Chapter 2 - Early Morning Introductions

"This place isn't open, is it," Jim said in a hushed voice. "I've never eaten at this restaurant before." He stepped back, bumping into Artie who was following close on his heels. They both paused to look into the windows, seeing faint flickering candle light inside. The back door was closed and no one was nearby. The sun was just giving a hint of light, still below the horizon, so the narrow streets were still dark. Many workers were moving now, going to early morning jobs in the city.

"That's the best time to come here," the dark haired woman said, turning to look at the agents as they stood in the street. The blond stepped forward and opened the door, walking inside, without knocking or announcing herself. "Coming," the woman asked, moving through the doorway.

"If this is a trap," Artie muttered, stepping past his partner to move to the doorway, "it's the best smelling trap I have ever entered." He walked into the darkened hallway, pausing in the doorway behind the two women. Jim stepped in behind him, letting out a long sigh. They had been up for almost twenty-four hours now and were starting to feel fatigue setting in. But the two women ahead of them were too intriguing not to follow.

"Figlia! Figlia!" A very round, short women burst from a back room into the hallway and was calling out to the women, her arms outstretched to embrace them. The girls leaned forward to hug the older lady and she continued the cry, "Figlia!" She suddenly noticed Jim and Artemus and spoke excitedly to the girls, who only smiled and nodded. The woman slapped her hands over her face in obvious delight, "come!" She turned down a side hallway and the group followed.

"Sit! Sit!" The older lady said, stopping at a large table in a corner of a dining room. Chairs were still upside down on table tops throughout the room and the place was clearly deserted. "I bring tea and colazione." She disappeared into another hallway and other excited voices were heard in the distance.

The two girls dropped into their seats before the agents could politely hold chairs for them. Jim and Artie exchanged a glance and Jim shrugged. They sat, with Jim moving to the seat that allowed his back to the wall while he faced the room. Artie, knowing his partner, had moved toward the seat next to it. The girls sat near each other on the other side of the table.

"So how do you know this charming place," Jim asked, putting his hat on another chair nearby. He watched, curious, as the girls also removed their wide brimmed hats. The dark haired girl had sharp features with high cheekbones. Her blue eyes were a deep cobalt and looked even brighter set against her pale white skin. She smiled easily though she still seemed reserved, her eyes moving from one agent to the other. The blond was the complete opposite, her frame being wider and slightly shorter. Her hair was blond streaked with darker shades and her eyes were a pale grey. Her darker tanned skin showed a facial expression that seemed to alternate with bored disinterest and angry defiance as she watched the men. She slipped her arms out of the shoulder straps of the scarboard and placed the shotgun flat across two chairs behind her, with the butt noticeably within reach.

"We are friends with the family," the dark haired girl said. "My name is Christian Shepard. My friend is Lori Huntington." She smiled at both men as the blond, Lori, leaned back in her chair to glare at them, silently.

Some sort of game of good cop, bad cop, Jim thought to himself as his partner introduced them. He watched for any sign of recognition when Artie said their names but they gave no indication, or even showed interest, in them.

Conversation was delayed by two small children appearing between Artie and Christian, one carrying a large ceramic pot and the other with two fistful of mugs. Artie grabbed the pot, smiling to the children and speaking to them in Italian, while Christian took the mugs. "You speak Italian?" She asked, putting mugs upright on the table. Artie smiled to her and nodded as he poured the steaming hot liquid. "We don't so we don't always know what they are saying, but they bring us food."

"I thought you said you were friends with the family," Jim asked, wondering if they had slipped already as he watched for inconsistencies.

"We know their oldest daughter, who speaks English," Christian said. "The parents always feed us when we come so we stop in occasionally. The mother seems happy to see us and can speak a few words of English." She sipped her tea, smiling, while Lori continued to glare. "So what were we going to talk about?"

"You were going to tell me why you two were in that house," Jim said, trying to keep his voice steady. His eyes flickered between the two women.

"Were we?" Christian said with her dazzling smile. She waited for Jim to take a long slow breath in and then she set her cup down, leaning toward him. "And what were you going to tell us in trade?"

Artie grinned into his mug, watching his partner with amusement. Jim slowly let his breath out and he sat forward, meeting her gaze. "I am not telling you anything since I need to confirm who you two really are first. You said you were agents? Not just work for the secret service, but that you are actual agents?"

"Would a secretary carry an identity card?" Christian asked, leaning back now into her chair as he leaned even closer to her, "Do I look like a secretary to you?"

"If you are agents, why haven't we seen you at the headquarters building on Pine St," Jim asked.

"Central Street," Lori said evenly.

