A/N I do not own these characters. If I did I would be fabulously wealthy and wouldn't need to post my fan fiction here. I would be writing for the show and dining regularly with Michael Easton (snicker perks of the job. LOL) and I wouldn't let that hack Higley near them.

A special thanks to Tina for the title help and to Manda for being my sounding board for my plot ideas. Also a special thanks to Shama for her help with a few questions I needed answers for.

Authors Note: The sequel to Family Secrets is gonna have to wait a bit cause this story has taken root in my brain and I feel the need to write it before the Sequel to Family Secrets.

For Love or Justice

By Missy Ann

Chapter 1

They were coming for her. She knew it. Natalie Balsom thought as she hurriedly packed her belongings in her old junker of a car. Throwing her bag in the back seat and her purse in the front she hopped in and started up the engine. Pulling away from the curb she rolled down the road at a fast clip, determined to get away before they came for her.

Glancing in her mirror she felt a sense of loss as she sped away from the only place she considered home. Atlantic City was in her blood and she was going to miss it with every beat of her heart but she couldn't stay. Not after...after... all that had happened. Sometimes life was too cruel. Having to leave her brother was the worst punishment off all. To just have him back only to have to leave again was heartbreaking. Not saying goodbye had nearly killed her but she could not, would not, place him in danger because of her.

"Bye Rex," She whispered sadly. Tears forming in her eyes as she continued driving away. Away from her life and everyone she had ever known. Stealing her self against the onslaught of emotions she again reminded herself of why she had to leave, why all this was necessary. Knowing she needed to get away, to hide she headed for an old friend. Someone she knew would help her, someone with connections.

Driving through the bad parts of AC she hoped none of her friends noticed her car. It was still early yet so it was unlikely that they would be around but knowing her crowd one never knew. Hoping that he was there as she finally reached her destination Natalie hopped out of the car and ran up the steps to the small but rich looking building. It looked out of place in this neighborhood but that was because the owner loved to live in style and liked to be near his work. Knocking firmly on the door until a big beefy black man wearing a tight fitting black shirt and leather coat answered the door. "What?" he asked gruffly, his manor intimidating.

"I'm here to see Vincent. Tell him its Natty." Natalie stated, her tone hard. She knew that unless you were confident and controlled no one took you seriously in this town. As the man left Natalie waited, waited for her friend.

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John McBain walked up the steps to the rundown apartment building that was the residence of one Miss. Natalie Balsom. He was here to take her in for questioning about the murder of a man named Victor Grossman. Grossman was a middle-aged accountant who had had some unsavory connections to a gambling ring. He had turned up shot to death in front of his home the night before and several witnesses had placed Miss. Balsom as the last one to see him alive.

Raising his hand he knocked on the door and waited. After a minute the door was opened by a younger man of about 19-20 years of age. According to his information this must be her brother Rex Balsom. Looking him over john could see that he was a punk. From his baggy pants to his shaggy hair Rex Balsom gave off the image of a tough street kid that knew some unsavory types of people. Of course in this part of town that wasn't hard, there were drug dealers on every corner and hookers turning tricks 50 feet from this very door. Inexplicably John was struck with the hope that Miss Balsom wasn't one of them.

Shaking his head trying to figure out why he cared he asked, "Is Natalie Balsom here?"

Rex looked this stranger up and down. Noting his manor of dress and his stance Rex concluded that he was a cop. He could always tell who was a cop and who wasn't. Natty called him the 5-O detector. Knowing this was a cop put Rex on edge. "Nope, Sorry." Rex said and tried to shut the door in John's face.

John stuck his foot in the door and said, "Whoa, wait a minute. I have a few more questions." Shouldering his way in and flashing his badge he stood in the doorway determined to get answers. "Look, Kid this is a serious matter and I need to know where Miss Balsom is."

Rex flashed an irritated look at John. Having seen his FBI badge Rex wondered what the hell Natalie had gotten herself into. "Look cop. Natalie is my sister and whatever you think she did she is a good woman and I won't help you!" Rex was angry. Cops had been nothing but trouble since they were children. Always calling CPS on Roxy and threatening to take them away from her and each other. The last time a cop had come to ask 'questions' Rex had been arrested and charged with a crime he hadn't committed.

"My name is John McBain not 'Cop' and I can arrest you for hindering an official police investigation." John said irritated with Rex's attitude. "Now do you know where your sister is? She could be in so serious trouble and I need to ask her some questions about where she was last night."

"She was with me, here, all night." Rex lied. He had been home but Natalie had not. In fact he had been planning to ask her where she had been when he last saw her. He had figured she had gotten lucky but apparently that was not the case. Far from it looked like. Hoping he could bluff this cop away he held his stance and looked John straight in the eye, daring him to question his story.

John knew Rex was lying. He could tell by the way the kid answered the question. Deciding to leave it for now he said, "I need to see her room. I have a warrant." Handing Rex the search warrant he began to look around. Motioning to the two bedroom doors he asked, "Which one is Natalie's?"

Rex sighed and pointed to the one on the left. He hoped Natalie didn't have anything illegal in there as he showed John the right room. His sister wasn't normally one to get into trouble even considering that she was a good friend of Vincent Jones.

John nodded and went into the room. Noticing that it was very neat and tidy as he walked straight to the closet and flung open the door. "Empty," he muttered to himself. That was a bad sign; it meant that she had taken off. Sighing he turned back to Rex who had followed him into the room and asked again, "Where is she Rex."

Rex was just as shocked as John when he saw that Natalie had cleaned out her closet. Never in a million years did he think Natalie would ever get into serious enough trouble that she needed to run away. He was hurt that she hadn't at least said goodbye to him. Not saying it to Roxy he would have understood but to him? He knew that she had probably left in a hurry but it still hurt.

"I don't know," he said honestly, though if he had to guess he would guess that she went to Vince for help.

Picking up a picture from the bedside table John looked at it closely, it was of Natalie and Rex at the beach hugging. Obviously they were very close. John could tell that Rex was genuinely shocked that Natalie's closet and drawers had been cleaned out which probably meant that she hadn't told him of her plans to leave town. As he looked at the picture two things struck him the first was that he wished he could have a relationship like that with his own brother and the second was that he felt a strange pull toward the girl. Sure with her long red hair and curvaceous body she was beautiful, gorgeous really, but it wasn't that or maybe not just that he thought with a slight grin. He felt something, something he couldn't identify. He actually wanted to be wrong about her, for some reason he wanted her to be innocent.

Shaking that notion from his head as he put down the picture and handing Rex his card John said, "If she contacts you or comes back call me." He knew Rex wouldn't call but it was procedure to give the card and say that. Taking one last look around for something that would give him a clue as to where Natalie had gone John left the apartment.

To Be Continued...