The Folly Of It All

by Dee Price


The cruise ship, despite its mass and load of passengers, glided silently through the water, its motion virtually imperceptible. The moon was partially obscured by clouds, causing the evening to be awash with light one moment and then to be so dark one could barely see anything as the clouds moved past the crescent high above. Standing at the railing was beautiful woman who looked to be in her early forties. She stared intently, almost morosely, at the blackness of the water far below, her thoughts as dark as the murky void.

"I wouldn't jump if I were you," said a soft voice at her side.

Startled, she turned her head and saw a man standing beside her, only a few feet separating them. "What makes you think I was going to jump," she asked in a monotone voice.

He shrugged and smiled and she noted he was very handsome, with dark hair, soft brown eyes, dimples as deep as the Grand Canyon and the most sensual lips she had ever seen in her life.

"Just a feeling," he answered quietly.

She looked away and again stared down at the water, not responding.

The man didn't move away. Instead, he turned and leaned his back against the railing and stared at her.

"If you don't mind I'd like some privacy," she finally said in a somewhat defiant tone.

"But I do mind," he replied. "You see, if you jump then I'd have to go in after you." He smiled that devastatingly handsome smile, hesitated as he glanced down at the water, and then continued. "And I don't mind telling you that I'm not too good a swimmer. Besides, that water looks damn cold and we'd both drown, so you would be responsible for my death, too."

Despite her mood she laughed and said, "But if I'm dead they can't charge me with murder."

He smiled. "True, but your family would suffer the consequences of your dastardly deed."

"They'll survive," she muttered as her mood again turned black.

"Maybe," he grinned. "But you'll do back flips in your watery grave at how they spend your money."

She threw her head back, laughed and asked, "What money?"

As he looked at this beautiful woman with blue eyes and auburn hair he said, "You should laugh more often. It's a lovely laugh and it lights up your whole face."

She turned and faced him. "That's quite a line. I haven't heard that one before."

Chuckling he said, "Look, why don't you join me for dinner, and then if you still feel like jumping at least I will have warmed up a little. It's pretty chilly out here."

Shaking her head she said she would really like to be alone and asked him to honor that request. Instead, the stranger started climbing the railing.

"Stop that! What are you doing?" she called out.

"I'm going to jump and beat you to it," he yelled as he put his foot on the top rail. "Then you'll have to save me!"

"But I can't swim," she called out.

"You mean you can't save me?" he asked as he looked down at her with a shocked expression.

"No! Get down from that railing you crazy fool!" she yelled.

He stared at her as she grabbed hold of his leg. "No I think I'll jump."

She immediately started pulling at his leg. "Get down! I implore you."

"Tell you what. I'll trade jumping for dinner then," he said with a smile.

She started laughing as she realized what he was up to. "All right, you win. Just please get down."

He jumped down beside her, smiled as he offered his arm and said, "Madame."

She looked at him, hesitated briefly, then took the proffered arm and they headed for a nearby door.

After being seated and ordering, he looked at her and smiled. "My name is Shannon by the way."

"First or last," she inquired as she lifted her glass of water.

"Take your pick," he said with an impish smile.

Almost choking on her water, she giggled. "Are you ever serious?"

"Only when I'm making love," he replied with a big smile.

Her eyes darted to his face as she scowled, and he immediately held up both hands, palms facing her.

"No line, no come on, just the truth." Then he grinned again but before he could say any more the waiter arrived with their food and they sat quietly for a moment as he served them.

After the waiter left, she smiled. "I don't think I can believe a thing you say," she replied.

"Well my name is Shannon and I do have my serious moments. May I ask your name?"

She twiddled her fork in the food a moment before looking up. "Margaret . . . Margaret O'Reilly."

"Irish?"

"Only by marriage."

"Oh . . . I see," he said as looked down at his plate with apparent disappointment. Suddenly he looked up and smiled. "So, why isn't your husband saving you instead of me?"

She snorted. "I haven't seen him in nine months. He walked out and left me with a debt the Pentagon would be proud of."

Shannon chuckled. "So what shall I call you? Margaret . . . Meg . . . ?"

