I just wanted to take a quick moment to address a recent comment. A reader expressed some concern that the story feels out-of-balance, with more emphasis on Steve/Kayla than on Shane/Kim. That certainly is not the intent of the story. The goal is to provide overall balance between the characters, recognizing that there will be periods of the story that are more dominated by certain issues and characters than others.

Right now, the story is still dealing with the aftermath of the Shane/Kayla relationship and the lingering conflict between Shane and Steve. It is true that Shane and Kim have not yet come back together as a couple, but they still have a long road to travel. Shane and Kim are now living in the same house and are dealing with the threat to Andrew, so they will have more direct interaction and begin to confront their lingering issues. But there will be some forward steps followed by some steps back and some significant crises before their issues are resolved. It did not feel right to rush Shane and Kim to a reconciliation given their history.

This also is a long story. Chapter 145 was just posted here and that is little more than half the draft that has been written so far. On another site, the story has been posted through chapter 225, and a Steve and Kayla fan just commented that she felt the story was too dominated by Shane, Kim, and Steve, with Kayla being relegated to a supporting character.

So I hope anyone who feels that Shane and Kim have not yet gotten their due will give the story more chance to develop.

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"So what do you think?" Shane stared across his desk after he finished going over his theories on Maurice Marchand's death.

On the other side of the desk, Roman pursed his lips. He and Marlena had arrived about 30 minutes earlier, and Shane had dragged Roman to the study while Marlena and Kim talked in the library. Now that Shane had set forth what he knew of Marchand's murder, he waited for Roman's response. After a few minutes of silence, Roman shrugged.

"It's possible, but I don't know, partner. Why would Larry kill his own lawyer?"

"Who knows why Alamain does anything," Shane said, leaning back in his chair.

"And you had an ISA team on Marchand?" Roman's disbelief was evident. "How did-"

"How did they lose him?" Shane shook his head. He had asked himself that same question over and over. "I don't know. After the last few intelligence disasters, sometimes I wonder how we catch anyone."

"When you're running the ISA, you'll straighten things out." Roman chuckled. At Shane's look, Roman added, "Hey, Tarrington's got to retire at some point - and you are the number two guy at the ISA."

"Can we discuss my future career plans another time?" Shane said. "This is serious, Roman."

Any sign of amusement disappeared from Roman's face. "I know it is. After the other day . . . with the school, you've got a lot on your mind. I shouldn't be making jokes." He paused. "Do you think Lawrence was afraid Marchand might talk? After all, shooting at kids might be even farther than a snake like Marchand would go."

Shane stood up from his chair and began to pace. "The thought did occur to me, but something doesn't add up. I was sure that Marchand was the conduit for Alamain's orders. He met regularly with Marchand."

"He was Larry's lawyer," Roman pointed out.

"I know, but that was the only time Alamain could be sure he wasn't being bugged." Shane looked out the window and spotted Andrew playing in the garden under Mike Adams' watchful eyes. "But Alamain obviously has other ways of getting his directions out. That's obvious. He had to have a way to give the order on the Marchand hit."

"Assuming the order came from Larry."

"It did," Shane said. "I'm sure of it."

"So he has another prisoner making calls for him?" Roman understood what Shane was thinking. "Or a hack?"

"That's the likely explanation. I've got agents going over every call out of the prison and. . . ." Shane hesitated, but decided he could share his information with Roman. There was nobody he trusted more. "And we're sending in several undercover agents, a couple as prisoners and one as a guard."

"Whoa, you're pulling out all the stops." The Roman paused and his eyes narrowed. "I know you'd do anything to protect Andrew, but the ISA isn't going to put this much money into one investigation over threats to an agent's family. Trust me, I know the score on that front. There's something you're not telling me."

Roman always was a top detective, Shane thought. "Have I mentioned recently that you're wasting your time with the Salem PD? We could really use you back in the ISA." Shane was only half-joking, but then he grew completely serious. "You're right. There's more to it. And I'm telling you this only because I think whatever Alamain's planning is going to happen in Salem. But-"

"But I can't tell anyone." Roman nodded. "I think I heard this a few months ago. You got it. Go ahead."

Shane took a deep breath and then told Roman about the suspected neurotoxin and what it could do, though Shane deliberately kept Steve's name out of it. Steve had disclosed things to Kim for the ISA's ears only; it was up to him to decide if he was going to tell anyone else close to home. After Shane finished explaining the scientists' suspicions, he said, "Alamain wants to sell this thing, but he's going to have to show it works first."

"Larry's not exactly the subtle type." Roman frowned. "Do you think he might try to finish off what he started in Alamania?"

"It's possible." But then, Shane thought, there were a lot of possibilities. "Or maybe he'll do something against Salem in general. Half the town hates him, and it was a Salem court that sent Alamain to prison."

"Yeah, but that's because of Kimmie," Roman said.

"True, but Alamain doesn't know that. We never told him that Kim bugged him with those cufflinks. He still thinks I was responsible."

"Lucky you." Roman said. "How's your supply of anti-venom?"

"Not very funny," Shane replied.

Roman nodded. "I know. This kind of stuff never is. . . . But it comes with the job. Do you think we should warn Bo and Carly? Or Steve for that matter?"

"I don't know," Shane said. "I'd hate rumors to get started and send people into a panic. I mean, it's not just Bo, Carly, and Steve. Wouldn't we have to warn Jack and Jennifer? And Julie and Alice were also in Alamania. That's a lot of people who'd have to keep a secret."

