“Day two,” he continued. “Day two? You mean they get a day two? I don’t think I got a day two for my birthday trip to Detroit. Some people have all the—” Seeing looks of disapproval from Jackie, Maddie, Cee, and Kusa, Sam trudged onward. “On day two you will go to the colorful district known as La Boca. LA BOCA!!!” he repeated loudly, with emphasis. He lifted one arm above his head and snapped his fingers. He did a couple samba moves, then noticing the women again, he lowered his arm.

“La Boca is a colorful barrio…and oh, my gosh…IS IT!!!” he said looking up at the screen. “Think Ed Lanning in the condo office would mind if we all painted our condos like—”



Catching death looks from the ladies, he buried his head in the script again. “La Boca is known for its colorful art galleries and street musicians.”




“Next, you’re going to a cemetery. You heard me right, folks, your next stop is La Recoleta Cemetery located in…where else? Recoleta. It was designed by French engineer Próspero Catelin. I think he tried to sell me a used car once. Anyway, the cemetery includes many elaborate marble mausoleums decorated with statues, belonging to several Argentinian presidents, scientists, wealthy guys, and probably the most well-known individual, Eva Perón…Evita, of course.”



“You will also tour the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Recoleta, which is now a museum…”




Sam paused a second and looked up, rolling his eyes. “Oh, you’ll like this, Barry. Shopping. All afternoon.”

“Sam…” Kusa warned, while the crowd laughed.

“And it’s in Florida,” Sam continued. “Calle Florida, that is. It’s the central shopping peatonal…pe-a-to-nal????” Sam curled his lip at the word. Ric called out the correct pronounciation while everyone laughed at Sam’s attempt. “Okay,” he said, “well, it’s a pedestrian street, so you don’t have to worry about dropping any bags and having crazy drivers run over your purchases, Phi.”



“Good to know, Sam,” she grinned.

“You’re gonna eat lunch there, you guys…and guess what? You get to choose the place. Maybe they have a McDonald’s, Barry. I know how you like to scarf those Big Macs when Phi’s not looking.” He chuckled, then his eyebrows shot up, realizing his blunder. He looked over to find a panicked Barry attempting to reassure an inquiring Phi.

“Okay, well…after an afternoon of shopping, you are going to do the city at night.” He scratched his head. “Do the city? Okay, whatever. You will see the Planetarium Galileo Galilei…the National Cabildo, which is, yes, another museum…and the National Congress building…”



“You will also drive to the Puerto Maderos district and cross the beautiful and unique 335-foot suspension bridge, Puente de la Mujer…the Woman’s Bridge…on foot.” Sam looked up at Barry. “Guess that leaves you out, Bar, old buddy. It’s a woman’s bridge.”



The agents cheered and Sam gave them an appreciative glance. “Oh, wait…you’ll like this, Phi and Barry…it says the bridge abstractly illustrates a man and woman dancing the tango, the man towering over the woman, who is leaning back horizontally. Hey, just how I like my wom—”

Sam took one look at the daggers coming out of Kusa’s eyes and stopped cold. “Okay, well from there you’ll be going to the upscale Casa Cruz Supper Club in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires. Polished brass doors, the whole schmeil…”




"Then, back through the city to your hotel in San Telmo..."

“Day three…back to Puerto Maderos and see the Woman’s Bridge again in daylight. Then, Avenida Santa Fe. Lots of shopping, lots of restaurants, so have lunch there…”




“Then, Plaza San Martin for more strolling. Trees, trees, and more trees. And a statue. Yes, the statue is General José de San Martín, who helped to bring independence to Argentina in the Revolution of 1810."



“That evening, get ready to…you guessed it…TANGO! Dinner and a show at the Esquina Carlos Gardel Club, which brings to its guests…are you ready for this?…a revival of tango’s sophistication, sensuality, and style of the Golden Decade of Buenos Aires. I hope you both know what that means, because I wouldn’t know the Golden Decade from the silver one…” he shrugged.



“It was the 1940’s,” Jackie spoke up. “After World War II, there was a boom in music, dance, and the arts all over the city. Recently, that era has been revitalized by opening the tango clubs again and the cultural movement is regaining popularity.”

“Jackie,” Phi spoke up, “all of this is awesome! Thank you so much for doing research on all these places. I can hardly wait to see all of them and actually dance in the city where tango began.”

“Well, Kusa, Cee, Gia, and the agents helped, too,” Jackie told her. “We went over all the various places and chose what sounded the most authentic. Phi, you and Barry are completely free to change any of these plans, though. Just wanted to add, though, that along with the evening at the Carlos Gardel Club, you have the option to attend a milonga, a tango party, where you can dance all night if you want to. I think they usually end around five in the morning.”

Phi looked amazed. “Well, we’ll certainly give it our best. Think you can tango all night, sweetie?” she asked Barry.

“With you, anytime,” Barry answered.

Everyone in the room ahhh-ed.

Sam looked over at Phi and Barry and said matter-of-factly, “Well, if you two think that’s the end of the trip, you’ve got another thing coming,” he said. “Dance all night, sleep till noon, because at one p.m. you have a flight north to Puerto Iguazú on the border of Argentina and Brazil. There, you are going to spend two nights at the Hotel Das Cataratas in the Iguazú National Park in Brazil.”





“You will have two and a half days to spend viewing the spectacular Iguazú Falls, which consists of 275 waterfalls over an almost two mile span of the Iguazú River. Some of the falls reach 269 feet in height, but the majority are about 210 feet high.”





“The most impressive cataract of the falls is a U-shaped section known as the Devil’s Throat and it marks the border between Argentina and Brazil.”




“There are miles of walkways where you can hike to different viewing points..."



"You will also be able to take a boat excursion beneath the falls." Sam glanced up at the screen. "Hey, I'd like to do that..."

“You also will get to ride a zipline through the rainforest. Cool…hey, I’d like to do that, too! You’ll also go on some jeep trips, that kind of thing."



"Hey, did I mention the wildlife?” Sam looked at Barry, whose eyes brightened expectantly. “Since your hotel is in the middle of the rainforest, you’ll get to see lots of it…coati’s, toucans, and parrots everywhere you go.”



“Oh, yeah, and butterflies. It says here they’re everywhere. All colors, all sizes. Expect them to land on you because they will. Hey, Jie, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, sweetie?”



Jie, looking really sleepy on Bill’s lap, nodded with a smile. “I love butterflies, don’t I, Daddy?” she said, looking up at Bill. He hugged her and kissed her forehead.

“From Puerto Iguazú you fly to Rio and then home. Take lots of pictures, have lots of fun, drink lots of Argentinian beer, and most of all, have a happy birthday, Phi!”

The group broke out in cheers and applause as an overwhelmed Phi rose to thank them.

After cake and gifts, the kids headed off to bed. It was then time to tango. Besides traditional Argentinian tango music, Gia had selected a wide variety of songs to dance to.

With Maria and Paolo encouraging their students, the group amazed and delighted Phi with their attempts to tango. She and Barry sat for the first few minutes, absolutely stunned. For one, Phi was extremely touched that her friends had put in the effort to learn a dance that was so meaningful to her. But also, she was spellbound by their technique, trying very, very hard not to laugh.

Barry did not have the same amount of control. After the first few minutes with his mouth opened in shock, he saw Gia haul off with an Instrusione, accidently kicking H in the shin. When he bent down to rub it, she accidently brought up her knee, knocking him in the chin.

Jen, in trying to do an Adorno where she wrapped her leg around Ric's, didn't release when she should have and went spinning across the floor, knocking 23's blond girlfriend flat on her tush. Barry shook with laughter and Phi was biting her lips trying not to burst out herself.

Virgil and Michael performed their tango two-step walks like robots, leaving Maddie and Fi extremely frustrated. Gary tried the back step to get himself and Deb out of of a tight corner and rammed into Sam, who went flying into Kusa's outstretched arms. His weight pushed her back against Cee, who was quickly grabbed out of the way by an alert Eli. Kusa, however, was not so lucky. She fell back into H's arms, who was in the process of limping off the dance floor, trying to stop the bleeding where his tooth had bit into his lip when Gia kneed him in the chin. Deb reached out to try to help H and the three of them, H, Kusa, and Deb ended up in a pile on the floor. When Captain Wolves tried to come to the rescue, he tripped over Sam's foot and ended up on top of the pile. Phi and Barry laughed until they cried.

It was chaos, but it was typical chaos and everyone was having fantastic time. Some of the favorite music selections of the night that Gia had picked for Phi included:

Julio Iglesias -by - La Cumparsita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB9xXGzAdT4

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - by -Tony Bennett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAW-BUtTmyc

Jose Feliciano - by - Malaguena
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFvqmIi9Ymc

Gypsy Tango by Werner Tauber Orchester
http://lala.com/zGIS

Fidelity -by- Regina Spektor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGTDRztaCCw

Santa Maria(Del Buen Ayre) - by - Gotan Project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zD9W9SZj9w

Objection - by - Shakira
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_QQOGLdOCo

As a special musical gift the gang invited Palomino Diaz http://www.palominodiaz.com/ to come to the party.

He performed his big hit, one of Phi's favorites, "Encanto Natural."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D59sMooHR8s...feature=related


-----

Taking a short break from the Tango and sultry tunes, the music was switched to some big party songs with some 80's hits mixed in, much to Phi's delight.

First up was: In a big country http://lala.com/zc3k "Oooh, I love this one! Man, I haven't heard this in ages! Of course now I will be remembering you all and this crazy party the next time I hear it!" Phi shouted, laughing and smiling.

The tunes kept going...Billy Squier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy8N0PGvq8A

Beastie Boys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NdAUnnU9Ac

And then a little Madonna http://lala.com/zSHv

Phi even sang along on this one...
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...dual&videoi

New Order's Blue Monday http://lala.com/z4Ba came on and Barry started doing some crazy moves, even busting out a little of the Robot, making Phi break down in raucous laughter in the middle of the dance floor. When that finished, Barry announced, "Ok, one last crazy song before we get back to the Tango."

As the music started the girls all cheered. They put Phi in the middle and started a line dance, getting everybody to join in...even the unwilling guys.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11l7m_de...ht-runners-come

Barry even sang "Phillipa" over the Eileen line.


-----


"This has been nice." Phi whispers as she leans into Barry as they star gaze on the deck. "What time should be pulling back into port?"

"In about a week," he mumbles.

"A week?"

"Uh, yea, didn’t I tell you? We’re on the way to the Bahamas."

"But I… I didn’t pack, I have things to do…I--"

"It’s all been taken care of. The one thing about this group is when they have something in mind, they are thorough. They thought you could use a quick vacation."

Phi is quiet for a moment. The agents had better get some rest tonight because they are gonna be up early in the morning for daily training.

"We’ll be swimming and sunning and shopping." Barry chatters on. "And we'll sleep on a little hut right on the beach."

"You think we’ll get time alone?"

"Oh, I think we will." Barry whispers in her ear.

"You are sooo bad." Phi takes his hand and starts to lead him away.

"Where are we going?"

"To finish celebrating my birthday before the clock strikes midnight."


-----


The night ended with more sultry tango. Maria and Paolo had witnessed the disasters which had occurred earlier in the evening and called everyone together to give them a pep talk.

"Just breathe...that eez what eet takes," Maria reminded them. "Now, go out and show what you can do!"

And they did. Even Maria was amazed at some of the technique her students were showing after just one week. It was truly an evening of Tango Corazon ~ Tango of the Heart ~

The ladies had called for this lull in the dancing, even though none of them would own up to it. Maddie claimed she needed a bathroom break, and one by one, within a couple of minutes time, she'd been joined by all the other women.

"I think it's impossible for one of them to go to the head by themselves," Ric lamented.

"Don't complain," Virgil told him. "Gives us guys get a chance to grab a beer." He handed Q a cold bottle.

"I hear you," Gary agreed, taking the next one.

"So, Barry, what kind of place did you take Phi to before you got here?" Sam asked after a generous swig from his beer.

"Well, it was these four women on a stage, reading," Barry began, then he cleared his throat. "Uh, while they were naked," he added, causing an avalanche of spit takes from the guys.

