Hotel

( Columbia)

19:23 Zulu

Vukovic's POV

" We'll give you 5- if the coke is good. And we know good coke, believe me. Don't try to screwe us over." Johnson said, leaning back and pulling out an illegal cuban cigar.

Kat shot him an annoyed glare that could have turned him into dust, had she so plaesed. " Could you not smoke that in here? Cigar smoke makes me nauseous. Not to mention how bad it is for your health." He ignored her and pulled out a lighter.

" Hey, I'm trying to help you out, here.I'll not ask you again.Put that thing away before I put it away fro you." Kat said in a warning tone. " Your woman should learn her place, Ryan. I despise women who think they can play with their men." Vic glanced at his partner, and seeing the rage on her face, smiled apologetically.

" I wouldn't want to piss her off if I were you. She's a better shot than me. Shorter temper, too. She once killed a man for less than lighting a cigar in her presence. I have to say it's a good quality. She's very protective."

Johnson galnced at her, and sized her up. He quickly put away the cigar. " Thank you." SHe said politely. " Now, we don't have the drugs with us, but I can guarantee you it's top quality. Extremely pure." Kat said, sitting down beside Vic, who placed an arm around her shoulders with an air of familiarity.

He half expected her to forget where they were and clout him, but luckily for him, she nestled closer, playing the loving wife.

" Have it by tomarrow at noon, and we'll set up a meeting to see what you have to offer. I know what you said, but you don't get far in this business by being trusting." Johnson stood up with his accomplices, and promptly left.

Kat waited a few minutes, to be sure that the 'guests' were gone, before beginning her rant. " Bastard! Learn my place? I'll show him my place- and his too, while I'm at it!" She started pacing, and Vic sighed. He could feel a headache coming on.

" I know you're going to hate me for this, but I don't think it would hurt to tone it down a bit. These guys don't seem the type to put up with your attitude, and I don't want to see you get hurt." Vic replied tenatatively, and she stopped.

" If I didn't know you better, I would say that you cared. I suppose I could try to repress my personality, if it will help us achieve our means." She sat down across from him, curling her shapely legs underneath her like a doe would.

Vic watched her sit, and felt his body temperature rising. ' No. Just because she's PLAYING your wife dosen't mean a thing. And neither does the fact that she curled up beside you and it felt so- nope. Not going there.' He quickly put a lid on his thoughts.

" So when are we supposed to find this operative, anyway? It said that he had just disappeared. Maybe he just succombed to the temptations his job, and he dosen't want to be found." KAt mused, picking a piece of lint off of her dress.

" I don't know. Maybe- what was that?" Vic saw someting slide under the door. Upon closer examination, he saw that it was an envolope. Picking it up, he cautiously opened it.

" What is it?" Kat asked, looking at it from beside him. " Let's find out." He unfolded the piece of paper and read aloud:

' Meet me at the edge of the town at sundown. Make sure you aren't followed.' He finished, looking at Kat, who looked back at him with a curious glint in her eye.

" It could be a trap." She said, trying to be the voice of reason. " And it could be our guy, coming to us. It would certainly save us a lot of grief. I say we go. Armed, of course, but what could it hurt? No one here knows who we really are." Vic countered.

Shrugging, Kat walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a change of clothes. " If this is a setup, we could just say that we thought it was them changing their minds. Sundown is in a few minutes. We should get going if we're going."

Mason's POV

Standing on the outskirts of the town in almost pitch blackness, Kat felt a shiver of unease run down her spine. " My spidey sense is tingling. Something's wrong here. Whoever it is, they should be here by now."

Vic nodded in agreement. " Let's head back. We aren't being paid to get ourselves killed on what's probably just a prank."

They started back, just to be interrupted. " What's your hurry? Imapatient for military personnell, aren't you?" A smooth, very feminine voice askde from behind them.

" And who are you?" Kat asked, turning around to face the woman. " Why, I'm the one you're suppposed to be rescuing. I'm assuming you're the two Callis said to bring me back?"

Vic and Kat exchanged a look that plainly said: ' Should we trust her?' Vic shrugged. " She knows anyway. If she were with Johnson, we would be dead by now. Yeah, that's us. We were under the impression that you were male."

She chuckled. " I'm sure you were. Are you sure you weren't followed? Because if you weren't, let's get out of here before my luck runs out."

" Why didn't you contact Callis like you were supposed to?" KAt asked, crossing her arms over her chest and regarding the tall woman with a level gaze.

" Because, I have reason to believe that Callis is dirty. He sent me here in hopes that I would be killed by his drug buddies down here. But he forgets that I was trained by the best- him. As soon as I got off of the plane, I went into hiding. Figured he would send someone after me, so I stuck it out."

" What evidence do you have? We can't just go home and accuse the most decorated agent in the history of the CIA of being dirty on the word of someone who's been AWOL for the last month." Vic asked, feeling skeptical.

" I have all the evidence you'll need locked in a safe. You'll get it when you get me home." Sudden;y her eyes darted over their shoulders.

" Damnit! I told you to makje sure that you weren't followed!" She snapped, s\backing away.

" If you live, call your superior officer and tell him to dig up some information on Firestorm." She slipped around the corner, silent as a ghost.

" Damn spooks! Come on!" Vic grabbed Kat's hand and ran, pulling her aruond the corner into the markertplace. It was closed, but offered a lot of hiding places.

" In here!" He shoved her under a table covered by a cloth and dove under after her.

They huddled up against the wall. Kat opened her mouth to whisper something, but Vic clamped his hand over her mouth.

Running feet stomped by, visible under the cloth.One pair stopped in fromt of their iding place, and stood there for sevral nerve- wracking seconds. just as Kat thought her lungs were about to burst from holding her breath, he moved on.

A few minutes the pursuers disappeared, Vic and Kat crawled out from under the table. " That was close." She said, brushing off her pants.

" Let's not try that again, hmm? We should get back to the hotel before anyone misses us." Vic said, and Kat nodded her agreement.

They headed back to the hotel, getting a knowing look from the door attendant that made Kat's cheeks heat.

" God knows what this must look like." Kat snapped as they walked up the stairs. " Coming in late at night like this."

Vic raised an eyebrow at his companion. " Liek you've never stayed out past curfew with a boy before."

" The first time I did, my father stayed up on the porch with a shotgun. When my boyfriend and I pulled up, my father stood up. ' Go on inside, sweetheart, while this young man and I have a little talk.' I got out of thje car, and Dad started towards Jake's Camero. He pumped it once, and Jake was out of there like a bat out of- Oh, hell."

Johnson waited outside their door, sharpening a nasty looking knife. " Where did you two go in such a hurry? I came back a few minutes ago, after chasing a couple of american soldiers."

The pair exchanged a look. This wasn't good.

Next Chapter:

Vic and Kat face some tough questions