Chapter Eleven

"He's not here right now," Hansen told Steve, "but I imagine you'll be wanting to wait – to shake his hand when he gets back."

"Where the hell is he?" Steve demanded, thinking to himself that Gregory's hand was not exactly what he wanted to shake.

"You mean you don't know yet? I was just about to call you -"

"Cut the crap, Jack. Where's Gregory?"

"He's bringing Hiller in for questioning. My men found him just the other side of the Maryland border and Gregory volunteered to personally escort him back to DC."

"And you let him go?"

"Well, of course I did. He's my first assistant." Jack looked quizzically at Steve. "Something wrong with that?"

"Everything is wrong with that!" Steve really didn't want to share what he knew with Hansen but he needed his help. "Jack, how long ago did he leave?"

"He's most likely almost there by now."

"Call all of your men and intercept him – by whatever means necessary -"

"Why would I do that?" Hansen asked skeptically.

"Because if you don't, one of two things is gonna happen: either the two of them will head for the hills, never to be seen again....or your inspector will kill his accomplice."

"Accomplice? You're saying Gregory is mixed up in this?"

"To his eyeballs," Steve confirmed. "Make the call, Jack."

"That's a very serious accusation, Austin." Hansen made no move toward the telephone.

"Dammit, Jack – just trust me on this! I'll explain everything, but you need to have him intercepted – NOW!"

Reluctantly, Jack made the call, then turned back to Steve with his arms across his chest. "Alright, now let's hear why I've just sent my men to bring in their own superior."

"Inspector Gregory is behind the assassination attempt on Oscar, behind the attack at OSI Headquarters – all of it."

"Well, that's ridiculous," Hansen scoffed. "What possible motive would he have?"

"Personal power. Sure, he's got some of that now – but he wanted a whole lot more...and found a way he thought would get it for him. Hiller made a perfect patsy for him – there's nothing he'd want more than revenge on the agency he thinks ruined his life."

"That doesn't make sense."

Steve laughed bitterly. "It makes perfect sense. Oscar's second-in-command is out of the country – unreachable – and you yourself talked about the NSB's so-called 'umbrella policy' if the OSI were to fall into chaos." He looked directly into Hansen's face as he delivered the whammy. "Of course, you've got your hands full here, so who would you be most likely to send to run the OSI....? You know the answer as well as I do."

"My God....he couldn't....all of this?" Hansen was floored.

"He sent Hiller over to corner me, intending for me to get shot in the melee of dozens of penguin suits all storming the building at once. He had it timed perfectly. Except Jaime disrupted that plan by showing up at exactly the wrong moment."

Hansen stared silently at Steve, slowly taking it all in. Then his red phone's insistent ring preempted any answer he might've given. His face lost all its color as he listened to the voice on the other end. When it was over, he faced Steve with visible hesitance.

"They found Gregory," he said very quietly. "Dead. It appears that he was killed....bionically."

----

Back at the hospital, Jaime had finally heard the whole story about Barney Hiller from Rudy – and was more determined than ever to leave her hospital bed and start helping her husband.

"I've been in this bed for almost 18 hours," she pleaded, "most of it sleeping. I feel so much better, really! Please, Rudy...!"

Rudy shook his head. "Another 24 hours, at least. And that's just to let your body re-adjust to your bionics. You've also got a concussion and -"

"And it doesn't even hurt anymore," she lied.

Rudy knew better. While the swelling had gone down, the bruise was still huge and angry-looking. Without a doubt, Jaime still had a whopper of a headache. While he hated having to be sneaky, he was determined to keep his patient safe. He waited and watched quietly as Jaime swung her legs over the opposite side of the bed, then braced herself against the mattress to force herself to her feet. As she leaned back, steadying herself with her arms, Rudy plunged a needle into the left one.

"I'm sorry, Honey," he told her softly as he helped her back into bed. "This is one battle Steve will have to fight without you."

- - - - -