"Naked?" Sam asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "And Phi didn't walk out?"

"Or smack you?" Virgil quieried.

"No, it was nice," Barry insisted.

"I bet it was." Q slapped him on the back.

"Were the ladies naked?" Eli asked, managing to take another sip of his beer. "Or were they nekkid?"

Barry shook his head. "I don't get it. What's the difference?"

"Nekkid is 'naked with intent'," Eli explained, elbowing Horatio standing next to him.

"Intent to what?" Sam asked.

"Ask your sister, Sam," Eli replied with a chuckle. "I'm sure she'd be more than happy to spell it out for you."

Sam waved his hands in the air. "I don't want to hear my sister talking about naked anythings!" He spied Kusa exiting the bathroom and made a beeline in her direction.

"It wasn't like that," Barry insisted. "It was… nice."

"Naked, eh?" Ric mused. "What did they read?"

"Essays, parts of books, poems," Barry answered.

There was a minute or so of quiet while the guys nodded and imagined what the reading might have been like as they drank their beers. They were interrupted by the laughter and chatter of conversations of the women leaving the bathroom.

"Somehow I get the feeling that the Miami-Dade Public Library System is going to get a sudden run on reading books." Horatio chuckled as he and Eli watched the guys go meet their significant others.

Eli just laughed as he and H went to join Cee and G.

Phi put her hands on the railing of the ship, breathing in the salty air. The light wind was warm on her skin; the dark sky was sprinkled with stars. Wispy clouds seemed to pass so closely overhead, she swore she could reach out and touch them.

"May I have this dance?" Barry's voice came from behind her, and as she whirled around to face him, she suddenly became aware she was wearing a long, sweeping ball gown. Its inky blue hue matched the color of the night, and the fabric felt as light as the clouds suspended in the sky.

She laughed and stretched her hand out to take his as music began to play from somewhere inside the ship. Not the sexy chords of the tango they'd strutted to earlier in the evening, this music was familiar, but older. The couple easily swayed to the rhythm, turning the deck into a ballroom. Phi was amazed at how light Barry was on his feet. And just as her dress was not the same as she wore earlier, Barry was now wearing a tux with long tails.

They'd dance nearly halfway around the ship, tripping the light fantastic with each other, laughing in the pure enjoyment of the evening. As they turned the bow, Sam and Kusa joined them, matching every triple, sailor, and coaster step for step just a few feet behind Phi and Barry. At one point, Barry whirled her around, and the two couples danced briefly with each other before returning to their original partners.

In another twirl about half a ship later, Phi was surprised to find they had been joined by two other couples: Horatio and Gia along with Cee and Eli. Once again, Barry twirled Phi on her feet, and she found the couples had split up: men on her left, women on her right, and she and Barry waltzed down the center. Barry spun her twice before they waltzed right back to where they started in the front of the line. Now the four couples were dancing around the ship… all in tune, all in step with each other. She laughed, yet couldn't believe how easily she and Barry were dancing. How many times had they been around the ship? And she wasn't even winded.

Then she spied Maddie and Virgil along with Michael and Fi just ahead. They were standing still, but smiling. Phi wasn't sure what to do, and she surely didn't want to dance right into them. Barry slowed down, and the couples changed their steps from the waltz to the foxtrot, absorbing the two couples into the group. Once again, everyone split into two lines with men on one side, women on the other. Instead of waltzing, Phi and Barry foxtrotted down the center, and Barry dipped her before they returned to the head of the line.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Phi exclaimed as Barry once again turned her around so she could see the others dancing behind them.

"Wait 'til you see what happens next!" Barry told her.

The music shifted tempo once again, and Phi suddenly noticed that her shoes clicked with each step. Barry swept his hand over the railing, and the clouds arranged themselves into a wide staircase, spilling over to the deck. Dubious of the clouds' solidity, Phi waited for Barry to step up, and he did, reaching back to take her hand once again.

As if they'd been transformed into a Busby Berkely musical, all of the couples tap danced their way up the misty staircase. Phi was a little tremulous; she could see the ocean beneath the wisps. But everything seemed to be solid, and Barry had a tight grip on her arm. Sneaking a quick glance behind her, she noticed no one seemed to be slipping or falling through. So she threw her heart into the dance, still amazed that she was able to keep up with everyone without losing her breath.

All of the couples had tap danced to the top of the cloud-steps, and they turned around in concert to find the four agents with their gentlemen tap dancing at the bottom of the stairs. On cue, the four couples split with two couples dancing up on either side. The new couples were carrying sparklers, and the couples already on the stairs tap danced halfway down to meet the newcomers. Somehow, more sparklers were handed out, and everyone dancing had a sparkler to display.

Gradually, the staircase flattened out to a giant dance floor, and the sparklers burned out to nothingness. Oh, how green! Phi thought. There isn't anything to throw away! The couples circled around themselves, meeting and retreating, exchanging partners until Phi had trouble remembering exactly where Barry was. A sharp whistle cut through the evening air, and the couples parted to show Phi her beau's location. She and Barry rushed together, and Barry picked her up and held her high.

The sky was magnificently ablaze with brilliant stars. Phi noticed that many of the stars seemed to line up right to the moon. She reached out and grabbed one of the stars, pulling the whole string of them with her as Barry eased her back to the clouded dance floor. He helped her pull the moon even closer with the star chain that glittered so brightly. When it was close enough, he lifted her up to a seat on the crescent moon, then he jumped up to sit next to her.

She laughed and clapped her hands as the couples danced below them and the moon spun lazily in the sky.

"Isn't this the best?" Barry asked, stealing her closer.

"Most definitely, my dear," Phi replied as she snuggled into his shoulder.

The spectacular surroundings began to fade, and everything got darker. Phi couldn't see anything in front of her face, and she opened her eyes wide…

And found herself in the cabin she shared with Barry on the ship. She put her hands out on the bed as she turned over toward the light. Barry was standing at the portal window, gazing out on the quarter moon hung over the deep blue sea. The low sounds of a forties ballad played through the speakers hooked up to Barry’s iPod sitting on the table next to the bed.

“Barry?” she asked, and he turned toward her.

“Everything out there is just so brilliant, Phi,” he said without moving. She got up out of bed and joined him at the window. He put his arm around her and held her close. “Isn’t this the best?” he asked quietly, kissing her temple.

“Most definitely, my dear,” she replied.

“Shopping!” Deb exclaimed with a squeal, having just heard Cee announce the day’s itinerary over breakfast. The other agents giggled appreciatively.

“Yeah, that’s a surprise,” Cee commented as she watched the guys groan and make faces. She shook her head and tsked. “Goodness, would it kill you men to want to check out the local shops every once in a while?”

“I’ll go with my sweet,” Barry announced, sneaking a kiss from Phi.

“Anyone else?” Cee asked, looking around. “C’mon, who’s gonna man up and go shopping with the girls?” Her eyes stopped at her husband.

Eli’s coffee cup was halfway to his mouth when he realized Cee was staring at him. “Darlin’, you know I love you,” he began, setting the cup back down on the table. “But I’ve seen the way you women shop: dragging us men along would just slow you down.” His declaration was met with murmurs of agreement from the other guys.

“Good answer, my dear.” Cee smiled at him. “And that’s why we chartered you guys a deep sea fishing boat.” She glanced at her notes while the men all congratulated and high-fived each other. “There’s a but attached to your day,” she said, holding up a hand to interrupt their celebration. The men froze and turned their attention to her. “This time of year, you’re stuck fishing for barracuda. Everything else is out of season.” The men looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and went back to high-fiving each other again. She rolled her eyes. "And you call us predictable!"

Cee glanced at her watch. “Okay, we jump ship in an hour, be port side unless you want to spend the day on the ship.”

The men and women split up nearly as soon as the group hit the dock. The men gave all their significant others kisses and hugs before taking off to find their waiting charter. Boomer and Adam had been given the choice of fishing or shopping—being of the male species, they opted to go fishing with their dad. Phi had granted Barry a pardon from shopping, and he rushed off with the rest of the guys.



The women started making purchases before they even got off the beach. A local peddler had a roving kiosk set up to sell hats, shell necklaces, visors, baskets, and straw bags. The straw items were made by the hands of local women who plaited and decorated dried palm and sisal leaves. Hats and bags were the most popular first buys.

“I want to find a scarf to go with this hat!” Di exclaimed, holding the straw hat on her head to keep the ocean breezes from blowing it off her head.

“Then we probably need to be heading to Bay Street,” Cee replied, checking her notes.



Just a short ten minute walk from the hotels, Bay Street is probably the most popular shopping district in Nassau. Some of the stores found when shipping include Gucci, Cole’s, and Fendi. But local shops are also favored, featuring leather goods, brass, antiques, linens, beauty products, soaps, and perfumes.



“Funny, almost all of the brochures say you need to hit every store to make sure you find all the bargains,” Cee said, shaking her head. “That’s going to be a chore for this group,” she added in a mocking tone, rolling her eyes.



“Divide and conquer!” Jen announced, pointing at the Gucci store. She grabbed Di’s arm and headed toward it. “C’mon G!” she shouted back, and the FBI agent hustled to catch up with them.

“Plunder!” Trini squealed, pointing at a Cartiers Jewelers. She and Deb took off for it.

“Or maybe not so much a chore.” Cee laughed. “Where to, Maddie?” she asked.

“How about that little cafe over there for a coffee and a pastry?” Maddie replied.

“Sounds good to me.” Cee started to follow her across the street.



“Hey, Jackie and I are going to stop in here first,” Kusa called out, pointing at a shop marked Androsia’s and featured dresses, shirts, tops, and other clothing made out of brightly colored fabric batiked with different island prints.

Ashley, sitting pretty in her stroller, was busy chattering to Jie. “Mommy,” Jie said, patting Jackie on her arm. “Ashley says she wants to go in and try on that dress.”

“She did, did she?” Jackie replied with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Kusa perched her hands on her hips. “Sure she didn’t just tell you she has a wet diaper?” she asked the little girl.

“No,” Jie insisted. “She says she wants a blue dress with dolphins on it.”

“Well, then, we better get her in there and check it out.” Kusa turned the stroller into the store while she and Jackie shared a laugh.

“Hey, Maddie.” Cee had changed her mind and lightly grabbed Maddie’s arm. “I think I want to check that place out, too.” She pointed at a coral-colored shift. “In fact, that would look great on you!”

Maddie pursed her lips and tucked her head. “I can see that. Lead on, my dear!”

Barracudas are elongated fish with large jaws and prominent sharp-edged fang like teeth. In general, a barracuda’s coloration is dark green or gray above, silver sided and chalk white below. Many barracuda species are prized light tackle fish, caught by fly fishing or on conventional gear by casting or trolling.

The guide explained the short steel leader attached to the lures was necessary to keep their knife-sharp teeth from slicing through the fishing line. Since the barracudas were more spectacularly fished in shallow water, the fishing boat didn’t need to run far from the shore, and the skipper picked an area far off from the tourist populated beaches.

Cee had arranged for a massive lunch of sandwiches, snacks, and, of course, a variety of cold beer for the guys along with some different flavors of juice, lemonade, and colas for the boys. And, because they were in the Bahamas, she’d sneaked in a box of readily available Cuban cigars. It didn’t take long for the Sam to quickly discover the special treats.

“Hmm… maybe I shouldn’t give my sister such a hard time,” he remarked as he quickly passed the cigars around.

“I’ll second that,” Eli replied. Then he chuckled. “But I do believe she gives as good as she gets.”

“Exactly!” Sam agreed, punctuating his point with a jab of his lighted cigar.

“Ahem, Dad,” Boomer began. “Don’t you think it’s about time I learned how to smoke a cigar?”

“Uh.” Sam looked nervously from Boomer to Adam. He was of the mind to let Boomer sneak a puff or two, but Adam was way too young. And he didn’t think he’d get away with letting one son smoke and the other not. “Not this time, Boom. Wouldn’t want your mother to get sore at me for letting you do something she wouldn’t want you to.”

