Author's note: to those who are following this: Sorry it took so long,
hope it was worth the wait!
Part 6 More Threads
Steele turned to look at his partner. "Well that was a waste of time," he said trying to move his mouth as little as possible as he spoke.
"No, I don't think so" Dobbs turned to face him. "We now know at least two things more than we knew last night." His partner looked at him questioningly so he continued. " The first is that our lieutenant Sloan knows Mrs. Fielding well. Those two have a history; I could read it in his reactions."
"And the other thing?"
"Well since I don't believe for one moment that he doesn't know where she is and he was ready to call my bluff and let me report him before telling us," he turned back to look at the door through which Steve had just left, "we know that he's prepared to risk his career to protect her." He paused continuing to stare thoughtfully at the door as though he could watch Steve's path on the other side. "If only we'd known last night that he was a police officer then we could have avoided all of this."
Steele disagreed. "I don't think it would have made much difference."
Dobbs looked at him. "Maybe not but having him against us is not going to make this any easier. He started to move towards the door. "Come on let's get out of here before he has chance to finish talking with his Captain."
Steve shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "It's personal sir, nothing to do with any of the cases I'm currently working on." He was doing his best to answer his Captain's questions without lying but he knew his superior would not be satisfied with his answers. When he had entered the Captain's office minutes earlier he had started by requesting some time off, hoping to avoid the difficult questions which he knew would be asked.
"And if I ordered you to tell me what those agents were asking about?" The captain watched Steve studying his reactions carefully.
Steve looked his boss in the eye properly for the first time since entering the office. He paused before answering very quietly. "Then I guess you'd have to suspend me for disobeying a direct order."
The Captain nodded slightly. He had suspected as much which is why he had asked the question instead of issuing the order. He held Steve's gaze for a moment before Steve looked away. "Steve," he said his tone soft, the use of his lieutenant's first name indicative of the fact that he was concerned. "If you're in some kind of trouble…." He let it hang waiting for a response.
"No sir," Steve said shaking his head. "At least not the kind you could help with." He paused before repeating his earlier request. "As I said I just need to take a little personal time to sort a few problems out. I've got the time coming and there are no urgent cases that I'm working on that can't be handled by someone else."
"Personal problems do not normally involve NSA agents turning up in my office requesting private interviews with my officers." Captain Newman pointed out, letting his frustration show a little.
Steve looked slightly embarrassed. "I know sir. I'm sorry, just give me a little time and I will sort it out."
The captain sighed and threw his pen down on the table admitting defeat. "You have five days owed to you. after that I want you back without the personal baggage."
"Thank you sir." Steve got up to leave.
"Oh and Sloan," the Captain added, reverting to the more formal form of address.
"Sir?"
"Don't let me live to regret this."
"No sir," and gratefully Steve turned and left the office. He didn't look back as he walked straight out of the building and to his truck.
The black Ford pulled into the curb behind Amanda's car and the driver's door opened. One of the police officers turned to check out the new arrival and was somewhat taken aback by what he saw. Her legs were the first thing he noticed and what legs; long, slender, with curves in all the right places, coated in shear black tights with high heeled sandals to complete the leg extending effect. She placed her knees together, extending one ankle just beyond the other dipping her foot , she then swung her legs out and paused before placing them on the floor. Placing her weight squarely on them she elegantly stood and smoothed the short skirt of her black suit. Her figure matched her legs in shape and beauty. The movement reminded the young officer of an actress or model exiting a car in front of the press. Each move calculated to draw the attention of anyone watching.
The officer found it difficult to believe that this woman had any business at a murder scene so he prepared himself to turn her away as she approached. He almost did a double take as she removed her ID from her pocket and held it up showing her perfectly manicured nails. "Agent Stephanie Harris NSA," she said clipping the badge to the lapel of her jacket.
"Y…Yes ma'am," the officer stuttered moving the crime scene tape to let her through. The woman moved past and he could not help but follow with his eyes. It wasn't just that she was attractive it was the way she moved that drew his attention.
"She's out of your league." The young officer turned to look at his partner who had spoken.
His actions had clearly been watched and he blushed slightly. He blew out a long breath
"Yeah but there ain't no law against looking." He smiled at his partner who grinned back.
"Amen to that."
Agent Harris had a similar effect on all of the male officers inside the house. Each one paused from his respective task to watch her pass. It was a reaction she was used to and she enjoyed the feeling of power it gave her. She ignored all of the men who were busy and spotting Nathan talking to Amanda she walked over to the young detective. Her intuition told her that this was the person she sought. "I'm looking for whoever is in charge." She said confidently as she reached the pair.
"That would be me," Nathan replied turning to look at the new arrival. Like all the other men she had passed he couldn't help but notice her beauty. "Detective Nathan Turner and you would be?"
"Taking over," she replied unclipping her ID and handing it to him.
As she had approached she had caught the look that flashed across his face that told her he was attracted to her. She liked dealing with men. They were so shallow, one look at a pretty face and most of them were easily manipulated.
"This is now an NSA investigation." She continued and turned to look at the various officers working around the room. "If you could stop your men from removing evidence and get them to clear out, our forensics team will be here shortly to take over. You can turn over anything you have found later." She turned back to face Nathan, "and I'd appreciate a report from you as soon as possible."
Amanda had caught the look Nathan had given this woman too, had noticed the sexual tension that had entered the room with her appearance and had felt a twang of emotion as she watched Nathan's reaction to her. She realised with mixed emotions of her own that what she had briefly felt was jealousy. That realisation would need some thought. She did her best to ignore it and refocus her attention on the crime scene and the case.
Nathan, however, was quickly forming opinions of his own. Beautiful though this woman undoubtedly was any attraction he had felt on first impressions was quickly being quelled by the woman's attitude. "Now hold on a minute Agent.." he looked down to read off the ID, "Harris, you can't just walk in here and take over. Not until…."
"Until you've had clearance from your superiors." She finished for him. There was an arrogance in the way that she spoke. She clearly felt that her position gave her superiority over the local law enforcement and made no effort to hide it. "Well my boss is on the phone to your superior even as we speak We've been investigating Mr. Fielding's activities for months now and in all likelihood his death is directly connected to those investigations. So I think we can all save ourselves a great deal of time and trouble if you just hand over to me now and.."
"No," it was Nathan's turn to interrupt. "I don't think so. At least not until I get official notification to hand this crime scene over. This murder took place under LAPD jurisdiction and may have nothing at all to do with your investigation."
This was the first time that Nathan had been in charge when another law enforcement agency had tried to step in and take over, although he had seen it happen before, and he didn't like it. Usually it was the FBI when the case came under federal rather than state jurisdiction. He had seen enough however, to know that he would not be doing his job properly if he just packed everyone up and left on the word of one field agent. No, he would wait to be given orders by his own chain of command, besides he did not like the arrogance of the woman. He could tell even from the brief exchange so far that she used her looks as a weapon.
"When and if I get notification to hand over to you," he continued. "I will do so. Until then this is my crime scene." He matched her steely gaze with his own. "You are welcome to look round but my officers will continue with their work."
Agent Harris stared at him. She was clearly not used to having her authority questioned, nor to having a man who could so easily ignore her charms. "Very well detective have it your way but you are just wasting a lot of time and resources that I'm sure could be better employed elsewhere." She turned and walked off to examine the position the body had been found in.
