Chapter Three

"But...he can't do that!' Jaime protested. "I'm not asking for classified information about some stranger; we're talking about my father!"

"Babe," Oscar admitted reluctantly, "without a court order, we're asking him to tell us out of the goodness of his heart -"

"Which he doesn't have," Steve muttered. "Goodness, or a heart."

"What if I went over there and talked to Jack myself?" Jaime suggested. "I could explain to him who we're talking about, and how important this is to me..."

"He knows, Jaime," Oscar told her, as gently as possible. "I told him we wanted to ask him about your father – that was all I said – and Hansen came up with the name James without my having to give it to him."

"So he does have information; he just won't share it," she said in a small, sad voice. "And Dad must've been NSB...I mean, it's not like he was a foreign spy or anything..."

Steve placed a loving hand on her arm. "Sweetheart, we don't know for sure -"

"My father was not a traitor!"

"No, of course not," Steve agreed, trying his best to soothe her, but not quite sure himself, given everything they'd just learned. "We have to be careful not to jump to conclusions about any of this. We need facts – you need answers. I'm going over to reason with Jack," he announced, the implied threat hanging heavily in the room.

"Sit down, Pal," Oscar insisted. "That isn't the way to handle this."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to handle that Jack -"

"Steve!"

"- Hansen," he finished, meaning something else entirely.

"We can't get a court order, can we?" Jaime asked. "Since there's no life-or-death reason for needing to know."

"No, we probably can't," Oscar told her.

"He obviously knows something," Jaime added miserably. "Don't I have the right...?"

Oscar shook his head. "Morally, ethically – yes. Legally – no."

Jaime stared at the floor, and when she finally spoke again, it was more to herself than the men who both ached to help her. "I'm gonna find out what he's got...I have to." She looked up at Steve, her eyes suddenly brightening with inspiration. "What time do you think most of the 'suits' over there go home for the night?"

Steve saw right away where her train of thought was going, and he was willing to do anything for the woman he'd always loved so deeply. "Oscar?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

"Now wait just a minute," Oscar protested, rising to his feet, "if I were to even suspect you were planning to breach the security of a U.S. Government building, I'd be obligated to put you both into immediate Federal custody." He headed toward the office door. "You know, I've worked up quite an appetite here. Think I'll run down to the deli; I've got a real craving for pastrami on rye." He opened the door, then paused and turned around again, smiling. "Oh, and Jaime? If you did decide to try and schedule a meeting with Jack Hansen, tomorrow morning is definitely out. He'll be across the street, in meetings with the FBI until at least noon; so will most of his top operatives and his chief security officers." With that, he was gone.

Jaime and Steve smiled knowingly at each other. Once again, no words were needed; they were on exactly the same wavelength. Steve flashed her an evil grin and attempted to lighten the mood.

"So...you think Oscar'll bring us back a sandwich?"

- - - - - -

The next morning, before the sun was entirely over the horizon, Steve and Jaime returned to OSI Headquarters, in a much different capacity than they'd been there the night before. Steve's car was in a parking garage, several blocks away, instead of his space in the agency's lot. They didn't stop to admire the Tranquility fountain or pass through the front entrance to check in with the receptionist. Instead, they moved silently, with bionic speed, to the area behind the building, pausing there before making their next move.

"Steve," Jaime whispered, "you don't have to do this. If we get caught..."

"We should be able to get to where we need to be from the top of our building," Steve said softly. "If we get up there now, I'll be able to see when Hansen and the others do their little Penguin March across the street. Then, we move."

"Steve -"

"You coming, or not?" he replied, effortlessly making the eight-story leap onto the roof of the OSI building. A fraction of a second later, Jaime had landed safely and noiselessly beside him. Moving perfectly in sync with each other, they sat down in a spot hidden from the street by a heat vent, where Steve was still able to focus on the entrances of the NSB and FBI buildings.

They didn't have to wait long before Steve spotted what he'd been waiting for. "They're gone," he said quickly. "Let's go." They paused for a split second on the edge of the rooftop, focusing their aim, and then jumped in unison to a selected ledge on the top floor of the neighboring NSB Headquarters. Steve kept his eye focused on the FBI building across the street while Jaime pried open the barred window into Jack Hansen's office.

The massive computer bank covered the entire far wall of the office. Steve typed in the needed access codes for the main memory (which had been in a file Oscar had 'accidentally' left on his desk when he'd left for his deli run), and the screen came to life. Jaime held her breath as she watched Steve type her father's name into the inquiry box. The display flickered, and Jaime gasped involuntarily as the lines came into focus.

James Sommers – subject of investigation terminated. File deleted.

- - - - - -