“And what about Mom letting you do something she doesn’t want you to?” Adam asked.

Sam’s brow furrowed and he looked at the stogie in his hand. “This? Hey, my sister gave me this, so if she wants an argument, she’ll have to take it up with your Aunt Cee.”

The men took their places around the boat, most with a beer in their hand and a pole over the side. A few were actively fishing, but some of them were just kicking back and relaxing, glad that they weren’t being forced to go shopping with the women.

“You know,” Ric said amidst a half yawn. “I don’t know what could be so fun about going to stores over and over again. So what if the dress looks a little different…”

“Or the shoes aren’t quite the same as the other twelve pairs in the closet,” Gary added.

“How many purses does one woman need?” Q inquired.

“And how many stores do they need to shop to find ‘it’—whatever ‘it’ is,” Nate mused out loud.

“Guys, they’re part of the female sex,” Horatio tried to explain. “And you just need to get used to it.”

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed. “You’ll learn quick enough when to say something and when to just get out of the way.”

All the men glanced at Michael, stretched out in a chair, eyes closed. “Nope, not getting me involved in this conversation,” he insisted, barely opening his eyes. “I’m just here for the ride.” He closed his eyes again.



“Hey, didn’t we use lures like these when we were fly fishing off that island in Georgia?” Sam asked, holding up a shiny bauble.

Horatio took a good look at the item in Sam’s hand, then shook his head. “No, but Eli and I used something like that fishing in Montana.”

“That’s where I recognize it.” Sam nodded. “Damn, that was some fine fishing.”

“I kinda liked the fishing off Cumberland better,” Barry thought out loud.

“I don’t care where we’re fishing,” Ric added, taking a draw of his cigar. “And it doesn’t make a difference what kind of fishing it is.”

“It’s the thrill of the hunt,” Gary agreed.

“You can never spend too much time fishing,” Q chimed in.

“The best fish is the next fish to be caught,” Nate declared.

Boomer looked at Adam, and Adam looked at his brother. Both shook their heads and went back to fishing.

“Grown ups are weird,” Adam observed.

“Don’t you and I know it!” Boom nodded his head.

I am still reading about Phi's adventures with Barry. Haha, the nude poetry reading!!! Okay, that was priceless. Indeed I do think my hands would fly to my face and I would be blushing up a storm. ROTFL

And then it just got even more amazing from there, unbelievably enough. The tickets to the Miami fair for funnel cake consumption! A donation to Life Rolls On! I loved the mini-orchestra and sam cueing them, lol!

And then Argentina! The tango! The Busby Berkeley musical dance up the staircase! Barry dancing to New Order's Blue Monday! Dexys Midnight Runners!!! Holy moly, the music was freaking amazing.

And the golden retrievers...oh, my goodness. I confess I had tears in my eyes when I read that part. That was so sweet. *wistful sigh*

Wow. Just...wow. I am really enjoying reading this - so much fun. And so much talent amongst you all. I wish like heck that I had creative writing talents, but instead I was blessed with the ability to enjoy and admire the talent of others. Thank you for the lovely prose.

How in the heck did you all know I love salad caprese? And that I am a huge fan of DH Lawrence? I think I've been under surveillance by the super spies of the Questions thread!

You all are so wonderful. I really am just so happy that Burn Notice has brought all of us together.

(Edited to add a heart emoticon to this post )

"I don't think it's a good idea to set them loose." Michael argues after he reads the email.

"They won't be 'loose' the host has promised that they would be taken care of."

"Why would he make such an offer?"

"The last time they were here they didn't get out much, but he took good care of them, watched them like a hawk." Madeline defends the email. "He's well connected Michael, he won't let anything happen to them."

"And how did he find out we were going to be here?"

"You have to ask?" Madeline rolls her eyes. Debra had emailed her suggesting that he could arrange a private diving trip for them. It's downtime and the agents did go through the proper channels to request the activity.

"Who went with them?"

"I sent 23 and Shawn to chaperone. And you know they will repeat everything that is said. I'll have comms with them, and if anything happens, I'll be the… at least the second to know. He promised to disguise some of the fun as training also, it's good to have a neutral party involved in training sometimes."

Michael nods, she has a point.

"Now Virgil and I are going sightseeing for the day, this is a nice break Michael…for all of us. The boys are doing their own thing, exploring some caves and Fi has arranged for the two of you have a quiet day." Michael starts to protest that he wasn't aware of any plans. "Now go and enjoy yourself, you know things will pick up when they get back, so enjoy the peace while you can." Madeline shoos him out the door.

"Where's Ruby staying?"

"A cathouse."

That word perked up the ears of 23 and Shawn who were following the girls down the pier to their next destination. Madeline had assigned them to accompany the agents on their diving excursion for the next two days, then they would have free time to play.

He caught the rest of the conversation.

"Her previous owner would leave her at the cat sitters when she went out of town. She called it the "cathouse" and you should see it, she's got this huge screened in room that has condos, toys, catnip plants. The works. It's like a vacation for her. She has a couple of friends that were already there." Deb smiles. "That cat has a better social life than I do. What about the pugs?

"Ric's mom is watching them. They didn't even give us a second look as we left." Jen sniffs at the thought.

Shawn and 23 walk with the girls to the end of the pier where they find a large diving boat standing by the ready.

"Ahoy there!" Deb calls out.

"Ahoy there, ready to cast off." Comes the answer from the seasoned Captain of the boat.

"Permission to come aboard." Di salutes as Shawn and 23 stand with their mouths open, among the crew are some sailor-ladies.

"Ayy, we've been waiting for yea. The host sends his apologies that he won't be able to meet with you, but is assured that you will have a good time."

"No host, uh maybe we should call - - -" 23 takes a step back on the pier and pulls out his cell.

"You go ahead and call." Deb tells him as the girls hop onboard. Shawn just shrugs and follows them on board. 23 reluctantly puts the phone back in his pocket and joins them.

The group tests all the equipment before leaving and soon the boat is out on the open water, the wind, and the smell of the sea welcoming them they reach the dive spot.

23 is a little suspicious of the crew as the girls chat and wander around the boat, he's ready to take action as soon as they need it. But they don't seem to need it, so he finally relaxes a little... to enjoy the trip.

On the way they are given a history of the shipwreck areas they are going to dive. The group is paired up, experienced divers with the less experienced and given more instructions.

"Be careful. You'll be wearing a communication device on your wrist, it will vibrate when we send a message, and you will press the green button to acknowledge, and follow directions. The red button is for emergencies. You need to stay within this area." The dive master points out the grid they would be diving. "If you wander to far, we'll let you know. Remember only to take pictures and leave memories."

23 and Shawn grin as they watch the agents strip down to their bathing suits.

"Does he know you're wearing that?"

"Nope, if he did, you think he'd be out fishing?"

"So you doing anything later?" Shawn asks one of the lady crew.

"I'm on the clock until the guests are returned to the hotel. Then I'm free for dinner."

Yeah!

At intervals they hit the water and take off in all directions.



As they near the sea bottom and head to the wreck, they are slow and careful so as not to stir up the sandy bottom and cause visibility problems.



After some time Deb moves on and lies on her stomach looking at the fish, her body relaxing in the warm salty water.


Closing her eyes for a few minutes to enjoy the peace when she looks to her side at Shawn, her dive partner, was floating nearby staying still long enough for the fish to take notice of the new item in the water. He was entertaining them and her by doing all the funky dance moves under water.



-
-
-
"There's a boat heading our way."

While others take position around the boat, one watching the radar and sonar, one of the lady crew quickly types a message on her computer, hitting send then reaching under the cushion for a semi automatic.

23 hears some other boats speeding out but doesn't see them.

The agents in the water feel the vibrations on their wrists and read the message.

"Stay where you are."

They tread water and wait, looking up through the serene, clear blue water.

Minutes later they feel vibrations again. "All clear."

""Just a speedboat, they were drunk and acting up. They've been turned around." The Captain explains.

"Who intercepted them?" 23 asks.

"The boss pays us to watch them, keep them safe. And we don't ask questions."

Later the vibrations got their attention again. "Lunch"

23 watches over the water as the heads slowly pop up and bob in the water, he gives a hand helping them out, and removing the gear before they pull some over sized t shirts from their bags and throw them on.

"What was that about?" Trinity asks as a small boat approaches with coolers of food.

"Just a test." Was the answer. "Remember, you can't go in the water until an hour after eating."

The group sits around, eating sandwiches, wraps and fruit, passing cameras to each other to view the pictures and watching the sky. Clouds have taken over and it's been overcast, but no threatening storms.

"We need to put together a slideshow of all the pics we've taken; it's beautiful down there."

"You're coming in with us next 23."

"Yea, not fair for me to have all the fun." Shawn smiles, he wanted to mingle and smooze with the ladies on the boat.
-
-
-
After changing tanks and partners they rolled back into the water finishing off the afternoon of diving and swimming. Gia and her diving buddy had come in early and she was resting on deck and happened to glance over the side where Shawn was sunning himself on a blow up raft that was securely tied to the boat, one of his arms trailing in the water.



"This is gonna be good." She tells herself as she sees the outline of two divers swimming toward the raft. She picks up her phone and starts to record, making a mental note to add the Jaws theme music to it.

Seconds later he screams and flails into the water.

Di and her dive partner surfaced to make sure he was ok.



"Sorry, it was a once in a lifetime moment." She laughs before preparing to dive.

"And I got it on tape!" Gia calls out shaking her cell phone. "And forwarded."

"Where to today?" Shawn asks the second day as group meets their guide at the dock again.

"Wait and see." Was the mysterious answer.

This time they motored over to a small island dock. Where jet skis were parked.

"We get to play?" Deb jumps out of the boat and runs over to the watercraft. "I want this one."

"Yes and no." The guide tells them. "We're going to combine play with training today, get a feel of the jet ski's, run some obstacle courses and races, then you play later."

After some initial training and safety speeches, the group, wearing safety vests, make a couple of trial runs with the jet ski to get the feel of them before the games begin.

"First is a relay, you'll be divided up into three teams. You ride out and around the four corners set up by the crew and return, try and not to knock each other or the monitor over, no shortcuts, get back here and the next driver hops on."

"Ready, set." after a couple of false starts. "It's go!"

Deb has trouble when the engine stalls a few feet out, a monitor comes to her aid and gets her moving again but not before Di doubles back, circles and taunts her a couple of times then splashes her as she takes off.



They went several rounds, which involved going around the water course an increasing number of times; riding in the opposite direction; jumping off one jet ski and swimming to another and riding back; they regrouped to refuel the water craft and set up for the next exercise, stopping to pick up a swimmer in the water and bring them back to the dock, and including defensive and offensive moves on the water.




Sounds easy huh?

Well it wasn't. There were people falling off the jet skis while pulling the swimmer on, and falling off while trying to get back on, arguing over who got to the swimmer first. The monitors were hands off, only getting involved if they had to, which with this group happened several times.

After lunch they seem to get renewed burst of energy and the groups split up for free time between jet skiing and snorkeling, then the groups were switched so each had fair time at each event.

It would be late before the tanned and tired group cleaned everything up and made their way back to the port and to enjoy the rest of their vacation.

The week in the Bahamas seem to fly by so quickly. The group definitely participated in some activities together, such as:

Sailing...


Kayaking...


Touring the islands on scooters...


Enjoying some fine meals...


A little clubbing...


Some island fun...


Helping Jie, Ashley, and Adam build sandcastles...


After scuba diving and jet skiing, however, the girls seemed to spend their time ~

Shopping or sunbathing...


Sunbathing or shopping...

While the guys hit the water ~

Surfing...


Paddle Surfing...


And wind surfing...


The day before their return to Miami, however, Michael wanted to get the agents out of the shops and off the beach towels. Always game for something of extreme nature to condition them to be fearless in any situation, he naturally opted for something that would scare the wits out of those who had fear of heights...parasailing.

"Aw, Michael...can't we go diving with sharks instead? Bunji-jumping in Australia and hang-gliding in Rio was enough of the heights stuff, don't you think?"

"Yeah, Mikey...you didn't have to do all this kind of stuff when you were training for the CIA."