"I don't know. . . ." Roman's voice trailed off and he fell silent for a moment before he said, "But it's the ISA's secret, and you didn't have to tell me in the first place."

Shane gave Roman an appreciative nod. "Thanks. I'll keep you up to speed on anything we find out that involves Salem."

There was another silence as Roman glanced around the study. "So . . . not to change the subject or anything, but how are things going here? Everything okay with you and Kimmie?"

It was Shane's turn to shrug. "It's been okay . . . a bit awkward at times, but you already knew that from last night." After Shane had left the birthday party the night before, Roman had tracked him down and tried to convince him to come back.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "That was Pop's fault, not Kimmie's. You didn't see her, partner. She was upset about it."

"She wasn't the only one," Shane muttered. "I went another round with Steve, too. Sometimes, Roman . . . sometimes, I think my life would have been a lot easier if I'd just let you handle the prism case and never came here."

Roman looked down, and Shane felt like a complete idiot. Roman was probably thinking about how he had "died" at Stefano's hands. That had been Shane's fault. Roman was never supposed to land on the island and confront Stefano. Shane was supposed to do that, but he had been caught by Petrov on the other island and had barely escaped himself.

"I'm sorry," Shane said. "I shouldn't have said that. It's just that sometimes all these attachments are a bit overwhelming."

"Attachments?" Roman looked up with an amused expression. "You mean falling in love with my sister, having a great kid, and becoming part of a family? Those kind of 'attachments'? Come on, Shane. . . . You can deny it all you want, pal, but you and Kimmie still love each other. It was plain as day on her face and, if you could just set aside that wounded pride of yours-"

"Wounded pride?" Shane's voice began to rise. "That's what you think destroyed our marriage?"

"I didn't say that," Roman said calmly. "But that's what's keeping you from seeing what's right in front of you. You and Kimmie had something rare and, if you'd let yourself get over what happened, you'd realize you could get it back and you're wasting time."

Shane looked away. If only it were that easy. He was about to respond, but the phone rang. "Hang on," he said, as he picked up the receiver. "Donovan."

The voice on the other end was the director of the local field office. "Captain, we may have a problem."

That's not a good way to start a call. "Tell me what's going on," Shane said. "Wait . . . hold on a second." He glanced at Roman, who got the message.

"I'll go find Marlena," Roman said, his voice just a whisper. "But you'd better remember what I said."

Shane watched Roman leave the study, steeled himself for bad news, and then spoke back into the phone. "Okay, go ahead."

"Our surveillance team spotted a man climb the back wall of the Alamain estate and break into the house." There was a long pause, which told Shane there was more to the story. "From the camera images, we're pretty sure it's Steve Johnson."

You've got to be kidding me. Shane fought not to say that aloud. What the hell is Steve thinking? It the break-in was found out, Lawrence's people would sweep the house and almost certainly find the hidden cameras and bugs. Dammit. This is just the type of Lone Ranger theatrics we don't need.

"Captain? Do you have any orders?"

Shane thought quickly. "Was he spotted by anyone other than our team?"

"We don't think so," the director answered. "Our men were in the van and they saw nobody else on the street when Johnson climbed the wall. And it looks like he evaded the perimeter security."

"What about the house alarms?" Shane asked. The ISA had tapped into the monitoring system so it would know if anyone triggered any of Lawrence's security devices.

"So far, there's no indication he triggered anything. He probably deactivated the external alarm. But he just entered. We were monitoring the situation and I called you as soon as he got to the back doors."

Shane had a very bad feeling about this. Lawrence's house was wired top-to-bottom with one of the most complex alarm systems Shane had ever seen. Getting past the alarms on the doors and windows was the easy part. After Shane had snuck into the upstairs to save Kim from Lawrence's henchman, Gregory, all sorts of additional security had been added.

Steve could be walking into a trap, but sending agents into the house would be just as bad as if Steve were caught. Probably worse. There was the chance that, if he was caught, Lawrence's people would dismiss it as just Steve doing something on his own and would not bother to look further. But that's probably wishful thinking.

At the same time, Shane was not prepared to throw away all the ISA's work, especially when so much was riding on their figuring out Lawrence's plan.

For the moment, Shane decided, he would give Steve a chance to figure out that he was in over his head and leave on his own. Yeah, right, he told himself. But that was probably the best thing he could do for the moment. He took a deep breath and prayed he was making the right call before he spoke again.

"Tell the surveillance team to stay in place and monitor the situation. Are you getting a live feed at the office?" When the director said he was, Shane continued. "Okay . . . I'll be there in five minutes. I have the phone in the car, so you can keep me updated." Shane was about to hang up, but he had another thought. "Get an extract team stationed by Alamain's. Let's use the fire team and have them ready to go if we need them."

Hanging up the phone, Shane grabbed his jacket and headed out of the study. On his way out, he ran into Roman. "Sorry, but we're going to have to continue our talk another time. Oh, and if you hear anything about the fire department at Alamain's . . . try not to ask any questions." Shane did not say another word, but raced for the front door and out of the house to his car. By the time Shane was pulling away from the house and listening to the field director's latest reports, his blood was boiling. All that ISA work was likely down the drain because of this stupid stunt. And what did Steve possibly think he was going to achieve?

Shane shook his head angrily as he sped through the streets toward the ISA offices. If Steve torpedoed this investigation, there would be hell to pay.

And I'm going to be the one collecting.