Disclaimer- Well Tim and Allan seem to be impervious to flattery and hostile takeovers, so I've decided to resort to out right begging. (Falls to knees) 'Please oh, please, oh please, can I have them?'
Author's Note- Kate is a fun one to write, I hope you're enjoying her as much as I am. To cdncjfan – yes but the cjrareathon piece is done and waiting for the posting date, the fanfic100 has no time limit and NANOWRIMO doesn't start until 12:01 AM Nov. 1. To matt- try googling Gaelic for more info and remember Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic do have some differences. By the way, I'm half-Irish and the other half is mostly Scots with some Swiss and Dutch thrown in for good measure. To everyone else- thank you all so much for the reviews. 'A noo I'll quae mollachin aboot an gae on wae it' ( And now I'll quit wandering aimlessly and get on with it.)
Twenty minutes later Garret showed Kate to the trace lab and pulled out a stool for her. She sat taking in the surrounding room, a calculating look in her eyes.
"Don't even think about ripping off my lab." Garret warned.
"Oh sorry, it's second nature to get the lay of a place. Besides, I'd have no clue who to broker your little toys to." Kate shifted nervously. "Be at it, man, the waiting only makes me more nervous."
Garret grabbed a swab kit and turned to her. "Open your mouth."
With a puzzled look, she did as he said. He took the cheek swab and grinned.
Her eyes flashed. "You enjoyed that, you rotten sod. Making me think there'd be a needle."
"You assumed. I never said I'd draw your blood." Garret grinned as he prepped the sample, then took one from himself and prepped it. Walking across the lab, he placed both in the machine and started it.
"Now how long will it take your little gizmo here to tell you I'm not a liar?"
"Anytime in the next two hours, why? Trying to plan a getaway before the results come back?" Garret tweaked her.
"Neh, just wondering if there was time for a bite. The least you can do for that little trick with the cotton thing is feed me." Kate's tone was again light and cheerful, but Garret was beginning to think that the demeanor was a mask rather than her true face.
"How about a little more truth about Harry? Is he really in trouble?" Garret asked.
Kate turned away, but not before Garret caught a glimpse of tears welling in her eyes. "Might you direct me to the restroom, Garret? After a brief stop, I'll join you in your office and tell you the tale in its entirety." She started for the door and he caught her there, turning her to face him. Her bright green eyes were full of unshed tears.
"You really are scared for him, aren't you?"
She nodded as a single tear fell. "I havena told you the full tale, I didn't know if I could trust you. I know Harry's in trouble because they sent a picture to my cell phone." She pulled out the phone and pulled up a picture, handing it to Garret; she wiped the errant tear and watched his face.
It was obviously Harry, slumped in a chair, arms tied behind him. From the bruises and blood, Garret could tell he'd been beaten. Kate's finger reached forward and pushed a button to switch to text message. The words came up on the screen quickly, The property will be returned. You have 48 hours. P.
"They already have him? How long have you known? How long were you going to play games with his life?" Garret grabbed her, shaking as though he could force the words from her.
"I got the message an hour before I left you the note. It's why I decided to risk coming to you. There'll be another soon." Tears were spilling down her cheeks. "I can't return the egg; the broker already sold it and they'll kill him without it."
Garret released her and grabbed the phone on the wall, dialing. He waited and then spoke, "Nigel, I need you back at the morgue, now! Call Jordan and Bug, I need them too." He hung up and turned to Kate who was struggling to contain her tears.
Suddenly he felt very protective of her and sorry he'd wasted time doubting her. Reaching out, he pulled her to his chest and held her. "Go ahead and let it out now. As soon as the others get here, we'll be too busy for it."
She buried her face in his shirt and cried in earnest, the fear and frustration of the last week pouring out in a storm that shook her frame. Garret stroked her hair and wondered why he was suddenly ready to believe her even without the results. He thought of Harry and his eyes narrowed, no matter what the man had done, he was still his father and Garret supposed that on some level he still loved him, in spite of all their history.