Amanda who had watched the discussion develop silently waited for the woman to walk away. "Quite a peace of work." She remarked.
"She certainly is. I'm glad I don't have to work with her." Nathan said with feeling.
Part 7 Breaking Ties
Steve climbed into his truck and dropped heavily into the driver's seat His injured side and abdomen sent sharp reminders to his brain that he should be resting them not walking around. He leaned his head back against the headrest and shut his eyes, drawing in slow but steady breaths. He was exhausted and he was developing a headache. Even without the injuries he knew he did not feel well. He let out an involuntary shiver. He had been so damn cold last night and still wasn't a hundred per cent sure that he had warmed up despite the warmth of the morning California Sun.
He allowed himself a few minutes to rest before he considered his next move. One thing that he was sure of, was that he was committed to helping Emma whatever he had to do.
He was equally sure, especially after the recent revelations about the identity of Dobbs and Steele, that he could not involve any of his family or friends in this. It was too dangerous and besides Emma was a part of his past not anyone else's. He already regretted taking her back to Jesse's since he had now involved his young friend in a situation which could not only place him in physical danger but also may involve him getting into trouble with the law.
One of his priorities then was to get Emma away from Jesse's apartment as soon as possible. Before that though he had two very difficult calls to make. He owed it to his father and Alison to at least let them know that he wouldn't be around.
He decided to start with Alison. He knew that she was due in court at ten so that didn't give him much time. He pulled out his mobile and dialed.
"District Attorney's office how may I help you?" The well practiced greeting came from the other end.
"I'd like to speak to Miss Porter please if she's not in court yet."
"Thank you putting you through." The voice cut off to be replaced once again by the ringing tone. Knowing that he was about to be put through Steve felt a surge of reaction at the prospect of speaking to Alison. A little flutter of excitement as his stomach muscles tightened. He had been feeling this more and more lately. Reacting like a kid in a sweet shop, not just when he saw her, but at the prospect of seeing her or hearing her voice. Any contact with her in fact. Steve took it as one of the signs that he was falling in love with her.
The events of the last twelve hours had not changed that reaction. However the myriad of emotions he felt on seeing Emma again just left him confused and slightly bewildered.
"Alison Porter here how may I help you?"
"Hi it's…"
"Steve," there was pure joy in Alison's voice as she instantly recognised him. She must have missed him more than she thought or maybe been a little more worried than she would admit, hence the rapid interruption. "Great to hear from you." She glanced at her watch. "I'm due in court soon so this'll have to be quick."
"Yes, I know at ten. I'm er.." Steve stumbled with how to continue.
Hearing her voice and her reaction to him suddenly made this a thousand times harder. He was struggling to deal with his emotions, with how he still felt for Emma. For the first time he considered properly how he did feel; was he still in love with her even after all this time? That was too big a question to answer but the fact that he could even ask himself it whilst on the phone to Alison, with whom he was sure that he was falling in love made him feel tremendously guilty. The fact that he was going to tell Alison a series of half truths so that he could go back to Emma filled him with a sense of betrayal. He was betraying her trust in him, her feelings for him. Even as he did it he wasn't sure he could forgive himself for it.
"I'm sorry about leaving you last night something came up."
"I know, no rest for the wicked. It's OK I know what your job is like there's no need to apologise besides." She smiled and although Steve couldn't see her he could hear it in her voice. "You can make it up to me tonight."
"Actually that's why I called." God this was so hard. "The thing I was called out to last night…. It's…… going to take several days to deal with. I doubt that I'll be able to get away to see you."
"Not at all?" The disappointment was evident in her voice.
Steve felt the guilt deepen as he heard her tone change. "Sorry I doubt that I'm even going to get home much." He tried to add something that would cheer her up. "I promise that I will make it up to you when I've wrapped this thing up." He thought but did not add 'That's if you still want me to when you find out the truth'
"Well if that's how it has to be I guess I'll see you in a few days."
"Yes, I'll try and call you when I can."
"I'll miss you."
"Miss you too"
Steve hit the disconnect and let out a huge sigh. One down one to go.
As the line disconnected Alison stared at the receiver. Was it only this morning that she had told herself that she knew what she was doing going out with a cop?
Inside the station Captain Newman was also staring at his phone. He had spent the last fifteen minutes arguing with a field director from the NSA about jurisdiction on a murder inquiry. Normally he would not have been so adamant about keeping his own people involved but for the request to come on the same morning as two other NSA agents had turned up at the station was just too much to be coincidence. If Steve had managed to get himself mixed up in a murder investigation that he wasn't prepared to admit to, then Newman wanted to make sure he knew all about it. He had therefore been quite adamant about his position. He did not tip his hand by explaining why he wanted to keep his men involved but he did make some valid jurisdictional arguments. Eventually a reluctant compromise had been reached. The investigation for the time being would be a joint one until it could be shown for certain whether it was connected to the NSA's case or not.
The Captain picked up the phone again to dial his detective and let him know the position.
Mark heard the familiar page and went to the nurse's station to pick up. He identified himself and heard the click as the call was put through.
"Hi dad" Steve said trying to sound casual.
"Hi Steve, what's up?" A smile of recognition crossed the old doctor's face as he heard the familiar voice of his son.
"Something's come up which means you're not going to see much of me, if at all, over the next few days" Steve replied.
"I didn't know you had any big cases pending. Something new?" Mark asked.
Steve had known before placing the call that he would not be able to get away with telling his father as little as he had told Alison. Lying to him was not an option so he had resolved to use the same half truths and if pushed to refuse to answer. Again he hated what he had to do but he did not want to place his father in danger. "Yes, it's the reason I was called out last night."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," Steve's reply was too rapid. "I'm sorry I can't really tell you anything about it at the moment. Perhaps when it's all wrapped up." Despite his best efforts to keep his tone light Steve could hear the strain in his own voice, sure enough his father picked up on it too.
"Steve are you all right?" Mark asked the concern showing in his tone.
"Yeah fine," Steve paused deciding what half truth would sound most reasonable, "I just didn't get much sleep last night." That much was true but it wasn't the only reason that his voice sounded strained. "I guess it's catching up on me."
"OK well look after yourself and try and get some rest." Mark said. Steve's reply had done nothing to lessen his concern. "I guess I'll see you when I see you."
"Yes I'll be in touch, bye dad." For the second time Steve let out a huge sigh as he hit the disconnect on his cell phone. He stared at it for a few moments before he dropped it on the seat next to him, put the truck into drive and headed off.
It was a day for staring at phones, both Agent Harris and Detective Turner stared at their respective handsets.
Stephanie Harris swore softly. 'A joint investigation! How could her superiors be so stupid.' She could not believe that she had just been ordered to cooperate with the LAPD on the investigation. She did not need the bungling of the local police on her case. Especially not when she had spent so much personal time and effort on this one.
She looked over at the detective in charge quietly fuming to herself. If only he had listened to her when she had told him to leave, she could have really made some headway. Even once it had been established as a joint investigation, the police forensics team would not have bothered coming back and her team could have taken over. As it was she was going to have to rely on their evidence, her superiors had deemed it 'unnecessary' to bring in the NSA team as well.
Nathan was similarly bewildered and angry he did not, however, resort to swearing. He merely bit his lip and clenched his fists. If he had been told it was his case, continue investigating, he would have been happy. He would have been less pleased if he'd just been ordered to hand over to the NSA but at least then it would reduce his workload but instead he had been presented with the worst of both worlds. Not only did he have to continue the investigation increasing his workload but he had to take part in a joint investigation. Twice as much paperwork with half the progress and if that wasn't enough it also meant that he had to work with that arrogant NSA agent who would, no doubt, spend the entire time that they were forced to be together looking down her nose at him.
