Absent Comrades By mardel Rated PG Disclaimer I just borrowed the characters for the story, they are owned by Kronish productions, NBC and SC Productions. Feed back to lynneblue33@hotmail.com The current killer on the loose was suspected of being a member of a motorcycle gang. George had not been able to gain very much information. If it wasn't regarding an arrest, there was just no where to find information about members. Clues found at the scene of several rapes and one murder all pointed to a gang that was local to Atlanta. But all normal avenues of investigation were falling short. Marcus had volunteered to attempt to go undercover. But the gang was not very open to Blacks or other minorities. Bailey knew he could probably work his way into the gang, but it has been a long time since he had been undercover. To be really convincing he would need a female agent to go along as his biker babe. He even had a Harley that was used and wouldn't look like some guy out for a joyride. John didn't approve of the idea. "Bailey your the head of the unit, we can't have you be out there for days at a time with out knowing how you are." " I don't like the idea that much myself, John. But if something doesn't come out of those tests Grace is performing on the last victim. I'm going to have to consider going undercover." Bailey told him. George paged Bailey and John to the meeting room. " I have some interesting information here." George said as they took their usual seats. "There is going to be a huge rally of motorcycles in ten days, it's an event that takes place every year, but this year is special because it's the 10th anniversary of the first Rolling Thunder. "Rolling Thunder?" Sam asked. " It's a tribute motorcycle riders pay to the Veterans, especially the Viet Nam Vets. A mass ride from the Pentagon to the Wall on Veterans Day weekend. There are hundreds of riders in a parade of sorts to honor the men who fought for the country." George explained. Bailey nodded, as a Vet and a rider he had heard about Rolling Thunder before. It would be a good way to break into the gang they wanted to learn about. A gathering was a little more loose about outsiders. "George have you found me a lady agent to pose as my girlfriend?" Bailey asked. "There are a few to choose from, however two are fresh out of the academy. I have been unable to find any with motorcycle experience. I think the best choice would be Cheryl Harris, she has worked undercover once before. She is a little older than the other choices, but she has more experience dealing with improvising." "Then contact her and see if she is available." Bailey ordered. "You know I could go with you." Sam offered, " I might be able to get a read off of the guys, if I can talk to a few of them." " I would rather you not be exposed to this group of people Sam. It would be hard to guarantee your safety in such a large gathering." Bailey told her. Sam nodded, she wanted to catch this guy, she saw no sign that the rapes and murders were going to stop, she expected them to escalate. Grace reported that her tests had been blanks. They were going to have to find another way to gain evidence. Agent Harris on line three Bailey." George reported." " Agent Harris, Bailey Malone SSA of the Violet Crime Task Force in Atlanta." He began. " Yes sir, what can I do for you?" she asked. " We have a situation here that needs an undercover operation, it should only take a week or so, it wouldn't be a long undercover op, are you available?" Bailey couldn't really tell her to many details at first. "That kind of depends on the undercover requirements, I'm available as far as my current cases go, but I'm also five months pregnant." she replied. George's eyebrows went up, that information had not been in her file. Bailey knew that he couldn't put her in jeopardy if she was with child, he was surprised she hadn't told him sooner. " Congratulations, I hope you have a healthy delivery. But under those circumstances I'm afraid we can't ask you to do this operation. Thank you for your time." Bailey ended the conversation. "Sorry, I didn't know about that." George told Bailey. " Who was the second choice?" Bailey asked. " There are a few female agents from the current graduating class that might work." " Are either of them former Military or police officers?" Bailey would prefer not to take a totally green agent into the field as his only back up. "No, but three are Lawyers and one was a firefighter before she joined the Bureau." George explained. "What criteria are you using to find these agents?" Sam asked. " Well as you know there are only about 12 to 20 females in each class and with a fail rate of at least half for all agents, that leaves us with eight ladies from the last class. Three are Accountants, Three are Lawyers, the firefighter, and a former teacher. I was looking for a lady who would fit in the model of a biker chic, now while all will probably be good agents, the role calls for someone attractive, and athletic wouldn't you say?" George asked. "So that kind of narrowed the search down to these three agents. Ms. Temple, Ms. Brenner, and Ms. Whitehorse." Bailey looked at the pictures George posted on the screen, it was nice to see friendly faces on the screen for a change. " Ms. Whitehorse