A/N: The usual disclaimer.

I hope that you are all enjoying this story line. I have a great beginning, most of the end...It's just getting from A to C, so please be patient. As always, please read and review!

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PART VIII - Missing Persons

Cal watched from the shadows as Jordan raced down the street in the early hours just before the sun started to peek above Boston. She was carrying a suitcase, but she was in too much of a hurry to be going on a vacation. She didn't make a move toward her El Camino, parked along the street opposite of where Cal was standing, and she was not, apparently, waiting for a taxi. Where was she going?

He'd been back and forth about seeing her all night, wondering if he should interfere, wondering if she would welcome him after their last disastrous meeting, and finally figured he would just - what? Wait? Once he'd been brave enough to walk down to Pearle Street, he'd tossed it about in his mind that Jordan was very likeable and of course she would help him get into Woody's good graces again. Now, as he saw her running down the street, he was starting to think that something was a little more than wrong.

Cal had been in many situations in his life where he'd had to scramble out of somewhere fast, whether it was from a relationship getting too serious or too sour -- or when he was running for his life. He didn't know Jordan well, but he did know that she cared about his brother - that she was in love with him, whether or not she realized it - and it didn't seem to him that she would ever abandon Woody in his obvious hour of need. So where was she going? Maybe if he followed her…

He took a step toward the corner she'd just rounded when he caught a shadowy glimpse out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and turned to see a man hovering near Jordan's El Camino. What was he doing?

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Drew Haley moaned and attempted to turn his head to the side, but he was in too much pain. He tried to raise an arm to assess the situation, but found that his arms were tied together. He tasted blood on his lip, and figured that it was a lot worse than just his lip. He couldn't remember too much, just that he'd been in Boston, looking into the disappearances of two undercover agents, when he'd discovered that they'd been shot. He racked his brain, trying to put the rest of the pieces of this puzzle together. Let's see…Jordan Cavanaugh had been the ME on the case. He smiled in remembrance. They'd taken the bodies to the temporary headquarters and then, after a late night, shared an even later dinner…

The ME had changed a little, seemed - softer. But she'd been obviously distracted and they'd ended the night differently than he would have liked. He closed his eyes, starting to feel the effects of what he guessed was some type of date-rape drug, and his thoughts were hastily brought back to the present.

What had happened to his agents? He and Jordan had only done some preliminary work, saving the tox and trace for the next day. After making sure the evidence and the bodies were secure, they'd left the site and he wondered if they had been followed. He had been too caught up with the stunning company of his favorite ME and hadn't been as aware of his surroundings as he normally was…In fact, he figured that he'd kept his guard down since he'd seen Jordan at the scene. He cursed softly, his mouth swollen and his jaw stiff. How long had he been lying here? And what about his agents?

Miranda Sweeney and Chalrie Parker and Carlos Vega had all been undercover to try to bust a drug cartel in Boston, but Parker and Vega were dead and Sweeney was missing. He hadn't even told Jordan about Miranda, hoping that any clues that surfaced from Parker's and Vega's bodies would lead them to her, but he was beginning to think that had been a foolish and costly mistake. Now he was captive who-knew-where and Sweeney's life was in grave danger, and no one else besides his chief even knew she was missing…

Did anyone know he was missing, Drew wondered, before sinking back into a restless and painful sleep.

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"Come, come, Ms. Lebowski. Surely you are not going to complain about getting a few files for me." Slocum was irritated with Jordan. He couldn't find anything on her, let alone her notes from her last case, and the agents were waiting. He was losing control, and he did not like it. Surely this thing couldn't get to Bob that fast? He wondered if he wouldn't be joining Doctor Macy on the unemployment line if this case made him look bad…which it was already starting to do.

"Look, I've already given you all the personnel files, all 5,003 of Doctor Macy's autopsy files, all of God-knows-how-many of Doctor Cavanaugh's files….What more could you possibly need? There isn't enough time between now and hell freezing over for you to read each and every one!" Lily smiled smugly, looking over the cluttered towers of files at Slocum, who was skimming notes from one of Jordan's most recent cases.

