A/N: For the record, I do read and appreciate all the reviews I receive. Unfortunately, I cannot reply to anonymous ones. Thank you for reviewing though and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Double Threat


Blair settled into the bathtub and let out a contented sigh as the hot water hugged the curves of her tired body. It was good to be home. The doctor had finally given her the green light to return home this morning and needless to say, she had been over the moon. She had spent most of the night sitting on a less than comfortable toilet seat or sleeping on a less than comfortable hospital bed. Chuck had been amazingly attentive to her needs though. He had refused to leave her side and only dared to doze off when she did.

When she had awaken this morning, he had insisted he take her home first before heading off to work and he called her basically every hour or so to make sure she was doing ok. Her cell phone began to ring insistently then and she shook her head in amusement as a tiny smile escaped from her lips. He was right on schedule. She reached out to grab her cell phone and set it on speaker before putting it back on the marble surface.

"Hello?" she spoke up, although she knew who was on the other end of the line.

"Blair, how are you feeling?" Chuck asked, his voice filled with concern.

Blair rolled her eyes at the question she knew she would probably hear at least a trillion times over before the day ended.

"Chuck, I was fine when you dropped me off this morning. I was fine when you called me one hour later. I was fine when you called me one hour ago and I am most certainly fine now," she teased him.

"Oh I'm sorry for caring so much Waldorf. Maybe I shouldn't," he shot back.

"But you do," she reminded him, a smug smile etched upon her pink lips.

"You'll be the death of me," he muttered under his breath and Blair could almost picture the frustrated expression currently gracing his defined features.

"It's a good way to go," she answered cockily as she continued to soak in a pool of absolute bliss. "Any new developments on the case by the way even though your answer's been no for the past two phone calls?"

"Actually, yes," Chuck told her. "Janice has confirmed that the blond hair we found at the scene of the crime was indeed Serena's."

"That still doesn't mean she did it," Blair insisted. "She could have just been there at some point in time, you know?"

"I know," Chuck assured her. "I still need to bring her in for questioning though. I've been putting it off for long enough."

"I'll do it," Blair offered a little too quickly.

Chuck let out a throaty laugh in response.

"I'm still the professional here Blair. You're not authorized to officially question anyone who is a suspect in this case," he reminded her.

"I know, but let me do it informally Chuck," she urged.

"What difference will it make Blair?" he wondered. "I'm not arresting her. I'm just asking her a few questions. Besides, if she's innocent, she's innocent. If she's not, she's not. Whether I'm questioning her or you're questioning her, formally or informally, doesn't change that."

"Please Chuck?" she pleaded with him, her lips in a pout even though he wouldn't be able to see it. "I just think Serena would be more willing to open up to me. I know her character. She probably won't tell you a thing."

"Oh she'll have spilled everything by the time I'm through with questioning her," he assured her. "I'm quite intimidating you know. I leave them quivering in fear every single time."

"Ha!" Blair scoffed in disbelief. "I didn't even bat an eyelash when you questioned me that night Bass."

"You seem to be the exception to everything Waldorf," he mused. "Although I do believe you were a bit flustered from our encounter."

"Come on Chuck," she urged once more as her cheeks flushed red at his reminder. "Let me question her. I'll do it tomorrow night at the costume party! She'll probably even be drunk! Think of it as a bonus!"

"Fine Waldorf," Chuck relented. "But if nothing comes out of your questioning, I'm bringing her in."

"Deal," she agreed quickly, patting herself mentally on the back for her small victory.

"Listen Blair," he started after a moment of brief silence. "I have to go. Stay out of trouble. I'll call you later and don't you dare leave the house today. The doctor said you needed your rest."

"Yes mother," she drawled sarcastically before bidding him goodbye and hanging up the phone.

Blair sighed and closed her eyes then, allowing the feel of the hot water against her skin to numb her senses once more. About five minutes after talking to Chuck, however, her cell phone began to ring insistently again. Blair groaned in frustration as she reached out to address the persisting annoyance. Couldn't a girl soak in her bathtub in peace?

"Chuck," she spoke into her phone. "It's barely been five minutes. I'm fine."

But instead of hearing Chuck's voice like she had expected, there was an eerie silence on the other end of the line before an electronic voice spoke out to her.

"Did you enjoy your bout of food poisoning last night Miss Waldorf?" the voice asked her.

"What?" she clarified, suddenly very much alert. "Who is this?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," the voice continued before letting out a creepy laugh.

"You tried to kill me last night!" Blair accused him or her.

It was hard to detect the gender of the caller when he or she was evidently using a voice changer.

