Newest chapter! My ever awesome beta, lady_mars, got the next ten pages back to me so I have this chapter and one more before there might be a slight break in updates. I know it's been a few days but sometimes, life just gets in the way. Also, I have to find the right balance between writing new material and reading over the edited stuff before I post it. Thank you for all the reviews!

The white sedan pulled up to the courthouse minutes before the trial was starting. Mary and Marshall had planned it that way, leaving the least amount of time possible for them to be waiting outside. Once Nancy was in the court room it would be that much harder for Jason to get to her. They both searched the parking lot before they let her get out of the car. No one wandered around, nor was anyone sitting in their car, waiting. Mary nodded to Marshall who then opened the back door, letting Nancy out.

"This way," he said, gesturing towards Mary who had already started walking. Marshall brought up the rear, sandwiching Nancy between them. She looked nervous but felt safe between the two Marshals. She knew that they would sacrifice themselves before they would let anything happen to her.

The group slipped into the front doors, Mary nodding to security as they went in. Pockets were emptied, watches removed and the three moved through the metal detectors easily. Marshall had been right about the timing. The halls were practically empty, everyone already in court or their own meetings. The few people that littered the halls paid little attention to the three people walking quickly through them.

They didn't walk directly into the courtroom. Like all their witnesses, Nancy would be kept in a room behind the court. She would be brought in when she needed to testify and then quickly removed. Her movement would be limited while they were in DC, but she had known all this going in. It was a necessary evil to keep her safe.

There wasn't much to do while they waited for their witness to be called up. Marshall read something Mary didn't recognize, but she usually didn't. Nancy surfed the internet, trying to occupy her mind. Her fingers tapping against the keys gave away how nervous she actually was. Jason would be in that court room. He would know exactly where she was, if only for the brief time she would be on the stand. Mary just looked out the window. This was the worst part, this waiting. There was only one way in and out of this room and it was three stories up. With one window, there was little to defend. Marshall had placed himself between the door and Nancy, Mary between Nancy and the window.

When the bailiff came in and told them it was time, Nancy handled it surprisingly well. They walked into the crowded room, the Marshals standing close. Nancy placed her hand on the bible offered to her.

"Do you, Maria Louis Bishop, swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

Both lawyers questioned her, asking her every detail of what she had seen and heard. The defense attorney got a little too personal for Mary's liking before the judge finally reeled him in. Despite the difficulty, despite Jason sitting not twenty feet away from her, Nancy held her chin up and got through it.

They ordered Chinese when they got back to the hotel at Nancy's request. Comfort food, she had said. The two Marshals were more than accustomed to take out and they had been to DC often enough that they knew several places that had great Chinese. Mary ordered, having it delivered to the front desk.

They were eating Chinese and watching TV when the knocked at the door came. Mary's eyes shot to Marshall and he just shook his head, ever so slightly.

"Who is it?" Mary called, hand already reaching for her gun.

"Pizza," came the voice from the other side of the door. The door was locked, chain drawn but both Marshals immediately pulled out their Glocks. Marshall grabbed Nancy, barring her in the bathroom. Mary flattened herself next to the door. She nodded at Marshall, indicating he should speak.

"We didn't order a pizza."

"Room 304. It's already paid for."

Mary couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. Crooks were just about the most unimaginative guys in the entire world. A sharp look from Marshall brought all of her focus to the felon that was on the other side of the door.

"Just leave it by the door," Marshall called.

"Fine." Things were silent for a minute but neither believed that the man had left. Mary flipped off the light and the light from under the door showed up like a beacon. Two shadows indicated that the person was still there, biding his time. It also proved that there was no pizza. Mary flipped the light back on and they waited, silent. Marshall guarded the bathroom door where Nancy was, crouched in the bathtub. After a second or two, a bullet came right through the peephole.

"Down!" Mary screamed. The bullets were being shot through the door now, not limiting themselves to the peephole. Mary saved her shots, knowing that they wouldn't go through the door. The bad guys always seemed to have better equipment. Mary hugged the wall, avoiding the shots as she made her way towards Marshall and their witness. The guy finally burst through the mangled door. Now Mary had a clear shot of him and she took it, easily lining up the sights and firing. The guy dropped and took cover in the closet that was by the door. Mary cursed and flipped the table that was in the room. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing, which was their other option. Whoever was trying to get to Nancy would have to go through both Marshals to do it.

The thug in their closet got off two more shots. They returned fire but missed, as did the next few shots from the criminal. The two slugs landed into the bathroom door. Mary saw his shoulder and aimed, barely missing him. She shot again but this time, heard only a click. Cursing, she reached for her extra magazine. The cursing came in ten fold when she realized that it was still sitting on top of the dresser where she had laid it when she was guarding the door. Marshall had already slipped his spare into his gun.

