There was something about the knowledge of going on vacation that could always cause happiness and joy even in the most stressful situations. Just the idea, the mere thought, of being in some tropical paradise alone with Lily was enough to help Martin deal with the massive amounts of paperwork and phone calls his new assignment required before he was finally told by Vivian to grab his ready bag. It was only a trip to Kentucky, but it was away from his desk and the stacks of files.

Lily knew that the summer months would be slow. Senators rarely hear from constituents when constituents are away while the children are out of school. What she didn't know was how Martin was going to handle the downtime. She'd known from the moment they'd reconnected almost two years before that he was born to be a field agent. He loved the adrenaline rush of having a life or death situation, of having a deadline, of kicking in a door with his gun drawn. What he didn't love was what he was doing. The endless days spent calling leads instead of going in person, looking through bank records, and watching hours of surveillance footage. He loved her, so he suffered silently for two weeks before he was finally sent to Kentucky to investigate a rebel biker gang accused of selling weapons to certain foreign enemies. She didn't think he could have handled another minute chained to a cubicle.

"The Nassau British Colonial Resort is on line one." Diane's voice came through the intercom.

"Andréa." Lily leaned back in her office chair and smiled for the first time since Martin's plane had taken off that morning. "How are things in paradise?"

"As beautiful as ever." The resort manager hid her excitement well, but she was ecstatic that Lillian Anderson, an Ambassador's daughter and a person of influence in Congress, was calling. Four years ago, she'd help to clear up a mix up with her room and they had become friendly. Lily had even recommended the resort to several senators and other members of Congress. So, her phone call meant business, business that could make her fiscal year.

Martin did everything he could to stretch the investigation, but it was clear after a week that there was no credence to the tip they'd received. At least they made the senator look good, he and his partner laughed on the way back to the airport. There was nothing keeping him from the files he'd left piled on the edge of his desk. It wasn't a task that he was looking forward to, but the calendar Lily had subtly left on his desk with the date they left for vacation circled, made him smile.

"Don't get comfortable." Lily said as she walked into the office behind Martin and closed the door. "I need everyone to stop what they are doing and listen." She waited for all the agents to do as they were told and was surprised at how fast it was accomplished. "I just got a phone call from Senator George. His two girls were picked up from school two hours ago and never made it home. Agent Johnson," she turned to look at her lead agent, "you and Agent Fitzgerald are to run point on this as you both come from Missing Persons. I will be available to get you anything you need out of a federal court or to do any introductions on the Hill that may need to be made. To the rest of you, there are no other cases in this office until Shannon and Elizabeth are found."

"Yes, Ma'am." It was in unison and made her wish she could keep the group that was standing in front of her.

"Thank you. Agent Johnson, they are all yours." The team of agents fell in line as Vivian began handing out orders.

"We're going to need to speak with the family." Martin said as he walked up to her. "And we're going to need to put a trap and trace on their phones. Does Todd know this?"

"I don't know, but I will be there to convince him. Let me grab my purse and we'll head over there."

"Who reported them missing?" He asked as they walked.

"Todd's wife, Charlotte, got worried when the nanny didn't return home with the girls and wouldn't answer her cell phone."

"So they could have just gone to the park or a friend's house and this is all for nothing."

"No, Martin, Metro PD all ready checked all the parks on the route from the school to the house and Charlotte called all of the girls' friends before she called PD. So, no, this isn't all for nothing."

"I had to ask, Lil."

"I know and I'm glad that you asked me and not Charlotte or Todd."

The air in the stately Virginia manor was full of anxiety and fear. While valid, it turned the normally warm and inviting décor cold and hard. Martin noticed that very few lights were turned on where it was normal for every light in every hallway to be aglow as he and Lily were shown to the sitting area where their friends sat on an antique couch battling tears.

"Martin," Todd stood up and extended his hand, "thank God you've been assigned to this."

"I would have requested it even if I hadn't been."

"Lily, thank you for coming." Charlotte George hugged her friends. A petite woman with delicate features, who was always perfectly put together, suddenly was falling apart. The quintessential political wife had wisps of her long brown hair was falling out of the signature bun, black streaks down her cheeks from where her mascara had run, and, while only five years older than Lily, she looked as though she had aged twenty years.

"Charlotte, I wouldn't be anywhere else." She kissed her cheek. "And I can tell you from experience that Martin and Agent Johnson are the best. They will do everything in their power to bring Shannon and Elizabeth home safe."

"That's why they are your investigators." Todd forced a sad smile. "So, how do we do this? I've already called my financial advisor and made ransom ready, but we haven't gotten the phone call yet. It's been almost three hours."

For a man used to being in control and having people catering to him, Todd was actually easy to convince with everything Martin wanted their techs to do. It was obvious to him that Todd and Charlotte were willing to do whatever they had to do to get their girls back. Those girls were their life. Martin knew that from the first moment he'd been introduced back when he and Lily were first getting serious. Shannon and Elizabeth were not the typical children who were dumped on nannies and brought around for photo ops and press conferences. They were truly the apples of their parents' eyes and Martin knew the only problem was going to be getting Todd and Charlotte to trust him enough to stay out of the investigation.