A/N: Once again, thanks so much for the feedback!

A huge thank you t starfishyeti for betaing my story.

The stalker

by elessar73

*** 29. chapter : Nothing is safe ***

Mary waited patiently in the darkness of the linen room her head leaned against the door. Her mind was on high alert. She registered every movement in the aisle. The fear of getting busted was omnipresent and her heart began to accelerate every time someone approached the room, but her luck lasted. No one opened the door to find her sitting like a spider in a web waiting for her chance. The young woman strained her ears every time she heard voices. She was able to overhear most parts of conversations, especially when the people talked in front or near her door, unaware of the threat.

She shuddered in anticipation when she witnessed the conversations between Don Eppes and Charlie's doctor and a little later with an agent. Charlie was doing okay and could be released soon. That meant she had to be quick, but that was right in her plans. She wanted to finish with Charlie that night, but the fact that the FBI knew that she was behind his collapse made it more difficult. When she heard the scraping of a chair and the telltale thump when a person sat down heavily, she knew that Charlie's protector had taken his position. 'What now?' She asked herself. Mary kneaded her cheeks till they burned like fire, but it didn't really help her to find a solution. She dropped her hands into her lap and prayed that her luck wouldn´t leave her right now. The sound of a door opening made her lift up her head.

...

"Okay Nash," Don addressed the other agent firmly. "My Dad and me are heading home. Charlie´s okay for now."

The agent nodded. " Alright, Sir. I'll make sure it stays that way."

"Keep a keen eye, no one enters this room without an I.D. check-, no matter if it's a doctor or the Pope himself, you got it?"

"Sure Agent Eppes," Nash answered brusquely. He knew the drill; this wasn't his first assignment. "Don't worry Sir."

"Okay I'm attainable at home or in the office." Don gave some last instructions and left the hospital together with his father.

Oliver Nash sat down on his chair again. 'What on Earth is this Eppes guy thinking. I´ve never failed.' He shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited - waited for the time to pass and things to happen.

Mary had listened without breathing. When she heard the Eppes´ steps disappear she let out the air she was holding. `Damn! What now?´Mary felt unsure about what to do. She had absolutely no idea how she could get rid of the agent. She imagined herself just running into Charlie's room like a hurricane and killing the young man. But she knew the instant she thought about it that the agent would drag her down surprising moment to and fro. Her inner darkness deepened with every second and mixed up with the darkness of the room- everything was black and sinister. Mary closed her eyes. Red spots started to dance behind her eyelids. The spots grew bigger and bigger until they finally flew together and built a stream of dark red blood; Charlie's blood. The stream flooded through her mind washing away all her doubts and fears. Her eyes flew open. She would find a way to handle the agent. Her time would come.

The noises on the floor began to vanish, the day ended and with it the busy movements and hectic behaviour. The night fell and everything became a little quieter, more relaxed. The door to Charlie's room had been opened and shut a couple of times. A nurse had taken away the uneaten Jello, had checked Charlie's vitals and at last a doctor had taken a final look before the night. And every time Nash had asked for their I.D. and had checked it with his list of people who had access to the professor's room.

Mary shifted uncomfortably on the floor. Her whole body hurt from sitting still. She needed to move. Slowly she rose to her feet and steadied herself against the doorframe. Her legs were a little wobbly. She shook them to get the blood flow started again. Suddenly she heard screaming and loud steps running down the corridor. She held her breath and listened. The noises faded away and had nothing to do with Charlie. Maybe there was an emergency in another room. She opened the door a crack with caution and peered outside. To her great surprise she saw nothing. The floor was empty including the chair in front of Charlie's door. The guard was gone. Mary closed her eyes in disbelief. That was too good to be true. When she opened her eyes again the chair was still empty. The agent must have gone to help somewhere, drawn away by the screaming and yelling for help. Mary really couldn't believe her luck. She opened the door a little wider and slipped outside.

The bright light from the ceiling pricked her eyes but she didn't care. She squeezed them a little until they adjusted. Two more steps and she was right where she belonged. She checked the aisle again but still no one was in sight. 'Busy night,' she mused. Carefully she opened the door and vanished into the room. She stood behind the door enveloped in darkness again. Mary strained her ears; a light snore from the middle of the room told her that its occupant was asleep. A sadistic grin appeared on her face. 'That'll be a big surprise, genius!' Mary wrinkled her nose. The scent surrounding her made her feel nauseas. It smelt like illness and death. But there was something else she noticed - weakness. The bastard even smelt weak. 'How could I've been so blind?' she swallowed down the bile that had risen up in her throat and focused on her task.

