Well here is the final chapter! Just a warning, its on the long side
It's also more about the agents and less about the case but there were a few loose ends that needed tidying up so I thought I had better tidy them.
Thank you to everyone who has posted reviews thus far, they really do make my day.
I hope you enjoy the final chapter………………and, as always, your reviews are very much appreciated!.
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Six Months Later
Sam sat staring out of the window of Starbucks on 34th Street, letting her mind idle pleasantly as she watched the people rushing by; she missed Manhattan…..she had enjoyed the last 19 weeks at Quantico but she would be glad when she finished next week and she could start her new life……………..her thoughts were interrupted by Maggie dropping heavily into the seat next to her;
'Sorry I'm late but really…….men'
Sam pushed a mug of coffee toward her; 'Move going well is it' she laughed as Maggie rolled her eyes, a disgusted look on her face
'I couldn't have stayed a minute longer…… and then Jack and Danny turned up to help….' She shook her head; 'why do men have to have a 'system' for how they do something? They could have finished the damn move in the time it's taken them to discuss how they are going to do it. Honestly, I've never been so happy to get an offer of an afternoon's retail therapy in my life'
Sam grinned and pushed a copy of the New York Post toward her; 'look, Macys shoe department is having a sale' she saw Maggie's eyes light up and a wide grin spread across her face
'Oh please please let me find something there that I want, it will so wind Martin up'
Sam was laughing;' how will buying shoes wind Martin up?'
'Hah, I quote Mr Fitzgerald from two days ago as we, or should I say I was packing; 'why does anyone need so many pairs of shoes and boots, and where are we going to put them in our new apartment?'
'Ah, is he still under the impression that the third bedroom is going to be a den for him and Danny to watch the football in rather than your walk in closet?'
Sam watched, surprised, as the expression on Maggie's face changed and a look Sam couldn't pin down appeared along with a faint colour which stained her cheeks. She stared even more when she saw tears spring into her eyes
'What's wrong' Sam couldn't keep the alarm from her voice as she bent toward Maggie, her hand on her arm
Maggie shook her head, a smile appearing on her face as she dashed the tears away with the back of her hand
'It's nothing, it's just the third bedroom isn't going to be a den or a closet….' she stopped and then in a rush, 'Sam, I'm pregnant'
Sam stared at her stunned, 'I thought you couldn't…..' she saw the glow in Maggie's eyes and a smile spread across her face as she leaned forward and hugged her, 'that's wonderful news'; then she sat back; a suspicion forming, 'you haven't told Martin yet have you?'
Maggie looked guiltily at Sam, 'no, I only realised last week and I wanted to get it all checked out, you know, make sure everything was OK before I told him'
Sam stared at her, 'so when are you telling him?'
Maggie smiled and reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope; from it she took a picture and handed it to Sam
'Your scan picture' Sam looked at it for a moment then raised her head to stare at Maggie, a confused look on her face, 'er, I'm no expert but shouldn't it look more like a blob and less like a baby at this stage?'
'Well that's what I thought but as the nurse who did the scan pointed out, when you get to 14 weeks….'
'14 weeks?'
Sam sounded stunned; Maggie shrugged her shoulders, 'er, yes, roughly my reaction, but apparently I am 14 weeks pregnant'
Sam glanced down at her stomach and then back up at Maggie; 'you're not showing'
'Well you say that but I started noticing the things were feeling tight a couple of weeks ago and the nurse said that at about 16 weeks I'll really start to show…' she shook her head, 'we're off topic aren't we; I thought I'd tell Martin on his birthday, you know, put the picture in his card' she looked anxiously at Sam, 'I thought it would be a really special present for him but now I'm worrying he'll be upset that I didn't tell him sooner'
Sam shook her head, 'I think he'll understand; it's the sort of thing he'd do'
Maggie grinned, 'well in that case, lets go shopping; I feel the need to check out the maternity wear'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Sunday afternoon routine was now well established; a lie in then a walk to the local deli for Sunday brunch, a read of the Sunday papers then a dash to the airport to catch the plane back to Washington
'Last time we'll do this' he paused, then, 'when do they let you know your assignment?'
'Tomorrow, first thing; I'll call as soon as I know but you do realise don't you, I've very little chance of getting the New York post?
'Yeh ,well, let's cross that bridge when we get to it' she could tell he was trying to stay positive but both of them knew that by this time next week she could be clear across the country; Sam tried not to think about how that would affect them………she put her head back and closed her eyes.. Remembering;
She had felt strangely calm as she opened the door to let him into her apartment but his hands had been shaking as he handed her the wine and flowers he had bought. They had gone through to the living room; Sam had poured him a glass of wine and he had drunk half of it down in one gulp.
