Carol and Daryl sat at the kitchen table while Sophia finished the last of her lunch. "Momma, we gonna play snowballs later?"
"I don't know, Sophia, we'll have to see how your nap goes," said Carol with a smirk.
Daryl left the table and went to the counter to check to see if the ice tea maker was done. He got glasses down and begin to fill them with ice when suddenly his phone began to ring.
"Dixon," he answered as he turned to make eye contact with her.
"Daryl, I have some great news!," said Shane. "Rick and I were able to locate a house towards the bottom of the mountain. It's actually a rental house that is fully furnished so that will make this whole process even faster."
"That sounds great," said Daryl as he began to pour their drinks. He felt Carol come up behind him and knew that she wanted to get closer to the conversation to find out what was happening. "The house is on the mountain about one mile up from the main road. It has a private driveway, so we do not have to worry about any civilians being involved."
"How are we making it known that that is 'where she is going to be' if you know what I mean."
"The landlord likes to visit with her friends at the local diner for lunch everyday. We already know it was brought up in conversation," answered Shane.
Daryl smiled and said, Good! I'm so glad to hear that this will be taken care of sooner rather than later. I know that Carol will be relieved as well."
Shane continued,"Rick is finalizing the paperwork along with the details of the plan. Sasha should be calling you back within an hour or so to give you all of the details. By the way, Scarlett just left the hotel and is on her way up the mountain right now. She didn't seem particularly happy about not being involved where the action is. What she knows is that Sophia needs to be kept out of harms way."
"Thanks for letting us know. Carol and I appreciate you helping take care of this and in such a quick manner," said Daryl as he felt her wrap her arms around his middle.
"No problem, just doing my job. Hopefully we can catch this bastard and then Carol won't have to worry about anything ever again. Wait for Sasha's call. Talk to you in a bit."
"Sounds good, bye."
Daryl went over to the table and said, "Let's get Sophia up in bed and then I will tell you what Shane told me."
Sophia finished up the rest of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then asked again, "Momma, can we play snowballs when I wake up?"
"I don't know yet Soph, we will see what's happening when you get up from your nap," said Carol as she washed her hands clean of the peanut butter and jelly that was currently making them stick together.
Daryl waited at the kitchen table while Carol got her settled in for her nap. A few minutes later Carol came down and immediately said, "Okay, Daryl,what is going on?"
He waited for her to have a seat and then explained about the house that the agents had found and that they would be getting details from Sasha within the next hour or so. "Agent Romanov is also on her way up the mountain as we speak. Remember what I told you. Do not let her intimidate you and do not be afraid to stand your ground. She won't be rude to you, but she has had a hard time understanding the fact that her and I are no longer together."
Carol shook her head slightly and said, "I have enough things to worry about without being intimidated by her. Don't worry I can hold my own."
Things were quiet as they sat there, drank their ice teas and ate their sandwiches they had prepared for lunch. It was a little unsettling to be sitting and relaxing knowing how much things were going to change within the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours.
Carol was lost in thought when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Daryl went and opened it. He stepped back as he said, "Hi Scarlett, thanks for coming. We appreciate your help with taking care of Sophia while we deal with this business my brother has gotten us into."
She gave him a soft look as she reached out and caressed his arm. "That's not a problem Daryl. I am glad to help. You know I would be willing to do pretty much anything for you."
He pulled his arm away as he said, "Come on, there is someone that I would like you to meet." Carol stood up from the table and walked over to them. When Daryl stepped to the side she saw one of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen before. Agent Romanov had curly strawberry blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. Carol was surprised at how attractive she was. Most agents she had dealt with were older and not as physically fit.
Extending her hand Carol said, "Hi, I'm Carol Peletier. Thank you for coming and helping my daughter, Daryl and I."
"Scarlett Romanov. It's my pleasure to help take care of your daughter while Daryl works to get this problem solved."
"Carol and I were having lunch Scarlett. Are you hungry? Would you like a sandwich?"
"No thanks. It's kind of you to offer, but I ate before I came up the mountain."
The three of them sat back down at the table together and Agent Romanov asked "Why all the secrecy with this case? What's going on?"
Daryl took a sip of tea and answered, "Carol has been part of the witness protection program for a few years now. We discovered over the last five or six weeks that there is a leak in the agency. She witnessed the murder of her husband and one of the agents was paid well to give all that information to two of Merle's henchmen. The extremely ironic thing is that the man who is after Carol is also my brother."
With a look of utter surprise, Scarlett said, "You have got to be kidding me! Merle Dixon is your brother!? Of all the cases in all the world, you land the case that involves him. Wow."
"Yeah it's crazy the way this all happened," said Daryl as he got up to put their dishes in the sink. Walking back towards them he continued, "That being said, I can't just sit here. I need to make sure we are ready for when they put this plan into motion."
"Come sit down, Daryl," said Carol as she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together.
Plopping himself back in his chair he let out an exasperated breath. Small talk continued as they waited for Sasha to get back to them.
"How long have you been protecting Carol,?" said Scarlett as she eyed their fingers.
"I have been keeping an eye out for her for about six weeks now."
"We were neighbors first, or so I tnought. I didn't realize until about a week after I moved in that he was undercover to protect me. "Excuse me please," said Carol as she went to check on Sophia and use the restroom.
As she was coming back down the stairs she could hear what they were saying. "Yes, Carol and I have decided to start seeing each other although I don't know why that would be your business."
Scarlett replied with distaste in her voice, "Are you sure that's such a good idea? You know what we had was off the charts."
He looked at her and shook his head as he replied, " I've already told you that there is no chance that you and I will get back together again. I have already told you that time and time again. I mean it, don't piss me off with this again."
Carol smiled as she reached the bottom of the stairs and cleared her voice. Both of them turned to look at her as Carol said, "I heard what the two of you were saying as I came down the stairs. Scarlett, let me assure you that Daryl is quite content with me. I expect I won't hear or see you come on to him again in this house. Do I make myself clear?"
Scarlett looked over at Daryl and said, "Excellent! She's fiesty. I like that for you!" Turning her attention back to Carol she replied, "No worries, Carol, I can tell he is quite smitten with you."
Before the conversation could continue, Daryl's phone rang.