Mary crept toward the bed. Her eyes had become adjusted to the darkness and she was able to see at last shapes in the room. Her glance wandered over the prone figure in the bed taking in every detail. Her view finally reached the face and the curly hair. Mary got a clearly impression from that mob of hair. Just looking at it made her shudder. She longed to touch the curls, to feel the softness of them. Then she twisted them round her fingers- just like Mickey's. How much she had enjoyed playing with this curls. But then Mickey had insisted she didn´t touch him anymore; had told her that he hated it when she put her dirty hands in his curls. Her hands hadn´t been dirty, at least not then. She clenched her hands into fist when the longing to touch Charlie seemed to overwhelm her. She was that close, she just needed to reach out her hand. A moan from Charlie made her freeze in the movement. The young man turned to the other side, away from her. Mary cursed to herself. Even in his sleep Charlie seemed to feel the threat, but it wouldn't save him.

Mary fought the melancholy and memories down. She was here to make Charlie pay. Silently she dropped to her knees and pulled her backpack to her chest. She opened it and rummaged through its content. She found the roll of duct tape and laid it beside her on the ground. Her hands shook a little when she dug in again this time searching for the knife. Her fingers found the hilt and she gripped it tightly.

...

Don couldn't shake off the odd feeling that had settled down in the pit of the stomach since he and his father had left the hospital for the night. For his father´s sake he had done his best to act normally - well, normally given the situation. They had dinner in a taco bar. And though both of them did their best to enjoy the dinner the strange feeling that they were incomplete hung around them. Father and son agreed on the point that Charlie would like the place with its southern decorations and spicy food. They would bring him here as soon as possible.

When they returned to the Craftsman Don called the hospital straight away. He held the receiver tight to his ear gripping it in his hand. Alan stood at the counter his head bowed waiting for the call to go through. Charlie answered the phone after the fourth ring. The waiting time had sent his family several times to hell and back. But when Alan finally heard his elder son's voice greet his brother Alan let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Charlie was doing okay, his vitals were still stable and the fever had rapidly dropped to 99.8. All in all good signs that fed the hope of a soon release. Alan sighed in relief, but the situation had taken its toll on him. He was tired and worn out. He needed to rest, so he went upstairs to his bedroom leaving Don alone to check with his team and deal with his own demons.

Don watched his father creep up the stairs. Alan grabbed the banister tight and almost pulled himself up by hand. Don frowned; the last few hours had cost his old man a lot. The agent shook his head. 'It's all my fault. If I´d kept Charlie safe dad wouldn´t be in this condition.' The guilt added to the odd feeling he labored under the whole time and made it even worse. He opened his cell phone and called the office. Megan answered the call immediately.

"Hey Don, how's Charlie doing?"

"Charlie´s doing okay, he's good."

Megan noticed the smile in Don's voice and relaxed a little. "That's good news."

"Yeah, but tell me what´ve we got?"

The female agent sighed. "Well not much so far, forensics is still processing the scene. Clark's apartment is full of evidence of the murderer. No way can she get away with it, but it's a lot of work."

"Good, do we have an idea where Clark is?"

"No. But every available unit is looking out for her, her picture's on the TV… but nothing so far."

"Damn," Don hissed into the receiver.

"We'll find her Don." Megan tried to lighten the mood a little.

"Yeah sure," Don humored her though he wasn't convinced. He checked his watch – 11 pm already. "Maybe it's best to call it a day Megan," he offered due to the fact that he´d gone home and had let his team do all the work.

"I don't think so Boss. Colby's going to join the protection detail at the hospital, David´s still at Clark's apartment and me, I'm running a background check on Clark and her victims."

Don's heart skipped a beat while he listened to Megan. His team would do anything for him and his family and this felt really, really good.

"Thank you," he whispered blinking down the tears that sprung into his eyes.

"Not for that, Boss," Megan smiled. No doubt they would do anything for Don and his family.

Don ended the call with the good feeling that he wasn't alone. His team was there for him and his family. He sat down on the couch relaxing into it gratefully, but it couldn't hold down his fear for Charlie for long. Three times in a row he'd come damned close to losing his brother and he´d be damned if he gave it a fourth shot. Call it paranoid or insane, but he had to check on Charlie himself. He´d just take a look through the open door, he wouldn't even bother to step into Charlie's room, wouldn't wake him up. Just a brief look to see if Charlie was still breathing and he would return to the Craftsman and his beloved sofa.

TBC