A/N: Character thoughts appear between ~ ~~

Agent Vargas paused in the doorway of the squad room, leaning against the door frame, just watching Detective Beaumont work. Rachel studied the brunette, noticing the small worry lines, the grim determination displayed in the set of the woman's jaw, the way Nikki hunched over the desk, pouring over the old newspapers. As she watched, the finer details that pointed to the dual role Nora held in Nikki's life began to come out. So subtle she understood how the others around them could miss it; how the two could hide. She sighed, a sorrowful smile slipping into place as she headed toward the desk; a past life, a past lover flooding her thoughts and emotions. She'd been Nikki Beaumont. And in true, "been there, done that" fashion, it was a place she hoped to high heaven she would never be again. She did not envy Detective Beaumont's or Detective Delaney's position.

She stood to the side of the desk, her smile shifting to a more casual set to hide her thoughts as she waved a folder, "I bring a peace offering. The lab reports. They got a hit on what we found on the syringe." She handed the files to Nikki.

"Lieutenant Jonathan McGerrvish of the British army. He was part of a special demolition unit. He also has some missions that are classified. I pushed and got a rumor that it might have been biological in nature. Sounding like a skill set someone might find useful…" Rachel looked like the cat that had caught the canary. "When he was discharged due to injury, he entered the church, became Father Timothy. I put a rush on it and called in a few favors. Didn't make many friends, but I threw my fed weight around. I am sure your partner would have been giving me the evil eye."

Nikki looked up from the report, "Thanks Rachel." She looked back to the report, pulling at her lower lip. "We got those reports about the tainted medicine being shipped out before it could be recalled and the official statement SAMHS issued. Or at least that was the Franklin's story. What if it wasn't a mistake?"

Vargas was quiet, letting Nikki continue to ramble. The agent could see the detective was trying to swim toward a more collected thought.

"Nora said something about a photo with the priest and kids. That guy they caught that broke into the Franklin's house. He said he was paid by some freak who kept saying he was…" Nikki's fingers moved papers around on the desk, retrieving a file from the bottom and flipping it open to the interrogation transcript, "being guided by his patron saint having been sent to dwell in his namesake's house. The timing a sign…"

"Yeah, a lot of mumbo jumbo. I think this priest is crazy and just going after a corporate figurehead in the Franklins."

Nikki jumped up, her chair skittering backwards, tipping over. She headed to the far wall and began looking through the pile of phonebooks sitting in the corner. Confused, Vargas followed.

The brunette flipped to the yellow pages in the first book, scanning a few pages. Not finding what she wanted, she pulled another out and then another and another.

"Does Nora know you have these bouts of madness?"

Nikki absently waved a hand at the agent, "Shhhh, I am on the edge of greatness."

"My respect for Detective Delaney has just increased tenfold..."

Nikki made a sputtering sound at that before refocusing on her searching.

"Eureka!"

"Eureka?"

"A-ha!"

"A-ha?"

"Look, about an hour and a half from here. Shit, this is so far out of my jurisdiction. I don't want to think about the paper nightmare."

"It is in your jurisdiction."

Nikki kept her finger on the listing she had found. "Geographically this is just a bit too far North…"

"Nonsense Special Agent Beaumont. This is a federal matter and federal agents are in pursuit. We'll have the clearance we need by the time we arrive at, where is this?"

Nikki's look morphed from quizzical to doubtful. "It's St. Timothy's Church, his namesake."

"You know, that sounds really good. Agent Beaumont. It's not that big of a step to go from where you are now to that." Vargas came over, ripping the page out, looking at the listing. "You're good Nikki, really good. I've seen it in your eyes and conviction, watched you."

"Sure, you've just been watching my backside." Nikki tried to play off what Rachel was saying.

"That too," She started out of the squad room, pausing long enough so Nikki could grab her badge and gun.

