{Author's notes: AGH...writer's block can be a real pain.}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Ten: Surprises in All Sizes
----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm afraid that I don't exactly have an ice pack." a smiling Mary apologized, handing Danny a bag of frozen vegetables. The tall, brown-haired man gently put the cold bag up against the left side of his face, and shuddered as it initially touched his skin.
"Thanks." Danny said, smiling at the dark-blonde woman as she sat down next to him.
"Don't mention it." Mary replied, waving him off.
"So, how did you find out?" a curious Danny asked.
"Mike told me that he saw you meet with the Professor." Mary reported, looking to the floor. She shook her head. "No one wanted to believe it, but…" A slight chuckle escaped her. "You should probably stay away from Sam and sharp objects until this blows over."
"Well, I tend to anyway." Danny laughed, although he hurt inside. It killed him that his friends now thought the worst of him. He decided to interrogate Mary further. "How did you know where to find me?"
"I waited for Ed to come back." Mary replied, "I think he expected to run into me, because he told me right away where you were." She paused. "He said that he understood, and that he wouldn't punish me for doing what I was going to do."
"Good man." Danny nodded, taking a minute to silently thank Ed for understanding his relationship with Mary.
"My turn to ask the questions." Mary said, looking up. "What role does Leah have in all of this?"
"Huh?" a surprised Danny asked.
"Come on, Danny." Mary urged, "I know that it just can't be a coincidence that you meet a new woman just as this little charade is going on." Her eyes narrowed. "Who is she really?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't really know too much about her." Danny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's a liaison between the Professor and myself, and a pretty big flirt." He shrugged his shoulders. "But that's about all I know about her."
"So you two aren't…" Mary started.
"Going out? No." Danny shook his head, "That was just a cover for her contacting me when I was at the Montecito."
"So, you're not going to have a problem turning her in along with the Professor's other henchmen, right?" Mary asked, causing a stunned look to suddenly appear on Danny's face. "Don't tell me that you didn't realize that?"
"Maybe I just preferred not to think about it." Danny stammered, realizing that fact had never even entered his mind. What was he going to do? Sure, Leah wasn't his girlfriend and their relationship had never developed beyond a mutual flirtation, but he couldn't just throw her in prison. He sighed and put his head in his free hand. "What am I going to do?"
"You could warn her before hand." Mary suggested, rubbing his back.
"Or you could just relax." Leah said, shocking both Danny and Mary. Both heads turned to see the brown and blonde haired woman standing just inside the main room of Mary's apartment. A wide grin was present on her face.
"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, wondering how much she had heard. He hoped that she hadn't heard enough to ruin the whole operation.
"Looking for you." Leah replied honestly, "I heard through the grapevine that Ed Deline got his hands on you." A sympathetic look appeared on her face as she noticed the bag of frozen vegetables resting against Danny's jaw. "Sure looks like it."
"Well, I told you that Ed has quite a temper." Luis said as he suddenly appeared behind Leah. The brown-haired, Latino man smiled as curious looks appeared on the faces of his childhood friends. "I suppose that Mary's been briefed about our little scam?"
"What scam?" Danny asked, trying to play innocent in front of Leah and wondering what in the hell had gotten into Luis? Mentioning the scam in front of one of the Professor's people?
"I don't think that he's figured it out." Leah said, looking at Luis.
"Figured what out?" a curious Danny wondered as he suddenly remembered the fact that Luis had another mole in the Professor's organization. "Wait a minute…"
"Lt. Leah Higgins of the Nevada State police department…" Leah started to introduce herself.
"And one of the best undercover cops I've ever seen." Luis added before shaking his head. "I still say that it's a shame we're losing you to the NYPD."
"Sorry about having to trick you." Leah said, looking into Danny's eyes.
"It's all right." a smiling Danny waved off. "I'm just glad that I don't have to turn you in too."
"Like I'd let you." Leah teased as her cell-phone rang off. "Excuse me."
"Sure." Luis said as the petite woman headed off into another room. The cop turned his dark eyes towards Mary, who stood up. "So, he told you everything, huh?"
"Yeah." Mary nodded, "How can I help?"
"I don't think Danny and I want you to…" Luis started.
