Radclyffe - Honor Bound

Grant set her jaw and prepared herself for an upbraiding. It would be hard to take coming from Roberts, because she respected her.

They crossed the street and Cam unlocked the ornate park gates, stepping through with Grant on her heels. Once they were inside, Cam slowed so that Grant could walk by her side. Cam looked at her and said, "Do you want to tell me what happened between you and SAC Doyle?"

Grant stared straight ahead, her tone subdued as she replied, "He contacted me this morning while you were on the phone with Washington. He told me he would need me for an undercover operation to apprehend Loverboy." She swallowed, recalling the strange conversation. "I told him he should speak with you, but he informed me the decision had already been made in Washington. He said that he needed my answer then."

She looked into Cam's face, her tone unapologetic. "I told him yes."

They had reached a secluded corner of the park, not far from where Cam had sat with Blair only days before. They stood under the shade of a weeping willow, Cam with her hands balled into fists in the pockets of her trousers, Grant unconsciously at attention.

"I'm not going to let you do this, Grant," Cam said quietly, although her voice vibrated with tension. "You're a Secret Service agent, not FBI. This is an undercover decoy operation, and you're not trained for it."

Grant straightened even further, a set look of determination on her face. "Commander, I respectfully disagree. I was a cop before I joined the Service. I can do this."

Cam smiled slightly, expecting nothing less from the spit and polish Grant. She was a solid agent in every respect, and Cam did not doubt her abilities. Nevertheless, she was not going to lose another agent, not in an operation that spelled disaster from the onset. There were too many people involved and not enough coordination. Janet had been a trained undercover detective, and she had died in an operation just like this. Cam wasn't going to lose anyone else.

"Agent Grant, I have never doubted your abilities. I value your contribution to this team, and I trust Egret to your care. This is something altogether different, and it'snot going to happen."

Grant met Cam's eyes and she spoke her mind. "Commander, you may not have anything to say about this. I'm not certain that anyone can override SAC Doyle at this point. If I'm needed, and if I'm ordered, I'll do it. And do it willingly. Jeremy Finch is dead. You were almost killed." She hesitated for moment, and then said quietly, "The next time, Commander, he may be too angry to settle for a substitute. The next time it might be Egret. Commander, I want this assignment."

Cam looked past Grant's shoulder up to the penthouse of Blair's apartment building. They couldn't keep her up there forever. She doubted they could even keep her up there for a few days, nor did she really want to.

Blair was suffering - from the guilt of others dying in her place and from the conflict of being at once exposed to countless strangers - and confined by them. It was a conflict that was suffocating her and one that would eventually destroy her strength. Cam could not bear to see that. She brought her eyes back to Ellen Grant's steady blue ones.

"If it comes to that, Grant, I want you to know that I'll be right behind you. You're not going into this alone."

Grant smiled softly. "Thank you, Commander. That makes me feel better."

Finally, Cam smiled, too. "And Ellen - thank you."

When they turned and walked side by side from the park, the silence between them was one of unspoken communion.

*

Blair answered the door at the first knock. "Is Diane all right?" she inquired urgently as Cam stepped into the loft.

Cam nodded and went directly to the phone. She disconnected the jack and inserted a small rectangular box between the wall and Blair's phone. An LCD readout blinked on the face of the metal device, showing a series of rapidly cycling ten digit numbers. She depressed the receiver once to engage the scrambler, then handed the telephone to Blair. "Why don't you call her yourself? 212-555-1950."

Blair raised an eyebrow and pushed the numbers. A few seconds later she said, "I'd like to speak to Diane please..." She whispered a 'thank you' to Cam as she waited, then the first real smile in a long time lit her face. "Hey. How are you doing?"

Blair leaned against the breakfast counter that divided her kitchen from her work area and reached for Cam's hand as she spoke. "I don't think it's a good idea to try to seduce the FBI, Diane," she said dryly, a wry smile on her face. She tugged Cam closer, and Cam slipped behind her to sit on one of the high stools lined up along the center island in the kitchen.

Blair backed between Cam's legs, saying, "Yes, I know. Theydo seem to be criminally attractive, but I still think it might provoke an incident if you dragged one into the bedroom."

As she talked, she ran her fingers up and down Cam's arm. Cam shifted, spreading her legs so that she could pull Blair against her chest, slipping both arms loosely around Blair's waist from behind, cradling her softly in her arms. She rested her chin against the top of Blair's head. She sighed, too quietly for Blair to hear.

"I can't tell you very much. I don't know very much," Blair offered, placing her palm on the inside of Cam's thigh. Almost unconsciously, she trailed her fingers along the inside seam of Cam's trousers, listening to Diane tell her about the less than four star accommodations she was being subjected to. Hearing Diane's voice helped ease the ball of tension that had filled her chest all morning. But even in her relief, she was much more aware of the slight increase in Cam's breathing and the fine tension rippling through the muscles under her hand.

"She's here with me now... Yes, Diane," Blair said in mock exasperation. "I'm listening to her." She laughed, and added, "I said I was listening - I didn't necessarily say I was following orders. I don't believe domestication is an immediate threat."

As Blair spoke, Cam fingered open the top two buttons of her blouse and slipped her hand inside. Blair gave a slight start of surprise and automatically pressed her hips back into Cam's crotch.

"I'm sorry about this," Blair said quietly, trying valiantly to ignore the brush of Cam's hands over her nipples. "I trust Cam, and she'll get you out of there as soon as it's possible."

Blair reached behind her and found the button on Cam's fly. A second later she had it open and was tugging at the zipper. "I'll call again," she said, then listened briefly. "Yes. I'll be careful, I promise."

Before she said goodbye, her hand was inside Cam's trousers. She set down the phone and leaned her head back against Cam's shoulder -extending her neck, offering her flesh. Cam's lips were on her immediately, hot and hungry. Blair rubbed her fingers over Cam's briefs, smiling to herself as she found the heat she expected.

"Thank you for that," Blair said throatily, arching her back, pressing her breasts up into Cam's palms.

"What?" Cam asked dimly. She was focused on the way Blair's breasts filled her hands and the insistent pounding pressure between her legs building rapidly under Blair's fingertips.

"Letting me call her," Blair murmured, her eyes closed. She moved her hand back up to Cam's belly, aware of the faint growl of frustration from her lover. She smiled to herself, enjoying the power. She smoothed her palm over Cam's firm stomach and then pushed her hand under the waistband of her underwear, back down between her legs. She slipped a finger on either side of the firm prominence of Cam's clitoris, squeezing her slowly. Cam jerked against her, groaning softly.

Then Cam's lips were against her ear, her breath ragged, as she whispered, "Do that a little harder and you'll make me come."