The Temptation of Goren: Part Four.

(If you haven't read the previous disclaimers, go and do so. They're all the same.)

Maria pushed an errant copper curl from her eyes and re-adjusted the pair of plastic safety goggles that sat on her nose. She picked up the Petrie dish that held the swab she had taken from the crime scene and added the identification solution from the pipette. But her mind wasn't concentrating on the reacting substances in front of her.

Damn it, she thought, almost dropping the dish on the cold, steel bench in the lab. Her mind was filled with the images of her night with Goren; his hungry kiss stealing her breath away, his eyes longing for her to understand. Which she did. Maria understood Bobby so well. Setting the substance down, Maria sat in a chair off to the side and sighed. Probably not as well as her aunt did, but she could tell by his actions, his conversation, even, Maria shivered, the way he had made love to her. It was impossible.

'Detective, we've finished here,' the lab assistant called to her. Maria nodded and stood up, making her way towards the Petrie dish. Picking it up, she continued going over her thoughts. It was his smell; she deduced, that was what had set her off this morning. That soft, clean, freshly-laundered scent he carried with him. The warm smell of vanilla. Maria thought back to her teenage years when she had been madly in love with Guy Sebastian, the Australian singer who had won Australian Idol. When she had met him for the first time, he had hugged her and the one thing that she had always remembered was the smell of warm vanilla he had about him. Ever since then, Maria found that the smell of vanilla had enticed her heart into situations that she would never had put herself into. Like this one.

Maria looked down into the dish. She gasped and grabbed her diary. Scribbling down some figures, she ripped off her lab coat and grabbed her normal navy polar fleece one and her car keys. She flew down the stairs, leaving the confused lab assistant in her wake. Jumping into her Holden, Maria fired the ignition and the engine roared to life, as if it hearkened to her haste. She sped out of the car park, flicking her cell open and punching in her aunt's number. It rang several times before she picked up.

'Eames here.'

'Eamesy! Boy, am I glad you picked up!'

'Who is this?'

'It's Maria, aunty. I need to speak to Bobby.'

'He just jumped in a cab to come and find you!'

Maria screeched to a halt at the traffic lights, gripping her phone tightly. The colour drained out of her face.

'Oh my god,' she whispered.

'Maria, what's wrong?'

'Aunty, you need to find Goren. Get him back to the station. If you don't hear from me in three hours, contact my lab attendants at the Manhattan Research Institute. That girl who was murdered wasn't there by accident.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean it's a trap. For me. If Bobby is caught with me, he'll be in serious danger,' Maria said grimly, putting her foot down hard on the accelerator as the lights turned green. She hooned across the intersection, a stern look fixed upon her young face.

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Bobby was still in an excellent mood when he arrived at the laboratory in Manhattan. He cheerfully paid the driver and dashed inside the sterile-white building. He stopped for directions to the research labs and headed up the stairs. Throwing open the doors in a gesture of chivalry, Goren was heartily disappointed to find that the room was void of junior detectives that resembled Maria. In fact, the room was completely devoid of human life.

'Hello?' Bobby called into the silence, hoping that Maria was simply nearby and out of sight. However, only a slightly-frazzled lab attendant arrived on the scene. Goren hailed the young woman down and addressed her with haste.

'Please, could you tell me if Junior Detective Maria Eames has been here?' he asked quickly. The attendant pushed her glasses further up her nose and peered at him.

'Who, Maria? Yeah, she was here about half an hour ago. Said she needed to run a few chemical tests on a swab from a crime scene she investigated. Well, you know me, I'm not one to argue with a cop, so I said sure, I'll give you a hand,' the lab attendant replied in a nasal voice.

'Then what?' Goren asked eagerly. The attendant shrugged, adjusting her glasses.

'Dunno, really. She'd popped the swab in a culture dish and we were waiting for the results of the reaction to determine the substance on the swab. I called her over when it was ready. After that, she got really excited, scribbled something in her diary and took off outta here like the devil was after her or something,' the woman answered. Goren swallowed. Whatever Maria had found couldn't have been good.

'Did she say anything else before she left?' Bobby asked as he headed for the door. The attendant, jogging to keep up, shook her head.

'Naw, but she did seem preoccupied, which is strange for her,' she mused, causing Bobby to stop in his tracks. He whirled to face the woman.

'Why is that?' he asked her sharply. The attendant looked as if she thought Bobby was going to eat her.

'Nothing, Detective. I simply meant that Maria usually pays a lot more scrutiny to her research. Today it seemed like something else was on her mind,' the woman replied shakily.

'It was as if she was in love or something. Not that that would ever happen to Maria. She's far too smart to fall in love,' the attendant pondered. Goren licked his lips and thanked the attendant for her time. Dashing back downstairs, he hailed another cab. Pulling out his cell, he called the only person he knew would listen; Eames.

'Eames here.'

'Eames, it's Goren.'

'Thank God! Where are you?'

'I just left the labs. Maria isn't there.'

