Chapter Four - Baltimore - 8/12 - 11:30pm

Steve held Jaime tightly in his arms, trying to shield her from the sight of the fireball. He didn't know what to tell her or how to explain this. He couldn't bring himself to say that either the group that had used her to commit multiple felonies - including murder - may have just tried to kill them, or that it could possibly have been a branch of their own government. If they were very lucky, whoever it was would believe they were still inside the burning pile of rubble that used to be a house.

Steve had taken Jaime on the run before Rudy's news that could officially clear her had come to light. If he had known, though, it wouldn't have made a difference in his actions. There was so much long-standing animosity between the NSB and the OSI that Hansen would've tried to push an execution through before a court or tribunal had a chance to clear her. Steve knew that no matter what Rudy found, he and Jaime were in a desperate race against time, for their very lives. By running with her, Steve was now in the same trouble Jaime was in, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. They would go back to Washington, but only when they had their own solid, concrete evidence to clear her.

Steve had to find out what, if anything, Jaime remembered about what had happened to her. In doing so, he faced the unenviable task of telling her what had happened at the Pentagon. First, though, he had to find a safe, quiet place where they could talk, uninterrupted, at least for a little while.

OSI Director's Office - 8/13 - 3:00am

Rudy had finally finished the report that would hopefully clear Jaime and was on his way home when he saw the lights still on in Oscar's office and decided to drop in. He found his friend still at his desk, hard at work.

"Alright. Call me if you hear anything at all. Thank you." Oscar hung up the phone. "Good morning," he said to Rudy.

"I'm guessing it's still night for you. Have you slept at all?"

"I'll sleep after I find them," Oscar insisted.

"Time to catch up on your zzz's, then," Hansen announced, letting himself in without knocking. "We found your missing agents." Oscar and Rudy exchanged a worried glance and tried to ignore the sinking feeling they both had in their stomachs. "I got a call from Kirk in the field," Hansen told them. "Sommers and Austin were located - and neutralized."

Rudy swallowed hard. "Tell me you don't mean -"

"They're dead - you should've kept 'em on their leashes, Goldman," Hansen said, with a little too much satisfaction. "If they were lucky, the explosion took 'em. Otherwise, they burned. Didn't find bodies, but with the entire property in ashes, that's not surprising."

Oscar, overcome by grief and rage, could only manage two words: "Get out!" When Hansen was gone, Oscar lowered his head to his desk and silently mourned his fallen friends.

Annapolis, MD - 8/13 - 4:15am

Steve forced open the door to the bomb shelter and helped Jaime down the darkened stairs, securing the door behind them. It was an ideal place to hide for a few hours; there were blankets, cans of food and bottles of water. Also a telephone which, to Steve's surprise, actually worked. He didn't dare use it until they were ready to move on, though.

He made a nest of blankets on the floor and tenderly wrapped one around Jaime's shoulders. He looked at her closely. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering. It was 82 degrees outside, so Steve guessed she was in shock. She had been through so much in the last 48 hours: probable captivity, the incident at the Pentagon, interrogation by the NSB, and now a nearly successful attempt on her life. Shock wasn't surprising at this point. Steve opened a can of fruit cocktail and a bottle of water and gave them to Jaime. She drank nearly all the water in one long gulp, but merely picked a little at the fruit and set down the can.

Deep in his heart, Steve knew she wasn't a traitor or a cold-blooded killer. He braced himself; it was time to talk.