Christina Morgan series

Chapter Three

"Mac, we have reports of possible sightings of Samadi in Iran, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the last month," Jen said handing Mac her print outs.

"Where is he now!" Mac snapped and tossed the papers onto his desk in the work room.

"I'll find out," Jen said to him and then turned to go back to her work station.

"Jen."

She turned around and smiled at him, "I know, he was one of ours and so is she, we'll get this scum."

Mac smiled and nodded his head at her as she turned to go back to work. Jennifer Dean had been with the C.D.A. for two years and before that she had worked with the F.B.I. listening to phone taps sixty hours a week. She is twenty eight and has two master's degrees. She has long blonde hair that comes down past her waist and she is a hard worker. It wasn't the first time Mac had snapped at her but he knew that she knew it wasn't personal.

Forty five minutes before Mac had called Agent Turner to check up on Christina. Stick had reported to him that Christina had been on the phone since he had gotten her home and that she had contacted Chris Gunman's next of kin.

The speaker phone on the desk chimed and he hit the button, "Yeah Callie?"

Callie was calling him from her station in the work room on the second floor above the main area where she could look from her seat and see the entire main floor and all the work stations for the agents, "Mac I got access to all the records we have on Mahmood Samadi and sent them to your terminal." "I also have the pictures of the car bomb used at the airport and copies of all the information of everything found at the scene."

"Thanks Cal you're the best."

"I know, just remember that come Christmas," she said as she hung up her end of the phone.

Samadi had been implicated in killing hundreds of people. He had also somehow came into possession of American rockets and in the files that Mac was reading Agents Morgan and Gunman had spent many long months trying to track Samadi down. Mac assumed Agent Gunman would have filed a complete report about what happened in Baghran if he would have lived long enough to return to his computer.

'What did Gunman know that got him killed,' Mac wondered? 'Had he contacted Christina with information on Samadi and would she be in danger because of it,' too many questions and not enough answers were streaming through his head.

"Mac, there's something you should see," Agent Rudolph "Rudy" Price said to his boss and motioned him to watch the large computer screen in the middle of the room.

Rudy pointed to Callie and yelled up to her, "Go ahead Cal."

Some video footage of the airport came up on the main screen and a well-dressed man, clean shaven in a very expensive looking suit was in the picture.

Callie used her headset to microphone to the entire work room. "This man is also this man," she said putting up a second picture next to the first. Except in this picture the man had a thick beard and looked like your average Taliban operative. "Facial recognition proves these are the same man, a one Youness Tehrani who…"

Mac cut Callie off short, "Is a hired killer and associate of Mahmood Samadi. Callie how come they didn't pick him up as he came into the country?" Mac yelled up to her.

"Don't know boss man but we have him positively identified now."

"Callie, when did he leave the country?" Rudy asked her.

Callie ran through some information on her computer.

"Callie," Mac said.

"One sec boss man," she said trying to find an answer her fingers typing a mile a minute.

"Callie!"

Callie got a look of dread on her face, "No record of his alias leaving the country."

Mac looked at Rudy, "Christina."

Mac grabbed his cell phone and started to dial her number as Rudy grabbed the phone on the desk next to him and tried to reach Stick.

Stick and Christina had stopped at Christopher Gunman's house to drop off the boxes and box tape they had purchased so that Chris' sister would be able to start packing when she arrived. Neither of them noticed that their cell phones had no signal.

Christina knew where Gun kept his spare key because she had told him where to place it. Before then he kept it under the mat. She had offered to purchase him a welcome mat that said 'dear thief key is under mat' but he had declined.

Chris Gunman's house was only a few miles from his partners but the inside was set up very different from hers. He had a large staircase in the middle of his entrance way that lead upstairs. To the left was his living room with two large very comfortable looking padded, oversized leather recliners placed in front of a large fireplace with a large plasma television bolted to the wall above the fireplace. He had hardwood floors that looked as if they had just been waxed.

They sat the boxes down in the entrance way and Chris walked through her dead partners house one last time. She could feel his presence as she walked into the kitchen. It was through the living room and faced the back of the house. She looked out the kitchen window and saw his beautiful garden of rose bushes and a stone bench with fountain which was all surrounded by a picket fence and the entire yard was surrounded by seven to eight foot tall bushes which stood next to each other and formed a beautiful natural privacy fence.

There was one glass in the dish strainer. Chris must have rinsed it out and placed it there to dry before he left for the airport. His counters were clean and empty except for a small bagel toaster. Christina ran her fingers along the counter top as she walked through the doorway to the utility room and there was Chris Gunman's washer and dryer and all his clothes folded up neatly and placed on the dryer ready to be put away.

Christina took a deep breath in order to fight back the tears. She had purchased the curtains that were hanging in the utility room for him to thank him for fixing her washing machine.

Stick stood in the dining room which connected the utility room and the front entrance way. Chris Gunman's house went in a circle and he stood and watched Christina Morgan pick up one of her dead partner's shirts and look at it.

He could see that her face was a little red but she didn't let the tears fall. After a few seconds she sat down the shirt and turned toward Stick and walked into the dining room. Gun had a large oak table in there with six matching chairs and an enormous china cabinet that was incredibly engraved.

"Chris," Stick said to her after he had watched her stare at the table for about three minutes without blinking.

"Last Thanksgiving Chris and I worked together to make dinner. I had emailed my father and told him I would be out of the country with friends and wouldn't be able to make it, but I was here and we made dinner. We piled all this food on the table. It was piled so high and by the time we had made all of it we were so tired we each poured a glass of wine and sat in the recliners, put on the football game and fell asleep without eating a bite. I woke up about seven and woke him up and we ordered a pizza," she said getting all choked up. She touched the edge of the table, "What a waste."

Stick touched her arm.

"I'm ok, I just needed to make sure there was nothing that his sister was going to find that she shouldn't see," Christina said composing herself.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from a great partner. Do you want to check upstairs?" Stick asked her holding his hand out to show her she could go first and he would follow.

"I can't reach either of them," Mac said into his headset as he drove off his exit headed toward Christina's house.

"Boss for sixty bucks anyone can buy a cell phone jammer," Callie said to him.

"Where is his car Callie?" Mac yelled into the headset as he took a sharp turn and the tires on his truck squealed.

"It is located at 3215 Magnum Drive, Baltimore," Callie told him. "Boss that address is registered to Special Agent Christopher Ryan Gunman."

Mac floored the truck, "Callie, get the home phone number and try calling."

"Right away boss man."

"I have never seen someone with such an immaculate house," Stick said to Christina as he finished looking through Gun's closet. "He owns six pairs of black socks, six white t-shirts that are all lined up in a row."

Christina took a breath in order to keep from saying that Agent Gunman had actually owned seven pairs of black socks and seven white shirts because he had a set on when he had left for his trip.

"Well he isn't really here to mess anything up," she said looking under the bed. "Nothing under here, not even dust bunnies," she said standing up.

Just then Chris Gunman's home phone started to ring and Stick and Chris looked at each other.

"Should we get it?" Stick asked her.

"People are used to him not being in town for weeks at a time. I guess we shouldn't let them keep trying to reach him," she said as she reached for the phone, "Hello."

"Christina get out of there, Mac thinks Samadi has sent the man who killed Gun to kill you!" Callie shouted into the phone.

Christina immediately dropped the phone and drew her weapon. Without even knowing what was going on Stick drew his weapon.

She held her finger against her lips to let Stick know to be quiet so she could listen, but the house was silent. They quickly and carefully walked down the carpeted stairs making sure to check both sides of the staircase and each of them took a direction and they met in the kitchen. No one was in the house.

They heard tires squealing and sirens outside as Mac and the others arrived.

Christina and Stick walked outside and Chris saw something on the hood of Stick's mustang but Mac shouted for her to stay away from the car until the bomb squad could check it out.

Knowing how Agent Gunman had died Callie had already called the bomb squad while she was trying to reach Agent Turner and Agent Morgan.

It only took a few minutes for the bomb squad to get there and check the car but they didn't find any type of device. They said it was clear for them to approach it and then they went inside to check out the house.