is Native American that might not be a good choice." Bailey said, " Most of these gangs are only white members, including their girls." " I thought she might not make the cut." George took her picture off. " Tell me about the other two." " Ms. Temple graduated from Yale Law three years ago, she has stated that she has always wanted to be an Agent. She runs in marathons for fun, she is single and she has acted on stage in several productions in college and before. Ms. Brenner graduated from Chicago State Law four years ago, she is following in her fathers footsteps, as he was an Agent for twenty six years. She has studied Judo and placed very highly in her most recent intramural competition. She is a crack shot scoring 98 in her firearms test and she is also single." George ended. "Have either expressed a desire for undercover work?" Bailey asked. "Yes, Ms. Temple said she would be interested." "Lets contact them both and do an interview. Sam I want you in on the interview, because I may just take you up on your offer if neither of these ladies can do the job." he sounded unhappy about the whole idea. They interviewed Ms. Temple first she sounded interested in the assignment, but she had seemed a little to vague to both Sam and Bailey. Agent Brenner was available for an in person interview as she had just been assigned to the Atlanta Field Office two months before. John had made the initial contact with her and arranged for the interview later in the day. Bailey had been on his cell phone just before Ms. Brenner's' arrival. He had been arguing with one of his superiors about the idea of his going undercover and his voice had been lowered to his usual gruff growl when he was attempting to make a point with out yelling. Sam was not at all surprised that Ms. Brenner's first impression of Bailey was less than good. She actually seemed afraid of him. When she learned that John was not the person with whom she would be teamed her eyes grew wide and she politely declined. Sam had found herself swallowing her laughter, so as not to upset Bailey further. "I'm glad your so amused, because you had better find some suitable clothing for this op, you will be going with me." Bailey was very unhappy, and angry as well. The next morning he had ridden his motorcycle to the task force compound so that Sam could practice riding with him a few times. She also needed to learn a little about the bike and how to control it herself if the need arouse. Bailey was not wearing his gear, in the building, but he had changed from it in the locker room. " I understand we have just received word of another rape, the victim was found at six this morning wondering on a country road. " Bailey informed the team. Sam interviewed the victim with John, Bailey and Grace went to the crime scene. There were tracks just like the ones from past attacks. But they needed to match them to the bike for them to do any good. That afternoon, Bailey had advised Sam to change into her jeans as she was going for a little spin. Bailey was waiting for her in the back parking area. Grace and George just happened to be having their lunch on the bench where they could watch. Sam looked apprehensive about her first trip, Bailey just looked grumpy. To Sam he looked magnificent, he was wearing black jeans, boots and a black leather jacket. At the moment no helmet, his hair was wind blown from his trip across the parking area. " Have you ever been on a bike before?" Bailey asked her, " No, not even in high school." Sam looked scared. " There isn't much to remember , just hold on to me, keep your feet up on the posts, here, " Bailey pointed out the spot where her feet were supposed to rest, " and lean with me when we take turns. It's easier if you watch the back of my head at first, then you'll get the hang of it." Sam threw a leg over the seat and took up her position behind him. She put one hand on each of his hip bones and put her feet up on the posts. Bailey started up the cycle and it roared and rumbled beneath them. "Hang on here we go." he shouted. Sam thought she had a good hold on him, but once he moved off she found out she had to really wrap her arms around him to keep her balance. Bailey made a few trips around the parking lot then stopped near George and Grace. " You think Sam can pass as a biker chic?" He asked them. " That was kind of fun." Sam smiled and released her hold on Bailey. Grace laughed, " She can, if she stops smiling from ear to ear." George pointed out. " Once you two are with the others, Sam is going to have to pay attention to you, like a real biker chic would, to make it believable." Bailey didn't like that George had pointed that out this soon, he had hopped to put that off until the last minute. "I'm sure she doesn't need practice with that." he growled. " I don't know how much attention are we talking about?" Sam teased. "Hang on." Bailey pulled off again and this time he took her on a trip on the roads surrounding the compound. He hated the idea of taking her with him, but it looked like there was not any other way. There was a small chance they would find something to go on before the gathering took place, but he needed to prepare just in case. Sam was hanging on to him and she was leaning into the turns just fine. He