Chapter 30

Sue could see the concern etched in Jack's features as he gazed across the white expanse. She didn't know what to expect, but knew he was worried.

Sue felt Levi's nose brush her hand just as three snowmobiles broke through the trees. While she couldn't make out their faces, she could see their shapes well enough to know two of them where big. Jack was just turning her towards the house when one of the snowmobile drivers waved enthusiastically in their direction.

Puzzled, Sue and Jack looked at each other, and then back at the approaching visitors, Jack tentatively raising his arm to wave back. However, neither of them relaxed until the others got close enough that one of the drivers threw back his hood, revealing a friendly face.

"Matt!" Sue exclaimed as the snowmobiles came to a halt in front of them. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?" She and Jack advanced as they recognized the two bigger men as Luke and one of the other men from the diner.

"Sue, Jack," Matt started, pulling off his gloves as he swung his leg over the back and come over to meet them. "Someone came into town looking for you," he signed, speaking to make sure everyone understood what was being said. "A couple came into the diner and said they were lost. The woman said she was your sister." Matt described the man and the woman, being sure to give every detail he could remember while Luke added some that he thought of.

Jack and Sue looked at each other with their eyes wide, the distress apparent on their faces. The description wasn't anyone on their team or Carrie's. Could it be the stalker? they both wondered.

"I don't have a sister," Sue told him softly.

"We didn't think so," Matt signed, looking back over his shoulder at the others. Luke trudged through the snow up to the others.

"Figured something was up when they came in a BMW," Luke declared with Matt interpreting. "No one comes to the mountains, even to visit, in a fancy new BMW, especially not knowing where they were going," he stated matter-of-factly.

"When Nikki was taking their order, they dropped a picture of the two of you," Matt continued as Jack put his arm around Sue's waist, pulling her into his side. "Claiming it was a picture of her sister and her husband, she wanted to know if we'd seen y'all. Luke here told them we had," Matt said grinning.

"They know where we are!" Jack tensed.

"No! No!" Matt reassured them. "Luke here sent them on a wild goose chase."

"I told them you were up at old man Wilson's in Capacoon Park and gave them directions there," Luke explained. "They didn't even stay long enough for the coffee they ordered. Packed back up and headed out…not that they're going to get very far," he snickered as Matt and the other burly man behind him laughed also. "Road to Wilson's place is hard to get to in a 4x4 on a good day…in this weather, it's impossible," he clarified, smiling his toothless grin as he saw the confused looks on Sue and Jack's faces.

"With you being F.B.I…," Matt started, indicating Jack.

"How did…" Jack interrupted, before realizing his slip yesterday at the bank. He couldn't believe he was that stupid, slipping his arm from around Sue to run a hand through his hair. With all that had happened between him and Sue, he'd totally forgotten about his earlier actions with the two gunmen. What a way to stay undercover, Hudson? he admonished himself, nodding his head for Matt to continue.

"We didn't know if that was important, so we tried to call, but your phone is out…probably because of the storm," Matt resumed. "Since the roads are blocked too with snow, Luke and Travis there," Matt pointed to the robust man, who had been standing quietly behind him, "suggested using the snowmobiles to get up here. Anna and I were at the diner too, so she suggested I come along, seeing as you both know me," and with a twinkle in his eye he smiled at Sue signing only, "and seeing as we were both shot at yesterday, I figure we have a connection."

Jack noticed the look Matt was giving Sue and could feel a tightening in his chest he couldn't explain, spurring him to thrust his arm back around her. Shooting daggers in Matt's direction, he pasted a smile on his face, contradicting the turmoil he felt inside.

"So how did you know where to find us?" Jack inquired through a clenched jaw. "We didn't tell you where we were staying." Sue looked up at Jack when he put his arm back around her, pulling her to him, but didn't catch what he said and had to look back while Matt quickly interpreted Travis' response.

"Luke remembered two city folk earlier this week…got lost…arguing outside the diner," he explained.

"Funny sounding accent, the one had," Luke remembered grinning, "but real friendly like…the other one real ritzy. Seemed kind of strange they were driving different cars, but with how they fought, I figured it was the only way they could stay alive," he scoffed. Jack and Sue even laughed at that, as they realized he was talking about Myles and Bobby.

"Ended up I gave them directions up here," he paused a moment as he looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well, when you two came into the diner, I saw you were driving the car ritzy was driving. Put two and two together and here we are," Luke concluded.

"He should be in surveillance," Sue stated, looking at Jack, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Good work," Jack agreed. "What about the people back at the diner…Nikki, Anna? This couple is not going to be happy if they find out they've been tricked," he knew anyone that helped them would be in danger.

