Disclaimers: - I do not own Without a Trace and its characters. Rich, clever people do.

Author's note: - Huge, huge thanks to anmodo for betaing another one of my fanfics.

Cloak and Dagger

Special Agent Danny Taylor stepped out into the cold November night. It had been the day from hell. They had found the missing college kid dead; it looked as though the kid had gotten involved in drug dealing to pay his debts. But the kid got in over his head and had strayed on to gang turf and that was the end of Terry Sibley's life. Then to add to the team's misery, the OPR wanted all of their paperwork from the last five cases, and as what seemed to be the population of New York had decided to go missing recently, the paperwork wasn't up-to-date. After countless hours of paperwork, Danny was relieved to finally go home. When he had left his apartment two—was it three—days ago, the traffic had been awful so he had taken the subway.

Danny looked down and smiled slightly as he read the coffee reminder written on his hand. He did this to remind himself to get off three stops from his apartment. It wasn't the best of areas, but the store sold the best coffee around and he was in need of a caffeine fix. He strolled up the dark, wet, empty streets towards the coffee store – slightly fascinated by the lighting storm around him. It was times like this that gave him time to think, to reflect on his life. It made him think, how jealous he felt around the rest of the team's relationships. He could never hold down a relationship for more than two weeks – but that was no one's fault but his own. He could never answer the questions about his past; he could never talk about his past. The women he dated found this suspicious. They thought he was hiding stuff about previous relationships, that he was hiding a wife and kids in another state or country. But this wasn't true; he just didn't want to talk about his abusive father, his parent's deaths or any other aspect of his troubled childhood. Was it too much to ask not to inquire about his past?

Danny smiled at the girl serving him. She was probably in college and probably wouldn't think twice about a one-night stand. He could tell by the way she was looking at him that she was interested. The sex would be good, but that's all it would be. He wanted more than that. He wanted someone to share his life with… share his thoughts with. Someone that he could laugh and cry with, someone that would understand – understand that his past was too painful to talk about. But if he never got past his hang-ups, he doubted that would ever happen.

Danny walked out of the store into the storm, as he pulled his coat closer around his body. He walked down the dark, unlit street – always watching out of occupational habit. Looking across the street, he noticed a dark blue sports car. Casting a slightly expert eye over it. he could tell it was custom built and probably could do 0-60 mph in less than five seconds. Knowing that he was walking through gang territory he looked down, not wanting to draw attention to himself. But something made he look towards the car again, and he noticed that one of the front tires was flat. He wondered if he should offer his assistance, knowing that there were very few people that would want to hang around his area. As soon as Danny caught sight of who was changing the tire, he started to cross the street. A female with a sports car was a prime target in this area. He was a FBI agent who had grown up in an area like this and he still felt on edge. He couldn't imagine how this woman was feeling.

"Ma-am, do you need some help?" Danny asked right before he felt himself being slammed against the car and the cold steel of a gun on his forehead. As he looked down the barrel of the gun, he inhaled sharply as he realised he was looking down, not only a gun barrel but a silencer as well. Who was this woman, Danny thought, was she a mob assassin? What had he inadvertently walked into?

Alex Bowden glanced down to see a badge on her attacker's belt. Then she finally processed the words he'd just spoken. He wasn't trying to attack her; he was trying to help her. Damn the job, Alex thought and damn this area. She lowered the gun and turned away, quietly unscrewing the silencer before sliding the gun back into the shoulder holster. She turned to face the shocked looking FBI man. Now that she was fairly sure he wasn't a threat to her, she noticed how tall and incredibility good looking he was. But what stood out most were his eyes. She felt as though she was being drawn into his soft brown eyes. They seemed to radiate warmth. She was so taken with him that she had to look away.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. It's just, you know, it's this area. It does this to you. It puts you on edge," she said in an embarrassed tone as she studied the pavement.

Danny looked his attacker up and down. She was roughly Sam's height and build, but she obviously carried more muscle that Sam did. Her face showed someone that had seen the world's horrors yet still had a positive outlook. They say a person's eyes are the windows to someone's soul. They say the eyes will tell about a person, but Danny could not read hers. Danny drew a shaky breath and tried to put the fact he had just had a gun held to his head past him.

"Its ok. Don't worry about it. This area puts me on edge, too. Do you need any help changing that tire?" he said in a calming voice. And to put her further at ease, he extended his hand and said, "I'm Danny, by the way." In the back of his mind, he knew he should question her about having a gun, but something about her made that question seem unimportant at that moment.

