Chapter Three

Hansen's slam left Oscar's already-cracked door in two pieces, the top half swinging free just above the doorknob. Both men chose to ignore it. "Alright, Goldman, where are they?"

"Good morning, Jack," Oscar said with a fake joviality that neither of them believed. "Getting a late start today, aren't you? You're usually hitting full growl mode by 10am, and it's almost noon."

Hansen refused to be distracted. "I even gave your girl extra time. She was told to check in first thing this morning. Not only did she not show up, she couldn't even pick up the phone and call."

"My girl?" Oscar was fairly certain he knew who Jack referred to, but the opportunities to toy with the NSB Director were few and far between, and Oscar was having fun. "I'm a confirmed bachelor; even you know that." He leaned back in his chair, lit a cigar and waited for the explosion.

It was a short wait. "Dammit!" Hansen cursed, picking up a chair as though he were about to throw it, then slamming it into the broken door instead. "Where are Sommers and Austin?" he growled through gritted teeth.

"Why would you ask me?" Oscar said with a shrug. "My understanding is that Miss Sommers is under your supervision at the moment, Jack."

"Well, not only did she not check in, but she and Austin both seem to have disappeared. She was very specifically told not to let him know he was under investigation."

"I haven't heard from either of them," Oscar said. "Maybe she didn't tell him anything. Maybe they decided to take a vacation..."

"Do your operatives make a habit out of going on vacations in the middle of assignments?"

"Not when I'm in charge of them."

"If you know anything, Oscar, or if you hear from them, I'd appreciate having you fill me in immediately."

"Of course," Oscar affirmed. "I'm sure you'll keep me posted as well." He stood, hoping Hansen would take it as a cue to leave.

"If you do hear from them," Hansen said on his way out, "you might want to let them know that if I don't hear from them - personally - by this time tomorrow, the APB I'm about to issue will be converted to a Federal warrant for their arrests."
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At the exact moment that Jack Hansen was issuing a nation-wide APB, Steve was picking up a marriage license and Jaime was struggling with her conscience. Was she marrying Steve for the right reasons? She'd told him the truth when it came to her feelings: she loved him with her whole heart and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life at his side. Jaime had no doubts or reservations about that, and she also knew Steve's love for her was strong and true.

Keeping secrets was no way to begin a marriage, though, and Jaime was holding onto a big one. She reminded herself that she was marrying him - in part - to protect him, and so she wouldn't have to keep the secret any longer. Would she be marrying him if this hadn't come up? Yes and no. Becoming Steve's wife was a dream she'd had since she was a little girl, one that (with the exception of their separation while she recovered from amnesia) she'd never lost or wavered from.

If she was completely honest with herself, she had to admit that no, they wouldn't be where they were at this moment, less than an hour from becoming man and wife, without the interference of Jack Hansen and Lydia Spence. Jaime finally reached the conclusion that circumstances may have forced this to play out earlier than it otherwise would have, but the outcome - marriage - would have still been the same.

Oscar believed that Jaime's husband-to-be had cheated on her, and Jack Hansen believed he was a traitor. Jaime wasn't certain what the real truth was, but she believed in Steve, 100 percent, and she believed in the strength of their love.
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Russ, Jim, Rudy and Peggy were seated around Oscar's desk, waiting anxiously for him to let them know the reason for this impromptu meeting.

"I'll get right to the point," Oscar told them. "Steve and Jaime have taken some sort of vacation or sabbatical. I don't know where they've gone, or why, but we need to find them, and we need to do it fast. It's imperative that we keep this strictly to ourselves, and when you do uncover any information, you need to bring it directly - and immediately - to me. Now, have any of you had contact of any kind with either Jaime or Steve in the last 12 hours?"

At first, no one spoke. Rudy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I saw them last night, just before 10:00," he revealed quietly. "They called and asked me to meet them at my office. They...wanted blood tests."

Oscar nodded. "That's what I'd suspected. Russ, I want you to check with Records and find their marriage license. It's obvious that's what they're doing. Once you find the license, check the hotels in the issuing state. Peggy, see if they had tickets on any commercial flight out of DC in the last 12 hours, and if they've got return tickets as well. Jim, check the nearby Bases and find out if Steve borrowed a plane on his own. I need hourly reports from all of you, whether you've found any information or not. Stay in touch with me, and only with me. And if I didn't stress this enough already, this is urgent - top priority. We have to find them before the end of the day. When they've been located, whoever speaks with them is to make it crystal clear that they are to contact me at once. Their safety, their future and possibly their very lives depend on it."
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