After the meal concluded Steve said his goodbyes leaving the couple talking over coffee. Michelle was anxious to return to her apartment but Rudy, after considering Steve’s theory of an intentional hit and run, tired to convince her to stay at his place. The dark haired, green-eyed woman assured him she would be safe on the embassy grounds. Seeing how it was futile to debate the issue with the stubborn woman Rudy acquiesced and drove her home.

Her boss was very please to hear her report, telling her she was free and clear of her indebtedness. Michelle smiled as she hung up the phone and was still smiling as she placed a call to her supervisor at the university. A week’s vacation was long overdue.

Steve sat in his late afternoon meeting with Oscar but his mind was on the incident from lunch. Oscar looked up from his file and stopped mid-sentence after noticing his friend’s distant, unfocused stare. It was clear his operative was not hearing a word that was spoken.

“Steve?” There was no noticeable reaction to his change in tone. The tall man stood and moved around his desk to lean against its front.

Steve still did not notice he was being scrutinized from just a few feet away. Oscar stood with his arms crossed at his chest waiting patiently for Steve’s attention to return to the room.

Oscar had years of experience working with Steve and knew that look very well. His friend was mentally problem-solving a weighty issue. He hoped to find out what the distraction was.

Steve suddenly took a deep breath and let out a sigh, his refocused eyes blinked a few times and he raised a questioning brow at his boss. “Something wrong Oscar?” He asked suddenly aware the concerned-looking man had changed positions.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Steve remained silent, weighing the pros and cons of sharing his suspicions. Oscar eyed Steve carefully as he spoke, “For the last five minutes you’ve been off somewhere else. Seeing how distracted you are I thought you might want to talk about what’s on your mind.”

Steve shifted in his chair. “What about the report?” He gestured with a tilt of his head toward the desk.

Oscar slid into the other chair in front of his desk as he replied, “It can wait.” To Oscar’s surprise Steve was instantly on his feet. “Good, because there’s something I need to do.” The younger man walked to the door and without looking back promised, “I’ll be in touch.” The door shut quickly.

The director just shook his head in disbelief as he stood and went back to work.

Steve jumped behind the wheel of his light blue Mercedes and froze, unsure of where to begin. Was he being paranoid? Was he just being over-protective of the valuable scientist? Was he about to make a mistake that would forever alter his decades-old friendship with Rudy?

Pulling into traffic Steve drove without a definite destination in mind. He hoped after a few miles an answer would come to him. Twenty minutes into his drive a possible answer did appear…in the form of a dark green sedan that began following him. From what the operative could discern from his rear view mirror there were two men occupying the vehicle that pulled back into traffic every now and then trying to remain inconspicuous.

Steve made a few sudden turns to see if his hunch was correct. As expected his tail followed his lead. He smoothly turned onto the Washington Beltway not feeling at all concerned for his safety…at least not yet.

Only after a few exits he took an off-ramp that led to a familiar rural road. Steve wanted to find out what their intentions were. Were they just following him or were they planning on doing him harm. He was curious.

It wasn’t long after leaving the traffic behind that the green sedan moved closer, holding its position on Steve’s bumper. Suddenly it swerved left and pulled up along side him. Steve hesitated, wanting to get a good look at the driver and his partner. As the cars traveled side by side Steve turned his head to the left, a few seconds passed for him to burn their faces into his memory before a revolver was raised and pointed at his head.

Slamming on his brakes as the gun was fired the bullet flew threw the open driver side window, whizzed past his face and exited through his windshield, flying harmlessly into the distance. Steve wasn’t going to give them another shot and yanked the steering wheel hard to the left, smoothly spinning the car 180 degrees before pushing the accelerator to the floor. Dirt and rock flew as he sped off, the green sedan in hot pursuit.

The chased man moved over the back roads he knew so well from his past, the space between the vehicles increasing with each mile. He remained calm, keeping the hunters at bay as he closed in on his destination. He wanted better odds before facing these men again. Checking the rearview mirror he saw it empty at the moment he made his final turn to safety, wondering if they had given up.

Skidding to a halt the two-armed men cursed out in frustration. They looked on from a distance and saw the brake lights of the Mercedes go out as it pulled through the guarded back gate of Andrews Air Force Base.