As Stick talked to his car and told her it was alright Christina picked up the envelope on the hood.

Mac was standing about fifteen feet from her talking to the bomb squad and noticed that she had picked up the envelope and opened it. Then he saw her fall to the ground.

He ran over to her followed by the rest of the group, "Are you alright?"

She didn't respond and she had a death grip on the envelope.

Jen took Christina's wrist and felt her pulse, "Mac her pulse is racing."

All of the sudden Chris took a deep breath almost as if she had been denied oxygen and was gasping for her life. She dropped the envelope and the contents slid across the driveway. This situation was a serious reminder to Chris why she didn't have friends and why she didn't let people get close to her. She was reminded why she kept people away from her and why she liked working on the other side of the world.

Mac picked up the envelope and flipped through the pictures in it and his face went pale and then flush as his anger boiled over inside of him. He stood up and looked around the neighborhood to see if anyone out of the ordinary or if anyone seemed as if they didn't belong was standing around. It was hard to tell because the bomb squad had moved all the neighbors out of their houses and behind the police line.

Rudy had gone inside the house and got Christina a glass of water after the bomb squad said the house was clear.

Stick had held out his hand to see what was in the envelope and Mac had handed it to him.

Stick took the pile of pictures and couldn't believe what he saw. There were pictures of Chris Gunman going to his car at the airport and then pictures of his car exploding. Pictures of his charred body and Christina crying over it at the airport.

As Stick continued to flip through them the pictures in the back were of Christina since the explosion as if Tehrani had been following her and the final six pictures were of Mac and his team with large red exes over top of them as if Tehrani was telling her that he was going to take everyone away from her one at a time.

Stick put the pictures back in the envelope and walked over to Mac standing on the sidewalk still looking around the neighborhood and Stick said to him, "We are going to get this bastard."

"Tell Callie to get his picture out to the networks and the airports," he said looking around. "And I want you with her every minute."

A.B. had been driving around the neighborhood looking for anything out of place while Rudy and Jen had taken Christina into the house. She was sitting in one of the large, leather arm chairs in the living room when Mac walked in.

Jen and Rudy walked outside when Mac came in. Christina was staring into the empty fireplace.

Mac knelt down next to her and touched her hand. She looked at him and with a very serious tone he said to her, "I will never…never let anyone hurt you."

She took a deep breath before she even tried to talk, "Mac, I have always tried to distance myself from work when I was home. Most days it didn't work because I receive calls from the government and the Middle East and people who I have helped before who know people who need help now, at all hours of the day and night, but I try." "I have always tried to leave the evils of the world outside my door, but now… ever since I heard about Chris I feel weak. I feel like a victim and I can't stand it. I'm really good at what I do and I can't help but feel that these bastards are getting the best of me. I keep everyone at arm's length so they can't be used against me or threatened by the people I have sworn to capture."

"Hey," he said taking her hand and putting it to his lips. "You are not a victim. You just need time to heal. You have to put the 'I'm a super woman who can kick the world's ass' aside for a little while and give yourself some time. You just have to heal Chris. I will make sure you get that chance. We will find this little termite and I will crush him with my boot."

"Are you going to be my hero Mr. McIntyre?" she said with a little smile.

He smiled, "We both know you don't need a hero, but I'm going to make sure you have time to heal and then I expect you to get out there and kick some ass."

She gave him a fake salute, "Yes sir."

They were alone so he leaned over and kissed her cheek and offered her a hand out of the recliner.

"I want to be more than your hero," Mac whispered to her as she stood next to him.

Chris took a drink of her water, "Mac, he isn't going to kill me."

Mac was surprised to hear her say that, "I won't let him."

"That isn't what I mean," she said taking a breath. "I'm actually surprised that it has taken him this long to track me down."

"You want to explain that?"

"About eighteen months ago Chris and I were in the Middle East on a short term mission. We heard about a deal that was going down to sell American rockets that were supposed to have been destroyed. We heard they were being sold to a fanatic military leader in Babol. It was a good location because they are only 20 kilo's from the Caspian Sea. It is one of the major commercial trading areas because of its location and with a population of over three hundred thousand it was easy enough for Tehrani to hide."

"But you found him?"

"We did find a compound that we believe belonged to Tehrani, but he wasn't known to stay in one place for very long. We found out that he was partnered with Samadi."

"That is definitely two people that should be friends," Mac said sarcastically.

Chris took a breath and another drink of her water, "So we tracked Tehrani to a ship that was preparing to leave on the Caspian Sea and intelligence told us that it was possible that Samadi would also be on the ship along with the rockets."

"Ok."

"Chris and I were still at the compound looking around to see if there was evidence that Tehrani or Samadi had been there when an air strike was called in to destroy the ship and its contents. It was determined that the intel that Chris and I had received was good enough to act on."

"I'm going to take a wild guess that Samadi and Tehrani were not on the ship."

"You are so smart," she said even more sarcastically back to him while pinching his cheek.

"So what happened?"

"The intel was accurate and the rockets were on the ship and eventually Tehrani and Samadi may have made it to the ship. I never saw Samadi and that is why we have been trying to get him ever since then. Chris and I spent hour after hour trying to find him and make him pay for the things he has done. We wanted to find out who sold him the rockets and how they got them out of the U.S.. I think that Chris was very close to finding Samadi and that is why he had Tehrani kill him," she said with her voice getting a little choked up. "If not I know Chris was meeting a contact that said they might be able to tell him what deal Tehrani and Samadi were working on now so that we could get the drop on them. I haven't been able to reach the contact yet, but I'm still trying."

"You said that he wouldn't kill you?"

"Chris and I got separated in the compound and I came across a room with a guard outside of it so of course I had to know what was inside because finding missing rockets and getting rid of two fanatical maniacs wasn't enough for me. I took out the guard and went into the room. The room was full of information. Apparently it was the room where they planned out everything. There were pictures of men who resembled Tehrani and there were some maps of a few of our military bases and information on the guidance systems for the rockets and so on. They must have saved that room for last to pack up and move out which may explain why Tehrani wasn't on the ship yet."

She walked into the kitchen to refill her glass of water and Mac followed behind her.

She stared out the kitchen window and thought back to that day, "So I used my radio to call in and Tehrani must have been in the hall and heard me. Before I knew it he was behind me. We struggled and he pinned me down until I got in a good shot to his throat and was able to get back on my feet. He pulled a knife and I flipped him and broke his wrist. Right about then the bombers flew over us on their way to the ship. He knew what they were and where they were going and he started to yell. He said, 'you killed them you mlitav supruga.' dead woman," she said looking out the window but her mind was far away. "Then he lunged at me and just as we heard the ship explode Chris shot him in the back and saved my life. We heard later that the truck that was carrying him was attacked and he escaped. He had a broken wrist and a bullet in his back so I guess they figured he only needed a few guards and a doctor. Everyone who was helping transport him was killed. Then on the way back to the U.S. I found out that Tehrani's wife, daughter and two of his three sons were on the ship. He had sent all the guards there to protect the rockets and figured that it would be the safest place for them. He had no idea that someone half a world away would make a decision to send bombers in and blow up the ship and everyone on board."

"Chris, it wasn't your fault."

She spun around with a very serious look, "I know it wasn't my fault. I know that Samadi and Tehrani are responsible for decisions that they make. I also know that I didn't make the decision to destroy the ship or to kill those people. But the only face Tehrani has to put on the murder of his family is mine and he doesn't want me dead, he wants me to feel the same loss he felt. He is a schizophrenic, manic depressive with a God complex who is out for revenge and he has decided I'm the target of that revenge," she said with a stern look on her face. "He will be methodical and take his time and punish me for as long as he can."

"Not if I get to him first," Mac said determined and angry.

He turned around and walked back through the living room and out the front door to see if his team had found anything.

A.B. and Rudy had headed back to the office in their truck to start processing the photos and Jen waited for Mac so she could drive with him back to the office while Stick stayed with Christina.

