Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They are the property of Dick Wolf and NBC inc.

A/N: I hope you are still interested. I would love to hear from you if you are. Things are starting to heat up. I am writing two chapters ahead of what is being posted. Every chapter seems to have a twist that I never expected. If you are reading, thanks for going on this journey with me. Let me know what you think

sheila

Something Precious

Chapter 3

Bobby hesitated before the ADA's door. If he went in, there was no going back. His intentions would be clear. Finally, he pushed through the slightly open door and into the man's office.

Ron Carver looked up from the brief he was reading and pulled his reading glasses off. "Detective Goren"

Bobby shifted uncomfortably. "I need a few minutes of your time."

Carver gestured with a hand and Bobby sat. "What can I do for you?"

Bobby leaned forward. "You and I haven't always gotten along, counselor."

"Well, this promises to be an interesting conversation."

"We've been talking with Nicole Wallace again. Her former cellmate is a suspect in a murder."

Carver took a deep breath. "What has the wretched Ms. Wallace done this time?"

He looked around the room for a moment. "We think she is using this murder as a means of getting our attention."

"Getting your attention, you mean."

"Well, she has it."

"What does she want from you, Detective?"

Bobby stared down at his hands for a moment. "I think she means to kill my partner."

Carver sat up straight. "She has made a specific threat? Does she have the means?"

He snorted. "Nicole can find the means."

"She said she was going to have her killed."

Bobby squeezed his eyes shut. "Not exactly."

"Detective! Quit beating around the bush. What do you have?"

"My gut. I have my gut. She's been making moves, dredging up old history; history that could hurt Eames. This murder is a smoke screen. I think when we find Bettina Garcia, all the pieces of this case are going to fall into place because this is not about Bettina Garcia and Roberta Jones. This is about…God!" He grasped his head. "This is not going to sound right. Nicole is bored, and she's entertaining petty annoyances and Alex happens to be one of them."

Carver frowned at him.

Bobby was on his feet. "She needs attention, and she happens to want mine. Alex is the one who keeps me grounded; she's the one who helps me walk away."

"What does Eames think about this…theory?"

"I haven't talked to her yet."

His eyebrows rose. "What is your plan?"

"I thought maybe you could talk to the warden and have her placed in solitary confinement until we can complete an investigation; it'll give me a chance to find out if Nicole is reaching out to hurt Alex."

"Really? I should call up the warden and tell him that a detective has a hunch, and so he should violate someone's civil rights until we know for sure."

Bobby made a face. "Counselor, I have been over this a hundred times. I don't believe Nicole is going to say anything more incriminating than she already has. I also believe that Detective Eames' life is in danger and I don't know what to do except sit here and…grovel for your help."

"I don't have anything to use." Carver threw up his hands.

"You can ask for a favor. I would imagine someone out there owes you, someone who could give us some time."

"Detective!"

"Come on, Counselor. It's Alex. You like her."

Carver cursed under his breath and looked away. Finally he turned to the tall detective. "I can ask for a week. I can tell the warden that we have concerns about an ongoing investigation and it's important that she be sequestered until it is complete."

Bobby relaxed visibly. "Thank you."

Carver pointed a finger. "You have one week, Detective. And you better talk to your partner about this or I will."

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Deakins was visibly annoyed. Goren was pacing about his office like he did when he was agitated, and he wasn't making much sense. Eames leaned against a glass wall, looking confused.

"I don't have evidence to back this up, Captain."

"You think Wallace is going after Eames based on…the way she looked at you? I don't get it."

"She said she didn't like Eames. She said she was tired of her, annoyed."

Deakins shrugged. "I realize she is a psychopath, but, geez, the woman gets annoyed and your partner needs police protection. I'm not impressed."

"Bobby, last night you told me this was only a distraction to keep us unfocused. We're supposed to focus on Roberta Jones, remember?"

"That's what I thought. And then I sat in there with her today and I saw something else. It was what she said after you left; it was how she said it."

Alex stood up and moved toward him. "She does this to you, Bobby. She sends you all these signals, and it gets confusing."