Steve wasted no time getting to the motor pool, changing vehicles and exiting the base through the limited access gate at the south end of the base. He traveled back to Washington unmolested, all the while considering what he should tell Oscar. He still wasn’t totally convinced this little cat and mouse game had anything to do with his gut feeling about Michelle. For Rudy’s sake he wanted to be absolutely sure before sharing any information.

The trip home was long. The tourist traffic was unforgiving and night had already taken over the capital city when he arrived. A tired Steve just wanted dinner and some sleep. Whatever was going on could be dealt with tomorrow.

In the morning Steve had Oscar’s undivided attention as he relayed his unplanned trip to Maryland after leaving the office, deliberately leaving out the incident of the close call with the speeding car earlier in the day. The operative was taken by surprise when his boss, without any prompting from him, immediately tried to connect Rudy’s new love interest with the incident.

Steve tried to redirect the pointed finger. “Oscar I’m the one who put them together when she came here remember?” The puzzled man began pacing in front of his boss’ desk. He gave his opinion, “If Michelle came here to find out about bionics she would have contacted Rudy… actively seeked him out. According to Rudy she didn’t even know he lived in Washington.”

Oscar seriously considered Steve’s thoughts before inquiring, “What if you are wrong and she came to help whoever is behind this get to Rudy?” Steve stopped his nervous steps and looked at Oscar. “Don’t you think they would have grabbed him by now? They certainly had many opportunities over the past two weeks.”

Oscar was about to throw out another possibility when his intercom buzzed. “Mr. Goldman, the Chief of Security is here to see you.”

“Send him in.” The director stood and his stomach tightened, he was getting a bad feeling.

Jim Stoner, a tall, well-built man in his fifties entered and greeted Oscar and Steve by name. “I thought you’d want to see this.” He handed Oscar photographs taken from the OSI surveillance video tapes. Steve immediately moved closer to look over his boss’ shoulder as Jim explained. “The woman exiting the building from a side door matched the photo of Rudy’s scientist friend when she entered the building earlier in the afternoon. What was her name?”

“Michelle” The two men answered together as they stared at the image on the photo before locking eyes and sharing a serious expression. Steve looked at Jim, “Any reason she would be leaving from that side door at…” He looked down at the lower corner of the black and white photo. “7:16 pm.?”

Jim nodded negatively and Oscar made a suggestion, “Maybe Rudy told her to leave that way.”

Steve got lost in his thoughts a moment, realizing the date on the picture coincided with the date Michelle said she didn’t turn in her temporary security badge to the guard. It was also the same date and time frame he had come to Rudy’s lab for repairs after a bullet damaged his leg while on assignment. That would have been the day before yesterday, the day before the unusual incident with the speeding car.

Steve, with his hands on his hips, closed his eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by the possibilities and the ramifications if all this tied together.

“Steve?” Oscar asked, “Are you remembering something?”

“Just thinking.” He replied vaguely.

Knowing Steve would not speak in front of Jim Oscar directed him out. “Well Jim, thanks for bringing this to my attention I’ll be sure to follow up.” Oscar walked the security chief to the door. “Please keep this under wraps okay?”

“No problem Mr. Goldman. Let me know if you need my help.”

“Will do.” When the director closed his office door he found Steve staring out his window. “I think its time to talk with Rudy.” The director stated calmly.

Steve felt an intense, brotherly need to protect Rudy. If there was any possible way he could prevent this delicate house of cards from crumbling down around his friend, crushing the happiness he had found, Steve would do it.

“Oscar, let’s wait.”

”WAIT!” Oscar responded incredulously.

Steve turned to face the taller man. “Yes, wait. Like I said if they wanted Rudy he’d be gone by now. Give me 24 hours.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to find out how deep Michelle is in all this. I don’t want Rudy hurt over this if she is just an unsuspecting pawn in the game.”

Oscar shook his head in disagreement, “Steve, I happen to know Dr. Peirot has a very high I.Q. It would be pretty difficult to pull the wool over her eyes.”

“Can I have 24 hours?” Steve asked ignoring Oscar’s objection to Michelle’s possible innocence.

Oscar let out a conceding sigh, “Okay but in the meantime I am checking everyone who has been in contact with Michelle Peirot since the first grade.”