Mac knew he had to keep it professional in front of his team so he just told Stick again to make sure she never left his sight and he got behind the wheel of his truck and drove him and Jen back to the office. He was torn because he wanted to stay with her, but she didn't need him to hold her hand, she needed him to find the men who had done this and make them pay.

Christina locked up Gun's house and Stick took her to the grocery store to get some things she would need to entertain Gun's sister. The entire time they both kept a look out for Tehrani or anyone else who looked out of place.

But Youness Tehrani was not the one who placed the pictures on the car. Another threat lurked in the darkness and threatened them. One that they would have to deal with very soon.

Youness Tehrani was nearby, but he had not yet put his revenge plan into effect.

Mac spent the night in his office looking for signs of Tehrani and reading all the information that he could find including the information of the bombing of a boat full of rockets that had been blown up in the Caspian Sea.

Christina spent the night sitting on her back porch trying to make sense of the last day. She knew tomorrow she would have to feign braveness for Elizabeth and she was hoping that she had the strength to pull it off.

Stick spent the night guarding Christina's house which included sitting on the porch with her as long as she wanted. He didn't say a word as he watched her face change from sad, to relaxed, to angry and back to sad again.

They had sat in total silence for about three hours before Christina said, "Stick why don't you change for bed I'll be ok."

"Well considering my standing orders are not to let you out of my sight I really don't see that happening," he said smiling at her from across the porch.

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are," he said trying to be positive.

"Tomorrow will be a long day and you should be well rested so that no one can shoot me in the head."

"You are a funny, funny girl you know that?" Stick said standing up.

He walked across the porch and held his hand out to her. Reluctantly she took it and stood up. He opened the back door for her and she went in. He took one last look at the back yard before he locked and bolted the door.

Even though it was hot outside Stick made a small fire in the fireplace and Chris leaned on one end of the couch and Stick leaned on the other. Christina was so exhausted she was asleep about two minutes after she closed her eyes.

Stick took another look around the house and looked out all the windows to make sure no strange cars were lurking and then he sat back down on his end of the couch.

Chris was asleep and she looked peaceful, but Stick knew that she was going through a lot, but no one was going to hurt her on his watch. He sat his gun on the table next to him as he opened his laptop to try and get some work done. She stirred a few times and he jumped up to check on her, but she didn't wake up. Around three he did close his eyes and sleep on and off for a few hours making sure he got up every thirty minutes or so to check the house and look out the windows. He found blankets in the upstairs closet and pulled out a light one and gently covered up Chris with it. Then he walked around the house once again and checked all the windows to make sure they were locked. Stick knew he was dealing with men who work with bombs and rockets, but he was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe.

Chris got up early and after they ate breakfast Stick helped her prepare the guest room for Elizabeth Porter.

Chapter Four

Elizabeth Gunman Porter was picked up at the terminal by a car that had been hired by her brother's partner Agent Christina Morgan. She had been driven passed the street where her brother lived on the way to Christina's house.

Her brother talked about Christina all the time in his letters and on the phone, he respected and cared for her. Christina said she would make some arrangements to help Elizabeth get Chris' house packed up and his things taken wherever she wanted them to go so she could get back to her home.

She was now pulling up in front of Christina Morgan's house so that she could plan the funeral of the only family that she had. The brother that she adored and would miss.

Christina Morgan and Agent Brian "Stick" Turner met her at the car and brought her bags in. Stick sat in the kitchen and every few minutes patrolled the perimeter of the house while the ladies discussed their plans.

Christina and Elizabeth sat next to each other in the living room looking over paperwork that Christina had sent to her home fax machine. They had talked to the coroner's office and the funeral home. The ladies had gotten prices from the florist and the hall where the wake would be held. Christina called a caterer friend of hers for the food.

Christina faxed the newspaper announcement to the papers while Elizabeth went upstairs to wash her face and take something for her headache. Assistant Director Montgomery stopped by to talk to Elizabeth Porter for about an hour while Stick ran home and got a few changes of clothes and Christina sat in the shower and just let the water run down over her head. She was trying to find some way to turn off the world, but it wasn't working. Elizabeth Porter was wonderful and she could see so many similarities between her and Gun.

Christina hadn't heard from Mac last night or today. She only thought about him once or twice because her mind was filled with funeral arrangements and making Elizabeth Porter comfortable along with finding Samadi and Tehrani.

That evening, after eating, everyone was ready to get some rest. It had been an extremely long day.

Elizabeth had taken something to help her sleep and Christina had threatened to kick Stick's ass if he didn't take her bed and get some rest. She said she would curl up on the couch again because she wasn't planning on doing much sleeping any way.

After checking all the windows and doors and walking around the house three times and then coming in and drawing all the curtains he agreed to sleep for a few hours on her bed. She heard Stick's phone ring around three in the morning and she heard the floor creek as he got up and looked out the window but other than that the house was quiet all night.

The house was warm but she wrapped herself in a sheet just so she would have something around her. She hadn't cried in a few hours but her eyes hurt from all the rubbing. She was wondering how Mac was sleeping and she wished she was sleeping next to him. She wanted to call him but it was the middle of the night.

Christina got very restless and usually she would go in the basement and turn up her music as loud as it would go and beat the stuffing out of her heavy bag. But since the house was totally silent and she had two exhausted people on the second floor she thought maybe that wasn't the best plan.

So instead she dug a picture of her and Chris out of a drawer in her basement and she spent a little time thinking about the good times that they had together.

Chris was like the brother that she never had. He pretended to like the same movies that she liked. Three times a year that they would go out and he would always hold the door open for her wherever they went no matter how many times she asked him not to.

Around five thirty she closed her eyes for a few minutes and had a dream about her and Mac walking hand in hand on a beautiful sandy beach surrounded by sea shells. Neither one of them said anything they just walked hand in hand and smiled at each other and looked at the water and walked some more.

Then Christina heard the floor creek as Elizabeth went into the bathroom to shower.

"Boy they get up early in South Carolina," she said to herself and folded up the sheet and went in to make coffee.

It would take a few days to get Christopher Gunman's body released from the coroner's office. Christina's house was busy day and night for those few days as people came to pay their respects to Elizabeth and herself.

Stick stayed close to them and took them anywhere they needed to go.

The only time Stick left Christina alone is when he took Elizabeth Porter to the funeral home to deliver her brother's suit and Christina could not bear to make that trip so Stick told her to stay in the house and keep the doors locked while they were gone and Christina agreed.

Christina hadn't work out for a few days so while Stick and Elizabeth were gone she retreated to her basement and had a nice long workout and she took a lot of her aggression out on her punching bag. Christina had already showered and started to make lunch by the time Stick and Elizabeth returned.

Chris had talked to Mac one or two times over those days but Mac could tell that she needed space and he gave it to her. He spent day and night looking for Tehrani and Samadi and he slept on the couch in his office the few hours a night that he slept. A few times he had picked up the phone to call her only to realize it was the middle of the night.

He wanted to hold her and tell her that he was there for her, but he wasn't really sure how to handle this situation. She has experienced a great loss and he didn't want to overwhelm her. He didn't know whether or not he should be there so he made sure Stick kept him informed of everywhere they went and everything they did. Mac had even called him at three a.m. to check on things the other night.

Christina didn't see Mac again until after the funeral.

Christina sat next to Elizabeth in the front pew just a few feet from the closed coffin of her partner. She held Elizabeth's hand but she didn't remember much of the service. She could have told you that several agents from several agencies said really nice things about Chris and about his partnership with her, but she really wasn't paying attention.

She could tell you that there were two large pictures of Chris in front of the church in lieu of an open coffin. One was him as a teenager in his football uniform and the other was him and Christina standing in front of the White House on the day they had been invited to meet the president.

She could have told you that the heels that she chose to wear were cutting off the circulation in her feet and that she hated pantyhose. Christina Morgan could tell you that this was the unhappiest day of her life. She was consumed with her grief and guilt and just sat and stared at the floor and thought about Chris and the many times he had her back and the times he saved her life.

No one could have had a better friend then he was to her. The last few days she would cry sitting in the shower so she could put on her best game face for Elizabeth. A few times she wanted to just sneak out and run away because she couldn't bear to be in that house any more.