"I don't think so, Alex." He stepped away from her and turned to Deakins. "This murder is the distraction. She needed a reason to be pulled back here. She set Garcia up. Then we bring her here, and the first thing she does is bait Alex. She opens up her past." Then he wheeled until he was looking at Eames again. "Today, she showed almost no interest in Garcia or Jones. The only spark from her had to do with Alex."

"She could be playing you. One minute, we think our target is Garcia, the next she's got you thinking it's about me. What do you want to bet we bring her again, and she changes her story yet again?" Eames confronted him, arms folded tightly across her chest.

"It's my gut. I feel it. She can play me all she wants, but I feel it. She wants to hurt you. She brought Zinsky out of your past. All of that work just to rattle you? I've thought about it and I don't think so."

Deakins waved a hand at him. "Okay, so let's stop chasing rabbits. Your gut is good enough for me. Hell, I've let you run on a lot less before."

"Wait a minute, Captain." Alex was standing between them. "I get a voice in this."

"Alex, that woman has caused enough havoc around here. I would not put anything past her. We don't ignore this."

"And then she wins again." Alex threw her arms up and turned away from them.

Bobby shook his head. "No, she doesn't win. She wouldn't set all this up just to inconvenience you for a week. She's not small time like that. You know that."

"I don't have the people to sit on you, Alex. We squawk too loud about this, and people find out that Nicole is in lockdown under no charges. I think you should get out of town for a week. Buy a ticket using cash. Hell, I'll pay for it. Bobby will escort you to the gate. That'll give us a week to look this over good."

Alex threw her head back and chuckled. "No way! Not happening. Let's move onto plan B."

"I agree with her, Captain. I think she should stay here."

"And we do what to protect her?"

"She stays with me."

"What?" Alex said.

"My apartment. It's clean. I have a couch."

"All right, I get it. I get it now. This is what Nicole planned. I stay with you 24 hours a day for a week, and there will be a murder. She doesn't have to do a thing. I'll shoot him and then kill myself."

Bobby snorted. "Don't hold back like that. What do you really feel, Alex?"

There was something in the way he said that hit her in the gut. She remembered how tough it always been for him to feel accepted. She stepped back and sat down in a chair.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just find this really frustrating."

Bobby looked at Deakins and then went over to sit next to her. "I understand that, but we're partners, right? If you're in danger, I take care of you. That's how it works. You've been there for me."

"Okay, but we do this together. The big brother act isn't going to work for me. I am part of this, and I'm not convinced she isn't trying to hurt you."

Bobby looked down at the ground. "She knows how to hurt me, Alex. Trust me. This is why we need to stick together."

"All right guys, it's been wonderful to be a part of this special moment, but let's get back to the situation here. I'm going to pretend I don't know that the two of you will be sharing quarters. But you're going to need some help." Without saying another word, Deakins strode to the door and opened it. "Logan!"

Bobby squeezed his eyes closed and hung his head. Alex had to stifle a grin. Logan showed up at the door with a puzzled look on his face. Deakins turned to his detectives.

"Barak is at Quantico this week for training. Logan is at loose ends, and the two of you could use some help."

Logan looked around the room. "I would guess that I am very late to this party. Who wants to bring me up to speed?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

She was used to being in the driver's seat, but at least she was in front. Goren was draped over the divider like a kid in the being left out of the joke. Logan was trying to ignore the guy camped six inches away from his ear.

"You sure he hangs out here." Logan looked at Eames. They were parked in front of Bunny's nightclub.

"A guy at the precinct says he still hangs out here every night after work," she said.

"I still think you should wait out here," Goren growled from his perch between them.

Logan nodded. "From what you told me, this guy sounds like a real piece of work. Maybe you should let Bobby and I go in, talk to him, tell him what's what, and then we're back here in ten minutes. Save you the trouble of dealing with the creep."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I have four older brothers, you know. Those positions have been filled. You guys are going to have to settle for some other kind of relationship with me. I'm going in with you."