“Thanks.” Steve replied and turned to the door. Oscar’s serious warning stopped him. “They’ll probably come after you again. Just remember you can’t outrun a bullet.”

“I’ll try to remember that.” The operative gave his boss a crooked grin and a wink.

“Be careful pal.”

“You bet.”

The rest of the day was uneventful as Steve began quietly investigating Michelle Peirot. After a long day and night of traveling and surveillance Steve called it a night and headed home to Washington. Although his body was spent his mind just wouldn’t rest and it was well after midnight when the weary man finally fell into a deep sleep.

Just across the city the red digital numbers on his beside clock read 3:15 am. Rudy moved his gaze to the pretty woman snuggled up close to him. She sighed in her sleep and repositioned her hand on his bare chest, her head resting on his shoulder.

Taking a contented breath he could still smell a faint hint of her perfume, watching her peaceful face as she slept. A warm smile grew on his lips when he recalled last night’s conversation as they lay together after a passionate love-making session. Yes, she would be a beautiful bride.

Rudy’s thoughts were interrupted when Michelle rolled onto her back, the crisp white sheet barely covering her bare breast as they rose and fell with each breath. His dark-brown eyes held her as his mind repeatedly told him he was not dreaming, she was actually there in his arms. He was elated at the situation but there was something… something he just couldn’t put his finger on. Initially he thought his gut instincts were telling him it was much too soon to consider marriage but his heart knew without a doubt she was the only woman he could ever love this way. The ten year separation may have been a concern at one time but no longer.

He let out a long exhale and gazed at the ceiling. What was it that was gnawing at him? What was it that remained so elusive from his grasp? It felt like something was far off in the distance, trying to get his attention. He just couldn’t make it out. Maybe in time he would but for now, cradling her body so close, he was happy and no matter what was haunting him he would deal with it when the time came.

Steve was jerked from his dead sleep by a hand on his mouth and a gun barrel to his temple. He slowly moved to a sitting position as instructed by the first gunman before the second armed man threw his clothes from the previous night at him.

“Get dressed. We have a plane to catch.”

Steve silently followed the order, all the while knowing these two men probably had a dark green sedan parked close by. He wondered how they found out where he lived. The OSI agent stood to fasten his pants and pull on his shirt. Not giving him time to button it the larger man pushed Steve towards the hallway.

The covert agent’s mind was racing through his limited options. One thing was for sure he was not taking a trip by plane, car or boat, especially with these two thugs. Choosing his best option he began descending the stairs with the gun toting men close behind, all moving in single file. Steve suddenly spun around, his bionic arm catching the closest intruder completely by surprise and sending him careening over the banister. The second man didn’t need to think to react he just squeezed the trigger of his weapon with Steve already throwing his legs over the railing.

When he landed beside the still stunned man sprawled on the carpet Steve gasped out a breath, a searing, white hot pain screaming across his side. Seeing the gun lying near the couch he kicked out of reach of both men as a second shot rang through the house, missing its target and embedding in the far wall. By now the second shooter was down the stairs. He swiftly took aim at Steve and as he squeezed off another round his partner stood, taking the slug in his upper back. Steve heard the cry of pain but didn’t wait around to see who was hit. While the shorter of the two uninvited guests went to tend to his partner Steve ran to the rear of his house. Stepping into his office he immediately locked the door.

His side was now throbbing and he applied pressure with his hand to slow the bleeding. Grabbing the telephone he wasn’t surprised when the line was dead. He paused to slow his breathing while he considered going out the window and realized his two adversaries did not follow him through the house. He stepped quietly to the door and listened. Silence permeated the house. A steady hand turned the knob and cracked the door open. The breeze coming down the hall was unusual. Steve peeked around the corner and immediately noticed the front door was open.

He cautiously made his way to the living room. The only things left of his morning visitors were a few blood spatters from the stairway to the front door. After grabbing a clean hand towel Steve moved tentatively to his car and drove off.

After kissing Rudy goodbye Michelle drove herself home and prepared herself for the day. After a quick shower she wiped the fog from the mirror and began to apply her makeup. She stopped and examined her face for a moment, feeling she looked different somehow. Maybe it was the joy on her face to be reunited with Rudy. Maybe it was the butterflies that tickled her insides at the very thought of him. Whatever it was she never wanted it to end.