wasn't sure if he would be able to concentrate on the job at hand if she took the part about paying attention to him, to seriously. Three days past and another rape happened. Sam was unable to interview the new victim, she was totally hysterical. But all of the signs at the site of the rape were the same as the past three. Sam was now worried that is was starting to escalate. The attacks were beginning to come more often. " I'm worried about this case, if things keep building there will be at least one more attack before the gathering." Sam told Bailey. "I know, we are going to have to try the undercover op, do you feel comfortable enough about it, or do you want to practice more?" he asked. "I feel comfortable with you, I'm not so sure about the rest of the plan." She confessed. " The rest of the plan, you mean the cover story, or pretending to be some one your not?" Bailey asked. "I have the cover story down all right, I have the stuff about the motorcycle memorized and it's kind of fun riding with you." she said. "Then what's the trouble?" Bailey asked puzzled. "I know George was just teasing you and me, but how much attention am I supposed to give you once we get there?" she rushed the question. Sam was a widow, for over a year now. Bailey was divorced so there was no conflict of marriage vows to worry about, not that a little touchy, kissy would be, but. For some reason it was making Sam nervous. Bailey tried not to grin, when he answered her. " Nothing to intimate Sam, maybe a kiss or two, and some hanging on my shoulder while I have my arm around you. Just enough to make it look good." "I can handle that." she answered. Sam's prediction didn't come true, or if he had attacked again they had not heard about it before they left for the gathering. Bailey drove his truck with a trailer carrying his bike and gear as far as North Carolina. He wanted to join up with a group of bikers far enough south to make it look believable. Sam had found several biker babe outfits for her role, but at the moment she was wearing a fairly tame get up, of jeans, boots and a tank top. Bailey had borrowed Frannie's leather jacket for her to use. "Are you ready?" He asked as they prepared to pull out onto the highway. George had driven up with them, he was going to follow in a surveillance van. John and Nathan had gone ahead to set up a base of operations. Grace was back in Atlanta. Sam took a deep breath, " I'm as ready as I will ever be." Bailey nodded and pulled out on to the interstate. They were out on the interstate for about an hour when they met up with another group of bikers and one of the pairs riding tandem waved at them to fall in to the formation. When the group stopped for a break. The man riding with the lady that had waved them in, came up and shook hands with Bailey, who was going by the name Bill. "Hey, there I'm Nick and this is Rachel we're out of Florida." He was a tall man with a long beard, veteran badge on his jacket and bandanna tied on around his head. "Bill and Sam, we came up form Georgia," "Nice to meet you all, have you been to Rolling Thunder before?" Nick asked. "No, first time, decided it was time this year and just told the boss I was taking a week off." Bailey said. Rachel approached Sam and smiled, " I haven't taken a trip this long since I've known Nick, I'm ready for some hot coffee and some food." "I hear ya, I hope it's warmer in DC than it is here." Sam was cold herself. The men talked and the women talked, they all ate some lunch and Nick introduced them to a few of the others. Bailey told Sam when they got back together that he had heard one of them mention that a group from Georgia was meeting them in Virginia for the night. Sam was glad they had found at least part of the group they were looking for, she had no trouble holding Bailey close during the next part of the trip. He was not cold but she was, and she was wearing a shirt, and fleece pullover and the leather jacket. Bailey noticed her shivering shortly before they pulled over for another break. " We should be stopping soon for the night. Can you hang on for a little longer?" he asked. "I'm fine, just cold." Sam nodded. Bailey covered her hands with one of his large hands and she could feel the warmth seeping into her. Sam moved to lean into him for a second, and Bailey acted like he was having a little togetherness with his babe. He opened his jacket so she could soak up some of his body heat, he had to clinch his teeth when her cold hands came into contact with his body. "Oh, your nice and warm." Sam murmured. Bailey rubbed her back and then kissed her beside her ear, from a distance it was hard to tell what they were doing. Sam was trying to warm up and the feel of Bailey's body flush against hers was a pleasure in more ways than one. How she was going to make it through the next few days with out letting him know her true feelings she didn't know. Bailey was just worried about her, Sam was a strong lady but she did have a problem keeping warm. "Lets get you inside were there is heat and hot coffee." Bailey told her. " Just a second. Let me hold on to you for a couple of seconds." Sam asked. Except for her hands, she was actually warming up from just being pressed close to him. "Or am I making you cold?" "No, just