"This time I get to say what I want," Goren reminded her groaning as he crawled out of the back seat. She made a mental note to climb in the back on the way back. Logan's economy backseat was no match for the big detective.

She straightened her coat and resisted an urge to check the mirror before she got out. Zinsky was going to say what he would say no matter how she looked.

Logan opened the door into a smoky, loud bar filled with men drinking hard and women in tight clothes waiting tables. She moved past Mike and scanned the room. At the back was a stage, and a naked girl, no more than 18 years of age, was dancing. Beside the stage was a large table filled with beefy men, some of them wearing sidearms. She recognized the detectives from her old unit. And then she spotted Robert, a whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She cringed at the realization of how boorish he looked to her now. There was a time when she would have given her life for him.

She pointed for her partners and they headed back there. Robert didn't spot them until they stood in front of the table. Then he raised his glass, "Fellas, let's give a toast to the little skirt I used to bang and the two eunuchs she brought with her!"

All faces turned toward them, and Alex kept her face as neutral as possible. Logan moved forward. "I'm Detective Logan, Major Cases,and we need to talk to you."

Zinsky ignored him and turned to Goren. "You still mute?"

Goren leaned into him and spoke slowly. "You get up and walk with us to an empty table or I'm going to break your neck."

Zinsky broke into raucous laughter, throwing his head back. "They're threatening me guys!"

Goren had him by the collar and on his feet before anyone could react. Alex breathed in sharply. He wheeled him around and threw him up against the wall. Other men at the table got to their feet, but Logan was there warning them to stay out of it.

Alex started to move toward them, but Logan grabbed her forearm and whispered sharply, "Let him play it out."

Zinsky was no small man and the two of them were face to face, gritting teeth as they struggled with one another. With a shout, Bobby threw him against the wall, and the concussion caused him to slide down onto his haunches, struggling to find his breath. Bobby stood over him. "We think someone is trying to kill Alex. Our chief suspect is you. Call it off. Anything happens to her, and I am going to hunt you like a dog."

Zinsky spat at him, and when Goren reached up to wipe it off his face, the older Narcotics cop hooked him with his leg and brought him crashing to the ground. Zinsky climbed on him and started hitting. The other cops started to clear the table and Logan pushed Eames behind him. Alex had other ideas. She came out on the other side, and rushed Sgt. Ryan, the desk jockey. Looking up at him, she said, "You let 'em work it out, Frankie. Hear me? Bullies have to learn to take it too, you know."

The older man put a hand up and signaled the other cops to sit down again.

She planted a finger on his chest. "Frankie, listen up. Robert has any plans regarding me that you know of, you better get smart. I'm working with the finest now. We get the work done without becoming the animals we hunt. Take a lesson from that. You and me both know that he isn't smart enough or careful to get out of this clean. Remember last time? You know something; you better get on the right side of it as soon as you can 'cause if we get there first, everybody's going down, and I'm walking away with a smile on my face. Promise you that." She let go and backed away.

Goren had Zinsky pinned and was looking down at him. "You gonna' play again or did you get the message?"

The older man was considerably more winded than his opponent. He nodded reluctantly and Goren got off him, backing away. Zinsky got up, nose bleeding and cursed at Goren, but that was the extent of it. He turned and limped back to his seat at the table.

Logan grinned and looked at the men seated. "Sorry guys, can't help it. I haven't been with the squad long so I haven't seen the two of them work much. But you gotta admit that they're good. I'd put my money on Eames in an alley fight with any one of you mopes. She's got heart. Ever heard of that?"

Goren wiped at a bloody lip, and Eames resisted an urge to grab a napkin for him. Then he spoke, "If you're anywhere near what we're working on, we'll find it and take you down."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zinsky murmured through a hankerchief catching blood from his nose.

"Sorry, we don't have time for remedial math today, Zinsky. We'll have to let your buddies explain it to you." said Logan. The element of surprise was long gone, and Logan wanted them out of there before the table got organized. He pushed Goren toward the door and Eames after him while he took the rear. Once outside, he ran past both of them and had the car running by the time they got to it.

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TBC