She waited to see if he wanted to start but he didn't say anything, just played with his wine glass, his head down and his eyes fixed on the floor.
'I've spoken to Van Doren; I've asked to be considered for the profiling course at Quantico and then an assignment to a Behavioural Analysis Unit'
He jerked his head up nearly spilling his wine, 'what?'
'I've asked for a transfer Jack'
'But, I thought that's what tonight was about, I thought we were going to discuss….to discuss….well…. us'
'There can't be an 'us' if we are working in the same team can there?'
'No, but……..' he looked frustrated, 'I thought we were going to discuss it?'
She stood up 'I don't want to talk Jack, we've done nothing but talk'
He rose to his feet, an uncertain look on his face, 'I thought………..' his voice trailed away as she took the wine glass from his hand and placed it on the table; then she stepped forward, slipping her arms around his waist
'I don't want to talk'
He stared down into her eyes and she saw that he understood, like he had always understood her. He cupped her face in his hands and then slowly lowered his head and gently kissed her
The touch of his lips sent a shiver through her; their lips parted and the kiss deepened; she could feel his hands tangle in her hair and she pressed herself closer, feeling the heat from his body. She pulled back slightly, staring into his eyes; 'take me to bed'
He didn't say a word; he just picked her up and carried her to the bedroom…………..
The next day she had applied for a place on the profiling course in Quantico and had been accepted; 4 weeks later she had cleared her desk and headed to Washington to start the 20 weeks of training. They had talked about how the separation would affect them but Jack was adamant that she should do the course if that was what she wanted and that they would find a way to make it work.
They had tried to keep their relationship quiet but Viv and Danny had guessed straight away and Martin had too, once Maggie's condition started improving and he could focus on something other than her. Sam was pretty sure Van Doren had guessed, but she hadn't said anything to Sam and Jack swore that she hadn't said anything to him. Sam found she didn't care anymore; she was happy, Jack was happy and somehow it was working.
It had been a strange existence; her apartment had been sublet and weekends in New York had been spent at Jack's apartment. She had worried about how Hannah and Kate would react; Hannah was distant but she and Kate were getting on well and Hannah was warming to her slowly. Her lifeline had been Maggie; two weekends after starting at Quantico she had come back to New York to find that Jack, Martin, Danny and Viv were tied up on a kidnapping; Martin had asked her to go and see Maggie, still in the hospital and bored beyond belief, so Sam had turned up on the Saturday afternoon and a friendship had been born.
The course was fascinating and it had helped take her mind off how much she missed the team……how much she missed Jack. If she didn't get the New York assignment she didn't know what would happen, she knew she didn't want a long distance relationship anymore………….
'We're here'
His voice snapped her out of her memories and she saw the familiar sight of the terminal building. The first couple of times they had done this Jack had parked the car and come in with her, reluctant to leave her a minute before he had to, but Sam hated the prolonged goodbye and so now he dropped her at the kerb with a brief kiss, both knowing that a much more satisfying goodbye had been said earlier.
'I'll call when I get to Quantico' she stood in the circle of his arms as he smiled at her
'On the cell, I promised Martin I'd go over to the new apartment and help him with the unpacking'
Sam bit her lip to hide a smile. She had spoken to Maggie earlier and knew she was dreading the appearance of Jack and Danny 'to help' with the unpacking.
She kissed him goodbye and headed toward the checkin
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Maggie arrived on the 12th floor and headed for the bullpen; she found Martin, Danny and Viv all sat around the conference table looking relaxed. One glance showed her that the whiteboard was clear.
Viv spotted her first and nudged Martin
'Hey, this is a surprise', he kissed her before he noticed how distracted she was and how pale, in fact she looked as if she was about to throw up, 'are you OK?'
Danny and Viv both stared at her, concern showing on both their faces; Viv pushed an unopened bottle of water across the table to Martin;
'Here, have this'
Maggie nodded gratefully and took a drink from the bottle
'Hey, nice surprise'; Jack arrived at the conference table grinning at the sight of Maggie; a grin which faded as soon as he got close enough to see her face;
'What's up?' he glanced at Martin who shrugged his shoulders
'I've just spoken to Roger Young', she paused and they could see her jaw tighten for a moment before she continued, 'he's just told me that some more of the evidence has been thrown out; he thinks that as things stand at the moment the case is likely to be dismissed with prejudice when it comes to trial on Monday'
Silence greeted her words, all of them horrified at what they had just heard. Roger Young was the most senior prosecutor within the US Attorneys office and it had fallen on him to prosecute the case against Henry Saunders and Tom Holden. Grand Jury indictments had been obtained and the trial was scheduled to begin in a weeks time but the evidence that Robert had collected had never been found and with a legal team costing millions, the defence had gradually been chipping away at the evidence the prosecution did have until the case was circumstantial at best.