"I have to get the spare magazine," she whispered to him as they were shot at again. "We're going to have real problems if we run out of ammo."

"We should forget the magazine on the dresser, go for the spare under the bed. More cover that way." He looked above the table, took two shots and then ducked again when more bullets came. The table, its surface harder than the door, was holding up so far against the shooting but it wouldn't last long. They had to end it but they would need all of their fire power to do it.

"We both go, split his fire. He can't shoot at both of us," Mary finally told him. "We don't have another choice."

It didn't take a genius to know Marshall didn't like the idea. In fact, his facial expression very clearly stated that he hated the idea. Unfortunately, he also knew that their options were limited. He gritted his teeth and nodded curtly. Mary turned to make a dash for it but Marshall grabbed her wrists, squeezing it gently.

"Be careful," he told her seriously. Mary nodded before reading herself again. "Ready… now!"

Mary stood as Marshall did, each making a dash for their respective goals. Mary had been right; the shooter had one gun and had to focus on one of them. Unfortunately, he decided to aim for Mary, the closer of the two targets and the one with less cover. She managed to dodge most of the shooting and grabbed her spare magazine but, as she was heading back she lost her balance, tripping on the debris that had accumulated during the shootout. She didn't fall down but it gave their thug just enough time to aim more accurately. Just before the bullet hit, something huge rammed into her and knocked her to the ground. Mary didn't see what happened, but there were two shots and then she heard someone grunt in pain. The shooting stopped and, after a second, Marshall got up and let Mary up. Marshall checked the guy's pulse but he shook his head. He came back to Mary and kneeled next to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he looked over her. She didn't seem to have any scratches on her. "Did you get hit?" His face and voice were panicked, frightened and worried.

"Calm down, Marshall. I'm fine."

A few of the worry lines eased but she could tell it had an effect on her partner. Watching a partner get hit was hard. She knew; she had almost lost it at the worst moment when Marshall had been shot. The anxious expression on his face told her that he was feeling the same thing.

"Are you sure you're OK?" He took her face in his hands, turning it side to side to inspect it. She would have a little bump on her head, it was already starting to form, but other than that she looked fine. Marshall hugged her and Mary let him, being just as shaken up by the experience as him. After a minute, she pulled away.

"We have to check on Nancy. She's probably freaking out." Mary went to the door and knocked on it, warning her. "Nancy, it's Mary. I'm coming in." Mary opened the door and pulled the shower curtain open. Nancy sat inside, knees pulled to her chest, eyes forward looking at nothing.

"Is it over?" she whispered. Mary sat next to the tub and Marshall stood in the doorway, his eyes on the door to the hotel. He was already calling it in, getting the feds in to clear away the body and get Nancy relocated.

"No," Mary told her honestly. "It's going to continue for a very long time. Your whole life, someone is going to be looking for you. But it's my job to hide you and I'm not going to let anyone find you.

"Someone already did." Tears started streaming down her face, the fear and adrenalin catching up to her.

"Someone followed us from the courthouse. The trial is the most dangerous part. Jason knows that you're here, that this is the easiest time to find you. He knows that the second your part in the trial is over, he's never going to see you again."

"What if he gets to me before I go back?" She turned her head, her eyes finally focusing on Mary.

"If that's the best he's got," Mary said, jerking her head towards where the guy lay, "then no one is ever going to get anywhere near you." They both sat for a few minutes, no other sound than Marshall talking to the FBI on the phone. Finally Mary stood up and held her hand out to Nancy. She took it, allowing Mary to pull her to her feet. "C'mon, we have to find a new place to stay."

"Eleanor already found one," Marshall said, walking into the bathroom. "She said she made reservations at many places, just in case we needed it."

"I might have to give that woman a cookie when we get back," Mary mumbled. "How close are the feds?"

"Heading upstairs now."

"Alright, let's get out of here before anything else happens."

They moved to a hotel across town with a FBI escort. Two agents stood outside the hotel room, ready to be the first defense. The Marshals weren't trying to hide her anymore. Now they were resorting to brute force. If anyone came looking for Nancy, they would see the two feds that were posted in the hallway. They would miss the SWAT team that waited in the hotel room across the hall. Nancy had fallen asleep on the bed closest to the wall and her two protectors faced the door of the room, sitting in hard hotel chairs.

"You should sleep, Mary." Marshall's gun was in easy reach of his hand. Mary sat next to him, her right foot bouncing slightly. He knew she was too keyed up to sleep despite being mostly still. Mary shook her head slightly.

"I'm fine."

"You won't be tomorrow if you don't get some sleep."

Mary sighed but she wasn't really agitated. They had both had more excitement that night than anticipated. Usually they were better at losing a tail, but DC just had too many people in it. It was one of the worst places to try and keep someone safe. Mary's body was tired, she could feel it underneath everything, but her mind wouldn't stop running. She knew she'd never be able to rest and tomorrow was going to be hell because of it.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" she asked him.