"Don't be ridiculous! Few people have died from Clostridium perfringens food poisoning. Unfortunately for you, that was just a taste of what I'm capable of doing," the voice answered. "You'd be smart not to investigate Pete's murder anymore Miss Waldorf. Remember, I know where you live."

"Who the hell are you?" Blair shouted frantically into her phone, although it was obvious the caller wouldn't be revealing their identity to her.

The monotonous beeping of the dial tone sounded in lieu of the electronic voice that Blair had been hoping to hear and she dropped the device into the water in absolute shock over the call she had just received.


Blair walked nervously into the building and instantly spotted the overeager intern, Daryl.

"Hey Daryl," she greeted him as she approached the boy. "Is Chuck here? I tried calling him before I came, but I got the busy signal."

Daryl smiled politely at the brunette and said, "Yeah, he's in. His office is down the hall. It's the last room on your left."

"Thanks," Blair told him gratefully as she made her way towards her destination.

She knocked lightly on the barrier, hoping that she wouldn't be interrupting anything too important.

"Come in," he answered and she opened the door in response.

Chuck looked up at the intruder from his desk and upon noticing that said intruder was his girlfriend, jumped up almost immediately from where he was seated and rushed over to her side.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling ok? Didn't I tell you to stay in bed Waldorf?" he rambled on.

"Chuck," she stopped him, placing a hand lightly on his chest. "I'm fine and you did, but there is something wrong. It's super important or I wouldn't be here. I called, but you're line was busy."

He observed her closely, his eyes filled with concern, before offering her a seat.

"What's wrong Blair?" he reiterated, placing a hand firmly over hers.

The brunette took a deep breath before filling him in on what had transpired earlier.

"I got a call right after you called me," she started hesitantly. "I thought it was you again at first, but it wasn't."

Chuck could see a tiny flicker of fear dance across her eyes and he instantly held her hand even tighter in his own.

"Who was it?" he urged her on.

Blair shook her head and said truthfully, "I don't know. They were using a voice changer."

"Ok and what did they say to you Blair?" he pressed forward.

"He or she basically threatened to kill me if I didn't stop investigating Pete's murder," she informed him.

"What?" Chuck clarified in absolute shock. "What did they say exactly Blair? Don't leave out any details."

"I don't remember what they said exactly!" Blair protested, getting slightly irritated with his continuous questions.

"Try baby," he pleaded with her, brushing his thumb lightly across her knuckles in encouragement.

Blair pursed her lips in thought at his plea before she finally told him, "Well, the caller admitted to poisoning me. They asked me if I enjoyed the food poisoning I got last night to be exact."

"Wait, they admitted to poisoning you?" Chuck asked in alarm. "Hold on."

He moved his hand from hers momentarily and retrieved his cell phone from his pocket, punching in the necessary numbers after he had done so.

"Nathaniel," he greeted his best friend the moment he had answered his call. "Where are you man?"

He waited for Nate's answer before continuing.

"Ok. Well, listen. I need you to stop by the restaurant that Dan and Blair were at last night as soon as you can. It seems that Blair's episode of food poisoning was intentional," he updated the blond. "I'll go into the details with you later."

Another pause.

"Thanks man. Just see what you can find. I'll meet up with you when I can," he assured him before hanging up and gearing his attention back towards his girlfriend.

Chuck took her hand in his once more and motioned for her to continue.

"I really don't remember exactly what they said Chuck," Blair stressed. "It was just basically a threat to get me to back off. They demanded that I stop investigating the case and said something about knowing where I live."

Chuck put his head in his hands in evident worry, taking a deep breath before he could bring himself to look up at her again.

"Give me your phone Blair," he demanded, reaching out his hand to receive the device.

"Why?" she questioned curiously, although she did as she was told.

"I'm going to get Daryl to try and trace the call," he explained. "The suspect was probably smart enough to use a payphone or something, but it's worth a shot."

Blair nodded as he continued.

"I'm going to track down this scumbag Blair," he promised her, resting a hand gently on the curve of her cheek. "Nate will help, but I need you to stay off the case until then, alright? Can you do that for me?"

Blair shook her head and turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest in blatant defiance.

"Absolutely not Bass," she announced, standing firm. "I want to track the scumbag down myself more than ever now. Nobody scares Blair Waldorf off. Nobody tells me what to do."

"Blair, are you insane?" he shouted as he started to pace around the room in exasperation. "A murderer just threatened you with your life! I think we both know exactly how capable he or she is or is the image of Pete's corpse no longer burned into the back of your brain?"