"Excuse me, Central," Jim said, smiling. "My brain is a little foggy, we've been up for a while. So how long have you two been agents and why haven't I heard about you?"

Christian paused, taking a deep breath, "We have been doing this for about one year. And maybe you haven't heard of us because you have been off on that private train of yours."

Jim's eyes flickered to his partners and back to the girl. "So you have heard of us," he said. "You have us at a disadvantage that we would like to rectify. Why don't you start at the beginning and tell us how this all occurred."

"Oh, my," Christian said, tsking her tongue, "that would be such a long story after you have been awake all night already. Let's just say that we work for Colonel Richmond and report directly to him. We are rarely at the headquarters building so I am sure not many people know about us, except the secretaries and the payroll office, of course."

"The secretaries know you exist?" Jim said, surprised. And didn't tell me, he thought to himself. Wait until I catch Melinda, he growled under his breath. "So you report to Colonel Richmond but don't go to his office? Do you meet him here?"

"No," Christian said, "we go to his home, morning or evenings. Or we send him a note. Sometimes we meet in the city in various locations."

"Sounds like a Secret Service within the Secret Service," Artemus chuckled. "I wonder if Richmond has other pairs of private agents." He winked at Jim as his partner looked at him briefly and then returned his glare to the two women, obviously suspicious of their story. The blond still remained silent, watching them.

"And what does the Colonel's' wife, Mary, think of all this happening at her house?" Jim asked slowly, "she is very particular who comes to her house on Pennsylvania Avenue…"

"Oh my God," Lori burst out, slamming her right palm on the table top, her eyes blazing as she leaned toward Jim. "You are so annoying. Richmond's wife is Gladys and the house is on Meridian Hill. The dog's name is Fifi, if you would like to have that confirmed too." She sat back in her chair with a huff, silent and glaring again.

Jim grinned, glancing at his partner briefly and returning his attention back at Christian. The dark hair girl was sipping patiently at her tea. "It does sound like you have been to the house," Jim said, nodding in agreement now. "I am sure once I speak to Colonel Richmond to confirm who you really are, we can exchange information." The blond rolled her eyes but stayed silent. "However you seem to accept who we are. So, as I asked earlier, why were you in that house," his voice taking a hard edge.

Christian smiled pleasantly, "we were just looking around. It's such a nice house, and so large, we thought maybe they were renting rooms. A girl can always use a new apartment."

Jim opened his mouth to protest, his eyes blazing in anger, just as the older woman suddenly arrived at the table with a wide tray of plates piled high with food. "Uova strapazzate and salsiccia!" She announced boisterously, placing plates heaped with eggs and sausages in front of each person, oblivious of the heated discussion. "Buon Appetito!" She snatched up the empty tea pot as a young girl carried a new one to the table.

"Grazie, Senoria," Artie said, as everyone else said thank you to the woman. He rattled off a few additional lines of gratitude to her obvious pleasure. Blushing, she hurried back into the kitchen. Loud words were exchanged again in the distance. Artie sat, head tilted, obviously listening to the voices as the others began eating in cold silence.

Jim looked up, hearing a man's deeper voice yelling in Italian. He nodded to his partner, "What are they saying?" Noticing that Artemus was not eating yet; he set his fork down and reached for the butt of his revolver. He leaned back in his chair, giving his hand more room underneath the table top.

The two girls glared at him and the blond reached a hand to her shotgun, "do not even think about it here, mister."

Jim looked from Artie to her and then to her hand. His eyes narrowed in anger, his teeth clenching, but his hand stayed on his revolver grip. Still staring at Lori, he whispered, "Artie?"

"They are just discussing us," Artie said, trying to talk and listen. "It appears that the owner of this establishment would like to see who the two men are out here with these young ladies." Jim snorted, relaxing slightly, "and the woman is trying to convince him to leave a knife in the kitchen." Jim's gaze snapped to the hallway and he tensed again as the man suddenly stormed out of the kitchen, screaming in Italian. As he approached, he raised his arms and began waving a long, wide blade over his head. His wife was at his heels, screaming and trying to hop up to grab his arm. Jim started to rise and Artie grabbed his left wrist, holding him still, "wait," he whispered, "let me first." He stood slowly, hands out to his sides, speaking quickly in Italian with a cheerful smile on his face. He paused; nodding as the man spoke rapidly, pointing the knife at the two girls.

Artemus nodded again, bowing slightly, "Si! Si!" The older man nodded to Artemus and looked to Jim. Speaking again, Artie waved his hand toward his partner, still smiling and nodding, obviously introducing Jim to the man.