"I'd even be willing to sponsor you. There is a fast-track. The Bureau keeps it mum, more for those with someone on the inside. You'd be through the basics in less than a year and I bet within three you'd have your pick of offices."

Nikki said nothing, looking at the listing.

Rachel unlocked the car, "I can always send you some materials. Just let me know. I wouldn't discount it so fast, Agent Beaumont."

Nikki and Rachel entered the church, standing in the back for a moment as they noted the half dozen people sitting in the pews. When Nikki spotted a nun standing near the devotional candles she moved to speak with her. "Excuse me sister."

"Yes, how may I help you."

"I'm Detective Beaumont of the NOPD, this is Agent Vargas with the FBI, we were looking for Father Timothy."

"Oh goodness, I hope everything is okay."

"Just routine. Is he around?" Nikki asked with a smile, trying to put the other woman at ease.

The nun turned and motioned to the side of the church, "he is hearing confessions."

"Thank you sister."

As they approached an elderly woman exited one of the confessionals Nikki held up her badge to the man trying to enter, "sorry sir. I'm going to have to cut in line." Then she turned to Rachel, "let me talk to him. You wait out here in case he runs. And when the person comes out of the other one don't let anyone in."

Nikki entered the confessional, knelt down and waited for the priest to turn his attention back to her side. When the shade went up she braced herself for her first meeting with the man who tried to kill Nora, among others.

"Yes, my child."

"Father Timothy?"

"Yes."

"I should begin by telling you I'm not really here to confess. I'm Detective Nikki Beaumont with the NOPD."

"What can I do for the police?"

"You can start by telling me if you know Philip and Tamarkia Franklin?"

He was silent, contemplating his response. He could deny, and yet, something told him the battle had finally come. "Why are you here?"

Nikki smiled at that question as it confirmed what she already knew, this was the man they were after. "That's an interesting answer Father. To stop this game from going any further I'll tell you I'm here to find out why. I know about Africa and the children and I want to know why after all these years you've come after the Franklins." The detective wished she could leave it at that but she knew she couldn't. And she didn't want him getting away with what he had done because she was too focused on punishing him for Nora. "But before you answer that I do have to tell you that you have the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present before you answer any questions."

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. May the Lord be in your heart and help you confess your sins with true sorrow." He took a few measured breaths, preparing himself as he worked to remain calm, a slow percolating realization that this was the woman the warrior had spoken of in the hospital. "Are you Catholic? You should know it is the penitent that begins. Contrition must be shown first before the penitent may move on to the next step. Do you need an examination of your conscience before you begin?"

"My conscience is clear Father," Nikki began heatedly, ~~I'm not the one trying to kill people~~. She took a deep breath to calm herself and internally debated if this was the best place to have this conversation. She had thought the priest would be more comfortable here, that it would be less intimidating than the precinct, but now she worried that talking to him on his turf was giving him the power. "What about you Father? Would you like to have someone to confess your sins to? I may not be able to offer you absolution but it can be very freeing to unburden your soul."

He took a moment, her suggestion blasphemy in the eyes of the Church. "You should never make promises you can not keep or offers that are beneath your station. Your actions and hesitation speaks opposite to your words. How long has it been since your last confession? How long have you been lying to yourself?"

Nikki stood up and wanted to pace but the area was too small and confining. She had been on edge since the meeting with the Franklins yesterday and it had only gotten worse since she had once again fled the hospital this morning instead of going go Nora's side. She felt as if her anchor were gone and if she didn't gain stability she would drift until she lost all control over this situation. That control was finally lost when Father Timothy spoke again. "Take your time my child. My path on this earth has been mapped out for me and it is my mission to offer reconciliation to the sinners before they must answer before God. You do not want to be damned as Nora has chosen."