"Stall Ed from changing the security codes." Danny interjected, looking at the floor. "Especially the one to the vault, since that's probably going to be the Professor's main target." He looked earnestly at Mary. "It should take them a few days to do it anyway, but I want to make sure that we have time."
"Okay." Mary agreed as Leah came back into the room.
"That was the Professor." Leah reported, looking at Danny. "He heard about what Ed did. He ordered me to find you and bring you back to him."
"Then, let's go." Danny agreed, standing up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning off the speaker, a smiling Ed sat back against the seat and congratulated himself for being wise enough to bug Mary's apartment. Danny wasn't trying to sell him out, but was rather trying to protect the older man. The grim-faced, older man laughed and put his forehead in his hand.
"Stupid kid." he muttered, wondering if Danny knew what he had gotten himself into.
The yellow and black Camaro suddenly pulled out of the driveway, which got Ed's attention. He watched it head down the street, turn left, and speed off towards what Ed assumed was the Professor's base of operations. Sighing, Ed turned the Hummer H2 on and decided to head back to the Montecito. He hoped beyond anything that Mitch and Paulie hadn't gotten started on changing the security codes yet.
"Danny!" Luis shouted, suddenly running out into the driveway. Ed looked over. "Son of a bitch!"
"You've got to stop him, Luis!" a worried Mary said, standing in the doorway. Seeing the panic on her face, Ed immediately pulled his Hummer into her driveway. "Ed? What are you…"
"I bugged your apartment." Ed said, rolling down the driver's side window. "I heard the whole story." His blue eyes focused on Luis. "What's the problem?"
"Traffic control just called me." Luis replied, looking at the older man. "They found a microphone hidden near where Danny told Mary about this whole scam. Upon reviewing the tapes, they discovered that two of the Professor's men were the ones who put it there." He swallowed deeply. "By now, he's bound to know that…"
"Danny's not on the level." Ed said, realizing that McCoy was probably walking right into a trap. His blue eyes widened in fear for a second, before narrowing in determination. "Luis, hurry up and get in. We've got a convertible to catch."
To be continued...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Ten: Surprises in All Sizes
----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm afraid that I don't exactly have an ice pack." a smiling Mary apologized, handing Danny a bag of frozen vegetables. The tall, brown-haired man gently put the cold bag up against the left side of his face, and shuddered as it initially touched his skin.
"Thanks." Danny said, smiling at the dark-blonde woman as she sat down next to him.
"Don't mention it." Mary replied, waving him off.
"So, how did you find out?" a curious Danny asked.
"Mike told me that he saw you meet with the Professor." Mary reported, looking to the floor. She shook her head. "No one wanted to believe it, but…" A slight chuckle escaped her. "You should probably stay away from Sam and sharp objects until this blows over."
"Well, I tend to anyway." Danny laughed, although he hurt inside. It killed him that his friends now thought the worst of him. He decided to interrogate Mary further. "How did you know where to find me?"
"I waited for Ed to come back." Mary replied, "I think he expected to run into me, because he told me right away where you were." She paused. "He said that he understood, and that he wouldn't punish me for doing what I was going to do."
"Good man." Danny nodded, taking a minute to silently thank Ed for understanding his relationship with Mary.
"My turn to ask the questions." Mary said, looking up. "What role does Leah have in all of this?"
"Huh?" a surprised Danny asked.
"Come on, Danny." Mary urged, "I know that it just can't be a coincidence that you meet a new woman just as this little charade is going on." Her eyes narrowed. "Who is she really?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't really know too much about her." Danny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's a liaison between the Professor and myself, and a pretty big flirt." He shrugged his shoulders. "But that's about all I know about her."
"So you two aren't…" Mary started.
"Going out? No." Danny shook his head, "That was just a cover for her contacting me when I was at the Montecito."
"So, you're not going to have a problem turning her in along with the Professor's other henchmen, right?" Mary asked, causing a stunned look to suddenly appear on Danny's face. "Don't tell me that you didn't realize that?"