"Maggie is what most people call me," she said as she again poked at her food with her fork.

"Okay. So tell me, Reilly, why are you on this trip if you are so in debt?"

She frowned at his disregard of her name. "It's O'Reilly. Contrary cuss aren't you, Shannon?"

He reached out and gently squeezed her hand for a moment. "Sometimes humor lessens the pain," he said softly.

She looked back at him, sensing pain in his comment and asked, "Why are you on this trip?"

Soft brown eyes looked into blue. "Pretty close to your situation. My wife left me two weeks ago for a younger man. Said he had . . . more of what she wanted."

"Oh I'm sorry," said Maggie and she reached out and patted his hand. "Here I am feeling sorry for myself and you must be heartbroken."

He got a mischievous grin and said, "Well, we can always look at the bright side. I met you and saved myself from getting wet by talking you into having dinner with me."

She laughed. "Your humor strikes again."

He leaned toward her. "Have I talked you out of jumping yet? I'm really in no mood to go swimming, Reilly. We can commiserate and at least make each other feel better until we reach land in two days."

Debating her answer as she looked at him she idly wondered why he insisted on leaving the 'O' out of her name.

"Do we have a deal?" he pressed.

Suddenly she stuck out her hand to him and as they shook hands she said, "Deal."

"Great and I do take you for your word. So now let me escort you to your room," he said as he stifled a yawn, "because I need some sleep. All this saving you has worn me out."

Chuckling as she stood, she waved her hand in the air as she said, "Oh I'm sure,"

Arriving at her Stateroom Shannon asked, "What about breakfast? I like to eat around eight"

"Deal," she said and quickly stepped into her room and closed the door as he responded he would pick her up at that time.

When Shannon got back to his room he took off his jacket, removed the pistol from the shoulder holster and placed it on the dresser. Walking to the Porthole he looked out in quiet contemplation. He had now made contact with Margaret O'Reilly, so part of his job was accomplished. It was the rest that bothered him and he wondered if he would be successful.

Heaving a big sigh he walked over to the bed and flopped down as he thought about the situation. Maggie seemed a nice lady but he wondered what she would think if she knew he was a CIA operative secretly assigned to protect her. The situation was quite complicated, and was likely to get more so as time went on

He stretched, yawned and reviewed the facts in his mind. Her husband had been involved in secret drug smuggling, and was now dead, killed by his contacts for 'skimming' the profits, as well as trying to get away with the entire deal of several million dollars at the last deal. That was why Maggie was in danger. Word had it the drug cartel felt she might have been in on the deal or at the very least knew where the money was and she was now their target.

Seeing her thinking of jumping overboard really concerned him, but that action and later remark at the railing that her husband had left her with a mountain of debt, seemed to belie any knowledge of the situation on her part.

Well, he had two days to find out if she had any inkling about the money.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the next two days Shannon poured on the charm, trying to get Maggie's confidence. They shared meals together and she seemed to be smiling a bit more, but it was obvious to him she was still in a dark mood, as periodically she would drift away from the conversation and become quiet. However, he never pushed at those times just let her have her 'quiet' moments.

At last the ship docked in Lisbon. Maggie stood at the railing looking out at the city. She could get lost here easily enough she thought. She had no idea why she felt she was being watched for the last two months and it was that feeling that made her decide to get away for a while. She still felt depressed but that Shannon fellow had helped her to at least laugh a bit, and he was not only likeable, but also very handsome. However, she was married. At that thought she glanced down at the water between the dock and the boat and noted it had a very oily appearance.

"I wouldn't jump if I were you," said a soft voice beside her.

She smiled and without even looking up said, "Wouldn't think of it, Shannon. Instead of drowning, we would both be crushed by the boat hitting against the dock and I certainly don't relish the thought of that pain. Besides, the water looks very oily and I'd hate for you to swallow that trying to rescue me."

He laughed delightedly as he said, "Thank you kindly ma'am." Turning serious, he asked what she was going to do in Lisbon.

"I'm really not sure to be honest. A little sightseeing I imagine, but no real solid plans." Turning to look at him she asked, "What are you going to be doing? Every time I asked the last two days you evaded the question."

