Dennis watched the two women leave. They were as different as night and day-dark and light. He hoped for a quick resolution to this case so that he could be rid of Blue. She literally scared the shit out of him.

It wasn't until Shelby left the office with Kris that she realized just how tall the operative was. She considered herself to be of average height and Kris towered over her. "How tall are you?"

Kris raised an eyebrow. "Six foot."

Shelby nervously tried to think of something to talk about during the walk down what had suddenly become a very long hall, and found her sudden loss for words troublesome. "Have you worked here long?"

"No. I've never worked here," Kris answered evasively. While she considered her attractive new partner a perk of the case, she had no intentions of sharing anything except case related information with her.

"Oh." Shelby could take a hint and remained silent until they arrived outside her office. Glancing up at the Marine, she smiled warmly, "Hi."

Nodding slightly, his eyes remained glued on Shelby's tall, striking companion. Much to his relief, after a casual once-over, she strolled by him into the office. Though loath to admit it, he was shamed by the fact that the woman had intimidated him.

Kris' appraisal had been anything but casual. She had sized up the guard and dismissed him as no immediate threat. She glanced around the analyst's small office. Three computers sat on a long Formica table on one side of the windowless room. A large, old wooden desk covered with computer printouts was crammed on the other side. The walls were painted institution green, their lengths unbroken except for a clock above the doorway. Nice working conditions, she thought sarcastically and relayed her opinion to Shelby. "You work in here?"

"Well, yeah. You get used to it after a while."

The tall woman had her own doubts about that. She'd never get used to working in a hole like this. "Whatever you say."

Shelby was trying to get a better feel for Kris, but was unable to expand on her initial impression and found that very disquieting. "It's kind of warm in here. They're working on the air conditioning. You can hang your jacket over there, if you want."

Kris walked over to the large desk after hanging up her jacket, and then waited for Shelby to join her. "What do you have?"

Shelby knew her research was solid and relaxed as she briefed Kris on her findings. Once she had covered the basics, she picked up a copy of the report she'd prepared for Dennis and handed it to the operative. "It's all in here."

Kris took the report and purposely injected a slightly incredulous tone in her voice. She needed to know more about her new "partner" and angering her was a good way to do that. "So you were just looking for similarities in the assassinations and happened to notice there were operatives in each location?"

"Yes. That's exactly what happened," Shelby answered, puzzled as to why her methodology was being questioned.

"Sure you aren't just making some leaps in logic to support your theory...?"

Green eyes flashing, Shelby cut her off. "If you read the report, you'll clearly see that there is a distinct connection. None of it is tenuous or non-existent. Are you questioning my research because you're on the list? Is that what this is all about?"

Kris had found out what she wanted to know. This woman had backbone and would stand up for what she believed in. Those were two highly desirable attributes in a partner, no matter how mundane the job.

"Think I did it?" Kris' expression was neutral, but she was intensely curious what Shelby's response would be.

That was the last question in the world the analyst had been expecting. Shelby glanced around the room trying to figure out how to honestly answer the question without offending the tall, stoic woman looking at her. They were already off to a rocky enough start and the last thing she wanted to do was further antagonize her new partner. She looked up at the operative only to see her own reflection in the sunglasses. "I really don't know."

Kris quirked a half smile, pleased with Shelby's answer. She knew how uneasy the analyst was and it had taken a lot of guts for her to answer honestly, and that was the other key ingredient she'd been looking for. "Good. No one on that list should be arbitrarily eliminated."

The fleeting smile that crossed the operative's face was puzzling, but somehow reassuring, too. It didn't make sense, but it almost seemed as if she had passed some private test. "So what now?"

"Pardon?"

"Um...I've never investigated a case involving field operatives. Dennis said to follow your lead." Shelby unconsciously took a step backward as a dark look covered the operative's face.

"You're not assigned to Central Affairs?"

"God, no." Shelby couldn't imagine working with those ultra paranoid people.

Kris didn't like being caught off guard, and asked sharply. "Then why are you working this case?"

"They want to keep it low profile to avoid a potential scandal," Shelby stated quietly, taken aback by Kris' anger.

"Those bastards!" Kris studied Shelby intently. "Just what is your job?"

"I analyze data looking for patterns. If there is a human aspect to the pattern, I develop a psychological profile based on the available information."

"So you're a psychologist?"

"No. I have a masters in psychology, but I'm also a computer nerd."

Kris was silent as she thought about the implications of what Shelby had told her. Her inexperience in working on cases involving field operatives was a disadvantage. What she should do was go to Earl and tell him to get an experienced analyst from Central Affairs on the case. Two things made her hesitate. She found the emerald-eyed, feisty woman facing her intriguing, and there could be some advantages to having a relative newbie on the case. Less suspicion and scrutiny being a couple of them. And when it came right down to it, she hated Central Affairs with a passion and would much rather work with this woman, experienced or not, than those bastards. Shelby's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You might try giving me a chance, instead of writing me off. I have worked on other cases and this one can't be all that different."

Shelby's words cemented Kris' decision, and she asked casually, "Why are you still standing there? Let's get started. Show me your data."

Shelby's mind was whirling. This woman was an enigma. "You have it already."

"I have the report," Kris agreed. "I want to see the raw data."

Shelby retrieved a thick sheaf of green and white paper and handed it to her. While it appeared that Kris was willing to work with her, she obviously didn't trust her. Not that she could really blame her. She didn't really trust Kris either.

An hour later, Kris looked up, impressed. "The pattern wasn't easy to spot."

Shelby smiled, pleased at the compliment. "It took me a while."

Kris paced around the room gathering her thoughts. "Okay, we need airline schedules for each of the airports within driving distance of each operative on that list. For those in the European theater, we also need train and bus schedules. Once we have those, we need passenger manifests. Public transportation is used a lot more over there than it is here. We'll also need to contact all car rental agencies and for the locals, taxis."

"Okay." Shelby had jotted down key words as Kris spoke.

"I need access to the cases the operatives are working on and the location of each." Kris glanced around the room. "Is that available on one of these computers?"

"Well, yeah, but you have to have a password."

When Kris raised a questioning eyebrow, Shelby feigned innocence and added, "Dennis got me mine."

Not going to share, huh. Smart woman. Too bad, it would've made things a lot quicker. Time to pay Earl a visit. "I'll be back."

Shelby watched Kris walk out of the office. She found the operative absolutely fascinating and acknowledged that she wanted to know more about her than just what a working relationship required. At odds with her feelings, she hoped the case would last long enough for her to be able to do that.



*  *  *

Earl called out, "Come in," and watched appreciatively as Kris walked in. He sat back, waiting for her to speak.

"I need a password to access the other operatives' files."

"No."

"I'm not going to work blind. Either I have access to the files I need or you can find someone else to investigate this case."

"I can't give you access. It's against the regs for one operative to be able to access another's files and you know it."

"The closet rats do it all the time."

Earl sighed. He should have known she'd bring up Central Affairs. Hell, he hated the sneaky bastards, too. "That's what they do. It's their job."

"So is this case." Kris smiled sweetly, having played her ace card.

"Technically, that's true." Earl silently cursed as he weighed his options. She'd obviously found out Shelby was not attached to that directorate. He could limit her access to the twenty-seven names on the list and immediately change it upon completion of the case. "Okay. I'll have your current password coded for access. Anything else?"

"No. That's it. Thanks Earl."

He nodded. Like she had really given him any choice in the matter. Served him right for playing with fire. After all he had trained her; Earl just hadn't counted on her skills exceeding his own, and they had, in spades.