Alex smiled and took Danny's hand. She had never felt such energy with another person. It was almost as electrifying as the storm around them. "Alex – nice to meet you Danny. If you want to help me change the tire, then you are more than welcome to, but…" Alex paused and looked down again. "Look I am really sorry about the whole gun thing. You know how it is in this area, especially at this time of night. You expect everyone to try and kill you."

"Don't worry about it. I'm a FBI agent and I'm on edge here. So how about we get this tire changed so you can get out of this area," Danny responded with a reassuring smile.

Alex slid underneath the car and unattached the spare tire. She handed Danny the jack and tire iron, while she rested on the spare tyre. "So do you often walk around the dodgy parts of town at night, changing tires?" Alex said with flirtatious smile.

"Yes, it's my night job." Danny joked, "Seriously though, I live kind of near here and popped by to get some coffee." He tried to focus on getting the bolts off the flat tire, but he couldn't help but continue the banter. "So what is a beautiful girl like you doing in a crappy area like this?" He asked smiling, but with a hint of concern.

"I live two blocks away." Alex said as she looked into the night sky.

"You live around here?" Danny asked sceptically, as he moved his gaze from Alex to the car.

"I know what you're thinking. What's a white girl with a sports car doing living in an area like this?" Alex said as she read his expression.

"As a matter of fact, yes, that is exactly what I'm thinking." Danny looked at Alex, at her unreadable expression. "But I don't mean it like that. This is a shitty area and you are driving this hot car by yourself. You can obviously look after yourself, but-"

Alex smiled; he looked so sweet when he was concerned. "You have to have a few luxuries in your life. Most women will spend their money on clothes and shoes; I spend money on my car. It is my release from this." Alex said as she held her hands out indicating to the area around them. "You like the car?"

Danny grinned as he appreciated the look of the car again. From what had been a shitty day was rapidly turning into a pretty good one. So caught up in their conversation, he'd forgotten he was now soaked to the skin from the rain. He could now the bright side of this awful day—the very bright side, a glorious female and a hot car. What more could he want? "Yeah, I like the car," he answered with an intense gaze that was meant to tell her that he liked a lot more than the car. "Can do 0-60 in what about 5 seconds?"

"Depends on the fuel." Alex started, "but your bog standard unleaded, 0-60 is about 4 seconds. Now, nozz, well that's a different story," she finished knowing that she had impressed him with her knowledge. Taking a chance, she nervously asked, "Look I don't know if you wanna do this, but there is great Italian place down the road. After all you have done for me, it's the least I can do. But if you don't want to, I understand."

Danny stood up after changing the tire and wiped his hands on his pants. He was glad Alex had made the first move, he was glad she had suggested it. Just to spend time in her company would make his day. Something drew him towards her. He didn't know if it was her personality or the mystery that surrounded her, but he felt an overwhelming urge to get to know her. He moved his hand to chin and lifted her face. "I would love to."

"Really?" Alex asked in a surprised tone. She couldn't believe a man like Danny would give her the time of day. She didn't want it to turn out like the rest of the screwed up relationships she had been in. They always had to ask about her past, her job… yet she could never talk about it. Maybe this Danny would be different, maybe he wouldn't interrogate her about the past and when she could not answer maybe he wouldn't walk out. She found herself staring into his eyes, just the look in his eyes told her he wasn't like the others.

Alex cursed as her cell phone broke the moment. Looking at the call ID, she walked a short distance to take the call in private.

Danny heard the annoying sound of a cell phone and prayed it wasn't work. He glanced up to see Alex walk away, cell phone in hand. He suddenly felt intrigued to listen to the conversation. He strained to hear against the storm, but caught nothing of the conversation.

"Salaam," Alex said as she finished the call.

Danny raised an eyebrow. Alex was getting more mysterious by the minute. First she lived in the hellhole of all neighbourhoods, drove a sports car, carried an assassin style gun and now she had been speaking in Arabic to someone. "Anything important?" Danny asked.

"Nah, just work." Alex replied as she found herself fingering her gun.

"What do you do?" Danny asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

"I'm u-mm" Alex paused. "I'm a bounty hunter." She couldn't tell him what she really did. The firm wouldn't allow it and however great Danny may or may not be she doubted he would understand. She smiled as she walked towards her car. "So shall we go?"

Danny took one final glance at Alex before he replied. He put his suspicions and concerns aside. "I said I would love to and I haven't changed my mind." Danny replied playfully, as he slipped into the car.