it if I need to."

"Okay." Steve swallowed and nodded, feeling a lump forming in the back of his throat. "I'll, ah, I'll get in to see you as soon as I can in the morning, let you know what Roy says."

"Okay." Mike nodded. "And you take care of yourself, all right? Don't take anything, or anyone, at face value, not until we know what's really going on, you hear?"

"I hear." The wooden door started to open. Steve flashed his partner an encouraging smile. "Try to get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow." He could see the older man's eyes brighten, and Mike nodded.

"You too."

The young recruit strode briskly into the room, studiously avoiding eye contact as he opened the cell door. The paper bag in his hand, Steve left without a backward glance.

# # # # #

Hogan was standing at his office door when Steve preceded the recruit into the bullpen. As he started towards the exit, he glanced over; Hogan's face was expressionless. He stopped, weighing his options and deciding to take a chance. "Listen, ah, I need to make a long distance call to a colleague. Can I use a phone?"

A small cold smile spread over Hogan's face. "Sorry, these phones are for police business only. There's a payphone outside the grocery store, and there'll be one in your motel room. Feel free to use either one of those."

Steve was already heading to door again, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from tossing a expletive in the chief's direction that would go nowhere in maintaining a civil detente.

# # # # #

It was cold and dark by the time he pulled the Porsche into the parking space in front of his motel room. As he got out, bringing his flight bag with him, he tossed a glance in the direction of Jeannie's room; though the curtain was closed he could tell the lights were on. He looked at the office; an OPEN - VACANCY neon sign flashed in the front window and there was a dark-coloured Datsun 240z parked in front. He debated whether asking to visit Jeannie again then decided against it. He didn't want to take the chance of alienating everybody on his first day. But he would definitely demand to see her in the morning.

Fishing the key out of his pocket, he let himself in. The room with identical to Jeannie's, minus the bars on the window. He turned on the lights and tossed the flight bag on the bed then crossed to the black phone on the desk. He pulled the chair out and sat as he lifted the handset.

There was no dial tone. He pushed the switch hook buttons a couple of times, hoping to kick-start the dial tone, but the line stayed dead. Growling, he got up and followed the cord to the wall; there was nothing wrong that he could see.

Trying to control his fraying temper, he charged to the door and threw it open, starting for the office. The lights were off and the Datsun was gone. Frowning, knowing that this was not just coincidence, he looked around the deserted parking lot, trying to fight the sensation he was being watched. He fished his keys out of his pocket and crossed to the passenger side of the Porsche. He slid onto the seat and unlocked the glove compartment, glancing around fervently as he slipped his .38 into his pocket then locking the car again before returning to the room. He put the chain on the door..