He pursed his lips. "Try to forget, I guess. Get drunk for one thing, which, as I'm not a drinker, might prove quite easy."

"Won't solve your problem," she admonished.

"Nor would jumping overboard in the middle of the ocean," he said with a smile.

"Touché," she said with a large smile. "Well thank you for your company Shannon, and also your help."

He smiled and nodded and she turned and walked away. He watched her for a moment then silently started to follow, keeping plenty of distance and people between them. As she started down the gangplank she stopped and glanced back, and after finally catching sight of him now leaning on the railing she waved and smiled, then walked down the rest of the way, hailed a cab and left the pier.

Shannon noted the number and name of the cab, raced down to the shore, jumped into a cab and motioning to the departing cab a short ways away, said quite firmly, "Follow that cab!"

As the driver gave him a startled glance in the rear-view mirror, Shannon smiled and said, "I've always wanted to say that."

The driver smiled and as he started to pull away, inquired his destination. Shannon thought a minute then told the driver to really follow that cab, that there was a lady in it he had met on the boat and would like to know better. The driver smirked and weaved his way through the traffic to within three cars of Maggie's cab.

Maggie's cab wove its way through the city and Shannon started to get nervous. He had noted another car also seemed to be following her cab. Suddenly that mysterious car made a quick move at a slight opening in the traffic and pulled in right behind O'Reilly's cab. Shannon immediately told his driver to pull alongside, but the traffic was so heavy he couldn't do that.

As all traffic stopped Shannon pulled out an American twenty-dollar bill, tossed it up to the driver and jumped out. He ran fast, weaving between several cars then ran up to Maggie's cab, opened the back door and jumped in.

"Driver, there is a suspicious car following you . . . lose him!" he said sharply, and he again tossed a twenty dollar bill to him. Turning to Maggie, who was sitting there with a shocked expression, he smiled and said, "Hi Reilly-fancy seeing you in this cab."

"What's going on here Shannon? And what do you mean by a suspicious car?"

Chuckling he leaned toward her and whispered, "I just thought you might like a little excitement."

At that she giggled. "Shannon I think you have been reading too many spy novels." The words were barely out of her mouth when the driver suddenly jerked the wheel throwing Maggie against Shannon, zipped across three lanes of traffic, made a left turn down a small alley, turned right at the end, left at the next, and then doing a skidding u-turn headed in the opposite direction.

"Well done," called out Shannon as Maggie hurriedly straightened herself up. "Turn left at the next corner and we'll get out there," and he tossed another bill to the driver.

As they exited the cab Shannon grabbed O'Reilly's wrist and roughly pulled her along. After a few steps they ducked into a coffee shop and headed for a booth towards the rear

A now exasperated Maggie, after being shoved into the booth, turned to Shannon, her blue eyes blazing.

"Just what do you mean by all this? How dare you handle me in this manner!"

Shannon looked at her debating what to say, finally deciding a semi-truth. "Look Reilly, I don't mean to frighten you but I really think there was someone following you back there."

"What for?" she sputtered. "I haven't done anything, I'm just a tourist!"

"Not totally, Reilly. You are running from something or someone and whatever it is all about, you are being followed."

She looked at him, shock and surprise in her expression. "How did . . ."

"I'll tell you later. Just trust me, okay?"

She stared at him, looking deep into those soft brown eyes. For some reason, and having no basis for it, she felt she could trust him. Nodding her head she said, "All right . . . for the moment."

"Good. I promise you I'm one of the good guys." At that instant the waitress arrived and they both ordered coffee.

Once their coffee was finished, the two left the coffee shop and started walking. After only a block Shannon suddenly stopped, grabbed Maggie's wrist and pulled her into a store.

"What are you doing? What kind of store is this?" asked Maggie as she glanced around.

"It's a costume store and it's perfect. We are going to need a disguise. After wandering around a few moments he picked out several items. Turning to Maggie he put a blonde wig on her head, pushed glasses on her face, put a big floppy white hat on her head and took a pink jacket off the rack.

"The lenses are plain glass so they won distort your vision," he said as he held out the jacket for her to put on.