At forty two years old she had resigned herself to the fact she would remain an unmarried spinster. Yes, there had been men she associated with through the years but none of them had everything she wanted, good looks, high intelligence and a charming personality. There were some who came close having two of the three attributes but she always found herself comparing them to Rudy Wells and they fell short of her expectations. When that happened she gracefully stepped out of the relationship.

As she began drying her hair she thought back on the horrible moment that got her involved in this outrageous situation. She was shuffling papers on her benefactor’s desk looking for her budget statement, wanting to correct an error she saw. On one of the papers she moved the word ‘bionics’ caught her attention. She couldn’t look away. She picked up the report and read the details. Her heart skipped a beat when she read Rudy’s name. Then her heart dropped into her stomach at the plan outlined to take Dr. Wells and gain the information required before terminating their subject. She was dumbstruck that the man who she worked closely with for the past several years was into illegal dealings.

She was startled when her benefactor’s voice broke through her numbness. He didn’t expect her back for a week and he wandered into his office to find her reading through his personal papers. “What do you think you are doing?” He asked not sure what she was reading.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wanted to retrieve my Budget report. There was an error I needed to correct.”

“Is that it?” He nodded to the paper she was still holding.

“Ah,…no.” She replied apologetically and he moved to her side to take the paper from her hand.

“This is not good Michelle. You have betrayed my trust and now… now I can’t trust that you will remain loyal to me and my partners.”

She knew instantly what he was referring to. There were rumors about others, others that had met with very unfortunate accidents but no one could prove anything. Fearing more for Rudy’s safety then hers she instantly decided to jump into the fire. “I can help you.” She said softly.

“What? What do you mean you can help? With what?”

“With that.” She pointed to the secret report in his hand.

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“I know Dr. Wells… personally. I could get the information you want.” Her benefactor’s eyes sparkled in anticipation.

“Really. Why would you want to help us?”

“Well you have been very generous to me, funding my research and providing me with a place to stay.”

“That’s an interesting offer Dr. Peirot but I was hoping your repayment would be much more… personal shall we say?” He dragged his eyes over her curves and unconsciously licked his lips. “We could begin planning a wedding you know.”

Michelle cringed at the thought of him even laying a hand on her let alone agreeing to marry him. He had her against the wall so to speak and she had yet to find a way out from under his thumb.

“How long do you think it would take you to locate Dr. Wells and find the cyborg that is said to exist?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “Two weeks at the most.”

“Two weeks?!” He was shocked that this task would take such little time. His partner was estimating months until the cyborg was located and brought to their compound. “Well I think I just might take you up on your offer Michelle. Why don’t we discuss the details over dinner?”

“Alright.” She responded calmly but her chest tightened at the thought of what she was about to get involved in. Keeping Rudy foremost in her mind she planned her negotiations.

A car backfired and the loud bang brought Dr. Peirot back to the present and she let out a breath. If Rudy found out would he understand? Would he ever forgive her? Knowing she would have to cross that bridge if they came to it she finished dressing and left for a day of sight seeing.

It was just past 8:00 am. A tense Oscar watched from a chair as Linda, Rudy’s assistant and nurse, helped Steve remove his bloody shirt and get settled on the exam table.

“Rudy should be here any minute. In the meantime let me have a look.” Steve winced as she removed the bloody towel that was stuck to the two bullet holes by some dried blood.

“Well, at least the bleeding has slowed a bit.” She carefully replaced the towel. “Let me get the supplies Rudy’s going to need.”

Steve tried to relax, his abdomen throbbing with each beat of his heart. With Linda out of earshot Oscar, sitting to Steve right, spoke quietly, “Do you want the rest of your 24 hours or are you ready to concede and let me talk to Rudy?”

The director waited for a response, unable to see Steve’s face with his left forearm resting on it. He was beginning to think the injured man had lost consciousness, not surprised with the significant blood loss and pain the flesh wound had caused.

The arm slowly lowered and Steve, looking deflated, replied, “Okay, but I want to be there when he hears the story.”

“Fine I…” The sentence was cut short by Rudy’s pleasant entrance into the office area. He called out to his assistant who was always at work early. “Sorry I’m late Linda.” Flipping casually through the mail that was piled on his desk he had no idea he had other company.