your hands were a shock. I hardly ever get cold." Bailey told her. "Sorry, I guess I should have thought about gloves." Bailey closed his arms around her and let her soak up some of his body heat. Once they were inside Sam started to feel like one of the gang, all of the ladies were complaining about the cold. Even a few of the guys looked uncomfortable, but they weren't saying anything. Rachel introduced Sam to one of her friends, "This is Candy," "Hi, are you guys as cold as I am?" Sam asked. "Hey, yeah it's not usually this cold this early in the year. I remember one year it was like seventy five degrees. Which one is yours?" Candy asked Sam didn't realize what she meant then it dawned on her, " Oh, Bill is the tall one talking to Nick, no beard." Candy looked Bailey over and nodded, " He's rough looking, but very nice." Sam nodded and commented. " Yeah, I try to keep on his good side." Sam was glad the trip to the motel was only fifteen minutes. There were a few rooms left, the group he was with had actually made plans to stay at this motel. Once they were in a room, Sam relaxed for a minute. She sat on the bed and rubbed her arms. "You might find yourself the target of one of the ladies some time, Bail she seemed to think you were very nice." Sam told him. " Thanks for the warning. Was it the red head?" "Yes, I never did see which guy she was with." That night several of the men were gathered in the bar of the motel, when the rest of the group showed up. Two the new arrivals looked stressed out, to Sam. She had seen them arrive, Rachel had gone out and told them where the rest of the men were. Rachel, Sam and a woman named Jewel were talking and watching the TV in Rachel's room. Bailey noticed the new arrivals, he thought that two of them seemed keyed up, as if they had just been in some kind of altercation. He stayed with the group until a few of the others went to their rooms. Other than telling war stories, or past Rolling Thunder stories most of the group seemed like your average good old boy bunch. No one had said anything about breaking laws, pulling hold ups and anything like that. Sam was in the room waiting for him. "Did you learn anything?" He asked. " Just that two of the men that arrived tonight seemed hyped up about something. George called and they are set up." she added. "I Noticed the same two, do you think they might have attacked someone on the way here?" Bailey asked. "It's possible." Bailey showered and put on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. "Do you want the right or left side?" Sam was still dressed, all except her shoes. "I don't have a preference." "I'll take the side near the door." Bailey checked the clip on his gun and put it under the pillow on his side of the bed. " Good night Sam." he said next and lay down with his hands behind his head and his breathing deep and even only a few minutes after he eyes closed. Sam waited until she was sure he was a sleep, then lay down too, she had pulled on a pair of stretch pants but was still wearing her shirt from the day. She planned on taking a quick shower in the morning. At some point during the night, Sam had come to rest against him. Bailey had been only half a sleep the entire night, a talent he had learned in the service. He had expected her to be nervous about their having to share a bed. But he had not expected her to end up cuddled against him in her sleep. It was nice, it was also a test of his love for her that he put up with it. A man's control only went so far. Sam woke up, feeling very rested and nice and warm. Then she realized she was not only sleeping with Bailey she was practically sleeping on him. She waited to see if he was still sleeping. As far as she could tell he was. She could hear his heart beat strong and steady. She eased away from him and rushed into the bathroom. Bailey sighed and got up, he did a few bends and stretches to help him wake up. He wished he could go for a run, but that would leave Sam alone for to long. George called early, and reported that there had in fact been a rape about two hours down the state from their current location. Grace was dispatched to look over the site and John went to meet her. Bailey explained everything he had learned from George to Sam. "It seems your predicted it right again," "I wish I had been wrong," she nodded. " At least we know which two to take a look at now." " Do you think it has been a pair all along, or he just decided to share last night?" Bailey asked angry. " I think that might be part of them both being upset, something didn't go as planned. I won't know what until I hear from Grace and John." The group pulled out of the parking lot at 9:40 they had to make it to the District by night fall if they hoped to find any place to bed down. "You didn't tell me we were camping out." Sam complained. " I didn't think you would mind, you said you use to go camping with Angel all the time when you were kids." Bailey answered. "It should only be for tonight, I hope to get enough information from one of our suspects tonight." Sam was listening to the men talk, she was trying to be careful to not let them notice she was listening. Bailey was on the other side of the area talking with a small group of men, one of which was her main pick for