She wanted to flee back to the Middle East where there was no one she cared about. She was tired of hiding and wanted to join the search for Christopher's killers.

But this morning she sat in the front pew just her and Elizabeth, but she knew Mac and his team were in the church somewhere along with Brad Montgomery. She was deep in her own thoughts about Chris when she heard the priest say, "Let us pray."

She didn't even remember how she got to the limo, all she knew is that they were pulling up at the cemetery and Elizabeth was sitting next to her and Mac was sitting across from her along with the Assistant Director and a man she didn't know.

Elizabeth was worried about Christina because she hadn't spoken to anyone but her all day. She just smiled and nodded if someone spoke to her. Elizabeth could see that Christina's hands were shaking and that every few minutes Christina would take a deep breath to try and keep herself under control.

Elizabeth watched Mac watch Chris all the way to the cemetery as they all rode in silence. Elizabeth Porter could see the worry in his eyes and it was apparent to her, if no one else, that he really cared for her and was very worried.

As they left the limo the Assistant Director offered Elizabeth his arm and Mac offered Christina his.

She could feel the electricity between her arm and his and tried to draw as much strength from him as she could as they walked toward the grave site. The closer they got the harder it was for her to breathe and she started to shake. She felt Mac slip his arm around her for support and all she thought for that moment was that she never wanted him to let go.

Christina sat next to the covered hole that would hold her partner and best friend for eternity and watched the agents carefully carry Chris' coffin to the grave site. Stick and Rudy were among them and they looked proud to do the honor for such a wonderful man. She took a few deep breaths to keep from getting sick right then and there.

Christina could feel Mac standing behind her and was trying to draw strength from him. Both of his hands were on the back of her chair and she could feel his fingers against her shoulders. That was the only thing keeping her from running away.

She couldn't cry anymore and she knew she had to pull herself together for just a few minutes so she could make the speech that Elizabeth asked her to make. Her mouth was dry and her eyes hurt from all the crying, but she knew she needed to tell everyone how wonderful Christopher Gunman was.

Elizabeth knew she wouldn't have the strength to speak so she had asked Christina that morning to talk about Chris for her and Christina didn't want to but this wonderful woman had just lost the only family that she had so Christina agreed. Those were the last words that Christina had said that day.

Now she sat behind her large sun glasses with her hair pulled tight against her head and her pulse racing and praying that there was some way she could bring Christopher back to her. That there was some way to say words that were left unspoken and should have been said. But it was too late.

The priest said a prayer and then introduced Christina. She stood right in front of where she had been seated. She was afraid to try and move because her legs were shaking and she was afraid she was going to fall.

Mac reached out and touched her arm from behind her and she felt a little better. Stick was standing across from her with his sunglasses on keeping an eye out for any trouble so she tried to focus on him and not the coffin three feet in front of her.

She took one last long look at the coffin and then took a very deep breath and focused on Stick.

"Chris Gunman was … well he was an extraordinary man and a remarkable partner. And not just for putting up with me for five years."

Everyone laughed and smiled at her.

Stick pushed up his sunglasses so that his eyes met hers so that she would have something to concentrate on because he was afraid she would fall down. He couldn't remember the last time she ate anything and he had overheard her crying in the shower that morning.

"Chris' parents died when he was young and it was just him and his sister Lizzy, as he called her. Elizabeth lives in South Carolina so she was his family in the United States and he told me that I was his family everywhere else in the world. He was…

She started to shake all over and Elizabeth stood up and took her arm and Stick took a step toward her. Elizabeth held onto her very tightly and smiled at her so she would have the energy to continue.

"He was my best friend, he brought me Moose Track ice cream when I twisted my ankle chasing that thug down the alley when he snatched that little old lady's purse," she said and gave a little smile for the memory. "Chris saved my stupid butt many times when I went charging into a situation that I wasn't sure how I was going to get out of, but that I knew had to be done."

Christina pulled a piece of folded paper out of her pocket, "I would like to thank Agent Callie Richardson for getting this information for me." "This is a list that I had printed with Chris' obituary," she paused to catch her breath. "This is a list of every American soldier, Agent or civilian whose life was saved by Christopher Gunman."

"The list is incredibly long so I won't read all the names just the first one, Agent Christina Morgan." "I was always the hot shot, the know it all, the one who had to be better than all the men. I had to make my father proud and all of you who know my father know what a task that is. I always acted as if I had something to prove so I could get out from under the shadow of my father and my god father, but Chris was always there to make sure my head didn't get to big to fit through the door…to make sure I got home safe and I was supposed to do the same…"

That was it she couldn't go on. Her knees gave out and she sat down in her seat and put her head in her hands. Her entire body was trembling and nothing she could do would calm herself down. The tears flowed like a waterfall.

Elizabeth was still standing, "I didn't think I would be able to talk today because of my grief and I asked Christina to talk for me and I will always love her for saying yes. I think it is pretty obvious that my brother was a good man, a good agent and a very good friend. But, I believe that something else needs to be added."

Elizabeth took a breath and wiped her eyes with her tissue, "My baby brother was murdered by a mad man who wanted to stop him from doing his job which was protecting this country. My brother loved his job and he loved his partner and would have done anything for her. He would write me every week no matter where he was, sometimes he couldn't mail the letters until he got back to the states but one thing I know one hundred percent is that Chris would have done anything to protect his country and the people he loved, he loved his job and would go to the ends of the Earth to succeed in whatever needed to be done." Elizabeth took a breath, "My point is no one but that mad man is responsible for Chris' death. No one could have saved him that day."

Christina looked up at Elizabeth with tears flowing down her face.

"Christina, you need to know there was nothing you could have done. If you would have been on that plane or in that car then both of you would be gone and I can tell you that Christopher would have given his life for you but he would also want you to go on and celebrate his life and not blame yourself for this."

Elizabeth sat down next to Christina and hugged her as the priest said a closing prayer and the people started to return to their cars.

The Assistant Director led Elizabeth back to the limo and then joined Mac standing next to a tree about half way between the limo and the grave site.

"I'm putting her on administrative leave for a while," Brad said to Mac.

"She'll be ok."

"Are you sure, guilt can be a person's worst enemy?" Brad said leaning against the tree. "Was there something more than work between the two of them?"

"I don't think so," Mac said honestly. "But you know how it is when you count on someone to have your back day in and day out for years."

"She has always been a tough cookie and first rate agent, remember the Indiago smuggling case?" Brad asked him smiling just thinking about it.

"Yeah, she doesn't take no for an answer," Mac said smiling to himself because he knew that was the day he fell in love with her. He was amazed how stubborn she was and how she stuck to her guns no matter what anyone thought. She saved people's lives that day because she wouldn't let anyone deter her from what she knew was true. Mac wouldn't admit it to himself before right now, but now he knew he had feelings for her even back then.

"Brad, go ahead with Ms. Porter and take the body guard. I'll get Christina home. I can't imagine she's up to going to the wake."

"You want me to send a car for the two of you?"

"No, we'll be alright," Mac said knowing it was going to take a lot to get her to say goodbye.

As Mac watched the limo pull out he could see his team standing next to the vehicles they had driven to the service. He looked over to check on Christina and she appeared to be talking to the coffin so he headed toward his team.

"You guys go and represent us," he said to them.

"If you need anything Mac or if she does please call," Jen said as she turned to get into her car with her wife of ten years, Natalie.

As Jen drove passed Stick commented, "Boy Natalie is looking good, I don't get why two smoking hot women would rather be with each other than a man."

"Not today Stick," Callie said as she headed to her car.

"You wouldn't have a shot in hell any way dude, they have three Master's degrees between the two of them, not to mention your butt ugly!" Rudy said pushing past him.

Stick took his car keys from his suit jacket pocket and threw them to Mac, "I'll ride with A.B., try not to do more than a hundred and five on the beltway she needs an oil change."

"Will do," Mac said and turned to head back to Christina.

"Ride with me? How the hell did I get the short straw? I didn't say you wouldn't have a chance with Jen if you were the last man in the universe and she was out of batteries. I thought it but I didn't say it," A.B. said running toward the car as Stick tried to kick him.