Nikki no longer cared who made this man pay, or how righteous his motivation might have been as long as he suffers for what he has done. She leaned forward placing her hands on either side of the small window, her lips almost brushing along the screen that separated them. "I am going to offer you this once before we step out of this little sanctuary of yours, I can arrest you for the murders of Nevil Olsen and Jude Fitzpatrick and the attempted murder of Nora Delaney. This would lead to a very public trial in which you could plead your case and offer yourself up for the martyr you want to be. Or we step out of this room and the federal agent waiting on the other side will whisk you away never to be seen again. You see a chemical attack on a United States port is an act of terrorism add into that you are foreign born and you become an enemy combatant. You will vanish, your mission will never be fulfilled and the Franklins will go right back to doing whatever the hell they want."

He shifted, closing a bit of the space between them, yet he knew the chasm would always remain. "It is not my mission, it is His. His Will be done. Where one is struck down, another will rise. Focusing your energy and strength on me is only further harming those who are the victims here, why are you helping those who have hurt others. You protect those that have killed children." His voice was suddenly harsh, sharp, the images of the children surrounding him.

"I know what I am to do, and where I will go. Do you Detective? You continue to run. From your lies, the truth..." He paused, allowing himself a small stab of human nature as he uttered the next, to taunt the woman having remained at the hospital enough to have seen how the detective had retreated. "And from Nora. Perhaps it was your conscience reaching out, trying to show you the way. Continue what you have started, you've turned away from her twice already, turn to the one who will always be there for you Nikki. He will always have his arms open, you simply have to let the confusion go, it is so simple, what are you afraid of?"

Nikki stilled, unnerved by his words, by how much he had seen, and wondered why she and Nora had become part of his mission. She knelt back down and folded her hands, "I'm afraid that if I don't stop you then you will go back and try again to take her from me." Nikki decided to take a different tack, her experiences with Nora teaching her when not to push. "And the only confusion I have is why you went to the hospital if it's the Franklins that you are after. We are not trying to take sides in your battle, we are like you we protect the innocent. You say that the Franklins aren't innocent but we have no proof of that, from our point you are the sinner in this. You are responsible for the death of two men who were guilty of nothing. You tried to kill my partner for protecting a woman that she can't stand. The not so funny thing in this is that had you come to us with what you had on the Franklins Nora would have been helping you lead the charge against them. But instead of taking the right path in standing up for the children you became as evil as those who killed them."

Was this how Eve felt when the serpent entered the Garden? Or when Deliah came to Sampson, tempting him and lulling him to a lustful forgiveness? He paused, whispering the prayer to Saint Michael as a plea for guidence against this spiritual enemy. Issuing the final amen, the sign of the cross familiar and comforting to him, he drew in a breath, kneeling, trying to drown out certain words Nikki had used, to stay true to the visions and the righteous path he needed to take.

"I was sent here by the Church and My Lord to be a voice and a hand for those whose voice and will were taken. Long have I sought to find peace for those children. But, day after day, year after year, more were hurt. Each time someone rose up against them, their silver tongues and material ways flowed and covered the protests. Hid the truth. The Lord puts His House in order when needed. The Garden, Jesus driving out the moneychangers, Sodom and Gomorrah..." He paused as he said the last, his mind drifting back to the blonde detective as she dared to defend her sin. "All those touched by sin must be cleansed. If they will not confess and find absoluton, then their souls are lost and must be removed before others are hurt. God has given us free will. Nora, the Franklins and any who have allowed themselves to turn away chose their path. The wages of sin is death."

Nikki's head fell forward and rested against the screen, ~~God help me~~, the thought almost making her laugh. "I don't understand how you can say that God gives free will and then damn us for using it." Lifting her head she breathed in deeply. "If you truly want the Franklins to suffer for their sins then speak up now, tell the truth. If you don't there won't be another, you are the only one who is standing up for the children."