Jack dropped his hand onto Maggie's shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort her; she had coped brilliantly after the attack, and after only 10 weeks recovery time she had returned to work. Martin had confided that she had suffered nightmares for a while but these were now a thing of the past but the one thing she had struggled with was that she hadn't been able to help Robert.
He sighed; 'if only we had the evidence that Robert collected…' his cell phone rang
'Excuse me…….Malone….oh hey Sam…' he listened intently and they saw a huge smile cross his face
'That's fantastic news…..' he looked at the 4 sets of curious eyes all staring at him; 'yes I'll tell them….' Another pause while he listened, then, looking at Maggie, 'she's here you can tell her yourself'
He passed the phone over to Maggie, 'Sam wants to talk to you, something about a birthday card………………...' he shrugged his shoulders
'A birthday card?' Martin looked suspicious
'Huh? No idea, I'll, um, just take the call over here…….' Maggie sent him an innocent look and headed over to the door with Jacks cell
Martin stared after her and then looked at Danny who raised his hands in surrender; 'don't look at me I have no idea what they're up to', he turned to look at Jack, 'I assume from the grin that's splitting your face that she had good news?'
Jack couldn't wipe the smile from his face despite the news about the trial, 'yeah, she's got the New York opening in BAU'
Danny grinned, 'looks like we'll have a lot to celebrate on Saturday night at your birthday meal Marty'
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Sam put the phone down after talking to Maggie and frowned; she had realised something wasn't right as soon as they started to speak. It had taken a bit of effort but she had managed to get Maggie to explain about the court case
'Sam', she looked up to see David Haines, her course tutor heading her way, 'where they pleased?'
Sam laughed; she and David had got on well from the start. She had confided in him about her desire to get the New York posting before she had realised that he was involved in allocating assignments; she remembered how embarrassed she had been after she was told but he had just laughed it off.
'Jack's thrilled'
He fell into step as she started to walk back to the classroom; he cast her a thoughtful look; 'well, for someone who got the assignment she wanted you don't look so happy'
'Oh I am it just that I just got some news on the Saunders case'
When she had arrived at the course the Saunders case was still the major talking point within the Bureau, particularly with Tom Holden's involvement and everyone had wanted to talk to her about it until Sam had wanted to run screaming from the room
'Not good news by the look of things'
'No, more evidence has been excluded; the case is almost totally reliant on circumstantial evidence now and the US Attorney thinks there is a very real chance that it will get dismissed with prejudice on Monday'
They reached the classroom and he held the door open for her; she paused as she went to walk through, 'if only we knew where the evidence that Robert Kenilworth collected is' she sighed and walked into the classroom.
'What do you mean?'
Sam turned to look at him, realising that she had never spoken in that much detail about the case with him before. She explained what had happened and how a search of everywhere anyone could think of had failed to find anything resembling any evidence
By the time she had finished explaining the other 5 members of her group were gathered around, all fascinated by the story she was telling; '………so that's were we are. We can't find the evidence he was supposed to have collected and we have looked everywhere we can think of. We can only assume that he either didn't have any evidence, or that he did and they got to him before he could do anything with it'
David had got up and had started to write up some information on the board; she recognised the pattern he was developing, it was the one she had grown familiar with over the last 19 weeks.
He turned to her; 'you know that behavioural analysis applies to everyone, not just criminals. I know you think you've looked everywhere but if we analyse Robert we might find somewhere you haven't looked' he looked at the rest of the group, 'you all up for this, we can use it as a case study'
Everyone agreed with enthusiasm and David turned to Sam. 'OK we need the case files and we need to be able to speak to people who knew Robert'
Sam was already on the phone……………
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was late on Thursday evening when Sam and David arrived at the New York offices of the FBI.
'Will they still be here?' David glanced at his watch to see the time showing as 9:20pm.
'Uh huh, Maggie spoke to Martin half an hour ago; he said the case had only just wrapped and they were all heading to the office'
'And she's going to meet us there?'
'As soon as she has the warrant'
David raised his eyebrows, 'I hope we are right about this otherwise we are going to look pretty silly'
Sam shrugged, 'we'll look pretty silly if the case is thrown out on Monday too; I can stand the risk of some embarrassment if there's even a chance that we can get our hands on this evidence'
They stepped out of the elevator in the 12th floor and Sam led the way to Jack's office. He was on the phone, and he looked tired and cranky but his face lit up as he spotted Sam. She saw him end his phone call rapidly as she walked into the office; he was on his feet and round the desk and enveloping her in huge hug before she got the chance to introduce David.
The two men shook hands and Jack turned back to Sam
'So what are you doing back today, I thought your flight was lunchtime tomorrow?'