"Don't worry! Nikki closed up shop," Matt replied with a smile. "Billy and some other men will be taking turns watching until everything is safe," he quickly continued, before Jack could interrupt, "but don't worry, they won't confront anyone…just keep an eye on the place."

"Good," Jack breathed a sigh of relief. While it wasn't as if everything taken care of, at least the biggest threat to the local community had been eliminated. Now, he had to eliminate their current threat.

Looking at Sue, her soft blonde hair and her deep, dark eyes, Jack knew he couldn't risk taking her into town to make the call. However, as stubborn as she was, he'd never get her to stay here. Tenacious, Jack, she likes to be called tenacious, he reminded himself.

The only other option was to find a way off the mountain to a phone, somewhere other than Berkeley Springs. Looking back at the cabin, Jack was certain he wasn't going to just sit here and wait for whoever it was in town to find them. "Now, we just got to figure out what we're going to do."

Troubled, Jack looked down at Sue, knowing he had to get her off the mountain and away from this town. If that couple was who he thought they were, she wasn't safe here and neither was he. With the phones out and the snow covered roads, Jack didn't know how he was going to do it. Cell phones didn't work up here, so until he got someplace with service, he couldn't even contact the team.

"Well, we want to help," Travis stated, bringing Jack out of his reverie. "What do you need?"

"We need to get to a phone to contact the rest of my team," Jack told them. They already knew he was with the F.B.I., it was no sense letting on that Sue was too, unless there was no choice. "We need to let them know about the couple, but we can't go into town."

"Right," Luke felt as if he was in some great conspiracy now. "They might see you, and we can't let that happen." He stepped forward as he started to outline a plan.

Chapter 31

Jack hung up the phone from updating Bobby, turning back towards the others. Using the snowmobiles, Luke and Travis had led them through the mountain to a small hotel outside Martinsburg. They were now sitting in the restaurant next door, trying to warm up from the long ride.

Jack owed these three men a lot, especially Matt who rode with Levi in the sled behind Travis' snowmobile. They had to leave most of their things at cabin, including her TTY and flashers, so Jack was relieved Sue wouldn't be without Levi too.

Watching Sue and Matt signing briskly, Jack couldn't help but feel left out as he was only picking up a word here or there. Desperately, he tried to piece together what they were signing, but the harder he tried, the more frustrated he got.

Idiot, this is what Sue goes through every day, Jack thought, looking admiringly at the beautiful blonde across from him. If he was having this much trouble just trying to keep up with two people, he could only imagine what Sue did every day and made it look so easy.

Jack had always known that Troy and Sue slowed down when he was around, but after all this time he forgotten the concessions they made for him to participate in their conversation. He wondered if maybe it would be easier for Sue if she had someone who spoke her language, like Matt. When Sue spoke to him, Jack blinked a couple of times, breaking himself out of his distressing reverie.

"What did Bobby say?" Sue repeated again, smiling when Jack finally acknowledged her.

"Uh, he'll be here in about 15 minutes," Jack stammered, embarrassed that he'd been caught so deep in thought.

"Fifteen minutes!" Sue's face dropped in shock, eyebrows raised she asked, "I know Crash has always driven fast, but isn't that a little much?"

"You know, Crash, never does anything half hearted," Jack grinned. "Seriously, he was on his way to the cabin with Myles, Carrie, and Dale…some other agents," he added for Matt, Luke, and Travis' benefit. "It seems our little bank adventure yesterday made regional news…"

REALLY, Matt signed, and the dark-haired agent nodded.

"That's probably how that couple knew where to find us," Jack confirmed, placing his hand over Sue's on the table.

"What do you mean? Why would they have associated the bank robbery with us?" Sue questioned confused.

"What, buddy, you didn't tell her?" Travis inquired as all of them shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Sue didn't see what Travis said, and she looked from one man to the other, waiting for one of them to fill her in.

"Jack?" Sue requested, her heart pounding as a myriad of thoughts flash through her mind.

"Relax, Sue," Jack stated, squeezing her hand, his eyes conveying his regret at not telling her earlier. He had meant to tell her, but after everything she'd been through, he didn't want to make it worse. "The local police were having trouble, um, with the gunmen I, er, helped a little," Jack hesitated.

"A little!" Luke interrupted. "Way I heard it from Deputy Dawson, if you hadn't come along when you did, it would have been more than just Deputy Hunter getting shot yesterday."

"Fancy piece of shooting, your boy, Jack did I tell you," Travis agreed, smiling broadly at Sue. The two men spoke so fast, Matt had trouble keeping up with the interpreting, so it took a moment after they finished talking before his hands stopped, and Sue turned back to Jack.

"You used your sniper skills to take out that gunman," she stated simply, remembering the man on the ground in front of the bank clutching his shoulder, her face void of any emotion.