"Ms. Lebowski, I'm going to overlook that remark for now. I can certainly go through each file and I will. This office is about justice, about science -- about using science to bring about justice. For us to find justice for victims who have died under mysterious circumstances….Or maybe not. Maybe victims died tragically from natural circumstance. But it's our job to clarify that for those families who have questions. To assist the police and the DA - and, when necessary, the FBI," he said, indicating the two men waiting in the conference room across from his office. "…to make the best summation of what happened to those victims. We should not just guess, Ms. Lebowski. We should present clear cut evidence to the legal bodies to pursue whatever justice needs to be pursued. Don't you think Silvia Moreau suffered when she died? Don't you think that her family suffered, believing all this time that she committed suicide when, in fact, she was murdered? Don't you think that entitles them to some justice? Aren't all victims entitled to some justice, Ms. Lebowski?"

"Of course. I wasn't aware that we were back on Doctor Macy's case… I thought it was Doctor Cavanaugh you were concerned about. So I'm all for justice, but you should make sure you know what kind of people you're out to get. Jordan…"

"Garret Macy's mistake put this entire institution in jeopardy. And now, it seems Doctor Cavanaugh has followed in his footsteps…"

"I don't know why Doctor Macy concealed evidence…"

"I don't either. It's not my fault. And, I should remind you, it's no longer my business now that the District Attorney is involved. My concern is that this office be run to the best of my ability. And Doctor Cavanaugh has been more than careless in the past, and careless mistakes…"

"No one in this office is careless -- Quite the opposite. These people pour their heart and souls into finding the truth…" Lily cut in.

"You will all just have to determine that you will pull together and work together as befits any employee of this office. Something that Doctor Cavanaugh has been unwilling to do - even before I came upon the scene…"

"But…"

"Look, all of you are replaceable. Even the great Garret Macy was replaceable. If you are not going to work with me, I suggest you turn in your resignation by the end of the day. Everyone is expendable."

"No, Doctor Slocum -- You're wrong. Everyone is not expendable. We're a family. We work best together. If you try to take away our team, this…this - institution - as you call it - will fall apart. Look at how it's already unraveling around you!"

"We'll just have to see about that. Doctor Cavanaugh said the same thing, and where is she now? Ms. Lebowski, I have not found fault with your work in the past few days, so I suggest you get back to it...work. Do your job. That is, unless you'd like to be the first….No, excuse me…the second to leave!" He trekked down the hall, looking for Doctor Vijay. It was time he got some answers.

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Garret stood outside Woody's room, talking with Doctor Roberts. "Of course, there is some risk. I have a Jordan Cavanaugh listed as his emergency contact…Know how I can reach her? I've tried this number, but no answer," he said, showing Garret the contact information.

Garret leaned over to look at the numbers listed on the sheet and shook his head. "That's the only information I have." He wondered where the hell Jordan was now.

"Well, I've explained it all to Detective Hoyt, but in his condition, he's been in a drug-induced state - has a morphine drip for pain - and I prefer to have someone else informed of the procedure, including all the risks." He looked at Garret pointedly.

"I'll talk to Detective Hoyt," he volunteered. "What's the earliest you can schedule for?"

Doctor Roberts looked at the chart. "Barring no more incidents like the other day, we should be able to do it tomorrow. His vitals need to stay strong though, and like I said -- there are some risks. It's so close to the spine…"

"I'll make sure Detective Hoyt is well-aware of his options."

"Frankly, Doctor, without this operation he really has no other options…Not if he wants to regain full use and control of his legs. Normally I would prefer to wait an extra day or so, but as I said, he needs this operation and I don't think it's prudent to wait longer than necessary." With that, Doctor Roberts shook Garret's hand and left.

Garret walked out to the lobby and grabbed his cell phone, hitting Jordan's number. "Pick up, pick up…" he muttered into the mouthpiece. But the phone was ominously silent.

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As soon as Jack Slocum had calmed down enough for Bug to explain a little more about the shooting and how Haley had taken jurisdiction of the bodies, Jack's initial panic started to fade a little. "Well, come down to my office so we can explain it to the agents there. I moved them out of the conference room so Ms. Lebowski could make a notification. I want you to tell them exactly what you've told me." Slocum smiled a little. It would at least get him off the hook with the Feds, so now he wouldn't look so bad in the eyes of the other agency - or the governor. Bug had reluctantly rose from his chair and started down the hall after Slocum, feeling like a small, reprimanded child, even though he'd done nothing wrong.

Slocum opened the door to his office, where files and folders were scattered all over the floor in disarray. His desk drawers were open, contents dumped unceremoniously on the floor. "What the…?" he started. Bug peeked over his shoulder. The room, although not empty, was void of any FBI agents. "Get a print kit, now!"