Before Sam could explain Maggie appeared at the door, 'I've got it'
Sam turned to Jack, 'we've had an idea about what Robert may have done with the evidence he collected'
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Sam, David and Martin sat in Martin's SUV waiting to hear the go ahead to enter the building; Jack, Danny and Viv were in Danny's car parked around the corner at the other entrance.
'So that's the reason Maggie suddenly headed for Washington on Tuesday, to help you with the profile you built on Robert'
'Yes, she didn't tell you because she felt as if it would jinx it' Sam turned to look at him and was relieved to see he was smiling.
'So how did we end up here?'
He sounded curious. Sam glanced back at David but he indicated that she should speak. She explained as quickly and as simply as she could how they arrived at their conclusion
'……..so, he would have known that he wasn't going to be able to get the information to Maggie so looking at him and at his typical behaviour we concluded he would go for a bluff. When he was being beaten by Kevin Brown he told him that he had given the information to Maggie but we know he hadn't; he wanted them looking in the wrong direction; we have to assume that he just hadn't thought that it would put Maggie in danger'
'But why would she still have it, why do you think she hasn't destroyed it?'
'It's very valuable; she's highly materialistic. She knows that if she waits until the last possible minute the price will be very high indeed'
Martin frowned, 'so you think she is going to ask the defence to pay her millions in order to make this evidence go away; her threat being that if they don't she'll develop a conscious and give it to the prosecution who, if it is as dynamite as we think, would almost certainly get a conviction using it'
Sam shrugged, 'that's about the size of it and her phone records support the theory and hence we have a warrant….'
She stopped and they all watched as a woman walked toward the building, the radio crackled and Sam heard Viv's voice
'Possible sighting of target approaching the building'
Sam used the eyeglass to try and see the woman's face. As she stepped into the light of the buildings lobby Sam could see her features clearly; she grabbed the radio
'We are go, go, go'
Martin and Danny both left their respective cars at a run; Danny entering from the side door and Martin approaching from the rear
Danny reached her first; when she saw him she turned, attempting to flee through the door she had just come in through only to run straight into Martin. Sam reached them as Danny finished reading her rights to her. She turned as she heard Sam approach and Sam saw recognition flair in her eyes
'Hello Joanne, lets go and have a chat shall we?'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jack stared at Joanne Kirk through the two way glass on the interview room as she conferred with her lawyer;
Maggie arrived by his side; he turned his head about to ask the question but her face gave him the answer; he grinned
'There's enough then?'
'Oh more than enough, Roger has just been through it all and he looks like a kid at Christmas, he can't wait to get on to Saunders and Holden's council and let them know what we have. I think he's planning to do it face to face so he can see the reaction'
Jack turned back to look at Joanne, 'what do you think she would have done'
Maggie shrugged, 'who knows, but if I had to put money on it I'd guess that she would have sold out to the defence and then probably disappeared. She must know that Saunders and Holden wouldn't have let her live; this has probably saved her life'
Jack shook his head; 'I guess as Charles Lawton's PA she was close enough to know what was going on but not close enough to be on our radar'
Maggie shrugged; 'I guess so', she yawned, 'right I'm going home and I'll see you all at 7:30 on Saturday'
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Sam looked around in amazement; 'you've been in here one week and it looks like this? How do you do it?'
Maggie laughed as she handed Sam and Jack each a glass of champagne; 'come through, Viv and Marcus and Danny and Anna are already here'
They headed toward the lounge but before they went in Sam grabbed Maggie's arm; 'did you tell him?'
Maggie nodded toward where Martin was telling Jack something; Sam saw Jack clap him on the back, a huge smile on his face and turn to look for Maggie
Sam grinned, 'that would be yes then'
The tapping of a glass caught their attention; Martin held his hand up, 'I just wanted to thank you all for coming. You all know our news, or you think you do…….' He paused and grinned at Maggie who headed across the room to join him; Sam looked at her thoughtfully; she was glowing with happiness but Sam was suddenly certain that there was another reason as well. Martin carried on 'Maggie told me the news this morning, before I picked myself back up off the floor I thought that while I was down there I might as well go on bended knee and luckily she said yes………'
The room exploded into noisy congratulations; in the confusion and laughter Sam found Martin and gave him a huge hug
'Your parents will be pleased'; she heard him snort with laughter
'You think?'
She smiled; 'I'm really happy for you Martin'
He pulled her in for another hug; 'thanks; I just don't know who to bet on next'
She looked puzzled, 'what do you mean'
Maggie joined him as he laughed, 'I mean whether it will be you and Jack or Danny and Anna making the next announcement'
Sam stared at him and looked over at where Danny and Anna were chatting to Jack, Viv and Marcus; she shrugged, a smile on her face
'You'll have to wait and see won't you'