He turned to look at her to find that she was already staring at him. The hostility clear in her green eyes. So she had received a similar phonecall to his.
Captain Newman walked out of the station just in time to see Steve's truck pull away out of the car park. He watched it until it was out of sight. One of the uniformed officers had told him that Steve was in his truck outside the building. He had come out hoping to catch him so that he could ask him again about the NSA agents. He did not believe in coincidences so the case that detective Turner was on must somehow tie in to the agents visiting Steve.
He briefly debated sending a patrol car after Steve to get him to come back but decided he couldn't really justify that. He would just have to wait for his opportunity to speak to him later. He turned to reenter the station as a large black ford with opaque windows pulled out of the car park and headed off down the road in the same direction that Steve had gone.
Amanda had left the crime scene to return to community general ready to make a start on the autopsy. In the car on the way there she had debated briefly the feelings that she had experienced towards Nathan. Had she really felt jealous because it was him or was she just jealous of the beauty of the other woman regardless of which male colleagues had been there? No it couldn't be the latter. Amanda was not consciously aware of ever feeling that way towards another woman. She was confident in her own looks and personality and felt totally comfortable with herself. Her foster parents had instilled that sense of self worth in her and so she was fairly sure that was not it. The reaction could only have been because Nathan was there and that opened up a whole different can of worms.
Arriving at the hospital Amanda passed Mark standing at the nurse's station deep in thought.
"Hi Mark." She smiled at him.
Her voice snapped him back from his thoughts and he matched her expression with a wide grin "Oh hi Amanda"
"Something wrong? You looked like you were worrying about something."
"No, everything's fine," his smile broadened. "Just doing my usual concerned parent bit."
"Steve huh?" She said knowingly.
"Yes he was out most of the night working," Mark explained, "and he says he won't be home for several days but he can't tell me what he's working on."
"Sounds mysterious"
"Yup and you know me I just can't help but think about a mystery." By this time Mark had fallen in to step beside Amanda accompanying her in the direction of the path lab. They knew each other well enough to fall in with the other's routines at the drop of a hat. As they walked Mark briefly lost himself in thought again. There was something bothering him about his brief conversation with Steve. His intuition told him that something was wrong. It wasn't in anything Steve had said, nor could Mark put his finger on exactly what it was, apart from the slight strain in his son's voice which could be explained by tiredness as he had said. Still, Mark knew that something was wrong, and it worried him.
Amanda stopped. "You haven't heard a word I've said have you?" She asked accusingly.
Mark also stopped and looked suitably embarrassed. "I'm sorry Amanda no, I'm afraid I let my mind drift off again." He looked at her earnestly. "What were you saying?"
Amanda couldn't get annoyed with him even though to all intents and purposes he'd been ignoring her for the last five minutes. "Oh nothing, I was just telling you about the murder that I've just been out to, multiple stab wounds, very grisly."
"Any suspects?"
"So far only the wife." Amanda replied glad to have Mark's attention back. This looked like it could be an interesting case. "She's missing and hasn't been seen since her husband's untimely demise sometime late yesterday afternoon. I'll get a more exact time of death when I've had chance to examine the body."
"Crime of passion?" Mark asked his curiosity at last piqued.
"Could be. From what I saw in my prelim exam it was a fairly frenzied attack at least a dozen wounds, most fairly shallow. Could have been a woman" They arrived at the path lab. Amanda turned to face him. "If you're interested I'll give you a call when I've finished the autopsy. Let you know what I find." She paused. "Although I doubt you'll be called in to consult on this one."
"Why's that?"
Amanda smiled at the memory. "Well when I left the scene Detective Turner was just beginning a jurisdiction argument with an NSA agent who claimed it was part of an ongoing case."
Mark grimaced "I don't think I want to be in the middle of that one." Then realising whose name Amanda had used added. "Nathan's on this case?"
She nodded.
"How is he?" He asked fondly. "It's been a while since we've worked on anything together."
"He's fine. You'll probably get to see him later if he stops by to pick up the report. Speaking of which I'd better get on with it." She began to push the door to her lab open.
"OK page me when you're done and I'll come down." Mark said as he began to move off in the direction of his own office. Looking through an autopsy report would help him take his mind off his probably unfounded worries about Steve and it would be great to see Nathan again. The possibility of helping him with a case made it an even better prospect.
Steve was deep in thought as he drove, all the same he kept a watchful eye on his rearview mirror. He needed to be sure that he did not have a tail. He spent an extra twenty minutes on the ten minute drive back to Jesse's using all of the techniques that he knew just to make sure that there was no possibility of anyone following him.
His thoughts were first occupied with the phone calls that he had just made. He and his father knew each other so well that he knew his dad had noticed the tension in his voice and he regretted not being able to open up with him. His dad was always there when he needed him and never pushed him into talking about his feelings. Steve appreciated that. He often found it difficult to talk but he had always been given space to open up in his own time.
He had never told his parents about Emma. In fact he had never told anyone. At the time it had been too painful. As time went on he found that he did not want to share the memories, as though doing so would in some way give a small piece of them away, and he wanted to hang on to every part of them.
Explaining now what he was doing to his father would involve sharing one of the few areas of his life that he had kept totally from him and Steve realised that even if he had wanted to he would have found it difficult to do.
Since the night before he had not been able to keep track of his own emotional state for more than a few minutes at a time. Seeing Emma again would have been a big enough shock on it's own, especially since time seemed to have done little to dull his emotional response to her, but the rapid series of events that had unfolded since, left him with a long list of responses which his mind seemed to want to run through in fairly rapid succession.
The prominent emotions when he finally pulled up at the apartment building were anger and frustration. If he was going to sever his ties to family and friends and risk his own career into the bargain then he needed some explanation of what was going on. Whatever his feelings for Emma had been, were?, he needed some answers.
Steve parked the truck on the road. His instincts told him that parking in the underground car park was unwise. It would be too easy to get caught off guard in there.
Jesse had been unable to go back to sleep once Steve had left for the station. Not known for his lack of curiosity, Jesse had been unable to control the questions that kept intruding on his thoughts. His inability to have them answered made him full of nervous energy so he had set about cleaning the apartment up. All except of course for his room where Emma was still asleep. He had checked on her a couple of times, doing his best not to disturb her too much but needing to check that her body temperature and other vital signs were back to normal. She was so exhausted that she had gone back to sleep quickly both times after he had checked.
He was folding some laundry when he heard Steve's knock. Opening the door to his friend he greeted him. "Hi Steve," he looked him over, "have I told you recently that you look terrible?"
"With a bedside manner like that your patients must love you," Steve responded sardonically as he moved in to the apartment and dropped on to the couch. Letting out a sigh as his muscles once again protested.
Jesse returned from the kitchen area with two cups of coffee and handed one to Steve as he joined him. "How are you feeling?" He asked trying to sound like a friend not a doctor. Whatever was bothering Steve it had him tightly wound up, and his visit to the station seemed to have made things worse if the deep worry lines that had appeared on his face were anything to go by.
"Sore as Hell," Steve admitted "but I've had worse."
"You should get some more rest," Jesse could not fight his professional instincts. "I'll get you the blankets out again and.." He started to rise.
