C. Paradee - Deep Cover

They followed his progress down the sidewalk and up the steps until he stopped in front of Maggie's apartment and knocked. The door immediately opened and he disappeared.

Kris could see little point in remaining in the parking lot. While it would be interesting to follow Michael when he left, it would be difficult to do so without alerting him to their presence given the growing lateness of the evening. She also knew it was possible he might not leave the apartment until morning.

She glanced over at Shelby. "You ready?"

"Yeah, if you are."

The operative started the car and left the headlights off until they were out of sight of the apartment building. "I want to see if we can find his car."

"Good idea. It'd be nice to have proof it was Michael." Shelby began scanning the cars parked along the street, searching for a black Lincoln with a license plate matching the one Jonathan had given her earlier.

Her effort was rewarded minutes later when they located the car on a neighboring side street. Kris drove past the car, not wanting to appear suspicious in the residential neighborhood, and headed for Shelby's apartment. "Guess that answers that."

"So what do we do, now that we know it's him?" Shelby raised her hand to her mouth, trying to hide a yawn that wouldn't be denied.

Kris knew just how she felt and was glad they were finally heading for the apartment. "Right now, nothing. If he knew of my connection to the Russians, he'd have already used it against me. It helps that we know who is behind the attacks and where he's been getting his information."

Shelby glanced at Kris curiously. "Aren't you going to turn them in?"

"Yeah, after we set them up so the Company can move in." Barely audibly, she added, "But not yet."

Shelby barely heard the whispered words, immediately understanding Kris' trepidation. If the Russians suspected the operative of setting up two of their agents, her mother would never survive long enough for them to locate her. Unable to think of anything to ease Kris' worry, she remained silent.

Gregor headed through the hallways of the embassy toward Dimitri's office. He had to find a way back into his superior's good graces and was willing to do anything, including grovel, to accomplish his goal. He'd never expected Dimitri to learn of Shelby's value on his own and then flaunt his knowledge.

The Russian knew he was treading a thin line, and he considered himself very lucky not to have been sent back to the motherland in disgrace. He'd intended to best his superior and had failed. Now he had to convince Dimitri that he was still valuable.

As he neared the door, he heard Dimitri call out, "Wait, one more thing." He saw Markov reenter the room, his hand still holding the door ajar.

"You will report any orders you receive from Gregor. Should you fail to do so, you'll end up with him in an unmarked grave. Any questions?"

"No, Comrade."

"You're dismissed."

The cold words washed over Gregor and he quickly retreated through an open door in the hallway to prevent Markov from seeing him. He rested his head against a cool wall in the farthest corner of his hiding place, realizing it would be futile to try and reason with Dimitri. He was a walking dead man.

Stormy didn't greet them at the door when they entered the apartment, and failed to appear when Kris shook the box of treats the little feline loved. "I think she's mad at us."

Shelby nodded. "Can't blame her, we've been gone so long."

After they showered, Kris helped Shelby apply a new dressing to her arm, and the two women walked into the living room to unwind before retiring. Stormy stood up on the couch, meowing loudly.

Shelby chuckled. "I think she's telling us she forgives us this time. Guess we better try and make it up to her."

Kris rolled her eyes, but was no less enthusiastic in greeting the ragamuffin who purred contentedly, rising up to meet the soft strokes being lavished upon her.

They had just decided to go to bed, when the phone rang.

Shelby glanced at the phone, surprised. Late phone calls were always bad news, but she hesitated only momentarily before answering it. "Hello."

Listening intently, she waited for a pause and then handed the phone to Kris. "I think it's your mother."

Watching the brief play of emotions that flickered across Kris' countenance, Shelby marveled at the ease with which the operative switched to her native tongue, the guttural sounds rolling freely from her throat. While on a logical level, she knew Kris wasn't an American as she'd originally thought, that knowledge didn't diminish the strangeness of hearing her converse with her mother in Russian.

She welcomed the opportunity to observe a facet of her partner that hadn't been previously revealed, reminded once again of just how little they really knew about each other, and treasuring what she did.

A few short minutes later, Kris hung up the phone. She gazed at Shelby, her eyes worried. "Dimitri just wanted to remind me I've only got a couple more days to deliver your password. Very clever way to do that."

"How's your mother holding up?"

"She's doing fine. Her only contact with anyone is when her meals are served. The hardest part for her is being so isolated, with nothing to do." Kris looked down at the floor. "She told me not to worry about her, she's not afraid of dying. Just to take care of myself. Then Dimitri took the phone from her."

Shelby put her arm around Kris, hugging her. "At least we know she's still okay."

Returning the hug, Kris said, "Yeah. You're right. Guess we'd better get some sleep."

Kris lay awake in the darkness, desperately seeking a viable plan to find her mother, and continuing to draw a blank. Short of kidnapping Markov or Gregor, she had no idea of how to find her mother. If either of them disappeared, she would be the primary suspect, and Kris had no doubt Dimitri would immediately retaliate by killing her mother. Frustrated, she continued to search for a solution until her thoughts were interrupted by the quiet voice of her partner.

"Kris?"

"Hmm?"

Shelby nestled closer, concerned about the tension radiating from Kris. "You need to relax. You're so tight, you'll never fall asleep. Let your subconscious do the work. In the morning we can figure out a plan."

Kris sighed. "I just keep coming up empty."

"I know, sweetheart. I do, too. I think we both need a good night's sleep. We'll figure out something."

Knowing she was keeping Shelby awake, Kris focused on clearing her mind and relaxing. She leaned over and met her partner's lips for a sweet, lingering kiss, then hugged Shelby tightly, carefully staying clear of her partner's injured arm, her own soreness overshadowed by the comforting feel of the small body tucked against her own.

She smiled when Shelby returned the hug with her good arm, both relishing the contact and drawing strength from the other. Long moments later, their arms relaxed, but even as they entered the dreamscape, their bodies remained closely connected.

MICHAEL RELAXED ON the rooftop of a building across the street from the apartment complex for an hour before deciding it was safe enough to venture down to the parking lot he had under observation. He would've preferred to continue discrediting Blue by waging further attacks against the woman she was protecting, but he was running out of time.

In his mind, he'd already disgraced her with the shooting earlier in the week, and now he was going to execute a coup de grace. Both women would die, but his goal would be accomplished because Blue's reputation would be forever sullied - not only by the successful attack earlier in the week, but also by her ultimate failure to protect either of them against a car explosion.