"I don't look good in pink," she exclaimed as she stared in horror at the jacket. "This is hideous!"

Shannon laughed as he picked out a plain sports coat for himself, but as he took off his jacket Maggie caught sight of his gun and gasped.

"No, no, don't be afraid. I have a permit to carry a gun," he said quickly, while at the same time berating himself that he had forgotten about it.

"Just who are you anyway?" asked Maggie backing away.

"Look Reilly, I guess you have a right to know, but we have to get off the street first and then I'll tell you, okay? Right now is not the time. Just please trust me, I really am trying to help you," he said in a pleading tone.

She stood quietly looking at him, and as she made no attempt to run away he nodded his head, smiled a thank you and then selected a mustache and beard for himself, paid for the merchandise and started for the door.

"You must be made of money," Maggie grumbled as she tried to adjust the wig.

"Expense money," he said as he cautiously looked around once they were on the sidewalk. Spotting a hotel sign two blocks away they started in that direction, and after registering as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, went to their room.

"All right Mr. Shannon, or whoever you are, out with it and I want the truth. If it's anywhere close to your unimaginative Mr. and Mrs. Smith don't expect me to believe a word of it!"

Shannon laughed and knowing it was time for the truth or she might run away, proceeded to tell her his name really was Shannon but that he was a CIA operative assigned to protect her and as proof showed her his badge.

"That has to be the wildest story line I've ever heard," she muttered. "Why on earth would the CIA be interested in me?"

Shannon looked at her carefully, and once again decided the raw truth was necessary.

"It's not so much you, per se. Do you have any idea why your husband left, what type of work he did, Reilly?"

"He was in the Export business," she replied haughtily.

He snorted. "Export all right, but he was smuggling drugs, Reilly. Now I know that is hard for you to believe but it's true. Why else would he suddenly walk out on you and disappear?"

Maggie stared, shock and disbelief on her face. She reacted by walking away from him and stopped at the window and stared, her mind racing through all the recent events of her life. Something must have clicked because she suddenly turned to him and quietly said, "All that money. I often wondered where so much came from. Once I walked into his study unannounced and he had this suitcase full of cash on his desk and I . . ."

While she was talking Shannon had walked up beside her, glanced out the window and suddenly grabbed her shoulder and shoved her away from the window. Cautiously he peered out from the side.

"Damn!" he exploded in frustration.

At first angry at being so unceremoniously shoved, she now asked "What?" and started rubbing at her arm.

"They found us, I must be losing my touch, or . . ." He turned to her and quickly starting running his hands over her body.

"How dare you! Take your hands off me, she yelled. "What the hell do you think you are doing Sha . . . ?"

Suddenly Shannon put his hand over her mouth, cutting off her sentence and with the other placed an index finger on his lips, indicating for her not to say anything. Puzzled and scared, she mutely nodded her head, and he started to unbutton her blouse. Maggie immediately slapped his hands away in indignation. Using his shirt as an example Shannon indicated the left collar. She frowned, not understanding.

Frustrated he grabbed both her arms and threw her on the bed, then falling on top of her, took hold of her collar with both hands and ripped it off.

"How dare you. Get off me or I'll call the police!" Maggie yelled.

Shannon tossed the collar on the bed, said in a husky, emotional voice, "Oh come on Sweetheart, don't fight me," while at the same time he was pulling a now very confused Maggie to her feet and starting for the door.

"Just relax, honey," he said as he reached for the handle, "That's it, just relax, you'll like it," then placed his index finger on his lips again as he quietly opened the door.

Peering out and seeing the hall empty he quickly started moving, pulling Maggie along with him. Finding the stairs they hurried down two flights, then exited that door, and again started walking very fast down a hallway.

"What was all that? What's happening? Where are we going?" whispered a perplexed Maggie.

"They found us. You had a bug in your collar. A listening device," he further explained. "We have to get far away from here before they realize we've gone," he whispered back. At that moment he spotted a Service elevator and they stepped in. When the elevator stopped they exited into a kitchen, where the workers stopped and stared at them.

"Sorry guys, got on the wrong elevator," he said with a smile and they quickly walked through to the back door and out into an alley. Turning right they had walked only a short distance when Shannon spotted a man in a business suit, leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette. An open door was just to his right.

