Disclaimer: Dick Wolf, whatevah!

Title: Hurricane Katrina

Chap. 16: The Plan

Characters: Goren, Deakins, Logan, Barek, Carver, Eames

Rating: T

Genre: Humor/Angst

Summary: Goren and Katayeva cook up a plan to mess with Nicole Wallace's mind.

Reviews welcome.

Nicole Wallace was back in town. That was never a good thing. For New York City, or the Major Case Squad. Prior to beginning her temp position as Goren's partner, Katrina Katayeva had reviewed a ton of case files completed by Goren and Eames. Among that impressive group were the cases that involved Nicole Wallace/Elizabeth Hitchens/Nicole Haynes. Katyeva had read and re-read everything regarding the infamous Nicole. Watched the tapes of every interrogation with her. That required several doses of Advil™.

Jesus H. Christ…what a bitch and a half. She torments him mercilessly about his schizophrenic mother and cheating father, while he harps on her father's sexual abuse of her. Even when Nicole could stay under Goren's radar, she makes sure to do something to grab his attention. You can see his stress level increase ten-fold when you see those tapes. Why does she keep doing that, when otherwise she could pretty much carry out her schemes with impunity? Why? Because she has a thing for Goren. Nicole is attracted to him. Not sure if she realizes it. I think that's the reason she keeps coming back to him. Is Goren attracted to her? If so, I don't think he is aware of it. But, let's see how he feels about my little plan for Nicole.

"Nicole is back…again," sighed Goren, as he scrubbed his face with his hands, lost in his own thoughts.

Deakins turned to Katayeva, "If you've got any fresh ideas on finally putting this woman away, I'd love to hear it. I know you reviewed all of the files and interrogations with Wallace. You've seen her with Goren. I can't have her dropping out of the sky every so often to torment my detectives."

Kat just nodded. Deakins went back to his office. She wasn't saying a word to the Captain unless Goren was agreeable.

"Goren," she called. No response.

"Earth to Bobby, earth to Bobby. Do you read me?"

At least he looked up at her this time. Well, that's a start.

"Uh…what?..."

"Let's take a walk down to Conference Room 2. I have a Starbucks™ and a raspberry scone with your name on it, Bobby."

That brought a nod. But no movement. She walked around to stand next to Goren. Put her hand on his shoulder, leaned down next to his ear.

"If you stand up," whispered Katayeva, "then we can walk to the conference room, Bobby."

"Umm…right." He got up and they walked into the room. She closed the door. Katayeva had no idea how Goren was going to react, but she knew enough to give him privacy.

Goren plopped into a chair, his elbows on the table, chin resting in his left hand. She placed his coffee and scone in front of him.

"Bobby, we need to focus here. Can you manage that?"

Goren straightened up in his chair. Shook himself slightly, as though casting off…..god knows what.

"Yeah…yeah…I'm alright, Kat….I can…uh.. focus."

"Let's start chugging down that caffeine, Bobby."

She pushed his Starbucks™ a tad closer to him. He took a sip…then another. It helped.

Goren sighed, "Why are we…um….here?"

"Nicole."

"Nicole's here?"

"No…just you and me."

"Ah…"

"Are you aware that Nicole Wallace ……has a crush on you?"

"What?"

"Nicole is attracted to you."

Goren blinked. Blinked again.

"I want to use that against her."

"Back up….I'm still….baffled…that you think she is attracted to me. What…uh…makes you say that?"

"I watched the tapes of your interrogations with her. Better than Days of Our Lives, Bobby boy. I particularly noticed that Nicole let up on Eames once she found out that Eames' pregnancy was for surrogacy. As opposed to being yours. And the way she speaks to you. Not just what she says, but how she says it. The way she looks at you, the way you look at her. If I didn't know better, I'd think you two are, or had been, lovers."

Goren was stunned. Katayeva could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Say I ….uh…accept your ….hypothesis. What do you propose?"

"I propose to make Nicole jealous. Very jealous. She's more likely to make a mistake when she's under that kind of emotional stress."

"And we'll make her jealous…how?"

"We will lead her to believe that we are engaging in.. …ummm… partner fraternization."

"As in….sex?"

"I knew you'd catch on, Bobby," grinned Katayeva. That got his attention.

"So….will you and I actually be…uh….?"

"No. There is no actually happening here. It will all be implied. We're not trying to make my husband jealous, just Nicole."

"Oh…"

"I'm flattered that you seem disappointed, Bobby," laughed Kat, "We will engage in a longing looks, touching, sitting a little too close…that kind of stuff for Nicole's benefit. She's bright, she'll figure it out fast. And I doubt she'll be able to hide it."

"Kat, you really think Nicole is attracted to me? And that she will be jealous?"

He is so brilliant, yet so clueless.

"Bobby, if you don't believe me….ask Eames. Bet you ten bucks she agrees with me."

Is it possible the women have noticed what I missed? I must be losing my touch.

"What do you think she'll do?"

"I am guessing that her behavior will be directed a me primarily, though she may be on your case, too. Now….are you up for this? You can say no, it's just an idea I had."

Goren was silent for a few moments.

"Nothing else we've done has put her away. Your idea sounds as good as any other we've come up with. Have you …umm…run it by Deakins yet?"

"Nope. I wouldn't dream of mentioning it to him without your approval, Bobby."

