"That note doesn't make me feel any better. And from the looks of it, he hasn't been able to get any kind of decent work, not that I care."

"He brought it on himself."

Shelby sighed. "Yeah, but I know he still blames me for losing his job. He always had such a superiority complex. Working at gas stations must be a real insult to him."

"Do you care?"

"Not really. I still wish I knew why he was at the apartment the other night."

The operative didn't bother answering. She intended to find out one way or another. If Shelby's visit to her stepfather didn't yield satisfactory answers, she would pay him a return visit and convince the bastard that Shelby didn't exist in his world.

Kris studied the picture included in the file, committing it to memory. It was a mug shot, but it didn't diminish the obvious attractiveness of the man staring at the camera. He had dark hair, blue eyes, was 6'1" and weighed 220. After Shelby jotted down his address and phone number, Kris closed the file and rose from her chair. "I'll return it."

Shelby watched her partner leave. She always seemed to be working several angles at once. She's been acting distant ever since she saw that guy in the hallway. Wonder what that was all about?

The operative ignored Shelby's questioning look as she left the office. She wanted to pay Earl a visit and find out if he knew what Michael was doing at headquarters. Her mission proved unsuccessful when she discovered her boss and his secretary were both out of the office until the next day.

She returned the file to Dennis' secretary, Joanne, and began making her way back to the office, before suddenly detouring to the canteen to pick up coffee for both of them.

Kris stood in front of the counter after she'd placed her order, automatically scanning the occupants of the room. Her eyes traveled quickly past employees sitting at small tables along the wall, before focusing on the table farthest from the door. Michael was sitting with his back to her, talking to a short, attractive woman who had eyes only for her table partner. She took the two coffees and left unobserved.

Walking down the hall, her thoughts drifted back to the last time she'd seen Michael and her jaw tightened as the memories came flooding back.

After three months of painstakingly laying the groundwork, they had finally been given the go-ahead to bring in the Iranian agent who had requested political asylum. Her higher ups had delayed the decision, wanting to make absolutely certain that the foreign spy was not merely a plant to disseminate disinformation.

Blue smiled in satisfaction when she finally received the order. Everything the Iranian had given them had been proven valuable and her superiors now wanted him badly. Unfortunately, their stalling had proved costly. Before he could be extracted, their contact was taken into custody and was being held in the paramilitary headquarters of a small Middle Eastern town until he could be transferred to the Iranian capital.

Frustrated, the American operative considered ambushing the vehicle en route to its destination, but discarded that option because it was unclear which route would be taken. An inside source advised them when the informant was to be moved from the detaining cell to Tehran, indicating his escort would only consist of two guards.

Blue knew that the element of surprise was their biggest advantage and hoped to be able to extract their target safely without any Iranian casualties. And so in the predawn darkness, she had directed her team of four, disguised in the garb of the local populace, to strategic locations near the headquarters.

The door to the building opened, and three men emerged - one shackled in chains between the other two. Blue spoke quietly into the tiny microphone clipped to her aba. "Go."

She had just reached the street when a short, three-shot burst rang out. Reflexes guided her actions even as the scene seemed to unfold in slow motion. She moved back under cover, noted the direction from which the shots were fired, and watched in horror as the remaining guard – his AK47 on full automatic - sprayed the area around him as he fell to the ground, mortally wounded. The image of their target falling to the ground in a growing pool of blood was overshadowed by the screams of wounded and dying innocent bystanders - many of them women and children – and it burned itself into her mind. "Abort!"

Blue made her way to the rendezvous, cold fury burning slowly like a coal partially ignited. Michael Benton was what had gone wrong. The shots had come from his location, but what she couldn't understand was why he had opened fire.

She'd asked to have Benton reassigned, complaining that he wasn't a team player, but her request had been denied. He had an outstanding record and was considered a rising star. Her handler had blown off her concerns as a personality conflict and told her to deal with it.

So she had. And now children and other innocent civilians were dead. Their target was dead. Three months of hard work was down the drain, and what could have been the biggest information coup in recent history was now a mere memory.

Her team began arriving, and it soon became apparent to Blue as she questioned the others that they had been moving and had not seen the direction the shots were fired from. As she waited for Michael, the scene of the carnage playing repeatedly through her mind; she wondered how he could ever hope to justify his actions, and vowed to do her best to destroy his career.

Michael presented some convincing arguments during the investigation, stating that one of the guards had turned his weapon on their target and he had acted to ensure the Iranian's safety. What total bullshit. But in the end, it was her word against his, and all her testimony only resulted in him being taken out of the field and reassigned. She had since harbored a suspicion that he had been protected, but couldn't substantiate it.

She was leaving headquarters following the conclusion of the hearing when he approached her in the parking lot. "You won't get away with this. I'll destroy your career just like you destroyed mine." She just laughed. "If you think you're good enough, go ahead and try." His face reddened in anger, but he turned and walked away.

That was the last time she'd seen him, until today.

As Kris entered the office, Shelby smiled and accepted the coffee. "Thanks."

"My pleasure. How many names have we got left?"

"Nine, but I might be able to eliminate one more today."

"Good." Kris sat down, uncapped her coffee and took a sip. Turning her attention to the monitor, she called up the file on Michael only to find she didn't have access. Cursing silently, she swung her chair around and faced Shelby.

Sensing she was being watched, Shelby looked up. "What?"

"How about pulling up Michael Benton's file?"

Surprised by the request, but pleased to be included, Shelby quickly thought it over. She was still curious about Kris' reaction to the man, but needed some sort of justification in her own mind to access his record and decided to be direct. "Who is Michael, Kris?"

The operative hesitated only briefly. "I worked with him once a couple of years ago. He blew our operation by using poor judgment and disregarding orders. Because of him, a lot of people died that day, many of them innocent bystanders. It was my word against his before the Oversight Committee because no one else saw what happened. I took it to the top, but since there were no other witnesses, he was retained and just transferred to advisor status instead of being terminated. Always felt like a cover up to me."

"But he's history, right? What's he got to do with here and now?"

"Last time I saw him, he threatened me. I'd like to know what he's doing here."

That was all the justification Shelby needed after the events of the past week. Maybe Michael was here because he knew Kris was. Maybe someone wasn't shooting at her at all, but was shooting at the operative instead. She scooted her chair over making room for Kris and grinned. "Ready?"

Pushing her own chair across the room, Kris settled behind the desk next to Shelby and watched her work the keyboard until Michael's mug shot appeared on the screen.

Shelby advanced to Michael's history and scanned the information, knowing Kris was doing the same. "Did you know he's Jeb's brother?"

"No. But Jeb's a nobody. Whoever protected him before had a lot more power."

Snickering, Shelby said, "Jeb'd have a fit if he ever heard you say that. Doesn't matter that it's true."

Kris winked. "Just calling it the way I see it."

Shelby finished reading and looked at the screen in front of her. "He's currently assigned to Israel. He must be on leave or something. I'm surprised he didn't show up on the list. No wait! I know why. The search only included regular field agents, not advisors. Maybe we should add him."

Kris nodded. "Good idea." She quickly wrote down his home of record in Maryland, but as a precaution asked Shelby pull up Jeb's file to get his address, too. It didn't hurt to cover all the bases. It was disturbing enough, given the events of the past week that he was in town right now.



*  *  *

Shelby laughed as she won the battle for the remote. "Uh uh. We are not watching Cops again."

"Why not?"

"Come on! It's been on for an hour already. Let's watch Miracle Pets."

Kris grinned and raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Sure. Whatever you want."