"Look, Sue, I'm sorry," Jack rushed, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. "I should have told you yesterday, but when I couldn't find you, and you'd passed out, and then…"

"Whoa!" Sue interrupted, putting her hand out silencing him. "Slow down. I only caught a little of that, and I'm sure Matt's getting tired," she flashed the other man a grin. "But it doesn't matter," she met Jack's dark eyes.

Jack's breath caught, his heart pounding as he waited for her to continue. He'd made so many mistakes and didn't know what he'd do if he lost her. Neither of them noticed the long looks they were getting from the other three men at the table.

"What I was going to say was," Sue started slowly. "Sometimes Hudson, it's kind of nice to have you around," she said, a broad smile spreading across her face.

Chapter 32

Two hours later, Sue and Levi were exploring their new temporary home, a two story farmhouse in central Maryland. Agents from the Martinsburg office were sent into a flurry of activity when Carrie arrived. Several of them were sent to drive Matt, Luke, and Travis back to Berkeley Springs, with orders to investigate the mystery couple.

Sue grinned as she remembered Carrie's diminutive stance compared to the group of men surrounding her at the restaurant in Martinsburg. She may be a small woman, Sue thought, but she's highly respected by her fellow agents. At almost a foot taller then her, Bobby was even wrapped around her finger.

"Well, it's a lot larger than the cabin," Sue looked down at Levi, not realizing Carrie had come up behind her.

"That's because…" Carrie started, then shaking her head said, "Levi, get Sue." After waiting for Sue to turn around, she continued, "That's because there is going to be more than just you and Hudson staying here."

"What?" Sue asked confused as Bobby and Jack came in the room.

"You were saying this was larger than the cabin," Carrie explained, "and I was just saying it was because there was going to be more than just you and Hudson staying here."

"And who would that be?" Jack asked, catching Sue's eyes as he hoped his voice didn't sound as depressing to the young agent next to her as he felt. Even though it had only been a few days, he'd sort of gotten used to being alone with her and wasn't ready to share her again.

"Say hello to your new roomies," Bobby slapped Jack on his back, snapping him out of his reverie. Jack cut his eyes over to his best friend, not sure how he felt with the new information.

"Roomies?" he heard Sue question.

"Manning and I will be staying with you here," Carrie clarified, putting her hand up when Jack started to protest. Sue wanted to laugh when Jack snapped his mouth shut, waiting for her to continue.

"We're getting closer to the stalker," Carrie indicated the chairs and waited for everyone to be seated so Sue could see her. She glance at Bobby, a smile playing briefly on her lips when Sue and Jack both passed two chairs to sit next each other on the sofa. Sitting across from them, Carrie waited from Bobby to sit before continuing.

"Tara and Katherine have been working on the four possible suspects in civilian technology at the Pentagon," Carrie stated. "Unfortunately, the description of the couple from the diner didn't match any of the suspects we have."

"So either they hired someone to come after you, or we have the wrong suspects under surveillance," Bobby added, waving his hand to let Sue know he was talking.

"Have there been anymore documents stolen?" Sue asked, looking back and forth between Carrie and Bobby.

"No activity, which makes it harder to determine if we have the right people or not," Carrie told her. "So it could be a long time before we learn who this stalker is, and get you both back into the game.

"But at least we're not losing more vital information," Sue said, reminding all of them of the true importance of their overall mission in the F.B.I.

"There has got to be something we can do to make him so his hand?" Jack insisted, placing his hand on Sue's arm to get her attention. "We can't just wait and hope we don't miss documents being exchanged."

"We were hoping you'd say that, mate," Bobby stated, trading a meaningful look with the petite agent.

"So what do you have planned?" Sue questioned, placing her hand over Jack's on her arm.

"Let's wait until Leland and Newman get here," Carrie maintained. "Then we'll go through the whole thing."

"Where are Myles and Dale?" Sue wondered, concerned because they'd left Martinsburg behind them in a rental car, but after being here for almost an hour, they still hadn't arrived.

"Myles offered to stop at the mall in Frederick to pick up some things you had to leave at the cabin," Carrie told them.

"Myles!" Jack and Bobby said in unison.

"Yes," Carrie responded, her eyes widening at the shock in the men's voices. "Myles offered to pick up some clothes and food, since you had to leave everything at the cabin." She added, "He said Sue needed a certain phone and some flashlights or something, and he wanted to make sure she had them so she'd be more comfortable."

"And that was Myles that said that," Bobby scoffed.

"He said something about if Thomas had to spend all this time with Hudson, the least he could do was make it more bearable," Carrie teased, winking slyly at Sue as everyone laughed.

"Yeah, that was Myles," Jack grinned, settling in to talk while they waited for the others to arrive.