"No," Steve said sharply stopping Jesse in his tracks. His tone softened as he went on to explain. "Thanks but I really need to get myself and Emma out of here."
Jesse sat down again waiting for the explanation to continue. He did not have to ask anything, his expressive eyes did the questioning for him.
Steve sighed. He had placed Jesse in danger. He owed him some sort of explanation. "You've probably already gathered that the woman I'm with, she's called Emma Fielding, is in a lot of trouble and I'm trying to help her." Steve looked at the door to Jesse's bedroom and then turned his gaze back to his friend. "I'm not sure how bad it is yet but I don't want to put you in any further danger by being here."
"I don't mind helping out," Jesse said
"I know Jess," Steve used his now perfected half smile. "but the people who are after her are not messing around."
Jesse gave a slight nod to indicate Steve's cheek. "So I've noticed"
"As soon as Emma's up and around we'll be leaving."
"I guess that will be soon then." A female voice interjected.
Both men turned to see Emma standing in the door to Jesse's bedroom clothed in her now dry dress. Although she still looked a little pale and tired, she had made the effort to comb her hair and brush the worst of the mud off her shoes.
Steve stood and stared at her. Any anger that he had felt at being dragged into whatever Emma was involved in melted from him. He was held transfixed once again as he tried to interpret the feelings he was experiencing.
Emma stared back. Jesse tried his best with a greeting but it quickly became clear that he was talking to himself as neither Emma nor Steve had eyes for anyone else. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Jesse sensed the pent up emotion and decided that it would be best to leave them. He was fairly confident that nothing would be said whilst he was there. "I'm… er just going to… er…" He said hesitantly edging towards the door. "I'll just go and.. check my mail. I'll… leave you two alone to talk." There was no response so Jesse headed off for the lobby.
He had been gone for a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.
"Steve… I.." Emma began, "I'm so sorry that I've got you involved in this." Her tone was one of regret. "I should never have called you."
Steve took a step toward her and then stopped. "Don't apologise. I gave you my word that if you ever needed help then I would be there for you." He took a second step then added more quietly. "and I meant it."
"But you don't know what it is that you are involving yourself in."
He moved closer still. They were so close their bodies almost touching she could feel the heat from his torso, his warm breath. "I do have some questions I need answering," he admitted, gazing into her dark brown eyes he felt intoxicated. His emotions were firmly in control. All the important questions he wanted to ask her, needed to asked her, were pushed to the edge of his consciousness. He was suddenly consumed with the need to hold her in his arms, to kiss her. He gave in to the desire.
She responded wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body into his.
Finally the niggling questions penetrated through the emotion and Steve pulled himself back slightly. He took a deep breath to try to clear his head. Could the emotions really still be this strong after all of this time? He wasn't sure but he knew that everything about her felt comfortable, familiar; her scent, her touch, her kiss. A missing piece of him seemed to be back.
The voice of reason broke the spell for him. He had to ask her about what was going on. Find out why she was wanted by the NSA and what information she had that made them behave like they had done to get it. He fervently hoped that he liked the answers.
He led her over to the couch. "OK, you're right I do need to know what's going on if I'm going to help." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Suppose you start at the beginning and tell me everything up to us meeting in a storm last night."
Emma thought about it for a moment then sighed this was going to be a fairly long story. She settled back in the chair. "Well I…"
At that point a breathless Jesse ran in through the door. "Steve," he managed to get out between pants. "there are two men downstairs going door to door asking questions about you and Emma. They've got a picture of her and they are asking if anyone has seen her."
Instantly alert both of them stood. "Have they got anywhere?" Steve asked
"No but since they're using your name it's only a matter of time before someone points them in this direction." Several people in the building knew he and Steve were friends, some others knew they were business partners.
"We have to get out of here then before that happens." He fixed his gaze on Jesse. "You'd better come too for the time being. It's better if you're not here."
"I could stay here and delay them," Jesse offered. "Tell them that I haven't seen you."
"No, too dangerous. We'll drop you at the hospital."
"OK I'll grab my stuff." Hurriedly Jesse scooped up his jacket and bag and headed for the doors to the patio. "We'll go out the back way. Where did you leave the truck?"
"On the road."
The three had just left and closed the door when Dobbs knocked. He and Steele stood and waited for a reply, not realising that the young fair haired man who had passed them on the corridor was the owner of the apartment they now stood outside and had warned their quarry of their approach.
Emma made her way across the communal gardens towards the steps that Jesse had indicated closely followed by Steve. Jesse brought up the rear. They all heard the report from the rifle a split second after they saw the stone and dust spray up as the bullet impacted the ground less than a foot away.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion as adrenaline caused senses to clear. Steve looked round for the location of the shooter and the nearest cover that would protect them. "The wall, run!" He yelled. The gunmen were on the roof of a building opposite. The nearest cover was the wall by the side of the steps down on to the street that they had been heading for.
All three broke into a run. Steve caught up with Emma with his longer stride and scooped her round the waist adding his momentum to hers.
Jesse felt the white hot pain as the bullet bit into his arm and then he was spinning round. Losing his balance he dropped down on to the concrete hitting hard as he failed to roll on impact. He lay dazed not quite comprehending what had happened.
Dobbs and Steele heard the shots fired and wasted no time in breaking the door down to Jesse's apartment. They ran straight through and out. Taking the situation in at a single glance they began to return fire.
Jesse was fortunate he had been a sitting duck, completely exposed to further fire. Now the gunmen concentrated on the new threat. Even so he was now in the middle of a deadly crossfire. Being hit by a stray bullet was still a real possibility.
Steve and Emma made it to the safety of the wall throwing themselves behind it. It was at this point that Steve realised that Jesse was no longer behind him. He turned to look back and was horrified to see his friend lying on the concrete blood pouring from a wound in his arm. "Jesse!" He shouted and without a thought for his own safety he ran back out of cover into the deadly gun battle that continued between the two agents and their unseen assailants.
Jesse tried to get back onto his feet realising that he was in further danger if he stayed where he was but he was losing blood quickly and it was making him feel light headed. Just when he thought he might fall down again he felt strong hands grip him one arm supported him around the waist whilst the other pulled his good arm around a strong shoulder and then he was moving again towards the wall, towards safety.
They were only a few feet from cover when the bullet struck Steve. This hit higher than the one that had struck Jesse. It hit him in right shoulder from behind. Jesse felt Steve jerk forward with the impact and even his fuzzy senses recognised it for what it was. He half expected to fall again but their joint momentum carried them forward and on to the safety of the cover.
Steve felt the all too familiar pain as the bullet hit but a mixture of excessive adrenaline and determination allowed him to ignore it and carry on. When he reached cover he did not stop this time, knowing that if he did he may not have the ability to start again.
Emma was close to hysterics. The two men who were helping her had both been hurt, the gunfire was almost deafening and she felt certain that the next bullet would be for her. She was dragged back to her senses by Steve's shouted instructions and without quite knowing what she was doing she was running for Steve's truck. She climbed in and started the engine.
Steve helped an increasingly unresponsive Jesse into the passenger side and climbed in himself. "Drive," he yelled at Emma who obeyed pulling out onto the road. "We have to get him to the hospital now!"
Steve concentrated on helping Jesse. Blood from the wound had soaked his shirt and jeans so that the left leg was completely red and it continued to flow out. There was so much of it, too much of it. Too much blood.
hope it was worth the wait!