Michael cleared his throat and said pointedly, "When I was training to be an agent, I had to learn to jump out of airplanes."

The agents' eyes got really big on that one. So far Michael had skirted around the issue of sky-diving. They had counted their lucky stars that he hadn't demanded it yet. They exchanged looks, not knowing exactly how to weasel their way out of this situation.

If they did the parasailing, would he forget about the sky diving? Or was sky diving next on his do-it-and-maybe-die agenda???? A couple of them gulped and the other two broke out sweating.

Deb took it on herself to answer for them. "Okay, Michael. What time do you want us there?"

"Two o'clock. Don't fail to show up, ladies." With that, he and Fi took off down the beach hand-in-hand.

The agents looked at each other, rolled eyes, sighed, said a few choice words under their breath...all the usual stuff.

"Wow, the guys went deep-sea fishing. Why couldn't Michael have gone?" Jen lamented.

"Yeah, what kind of party-pooper is he, anyway?" Di commented.

"Let's go find the other gals," Deb told them. "Maybe we can accidently get lost while shopping."

-----

Michael sighed and looked at his watch for the thirtieth time in fifteen minutes. "They're late," he told Fi. "I knew this would happen."

"Give them a few more minutes," Fi encouraged.

"No, Fi, they're not going to show," he said, a trace of anger visible in his voice. "It was obvious they didn't want to do this, so they bailed. They're going to answer for this."

He turned to cancel the reservations with the parasailing attendant. Just as he and Fi began walking back down the dock, he heard voices floating his way. He turned around quickly and saw...



Two-by-two, the four agents, plus Gia, Phi, Cee, and Kusa came drifting in for a landing. He stood there shaking his head with a slow smile finally making its way to his face.

"See, Michael," Fi told him.

As the gals all gathered around him, he said, "Okay, ladies, I can see you've had your fun and I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. Come on, I'll buy you a drink."

"Uh...not so fast, Mikey."

"Yeah, Mike, you haven't had your turn yet."

As he tried to resist, they ganged up on him, taking hold of his arms and pulling him toward the parasailing hut.

"We've already paid your fee, Michael."

"We'll take pictures of you. You can add them to your Facebook page, Mike."

"I'm not on Facebook. Ladies...come on....what the...Oh, heck..."

The week may have been eventful and crazy, but as on every trip they had taken together there was time for romance ~

Sitting by the sea...


Relaxing...


Walks on the beach...


And, of course, romantic sunsets...


As Bill headed the ship back toward Miami, Phi and Barry had the anticipation of their Buenos Aires trip upon their return. The agents suddenly had the wanderlust again...

"Bill, you going on another world cruise anytime soon?"

"Need a crew?"

"Want some company?"

"Need a babysitter for Jie?"

He just laughed. "We'll see what we can do..."

Dropping a smaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllll hint are we


KA23

I didn't see what was so small about that hint...!

Though Kusa debated bringing the family back before Larry had been tracked down, she thought perhaps with everyone together on Bill’s ship, maybe they’d be able to keep him at bay and everyone safe….



Yeah…and maybe Sam would learn to tap dance like Gregory Hines!



Nonetheless, when Bill brought Jackie and Jie to the party, she agreed against her better judgment to have the others follow suit. And though she allowed herself to enjoy the party and as much of the island as she could, she couldn’t help but remain focused on Larry. When they had made it to port….Maddie was seasick…again…so Bill made arrangements for her and Virgil to stay in a nearby five star hotel. This suited Kusa just fine too….With Maddie on shore leave, there was one less person to nose in on her investigation… This way, there were less people to seek her out as every morning, before the group got started and every night while they were out partying the night away, she was back on security detail…There was one person she couldn’t keep out of it though….



“There’s no need to worry so much, Bri. I’ve already had the whole island and surrounding area scanned….” Bill interjected, interrupting her study of the nautical maps on the screens in front of her….” There’s no one around us for sixty nautical miles in any direction….Why don’t you go out and have a little fun?”



“Well, that can change in a flash, or did you forget our little ‘situation’ in Galveston….” She tried not to sneer as she said it, but her patience with Bill was nearing an end…Why couldn’t he just come out and say it….He’d been lying to her all these years…In the beginning, when she thought he was just part of a case…all the way up to now, when she had thought he was just being a generous friend….not to mention those years in between….All that time she spent trying to hide their relationship, not only from Jackie….but from Maddie…and all that time she was SLEEPING WITH THE BOSS???????????



Who did this guy think he was…Charlie Townsend?!?!?! Well, if these agents were his version of ‘Angels”, then this was One Kelly Garrett who was just about ready to smash the speakerphone!



“Yeah, that was quite the little adventure we had…If I remember correctly, you were a bit to preoccupied with…how’s that song go again…’riding the cowboy’…to realize just how close Jackie’s boat was….” He looped his arm over her shoulder with a laugh.



The memory rammed across her bow. She pressed him back, harder than she intended. “Sam could walk in here any second! Jackie may be ok with our past, but what do you think he would say if he heard us going over…’old times’………..especially those….”



Bill picked himself up off the wall, and flipped a few mis-struck switches back in place…”What’s going on, Bri…you’ve been acting weird for days….”



“I’m just worried about the kids…that’s all…this is their first trip without Sonja and….”



“Sam told me about this Larry character….”



Kusa wasn’t all that surprised to hear he knew about Larry. Her cover as to why she wanted to ship everyone off wasn’t all that watertight…but she did doubt it was Sam who let the feline out of the pouch…One of the Westins was more likely…Most likely…Maddie.



“Well, then you know I have a perfectly good reason to worry….For all I know, he’s here in the port and has been missed by all your surveillance ….He may just be after my family, or he may be after the entire group…an increased body count has never been anything he’s been shy of…”



Bill just stared at her. She had never been this blunt with him when it had come to matters of ‘business’ before…She’d let him in on her escapades more and more, especially when she had needed his help….But to be so brash about the fact his own family was in danger…was definitely unlike her….



Unless……….



“I’ll take care of it, Bri…I always have…I’ve already had Triton alerting the island authorities. Bauer’s here too.”



Jack’s back….She thought…How much did he know about Bill’s other ‘line of work’, she wondered….



“….I’m sure we’ll have whatever security we need at the ready …”



She knew she should argue with him…All the likes of Larry needed to make a killing, literally, was one head turned in the wrong direction for a moment and he could spray his Ebola Binaca on every fork in the restaurant…But she knew the man was as stubborn as she was…She’d have to appear to side track herself till he was distracted with Jie…then manage to slip back up here and return to business…

MTC

“So….what have we found out….” Sam asked, returning to the cabin after dropping off Ashley and the boys at the beach with Sherry and Carl…who was brought in as a special surprise for Sherry. Kusa was almost more surprised than the ‘recipient’ of this gift…Carl was never one to take a vacation, never mind two in a row…If he won an all expense 2 week long trip to Disneyworld, he’d probably put it off till he’d finished the paperwork on 3 closed cases, reviewed the entirety of the data on 4 cold cases, and perused the evidence on 2 new ones…and heaven forbid anything new came up……This thing with Sherry had to be getting serious…



“He’s definitely here….” Kusa announced, turning her laptop toward Sam to show him her screen. “According to Penny, he arrived two days ago and….well, let’s just say he hasn’t been shy about making his presence known to those who know what to look for…”



“How many places has he torched so far…?”



“A fire at one pharmacy, police suspect arson…A ‘false’ alarm at a local military installation, and one ATM robbery…”



“Robbery’s not usually his style…”



“They found the machine, erased and empty, in the armory the next day…after the ‘false alarm’…”



Sam looked at Kusa with disbelief…he didn’t even want to know how Larry pulled that one off…



“So he’s got guns, drugs and money…And you think he announced his presence by…”



“Remember the mysterious ‘visitors’ during the girls’ diving expedition…you think that was just happenstance? He knows we’re here…and he’s showing he knows how to get to us….”



“Brandi…don’t worry about it…”



“I’m not worried…I’m angry…we should be celebrating our anniversary…well, depending on which wedding date you ascribe to…but instead, we’re chasing after yet ANOTHER madman!!!!”



Forgot our anniversary??? Sam thought to himself…in her usual style, Kusa hadn’t called him on it, but stayed with the present circumstance…He would have to find a way to make it up to her later….



“We’re gonna get him, Bri, don’t you worry….”



Where his forgetting their anniversary seemed to draw no reaction from his wife, his use of Bill’s pet name for her drew her into a rage….”DON’T CALL ME THAT!!!!”



“What Baby-girl….did I miss something….”



Kusa grabbed hold again to her emotions and reigned herself back in…”No…nothing….just the stress of this I guess…Do you think we should update Mike and the rest or…”



“No...Those who need to know and can watch over the others…Let’s wait till we actually have something…At least some of us should be able to enjoy the island”


(All for now)

KA23

More like huge neutron bomb hint....hee hee

Okay, yeah, I love the ship. Southern hemisphere this next winter???

Am loving the Larry story. Ebola Binaca? Yikes, scary dude!

As the agents entered his office at the designated time Monday morning, Michael looked up briefly, glanced back at his paperwork, then eyes shot upward again in a double take.

“What happened to you?” he asked bluntly, his eyes moving quickly to all four of them.

“Uh, nothing,” Di told him.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me,” he countered as he rose and moved around his desk in their direction. He took in everything…Di’s bruised shins, lacerations on Trini’s arms, a bulging bandage on Deb’s forehead, and Jen’s black eye.

“Care to explain?” he asked.

“No,” Trini said lightly. She gave a smile and a slight shrug. “There’s nothing to explain.”

“Sit, explain, and I mean now,” he demanded, waving them toward the four chairs placed in front of his desk.

The agents sat and stared at him with innocent smiles on their faces. He knew something was up and if he wanted the truth, he’d have to have to play the weakest link.

“Jen, what happened?”

Jen bit her lip and shrugged. “Nothing.”

Michael cleared his throat. “Try again.”

She gave a sideways glance at the other agents, who kept their eyes straight ahead. “Um, we pigged out on cheeseburgers, fries, and ice cream on Saturday and then tried a little too vigorously to work off the calories on Sunday.”

Di snort-laughed, while Trini’s shoulders moved up and down with silent laughter. Deb elbowed her and then shook her head slightly at Jen.

“Oh yeah, Trini had a veggie burger, not a cheeseburger,” Jen clarified.

Di snorted again, while Trini doubled over in laughter.

Michael sat on the edge of his desk and waited for them to stop. When everyone had sobered, which was pretty darn quickly, he asked again.

“What happened, Jenna?”

Jen sat still for a moment, then leaned forward slightly and looked at the others questioningly out of her one good eye. Each of them grimaced, then either shrugged or nodded.

“We kinda got in a fight,” she said quietly.

“Excuse me?” Michael asked.

“Wegotinnafight,” Jen mumbled.

“Louder, Jen, and e-nun-ci-ate please,” Michael said slowly and clearly, sounding like a high school speech coach.

“WE…GOT…IN…A…FIGHT!” Jen said loudly and emphatically.

Di and Trini both spew-laughed, but stopped abruptly when Michael cleared his throat loudly, giving them a look that chilled to subzero in no time.

“A fight.” Michael repeated incredulously. “How?”

Jen clammed up. “How?” Michael repeated. He looked at Deb this time. “Explain to me, Debra.”

“We were building a house on Saturday,” she said.

He looked dubious. “A house? Where?”

“Liberty City,” Deb answered.

Michael looked extremely surprised. “That’s one of the most dangerous areas in Miami,” he said. “What were you doing there?”

“Building a house,” Deb repeated. “Habitat for Humanity.”

“You got us started with it when we were in New Orleans, remember, Michael?” Jen asked him. “We thought we’d continue here.”

“And let me tell you…we’ve become pretty d*mn good at house construction,” Di winked. “If I do say so myself.”

Michael’s manner immediately softened. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. “How long have you been doing this?”

Trini shrugged. “Several weeks. Whenever we can. Cee, Gia, and Kusa usually help, too, but Saturday it was just us. And 23,” she added.