the rapist. He was slightly built, young, and antsy. The one she was listening to was saying something about his having to pull Tom off of some bitch the night before. He sounded angry. The other men were asking questions like, didn't you get your fare share, and why did you stop him, she was just an outsider. Bailey had heard a similar story from him, he had been showing a chic a good time and here came Bobby pulling him off the bitch. "But it's not enough for a warrant, we need some link other than a guy bragging." Bailey said. They arrived at the Mall in DC that afternoon, Sam had not visited since she was a girl. Bailey said he had never seen the Wall, but he knew a few men who were on it and a few more that should have been. Sam walked with him down to the monument. It was a very moving experience. Big men in all types of uniforms, leather jackets and business suites cried openly and no one gave them a hard time about it. Men hugged each other, women who had lost their lovers, husbands, brothers and fathers placed flowers at tablets with their loved ones names engraved on them. There were 57,612 names at last count. The men Bailey knew were on 56west. Bailey had wanted to come but he hadn't wanted to come to. He didn't want to dredge up all the memories both good and bad from back then. He had lost an entire squad to a sniper on one mission. He had saved more men than he had lost over the three years he was there. But you never dwelled on the ones that were still around. He swallowed hard as he walked arm and arm down past the east arm of the wall. The monument was carved down into the earth, so that as you walked past the names, you when down, at the apex the wall was fourteen feet tall. You were below ground level looking up at the names. Then as you walked along the west wall you came back up out of the memorial. Bailey held it together until he was face to face with the names of the men he had lost. Sam held to his side tightly, not knowing what to say. " I couldn't save them, Sam and I couldn't even get the sniper that killed them." Bailey wept. " I know Bail, but you saved a lot of other guys while you were there." she told him. She didn't know if she should let him stay or try to move him along. She didn't know if he needed time to heal or if it was even possible to heal from such a terrible experience. Sam could feel the wave of sorrow rack his frame and he tried to come to grips with the fact that they were gone and he was still alive. Bailey wasn't even aware of his surroundings now, he was back in Cambodia with his squad, hearing the gunfire and seeing one after another of them get picked off. George spoke into Sam's ear, " Are you guys all right?" Sam nodded, she could only hear him , she didn't have a mic for him to hear her. George didn't like the fact that he lost sight of them while they were at the memorial. He had gotten out of the surveillance truck and taken to following them on foot. He was standing on the small rise across from the monument near the newest statue that had been added of the nurses in 1997. He saw Bailey and Sam standing in front of the Wall, he had never visited the Viet Nam Veteran Memorial before, but he knew it was supposed to be moving even for people who had never lost anyone in the war. Sam was almost supporting Bailey by the looks of things. He was hunched over as if in great pain. "I'm coming." he told Sam. George came up to them from the west side and asked as if he was a concerned by-stander if they needed assistance. Sam nodded, and together they led Bailey up the walkway to a bench a little way up the path. George was supporting Bailey's weight better than Sam had been, he seemed to have gone inside his mind there for a minute or so. Just as they reached the bench Bailey kind of stood up straight and looked at George, he grabbed him by each arm with a death grip of steel. George had a bruise on each biceps from Bailey strong grip by the next morning. " George, I couldn't save them." " I know Bailey, but you saved me, and John and Sam and others. We are still here because of you." George told him. Bailey seemed to think about that for a second then hugged George hard. Sam nodded to George over Bailey's shoulder. " I think he's coming out of it now." George nodded his arms around Bailey just in case. " Why don't you sit down for minute." He guided Bailey to the bench and then sat next to him. Bailey exhaled deeply and looked at first Sam and then back at George. " Thanks guys." Then he looked back towards the Wall just partially visible from where he sat. His eyes stayed fixed on it until he pulled himself back together and he put the demons back in the place in his head he had been keeping them locked in all of these years. Then he nodded to George and stood. George looked over at Sam a questioning look on his face. She nodded that it was all right, then touched his arm in reassurance. "OK, I'll get back to work." he stood. Bailey looked him level in the eyes then as he did when he was checking on his team members. George saw that Bailey had been shaken but he was back to his usual controlled demeanor. When Sam and Bailey rejoined the biker group, they found several of them had been drinking and telling stories. Bailey was about to slip off and