"Maybe I just preferred not to think about it." Danny stammered, realizing that fact had never even entered his mind. What was he going to do? Sure, Leah wasn't his girlfriend and their relationship had never developed beyond a mutual flirtation, but he couldn't just throw her in prison. He sighed and put his head in his free hand. "What am I going to do?"
"You could warn her before hand." Mary suggested, rubbing his back.
"Or you could just relax." Leah said, shocking both Danny and Mary. Both heads turned to see the brown and blonde haired woman standing just inside the main room of Mary's apartment. A wide grin was present on her face.
"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, wondering how much she had heard. He hoped that she hadn't heard enough to ruin the whole operation.
"Looking for you." Leah replied honestly, "I heard through the grapevine that Ed Deline got his hands on you." A sympathetic look appeared on her face as she noticed the bag of frozen vegetables resting against Danny's jaw. "Sure looks like it."
"Well, I told you that Ed has quite a temper." Luis said as he suddenly appeared behind Leah. The brown-haired, Latino man smiled as curious looks appeared on the faces of his childhood friends. "I suppose that Mary's been briefed about our little scam?"
"What scam?" Danny asked, trying to play innocent in front of Leah and wondering what in the hell had gotten into Luis? Mentioning the scam in front of one of the Professor's people?
"I don't think that he's figured it out." Leah said, looking at Luis.
"Figured what out?" a curious Danny wondered as he suddenly remembered the fact that Luis had another mole in the Professor's organization. "Wait a minute…"
"Lt. Leah Higgins of the Nevada State police department…" Leah started to introduce herself.
"And one of the best undercover cops I've ever seen." Luis added before shaking his head. "I still say that it's a shame we're losing you to the NYPD."
"Sorry about having to trick you." Leah said, looking into Danny's eyes.
"It's all right." a smiling Danny waved off. "I'm just glad that I don't have to turn you in too."
"Like I'd let you." Leah teased as her cell-phone rang off. "Excuse me."
"Sure." Luis said as the petite woman headed off into another room. The cop turned his dark eyes towards Mary, who stood up. "So, he told you everything, huh?"
"Yeah." Mary nodded, "How can I help?"
"I don't think Danny and I want you to…" Luis started.
"Stall Ed from changing the security codes." Danny interjected, looking at the floor. "Especially the one to the vault, since that's probably going to be the Professor's main target." He looked earnestly at Mary. "It should take them a few days to do it anyway, but I want to make sure that we have time."
"Okay." Mary agreed as Leah came back into the room.
"That was the Professor." Leah reported, looking at Danny. "He heard about what Ed did. He ordered me to find you and bring you back to him."
"Then, let's go." Danny agreed, standing up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning off the speaker, a smiling Ed sat back against the seat and congratulated himself for being wise enough to bug Mary's apartment. Danny wasn't trying to sell him out, but was rather trying to protect the older man. The grim-faced, older man laughed and put his forehead in his hand.
"Stupid kid." he muttered, wondering if Danny knew what he had gotten himself into.
The yellow and black Camaro suddenly pulled out of the driveway, which got Ed's attention. He watched it head down the street, turn left, and speed off towards what Ed assumed was the Professor's base of operations. Sighing, Ed turned the Hummer H2 on and decided to head back to the Montecito. He hoped beyond anything that Mitch and Paulie hadn't gotten started on changing the security codes yet.
"Danny!" Luis shouted, suddenly running out into the driveway. Ed looked over. "Son of a bitch!"
"You've got to stop him, Luis!" a worried Mary said, standing in the doorway. Seeing the panic on her face, Ed immediately pulled his Hummer into her driveway. "Ed? What are you…"
"I bugged your apartment." Ed said, rolling down the driver's side window. "I heard the whole story." His blue eyes focused on Luis. "What's the problem?"
"Traffic control just called me." Luis replied, looking at the older man. "They found a microphone hidden near where Danny told Mary about this whole scam. Upon reviewing the tapes, they discovered that two of the Professor's men were the ones who put it there." He swallowed deeply. "By now, he's bound to know that…"
"Danny's not on the level." Ed said, realizing that McCoy was probably walking right into a trap. His blue eyes widened in fear for a second, before narrowing in determination. "Luis, hurry up and get in. We've got a convertible to catch."
To be continued...