Part 6 More Threads
Steele turned to look at his partner. "Well that was a waste of time," he said trying to move his mouth as little as possible as he spoke.
"No, I don't think so" Dobbs turned to face him. "We now know at least two things more than we knew last night." His partner looked at him questioningly so he continued. " The first is that our lieutenant Sloan knows Mrs. Fielding well. Those two have a history; I could read it in his reactions."
"And the other thing?"
"Well since I don't believe for one moment that he doesn't know where she is and he was ready to call my bluff and let me report him before telling us," he turned back to look at the door through which Steve had just left, "we know that he's prepared to risk his career to protect her." He paused continuing to stare thoughtfully at the door as though he could watch Steve's path on the other side. "If only we'd known last night that he was a police officer then we could have avoided all of this."
Steele disagreed. "I don't think it would have made much difference."
Dobbs looked at him. "Maybe not but having him against us is not going to make this any easier. He started to move towards the door. "Come on let's get out of here before he has chance to finish talking with his Captain."
Steve shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "It's personal sir, nothing to do with any of the cases I'm currently working on." He was doing his best to answer his Captain's questions without lying but he knew his superior would not be satisfied with his answers. When he had entered the Captain's office minutes earlier he had started by requesting some time off, hoping to avoid the difficult questions which he knew would be asked.
"And if I ordered you to tell me what those agents were asking about?" The captain watched Steve studying his reactions carefully.
Steve looked his boss in the eye properly for the first time since entering the office. He paused before answering very quietly. "Then I guess you'd have to suspend me for disobeying a direct order."
The Captain nodded slightly. He had suspected as much which is why he had asked the question instead of issuing the order. He held Steve's gaze for a moment before Steve looked away. "Steve," he said his tone soft, the use of his lieutenant's first name indicative of the fact that he was concerned. "If you're in some kind of trouble…." He let it hang waiting for a response.
"No sir," Steve said shaking his head. "At least not the kind you could help with." He paused before repeating his earlier request. "As I said I just need to take a little personal time to sort a few problems out. I've got the time coming and there are no urgent cases that I'm working on that can't be handled by someone else."
"Personal problems do not normally involve NSA agents turning up in my office requesting private interviews with my officers." Captain Newman pointed out, letting his frustration show a little.
Steve looked slightly embarrassed. "I know sir. I'm sorry, just give me a little time and I will sort it out."
The captain sighed and threw his pen down on the table admitting defeat. "You have five days owed to you. after that I want you back without the personal baggage."
"Thank you sir." Steve got up to leave.
"Oh and Sloan," the Captain added, reverting to the more formal form of address.
"Sir?"
"Don't let me live to regret this."
"No sir," and gratefully Steve turned and left the office. He didn't look back as he walked straight out of the building and to his truck.
The black Ford pulled into the curb behind Amanda's car and the driver's door opened. One of the police officers turned to check out the new arrival and was somewhat taken aback by what he saw. Her legs were the first thing he noticed and what legs; long, slender, with curves in all the right places, coated in shear black tights with high heeled sandals to complete the leg extending effect. She placed her knees together, extending one ankle just beyond the other dipping her foot , she then swung her legs out and paused before placing them on the floor. Placing her weight squarely on them she elegantly stood and smoothed the short skirt of her black suit. Her figure matched her legs in shape and beauty. The movement reminded the young officer of an actress or model exiting a car in front of the press. Each move calculated to draw the attention of anyone watching.
The officer found it difficult to believe that this woman had any business at a murder scene so he prepared himself to turn her away as she approached. He almost did a double take as she removed her ID from her pocket and held it up showing her perfectly manicured nails. "Agent Stephanie Harris NSA," she said clipping the badge to the lapel of her jacket.
"Y…Yes ma'am," the officer stuttered moving the crime scene tape to let her through. The woman moved past and he could not help but follow with his eyes. It wasn't just that she was attractive it was the way she moved that drew his attention.
"She's out of your league." The young officer turned to look at his partner who had spoken.
His actions had clearly been watched and he blushed slightly. He blew out a long breath
"Yeah but there ain't no law against looking." He smiled at his partner who grinned back.
"Amen to that."
Agent Harris had a similar effect on all of the male officers inside the house. Each one paused from his respective task to watch her pass. It was a reaction she was used to and she enjoyed the feeling of power it gave her. She ignored all of the men who were busy and spotting Nathan talking to Amanda she walked over to the young detective. Her intuition told her that this was the person she sought. "I'm looking for whoever is in charge." She said confidently as she reached the pair.
"That would be me," Nathan replied turning to look at the new arrival. Like all the other men she had passed he couldn't help but notice her beauty. "Detective Nathan Turner and you would be?"
"Taking over," she replied unclipping her ID and handing it to him.
As she had approached she had caught the look that flashed across his face that told her he was attracted to her. She liked dealing with men. They were so shallow, one look at a pretty face and most of them were easily manipulated.
"This is now an NSA investigation." She continued and turned to look at the various officers working around the room. "If you could stop your men from removing evidence and get them to clear out, our forensics team will be here shortly to take over. You can turn over anything you have found later." She turned back to face Nathan, "and I'd appreciate a report from you as soon as possible."
Amanda had caught the look Nathan had given this woman too, had noticed the sexual tension that had entered the room with her appearance and had felt a twang of emotion as she watched Nathan's reaction to her. She realised with mixed emotions of her own that what she had briefly felt was jealousy. That realisation would need some thought. She did her best to ignore it and refocus her attention on the crime scene and the case.
Nathan, however, was quickly forming opinions of his own. Beautiful though this woman undoubtedly was any attraction he had felt on first impressions was quickly being quelled by the woman's attitude. "Now hold on a minute Agent.." he looked down to read off the ID, "Harris, you can't just walk in here and take over. Not until…."
"Until you've had clearance from your superiors." She finished for him. There was an arrogance in the way that she spoke. She clearly felt that her position gave her superiority over the local law enforcement and made no effort to hide it. "Well my boss is on the phone to your superior even as we speak We've been investigating Mr. Fielding's activities for months now and in all likelihood his death is directly connected to those investigations. So I think we can all save ourselves a great deal of time and trouble if you just hand over to me now and.."
"No," it was Nathan's turn to interrupt. "I don't think so. At least not until I get official notification to hand this crime scene over. This murder took place under LAPD jurisdiction and may have nothing at all to do with your investigation."
This was the first time that Nathan had been in charge when another law enforcement agency had tried to step in and take over, although he had seen it happen before, and he didn't like it. Usually it was the FBI when the case came under federal rather than state jurisdiction. He had seen enough however, to know that he would not be doing his job properly if he just packed everyone up and left on the word of one field agent. No, he would wait to be given orders by his own chain of command, besides he did not like the arrogance of the woman. He could tell even from the brief exchange so far that she used her looks as a weapon.
"When and if I get notification to hand over to you," he continued. "I will do so. Until then this is my crime scene." He matched her steely gaze with his own. "You are welcome to look round but my officers will continue with their work."
Agent Harris stared at him. She was clearly not used to having her authority questioned, nor to having a man who could so easily ignore her charms. "Very well detective have it your way but you are just wasting a lot of time and resources that I'm sure could be better employed elsewhere." She turned and walked off to examine the position the body had been found in.
Amanda who had watched the discussion develop silently waited for the woman to walk away. "Quite a peace of work." She remarked.