checked over the bikes both men owned. But he was surprised when the red head named Candy followed. He waited for her, he couldn't have her know who he was or what he was about to do. " Hey, Bill I was wondering, if you could use some company." she asked coming to stand very close to Bailey. She lifted a hand to his open jacket and caressed his chest. Bailey was about to tell her to shove off, he had a lady and he wasn't lookin'. When Sam arrived, " Take your hands off him, Bitch, he's mine." Candy whirled to face her, " You haven't been taking care of him to well from what I can see." Bailey waited to see what Sam would say about that, he was having a hard time keeping a straight face. "My man likes to keep his private life, private." Sam moved to Bailey's side and slide one hand up his hard chest. Then she kissed him briefly. Bailey wrapped one arm around her and grinned at Candy. " I'm not lookin' for a new woman, Sam takes care of me just fine." he spoke low and deep his voice a rumble. Then he lowered his mouth over Sam's and kissed her with some feeling. Candy was so disappointed she stomped off. Sam lost everything she had been thinking when Bailey kissed her. It was a kiss like none she had ever received before in her life, it was both tender and disturbing. His one arm was supporting her, as her knees had gone weak, his other hand was at the back of her head. Bailey knew Candy had gone, but he took just a little longer before he ended their kiss. He had tried to keep it friendly, but some of his deep love for her had slipped past. "She's gone." he told her. Sam nodded, swallowed and exhaled. " Are you OK?" Bailey asked stepping back from her. "Yeah, sure fine." Sam was still dazed from his kiss. Bailey still had one hand on her waist to make sure she was steady on her feet. She was looking dizzy. "I'm going to go check the bikes now." he told her. Sam nodded again. Bailey found blood, on the wheel housing of one bike and contacted Grace about her investigation of the last crime scene. "Was the women in question hit on the head at any time during her attack?" "Yes, we should be able to get a warrant for the arrest of which ever of them owns the bike. It almost has to be her blood. Also this time there was blood from someone at the scene other than the women. I have enough to match it to who ever it came from." Grace told him. Bailey had John get a warrant for both men, one might have to be kicked loose later but he wanted to make sure he got which ever of them owned the bike. " Sam this is going to be and ugly arrest, we have to pick him up while he is surrounded by a hundred other bikers." Bailey explained. " I know, are you going to be part of the arresting party?" she was still worried about him. "Yes, but I want you to stay here with George." he had changed into his usual suit and his gun was back in it's holster. Bailey, John, Marcus, and several men from the local field office and a few Marshals had been called in for the arrest. They wanted enough back up in case things got ugly. Bailey located the men in question. He waited until one of them was near the edge of the crowd then stepped in to make the arrest. "Bobby Wilkins you are under arrest for the rape of Katherine Williams." He had surprised the younger, smaller man and had his arm in a vice like grip he was not likely to be able to pull free. Bobby wilted at the sight of Bailey, and Marcus cuffed him and walked him out towards the waiting truck. The other man was slightly tougher to arrest, he had seen John coming for him and had run up off towards the reflection pool. But he didn't get far before he tripped and fell head first into the water. John had to wade in and pull him out. The crowd had not noticed other than some drunk had fallen into the water. When they were all back at the compound, George was telling Grace the details of what had happened. He just wanted her to know that Bailey had been upset when he visited the Wall. He hadn't meant to even tell her about his bruises. But some how he had shown he his arm during the telling of the story. Sam had caught the end of the tale. "George you shouldn't be telling her, how did that happen?" Sam asked. " It was when Bailey grabbed you." "Never mind I shouldn't have said anything your right." He clamed up. Bailey had scene them all talking and saw what he had done to George. When Sam checked on him later he was still dwelling on the events of the day before. "Bailey, do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked sitting on his couch. " No, I have things locked back away, and I hope they stay there for awhile. But I do want to ask you, how did I bruise George like that, I don't remember doing it?" " He's fine, don't worry about it." " I want to know Sam?" "You were remembering, and you grabbed him by the arms. You told him that you couldn't save them." " I still don't remember." Bailey shook his head. " He told you that you saved him, and me and John and that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. That got through to you and you began to come back after that." Sam explained. Bailey nodded, " George was there when I was sitting on the bench. And you were there, thanks Sam." he kind of half smiled at her. But he still had that thousand yard stare. End