Mac waved to his team and then slowly walked back to the grave site and sat down next to her.

"I don't want to go to the wake," she said without looking away from the coffin.

"Didn't think you did."

"I'm going to get that bastard."

"I know you will."

She looked up and into his beautiful blue eyes, "Are you going to agree with everything I say?"

"Is that what you want?" Mac asked with a sly smile and he gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Maybe just today."

"You got it."

"They're going to make me take leave aren't they?"

"Yeah, for a little while," he said taking her hand.

"You want to run away?"

"With you?" he said kidding with her.

"Yes with me. I just need to regroup and get my act together."

"I don't know, I will have to see if I have any vacation time saved up," he said and then opened his cell phone and pretended to listen to someone on the other end and then hung up the phone. "It turns out that I have about twenty-two weeks' vacation, where would you like to go?"

She was amazed it was that easy, "You are just going to drop everything and run away with me?"

"Well running away without you wouldn't be nearly as much fun."

Then there it was. He made her smile. His mission for the minute was complete.

"When would you like to go?" he asked standing up and offering her his hand.

"I have to help Elizabeth pack up Chris' house so that will take at least a week and then…

He cut her off short, "I have some really good friends who are really, really good at packing and hauling and I'm sure they would love to help her, how about let's see today is Saturday, how about Wednesday?" She jumped into his arms and gave him a big hug. "May I tell you something?" Mac whispered in her ear.

She leaned back and looked into his eyes, "Anything Mr. McIntyre"

"I missed you so much this week, now that I have slept next to you I don't want to sleep without you ever again," he said touching her hair.

She gave him another hug for saying exactly what she needed to hear. She was still hugging him when he said, "Would you like to drive Stick's mustang, he said we couldn't go over a hundred but I bet that was just a suggestion."

Chris started to laugh, "I'll be there in a minute."

He headed toward the car and she took a dove from one of the flower arrangements and placed it in her pocket and then took a rose and placed it on top of the coffin, "Hey partner, don't you worry I'll make sure Lizzy has everything she needs." "I love you Chris and I will get revenge for you if it the last thing I do," she said then kissed her finger tips and placed them on the coffin.

Chapter Five

They had just arrived at Mac's house and Chris was still behind the wheel of Stick's mustang when her phone rang.

"Yes," she said as she always did with a number she didn't recognize so she didn't give herself away as a government agent.

"Christina, its Ryan Laird and I wanted to check and see if you had heard from Ian. His group was doing surveillance in Yemen, he got separated from them and hasn't been heard from since. If he were able to contact someone through back channels I thought it would be you."

"No Ryan I haven't, how long has he been off the grid?"

"He missed his call in just short of twenty hours ago."

"Where was he last seen?"

"Is this line secure?"

"You won't find a more secure line in the states," she said sliding on her ear piece and shutting the car door.

"He was in Yemen doing recon on a camp ran by Sameer Az-Zubana and we haven't been able to reach him."

"Ryan you have to go in and get him, Az-Zubana will not hesitate to kill him and put his dead body on television," she said motioning Mac to go ahead and unlock the front door. "Do you have a crew equipped to go into Yemen?"

"We do."

"Where are they leaving from and when?" she said as she walked into Mac's living room and picked her keys up from under the edge of his sofa.

"The problem with that is we are meeting resistance, they want to wait and give him more time to contact us so we don't tip our hand to Az-Zubana."

"What!" Chris yelled shaking her head. "Ryan are you good on the number you are calling me from?"

"Yes."

"I'll be in touch."

"Thanks Chris, I knew I could count on you. By the way, the team is Jerome Donovan's team and they will be detouring from their mission to Iraq and leaving out of Quantico for Yemen instead when we get the green light."

"Ok."

She hung up the phone just long enough to disconnect the call and then made another call immediately. Mac leaned against the wall and watched her work. She used the ear device to make the call and simultaneously pulled up the computer on the phone and accessed the records of Agent Ian Dent and all the information they had on Az-Zubana. She was very determined and he stayed out of her way. She was in her element and knew exactly how to get what she wanted.

"Carol, it's Christina Morgan may I please speak to the General?" Mac heard her say. "Yes, it has been a long time and I've been meaning to stop by and see how you're doing."

Mac could only hear her side of the conversation but as she went she made notes into her phone and when it didn't move fast enough for her she would let out a sigh, shake her head and then try again.

He walked into the kitchen to open a bottle of beer but he could still hear part of her conversation.

"Twenty hours, he missed his call in by twenty hours. Do you want to see his body on CNN? That would do wonders for your covert ops!" she said pacing back and forth in his living room. She listened for a minute and then said, "Yes, I'm planning on going, Ian is my friend and I have contacts on that side of the world and you need to trust me. I'm not a Barbie Doll. I'm a highly qualified special agent who defends this country!...What are you talking about? Do you even know!" Chris took a deep breath, "Yes that is true, yes it is. Yes I did just return from burying my partner. Do you want me to bury Ian Dent as well?"

Mac pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table watching Christina yell into her phone. Her arms flew around even more when she was angry and Mac thought it was very cute.

"Jerome Donovan out of Quantico and they are ready to leave and that isn't counting the time from here to there. Could you this one time get off your bureaucratic ass and let me do this?"

She ranted and raved long enough for Mac to down his beer and then he went back into the living room just as she was hanging up the phone.

"Going on a trip?" he asked her very worried that she was planning on going anywhere.

"My friend is missing in Yemen and they don't want to go after him. If he wasn't in danger he would have contacted me or someone else."

"I see," Mac said not trying to hide his worry about her.

"I have to do this. My mental breakdown has to be put on hold and so does my leave."

"You have to have his back?" Mac said and he knew it was wrong when it came out.

Christina got true anger on her face. She shook her head in disbelief and then turned and walked out the front door.

She started to walk to her house so she could get to Quantico and then to Yemen. She got about half a block when Mac pulled up in Stick's car and pulled over to the curb.

He got out of the car and stood in her path on the sidewalk. As she attempted to pass he held out his arm to stop her.

"I'm a complete brainless ass," he said genuinely as he looked into her eyes. She stopped and looked at him but didn't respond. "I would say I'm sorry but that wouldn't be enough. I reacted out of fear for you and stuck my foot in my mouth," he said wanting to pull her into his arms.

"You can make it up to me when I get back because I only have a short reprieve from my mandatory vacation and next time you might want to duck because I won't be walking away," she said and she got in the car so he could drop her off at her house.

Mac had no doubt right that minute she could have kicked his ass.

She jumped out of the car and jumped into hers without saying a word and sped off to Quantico. She had her ready bag in the trunk but she didn't have time to get her specialized weapons from storage.

Christina had to call agent Donovan and have him prepare a bag for her but first she sent a text message to Mac, "Thanks for today, Love C."

"Jerome," she said as Agent Donovan answered his phone.

The plane was ready to leave by the time she reached Quantico. They jumped in their trucks and headed to the plane. Chris knew there would be plenty of time for introductions and pleasantries on the long flight to Yemen. It had been a while since she had crossed paths with Jerome Donovan and he was looking pretty sharp with his new buzz cut.

Donovan introduced her to his team for this mission, but she spent most of the trip looking at files and trying to find out as much as she could about the area and Az-Zubana. She read through all the statements from the men working with Dent and their time line from arrival until his disappearance.

Chris remembered the day she first met Ian Dent. Her father had tried to fix them up because Ian's father had been friends with her father for forty years and both their children happen to be single at the same time. Her father had invited her out to lunch which was unusual in itself and Christina was too curious to see what he wanted to turn him down besides she had already been busy the last six times he had asked her.

Her father was not subtle about what a wonderful couple they would make and he excused himself early from the lunch and left the two of them alone together.

To their surprise they had a lot in common and they did end up going on a few dates, but they both traveled all the time and they ended up exchanging emails and phone calls but never really had the time to get anything started.

She and Ian kept in touch by email and sent pictures back and forth and she considered Ian a friend. She knew one thing she liked Ian Dent a hell of a lot more then she liked her father.

