Chapter Three

"So...you and Oscar now, huh?" Steve said as he and Jaime left the building.

"Steve, I -"

"Hey, I think it's great."

"What?" Jaime was relieved, but it wasn't the reaction she'd expected.

"If it can't be me, then I'm glad you're with Oscar. I know he'll take care of you. And he definitely loves you." There was a lot more Steve wanted to say, but they had a job to do. "Jaime, let's sit down for a minute. You might have put yourself on this case, but you're also a witness. Did you see or hear anything unusual right before the crash?"

"It wasn't a crash; it was an explosion. A crash is an accident."

"Did you hear a bomb? Or possibly a gunshot?" Steve asked.

"I'm...not sure."

"Maybe you'd be better off meeting me in a little while; my first stop this morning isn't something you sho0uld have to deal with -"

"Don't baby me, Austin. I have the same abilities and the same government ranking as you do."

"Whoa there, Tiger. I wasn't questioning your ability; hell, I helped train you! But I was on my way to inspect the car, or what's left of it."

"Oh. Ok, let's get to it."

"Jaime -"

"I'll be fine."

------

After the explosion, Jaime had still been unconscious when Rudy and the medics took her from the car. She was unaware of the scope of the damage, the devastating destruction caused in one single moment. "Oh, my God..." she breathed as the site came into view. It had been kept intact, the car still where it had come to rest, guarded by factions of the NSB and OSI, until the incident had been fully investigated. Tears formed in Jaime's eyes but she fought to push them back. Steve hadn't seen any of it before, and he was shocked beyond words. He'd hoped there was at least a partial engine he could look at, because he had a theory, a starting point to his investigation. He'd have to find another way.

Jaime stood where the driver's door should have been, just staring. "We were so lucky..."

Luckier than you realize, if my theory's right, Steve thought. "Jaime, does this bring back any memories, especially of anything you might've heard right before this happened?"

"Oscar was conscious through the whole thing. You should probably ask him -"

"Already did."

Jaime noticed his eyes - especially the left one - carefully scanning the ground surrounding the site. "Steve, what is it? Did Oscar hear something? I'm supposed to be helping you; what are we looking for?"

Steve realized she was right. They'd been partnered in this investigation - even if it was only through Jaime's sheer stubborn-ness - so he should be giving her whatever clues he had, not keeping them to himself. "I'm looking for bullet casings or shotgun shells; any sign a gun was fired here."

"I don't get it."

"I don't think a bomb did this; too imprecise. They had no way of knowing when Oscar would be leaving the hospital."

"Remote control?" Jaime suggested.

"Possibly. But what I think happened was someone was waiting on this road for the limo to drive past. Someone with exceptionally good aim, because they probably took just one shot, aiming for the gas tank, intending to blow up the whole car."

Jaime's eyes grew wide. "The passenger section is reinforced like an armored tank. Otherwise -" She suddenly stopped talking, her attention diverted.

"Jaime -"

"Shh." She tried to focus through her fear. "Steve, get down!" she shouted, diving for the ground and push/pulling him down as she went. The crack of a rifle shattered one of the few remaining windows on the half-limo, and half-a-dozen NSB/OSI agents instantly surrounded the car. Jaime pointed to a spot in the hills. "It came from there."

Steve was on his feet and halfway up the hill at bionic speed before any of the agents could react. When Jaime had pointed, he saw a figure running away through the trees and he'd be damned if he was letting him get away. The trailing agents could have whatever was left after Steve was done with him.

------

Steve smiled at Jaime as they rode - with full NSB/OSI escort - back to Oscar's office. "Do you think Oscar'll let us keep working together, now that you and he are -"

Jaime didn't let him finish the sentence. "Are what, Austin?"

"Together."

Now it was Jaime's turn to smile. "He'd be a fool not to. We still make one of the best teams in the business."

"By the way, by the time everyone else got up the hill, that guy was singing like a bird. We'll get his friends, too, and they can thank him for that."

"With a little friendly persuasion from you?"

"Maybe...just a little."

------

Jaime and Oscar spent most of the evening curled up together on a futon in front of a blazing fire. In between kisses, Jaime's eyes grew serious. "You know, you were saying it was too dangerous for me to be with you, and now it turns out you weren't the target; I was. Maybe, for your safety -"

"Shut up and kiss me," Oscar teased.

Jaime grinned. "You're the boss."

END