"I know I'm taking a huge risk here Chuck!" she shot back. "But we must be getting close to revealing their identity if they..."

"This is non-negotiable Waldorf," Chuck told her calmly, although his eyes were blazing with a level of determination that Blair had never witnessed before.

The brunette held his gaze steadily with a level of intensity that certainly rivaled his own.

She only tore her eyes away from his when he seethed, "So help me God Blair. I will chain you to your bed with my handcuffs if you disobey me. This is non-negotiable. This is an order."

"Handcuffs Bass?" she scoffed as she stood up to leave. "Kinky."

"Blair," he muttered, grabbing her arm before she made her exit.

She stopped in her tracks at his touch, but refused to turn around to address him.

"I just don't want to lose you," he confessed, stuttering slightly over his words.

She swiveled around then to face him and allowed herself to be pulled into his waiting arms. He rested his chin tenderly on her forehead as she nodded against his chest.

"Ok Chuck," she promised him. "I'll stay off the case."

"Thank you," he responded gratefully as she began to pull away from their embrace.

She continued her trek out the door and swiftly left his office as her guilt slowly started to consume her. Blair felt horrible that she had outright lied to him just now, but he had been awfully persistent and there was no way in hell she was about to let the scumbag walk away for not only murder, but attempted murder. The perpetrator had even had the nerve to threaten her with her life. This case was now officially personal.


"You wanted to see me detective?" the redhead asked as she entered the room.

Chuck had summoned Gina into his office the moment Blair had left. He knew she was the right woman for the job. Stealth was her middle name – not literally of course.

"Follow her," he ordered. "I want to know where she is and what she's doing at all times Gina."

The redhead laughed and teased him, "You think she's cheating on you or something boss?"

He sent her a hard glare and answered, "This is serious Gina and don't pretend like Amanda didn't just eavesdrop on the entire conversation between me and my girlfriend and then relay all the juicy details to all of you."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Gina mocked him once more before getting serious. "I'll follow her no problem, but didn't she already promise you she would stay off the case?"

Chuck let out a sarcastic laugh in response.

"You don't know her like I do," he informed her. "And besides, her eyes were doing that thing where they don't match her mouth."

"I'll keep you updated," Gina assured him as she let out an amused laugh of her own.

She walked towards the door and prepared to leave when Chuck added, "And I am giving you full authorization to kill any immediate threats in her vicinity Gina."

"Whatever you say detective," she answered, patting her gun down for the extra emphasis.

The redhead swiveled around to make her exit, but tilted her head in his direction to address him one last time.

"She's the one, isn't she?" Gina observed as her lips curled into a knowing smile.

Chuck answered her question with a curt nod in lieu of an actual response and she was wise to take it as a sign of absolute dismissal.


"The Palace Hotel," Blair informed the taxi driver as she climbed into the waiting cab.

"Yes ma'am," he answered as he started the vehicle.

Blair leaned back into her seat as she pondered over her unfortunate episode of food poisoning last night. She should have known that someone had planned for it to happen on purpose. She recalled that Dan had mentioned that the entire staff had tasted the food he had cooked for her beforehand. Yet, none of them had contracted Clostridium perfringens food poisoning. The suspect must have sneaked into the kitchen sometime after the tasting to put their plan into motion.

Although she desperately wanted to join Nate at the restaurant to look for clues, she knew Chuck would be meeting up with him soon. He would be furious if he found out that she had broken her promise to him. She had no choice but to continue her investigation elsewhere and even then, she would need to be discrete.

Blair had reasoned long ago that the murderer was an expert on The Palace Hotel. Not only had he or she disabled the key card system with expertise, but the culprit had also been able to override the security system and slip in and out of the premises undetected. Blair deduced at the moment that the murderer was either a current or former employee at the hotel or had simply passed themselves off as such. It would certainly warrant the amount of knowledge that the suspect had had of the establishment and who would possibly find a hotel employee out of place in a hotel?

Although there was a chance that the suspect was neither a current nor former employee of the hotel, it was definitely worth a shot to take a peek into the employment records at The Palace. Who knows? She might unearth some names of interest. With that encouraging thought in mind, she handed the taxi driver various bills and stepped out of the stationary vehicle, making her way towards the doors.


Gina dialed for Chuck the moment she witnessed Blair enter The Palace Hotel wearing her disguise. He answered her call on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" he spoke into his phone.

"Gina here," she informed him. "Your girlfriend waltzed into The Palace Hotel about five seconds ago in disguise. She looks cute as a blond burlesque dancer by the way."