Ian and Christina had spent three days together camping in the woods just because one day they were both really bored and wanted to do something different. So they found a spot by a breathtaking lake and fished and cooked over an open fire for a long weekend just to test and see if the chemistry was there.

And they found out exactly what they already knew. They had good chemistry and they liked being friends, but they knew they would never see each other and Ian didn't want to hurt Chris so they slept in the same tent in separate sleeping bags but they still had the time of their lives.

"What the hell is that stupid thing?" Butch Trainer asked Bravo Krebs.

"It's an electronic prairie dog of sorts. He has thermal censors and a built in explosive charge."

"It looks like a dam hedgehog," Butch said.

"His name is Ercaa, Electronic Remote Control Animal Active and he is supposed to look like a desert animal," Krebs said testing the machines legs and camera.

"I think you should just call him Sonic because he looks like a dam hedgehog."

"Are we ready gentlemen?" Agent Donovan asked his crew. "Agent Atler's men have been recalled so it is up to us to return Ian Dent to them. Agent Morgan, can you share with us what you know about Sameer Az-Zubana?"

"The first thing is that he does not employ any women so I'm probably your biggest liability here. If he sees anything out of the ordinary he will shoot first and ask questions … well never. He is a known gun runner and assassin but recently he has been off the grid and working on some sort of secret project and Agent Dent's team was here to see if the rumors were true."

"What are we looking for?" Butch said.

"We are only looking for Ian Dent. To bring him home safe and the rest of it is someone else's problem."

Christina continued to tell them everything she had learned about Az-Zubana on the way there.

"You don't know why they were here do you?" Jerome asked her as they loaded up the truck.

"Nope, they wouldn't tell me but at this point I don't really care. Ian is out there somewhere and we will find him and get him back safely and then he'll tell me," she said with a smirk.

"Friend huh, would you come half way around the world for me?" Jerome asked.

"Well I might go as far as Paris and of course I would definitely go to Hawaii but…"

"Ok smart ass," he said with a smile as they finished loading up the truck.

"Can I drive?"

"Hell no I've seen you drive and no one carries that much insurance," he said climbing behind the wheel of the truck and motioning out the window for his men to follow.

Jerome Donovan talked a lot on the trip to the camp, but Chris was only half listening. He was going on and on about some of the adventures he had recently and how much fun she would have been if she had been there. He was trying to engage her in conversation because he was ready to make his move and let her know that he wanted to be more than just a source for her.

Chris wasn't really listening to Jerome as he prattled on. He didn't bring up Chris' name, he knew better. But he did take every opportunity to smile at her and wink in his 'I think you're awesome run away with me' way.

They stopped about three miles from where they estimated Az-Zubana's camp to be and loaded up their packs. Satellite imagery was still reporting no sign of Agent Dent but the crew was still determined to find him. There was something causing satellite interference in the area. There was a fuzzy spot over the camp and the surrounding area.

They made good time and about half a click outside the camp they released Ercaa to do some recon.

Krebs watched the monitor while Ercaa moved its way through the camp with his sensors and microphones on high. He sent back video of the north end of the camp, but no sign of Dent or what Dent might have been looking for.

"Krebs, show me the sign on that truck," Christina said.

Ercaa moved his head and Christina read the truck, "What the hell?" "The truck contains Polonium," she said looking very confused.

"Polonium?" Jerome asked.

"Polonium is an unstable radioactive element that vaporizes at room temperature. Which is why they are keeping it in the truck. It has been used to power thermoelectric cells in artificial satellites but I can't imagine what Az-Zubana would need it for. It's very rare and it is very scary that he has an entire tanker truck full of it."

"So you're saying it would benefit everyone if he didn't have an entire tanker full of it?" Donovan asked her checking to make sure his weapon was loaded.

Before she could answer Tyler and Tanner returned from their recon.

"Sir, we have spotted two snipers keeping watch on the camp," Tyler said. "We will have to take them out in order to rescue Dent if we find him."

Donovan and Morgan worked out a plan for two men to hit the snipers simultaneously while they infiltrated the camp and set charges to blow up the polonium and anything else that might be stored there.

"Agent Morgan!" Christina heard Krebs call.

"What is it?" she asked as she came running.

"Ercaa found something," he said pointing to the screen.

It was hard to make out but it looks like hidden in the bushes just behind the large tent was a desert pack.

"Could that belong to Dent?" she asked him.

"I think it could," Krebs told her.

"So he has been there," Donovan said looking at the monitor. "But where is he now?"

They had decided to wait until dusk so Chris and Jerome sat under a small camouflaged tent they had prepared and waited.

"You look good," Jerome said to her out of the blue. Chris looked at him with a sideways glance as if he had said she smelled like rotten eggs. "Soorreeee Miss I was just trying to pay you a complement," he said smiling at her funny face.

"You heard?" she asked him.

"I did Chris and I'm so sorry," Jerome said touching the tips of her fingers with his.

"Thanks for not bringing it up," she said smiling at him.

"How's pops?"

"Oh so you want to go there?" she said punching him in the arm for bringing up her father.

Jerome decided he would hold off on talking to Chris about anything but finding Ian Dent because she was very vulnerable right now and he didn't want anything to ruin their friendship.

They waited for dusk to make their move. Tanner and Tyler were in position to take out their snipers all they were waiting for was two clicks on their radio. Donovan would be pulling in the button on his radio twice to make a clicking noise and everyone would know that would be the minute to go.

Donovan was going to take out any guards who attempted to approach the polonium truck while Trainer would set the explosives and Christina would look for Dent.

Ercaa went into the largest tent and Chris made her way to the edge of the camp. She crawled on her belly down behind the tanker where they had seen Dent's desert bag. The sand burned her hands, but she kept moving.

They were just waiting for Donovan's signal.

And then there is was, she had to assume that the guys had taken out the snipers so she headed toward the truck. As she approached the truck she saw underneath it an area where the sand was moved aside and it looked like a plank of wood. The large tire was sitting on top of it so she couldn't move it. She silently slid up into the driver's seat of the tanker and started to hot wire the truck.

She knew as soon as the truck kicked over men would come running from everywhere. After a minute she heard the motor kick over and Trainer set off an explosion on the far side of the camp to try and draw the men guarding the area.

"What were you looking for Ian?" she said to herself as the sand was creeping into places where she would rather not have sand.

Chris had a thought and she threw the tanker into drive, placed her foot hard on the gas until the truck started moving and then she jumped out. The tanker drove into the tent and she hit the ground hard. From that angle she could see more of the hidden door that was under the truck.

She could hear Donovan yelling into his radio for her to get out of there because he knew the truck would explode with the other charges they had set, but Chris was not about to leave without Ian Dent.

There was a rope and she took hold of it and pulled it with everything she had. A large piece of wood hidden mostly under the sand slid off a hidden hole in the ground. In this hole, trapped under the weight of the truck and unable to push the hidden top off the hole himself was Ian Dent. His sandy hair was drenched with sweat and his muscular body was limp. He looked dead but Christina slid into the hole and took his pulse. It was very weak and he looked severely dehydrated but he was still alive. The temperature in that hole was over a hundred and thirty degrees.

There was gun fire and explosions all around her and Chris knew she had to get Ian and get him out of there before the polonium exploded and she was running out of time.

"Ian," she said shaking him. "Ian, open your dam eyes!" she said yelling at him.

Ian Dent started to move and he opened his eyes and saw the big blue eyes of an angel. As she started to attempt to lift him he passed out again.

"Dam you Ian you might have nine percent body fat but I still can't lift your ass by myself. She took the water bottle that was strapped to her leg and poured it over Ian Dent's head and he came to long enough to help her lift his body weight out of the hole. He could barely stand, but he climbed out of the hole onto the sand in front of the large tent and then passed out again.

Chris grabbed him under his arms and attempted to drag him to safety. What she didn't know was that there were not two snipers but three guarding the camp and he had taken site on her heart and prepared to squeeze the trigger.

