Chapter 20 -Epilogue
Stan, Mary and Marshall had returned to Albuquerque. Mary took two days to get her mother and sister settled. She helped her mother find some job possibilities. Brandi, surprised Mary by asking for help enrolling in school. Once Marshall explained what an esthetician did, Brandi was interested.
Brandi and Jinx were living in Mary's snug one bedroom apartment in Old Town. It was a tight fit, but Jinx planned to move into a place of her own as soon as she could afford it. So far so good. Marshall could tell Mary was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for her mother to crawl back into the bottle, waiting for Brandi to drop out.
Without telling Mary, Marshall arranged for a friend to get Jinx to AA meetings. It hadn't worked yet, but the friend, a nice looking man close to Jinx's age, was making some progress. It didn't hurt that he found Jinx attractive. Jinx was as silly as a school girl around her new beau. Mary rolled her eyes and held her breath.
The information in the ledger had been crucial to making a case against Jonathon Fuentes, the sex trafficker. The ledger itself wasn't used, but it was instrumental in getting enough evidence for a search warrant. The police found several women in a container at the port. They had been smuggled into the country. All this helped build the case against Fuentes.
The attempts on Mary's life still worried Marshall. There were too many loose ends. Too many uncertainties. If the note James left was true, the threat against Mary had been handled. But how would James know? How could Marshall be certain?
Mary, Marshall and Stan were given appointments with Dr. Shelley Finkel, and stuck on desk duty until cleared. Mary barely tolerated the department shrink, but both Stan and Marshall accepted that Dr. Finkel's evaluation was necessary. Field officers must be fit for duty psychologically as well as physically. Marshall knew mind and body were connected and badgered Mary until she went with him to the gym. On days they didn't hit the gym, they ran. It was fun to run with Mary. For her it was a competition. Trying to beat Marshall got her in great shape. A shape Marshall greatly appreciated.
With Stan's blessing, Marshall had tried to get Mary to away from her family for a long weekend, somewhere warm. Mary resisted going too far and they compromised on a cabin in the Sandia Mountains with a big fireplace. Mashall plied her with good food and her favorite scotch. Mostly he waited for her to talk to him about her father.
Underneath her brash bluster, Mary wasn't sure how she felt. She never quite made the switch from Daddy's girl to her own woman. Marshall worked hard to build her self esteem. He never let her win just to make her feel better. Mary's competitive spirit and hard work gave her wins enough. When she doubted whether they should be together, he reminded her of the dreams they shared before they met. He even shared some of his own dreams, dreams of a family, which he hoped, in time, she would share.
When she didn't immediately shoot him down, he held his breath, waiting for her to be ready. He even told her he'd wait forever.
"That's not fair to you, Doofus."
"Can't help it Sunshine. That's just the way I roll," he had smiled at her tenderly.
Unable to help herself, Mary had reached over and kissed him soundly. The soft rug in front of the fireplace proved to be the perfect spot for their lovemaking. In the afterglow Mary had said "You might have something there." Hearing her admit to the possibility of something more lifted his spirits and doubled his determination. The blonde, impetuous, brash, spouter of epithets would be his.
He had smiled. In his head he could hear her say "Don't say epithets."
After their long weekend, they each had an appointment with Shelley. Marshall was tickled by Mary's reaction to Shelley's more than professional interest in him. Mary was jealous! Marshall was relieved. They and Stan were cleared for active duty.
Stan had heard that Paddy O'Connor had agreed to testify against Fuentes. The MS13 would kill him even if he didn't testify. This way he would have some protection, even if he didn't think the US Marshal's could keep him alive in the long term. Paddy had cut his losses and was taking what he could get. The AUSA had agreed to put him in Witness Protection. He'd be in prison first, but a secure section. Stan called his FBI contact making certain they knew that after what happened in New Jersey, O'Connor was never to step foot in Albuquerque. Later, Stan realized, he should have had Eleanor verify the arrangement.
Mary and Marshall had been back at work three days. Three days of Mary baiting Eleanor, spitball battles, bickering and a near food fight. Stan had forbidden food fights when he put his foot down on a french fry and slipped almost hitting his head on the edge of Marshall's desk. The fact that Mary snickered was the last straw. Marshall vowed to toe the line, and said he would make sure Mary would too. In other words, the office was back to normal.
On the fourth day, Marshall and Mary were both at their desks, when they saw Stan take a phone call in his office. May couldn't help but watch the show. First he stood up so quickly he knocked his chair over. Then he paced and rubbed his balding head. Then he shouted into the phone. Closed door or not Mary and Marshall heard Stan yell "Idiot" before slamming the receiver down.
"I never knew Stan's bald spot turned red," Mary observed, lips pursed.
As soon as he hung up, Stan stormed out of his office. He ran to Mary's desk, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of her chair. "Stan," she yelled.
Then Stan motioned Marshall to follow.
"What the hell, Stan. What are you doing?" Mary protested.
He herded them toward the security gate but then dragged Mary sharply to the right. He opened the door to a janitor's closet Mary had never noticed. She thought the grey door handle was a hanger or something. While Mary is voicing her unhappiness with being manhandled, Stan pushes her into the closet and shoves Marshall in after her. Then he slams the door.
"Ah, the light goes out when the door closes," Marshall stated the obvious. "Very energy efficient."
Before he could say anything else, Stan yelled "Be quiet. Not a word. Not a sound."
Both Marshall and Mary were too startled to say anything. Especially given the stern warning from Stan.
Marshall shrugged. He could think of something to occupy their time in the dark. No talking needed. He put out a hand, feeling around for his partner. Finding her shoulder he felt his way down to her thigh. Then he slid his hand up and up and up, only to find his wrist locked down by Mary. Closing his lips tight to prevent a groan from escaping, he manages to shake her off.
When Marshall hears the security gate open and Stan roar, he gives up on groping Mary, and shoves her hand away from his fly. He puts his ear to the door. He's never heard Stan ream out anyone the way he was reaming out the... Wait a minute. An FBI agent. What? The shouting continues for another minute, followed by the sound of the security gate opening and closing. Again.
A few minutes later, the door to the storage closet opens, and Stan sheepishly lets them out.
"Stan," Mary asks, half questioning, half threatening. She stands tall, next to Marshall. Her arms are crossed and the toe of her boot is tapping. She's waiting, but not patiently. Marshall looks bemused.
Stan is muttering expletives targeting a particular FBI agent, his boss and the Fucking Bunch of Idiots in Washington and Albuquerque. And anywhere else that had anything to do with the cock-up that set him off.
"Paddy O'Connor rolled on the sex trafficking capo. He's in Witness Protection," he admits, disgusted that the man who had attacked Mary Shannon had gotten a deal. Not only did he know Mary Shannon was a marshal, he knew her real name.
Marshall swore he could see the steam coming out of Stan's ears as he described the huge security breach. "The deputy at the front desk called me."
"We should buy that guy a bundt cake," Marshall commented.
Mary glared at him. "You're such a girl, you should bake him a bundt cake and buy him a fifth of whiskey."
"At least," agreed Stan.
The rest of the afternoon, Mary and Marshall were confined to the office, waiting to hear that Paddy was out of Albuquerque. Stan spent most of the time burning up the phone lines. Eleanor had given him some additional names and numbers to call. Mary, Marshall and Eleanor spent their time gleefully concocting payback on the stupid idiot who had almost caused the biggest single security breach of a WitSec office ever.
In other words, Situation Normal, All Fouled Up, Mary thought. Or funned up, Marshall thought.
A/N: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, or just read this story. It's my first long one and I've got a lot to learn.