"I ….I …uh…appreciate that, Kat. But I am …concerned…about you volunteering to make yourself Nicole's…target."

"Bobby, I've been through Afghanistan, for god's sake. You're telling me that Nicole Wallace is more formidable than the Taliban?"

"Close."

That night, Goren stopped by Eames' apartment bringing dinner with him. As they worked their way through the pan of lasagna, he casually brought up the subject of Nicole Wallace.

"Nicole?" said Eames, "What about her?"

"Do you think….uh…I feel so stupid asking you this….ummm…that Nicole …is…is attracted to me….or has a crush on me?"

"Of course. Just think of how she talks to you, treats you, enters your personal space. You mean you missed this somehow, Bobby?"

"I must confess, Alex….I really….really did not see it," admitted Goren.

So brilliant, yet so clueless.

"Bobby, I am not saying that Nicole is in love with you. She is attracted to you. I think it's a power thing, a sexual thing."

Goren just rolled his eyes.

"It wouldn't surprise me," snickered Alex, "if Nicole tried to kidnap you and make you her sex slave."

Goren's sip of wine came right out of his nose on that remark. Alex handed him a couple of napkins.

"Bobby, I can definitely picture you and Nicole sweatin' up the sheets."

Goren was turning beet red, shaking his head in a negative response.

"Eames, I have no desire to sleep with serial killers. Hopefully I have better taste in women than that. Nicole's the …the human equivalent of the black widow spider."

"So, are you going to tell me what brought up this subject?"

"Nicole's back in town. And Katayeva has a plan to go after her. We are supposed to make Nicole jealous and cause her to make a mistake."

"And whom will Nicole be jealous of exactly?"

"Katayeva. We are going to pretend we are, uh…fraternizing…letting her think that we have a relationship. You know…ummm…meaningful looks, touching, that kind of stuff."

Eames was silent for a moment.

"Well, Bobby….it's either brilliant or insane. I'm not sure which one. Katayeva is certainly incredibly attractive. And I'll bet she can step it up to over-the-top. So, your part of the act will be easy," grinned Eames.

"I am really concerned….about making Katayeva into Nicole's newest target. But, she…uh….figures is she could deal with the …uh…Taliban….this couldn't be worse."

"The Taliban! No shit, Bobby. She was in Afghanistan? What did she do over there?"

"Deakins asked her….she.. umm …said 'If I told you…."

"'I'd have to kill you'….Jeez. What'd the captain say to that?"

"He rolled his eyes, but I think he was really impressed. Kat has major security clearances. God knows what she did in the military."

"Well, Bobby, you both just have to be real careful. Nicole is always a wild card. You never know what the hell she's gonna do."

Two days later, in Deakins' office.

"You two want to do what? Katayeva, you want to set a trap for Nicole Wallace? And you are going to use yourself as bait? You think Wallace has a crush on Goren, for god's sakes?"

"Affirmative to all of the above, Captain," said Kat.

"Goren, how are you with all this? You're the one with a history with Wallace. You know what she's capable of."

"Oh…it's definitely risky, sir. But, so far, Wallace is still free. We need to put her away. I am willing to do it, if Katayeva is willing to put herself on the line."

"I need to know, you two. Whose idea was this?"

"Totally mine, Captain," replied Kat.

Goren nodded.

"Alright, I'll authorize it. When do you want us to haul Nicole in here?"

"Give us a couple days. We need to…rehearse," grinned Katayeva.

"You got it, detectives."

Goren and Katyeva spent the next three days rehearsing in an interrogation room.

"Bobby, we've done some undercover as a couple. We can do this."

"It's more…uh…intense…more…intimate."

"Yeah, but I've seen your interrogation tapes. You have a definite acting talent, Bobby. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think the two of us could carry it off."

The two detectives went to work. They practiced those little touches that lovers do with one another. Subtle, but noticeable. Lingering just a moment too long to be casual. They worked on their eye contact. Holding each other's gaze a tad longer than necessary. Kat practiced deferring to Goren. Goren practiced protecting her, knowing full well that if he ever did this in their real life, she'd have kicked his ass. They learned how to sit closer to each other. They had Carolyn Barek sit opposite them, playing Nicole, giving them feedback on their actions. Then Logan sat in, sharing his opinion. Deakins observed them through the glass.

God, they are damn good at this. If I didn't know better, I'd say something was definitely going on between Goren and Katayeva. Their behavior is very subtle, but the undercurrent is absolutely there. You can feel it in the air. You know by looking at them that they are involved. But, will Nicole Wallace see it? And how will she react? Katayeva and Eames both agree that Nicole has the hots for Goren, but he never saw it. With all due respect to Goren, I'd have to go with the women's view on this one. Women are much better at reading this kind of thing, especially in other women. Just like in high school. Some things never change.

"Good morning, Goren."

Katayeva walked into Major Case right behind Goren.

"Morning."

"Ready? This is like the school play. It's a one shot deal."

"Ready as I will ever be."

"Stage fright, Goren?"

"No, I don't…uh… think so."

"Don't forget that we're doing an overture out here in the squad room."

"You really think this will work, Kat?"

"No, Goren…I don't….I just did it so I could spend the last three days with your hands all over my body and gaze into your eyes."

Goren's mouth opened. Nothing came out of it. He closed his mouth.

"You are so easy, Bobby," smirked Katayeva, "Of course, I think it will work. Why the hell else would I be doing this?"