When the polonium truck was moved it moved the interference they had been having and the satellite was able to pick up the third sniper and Donovan struck him down, but it was too late he got off one shot as Donovan blew his head right off his shoulders.

The bullet missed Christina Morgan's heart and Ian Dent's head by inches. The bullet tore through Christina's shoulder missing her heart by two inches. She fell to the ground taking Ian Dent with her.

Before she blacked out she felt arms picking her up and then she heard a large explosion.

Chapter Six

The next time Christina Morgan woke up she was on a plane back to the United States. She was laying on a table hooked to intravenous fluids and a heart monitor. She had slept through the surgery that removed the bullet from her shoulder and repaired it the best they could. Jerome had insisted that she be able to return to the states with the team and that she would get the care she needed back home. He was taking a risk but Christina was stable and tough and he had faith that she would be ok.

Across from her on another table connected to fluids was Ian Dent. He was asleep but alive. Chris could see that he had normal sinus rhythm on his heart monitor. He looked very pale, but he would be taken care of when they returned to the states also. Jerome Donovan took his 'no man left behind' very seriously.

Chris was very drowsy and watching Ian's heart monitor when she heard someone walking up to her.

"Hey you," she heard Jerome Donovan say as he touched her hand. "Go back to sleep, the bullet hit your scapula and stopped. The doctors say something slowed it down enough not to splinter your scapula into a thousand pieces. They removed the bullet and they say you will hurt like hell for a while but they don't think any permanent damage was done. I had to call your dad so they would let you come home with me, but he worked his magic as he usually does. We will be back home in a few hours. You should be stable until then. You did a great job Chris, you saved his life."

Donovan continued to say something but Christina had fallen back asleep.

The next thing that she remembered was waking up in a hospital bed with Ian sitting in a wheel chair next to her bed. He was hooked to an I.V. hanging from a pole above his head. She had no idea how long she had been asleep or how long it had been since she sustained her injury. Everything was a chemically induced haze.

"Good Morning Sherlock," he said to her as she opened her eyes. His bright smile and large blue eyes looked much brighter than the last time she had seen him.

"Where are we?" she asked trying to move her arm but it was wrapped tightly against her.

"Home thanks to you," he said smiling and touching the side of her leg. "I owe my life to you Sherlock," he said smiling at her.

"You don't owe me anything Ian, you needed help and I came to help you, it's my job," she said with a half-smile with a little hoarseness in her throat where a breathing tube had been.

"Agent Morgan, it's time for your pain medicine," the nurse said as she came in the door holding a syringe.

"You want me to go Sherlock?" he asked unlocking the wheels on his chair.

"No please stay," she said licking her lips to dry and moisten them.

"Sherlock, that's an interesting nickname," the nurse said checking Christina's bracelet against the syringe before she prepared to inject the medicine into Christina's I.V. tubing.

"Yes I gave it to her a few years back, this woman could find Jimmy Hoffa if she put her mind to it," Ian said looking proud of his friend. "If you told her you were looking for a six foot tall bald man in Iran wearing a Rolex watch with twenty cents in his pocket she would have him by the end of the day."

Christina just closed her eyes, shook her head and smiled in the faith her friend had in her.

"Agent Dent, just remember what I said, you shouldn't be out of bed at all and if you weren't so persuasive you wouldn't be so don't stay more than a few minutes."

"Agent Morgan, you are going to feel a little light headed for a minute or two and then it will pass," the nurse said as she injected the pain medicine. "The doctor will be in to answer any questions that you have soon but I can tell you that the bullet remarkably went out of its way just to make it very painful for you but there shouldn't be any permanent damage."

"Thank you," Christina said as the nurse collected her things and turned to leave.

"You are very welcome, my name is Audra and if you need anything push the button that is pinned to the bed there and let me know," she said leaving the room.

"So, what happened?" Chris said trying to fill in the blanks.

"Apparently there was another sniper on the hilltop that was missed."

"No not with me... what happened with you, why were you there?"

"My team was checking on some information that we had been provided on Az-Zubana and I got separated from them and before I could be captured I found that hole and figured it would be as good a place as any to hide for a little while until I could sneak out of camp."

"And then some wonderful thug parked a truck on top of you."

"Well yes, and my pack was still behind the bushes so I could crawl lower to the ground so all I had was a knife, a snickers bar and a condom."

Christina didn't even look surprised.

"What were you looking for?"

"We had reports that Az-Zubana was genetically altering synthetic enhancements to his operatives."

Christina looked a little baffled, "You mean super soldiers?"

"I would say super terrorists, but I didn't find anything at the sight. He must have a laboratory somewhere near there."

"That explains the polonium It's very unstable so he wouldn't keep it near his lab. Did you find anything else?"

"That a knife and a condom don't really help when you are trapped under a four ton truck carrying highly unstable, radioactive polonium," he said with a smile. Unfortunately some of the polonium had already been removed from the truck so even though we destroyed it he might have enough to start whatever he needed it for.

She shook her head, she was happy they had saved Ian but they should have been able to stop Az-Zubana also.

His face got serious and he squeezed her hand, "I owe you my life Sherlock."

"No you don't. Donovan and his men were ready to come after you and Ryan Laird was pushing all the buttons he could to get permission. They didn't need my help and besides if you owe anything your life it was the Ercaa because the polonium was keeping the satellites from being able to find you and it caused the explosion to cover our escape."

He ignored her attempt at modesty, "That bullet was meant for my head and you took it…"

"Actually, I think the bullet was meant for her heart, either way the sniper missed both by inches, the two of you were very reckless," General Robert Christopher Morgan said standing in the doorway of his daughters hospital room.

"Hi Daddy," she said with an exhausted, sarcastic smirk as she rubbed her temples with her good hand.

"I let you do this crazy thing. I pull strings to keep you off of medical leave and let you get on that dam plane and you come back with a bullet that just barely missed your heart Christina!" he said to her in a tone only a father could use.

"Daddy, you remember Ian Dent, son of your old friend, the man whose life you saved by letting me go there. Ian you remember…"

"General Morgan Sir," Ian said trying to stand up and salute the General.

The General held up his hand to let him know to stay in the wheel chair.

"I'm glad that you have been brought home safe my son," he said walking over and shaking Ian's hand.

Ian unlocked the wheels on his chair again and turned to leave, "Sherlock, I'll be back to check on you in a little while."

"Thanks Ian," she said smiling at her friend and she was so relieved that he was safe but now she had to deal with daddy.

"Christina Ellora Morgan," he said to her as he pulled up the chair next to her bed. "Do you know how scared I was when I got that call saying you had been shot in the chest?"

"I was shot in the shoulder Daddy."

"He missed your heart by inches," he said as his face turned from angry General to worried father.

"Daddy I'm right here and I'm fine," she said reaching her right hand over and touching his hand.

"Christina, you have always been a wild and angry child who has always taken risks that she shouldn't but…"

"Daddy, I'm a government agent and it is my job to stop people who would harm innocent people whether they are American or not and you know that because you are in charge of the C.D.A. and I know you read my mission reports." "I'm not your little girl any more in my pony tails and I have a job to do and I do it well. I want you to be proud of me, but if you aren't well that is just your problem," she said stirring in the bed and trying to turn away from him.

"Christina, since Agent Gunman's death you…"

"Daddy, I really need to rest. A bullet just barely missed my heart and the nurse gave me happy-happy pain medicine so can we take this up at another time?" she said closing her eyes and pulling her blanket up around her.

The General stood up and looked down at his injured daughter and his heart was very heavy because he had pulled strings to have her put into harm's way. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and that he was proud of her but he was just as stubborn as she so he quietly walked out the door.

Christina let the medicine kick in and she went quietly to sleep.

When she woke up the curtains were open and sun was pouring into her room. Mac was sitting in a chair next to her bed watching her sleep. He smiled when she opened her eyes.

"Hey, are you aware that you are not Superman? Bullets do not bounce off of you," he said lightly stroking her good arm.

"It hurts."

"I bet it does, the doctor has been in a few times but said he wasn't going to wake you."

"I had a nightmare that my father was here."