"Not tired," he told her. That wasn't the entire truth, of course. He had almost lost Mary. He would have thought that, after all the close calls she'd had, he'd be used to it, but he was finding that every time he felt his chest constrict. No, he had to stay awake to make sure that he had done everything possible if he had to protect her. If it came down to a choice between Mary and him, he wanted to make sure it was Mary.

He watched as the bouncing switched from her right foot to her left. He placed a hand on her leg, just enough to still it and looked at her. "Get some sleep." If his voice hadn't been so soft, she would have thought it was an order but she knew he was just worried. "One of us has to be on our game in the morning."

She could see him silently pleading with her, telling her that this was something he needed her to do. She conceded, getting up and heading over to the spare bed. She took off her holster but put the gun within reach. Even with as much firepower as they had she still wasn't taking any chances. She didn't even bother getting under the covers, just lay down on the bed and dutifully closed her eyes. Within minutes her body, more powerful than her mind in its exhaustion, put her to sleep.

The rest of the week went by fairly uneventfully. At the very least no other thugs tried to kill them. Nancy was surrounded by the two Marshals and two FBI Agents, minimum, at all times. On Thursday, she had done all that she needed and Mary and Marshall prepared for the trip back up north to drop off the rental. This time they were going to leave from New York instead of Boston. JFK was a bigger airport, something the Marshals hoped would help them instead of hurt them. Mary drove, being better at weaving through traffic than Marshall ever was. Of course, it was mostly because she drove like a maniac, but it made it easier to tell if the car was being followed.

Things were going fine until they hit Delaware. Mary had been glancing out of her mirrors almost nonstop since DC. "Four cars back, left lane," she said to Marshall. He didn't need an explanation, just looked into the side mirror. Mary switched lanes, passing a green Mustang and yellow Neon before sliding easily into the middle lane again. Marshall watched and, sure enough, a black Honda moved into the left lane, passed two cars and was, once again, two cars behind them.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"That's putting it mildly."

"How long?"

"I only spotted them about five miles back, but I would guess since DC." She shifted into the right lane, passing another car, but didn't change back right away. There were four cars in the left lane so if the bad guys didn't want to lose her they were going to have to get into the right lane, hopefully giving Mary a clear shot of their faces. Sure enough, they came into her lane and Mary could see them and their surprised faces. They weren't expecting her to still be there. She saw two men, they looked Italian but she couldn't be a hundred percent sure, both in nondescript clothes. One of the men was heavier than the other, the driver, and sunglasses hid their eyes. They moved back into the middle lane before she could see anything else.

"Nice move," Marshall told her. "What do you want to do now?"

Mary wasn't sure. She didn't want to do anything that could tip them off that she knew they were there but she didn't like the fact that Nancy's head was above the seat. She was afraid that if she told the witness to duck, they would figure it out. "Nancy, you have to lie down on the seat, but do it slowly. Make it look like you're lying down to get some sleep."

"How do I do that?" She had the urge to look behind her but the Marshals had told her from the start of the trip she was never to do that. She had to keep her eyes forward.

"Just shift around a lot. Make it look like you're trying to get comfortable."

Nancy moved, playing with her seatbelt, sliding to one end of the bench and then finally laying down. She looked at Mary's profile through the seats. The driver looked calm with the barest hint of tension in her eyes.

"Did you get the plates, Marshall?"

"HK-5197."

"Call the Delaware State PD. Tell them to wait about two miles before the state line and give them our plates and the other car's plates."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'm going to speed excessively."

"How is that going to help?"

"It'll give the cops an excuse to pull our mystery car over. Just make sure that they don't announce it over the radio. If they do, and the Honda behind us is listening to a scanner, we're screwed."

Marshall nodded, dialing. Within five minutes he was off the phone. "A cop was already there. He was running radar at the toll plaza. The Lieutenant said that we should get into the left hand E-ZPass lane. They're going to clear it out so that we can blow right through it."

Mary nodded and pressed on the accelerator. She easily weaved between cars, her speedometer pushing eighty. The cop was sitting behind the first sign for the toll plaza. If Mary hadn't been watching for him she never would have noticed. The Honda, now only two cars behind her certainly wouldn't. The car directly behind them merged into the middle lane and slowed down, leaving no cars between Mary and the Honda. It was too late for them to do anything. Mary blew past the cop and, seconds later, so did the black Honda. Blue and red lights flashed in her rearview. She kept moving but she could see the indecisiveness of the other car. Pull over and lose the target or try and outrun the cop. They decided for discretion and pulled over to the side of the road. Mary kept pace and saw the empty toll lane ahead. The E-ZPass didn't even register she was going by it so fast. Mary didn't slow down until traffic forced her to in New York City.