"She certainly is. I'm glad I don't have to work with her." Nathan said with feeling.
Part 7 Breaking Ties
Steve climbed into his truck and dropped heavily into the driver's seat His injured side and abdomen sent sharp reminders to his brain that he should be resting them not walking around. He leaned his head back against the headrest and shut his eyes, drawing in slow but steady breaths. He was exhausted and he was developing a headache. Even without the injuries he knew he did not feel well. He let out an involuntary shiver. He had been so damn cold last night and still wasn't a hundred per cent sure that he had warmed up despite the warmth of the morning California Sun.
He allowed himself a few minutes to rest before he considered his next move. One thing that he was sure of, was that he was committed to helping Emma whatever he had to do.
He was equally sure, especially after the recent revelations about the identity of Dobbs and Steele, that he could not involve any of his family or friends in this. It was too dangerous and besides Emma was a part of his past not anyone else's. He already regretted taking her back to Jesse's since he had now involved his young friend in a situation which could not only place him in physical danger but also may involve him getting into trouble with the law.
One of his priorities then was to get Emma away from Jesse's apartment as soon as possible. Before that though he had two very difficult calls to make. He owed it to his father and Alison to at least let them know that he wouldn't be around.
He decided to start with Alison. He knew that she was due in court at ten so that didn't give him much time. He pulled out his mobile and dialed.
"District Attorney's office how may I help you?" The well practiced greeting came from the other end.
"I'd like to speak to Miss Porter please if she's not in court yet."
"Thank you putting you through." The voice cut off to be replaced once again by the ringing tone. Knowing that he was about to be put through Steve felt a surge of reaction at the prospect of speaking to Alison. A little flutter of excitement as his stomach muscles tightened. He had been feeling this more and more lately. Reacting like a kid in a sweet shop, not just when he saw her, but at the prospect of seeing her or hearing her voice. Any contact with her in fact. Steve took it as one of the signs that he was falling in love with her.
The events of the last twelve hours had not changed that reaction. However the myriad of emotions he felt on seeing Emma again just left him confused and slightly bewildered.
"Alison Porter here how may I help you?"
"Hi it's…"
"Steve," there was pure joy in Alison's voice as she instantly recognised him. She must have missed him more than she thought or maybe been a little more worried than she would admit, hence the rapid interruption. "Great to hear from you." She glanced at her watch. "I'm due in court soon so this'll have to be quick."
"Yes, I know at ten. I'm er.." Steve stumbled with how to continue.
Hearing her voice and her reaction to him suddenly made this a thousand times harder. He was struggling to deal with his emotions, with how he still felt for Emma. For the first time he considered properly how he did feel; was he still in love with her even after all this time? That was too big a question to answer but the fact that he could even ask himself it whilst on the phone to Alison, with whom he was sure that he was falling in love made him feel tremendously guilty. The fact that he was going to tell Alison a series of half truths so that he could go back to Emma filled him with a sense of betrayal. He was betraying her trust in him, her feelings for him. Even as he did it he wasn't sure he could forgive himself for it.
"I'm sorry about leaving you last night something came up."
"I know, no rest for the wicked. It's OK I know what your job is like there's no need to apologise besides." She smiled and although Steve couldn't see her he could hear it in her voice. "You can make it up to me tonight."
"Actually that's why I called." God this was so hard. "The thing I was called out to last night…. It's…… going to take several days to deal with. I doubt that I'll be able to get away to see you."
"Not at all?" The disappointment was evident in her voice.
Steve felt the guilt deepen as he heard her tone change. "Sorry I doubt that I'm even going to get home much." He tried to add something that would cheer her up. "I promise that I will make it up to you when I've wrapped this thing up." He thought but did not add 'That's if you still want me to when you find out the truth'
"Well if that's how it has to be I guess I'll see you in a few days."
"Yes, I'll try and call you when I can."
"I'll miss you."
"Miss you too"
Steve hit the disconnect and let out a huge sigh. One down one to go.
As the line disconnected Alison stared at the receiver. Was it only this morning that she had told herself that she knew what she was doing going out with a cop?
Inside the station Captain Newman was also staring at his phone. He had spent the last fifteen minutes arguing with a field director from the NSA about jurisdiction on a murder inquiry. Normally he would not have been so adamant about keeping his own people involved but for the request to come on the same morning as two other NSA agents had turned up at the station was just too much to be coincidence. If Steve had managed to get himself mixed up in a murder investigation that he wasn't prepared to admit to, then Newman wanted to make sure he knew all about it. He had therefore been quite adamant about his position. He did not tip his hand by explaining why he wanted to keep his men involved but he did make some valid jurisdictional arguments. Eventually a reluctant compromise had been reached. The investigation for the time being would be a joint one until it could be shown for certain whether it was connected to the NSA's case or not.
The Captain picked up the phone again to dial his detective and let him know the position.
Mark heard the familiar page and went to the nurse's station to pick up. He identified himself and heard the click as the call was put through.
"Hi dad" Steve said trying to sound casual.
"Hi Steve, what's up?" A smile of recognition crossed the old doctor's face as he heard the familiar voice of his son.
"Something's come up which means you're not going to see much of me, if at all, over the next few days" Steve replied.
"I didn't know you had any big cases pending. Something new?" Mark asked.
Steve had known before placing the call that he would not be able to get away with telling his father as little as he had told Alison. Lying to him was not an option so he had resolved to use the same half truths and if pushed to refuse to answer. Again he hated what he had to do but he did not want to place his father in danger. "Yes, it's the reason I was called out last night."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," Steve's reply was too rapid. "I'm sorry I can't really tell you anything about it at the moment. Perhaps when it's all wrapped up." Despite his best efforts to keep his tone light Steve could hear the strain in his own voice, sure enough his father picked up on it too.
"Steve are you all right?" Mark asked the concern showing in his tone.
"Yeah fine," Steve paused deciding what half truth would sound most reasonable, "I just didn't get much sleep last night." That much was true but it wasn't the only reason that his voice sounded strained. "I guess it's catching up on me."
"OK well look after yourself and try and get some rest." Mark said. Steve's reply had done nothing to lessen his concern. "I guess I'll see you when I see you."
"Yes I'll be in touch, bye dad." For the second time Steve let out a huge sigh as he hit the disconnect on his cell phone. He stared at it for a few moments before he dropped it on the seat next to him, put the truck into drive and headed off.
It was a day for staring at phones, both Agent Harris and Detective Turner stared at their respective handsets.
Stephanie Harris swore softly. 'A joint investigation! How could her superiors be so stupid.' She could not believe that she had just been ordered to cooperate with the LAPD on the investigation. She did not need the bungling of the local police on her case. Especially not when she had spent so much personal time and effort on this one.
She looked over at the detective in charge quietly fuming to herself. If only he had listened to her when she had told him to leave, she could have really made some headway. Even once it had been established as a joint investigation, the police forensics team would not have bothered coming back and her team could have taken over. As it was she was going to have to rely on their evidence, her superiors had deemed it 'unnecessary' to bring in the NSA team as well.
Nathan was similarly bewildered and angry he did not, however, resort to swearing. He merely bit his lip and clenched his fists. If he had been told it was his case, continue investigating, he would have been happy. He would have been less pleased if he'd just been ordered to hand over to the NSA but at least then it would reduce his workload but instead he had been presented with the worst of both worlds. Not only did he have to continue the investigation increasing his workload but he had to take part in a joint investigation. Twice as much paperwork with half the progress and if that wasn't enough it also meant that he had to work with that arrogant NSA agent who would, no doubt, spend the entire time that they were forced to be together looking down her nose at him.