“What about Gary and the other guys?” Michael asked.

“We told them to build their own house,” Di anwered. “So they're doing that…in Little Havana.”

“And you didn’t want the guys helping…why?” Michael asked, puzzled.

“Long story,” Di told him. The other agents all nodded in agreement.

Michael stared at them for a moment. “Okay,” he said, “confused here, but okay. Now, what about the fight?”

The girls exchanged glances, hoping he would have forgotten that detail.

Deb sighed and bit the verbal bullet. "A photographer from a men's magazine showed up and started taking pictures. We objected and asked him to stop, but he wouldn't. So, we tried to remove him from his camera."

Michael closed his eyes for a second. The fact that his agents had most likely been charged with assault was not what he was hoping to hear. "Explain about this photographer. Why did you object to him taking pictures about you building a habitat house?"

"You've always told us to avoid publicity, Michael," Jen spoke up.

"Yes…but…" Michael said slowly, trying to reason this out, "if he didn't have your names and you had your safety helmets on, then maybe your faces wouldn't have been recognizable, did you think of that?"

"It wasn't our names and faces he was interested in, Mike," Trini told him with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He was from some skanky men's magazine. All he wanted was our boobs and butts," Di said, slightly exasperated.

The light dawned. "Oh." Michael shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the desk. "And you told him…what?"

"He kept asking all the women to assume certain poses for him while working," Deb told him. "He called out all kinds of sexual slurs and made Yolanda, a mother of three kids, cry. We asked him nicely to leave and he wouldn't. We threatened to call the cops and he laughed, saying it would take them a couple hours to respond to the call. He was so totally obnoxious that we jumped him and took his camera. That's when the fight happened."

Raising an eyebrow, Michael asked, "Are you all okay? Other than the bruises and abrasions I can visibly see? What about your head, Deb?"

"We're all fine, Mike. I had a couple stitches, that's all," she answered.

He looked relieved. "Then the cops came? Were you arrested?"

The agents looked at him blankly. "No, why would you think that?" Trini asked.

"He didn't have you arrested for assault?" Michael asked.

"Heck no," Di answered.

Michael narrowed his eyes for a moment. "So you're telling me he let you take his camera and didn't threaten to have you arrested?"

"Oh, he threatened all right," Jen told him. She glanced at the others and laughed.

"So…" Michael implored questioningly.

"So we straightened him out on that," Deb offered.

"And what we didn't get across to him in plain English, 23 explained to him in a way he could understand," Jen told him.

"23?" Michael asked.

"Yep, pretty much all 23 had to do was show up," Di answered. "Mr. Slimeball Photographer didn't seem too fazed by four women carrying automatic weapons and throwing Brazilian Jiu-Jitzu his way, in fact, it kind of excited him, but he took one punch from 23 and hightailed it."

"Yeah...without his slacks," Jen spoke up. "We depantsed him. Accidently," she added. The agents all chuckled while Michael closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"We have his business card right here," Deb said, pulling it out of her pocket and handing it to Michael. "23 let him know what would happen if he ever hasseled women at the habitat site again."

Michael sighed. "Okay, ladies. For one thing, the entire organization is taking extra security measures at this time. Until further notice is given, I want you to inform me of all your extracurricular activities and have the proper security in place."

"You mean we have to tell you everywhere we go? Even shopping?" Trini asked.

"Yes. For now, just text me whenever you're going out…let me know where you're going and who you're with."

Quiet sighs could be heard, but they all agreed.

"For another thing," Michael told them. "Next time you work at the Habitat project, I'd like to help. Or is this ladies only? Do I need to go over to the guys' job instead?"

The agents looked at each other, then broke out in smiles. "Of course you can work with us, Michael," Di told him. "Deb will be your job foreman, though."

Michael looked at Deb. "That so?" he asked.

She smiled, then gave a slight nod.

He grinned back. "Put me to work, then."



As the agents were leaving, Jen paused at the door. "Michael, do we need to text you that we're going shopping right now on Biscayne Boulevard?"

Di stuck her head back in the door. "Yeah, for bras."

"Should we call in progress reports?" Trini asked.

Michael closed his eyes again and shook his head. The agents departed, giggling.

"23!" he called out into the lobby. "In here, please!"

Kus was much relieved to be back home. Though she was happy the girls got to enjoy themselves, the idea of them romping around the island on scooters or open air buses on those tight streets with Larry potentially around any corner just made her way too nervous for words.



The goodbye between Sherry and Carl was touching. He insisted that their next meeting would have to be back on his side of the country so he could show her around. She promised to check her calendar the moment she got home, which was strictly for Boomer’s benefit. She knew her schedule was wide open and she could have flown out with him that very day….but her son was still a little leery of this new man in his mom’s life and she didn’t want him to think she’d just toss him aside.



The research continued as Brandi made it back to the office. Larry would no doubt have found out about their departure, and would have made no waste of time to follow them back, if he didn’t arrive in Miami before them. Knowing this was more than possible, she had already arranged to have the office and all the condos cleaned, both hygienically and technologically, to make sure there were no ‘surprises’ waiting for them when they got back. To guarantee there had been no further visitors after the cleanings, an outside member of the Organization personally assigned by Kusa, in the guise of a cleaning person so as not to arouse the suspicions of the others, remained in the apartments until the residents arrived, then reported to Kusa via text when they had left.



When all the texts were received from the assigned personnel, Kusa was able to rest her nerves for a minute. But five later, an unexpected text came through….



Kudos on thoroughness…but you won’t stop me….L



Without a word, Kusa grabbed Sam’s cell as he was about to check his own voicemails, and dialed up Penny…It was probably a dead end….but she had to try…..

Cee looked up from her computer screen when she heard the knock on the office door. “Hey, Sam,” she greeted her brother. “Door’s open, you can come right on in.”



“How you doing, Sis?” Sam walked in, carrying a box under his arm.



“Just fine,” she replied. “What’cha got there?”



He sat down. “Where’s Eli?”



“He’s in the hardware room going over some network stuff with Ric and Q. One of the computers automatically downloaded a software update and made part of the security program go a little bonkers. They’re trying to sort it out.” She tossed her chin in the direction of the box. “What’s in there?”



Sam put the item on her desk and pushed it toward her. “Brandi and I were going through some of Mom’s stuff, and, uh, this is yours.”



Cee’s brow furrowed as she picked up the box, pulling the lid off. There were dozens of handwritten letters inside, and she picked up a few. “These all have my name on them,” she said, sorting them through her fingers.



“That’s Mom’s handwriting, in case you didn’t know,” Sam pointed out.



“They’re all dated, too.” She looked up. “Sam, these go back to when I first ran away from home.”



“Yeah, I kinda went through them.”



“Did you read any of them?” Cee asked.



He shook his head. “No, they’re all sealed, Brandi caught me trying to steam one of them open and stole them away from me.” He confessed.



She smiled, knowing that was just like her sister in law. “Good for her.” She started to look over the envelopes and sighed. “Wow, just… wow.” She put the letters back into the box and reset the lid on top.



Sam leaned forward in the chair. “Aren’t you going to open them?”



“Yeah, eventually.” She went back to her computer. “Not right now.”



Sam watched her type on the keyboard for a while. “You really doing okay, Cee? I mean, the gunshot wound and all, everything okay?”



She held her fingers still. “Yeah, Sam, I’m fine….Doctor said I’m good.” She matched her eyes with his.



He nodded. “Good, that’s good to hear.” He leaned back in the chair. “Hey, some day, when you got time, uh...” He rubbed his forehead. “I’d like to hear all about Mrs. Archuleta. She was pretty important to you, I’d like to know more about her.”



Cee smiled. “Sure, Sam…”



“Okay.” He pushed himself back up. “Gotta go. I’ll see you later.”



“Bye, Sam.” She watched him walk out the door, then allowed her gaze to shift back to the box, staring at it until Eli and Ric came into the office.



“I think that should do it,” Eli was saying to Ric. “We’ll need to double check the settings on all the computers to make sure the auto downloads aren’t set to kick off.” He smiled. “But the security redundancy you guys set into place while I was gone? That really did the trick; we could have had a disaster on our hands.” He held his hand out to shake Ric’s. “You guys did a good job.”



“Thanks, Eli. Speaking for the other guys, you two were really missed.” He glanced over at Cee. “And I just don’t mean here at the office.”



“We’ve been back for a while, Ric,” Cee remarked.



“Yeah, but you guys should know that things got a little weird when you two disappeared.”



“So I’ve heard,” she said, remembering that those were the same words Boomer said to her when they’d gotten back from California.



“If you’re looking for an explanation,” Eli interjected. “I’m afraid you’re not going to get one today.”



Ric shook his head. “No, don’t really care why you two went away, just wanted to let you know we’re all glad you’re back.” He pointed at the door. “I’ll go back and help Q clean up. We’ll make sure to mark all the changes in the log book.”



“Sure thing.” Eli went back to his desk as Ric left, taking his chair. “When you get a chance, Darlin’, I need to check some of the settings on your laptop.”



“You can do it right now,” she said, picking up the box and getting up from her seat. “I’ll just sit at your desk while you work on it.”



“What’s in the box?” he asked, passing by her to sit in the chair at her desk as she took his seat.



“Letters my mom wrote to me…through the years,” she answered, opening the box once again and paging through the envelopes with her fingers. “Sam brought them in while you were working with the guys.” She glanced up at him while he typed on her computer, then turned her attention back to the box. “…some of these were written thirty years ago, Eli.”



“Have you read any of them yet?” He kept typing.



She shook her head. “No, I want to wait until later.”



“Fair enough.” He pushed back from her desk. “Done, you can go back to work.” He watched her going through the letters, touching each one. “Or, we can check out early so you can start reading those.”



Her face brightened. “You think so?”



He glanced at his watch. “It’s after four already. The daily crisis has been averted. My guess is you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else anyway.”



Cee smiled. “You know me too well, dear husband.”



He rose from the chair and stepped toward her, bending down for a kiss. “Let me check in with the fellas to make sure everything is still okay, then we’ll head home.”

“I can make myself scarce, if that’s what you want,” Eli said as he walked into the living room.



“No,” Cee replied quickly. She scooted over and patted the couch next to her. “Sit here, with me. Unless you have somewhere else you want to be.”



“Next to you is just fine.” He sat down by her side and opened the book he’d brought with him. She snuggled close to him and pulled the box into her lap. “You are taking a break to eat dinner,” he told her quietly.



She looked back at him. “That doesn’t sound like a question or a suggestion.”



He kissed the top of her head. “Neither.” He watched her finger through several of the envelopes before she selected the first one and took it out, carefully opening it by slicing through the top with a letter opener. She treated the papers inside as if they were the delicate petals of a flower, carefully opening the pages and running her fingertips over the neatly written script. She took a deep breath, then started to read.



Cecelia, I don’t know what to say, but I know I need to say something. And you aren’t here to listen. I don’t know where you are. Even worse, I don’t know if you’re ever coming back.



I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry your father disappeared. I’m sorry for all the arguments we ever had. There had to be other ways for us to talk to each other without screaming. I’m sorry we never figured out how.



I’m just afraid I’m never going to see you again. And I’m sorry for that. I know you’ve got this feeling that you somehow aren’t as good as your brother. That isn’t true, Cecelia. You are just different than your brother. So different. But I recognize myself in you, and now I’m laughing because I think that’s why we argued so much.



The next time I see you, I will tell you this. That’s a promise I hope to keep.



I love you, Cecelia.



Mom



Cee read the letter through a couple of times, then carefully folded it up and replaced it in the envelope. Picking up the next letter in the box, she opened it and read. It was dated a couple of weeks later than the first one and began with more apologies, but then went into a recitation of what had happened during the weeks since she’d written the first letter. She smiled through tears as her mother recanted a disagreement she’d had with a neighbor. “Yeah, Mom, I never could stand that busybody either,” she whispered.



A few letters later, she felt Eli gently shake her. “I’m going to fix us some dinner,” he said, giving her a hug. “You okay?”



“I’m fine, Eli.” She smiled at him and held up the letter. “It’s good to read these.”