Jim nodded, "Signore." He rose slowly, holding his hands to his side, then reaching his right out toward the irate man. The man stepped forward to shake hands over the table, each man staring into the other's eyes and gripping hands. The man stepped back and reached to shake hands with Artemus, nodding silently. He leaned over to kiss the cheek of Christian and then stepped to Lori's side, doing the same with her. He stood to give a final look to Jim and Artemus and then turned to stomp back to the kitchen, his wife again at his heels.

Jim and Artie both let out a large breath of air. "Wow," Artie said, "that was intense. I guess he just wanted to see who was here with the," he paused, bowing to the girls, "the Signorinas."

Jim sat back down and looked at the girls, "you two seem highly appreciated here, that's obvious. Would you really have tried to shoot me if I had drawn my gun?" He winked at Lori as the blond gave him a blank stare back.

"Yes," she said, moving her hand from her shotgun back to her fork. "No one shoots him. Or any of them." She picked up a fork full of eggs and started eating, ignoring Jim again. Christian did the same and soon the men joined in.

Later on the train ************************

"Did you see her blue eyes?" Artie hollered to his partner in the next room as he stood in the bathroom at the sink. He ran hot water into the bowl and picked up the soap. "She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen."

"Oh they were a lovely pair," Jim said through the open door of his bedroom. His voice had a sharp, sarcastic edge. "If they were men I would have beaten it out of them."

"Odd," Artie said, rubbing bubbles of soap on his face. "They just disappeared into the city. We should have followed them."

"Because you want to know where the beautiful blue-eyed girl lives," Jim laughed, moving his head to the bathroom doorway to grin at his partner. "I would rather go meet up with Richmond at his office. We can find out where they live from him. Or from Melinda, the sneaky little tart; she should have told me about this."

Artie laughed, "She, and the others, probably didn't want us to know about them. More competition, you know." He rubbed his face with his washcloth. "Maybe she is worried that blond will start chasing you. Though she really didn't look interested in either of us, that's for sure."

"She's a nut," Jim said, standing in the hallway with his hands on his hips, thinking. "Did you see she almost pulled that shotgun on me in the restaurant?"

"Just because you were going to shoot her friend?" Artie shook his head, in mock wonder. "I did think she was going to crack the barrel over your forehead when we first met them in the alley. She was just about the smack you with it when you let go of her wrist."

"I am pretty sure I could have fought her off," Jim snapped, irritated. "Her eyes were the color of a dead fish and her personality matched." He stomped back into his room, noises of bureau drawers opening and slamming shutting. "What time does Richmond get to his office? Eight o'clock? I want to catch him before he heads out to his usual meetings."

"Yes, I think so. I'll go with you," Artie said, "however I may fall asleep riding back into town. I need to get my beauty sleep eventually but I do want their home address. Then I may just happen to pass by this afternoon, if you know what I mean." He finished with his washcloth and hung it on the metal bar on the edge of the sink. He pulled out a comb from a cupboard and began combing his dark hair.

"Stalker!" Jim hollered, laughing again.

"They will be surprised and delighted at my presence," Artie chuckled, studying his hair in the mirror, "and politely invite me in for tea." He walked into the hallway and looked into Jim's room as he continued, "Especially if I don't bring you with me. I am sure I can start a pleasant conversation with them if I am alone."

"Oh so now I am dead weight," Jim snorted, pulling off his shirt and throwing onto the floor. He unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off, adding them to the growing pile of laundry. "These two aren't going to react like normal women. They may smack you over the head with a shotgun barrel." He pulled on a clean pair of blue pants and a crisp white shirt. "But maybe if you pretend you are someone else, wear a disguise," he said, as he buttoned the shirt, "maybe some sweet talking salesmen that pushes small firearms for women and jewel encrusted throwing knives, then you might be invited in."

"Oh, no," Artie said, "I want to meet them as me, dear ole Artie, and not some other guy."

"Them or just the blue-eyed girl," Jim said, laughing. "You probably should keep your distance with the other one; she doesn't look right in the head to me. She's probably dangerous."

"I will definitely save her for you," Artie laughed, "I know how you enjoy dangerous women." Jim glared at him, shaking his head. "She can't be more dangerous than Jennifer WIngate, the lovely lady who shot you in the chest at very close range."

Jim paused, the dimples showing slowly as he thought back, "Jennifer," he sighed, "now she was a pretty blond. I should have arrested her so I could visit her in prison. I wonder where she is now." He stomped into his boots and grabbed his gun belt. "Ready?"