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Bug went searching for Nigel and found him in the conference room, Lily standing there and motioning to Sidney, who was passing by, to enter. "You too, Bug!" she commanded.

"Nigel, Slocum needs you…We have a, uh, situation…" Bug started. Nigel rose from his seat.

"Sit down, Nigel!" Lily demanded. She ushered Bug and Sidney into the conference room too, not letting them speak. "Look, we're acting like foolish, spoiled children! Slocum is not the boss Garret was…He never will be. But maybe we should stop working solitary, huh? We should all be working together….Like a team. Like we did when anything catastrophic happened around here. Just look at us!" She looked at each of them, gazing evenly into their eyes. "We've all been torn apart by this whole mess and our jobs are all on the line. We're all trying to deal on separate levels. Don't you guys see?" she pleaded. "We get together, maybe we can actually work this mess out…I'm not used to doing it on my own anymore, I guess. I've come to rely on you all…That's not because I'm weaker, it's because you're all my….family. You're my family." Her eyes were wet with tears.

The room was silent for a moment. "She's right, you know. Here we've almost been working against each other, or ignoring each other to try to save our jobs…Just walking away," Bug said slowly. "Lily, can you ever forgive me? I mean, for not being there?" He went to her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's not taint the moment with a lot of mushy sentiment," Sidney said, drying his moist eyes. "Let's just prove to that insufferable bastard that we are a team, that not one of us is expendable!"

Lily smiled through her tears. "Yeah!"

"I've got an idea….Let's all meet for a round later and brainstorm on getting Dr. M back his old job!" Nigel offered. They all heartily agreed.

"And, we really need to work together to find…." Bug began.

"I wasn't aware that I had authorized a party in the conference room!" Slocum's voice cut through. No one had seen him in the doorway, and they wondered how long he'd been standing there. "Back to work! There are three bodies coming in within the next ten minutes, all from the MVA Doctor Townsend responded to this morning. Doctor Townsend, I need to see you in my office, immediately!"

They all walked out of the room, Slocum shoving charts toward most of them. He shook his head. Now what had that been about? It was bad enough to have the FBI breathing down his back to find evidence that Doctor Cavanaugh had already supposedly found…But now the staff was planning what...Mutiny? Maybe he should give Doctor Macy a call after all? He rubbed at his temples again. He never remembered getting so many headaches before the day he'd been sent by the Governor to suspend Macy. It was just this place. He thought back to his life prior to that day. Not so many headaches….How he longed to get back to those days.

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Bug followed after Slocum and Nigel, to voice his concern about the morning's incident, not caring if the man was going to suspend him or not for whatever he would construe as insubordination. "Look, those men obviously were after something…It's possible that they were not working with the FBI. Otherwise, they would have known that Agent Haley had possession of the body and that Jordan had done the autopsies at their temporary headquarters…" They entered Slocum's office.

"Holy Mary in the Manger!" Nigel exclaimed. Jack shot him a look and Nigel controlled the next few expletives he'd been about to blurt. He turned to Bug, his eyebrows raised in question.

Jack nodded. "Sure, Doctor Vijay...it's obvious, isn't it? Those men were probably not FBI. I want you to get Doctor Cavanaugh on the phone while I call the police…I want her down here immediately, ill or not!" His hands, normally steady as steel, were shaking. "And Doctor Vijay…not one word to the press about this…Not one!" Bug nodded and slipped out of the office, anxious to make contact with Jordan.

Nigel looked at Slocum, clearly puzzled. "Doctor Townsend, get a print kit and get to my office immediately! I want some answers!"

Nigel nodded and rushed down to the lab. What, exactly, was going on? And, he thought in a panic, what did Jordan have to do with all this?

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Lily saw Bug emerge from Jack Slocum's office, his face pale and grave. "So…He put you on probation?" she asked curiously. Bug was walking briskly and Lily hurried to catch up with him. "Hey, Bug…You alright?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

Bug whirled around. "I have to get in touch with Jordan…Right away!" he was frantic.

"Bug…What's wrong!" Lily demanded, following him to his desk where he was flipping through his neatly organized Rolodex. It stopped at Jordan's information and Bug picked up the phone and dialed. In his haste, he missed a number and had to hang up and dial again. "Bug!" Lily was starting to fear the worst.