"Is it all right to take a short cut through?" asked Shannon as he nodded at the door. The man simply shrugged his shoulders as he exhaled a large puff of smoke.

Shannon quickly stepped through the door, ignoring Maggie's complaints at his roughness. They were now in a long hallway dotted by doors on each side. Realizing this was an office complex of some kind, Shannon, keeping a tight grip on Maggie's wrist, walked briskly until they at last found themselves in the lobby. Shannon looked around and then stopped a man walking by and asked about a back exit or parking lot. With a quick wave from the strangers arm they were pointed to another hallway. Eventually they exited the building onto a back lot, and Shannon, still pulling a reticent Maggie along headed up the street, constantly looking in every direction. His senses were on full alert.

"Your head looks like one of those bobbing dolls you used to see in the back window of old automobiles," said Maggie as she started to laugh. "Look can you let go of my wrist? I'm going to have a bruise you are holding so tight."

"Sorry, but you have to keep up with me. I can't take a chance of you dropping behind. We have to get off the street, and I just hope my 'bobbing head' can keep us safe," he mused as he looked up the street. Two blocks later Shannon suddenly steered Maggie into a side alley.

"See something?" she asked.

"Not quite sure, but the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end . . . damn!" and he gave Maggie a savage pull down to the ground, and as he fell on top of her jerked his gun out just as a man on a bicycle rode up and leveled a gun at the pair. Shannon, his gun ready, fired and the man flew off the bicycle, rolled and finally stopped almost beside them. Maggie's scream was aborted by Shannon's hand.

Slowly he looked around, rose and pulled Maggie to her feet. Moving quickly he pulled the man behind a garbage dumpster and as he walked back to Maggie two young boys rounded the corner of the alley and started towards them. Shannon pushed Maggie against the wall and kissed her, long and hard and as the two boys walked by both giggled at the sight and one could be heard saying "Amore."

After they had gone by, Shannon pulled away, looked at O'Reilly for a brief moment and then once again began check their surroundings. Maggie, too shaken by either the kiss or the shooting, didn't say a word for a few moments.

Finally getting her breath she asked, "Just what is going on? Why are these people after me and why was that man going to shoot us?"

Shannon shook his head, muttered, "Long story," and taking hold of her hand headed out of the alley. At last they found a phone booth and he looked through the directory for a few moments. Satisfied, they continued on their way. A block later he pulled out his cellular phone and made a call. Three blocks and two back alleys later, they walked into a hotel.

"Hi, I called a short while ago and reserved a room. The name is Gable, Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable." Maggie's mouth popped open, but not a sound came out.

Once in the room she exploded, "Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable! And am I supposed to be Scarlet O'Hara?"

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," he said as he closed the door, slammed the bolt home and shoved the back of a chair under the door handle. Satisfied, he turned to her and smiled.

"Why don't you lie down and get some rest while I keep watch on things."

Maggie, confused, perplexed, scared and very irritated, stood staring at him. She was angry and yet felt like crying. However, for whatever reason this man was protecting her and all she knew at the moment was she felt safe in his presence. She numbly nodded her head and walked to the bed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Maggie awoke the next morning she sat up, disoriented at the strange room. Gradually she remembered where she was and what had transpired yesterday. Looking around she saw Shannon curled up in a chair and appearing very uncomfortable. Rising quietly she smoothed her rumpled clothes and then started toward him when he suddenly bolted upright and reached for his gun.

"Easy Shannon, it's only me," she said quickly, while holding both hands at shoulder level towards him.

"Oh . . . darn" he exploded as he glanced around the room. I guess I fell asleep," he said as he rubbed first at his eyes then his head. "Sorry. You sleep okay?"

"Very good, thank you, but I don't think you did."

"I was okay. While you slept I contacted the office, and apprised them of our situation. Also gave them a description of the men and the license number of that car that was tailing us and . . ."

You saw and remembered all that!"

He grinned. "You forget, it's my job, I 'm trained to see and remember things. As I was saying, they are going to try and send a contact and get us out of here. All the airports, bus terminals and trains will be covered, so we can't use them," he said as he started yawning.