Linda was carrying the needed medical supplies to Steve and called back, “We have company this morning Dr. Wells.” The trio in the treatment area heard the doctor’s jovial voice get louder as he approached. “Well I know it can’t be Michelle because I left …”

His words died off when he noticed the blood soaked shirt on the chair. His eyes immediately went to Steve lying supine on the table.

“My god Steve what happened?” He moved quickly to his patient’s right side and reached for the reddened towel covering the angry wounds. Steve’s voice sounded tired, “I had one helluva wake-up call this morning.” His brow immediately furled, air was sucked through his clenched teeth as Rudy carefully palpated around the entry and exit wounds.

“Sorry.” He offered for the unintentional pain he was inflicting. “Linda, get a quick set of vitals then get some morphine.”

“NO.” Steve exclaimed louder then he intended. “I don’t want to be groggy. Just do what needs to be done. I’ll be fine.”

Linda took Steve’s pulse and blood pressure, reporting the higher then normal results to Rudy as she got them. The doctor wasn’t concerned knowing the high readings were due to the pain his patient was in.

Rudy donned a pair of sterile gloves and went about cleansing the wounds. “You are very lucky.” He commented seeing the angle of the gunshot was so acute the bullet entered midline of his abdomen and exited 6 inches away near his ribcage, tearing the well-toned abdominal muscle but effectively missing any organs. “Any idea who did it?”

Steve rolled his head to the side and locked eyes with Oscar causing the authoritative man to bite his tongue to avoid bringing the situation to Rudy’s attention before Steve was ready. Oscar replied casually, “We’ll talk about it when you’re done.” Rudy just nodded and went about bandaging the injury.

While Rudy finished up Oscar went to Steve’s locker where he kept his workout clothes. When he returned to the lab the operative was gingerly sitting up, politely ignoring Rudy’s suggestion for him to rest an hour or two.

Steve thanked him and Linda as he slid off the table onto shaky legs, the events of the morning taking more out of him then he wanted to admit. Oscar handed him a navy blue sweatshirt, which he quickly put on to cover not just his bare torso but also to cover up his growing anxiety in anticipation of their talk with Rudy.

The director made eye contact with Steve and suggested, “Shall we go to my office and discuss this?” Steve just nodded affirmatively with a sullen face and Rudy assumed they wanted to talk alone. The doctor looked at his patient and said with concern, “See me before you leave okay?”

Oscar’s voice was low when he explained, “You need to join us Rudy.”

The brown eyes got narrow with confusion, “Why?”

The two informed men shared a glance before Steve replied, “It involves you Rudy.” Looking into the blue eyes Rudy saw sadness in addition to the already present tiredness. The confused look on Rudy’s face only deepened as his two friends ushered him out of the lab.

Upon entering Oscar’s office Steve slumped onto the couch with an elbow on the armrest propping his head up on his hand. Oscar moved behind his desk and the doctor remained standing.

“What’s this all about?” He looked at Oscar’s serious expression then at Steve who was rubbing a hand over his pale face. It was clear to Oscar that Steve was in no condition for a drawn out debate. He did his best to be diplomatic and tactful.

“Sit down Rudy.” He ordered softly and the doctor slowly complied as the discussion began. “We have reason to believe the attempt on Steve this morning was a failed kidnapping attempt. One, I’m afraid, Michelle Peirot may be a part of.”

The emotions that traveled swiftly across Rudy’s face included interest, then confusion, then outright anger.

“WHAT! NO, no way. I know Michelle and she would not be involved in kidnapping or shooting someone. She’s a physician for god’s sake!”

The tall man leaned forward to retrieve proof of his theory, knowing the scientist dealt with solid facts. “When Michelle came to tour your lab what time did she leave?”

Rudy thought for just a moment then replied, “About 5:15, just before Steve came in for repairs. I saw her get on the elevator myself. Why?”

Oscar handed Rudy the photos of Michelle from the security cameras. “She was caught on camera leaving the building from a side stairwell door at 7:15 pm.”

Steve carefully added another piece of information, “That was why she still had her temporary security badge the next day before we went to lunch.”