"Which is why I must finish. I do not have much time left Detective..." His voice faded, his body and mind weary, downtrodden. For a moment he was back, a simple soldier trying to follow orders and the greater good, to fight for a better world and safe place. The same reason he had taken up the collar after his discharge. How quickly that greater good had been soiled. "I have always spoken the truth, why do you find it so hard to believe? Why do you try and find hidden meaning, it is the Franklins that hide and lie. You've spoken to them, asked them, and yet, you still have nothing, am I not correct? I've not lied to you, only others." He leaned close to the barrier. "I ask you to reflect a moment, is there anyone in your life who has not hidden something, is hiding something or lying to you? "

"If you don't have much time then let me help you," Nikki focused on his desire to punish the Franklins, she had to for her own sake. If she were to reflect, as he had asked her, then she would be easily distracted from accomplishing her true goal. "I do believe that you are speaking the truth but they are smart. They have removed all of the proof of what happened in Africa, the only thing we have left is what you have stolen. I want to help you, I want the truth to come out." The detective shook her head, she couldn't understand why she wasn't just slapping the cuffs on this man and locking him away. There was something there that she felt for him, whether it was respect for the good he had once done or pity for what he had become, she didn't know. "You have to know that you can't finish this the way you intended. We have your fingerprints on the syringe you left in Nora's room and we've arrested the man you hired to break into the Franklins. I'm sure he will identify you so I am going to arrest you as soon as this conversation is over."

Father Tim stared for a moment at the wooden barrier, his eyes tracing the design. Weary, he moved back, leaning against the confessional wall. "Then their souls will be lost if I can not finish. To die without absolution is to deny salvation. Your..." He paused, the word your bitter to him, yet a word he felt compelled to use. "Nora will be eternally damned if she does not complete the Sacrament of Penance. If you love her, do you truly wish to lead her from her beliefs? Conflict and doubt stain the human soul, growing like dark weeds to clog and choke out that which is bright and good. This is what the Franklins did. By denying their actions, refusing to confess and repent, they let the darkness triumph. They have dragged you, Nora, and others in; I was only doing as I was directed; to bring light to this darkness."

Nikki pushed to her feet again as frustration and anger finally got the better of her. "Dammit. Just leave Nora out of this." A light rapping on the door cut her off before she could say anything else.

"Nikki? You okay?" Rachel asked from outside.

The detective took a deep breath, "yes. I'm fine."

"I just thought you should know that another set of agents finally arrived and they are searching Father Tim's room. You may want to draw this to a close before they get what they need to finish it themselves."

"Thanks Rachel." Nikki took another cleansing breath before she turned back to the priest. "What about it Father?"

"Why do you cling to her?" he asked, pulling his rosary from his pocket, working the beads slowly between his fingers. "How can anything be worth eternal damnation? Worth losing your own sense of self as you become caught up in the lies of others?" He looked down at the beads, each one named, each one a reminder of a young face that would never reach adulthood. "I trust absolutely in the Lord, what do you place your faith in Detective?" He sighed, turning away from Nikki as his next comment was addressed to a Higher Power, "I am sorry I have failed..." his contrition whispered as he worked the beads, "I was not strong enough, I let my pride consume me. Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

"You know what I have faith in Father? I have faith in my family and my friends. I have faith in my partner, that she will be there to support me when we are on the job and love me when we get home. And even though you may not believe it I have faith in God." Nikki left her confessional, held up her hand to Rachel and then turned to open the door to expose the priest. "And right now I have faith in the law. Jonathan McGerrvish you are under arrest."

The priest looked the detective over, measuring her. "I have nothing I can give you, Officer. What you seek does not exist. The law you follow has already absolved the Franklins. I tried many times to use the system you believe in. The very system you worship and support, declared them innocent. And yet, both you and I know they are not. What I was given to do would have held them to a higher Law, given closure and peace to those who are the victims. You condone their sin, their actions, allow them to continue. So, for you, I have nothing except forgiveness. Perhaps one day you will repent and accept that forgiveness; will see the corruption in what you follow. May the blessing of God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit be upon you. Amen." He made the sign of the cross before turning away from Nikki, moving toward one of the waiting agents.