When Kate began to calm, she pulled back and looked up at him. "Thank you. No one's cared enough to let me cry on their shoulder in many a year."
He wondered what her life must have been like. "Not even your mother?"
"She died when I was six. Uncle Fergus raised me, but he wasn't much for affection." She said matter-of-factly. "He was a firm believer in sparing the rod spoils the child and affection was definitely spoiling." Kate pulled out of Garret's arms and wiped her eyes.
"Now about these people you've called in, can they help?" Garret watched, fascinated as the mask of cheerful indifference slipped back into place.
"Nigel will be able to trace the call if it can be traced and then we can let the cops know where he is." Kate's eyes grew a bit wide at the mention of the police.
"I believe I would rather absent myself from any discussion with the constabulary, if you don't mind."
He grinned. "I would imagine you would, but they'll need to know everything you know."
"What I know can be of little use except to land my shapely little bum in prison." At the quirk of his eyebrow, she continued. "Let us just say that the Boston police have reason to want to know about the business that brought me to the States six years ago." She looked up at him. "I'd like to stay in Boston for a bit and get to know my older brother, but not from behind prison glass. No you find him, I'll call in some favors to get him back."
"What favors?" Garret asked his eyes narrowing.
"Let's just say, I have a few unpaid favors that I can collect from the type of people Petrechenko wouldn't want to anger." Kate smiled coldly and Garret was struck by the difference in this one and the cheerful ones she given earlier.
"Look I don't need a morgue full of bodies from some vendetta or a mob war. Let the police handle this, Kate. I'll keep you out of it if I can." Garret didn't want to consider the type of people she might have indebted to her.
"I'm not talking about violence, as it happens I abhor violence. I'm talking about someone who can convince Petrechenko to give Harry up and accept money instead of his wee bauble." She grinned. "My, but you've a low opinion of me, mo brathair. You also evidently get a good bit of exercise jumping to conclusions. I think you misunderstand what I do for a living. I'm a thief, people hire me to steal things and not be caught and I am very good at what I do. If Petrechenko can be persuaded to take money in place of the egg, I can well afford to give him fair market value."
"Then why the heist, why not just give Harry the money?" Garret was very confused by this woman.
"Now where would be the sport in that?" The sparkle in her eyes wiped away any trace of her earlier tears. "I like a good challenge and besides, he bloody well could afford to lose the damned thing. He had other things in that vault worth a damned sight more than the Faberge."
"Then why not steal something more valuable? And why take a cut if it was a favor to Harry?" Garret wasn't sure if he really wanted to understand the ethics involved.
"I took the egg because that was what I was paid to take and the cut was my pay. Normally I only take a job after I've seen that payment has been deposited in my account, I gave Harry the option of a split as a favor because he's my father." Kate walked around the room looking at the equipment. "I didn't take anything else because I'm not a common thief. I am a very uncommon thief, movies like The Thomas Crown Affair not withstanding and I don't work for free, I'm not bleeding Robin Hood. A girl has to keep her self in food, you know."
Garret stood for several minutes contemplating the woman in front of him. She wasn't like anyone he'd ever known before. She seemed to hold very strictly to her code of ethics although he wasn't certain how to reconcile being a thief with ethics. She quite blatantly admitted to larceny and yet seemed to take it as a point of honor that she only stole on commission. She was a bundle of contradictions and yet seemed to be very uncomplicated.
"Are you done figuring me out, mo brathair? Or shall I tell you my life's story while we wait for your friends and your machine?" Kate stood in front of him with a wicked smile on her face. "Don't look so surprised. Your face is very easy to read."
A/N- 'Yer a yer Auntie's hoose, sae dinna haud yer whist' (Help yourself and tuck in and don't keep your mouth shut. ' sae' is actually so). In other words please help yourself to the review button. I think Kate is rubbing off on me.