He turned to look at her to find that she was already staring at him. The hostility clear in her green eyes. So she had received a similar phonecall to his.
Captain Newman walked out of the station just in time to see Steve's truck pull away out of the car park. He watched it until it was out of sight. One of the uniformed officers had told him that Steve was in his truck outside the building. He had come out hoping to catch him so that he could ask him again about the NSA agents. He did not believe in coincidences so the case that detective Turner was on must somehow tie in to the agents visiting Steve.
He briefly debated sending a patrol car after Steve to get him to come back but decided he couldn't really justify that. He would just have to wait for his opportunity to speak to him later. He turned to reenter the station as a large black ford with opaque windows pulled out of the car park and headed off down the road in the same direction that Steve had gone.
Amanda had left the crime scene to return to community general ready to make a start on the autopsy. In the car on the way there she had debated briefly the feelings that she had experienced towards Nathan. Had she really felt jealous because it was him or was she just jealous of the beauty of the other woman regardless of which male colleagues had been there? No it couldn't be the latter. Amanda was not consciously aware of ever feeling that way towards another woman. She was confident in her own looks and personality and felt totally comfortable with herself. Her foster parents had instilled that sense of self worth in her and so she was fairly sure that was not it. The reaction could only have been because Nathan was there and that opened up a whole different can of worms.
Arriving at the hospital Amanda passed Mark standing at the nurse's station deep in thought.
"Hi Mark." She smiled at him.
Her voice snapped him back from his thoughts and he matched her expression with a wide grin "Oh hi Amanda"
"Something wrong? You looked like you were worrying about something."
"No, everything's fine," his smile broadened. "Just doing my usual concerned parent bit."
"Steve huh?" She said knowingly.
"Yes he was out most of the night working," Mark explained, "and he says he won't be home for several days but he can't tell me what he's working on."
"Sounds mysterious"
"Yup and you know me I just can't help but think about a mystery." By this time Mark had fallen in to step beside Amanda accompanying her in the direction of the path lab. They knew each other well enough to fall in with the other's routines at the drop of a hat. As they walked Mark briefly lost himself in thought again. There was something bothering him about his brief conversation with Steve. His intuition told him that something was wrong. It wasn't in anything Steve had said, nor could Mark put his finger on exactly what it was, apart from the slight strain in his son's voice which could be explained by tiredness as he had said. Still, Mark knew that something was wrong, and it worried him.
Amanda stopped. "You haven't heard a word I've said have you?" She asked accusingly.
Mark also stopped and looked suitably embarrassed. "I'm sorry Amanda no, I'm afraid I let my mind drift off again." He looked at her earnestly. "What were you saying?"
Amanda couldn't get annoyed with him even though to all intents and purposes he'd been ignoring her for the last five minutes. "Oh nothing, I was just telling you about the murder that I've just been out to, multiple stab wounds, very grisly."
"Any suspects?"
"So far only the wife." Amanda replied glad to have Mark's attention back. This looked like it could be an interesting case. "She's missing and hasn't been seen since her husband's untimely demise sometime late yesterday afternoon. I'll get a more exact time of death when I've had chance to examine the body."
"Crime of passion?" Mark asked his curiosity at last piqued.
"Could be. From what I saw in my prelim exam it was a fairly frenzied attack at least a dozen wounds, most fairly shallow. Could have been a woman" They arrived at the path lab. Amanda turned to face him. "If you're interested I'll give you a call when I've finished the autopsy. Let you know what I find." She paused. "Although I doubt you'll be called in to consult on this one."
"Why's that?"
Amanda smiled at the memory. "Well when I left the scene Detective Turner was just beginning a jurisdiction argument with an NSA agent who claimed it was part of an ongoing case."
Mark grimaced "I don't think I want to be in the middle of that one." Then realising whose name Amanda had used added. "Nathan's on this case?"
She nodded.
"How is he?" He asked fondly. "It's been a while since we've worked on anything together."
"He's fine. You'll probably get to see him later if he stops by to pick up the report. Speaking of which I'd better get on with it." She began to push the door to her lab open.
"OK page me when you're done and I'll come down." Mark said as he began to move off in the direction of his own office. Looking through an autopsy report would help him take his mind off his probably unfounded worries about Steve and it would be great to see Nathan again. The possibility of helping him with a case made it an even better prospect.
Steve was deep in thought as he drove, all the same he kept a watchful eye on his rearview mirror. He needed to be sure that he did not have a tail. He spent an extra twenty minutes on the ten minute drive back to Jesse's using all of the techniques that he knew just to make sure that there was no possibility of anyone following him.
His thoughts were first occupied with the phone calls that he had just made. He and his father knew each other so well that he knew his dad had noticed the tension in his voice and he regretted not being able to open up with him. His dad was always there when he needed him and never pushed him into talking about his feelings. Steve appreciated that. He often found it difficult to talk but he had always been given space to open up in his own time.
He had never told his parents about Emma. In fact he had never told anyone. At the time it had been too painful. As time went on he found that he did not want to share the memories, as though doing so would in some way give a small piece of them away, and he wanted to hang on to every part of them.
Explaining now what he was doing to his father would involve sharing one of the few areas of his life that he had kept totally from him and Steve realised that even if he had wanted to he would have found it difficult to do.
Since the night before he had not been able to keep track of his own emotional state for more than a few minutes at a time. Seeing Emma again would have been a big enough shock on it's own, especially since time seemed to have done little to dull his emotional response to her, but the rapid series of events that had unfolded since, left him with a long list of responses which his mind seemed to want to run through in fairly rapid succession.
The prominent emotions when he finally pulled up at the apartment building were anger and frustration. If he was going to sever his ties to family and friends and risk his own career into the bargain then he needed some explanation of what was going on. Whatever his feelings for Emma had been, were?, he needed some answers.
Steve parked the truck on the road. His instincts told him that parking in the underground car park was unwise. It would be too easy to get caught off guard in there.
Jesse had been unable to go back to sleep once Steve had left for the station. Not known for his lack of curiosity, Jesse had been unable to control the questions that kept intruding on his thoughts. His inability to have them answered made him full of nervous energy so he had set about cleaning the apartment up. All except of course for his room where Emma was still asleep. He had checked on her a couple of times, doing his best not to disturb her too much but needing to check that her body temperature and other vital signs were back to normal. She was so exhausted that she had gone back to sleep quickly both times after he had checked.
He was folding some laundry when he heard Steve's knock. Opening the door to his friend he greeted him. "Hi Steve," he looked him over, "have I told you recently that you look terrible?"
"With a bedside manner like that your patients must love you," Steve responded sardonically as he moved in to the apartment and dropped on to the couch. Letting out a sigh as his muscles once again protested.
Jesse returned from the kitchen area with two cups of coffee and handed one to Steve as he joined him. "How are you feeling?" He asked trying to sound like a friend not a doctor. Whatever was bothering Steve it had him tightly wound up, and his visit to the station seemed to have made things worse if the deep worry lines that had appeared on his face were anything to go by.
"Sore as Hell," Steve admitted "but I've had worse."
"You should get some more rest," Jesse could not fight his professional instincts. "I'll get you the blankets out again and.." He started to rise.