“Good.” He put the book he was reading on the end table next to the couch and leaned forward to get up.



She put her hand on his arm, and he looked at her. “I love you, Eli.”



“I love you, too, Darlin’.” He gave her a quick kiss.



“Eli, listen to this,” Cee told him when he came back into the room. She leaned forward, letter in her hand, her elbows on her knees. Eli took the seat next to her. She began to read out loud.



“Dear Cecelia, I received a strange phone call from your brother today. He called to ask me if I had any problems while I was pregnant with him or with you. He said they were going over emergencies in his classes, including childbirth, and he just got to wondering.



“I got to wondering, too. Why does a Navy Seal need to know how to deliver babies?



“Cecelia, I have this strange feeling that somehow you’re involved in this. Are you okay? Are you pregnant? My dear child, if you need help, please call me. I would help you in a heartbeat. Please don’t let your pride get in the way of your safety.



“If Sam is helping you, then that’s good. You two always did share a special understanding. No matter how many arguments you had between you, you never let your anger get in the way of your relationship. I always envied that.



“Be careful, my dear. Listen to Sam. As much as I want to question him, I won’t. I won’t do anything to make you run. As much as I want to know, I’ll leave it be so you two can work it out.



“Be safe, my dear. I love you.”



Eli laid his hand softly on her back. “You still okay, Darlin’?” he asked quietly.



Cee nodded and wiped her eyes. “I should have told her, Eli. Before she died, I should have told her she has another grandchild out in the world… somewhere.” He felt her sigh. “But, how could I have done that when I don’t even know if I had a son or a daughter.” She looked at him. “Sam knows. Sam held the baby after it was born. He knows.”



Eli reached down and wiped more tears from her face. “He told me.”



Her eyes widened. “He told you he held the baby? Or did he tell you if the baby was a little girl or a little boy?”



He leaned forward to move his face close to hers. “The baby’s birthday, the one before this last when we were still in Baltimore. Do you remember what you said to me?”



“Eli, I get so upset, I—”



“You said you had dreams of a little girl while you were still pregnant, and that whenever you dreamed about the baby, even after you gave it up for adoption, the baby was always a little girl.”



“I remember that, Eli,” she said quietly. “You’re telling me I had a little girl? That Sam said I had a little girl?”



Eli nodded. “He wanted to tell you, but you’d always said you didn’t want to know. He told me instead. He thought you’d rather hear it from me than from him.”



Cee looked at the letter again. “She never forgave me, Eli.” She looked back at him, this time she was smiling. “She never forgave me, because she never blamed me. Is that what it’s like to be a parent?”



“I don’t know, Darlin’. I’m not a parent, so I can’t say.” He pulled her close. “I know your mother loved you, though. These letters are just a confirmation of that.” He kissed her on the head. “C’mon out and have some dinner. Those letters will keep for a while.”

Cee looked up from her laptop. “Hey, Sam, thanks for coming in.”



Sam sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “Sure thing, what’s up?”



Cee pulled a stack of envelopes out of her middle desk drawer. “I read through a lot of those letters last night. Thanks for giving them to me.”



He shrugged. “Ma wrote them to you. They weren’t mine to keep.”



“Well, I thought you might want to read a few of them.” She held them back when he reached for them. “Question first.”



“Shoot.”



“Did the Navy give you any lessons on emergency childbirth?”



Sam gave her a quizzical look, then shook his head. “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ no babies.”



She laughed. “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe there’s anything you can’t do.” She handed the letters over to him. “Eyes only,” she said as he opened the top envelope. “And be careful with those. Some of them are almost thirty years old.” She watched him read for a while. “What did she look like, Sam?” she asked quietly after a few minutes.



Sam’s head snapped up to look at her. He immediately knew who she was talking about. “She was beautiful, Cee. Ten fingers, ten toes, she was perfect.”



“I still think I did the right thing. It was hard, Sam. You can’t imagine how hard it was not to see her, to touch her. But that was the best thing I could do for her, to give her up. She got to grow up without any of my baggage.”



“If circumstances had been different, I think you would have been an awesome mother,” he assured her.



‘If you say so,” she replied, not so convinced. She grabbed a stack of papers from her desk, tapping them even. “I have a meeting,” she said, getting up from her chair. “You stay and read. If you can, maybe we can have lunch?”



“Sure thing, Cee.” He squeezed her hand as she walked by. She bent down and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.



“Thanks, Sam. For everything.”

After the text Kusa ran like a banshee through the office, looking for any piece of intel she could find on the Rogue agent’s whereabouts….



“C’mon…No one is this untraceable….NO ONE!!!!!”



At that moment, Cee walked into to the room and saw Brandi totally freaked….



“What did Sam do this time????” she asked matter-of factly.



“Sa….no…nothing….I just….lost a report I’ve been looking for….”



“Seems Penny’s been sending you reports every half hour for the past two weeks….Who is this ‘Larry’ character anyway????”



Kusa was about to tear into Cee about invading her privacy, when she realized it was one of Maddie’s recent directives that Cee be copied on any and all of the Senior Agents official communications, so that if anything went wrong, the research they were doing could be easily traced….What she hadn’t planned on was her sister in law actually tracking the communications as they were coming….



“He’s….he’s a heap of trouble….that’s what he is…..”



“And why are you all up in arms about him….I know Penny says he’s back in town…should I alert the agents?”



Kusa was torn….She and Sam had hidden this knowledge from the others for too long…While in the Bahamas….they had the excuse….but now….the girls had to know….



“Call them in for a briefing….four o’clock. Let Maddie know…She should probably be the one to lead the meeting…”



“You got it Sis….”



As Cee left the room, Kus let out a sigh. Releasing the secret would be one load off….but the team knowing the full impact of this news…She wasn’t sure what might happen after that…..









MTC

At quarter to four Brandi was walking back from the Condo to the pool where she found Anna and Sherry deep in conversation…about Carl no doubt…As she began to pick up her rings and bracelet from the small side table she had left them on before she went into the water with Ashley, she noticed they had been shifted asunder.



“Oh yeah…some klutz of a new neighbor ran into it…” Sherry answered the unasked question. “…nearly knocked the whole thing clear over too…but somehow he managed to catch it and set it right…I checked to make sure everything that was still there…It is…right?”



“All present and accounted for…” Kusa smiled, putting her jewelry on, but as she looked down again, she found a little slip of paper, folded, on the table. She picked it up and opened it…



I’d stay calm if I were you…You know how things can…blow up…around you if you get upset….



It took all of Kusa years of training to restrain her heart rate….she knew the wrist cuff felt tight when she put it on…and the turquoise stone…wasn’t as blue…Then she saw the tiny rubies….



Rubies that weren’t on HER bracelet…..



This thing probably started taking her pulse the second she put it on…if she got nervous or excited….She didn’t have time to think about that…she had to get as far away from everyone as she could…







MTC

Driving the Jeep, listening to the meditation tapes her Psychiatrist had recommended for dealing with her rape, she was already half way into Everglades State Park when she finally called into the office to let them know she’d be ‘late’….



Sam answered the phone…Though she was happy to hear his voice, it made her want to cry all at the same time….



“Well it’s about time….We thought something happened to you….”



Stay calm….Stay CALM…Don’t need the last thing he hears from his wife to be a loud BOOM!....she thought to herself….



“Can you put Maddie on….” Was all she responded. And always remember I love you…was what she wanted to follow up with….



A few precious seconds later, Maddie was on the line…”Maddie…get a security team to the pool right away…make sure Sherry Anna and the kids are safe and don’t let them put ANYTHING on that isn’t brand new and freshly washed….At BILL’S place!!!!”



“Brandi…what’s going on….?”



“He’s got me Mother….I’m toast….”

As Maddie and the others pull up, she sees Anna about to get into the car Bill had bought for her…after Many hours of driving school and passing her licensing test…



“And just where do you think you’re going….” Maddie asked accusingly.



“To meet with Kayla…Bella knows…I was to meet her in the park today…”



Maddie knew informing this one of what was going on would only insight a riot, but she couldn’t just have her going off on her own…She looked over at Triton who had just arrived at the office when she had gotten the call from Kusa. He wasn’t a trained operative, but he was a Marine, and had seen more than his share of covert action. “You…go with her…”



Triton nodded and stepped forward toward Anna, gently but firmly leading her from the driver’s side to the passenger door and helping her in, while he returned back to the first door, got in himself, and drove off.



“Ladies, you’ve been given your directions…Each of you take one of the children and/or Sherry into the cars that have accompanied us…LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND!!!!! We will meet back at the Cole compound, where the children will bathe and shower. Fi should be arriving shortly after with clothing for all of them and all of you….You are to remain there till further notice…”



“Where’s Kusa???” Jen demanded, not seeing the Senior Agent among those still poolside as she had expected…



“She…She’s following a lead….She will be joining us later….” Dear God….please don’t let me be lying…

Though she thought she had been careful about dumping the Jeep in a hard to find location, she forgot about the trackers Maddie had had installed. Mike, Virgil and Sam

found the vehicle and were hot on her trail in under an hour. Sam followed her shallow footprints with the skill of a Native American Scout. When she knew going any farther was useless, she took a deep breath to slow her pulse all the more, knowing her next action would only raise it up again…hopefully…not too high…



“SAM!!!! STOP!!!!!” she pressed her eyes together, not sure what would come next…Nothing did…She took another deep breath…



“Baby-girl…I told you…no more going out on adventures without me….”



“Don’t be an A$$, Sam….This is one adventure I….I have to do by myself….Think of the children….”



“I am….I lived most of my life trying to get away from my mother…I’m not having them live their lives without one….”



Kusa wanted to get angry, but that would only end in disaster…She wanted to argue…but that would only go down the same road….she wanted to run….but she was already exhausted and there was no way Sam was giving up….



She didn’t know what they had planned…but she had no other choice but to let them try….




















S'all for now

Triton and Anna arrived at the park early. Anna picked out a bench with a lovely view of the pond, just like the last time she had met with her old friend. Triton decided to hang back and walk the perimeter…As he passed a small grove of trees, he felt a small, sharp pain to his lower neck…and shortly dropped to the ground….



A few moments later, Larry stepped forward, adjusting his well tailored suit and standing over his latest victim….



“You’re lucky you’re not family…or there would have been something a little more potent in that dart….” He slyly sneered. Then, dusting his sleeves off, he proceeded to the bench where Anna was sitting…and stood behind her….



“What a lovely afternoon….wouldn’t you say….”



“Indeed...” She smiled innocently. “It reminds me of afternoons back home…”



“Where’s home…if I may ask…”



“Italia…Italy…”



“Ahh…beautiful place…”



“Indeed…have you ever been….?”



“No…well, not ‘officially’ I guess you might say…but…I’ve never been able to take time to enjoy myself…If I may be so bold…What part of Italy are you from…Palermo…Genoa…?”



“No…no…a small village on a beautiful island…Sicily…”



“Ahh… Una sig.na siciliana…”



“Una donna sposata siciliana… ma don' la t dice il mio cugino…”



“Kusa doesn’t know???”



“No…she is ignoramus….But I would be happy to introduce you to my husband…Julio…and his brothers…”



“In Sicily…?”



“No…behind you….”






MTC...

After thoroughly examining the treacherous bauble on Brandi’s wrist, Mike knew there was only one way to remove it…freezing and cutting it off….The van they had taken held the flash-freezing equipment they needed…but the damage to Kusa’s wrist…and the risk to both her and whoever did the extraction once the item was frozen…Besides, he couldn’t be sure it would work…



“It’s our only choice!!!” She demanded… “Just do it!!!!”



Mike gave her a grave glance, then turned and nodded to Virgil who went back for the equipment. Shortly after, he returned with what was needed and brought it out, but Sam grabbed it from his hands and brought it over to Mike and Kusa himself.



“Sam…you shouldn’t be here…”



“Mike…I’m not leaving…”



“Sam…He’s right….Having you in danger is only going to upset me, which is going to make this thing even more likely to go off….”



“You seem to be holding it together just fine till now…I could help you….”