Maggie sat down on the edge of the bed. "Tell me the rest of it Shannon."

"What do you mean, 'rest of it'?" he asked warily.

"Well for starters, do we have a chance of getting out of here alive or should I have jumped?" she said with an impish smile. "Also, what about my husband? Is he in jail?"

Shannon, still laughing over the 'jumped' part, now winced. "Well I'll do my very best to get us out of here, Reilly. I don't care to die just yet."

"And," she asked.

He looked away. She waited. Making a decision, he came over and knelt beside her and taking hold of her hand said softly, "I'm sorry. Your husband is dead. From what we've been able to piece together, he died the night he disappeared."

She nodded and was quiet for a moment, and while staring at Shannon did not seem overly upset. Finally in a quiet voice she said, "I had begun to figure that's what happened. So what do we do now?"

"Obviously we can't stay here. They are probably checking all accommodations and might even have spies working for all the hotels. That's the only way they could find us now, but it's better to keep moving. So, we exit, stage right."

"The kitchen again?" she said with a smirk.

His face broke into a mischievous grin and Maggie couldn't help but smile. Besides he had the smile that made ladies hearts flutter.

"Maybe we can lift some food on the way out this time. Refresh yourself and we'll be on our way," he said rising.

As they warily made their way through the kitchen with Shannon profusely apologizing for his error, he saw the Chef turn away from the counter and Shannon quickly grabbed the bacon and muffins that were on a plate and increasing their pace, emerged in yet another back alley. Placing the bacon between the muffin halves, he broke it in two and handed one half to Maggie.

Chuckling as she took a large bite she tried to tell Shannon she ordinarily didn't eat meat. He grinned and told her it was not polite to laugh or talk with your mouth full of forbidden food. While they ate a young man on a Moped pulled up, stepped off the bike and leaving the key in the ignition walked quickly into the kitchen.

This was their chance and in an instant Shannon hopped on, turned the key and yelled for Maggie to get on. Without hesitation she did and as they drove off the young man came out yelling for them to stop.

"This is stealing!" Maggie yelled as she tightly placed her arms around Shannon's waist and then held on for dear life as he raced down the alley and headed for the nearest street. Despite her fear, she was actually smiling when she said it.

"I know, but we aren't going to wreck it and I'll leave word at the Gendarmes office wherever we dump it."

Soon they were safely out of town and made a quick stop by a culvert, where Maggie shed her glasses, wig and pink jacket, while Shannon did the same with his beard, mustache and coat.

"Shame about that beard," said Maggie as they once again started on their way. It made you look rather . . . handsome."

Shannon laughed. "I'll grow a natural one if you like it that much." For the next two hours they continued through the countryside, passing through three small towns. At the fourth town they stopped for some petrol and continued driving for most of the day. Toward evening Shannon spotted a small local airport in the distance and quickly headed that way.

After arranging to rent a small plane Shannon told the man to phone the Lisbon Hotel in Lisbon and inform the restaurant Chef a Moped could be picked up at this address. As they boarded the plane Maggie asked if he knew how to fly this kind of plane.

"No, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out," he said as he studied the instrument panel.

Maggie gasped and stepped out of the plane and only when Shannon started laughing did she realize he was kidding.

"I flew combat in the war," he said.

Afraid to ask which war she stepped back in and soon they were taxiing down the runway.

As the plane lifted off the wings started to wobble and she held her breath. Looking at Shannon out of the corner of her eye she saw he had a grin and balled her fist and hit him on the arm.

"I hate you and your sense of humor," she said, but soon joined him in laughter.

Later Shannon landed the plane at the small coastal city of LaLinea and immediately hired a boat to take them across the Strait of Gibraltar to the Moroccan town of Ceuta. After finding a small motel on the outskirts, Shannon placed a call to his contact and they settled down to wait. Shannon had considered catching a bus to Casablanca, but decided as it was such a large, known city, it would be best to remain secluded at Ceuta.

