Thanks blueyedauthor, cant rush science, and ilumytv-ugottaproblem for the reviews. Please keep them coming. I promise the actions is going to pick up soon.

Don and Kane headed into the hospital and straight to the front desk. They flashed their badges and were immediately shown the way to their new victim, Andrew Crew, room. The doctor had just gotten him stable so he was resting alone when Don and Kane got there. Danny was waiting outside the room with Seth Nash and Chris Sanders. Both young men looked terrified. Their faces were white as ghosts. It appeared to the detectives as if the men were about to vomit. There was no doubt now that these friends were hiding something.

"Mr. Nash. Mr. Sanders. Glad you could meet us because it looks like we have some things to discuss." Don said authoritatively. He was trying to intimidate them. Secretly, Kane found it extremely attractive. Though she never was going to say anything to him. It would only make him a tough all the time, then she would miss his smiles. As Don spoke, Kane noticed the boys continued to look scared.

"What Detective Flack is trying to say is that for us to stop whoever is doing this, we need your help. Otherwise we may not be able to protect you." She explained carefully, using a different approach.

"So is there anything you have to say?" Danny added.

"We aren't really just here in New York for work. Two months back we lived in Indiana. We were coming out of a bar when we saw these two guys murder some cop. So we testified against them. Come to find out they were pretty bad and well connected. So the agents put us in witness protective services. New names, jobs, backgrounds. Everything." The man they thought was named Nash said.

"I'm really Paul Ford." Said the old Mr. Sanders. "And this is Robert Williams. Our friend Henry was killed last night. And John's in there. We're next. They are coming after us." Panic and fear rang through his voice.

"We will do everything we can to stop them." Kane said reassuringly. "Now you must have someone to contact when this happens. I think you should call them if you haven't already. I'll come with you."

Together Kane and Paul Ford walked down the hall to a private waiting so he could call the agents. Kane waited silently as the man spoke to whoever was on the other end. Several minutes passed. Then he stopped talking and looked at Kane. "He'd like to speak to you Detective Axel."

"This is Detective Axel." She said strong.

"Hello Detective. I'm Agent Conner. I must ask you a favor." His voice was urgent.

"Yes?"

"Can you stay at the hospital with the men until I can get there with my men?"

"Of course."

"We will be there in minutes. But keep an eye out. The people behind this are good at what they do."

"So am I. We will keep them safe."

"Thank you. Can I please speak to Paul again?"

`"Here Paul." She handed the man his phone. This time the conversation was shorter and ended with an abrupt 'bye'.

"He said they'll be here soon."

"Alright. Let's head back and tell the others. We have to stick together now. At least until the other agents get here." Kane and Paul then headed back to the others and told them Agent Conner would be coming soon." Both Paul and Robert seemed relieved at this knowledge.

"How about we wait inside John's room until him and the others arrive?" Don suggested. Everyone nodded and shuffled inside the moderate sized room. There were few chairs so Kane insisted Ford and Williams sit to help them calm down. Even though they sat, the two were still filled with anxiety. One rapped his hand on the arm rest, while the other tapped his feet. The fidgeting was beginning to annoy the detectives.

"You two can relax." Danny said. "Nothing is going to happen."

"Sure. Henry's dead and John's looking to be not far behind." Paul said.

"You all did a brave thing by testifying." Kane said sympathetically. She knew what they were going through.

Robert scoffed. "Yea. That's what everyone's been saying. But they don't have someone trying to kill them. No one knows what we're going through." He was obviously upset about the events in his life.

"What if someone who has been through this tells you it is brave and that guilt would have done more harm." Everyone including Don and Danny seemed to wait for what she said next. Kane could only see Paul and Robert's interest. And they nodded to show she should go ahead. Everyone was listening.

"My ex boyfriend tried to have me killed after I broke up with him. So I made it my mission to have him pay for what he'd done. I found the evidence that would put him away. A week before the trial he said he wanted to make a deal with me. I went to hear him out. He told me that if I dropped the case, destroyed the evidence, and let him go, he would leave me alone. I refused. There was no way of knowing if he would have kept his word and honestly I didn't care. I knew he had to pay for what he'd done or else he could do it to another. So I testified and put him away."

"What happened?" Paul asked carefully.

"He got out and attacked me and my friends about six months ago. There is no way of knowing if he would have stayed away from me but I am sure that if I hadn't done something I would have regrets. But for me now, I have no regrets. So what do you both think now?"

A knock at the door kept Paul and Robert from answering. "Come in." Don said. The door opened and a nurse entered escorting three agents. Two men and one woman, all of which holding badges.

"I'm Agent Conner." Said the first man. "This is Brooks." He motioned to the man. "And that's Burke." The woman nodded. "I spoke to a Detective Axel on the phone."

"That's me. This is Detective Flack and Messer. I don't want to sound too forward, but why weren't these men better protected?"

Conner seemed taken aback by Kane's bluntness. So were the other two agents. Once Conner realized how he was being spoken to, he went on the defensive.

"We don't have enough man power to baby-sit everyone Detective. We don't get paid to follow them around."

"Last time I checked that is exactly what protective services are suppose to do." Anger ran through her words and body.

Don saw what was going on between Conner and Kane. He could see it from both points of view. Agent Conner was short handed and doing what he thought he had to. Kandice was upset he wasn't putting more into it. These people needed help.

"Messer how about you and Axel take Paul and Robert and get them something to eat?" Don wanted to keep the peace.