"Not a nightmare, he actually was last night and he isn't a happy camper," Mac said stroking her hand and happy to be able to touch her again.

"He'll get over it."

"I hear you saved his life," Mac said to her.

"Who?" she said a little confused, "Oh Ian, I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done."

Mac got a very serious look on his face, "Hey Supergirl, I would like you to come and stay with me until you have recuperated."

Mac was prepared for an argument and he had plenty of time to come with pro arguments while he waited for her to have surgery and then the air plane ride back to the states and then the time he waited for her to wake up.

But to his surprise there was no argument all she said was, "Ok." Chris rested her eyes for a minute and then she asked, "How's Ian?"

"He is suffering from severe dehydration. They are worried about his kidneys and his blood pressure. He will have to stay in the hospital a few days and have more tests run and his pride is hurt because he had to be rescued by a girl," Mac said with a sarcastic tone. Mac continued as he looked deep into her eyes, "They say a few more hours and they wouldn't have been able to save him. He was already having hallucinations and delirium and they said he was very close to death. If you wouldn't have forced the issue, no one could have gotten there in time. He owes his life to you."

"What about the polonium?"

"Polonium?" Mac repeated having been a little too busy to read a mission reports that may have been filed.

"Was the camp destroyed?"

"As far as we know everything in the camp was destroyed."

Just then the doctor came in and Mac stepped outside so the doctor could look at her injury and answer all her questions.

Christina had to remain in the hospital for a few days so they could make sure she didn't have an infection from her operation in the Middle East. She slept most of the time and if Mac wasn't there with her then Stick was keeping an eye on her.

Her father called twice a day to check on her but amazingly enough she was always sleeping when he called and she couldn't talk to him. The nurses gave him updates on her condition and that was good enough for him for right now.

Mac was in the middle of a hostage situation when Christina was released from the hospital but Stick was going to continue to be her body guard.

He picked her up at the hospital and took her to fill her prescriptions and then took her to Mac's house. Stick didn't say a word about her staying at Mac's house and she was glad about that because she was going to tell him the truth if he asked.

He opened the car door for Chris and handed her the key to the house while he got her things from his trunk.

When Chris reached the porch she noticed the front door was unlocked and Christina pulled her weapon with her good arm and slowly pushed open the front door with the front of her shoe. Stick was still getting her things from the trunk and she didn't bother to notify him.

She tapped the door with her toe and let it quietly and slowly open. She walked into the house just as a red headed women in blue jeans and a white top came walking in from the kitchen. The woman was startled to see someone pointing a gun at her and she dropped the bottle of beer she had in her hand.

In a stern but quiet voice Christina said, "Put your hands on your head. I'm C.D.A., are you alone? Who are you? What are you doing in here?"

Christina was firing so many questions at the woman she didn't have time to answer any of them.

The woman did put her hands on her head and after she had a chance to catch her breath she started to say, "This house belongs to…"

"Sharon?" Stick said as he entered the door.

Christina didn't move her gun but turned her head toward him with a very confused look, "Sharon?"

As Stick put down Christina's things he said, "Yes, Sharon McIntyre."

"Can I put my hands down?" she asked without moving.

"Yes, Mrs. McIntyre I'm truly sorry, the door was unlocked and I don't know you," Chris said putting her gun back into its holster.

"Exactly why are you carrying a gun and sneaking into my husband's house?" she said sitting down on the couch.

"Ex-husbands house," Stick corrected bringing Sharon McIntyre a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Sharon, Agent Morgan is staying here while she recuperates from being injured in the line of duty," Stick said trying to keep some questions unanswered.

Sharon turned toward Chris, "Where is my husband? I need to talk to him."

"He's on assignment, is there something we can do for you?" Chris asked her.

Sharon McIntyre had been around government agents all her life and she knew how things worked. She knew Mac wouldn't take a call from her but she would bet a lot of money that he would take a call from Agent Morgan.

"Will you call him and let him know I need to speak to him as soon as possible?" she asked Christina with a look of genuine worry on her face.

"Of course," she said pulling out her phone with her one good arm and activating her ear piece.

Christina and Stick walked out onto the front porch as she dialed the phone leaning it against her sling so she wouldn't drop it.

Stick could only hear Christina's end of the conversation.

"Mac… yes we got here just fine…"

Stick could tell that Mac was asking her questions and she couldn't get in the reason she was calling.

"Mac…Sharon is here." There was a pause as Mac wondered if he had just answered the one of the fifteen calls he had received from his ex-wife today, would it have spared Christina from having to find her in his house. "She says that she needs to talk to you and she seems really upset."

"Tell her I'll call her tonight when I'm finished working," Mac said and Christina could hear something in his voice but she couldn't tell if it was anger or frustration.

She didn't want to upset him further but she could tell that Sharon McIntyre was extremely upset, "Mac, would it be ok if she waited here for you?"

Stick gave Christina a half smile somewhere between 'you are a good person letting her stay here' and 'oh my God you didn't just ask him that!'

He went inside to give them a moment of privacy on the phone.

"Chris I have to go. I'm sorry and I'll see the two of you this evening," Mac said as he was being called over because they had finally received the blue prints to the house where the hostage standoff was taking place.

"Mac, thank you."

"I have to go and I'm sorry you have to deal with this," he said as he hung up the phone.

Chris knew he was upset, but not at her for asking if Sharon could stay but at Sharon for barging in to his home and causing this situation. Except for being a little embarrassed that she drew a gun on the Ex-Mrs. McIntyre she really didn't care. Mac cared for her and she knew it and she knew Mac was happy that she was going to recuperate where he could take care of her and that is all that mattered right now.

She stepped back inside and listened as Sharon explained to Stick what had happened.

After a few minutes Christina went into the kitchen to get some water so she could take her pain medicine but she could still hear the conversation going on in the living room just a few feet away.

Apparently the man Sharon had been seeing, Major Carl Treap had been arrested for the murder of a fellow soldier. Evidence had been found at the scene and at the major's apartment proving that he was guilty of stealing government issue weapons and they thought Carl had gotten greedy and killed his partner in crime.

Sharon said that her and Carl had spent the night in Ocean City walking on the boardwalk and that there was no way he did it. She was positive that he was being framed by the real thieves. Sharon hadn't been allowed to see or talk to him since he was arrested by the military police and tried several times to reach Mac to see if he could get her into to see him.

Sharon started crying and Chris felt bad for her. Stick tried to make Sharon feel better but there wasn't much he could do either. It seemed to make Sharon calm down a little just to have someone listen to her.

Chris walked out on the back porch and hit her speed dial.

"Your problem is my problem and I have a money back guarantee, what's up Christina and aren't you supposed to be resting or something?" Callie said laughing on the other end of the phone.

"I'm resting, not doing marathons or anything."

"What can I do you out of boss lady?"

"Not your boss Callie, but I do need a little information. Do you think your magic fingers could find where a military prisoner is being held?"

"Minimum or maximum security because maximum will take me three extra seconds?" she asked and Christina could hear Callie's fingers clicking away.

"I need you to find Major Carl Treap and he's being held for murder."

Chris could hear Callie clicking away and talking to herself.

"Chris, he's being held at Fort Meade awaiting transfer."

"Does he have a JAG lawyer listed?"

"No."

"Thanks darling I owe you one," Christina said as she hung up the phone.

Then she immediately dialed her friend Joseph Tike at the JAG office at Fort Meade.

"JAG Commander Tike speaking," Joe said as he answered the phone.

"Joe, Christina Morgan," she said trying to sound professional.

"Agent Morgan, Laura and I really liked that crate of oranges you had shipped to us from Florida."

"You know I like to remind my friends that I'm out here and that I appreciate their assistance."

"I knew this car salesmen a few years back and at the beginning of every month he would send out birthday cards to anyone who had a birthday in that month who had ever bought a car from him."

"That sounds like a good thing to do."

"Well I imagine at the beginning of each month you sitting down with a calendar and figure out who you haven't reached out to in a while and want to remind them that you are still out there and that you still appreciate their assistance," he said with a giggle.

If only Commander Tike knew how close that was to the truth, "Joe I need a favor."