Artie pulled out his watch and blinked, yawning. "It should be eight just as we arrive. Maybe we can follow him in from the sidewalk so no one distracts him on the way to the office." They walked out of the train and moved to their horses. Artie, climbing more slowly into the saddle, said worriedly, "what if Richmond won't tell us about them? He may say it's a secret, you know."

Jim grinned, "You forget, they said that the secretaries know them. I can get anything out of those women, if I really try." He winked and nudged his horse into a fast trot. Artie followed him back into the city.

At Headquarters +++++++++++++++++++++++++

"So you did meet them," Colonel Richmond said, walking into this office. He hung his overcoat on a coat rack and moved to his desk as Jim and Artie entered the small room. "I thought you might, since you were working in the city this week. I was wondering if these two cases would overlap."

"Overlap?" Artie asked, moving to the chairs in front of the desk. He sat in one as Jim sat in the other. "We are trying to find men from California who were meeting the owner of that home because they are the contacts for this international customs business. The description is pretty vague so we were watching for anyone but we saw those two women emerge. Do you know what they were doing in there?"

"Wait," Jim said, holding up a hand, "before we get into all that, are we correct that these two are actual agents for the Secret Service? They had ID cards but I thought they were fakes or copies."

Richmond sat behind his big desk, laid his hands on piles of papers, and smiled, looking from one agent to another. "My, we are full of questions this morning, aren't we?" He grinned, waiting for the two men to relax, "I do enjoy seeing you two feeling better and regaining your curiosity for life after the train explosion and frolicking fun afterwards. Might I remind you that watching that house was to be a calm and quiet thing for you both to do in your rehabilitation, not chasing people around in the dark streets?" He waited for another heartbeat, amused by their guilty looks.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "I have an idea. I have already spoken with Lori and Christian this morning on the way to the office," he paused again as both men lurched forward in surprise, "yes, they beat you to me. And they reported on what they saw inside the house, or didn't see."

Jim growled in frustration, "Didn't you tell us that we shouldn't enter the house?"

"Yes, I didn't want you two in there," Richmond nodded, "because I had sent them in. I don't need four agents searching one building." Jim rolled his eyes but stayed silent as Artie chuckled softly. "But I have another difficult decision to make. And I need to rely on your professionalism for this next part." He paused, looking at each man sternly in the eye. "I am going to say something that you two may not appreciate but we all make sacrifices for this job. And you two do get the worse of the assignments but only because you are the most capable." He smiled, knowing the men weren't falling for the compliment.

"Sir," Artemus said "I don't want to appear pushy but I am dead tired, if you could move toward the point of this?" He held a hand in front of his face as he stifled a yawn.

"Yes, let me stop beating around the bush and just lay it out to you." Richmond smiled, "I want the two young ladies brought to San Francisco on the train."

"What?" Jim blurted out as Artie sat in stunned silence. "Why?"

"For the case that you are all working on, of course. I don't need two teams of agents working against each other; I need you all working together. And it will give both of you another five days of rest, by the end of which you should be fully recovered from your injuries." He glared at Jim as he opened his mouth to protest, "I am sure you will manage somehow, obviously arrange for an additional sleeping car for their privacy, and make plans to assist them in anything they might need for their work. I have given them permission to review what they know so far and I expect the same from you two." He paused again, looking at them.

"Fine," Artie said, tiredly, "fine, we will make room."

"So they are agents then?" Jim repeated in obvious disbelief.

"To a limited capacity," Richmond said, nodding. "You see I need special agents for specialized work. I was a bit in doubt of the President's idea," the agents again exchanged a glance, "but they have been very useful. So far, of course, they have only been working in Washington DC itself but now I need them to travel to San Francisco. That's where you two come in. I am sure over the five days, you will all become better acquainted," Richmond said, smiling at first but then his eyes narrowed and he leaned forward over his desk, his voice taking on an unusual stern edge. "I am sure I also don't have to be clear about what not to do; there will be no touching, no yelling, no being abusive or belligerent in any way. If I hear any complaints about ungentlemanly conduct…"

Jim scowled, "of course not, it's the furthest thing from my mind when it comes to those two."

"Good," Richmond said, sitting back smiling again. He let out a long sigh, "then I will ask you to hurry with your train preparations and I thank you for stopping in. I thought I would have to send the search hounds out for you today."

"Oh, our pleasure," Jim said, as they stood. Artie rose slowly, blinking sleep from his eyes. As they walked out, Jim muttered to his partner, "You seem to be pretty silent about the whole 'don't touch' instructions." He smacked Artie in the shoulder as the older agent grinned, unusually silent, "you better watch for those knives in her belt."

tbc