Kusa held her calm, but raised her emphasis…”Sam….Go!”



Sam stood back up…He knew she was right…but would he ever be able to forgive himself for walking away…”I love you, Brandi….”



“I love you too, Sam….now get the hell out of here….Virgil too….”



Sam slowly…reluctantly…stepped away, but he and Virgil made no motion to move past the end of the clearing.



“Both of them…stubborn as mules…and I guess I’m the jacka$$ for marrying him….Think Virgil will ever get up the nerve to ask your mother….” Kusa teased.



“What…you don’t think I’m under Enough stress here….”



“Just trying to lighten the mood with a little idle chit-chat, dearie…No need to be so cold about it…” Her latter comment was perfectly timed with Michael’s turn to reach for the flash-freezer. “…or then again…..”



He dropped his goggles and draped a cloth over Kusa’s chest and legs, two more on her arm on either side of the bracelet, and before laying the last over her head, brushed her hair back with his hand apologetically….



“I know, Mike…I know…Just do it…”



He laid the final cloth over her head, turned on the blast, and aiming as carefully as he could, froze the bracelet.











When she could hear the machine stop, Kusa pulled the cloths off with her free hand, grabbed the tools Mike had laid out to finally remove the item, and took off down the trail she had originally been following…




MTC ....later

By the time the guys caught up with her, they could see her off in the distance, squatted down, right wrist resting on a tree stump, left holding the sledgehammer….



"I couldn't let you risk yourself more than absolutely necessary, Michael…Your mother would never forgive me…If this works…I'll see you shortly….If not…Well, take your time getting back to me OK!!!!!"



"Kusa wait!!!!" Michael shouted.



"Brandi No!!!!!" Sam screamed.



Virgil, already too winded for words, just looked straight out in amazement at what he saw next….

























The hammer struck down….
















































Kusa screamed in agony….
















































The bracelet broke into pieces…







































Kusa, trying to think through the pain, gathered up the pieces and threw them as far as she could out into the depths of the swamp, but just as they had gotten airborne…..
































































BANG!!!!!

Closing his eyes and blocking his ears from the tremendous blast, Sam crouched for the shortest of moments, then charged blindly in the direction of his wife.



“Brandi…are you alright…?!?!?!?!” he called desperately, just a few feet away.



“Sam!!!!!…where are you…”



Debris still filled the air, but he could see where she lay after the shockwave had knocked her to the ground. Why couldn’t she see him?



She tried to push herself off the ground, but her wrist was shattered. Her hand just hung limp as she cried in pain. Sam dove to his knees, ripping the buttons from his shirt as he tore it off, he flipped it around her arm and neck, forming a makeshift sling. She just sat there, slouching, near motionless, he presumed still in shock from the blast. He carefully got her to her feet. Thankfully her ankles were in better shape and he walked her back toward the others…Her left arm switched at random from clinging to him to holding her shattered wrist steady…By the amount she was stumbling, it was as though she couldn’t see a thing….













Because she couldn’t…

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Maddie and 23 were already there. The others were gathered at the Cole mansion as ordered. The trauma doctors examined her and took x-rays of her wrist. The moment that made Sam cringe the most was when the one physician shot his pen light directly into her eyes…and she didn’t move….











“We’re going to need to completely reconstruct her wrist…and probably a good portion of her lower arm. She has an extremely minimal amount of her sight left…she must have looked directly into the explosion…There’s still a chance it will return, but only time will tell how much…”



The doctor’s words pounded in each of their heads…Sam wanted to scream…rip the entire waiting room apart…How could this have happened???






















More to come.....probably tomorrow.....










KA23

While Kusa was being prepped for surgery, Cee and Eli came running in. Cee focused all her attention on her brother, knowing he would be totally at a loss. The operation seemed to go on for hours. Before going in, the doctors went into painstaking detail on what they were planning to do to reconstruct her wrist, but Sam could barely absorb any of it, so Cee made sure to keep her full attention on what was being said. For all Sam cared, if Kus came out as the one-armed woman, it wouldn’t have made a da#n to him…as long as she was ALIVE!!!!!



When she finally did come out, they had her wrapped in a thick cast that went all the way over her shoulder. There were bandaged stitches over her face, and her eyes were covered, reminding him of the other battle scar she would wear after this encounter. Maddie, Michael, Fi, Cee, Eli, and Bill stood with him in the hallway as they wheeled her past into recovery. No one spoke a word….













A little over an hour later, she started to stir…Sam was right by her side. As her consciousness grew, so did her agitation…



“Sam….SAM!!!!!”



“I’m right here, Baby-girl…”



“WHERE!!!! I can’t see you!!!!”



“It’s alright…it’s the aftershock of the blast….Doctors said…” He couldn’t bring himself to give her the odds…”It might take some time for your sight to come back…but it’s going to be ok….”



“Why can’t I move my arm?”



“The bones were broken when you slammed the bracelet off…do you remember…?”



She laid back for a moment…slowly beginning to recall what had happened earlier….”Yes…I remember now…”



“They had to do a total reconstruction….then immobilize your arm…you’re gonna be my Bionic Baby-girl…” he tried to smile….



Kusa smiled a little too, though a vague recollection of a dream she once had came back into her mind…though that time…Sam was the one in the hospital….The smile was short lived however, as the pain of her injury brought her back from dreamland…Sam watched her wince.



“The morphine button is right here…”



“You know I can’t stand that stuff….”



“Brandi…for once, don’t be stubborn…I’ll hit it for you if I have to…”



“You do that…in my present condition, I’ll just keep losing the thing…”



She meant it as a light jest, but Sam was glad she couldn’t see how the statement pained him…..But then again, she didn’t yet know the distinct possibility that her ‘condition’ could be permanent…



“Where are the others?”



“Maddie, Michael, Fi and Bill are out in the waiting room. Virgil took Cee and Eli to the office to follow up on some things. Everyone else is at the compound….”



Though she was relived to know the others were safe at the Cole’s estate, the thought of Bill being so close did little to comfort her…



“Well, all but 2 are there….”



“Who’s missing?”



“Well, not quite ‘missing’ as…well….left…A strange gentleman came into the hospital with Triton a short while ago. John’s being treated for a drug dart that knocked him out…While he was guarding Anna…”



“ANNA!!!! Where is she!!!!!!”



“Well that’s the weird part…The guy Triton was brought in by doesn’t speak a word of English…only Italian…and he handed me this letter….She’s safe, Brandi…She’s fine…And apparently a little more crafty than any of us have given her credit for….”



“Why do you say that?”



“When this guy saw me, he walked straight over and handed me an envelope…it’s in Anna’s handwriting…Do you want me to read it to you?”



“Do Red Lice ITCH???? Of COURSE!!!!”

Sam drew the letter out of his pocket, opened it up and began reading…





My Dearest Cousin,



I apologize for not to be there in a person saying good bye to you…I am afraid I have not been totally honest with you…I was of fear, if I had been, you would do to try and keep me from my quest…and I could not have that….Part of it certain, was simply to visit you, tell you on Caramia’s passing, and make sure that you truly did want to keep our estrangement of me leading the family in your stead. It is the other part I did not tell you on…



After your visit, before I comed, we had an alteration with a person you know as ‘Larry’. I will not say on detail, but he was sent by a rival family to cause us harm. The harm he did did cause the death of Julio’s uncle and could not go unpunish, so when it was told to me that your Michael did know of him, I made the detergent to come and hand out this problem. I wish it had been told of me sooner that he was of contact with you and Sam presently, but when I was of ability to commiserate with him, we arranged to meet at the park this afternoon. His appearing at the pool was a consternation of that…The bringing of Triton was not of my plan, and I am glad he was not harmed badly. Julio (we have been married by the way…something I also negligeed to mention ) his brothers and other members of the family were also there…Larry is ours…and we will be taking him back to Sicily with us…to face family tribunal…just as you first did…”



“Is he ever in for it now….” Kusa smirked, considering Larry facing ‘trial’ in Italy as she had…She could almost picture it in her mind…no doubt they would have searched him, maybe stripped him, to make sure he wasn’t carrying any concealed weapons…after that…well, Julio would have made no bones about humiliating him as best he could….







[/size]







(pic courtesy of NatashaFatale <of COURSE!!!! >)





Just the thought of that almost made all this worthwhile…..almost….







Sam continued…



My dear Belladonna, I hope you are not too angry with me for keeping this from you. You have been nothing but sweet, and generous…and patent with me…during my stay with you…The boys and Ashley have been wonderful, and Samuel’s mother I will dearly miss as much as our own Caramia…But I was with fear that if you knew my other plans, you would try to convict me that he should stay and face your American court system…Julio already had lost in your case…To have this taken away by you would cause him total delineation…



“I just love this girl’s English…” Sam smiled.



“Oh, like you’re Professor Higgins….” Kusa smiled back. “She mainly makes mistakes when she’s hurried…go on…”



…I hope you understand, and that we will continue being fiends…I am eager to hear back from you, but for now I must ask of you one request. The man who has handed you this letter is without papers to return to Sicily…We were in need of them to take a certain other person with us. If you, or Michael, or your Mr. Bill could arrange for them for him, it would be a great gravity…



And finally, please say good bye to the others for me…especially Paul…I am afraid I mistaked him as well…As all the girls were so doting over their men, I did not want to seem out…He is quite the handsome gentleman, but ass I have said, I am marrieded…I hope I have not hurt him too badly neither…



Fairwell, dearest Cousin…and I hope we see each other again soon…





With Much Love and Affliction,



Anna





The closing line was as funny to Kusa as the previous one was painful…Seeing her cousin indeed…



“Well…did you tell Maddie to sound the all clear to the others at the house…”



“I was waiting for you to hear it first…and I figured a little time with the group of them under wraps wouldn’t be a bad thing either…All except my sister of course…Once she found out what was going on, she REFUSED to go into hiding….She can get to be one h#ll of a mule sometimes….”



[size="3"]“Must be genetic…” Kusa teased.



Sam just sneered, “Seriously, it was all I could do to get her to the office to track down Anna’s crew to make sure Larry didn’t pull something on the flight out…so far, she’s reported finding them, not to mention ‘helping’ them through customs and such…so far…so good…”



“Good to know…Let the others know he’s, uhhh, out of the country, and ask Michael if he can arrange this guy’s papers…unless you want to handle it yourself…”



“I figure, the second I open my mouth, Bill will just offer to fly him out himself, under the guise of a steward or something…”



Again…Bill was in the middle of everything…”Whatever works…I trust your judgment…When I get out of here, we’ll get in touch with Anna again. I don’t want her worrying about me when she’s got Larry to contend with…Although I’m sure this will add another accusation to his list of charges….I’m just glad this is all over….”



Yeah…all over…Sam thought to himself…Till you find out…no…that won’t be the truth.............it can’t be…..

A little while later, as Sam was getting ready to walk out the door to arrange for their mystery guest, Michael walked in.



“Perfect timing…can you stay with her a while I go take care of a couple things…”



“Sure…” his voice faded to a whisper. “How’s she doin….”



“Good as can be expected, I guess…” Sam returned in kind, then turned and kissed his wife on the cheek, then on the lips, then doubled back for the door.



As Mike took Sam’s seat next to Kusa, he reached for her hand, but the cast was elevated in a mechanical sling. Reaching for her knee or her side, he thought might be too personal, especially if she couldn’t see it coming…and with her history….so he pressed the chair back to rest his hand on her shins, which would have worked out perfectly, had it not been for the metal legs of the chair shrieking across the linoleum floor….



“Michael…I know my eyes are bad…I didn’t need my hearing to be shot too….”