'I know.'

'How?'

'She called me about half an hour ago. Goren, you have got to get back to the station. Deakins is mobilising a task force.'

'What's up? It'd have to be pretty major for Deakins to get involved personally.'

' I can't tell you over the phone, Goren, but what I can tell you is this. If I don't hear from Maria in another two and a half hours, there's something bigger going down than you and her.'

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Eames hung up on her partner and lost herself in her thoughts. Sure, I had feelings for Bobby, but hey, it was just a crush, she thought to herself. Besides, she reasoned with herself, it wasn't as if I ever really understood him. Much like I never understood Maria. No-one ever did.

Deakins hailed her down as she crossed the floor to the task force that had assembled outside his office. He placed nervously before coming to a halt and placing his hands together. He addressed the forum in a serious tone.

'Alright, here's the deal; Junior Detective Eames has a lead to the major drug syndicate in the upper NY area. She has gone ahead to check out her own suspicions, but I want everyone here to be on alert until we hear from her again. If she requests back-up, we need to be there five minutes ago. Eames!' Deakins addressed the senior detective. Alex jerked her head up.

'Yes?'

'When did you last hear from Maria?'

Alex checked her watch.

'About an hour and a half ago.'

Deakins nodded grimly and returned to the gathering.

'Once Detective Goren arrives, we can begin scouting the upper NY area, starting in the areas of recent drug busts,' Deakins continued, as Bobby Goren skidded in, out of breath. He grinned lamely.

'Almost late,' he wheezed, making his way over to Alex. As Deakins continued, Bobby crossed his arms and leant back against the desk.

'What'd I miss?' he asked Alex quietly. Alex swallowed, wondering if telling Bobby that he was in danger was the best idea. However, telling him that his girlfriend was missing wasn't a cheery option, either.

'Maria called me, as you know, but she told me that she had been set up. She's gone to the upper NY area to bust the Gotham syndicate. Alone.' Alex murmured, keeping a sharp eye on her partner. Goren's eyes bulged. His body shuddered.

'Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't you tell me?'

'She asked me not to. She said that you were in serious danger if you went after her. Deakins has arranged to keep you here until Maria is found,' Alex replied quietly. Bobby snapped upright.

'No-one is going to tell me to wait here while Maria is out there and in serious danger!' Goren shouted, which caused the gathered police officers to become silent. Deakins looked up.

'I'm afraid I have to, Goren,' he said sadly.

'Maria specifically warned Eames that you were in danger if you went after her. I'm taking you off this case...'

'NO!' Bobby shouted. He tore from the room, uninhibited by the massing of officers. Deakins stared at Eames.

'Go after him! Stop him!' he shouted. Eames grabbed her jacket and sped after her partner. Deep inside, however, she knew it was useless to stop him. Bobby had a one-track mind.

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Maria pulled into the street, turning off the engine and letting the car roll in. She got out of the car and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her diary. She walked around to the front of the building that she had pulled up beside. Reading the piece of paper, Maria chuckled.

'Talk about international,' she muttered, stuffing the paper into the pocket of her jeans. Pulling out her gun, she inched along the perimeter of the building and slipped in the front door. The door clicked shut behind her.

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Bobby opened the laptop and logged into the international police database as the cab headed uptown. Running a search for Maria's name, Bobby waited impatiently as the search turned up the cases she had worked on as Junior Detective in Sydney Major Case Squadron. He thought back over the morning at the crime scene; Maria had known a fair bit about the Gotham ring, especially for someone who had only been in the country for a week or so. Bobby swallowed. He had a feeling that Maria had known more about the syndicate than she had let on.

The computer beeped as it turned up the results Goren had been looking for. He peered at the screen and reviewed it's results;

NAME: Eames, Maria Lillian

AGE: 22

RANK: Junior Detective

LAST MAJOR CASE: Drug trade ring, Birds of Prey. Based in Brisbane, contacts in Sydney, Melbourne and New York. Case resulted in three major arrests for drug trafficking and three accomplices. Drug ring specialised in hybrid drug serums, often resulting in death for new users. Syndicate used popular Indian Takeaways under business name TREATS FROM THE EAST as bases. Also known as the Gotham Trade Ring.

Bobby gasped. New York. Hybrid drugs. Maria must have discovered that the girl in Times Square had over-dosed on a hybrid drug that was synonymous with the syndicate that she had put away.

Goren tapped the driver on the shoulder. The Pakistan cabbie turned his head slightly so he could keep his eyes on the road while paying attention.

'Hey, do you know an Indian Takeaway by the name "Treats From The East"?' Goren asked. The driver nodded.

'Yessir, not three miles from here. We can make it there in around ten minutes.'

'Step on it,' Goren commanded. He sat back as the driver gunned the engine and roared across town. It was imperative that he find Maria. Because right now, she was in more danger than he was. He dialled Eames' cell.

'Eames here.'

'It's Goren, Eames. I know where Maria is and I'm going after her.'