Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

Sherman had reconnoitered the area earlier and planned several avenues of escape should they become necessary. When he finally succeeded in delaying Viglioni, he turned down the first alley he came to. Sherman ran across several backyards, vaulting several fences in the process until he came to the mouth of another alley. Running down the alley, he approached the rear of a three-story apartment building. With practiced ease, he jumped up and grabbed the bottom rung of the fire escape quickly making his way to the roof.

Sherman lay flat for a half hour to make sure he wasn’t being observed. When he was satisfied, he took off his jacket and then removed the thin surgical gloves he was wearing. Pulling a cap out of the jacket pocket, he put it on his head. After thoroughly checking the area again, he exited the roof.

Walking nonchalantly up the alley in his baseball cap and T-shirt, Sherman turned onto Fleet, walking some of the very same ground he had run down earlier, giving every indication of being one of the locals on his way to the bus stop.

Tony and Brian walked side by side back toward the Red Chimney restaurant. Brian was concerned about the whereabouts of two of his men that had not joined in the pursuit.

Taking his radio off his belt, he said, "Unit one to Unit three. Come in." He was relieved a moment later to hear, "Unit one, this is Unit three.

Over."

The big man asked, "What's your 10–20?"

"Parking lot across from the Red Chimney. Units 5 and 6 are with me," the officer reported.

Brian said, "Unit One, out." He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the sweat from his face. Musing out loud, he said, "Doesn't make sense. What in the hell are they doing back there? Kris is the only one who was supposed to stay behind."

Tony had no idea and shrugged her shoulders. Her thoughts were on her assailant. Ruthless Bastard. What kind of lowlife places a child in jeopardy just to save their own ass? What if she hadn't got there in time? It was common practice to use diversionary tactics when being pursued, but there were certain lines a professional just did not cross and Tony knew she was dealing with a professional of some kind.. Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled grimly thinking about what she'd like to do when she got a hold of him.

Brian looked over at Tony and felt a chill. She had a professional aura that was frightening, even to him. But right now, she literally oozed danger. He had only seen this persona once before, and he still remembered the fear he'd felt when she had literally dragged him from his chair blaming him for placing Megan into the hands of a madman. Looking away, Brian almost felt sorry for Sherman. Almost, but not quite.

Megan, Kris and the other two officers saw Tony and Brian approaching. Megan left the group and quickly walked toward her partner, feeling a sense of relief. Tony appeared to be fine. But she was not prepared for the cold faraway look in her partner's eyes and felt a chill when she gazed into them.

Softly, she asked, "Tony, what's wrong?" and tentatively placed a hand on her forearm. She had been listening to the radio conversation between Kris and one of the other officers and knew Sherman had gotten away, but normally her partner would've just taken that in stride.

Something must have happened to elicit this kind of reaction, and Megan found it frightening.

Tony shoved her dark thoughts aside and looked at her concerned lover. The dangerous glint began fading from Tony's eyes and she said, "The bastard tossed a kid into the middle of the street to get away." Tony looked away for a moment. "I expect that from the lowlife's I usually deal with, but he is supposed to be a professional."

No wonder her partner was angry. Worried, Megan asked, "Is the child ok?"

Tony placed her hand on Megan's shoulder needing the comfort the contact afforded her. Meeting her partner's worried eyes, she said, "Yes.

He's ok. Two of Brian's guys are with him now getting a statement. They'll contact his mother and make sure he gets home ok."

Remembering Brian's comment about the officers that were left behind, she asked, "What's with Kevin and John? How come they stayed here?

Kris was the only one that was supposed to stay behind."

Megan narrowed her eyes. She had her own suspicions about that. When she asked the officer why she wasn't joining in the chase, Kris had told her she wanted to make sure he didn't circle back to the restaurant. "She stayed behind because of me, didn't she?"

Tony looked at her lover, a small smile appearing on her face. "You didn't think I was going to leave you out here alone with this guy on the loose, did you?" she said, gently squeezing Megan's shoulder.

The irritation Megan had initially felt faded. She knew on occasion Tony could be overprotective, but it was so comforting to know she could always count on her partner. No, Tony wouldn't leave her alone if she thought there was any chance of danger and she loved that feeling.

Smiling wryly at her partner, she said, "No. Don't guess you would."

Tony grinned, and said, "Glad you see it my way. So, why did the other two stay behind?"

Megan looked at her partner, shaking her head. "You're not going to believe this. After you guys took off, Kris came over to the Jeep where I was sitting. She asked me if I'd seen John or Kevin. When I told her no, she tried to raise them on the radio and couldn't get an answer. So then we both went to their posts." Megan brushed a stray hair out of her face and continued, "We found both of them bound with duct tape.

The last thing they remembered was being hit on the head. Neither one heard a thing. I checked them out and they're ok."

Tony listened silently. He had the advantage by knowing what they looked like. Had he been suspicious it was a setup or was he just being extremely cautious and not taking any chances? She didn't know, but then it really didn't matter any way. The operation had failed.

Just then Brian came stalking over, his face dark with anger. Looking at Tony, he said, "Do you know what that bastard did?"

Tony met his gaze, and said, "Yeah. Megan just told me. He had a trump card and he played it. He knows what we look like. That gave him an advantage."

Brian nodded, still angry. "Well, this was a total bust. Now what?"

Tony ran a hand through her hair, and looked off into the distance. Good Question. Now what was right? Turning back to face Brian, she said, "We wait for him to make the next move. The ball is in his court. Right now, we have no idea what he looks like or anything else about him except it's likely he is a professional, so we just wait."

Brian sighed. "All we can do really. Watch your ass," Brian said, and began to walk away. Turning around looking pointedly at Megan, he added, "Both of you."

Megan felt a chill. Lifting her head and meeting Tony's eyes, she said, "I really needed to hear that."

Tony felt a flicker of fear for her partner. After what she had witnessed tonight, she knew her pursuer would stop at nothing to get to her. It greatly distressed her that Megan had been inadvertently drawn into this mess.

Concerned she met her partner's gaze. "He’s right. Do you think you could stay at Ashley’s tonight? I don’t want you staying at the apartment all night by yourself."

"Probably. I’ll call her." Megan felt a sense of relief at the suggestion. The idea of spending another night in the apartment alone was not appealing at all.

Megan pulled the cellular phone out of her purse. After extending the antenna, she pushed the on button and dialed her sister’s number, relieved when she heard the familiar, "Hello."

"Hi, Ashley. Would you mind if I stayed there tonight?" Megan asked.

Ashley set down the glass she was holding, her attention completely on what her sister was saying. "You know you can stay here any time.