"What?" Chuck seethed. "For the sake of your career Richardson, you better be following her at this moment as we speak."

"I am," Gina assured him. "Are you at the restaurant with Detective Archibald right now?"

"Nah," he answered. "I was about to meet up with him, but he called and insisted that he had the premises covered."

"Blair is flirting with one of the employees right now," Gina interrupted him. "What do you want me to do?"

"Kill him and anyone else who so much as blinks in her direction," he commanded in a stern tone.

"I do hope you're joking detective," Gina commented. "Anyway, they're headed over to one of the ballrooms right now. I've got to go. I'll keep you posted."

"Sounds good Gina," he replied. "Stay on her."

Chuck let out a frustrated sigh as the dial tone began to sound in his ear. He knew Blair was stubborn, but she was really pushing his buttons here. He had reasoned, however, that it would probably be best to let her continue her investigation. After all, Blair didn't have to know that he had sent Gina to protect her.


Blair strode into the hotel with her head held high. She secured the feather boa in her hands and approached the front desk.

"Excuse me," she purred at the present employee.

The brunette took in her outfit and asked, "Miss Burnett? Miss Isabelle Burnett?"

"That would be me!" Blair answered cheerfully.

"The other burlesque dancers arrived almost an hour ago," he chided her.

"Oh darling!" she drawled, resting her hand on his arm. "Traffic was terrible!"

He rolled his eyes at her and motioned for her to follow him as another employee took his seat at the desk until his return. Blair followed close behind him, salivating over the access card that hung from his neck. She would need it to access the employment records. He led her backstage and Blair took the opportunity to trip then and fell flush against him. He attempted to keep their balance, but was unsuccessful. He fell to the floor with Blair in his arms.

"Oops!" Blair excused herself as the employee grunted in pain. "I blame the alcohol."

He pushed her off of him and stood to help her up.

Blair placed a hand on his chest and whispered, "You are such a gentleman. Thank you dearly."

He smiled at her as he headed onto the stage to announce her presence. Blair returned his smile as she fingered the access card she now held in her closed hand. It had been a cinch. She headed towards the exit as a beautiful woman bustled past her to join the other burlesque dancers on stage. Blair was certain that she was the real Isabelle Burnett.

Blair made her exit then knowing full well that the employee would be onto her in mere seconds. She entered the nearest restroom and traded in her current outfit for the employee uniform she had Jenny sew for her earlier. The staff would be on the lookout for a drunk blond after all. Blair trusted that Jenny was not the murderer and the blond had been more than willing to help with catching the culprit.

She walked out of the bathroom with confidence after she was in her employee uniform and took the elevator down to the basement of the hotel. A few compliments and Daryl had revealed the location of the employee records she needed. Blair slid the access card through the card reader and let out a relieved sigh when she heard a small beep of approval. She opened the door cautiously and slipped inside the dark room. She retrieved a small flashlight from her purse and assessed her surroundings.

She found the computer that Daryl had mentioned in the corner of the room and quickly booted the device, careful to keep her ears peeled for the unwelcome sound of approaching footsteps. The brunette printed out four years worth of employee records for now and stashed them into her purse. She made sure to shut down the computer before cautiously stepping back out into the open. She removed her employee uniform with expertise and strutted into the lobby wearing her own clothes. She patted the papers in her purse down as she walked past the employee who was now telling his superior how some drunk blond had stolen his access pass. The brunette let out a satisfied smirk as she stepped onto the sidewalk. She was damn good.


Blair walked into her penthouse with a huge grin on her face. Today had been a good day. Now all she had to do was rifle through the information she had gathered. However, she had promised Dorota she would help the maid with dinner first, since her mother was coming home from France tonight. A few hours later, Blair flopped onto her bed in exhaustion. She had been unable to return to her room the entire time.

Chuck had joined them for dinner and needless to say, her mother had been thrilled to hear that she and Dan had broken up and that she was now dating a detective. She had managed to convince Chuck that she had been on her best behaviour today as well, but regardless of how exhausted she was, she was glad she now had the opportunity to look through all of the data she had collected.

She reached into her purse and pulled out the stack of papers. She rifled through them without a sound when she noticed suddenly that the employee records she had printed out from two years ago had disappeared. In its place were a handwritten note and a picture of her walking out of The Palace Hotel. Her face had been scratched out beyond recognition and Blair gasped in shock over her newfound discovery. She picked up her cell phone to call Chuck when she thought better of it and called Nate instead.

This is your final warning Blair Cornelia Waldorf. I am licensed to kill.