“I still say you are wrong….both of you!” He responded feeling betrayed. He eyed Steve challenging him to come up with more. Steve, usually up for the challenge of proving he position was gaining no pleasure out of this debate.

“Remember when Michelle was almost run down in the street?” Rudy nodded at Steve’s question. “That same green sedan followed me later on that day… all the way to Andrews.”

“That still doesn’t prove Michelle is involved. She was almost killed that day. CAN’T YOU SEE THAT?”

“Rudy calm down. We are still investigating the matter.”

“Still investigating? How long have you been investigating the woman I’m going to marry next month?”

Steve’s head shot up at those last words as his heart twisted even tighter in his chest. Could this get any worse? Steve wondered.

Oscar did his best to explain, “Steve had a gut feeling and wanted to check things out on his own before any formal investigating. That’s when they followed him.” The director saw how Rudy glared at Steve who sat passively on the couch. “Rudy,” Oscar called to get the doctor’s attention. After the brown eyes returned to his he continued, “We have reason to believe Michelle was sent here to get the information on the bionics project. The intentional hit and run may have been a test to see what Steve is capable of. Did she ever ask you about bionics?”

“Yes, but… she was involved in the early planning stages so it is not unusual for her to ask.” His eyes moved again to Steve. “She’s half the reason you have a normal life today.” His expressive eyes said it all, that Steve owed his quality of life to her and he was throwing her to the wolves.

“What did you tell her?” Oscar inquired.

“I didn’t give her any information. I just said I had some success but it was still a work in progress.” He looked at Steve, “She doesn’t even know about you.”

With an elbow still perched on the armrest Steve rubbed his index finger across his thin lips thinking about the sequence of events. Oscar saw the agent’s unfocused stare and inquired softly as not to break his train of thought, “Steve what are you thinking?”

He let out a sigh, “I was just considering the sequence of events. First she meets up with Rudy…” Rudy jumped in to clarify an important fact, “YOU reunited us! She did NOT come to Washington looking for me!”

“Steve already brought that up Rudy. Go on Steve.”

“Well, she tries to get information from Rudy and he doesn’t provide any. Rudy gives her a tour of his lab and, I don’t know, maybe she saw something to give her the idea that you succeeded.”

“But Steve I kept her away from any sensitive equipment. Do you really think I would be that careless?” He glared at his best friend.

“Were you with her every minute she was there?” Oscar asked trying to cut the tension between them.

“Yes I was… except when I went to answer your call about Steve….but I was only gone one minute!” The doctor was getting more and more defensive.

Steve tried to diffuse the situation. “Okay suppose she didn’t find anything. Say someone gave her a tip. She leaves your lab, gets into the elevator, takes it to another floor and comes back up the stairs. She would have seen me coming down the hall without the use of my left leg. She stays in the stairwell until we walk out, at which time she leaves the building. Oscar what time did the camera catch her?”

The brown eyes looked down and he replied, “7:16 pm.”

“That’s the same time I left the building.” His blue eyes expressed his deepest concern, “I’m sorry Rudy.”

“This is insane!” Rudy stood and began pacing the room. “Have you found anything to connect her with ANYTHING illegal?”

”No…at least not yet.”

“That sounds like you already know she’s guilty.” Rudy responded and glanced at both men. “So I’m the only one on her side.”

“Rudy this isn’t about choosing sides!” Steve exclaimed loudly then quietly sucked in a breath as his abdomen screamed back.

“Okay…okay… So why haven’t these men grabbed me?”

“We don’t know yet. Right now Steve is the only one they are interested in. As Steve said yesterday, if they wanted you they would have taken you by now.”

There was a lull in the conversation and a knock sounded on the large wooden door. Russ ambled in at Oscar’s response. “What is it Russ?”

“Everything is in place.” He looked at Steve. “Are you ready?”

Steve gave Oscar’s assistant a confused look, “Ready for what?” The injured man was not in any condition nor was he in the mood to jump through any hoops right now. Russ looked at Oscar.

“Sorry Russ I haven’t had time to tell him. Steve, we are sending you to a safe-house until we can find and arrest those two men who shot you.” Steve thought a moment then looked at Rudy who was staring at his feet, his hands jammed in his pockets. He felt like he’d be abandoning his friend if he left.

“Oscar I…”

...Continued