"It's Jordan…" he started.

"Yeah, she called in sick today. Emmy was surprised. Remember the last time she got sick," Lily smiled in remembrance. "Garret had to…"

"She's not answering!" Bug cried out in dismay. "She's not sick, Lily…I know she's not!"

"What are you talking about?" Lily insisted Bug provide an answer.

Nigel burst into the room. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded of Bug. "Slocum's got me trying to lift latents from his office…his office for crying out loud…and it looks like a bloody tornado whipped through it!"

Lily looked at him in surprise. "His office? What?"

"Have you seen it? It's like some time bomb went off in there. There are files scattered, books knocked off shelves…"

"I was just down there a while ago, bringing him about fifty of Jordan's recent cases…It was a little cluttered, but it was pretty organized if you could ignore the towers of files on his desk…" Lily offered.

"Answer the phone, Jordan!" Bug's voice cut into their conversation.

"Jordan? What does Jordan have to do with all of this?" Lily queried. Nigel was more than upset now.

Just then, Jack Slocum appeared in the door way. "Well, Doctor, any luck getting in touch with Doctor Cavanaugh?" Bug shook his head as he hung up the phoneand Slocum sighed heavily.

"I talked with Chief Marcone at the FBI…No one has seen Agent Haley since he left with Doctor Cavanaugh day before yesterday…And he assured me he did not send two agents here for the autopsy results!"

"What in bloody hell is going on?" Nigel turned to Slocum, whoonce again ignored the irritating outbursts from his criminologist.

"Agent Drew Haley was working on a case involving three undercover agents who lost contact with the FBI sometime this week. Two of them were found dead at the Cask N' Flagon, where Doctor Cavanaugh and Doctor Vijay arrived on the scene day before yesterday. Apparently, Agent Haley took custody of the bodies and asked Doctor Cavanaugh to assist with the autopsies. No one has seen Agent Haley since, but I could have sworn that Doctor Cavanaugh was in all day yesterday…" Slocum said tiredly.

Lily shook her head. "She was in. I tried to get her to go down to the hospital with me at lunch to see…" she stopped, not wanting to reveal too much. Even though Slocum seemed to be almost human at the moment, she didn't think he needed to know anything about Jordan's personal life…Not until she was sure that he wouldn't use it against the ME at some future date.

"Haley was supposed to call you and get clearance for her to work with him all day yesterday," Bug interjected.

"He never called and she was pissed," Nigel added. Slocum shot him a look. "Sorry…" Nigel attempted. "The question is," he started, "Where is Jordan now? Emmy said it was Jordan on voice mail calling out sick. It's so unlike her, but I'm not certain she's been herself lately anyway…"

"We need to talk to Garret!" Lily blurted. Slocum looked at her. "Well, he would know where to find Jordan if she was just taking a day off…" she faltered.

"Fine, Ms. Lebowski. Call in Doctor Macy. I'll be expecting him in the conference room within the hour. In the meantime…Doctor Vijay -- Did you recover anything from the scene that might be helpful?" Slocum's voice was weary.

"Nothing that the FBI didn't confiscate when Haley arrived on scene…" he started. Slocum sighed and walked out of the office. "But I know Jordan did…" Bug told Nigel and Lily confidentially. They nodded, and Lily whispered.

"What is it she took?"

"She grabbed a few things, actually," Bug whispered conspiratorially. "She has to have some stuff in her office…" Bug told them. "I think she had a file, a chip from a digital camera…She was dictating before the Feds showed up at the scene…" he tried to fish his memory for any more detail.

"That should be enough to get us started, eh love? Well…what are we waiting for?" Nigel asked, starting for the door.

"Wait!" Lily pulled him back. "If we all go, Slocum will get suspicious…Only one of us can go in. Nigel, you go…"

"Why him?" Bug asked, pouting ever so slightly.

"He's fast…" she noticed the perturbed look on Bug's face. "Look, Bug…It just makes more sense. You're very, uh, thorough. Slocum would notice you in a heartbeat. Nigel's a little more sneaky, that's all…" she soothed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he grunted reluctantly. "I guess I'll try to track down Doctor Macy…"

She shook her head. "Why don't you let me do that?" He acquiesced half-heartedly. "Well, what should I do?"

"Keep Slocum busy!" Nigel and Lily shouted in unison, then headed out the door, each turning in the opposite direction.

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