The chase is ending and our heroes are nearing the finish line! Will it go smoothly? Of course not! Stay tuned!

-GPP

They disembarked from the plane a little after noon, fully awake and still completely in the dark about where they were headed next. They were not at all prepared for the two Marshal escorts that met them as they exited the terminal.

Mary sized them up the minute she noticed them. They wore standard Government Issue black suits and had earpieces in their ears. The stood stoically with their hands clasped in front of them as they discreetly scoured the area for threats. She leaned over to whisper conspiratorially to Marshall.

"These aren't marshals; they're the men in black."

He shook his head, allowing a tiny smile, but maintaining his professional cool. The men were certainly not WITSEC, but any back up was probably a good thing if the FBI was hot on James' tail. He guided Mary into the back seat of the standard issue black SUV with one hand on the small of her back. The two marshals who would escort them to Del Rio climbed in the front.

The ride passed in awkward silence as the marshal/secret service hybrids weren't much for conversation; and Mary and Marshall were not in the mood for mindless chatter.

Mary became lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't shake off the weird feelings she had about seeing her father again. How much had he aged? Why was he in Texas? Why did he think it was a good idea to send her those letters? All of these questions and more floated about her head aimlessly as the car continued in what seemed to be a southwestern direction. The sun was high and she could feel it through the windows; despite the air conditioning. She sighed and pulled her hair up into a ponytail to keep her neck cool and free of sweat.

Marshall sensed his partner's inner turmoil, but knew that now was not the time to grill her on it; not with two strangers in the front seat. Instead, he discreetly took one of her hands in his and squeezed it. He wished he could wrap his arms around her and be her strength, but with the other U.S. marshals around it was too risky. Stan had risked a lot for them, and Marshall would do everything he could to ensure he didn't fan the fires that could burn Stan McQueen's career to ash.

They entered Del Rio via US-90W going 75 mph but soon traffic and traffic lights slowed their progress. Marshall straightened in his seat and scanned the city as it slid past his window. If James Shannon was here, he shouldn't be too hard to find. The SUV took a left at Veterans' Blvd and a right on Garfield Street a few hundred meters later. Marshall filed the street names away in his mind. As soon as they had checked in with the local PD, he planned to rent a vehicle so he and Mary could continue on their own.

Two turns later and the SUV pulled up in front of a one-story building badly in need of window washing and a new paint job. The faded letters across the roofline identified it as the City of Del Rio Police Department. Marshall shot a look at Mary, and cringed at the disgust he saw on her face.

"What the hell is this?" she looked at the grungy building.

"The local PD has information on the man you're tracking." The Marshal driving the SUV explained as if talking to a toddler.

Marshall held his breath and waited for the explosion.

"So where's the local police station?" Mary was surprisingly calm.

"Right here," now the marshal sounded annoyed.

"You're kidding."

Marshall squeezed her hand in a silent plea for her to shut up before they alienated all of the local law enforcement. "Are they expecting us?" he asked the driver.

"Marshall, I don't think they have telephones," she staged a whisper to him.

He bit back a bark of laughter and tightened his grip on her hand to the point he knew it had to hurt.

Mary shot back a grin that told him she understood what he was trying to tell her. She mouthed the words 'you love me' to him when he smiled back at her.

The inside of the station was not much nicer than the outside, but at least it was clean. A single policewoman sat behind a desk, talking into her phone in a low tone. She did not look up when they entered the building, she merely held up a finger to indicate she was too busy for them and kept on talking.

"Again, with the irritations," Mary mumbled but somehow managed to keep her temper in check as the group waited for her to finish.

Three minutes later than what was polite, the woman hung up the phone and looked up at the group in front of her for the first time. "You must be the marshals," she said as if they were just another minor irritant in a long day of hassles," Detective Burns is waiting for you in his office." She pointed down the one hallway that ended in a wooden door marked 'Det. Burns'.

"Thank you." Marshall, ever the gentleman, dipped his head to her before leading the way to the Detective's office.

Mary stayed close to him; her anxiety growing with every step. She kept her shoulder touching his as a silent weight to keep her anchored to the task at hand.

Detective Burns was a large man; over six feet tall and easily two hundred and fifty pounds. He had bushy black hair and a full handle bar mustache. He looked exactly how cartoonists wished every southern sheriff would; right down to the worn cowboy hat sitting on his desk and his shiny black cowboy boots.

He shook each of their hands and then gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Inspector Sheppard, Inspector Miller? Please sit," turning to the others, "thank you gentlemen, we can take it from here."

His grip was firm and strong, and Mary noted how her hand disappeared when he took it in hers. It's Yosemite Sam's taller brother she thought as she gave him a once over. She would let her impressions of him flourish once she heard what he had to say.

"Jim Griffin," Burns watched their faces for a moment before continuing, "He's new to these parts. Moved maybe a year ago. He's been working at Marco Motors for six months or so, pretty damn good salesman if Marco can be believed." The man had a warm voice and seemed to smile as he spoke.

"Anyway, Officer Martinez arrested Jim last week over on Felipe Ave for driving what we thought was a stolen vehicle. We held him overnight, but it turned out the car was from the dealership, so we let him go Wednesday morning."

He shrugged, "I don't know what the Marshal Service wants with a used car salesman from Del Rio, but you can probably find him at the dealership."

Marshall nodded, "Do you have a home address?" He noted Mary's grip tightening on the arms of the chair and willed her to remain calm and silent.

"Somewhere," Burns pulled open his desk drawer and rummaged through a stack of loose paper. After what seemed like an awfully long time he pulled out a piece of yellow legal paper, "Here it is. 212 Graham St."

Mary's breath hitched when she heard the address. She was so close to seeing him again and it frustrated her that she didn't even know if she wanted to or not. She took a silent breath in and let it out as she and Marshall rose to shake Detective Burns' hand.

The US marshals who had driven them from the airport were waiting for them in the front of the police station. Marshall gave vague answers to their inquiries and asked to be dropped at the nearest car rental office. "I'm sure you both have more important things to be doing than following two marshals from Albuquerque all day," he said with a polite smile.

Half an hour later, he and Mary were on their own in a silver Ford Escort. It was a tight fit for Marshall's long frame but it was also one of the most discreet cars available so he made due with the lack of headroom.

Mary was worryingly quiet through the whole process and as soon as they were alone in the car, Marshall turned and took both of her hands in his. "Talk to me, Mare. What's going on inside that beautiful brain?"

"I'm not sure if I want to see him," she kept her head down and played with her medallion that hung on her neck, "it's been so long and I've always thought that he wouldn't want to see me."

Marshall's heart constricted and it was a moment before he trusted himself to speak.

"He loves you, Mary. You remember what Stan said, and what James wrote in his letters. He loves you."

"I'd always thought that if he wanted to see me, then he'd tell me where he was."

Marshall reached for her and pulled her against his chest, it was a little awkward in the front seat of the Escort, but he needed the contact.

"It's up to you, Mare. However, the FBI will find him. So we need to act now, if we're going to." He kissed the top of her head. "No matter what happens, you have me."

"Let's see how I feel when we reach his house," she hadn't realized she'd been crying and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her jacket before pulling away.

"Alright," Marshall took a moment to program the address Detective Burns had given them into his GPS.

"Hey, Marshall?"

"Yeah, Mare?"

"I love you," she leaned across once more to kiss him on the cheek, "thank you."

"I love you too, Mare; no matter what," He balanced the GPS on the dashboard and brought to car to life.

They have an address! What do you think is in store for our favorite marshals? As always, read and review!