"No," Steve said sharply stopping Jesse in his tracks. His tone softened as he went on to explain. "Thanks but I really need to get myself and Emma out of here."
Jesse sat down again waiting for the explanation to continue. He did not have to ask anything, his expressive eyes did the questioning for him.
Steve sighed. He had placed Jesse in danger. He owed him some sort of explanation. "You've probably already gathered that the woman I'm with, she's called Emma Fielding, is in a lot of trouble and I'm trying to help her." Steve looked at the door to Jesse's bedroom and then turned his gaze back to his friend. "I'm not sure how bad it is yet but I don't want to put you in any further danger by being here."
"I don't mind helping out," Jesse said
"I know Jess," Steve used his now perfected half smile. "but the people who are after her are not messing around."
Jesse gave a slight nod to indicate Steve's cheek. "So I've noticed"
"As soon as Emma's up and around we'll be leaving."
"I guess that will be soon then." A female voice interjected.
Both men turned to see Emma standing in the door to Jesse's bedroom clothed in her now dry dress. Although she still looked a little pale and tired, she had made the effort to comb her hair and brush the worst of the mud off her shoes.
Steve stood and stared at her. Any anger that he had felt at being dragged into whatever Emma was involved in melted from him. He was held transfixed once again as he tried to interpret the feelings he was experiencing.
Emma stared back. Jesse tried his best with a greeting but it quickly became clear that he was talking to himself as neither Emma nor Steve had eyes for anyone else. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Jesse sensed the pent up emotion and decided that it would be best to leave them. He was fairly confident that nothing would be said whilst he was there. "I'm… er just going to… er…" He said hesitantly edging towards the door. "I'll just go and.. check my mail. I'll… leave you two alone to talk." There was no response so Jesse headed off for the lobby.
He had been gone for a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.
"Steve… I.." Emma began, "I'm so sorry that I've got you involved in this." Her tone was one of regret. "I should never have called you."
Steve took a step toward her and then stopped. "Don't apologise. I gave you my word that if you ever needed help then I would be there for you." He took a second step then added more quietly. "and I meant it."
"But you don't know what it is that you are involving yourself in."
He moved closer still. They were so close their bodies almost touching she could feel the heat from his torso, his warm breath. "I do have some questions I need answering," he admitted, gazing into her dark brown eyes he felt intoxicated. His emotions were firmly in control. All the important questions he wanted to ask her, needed to asked her, were pushed to the edge of his consciousness. He was suddenly consumed with the need to hold her in his arms, to kiss her. He gave in to the desire.
She responded wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body into his.
Finally the niggling questions penetrated through the emotion and Steve pulled himself back slightly. He took a deep breath to try to clear his head. Could the emotions really still be this strong after all of this time? He wasn't sure but he knew that everything about her felt comfortable, familiar; her scent, her touch, her kiss. A missing piece of him seemed to be back.
The voice of reason broke the spell for him. He had to ask her about what was going on. Find out why she was wanted by the NSA and what information she had that made them behave like they had done to get it. He fervently hoped that he liked the answers.
He led her over to the couch. "OK, you're right I do need to know what's going on if I'm going to help." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Suppose you start at the beginning and tell me everything up to us meeting in a storm last night."
Emma thought about it for a moment then sighed this was going to be a fairly long story. She settled back in the chair. "Well I…"
At that point a breathless Jesse ran in through the door. "Steve," he managed to get out between pants. "there are two men downstairs going door to door asking questions about you and Emma. They've got a picture of her and they are asking if anyone has seen her."
Instantly alert both of them stood. "Have they got anywhere?" Steve asked
"No but since they're using your name it's only a matter of time before someone points them in this direction." Several people in the building knew he and Steve were friends, some others knew they were business partners.
"We have to get out of here then before that happens." He fixed his gaze on Jesse. "You'd better come too for the time being. It's better if you're not here."
"I could stay here and delay them," Jesse offered. "Tell them that I haven't seen you."
"No, too dangerous. We'll drop you at the hospital."
"OK I'll grab my stuff." Hurriedly Jesse scooped up his jacket and bag and headed for the doors to the patio. "We'll go out the back way. Where did you leave the truck?"
"On the road."
The three had just left and closed the door when Dobbs knocked. He and Steele stood and waited for a reply, not realising that the young fair haired man who had passed them on the corridor was the owner of the apartment they now stood outside and had warned their quarry of their approach.
Emma made her way across the communal gardens towards the steps that Jesse had indicated closely followed by Steve. Jesse brought up the rear. They all heard the report from the rifle a split second after they saw the stone and dust spray up as the bullet impacted the ground less than a foot away.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion as adrenaline caused senses to clear. Steve looked round for the location of the shooter and the nearest cover that would protect them. "The wall, run!" He yelled. The gunmen were on the roof of a building opposite. The nearest cover was the wall by the side of the steps down on to the street that they had been heading for.
All three broke into a run. Steve caught up with Emma with his longer stride and scooped her round the waist adding his momentum to hers.
Jesse felt the white hot pain as the bullet bit into his arm and then he was spinning round. Losing his balance he dropped down on to the concrete hitting hard as he failed to roll on impact. He lay dazed not quite comprehending what had happened.
Dobbs and Steele heard the shots fired and wasted no time in breaking the door down to Jesse's apartment. They ran straight through and out. Taking the situation in at a single glance they began to return fire.
Jesse was fortunate he had been a sitting duck, completely exposed to further fire. Now the gunmen concentrated on the new threat. Even so he was now in the middle of a deadly crossfire. Being hit by a stray bullet was still a real possibility.
Steve and Emma made it to the safety of the wall throwing themselves behind it. It was at this point that Steve realised that Jesse was no longer behind him. He turned to look back and was horrified to see his friend lying on the concrete blood pouring from a wound in his arm. "Jesse!" He shouted and without a thought for his own safety he ran back out of cover into the deadly gun battle that continued between the two agents and their unseen assailants.
Jesse tried to get back onto his feet realising that he was in further danger if he stayed where he was but he was losing blood quickly and it was making him feel light headed. Just when he thought he might fall down again he felt strong hands grip him one arm supported him around the waist whilst the other pulled his good arm around a strong shoulder and then he was moving again towards the wall, towards safety.
They were only a few feet from cover when the bullet struck Steve. This hit higher than the one that had struck Jesse. It hit him in right shoulder from behind. Jesse felt Steve jerk forward with the impact and even his fuzzy senses recognised it for what it was. He half expected to fall again but their joint momentum carried them forward and on to the safety of the cover.
Steve felt the all too familiar pain as the bullet hit but a mixture of excessive adrenaline and determination allowed him to ignore it and carry on. When he reached cover he did not stop this time, knowing that if he did he may not have the ability to start again.
Emma was close to hysterics. The two men who were helping her had both been hurt, the gunfire was almost deafening and she felt certain that the next bullet would be for her. She was dragged back to her senses by Steve's shouted instructions and without quite knowing what she was doing she was running for Steve's truck. She climbed in and started the engine.
Steve helped an increasingly unresponsive Jesse into the passenger side and climbed in himself. "Drive," he yelled at Emma who obeyed pulling out onto the road. "We have to get him to the hospital now!"
Steve concentrated on helping Jesse. Blood from the wound had soaked his shirt and jeans so that the left leg was completely red and it continued to flow out. There was so much of it, too much of it. Too much blood.