“Kus…I’m soooo sorry…I….I’m so sorry….” He stepped up closer, less concerned about being too personal. He gently ran his hand over her bedraggled hair…”This…this is all my fault…”



Kusa let out a deep sigh. “Michael…don’t start that talk…I was careless…I knew he was after us, the letter from Anna explains why now I guess…but that doesn’t excuse the fact that I just went about leaving my things around like it was business as usual…I should have known when Sherry and Anna said they had had a visit from ‘a klutzy neighbor’ something was up…I didn’t…I know how close you and he were in the old days…but your not being able to kill him a year ago does not make you responsible for what he does now…Remember that test I arranged for the agents a while back, the one that put them in a position where they faced killing someone they cared about…None of them could do it either…To be honest, if it were Sam or any member of our team, I don’t think I could have done it either….You’re not Superspy, Michael…You’re human…we all are…Maybe the fact that you couldn’t kill him proves how much better than him…how much more human…you are than he is…Besides…you risked your life trying to save mine…”



“Till you ran away again…”

“But you would have stayed there if I hadn’t….and if you didn’t live through the blast…Fi would have killed me….”



Even blind as she was, Kusa could feel the ‘give me a break’ smirk on Michael’s face after her off color metaphor, which just made her smile the more….



“Michael. Bottom line, you’re not responsible for his actions, and you should be commended for your own…to say the LEAST!!!!! Now quit Sulking!!! I may be on some form of immuno-depressants for this thing, but that doesn’t mean they should be followed by emoto-depressants from YOU!!!!!!”



Even through the drugs, Michael saw Kusa’s smart mouth was not to be stopped. He had to smile…If even in this sad state, she could sass him…she had to be right…what business did He have in bringing Her down????



“You’re right…This is my last apology…I’m sorry….now…what would you like to…” he grabbed the remote and swallowed his last word just in time…



“Watch???” she finished for him….”Listen…I’ve had migraines where I had to ‘watch’ TV with my eyes closed…how is this any different….?” She winked, but she knew he couldn’t see it under the gauze that covered her eyes, so she reached for his hand with her left. “I guess there’s one good thing to come out of all of this…”



“Really, what is that???”



“ To paraphrase the words of Inigo Montoya….I am not right-handed….”


MTC but that's all for now...

KA23

And JUST when the agents were hoping to use their brand new tasers on him for target practice... Geez, Kus, we were planning for Larry to rack up some serious medical bills...

On a lighter note, Anna's letter was a total crack-up...

"I made the detergent to come..."
"But ass I have said..."
"Something I also negligeed to mention..."
"Much love and affliction..."

ROFL...great job, Kusa!!!

(I don't think she liked it at all...how 'bout you???? )

After a few days of rest, healing, and the hospital food she hated with a passion, Kusa was finally able to leave. The cast had been removed and replaced with a smaller version of itself toward the latter days of her stay, but the doctors insisted she remain on bed-rest with the arm still elevated till further notice. Kusa fought this, of course, but with Sam, Maddie, Cee and the whole team insisting she ‘follow orders’, she didn’t have much of a choice…



Nor did she have much of a choice as to where she’d be staying…The PT equipment she’d be using more and more of as her healing progressed was too bulky for the condo, and Sam worried Ashley or Adam might hurt themselves on one of the lines, so everything was sent to the Cole’s mansion…



As she was being settled in, Kus tried to be as hospitable as possible and not show how extremely uncomfortable she was with the arrangement. She couldn’t see the equipment, but Sam probably had a point about the danger to the children. Jackie was being a saint, as always…She wondered if she knew all this time about his involvement with the Organization, like she did about their relationship….And now, with her back in the house…again…this had always been far too weird for words…now it was worse….









Bill was not unaware of her change in behavior. After the welcome back partying was over and everyone had gone home, including a disappointed Sam, who wanted to stay at the house and have Phi stay with the kids, only to have Kus argued him off, he sat by her bedside in the converted den and began to talk….



“So what’s going on…”



“You mean besides a psychotic madman who did all this to me while trying to kill me and my family, because he was trying to strong arm my Mafiosa cousins into leaving him alone after he killed another relative????.....Not much, I’d have to say….”



“Then why the stonewalling?”



“I thought it was Carl who was into the Civil War Reenacting?”



“Not Stonewall Jackson…..Stonewalling….why have you been putting up such a dividing line between the two of us…what’s changed?”

Kusa wasn’t sure how to react. Normally, when Bill would press her into conversations she didn’t want to get into, she’d just walk away…If her eyes were the only issue, she knew the floor plan of the mansion well enough and would have done so that moment, but it would be slow going as she hadn’t done much walking since the explosion and wasn’t quite sure she could count on her legs carrying her…not to mention her arm would be another deficit. Heaven forbid he grabbed it to try and stop her, she’d let out a blood curdling scream that would wake Jie and Jackie….Triton would most likely come running out in his boxers with his guns drawn…that alone would be a sight to behold….if she had sight….



“I….I don’t know what you mean….”



“Come off it, Bri….” The sound of her old pet name made her visibly recoil… “See…that’s what I’m talking about…You used to love when I’d call you that…why do you hate it so much now….”



“Because it reminds me of how long you’ve been LYING TO ME!!!!!!” she finally hollered…This time it was Bill who shrunk back…



“Lying…..So it was you that day at the office….” Kusa made no response… “Yes, Bri…I’ve been a part of the Organization for…well, a very long time…Before we met, actually…”



“You knew all about me then…”



“Maddie used to rave about you in her reports, so I finally decided I had to meet you myself…See you in action, so to speak…”



“You wound up with plenty of that, didn’t you???”



“Br….Brandi…It wasn’t like that…I wasn’t planning on falling for you…Flirting with you, sure…Seeing if I could distract you from your work…I couldn’t…not in any considerable way anyway…”



“So the whole thing…it was all just a test…I must have failed miserably…coming out to you and all…”



“Not in the slightest…that’s why I started supplying you with whatever intel I could directly…I thought, if you knew that I knew who you were, there was no need to go through the home office to get it to you…I’d just hand it to you myself…As far as a test…well, yes and no….It was a real situation, and we had to assign someone, so I chose you…”



“Why couldn’t you just tell me???”



“You know how Cee is? Always wanting to make sure she has a way to ‘pay me back’ for the things I try to give her and Eli…You never seemed worried about tit for tat, or being beholden to me for whatever…Somewhere along the line, you always knew you or I would pay it back or pay it forward….it was like a karma thing between us…It was working so well, I didn’t want to chance messing it up…”



“So you and Maddie kept your little secret…All the time I thought SHE was the person I was working for…And it winds up being the person I was IN BED WITH???”



“Don’t blame Maddie…She was ok with the secret when I was just a case you were working on…but when things got more permanent between us…She wanted me to tell you, Brandi…But like I said…I truly believed that would mess things up….like it has now….”



“Of course it Has NOW!!!! You’ve been lying to me for over a decade!!!!”



“Did you ever ask me if I was your boss….Did you ever ask me how or where I got all the information for you that I did…?”



“I thought you just had connections…”



“I did…other agents…but answer the question…”



“No…I never asked…”



“Then how could I have lied to you???”



If her eyes had been uncovered, she would have wanted to tear them out by now…”Lying…holding back the truth…are we really going to split hairs like this???”



“Split ends…do you think I need another trip to the barber’s already???”



“CUT THE CRAP!!!!!! You KNOW what I’m saying!!!!” Of all the times for him to be exasperating….and she had no way to get away from him…



“Kusa…I know saying ‘I’m sorry’ will never cut it…not at this point…I guess that’s part of why I’ve always done everything I could to take care of you…directly and…well, in ways outside even your range of focus…I didn’t plan on things lasting so long between us…or getting so intimate…but they did…and I will never regret that…You’ve brought so much into my life…As your ‘boss’ as you put it…certainly pride in seeing you complete your missions successfully, over and over again….but so much more…the person you are….your inner strength…your compassion…your generosity…Not many women would give up their millionaire lover while pregnant with his baby, in order to save his marriage you know…”



“It was the only way I could go….”



“My point exactly…you never think of yourself….Michael told me what happened in the Everglades…”



“I was in just as much danger either way…no sense in taking him with me…”



“Maybe that’s the way you saw it…Not many others would see things that way…or that clearly…You’re a magnificent person, Brandi…and the only one who can’t see just how truly amazing you are most of the time….is you…”



“We’re getting off topic…”



“No…we’re right on topic…I didn’t tell you, because I was afraid I was going to lose you if you found out…I lied to you for over ten years as you say…but that was ten plus years where there was no politics between us…We weren’t boss and employee…we were partners…I was there for you and you were there for me…even after the romance…when I finally found you again…we were estranged, most certainly…but you always knew how to get in touch with me…”



“So, was the honeymoon trip some sort of Service Anniversary Bonus????” His words were hitting home, but she still wasn’t ready to let go of her venom yet…



“If you want to call it that…It’s why I took the team with us too…to ‘test’ them as I first tested you…”



“You didn’t…”



“Don’t be Obtuse, Brandi!!!!! I didn’t sleep with them!!! I wanted to see them in action, out in the field…Have to say…you really know how to pick ‘em…”



“I’m still not sure if I picked them, or they picked me….It kind of just happened…”



“You mean like us…And correct me if I’m wrong…but didn’t you hide your very name from them for months after you’d been working together…You were practically a family already, but you still wouldn’t tell them your name…Even had them believing your name was Sabrina at one point as I remember…”



Kusa sat silently….



“Ok…it wasn’t ten years…but why did you do it….”



Kusa didn’t have a real answer…It was just the way she was about herself…never letting anyone get too close…Telling Bill her real name back when they were first becoming a real couple was a big step…telling the girls…Well, keeping it from them was killing her…but for some reason…all that time…she just couldn’t bring herself to do it….



Maybe she could relate to his secret keeping after all…



“Now do you see my point…?”



“It still hurts…”



“I know…and for that, I’m sorry…You, Jackie and Jie are the last people on this planet I would ever want to see hurt…I’d rather die myself than see that…and you can take me as literally as you want…I couldn’t stand that you were so alone when our daughter…well, when you were pregnant…going through all of that without me…Every time I think about it…..But now, here you are…I can’t do anything about the past…but I can be here now…and I’m going to do everything in my power to see that you are back to 100% as soon as possible…”



“And if I’m not…I’ve never looked into the Organization’s retirement plan you know…….401K and all….I’m not much of a Stock broker….”



Bill just smiled and shook his head…”You will never have to worry about any of that…You’ve trusted me…whether I’ve deserved it or not is arguable, ok…but you’ve trusted me for years…I made sure there was a trust fund set up for you, Adam, and any ‘future relations’ years ago…The money is safe and will be there when you need it…”



“Wow…I was saving for Adam’s college and didn’t even know it…” Against her rational judgment, Kusa had to smirk up a smile….Maybe Bill had been devious and secretive about his formal association with her all these years…but that meant nothing compared to the times he had indeed been there for her…The past year alone proved that…



“So….when do we tell the girls…..” She could hear him grumble, trying to stammer out the beginnings of a non-answer he knew she would never accept… “This can’t go on forever, Bill…If I had to tell them my name…you have to tell them your title….Mr. Boss-Man….”



“Ok…Ok…We’ll tell them….”



“When?”



“At the ‘opportune moment’????”



She just scowled….



“Alright…I don’t know…but it will be before the strike of 12 on New Years…does that work for you???”



“It’ll do…It’ll do…But be sure that’s one resolution you KEEP!!!! I’ll be in enough drek with them keeping your secret myself….”



“Up to your eyeballs, I’ll bet….”



She moaned painfully…not from any actual, physical pain…but just the pain of his awful sense of humor…..



Bill smiled, stood up from her bed, and kissed her on the crest of her forehead. She reached up with her good arm, and softly hugged his head good night. Then he turned and headed upstairs to bed…





















When he arrived, Jackie was still up…



“I’m guessing she knows now…”



“Yup…”



“And she thinks you run the joint?”



“Yup….”



“Poor fool…” she smiled…



“Yup…” Bill smiled, leaning back into the bed, simultaneously lifting the covers over himself and turning to kiss his wife….



“G’night, Boss-lady….”



“Good night…Number One….” She smiled, responding to his kiss…



As their lips softly released, he couldn’t resist one last quip…Fluffing the covers and looking straight to his knees as he started to slide himself down, “Wasn’t too long ago, keeping company late at night with her would have made me Number Two….”







Jackie just shook her head and returned to her novel….





K, I'm toast for the night...hasta all!!!!


KA23