Once safely in the room Shannon pulled a chair over to the window in such a position he could see all traffic in every direction. Maggie heaved a big sigh and sat down on the bed and looked at Shannon. His handsome features were now haggard and it was obvious he was totally worn out. He had little or no sleep or food in the last twenty-four hours and as she looked at him she found herself very attracted to this stranger who was trying so hard to save her life. Her mind drifted to the kiss in that Lisbon back alley and her heart rate increased dramatically.

"Why don't you lie down and rest Shannon?" she said, getting her mind off the kiss.

Without looking at her he shook his head. "Until I have you back in the States and in a CIA Safe House I can't relax," he said weariness quite evident in his voice. Abruptly he stood. "There's a small restaurant across the street. You must be famished. I'll get us both something but don't even go near the door while I'm gone."

Returning shortly with coffee and sandwiches they enjoyed their first meal since . . . Maggie couldn't even remember, but she breathed deeply the aroma of the coffee between each bite of her sandwich. Once finished Shannon gathered all the scraps and tossed them in the waste container, and as he moved back to the chair his cell phone rang. It was his contact informing him they had arrested the men in Lisbon and that in two hours he and Mrs. O'Reilly would be picked up by a Seaplane, and to be at the port at that time.

Shannon stood looking out the window. He had two more hours to keep Maggie safe then he could finally relax. At that moment she moved up beside him and his heart leaped at her near presence.

Placing a hand on his arm she said softly, "Thank you for everything Shannon. I probably wouldn't have made it without your help. In fact I would have leapt off that boat if it weren't for you. I was very desperate and you have changed my whole perspective on life. In fact, you have changed everything." She squeezed his arm and left her hand there as she gazed up at him.

Shannon turned and looked at her. They had been through a lot the last two days and she had withstood the pressure. It was getting dark and the shadows in the room flickered across her face, enhancing her beauty. His throat felt dry as they looked at one another and finally he gently touched her face with the back of his fingers and said, "You are too beautiful to die so young, Maggie."

Her heart jumped at him using her name and she smiled. Before she could respond, and without warning, he reached out and pulled her to him, and then kissed her ever so gently.

As he ended the kiss she leaned back slightly in his arms and asked in a husky voice, "What about your wife?"

He smiled, his dimples again reminding her of the Grand Canyon. "I'm not married," he said softly. "That was the only lie I told you."

"Oh . . ." was all she could say.

"Maybe when I have you back safe and sound, and maybe when everything is all settled, maybe I can take you out for a real dinner?"

She grinned and replied, "Maybe," but at the same time was nodding her head yes.

He suddenly pulled her to him and again pressed his lips on hers. She responded. Their arms tightened around each other and as Maggie pressed her body against his the kiss became more passionate and deeper, with neither wanting it to end, neither making any effort to end it.

"Tuvok to Captain Janeway," suddenly pierced the room, breaking the silence.

Their kiss continued, as if they did not hear the hail

"Tuvok to Captain Janeway," again rang sharply through the room.

Slowly they pulled apart, their lips reluctantly parting. Both stood and silently looked at one another, their eyes not hiding the passion that still smoldered there, their bodies remaining in contact.

"Tuvok has impeccable timing," said Chakotay finally breaking the moment, his voice still raw with emotion.

"Appears so," said a visibly shaken Kathryn. While still staring into Chakotay's eyes, she reached inside her waistband and squeezed her Com Badge.

"Janeway here," she said in a quiet, husky voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation time Captain, but we have come upon a very interesting Anomaly."

"We've come upon them before Mr. Tuvok," she said, her eyes still on Chakotay. He remained standing close to her, his hands resting lightly on her hips.

"I realize that Captain, but this one is different. We launched a probe and it appears to be a Worm Hole."

"And?" she prodded.

"The Worm Hole is stable at both ends Captain and the reading designates the Alpha Quadrant is at the exit point."

"On my way," she said, finally tearing her eyes away from Chakotay's.

She moved away from him and turned for the Holodeck doors, with Chakotay stepping in beside her. As she reached them she called out, "Computer, save program JC-1," and while looking at Chakotay, who had a surprised expression, she reached for his hand, squeezed firmly and said, "I rather liked that ending, Chakotay, and would like to try it again . . . say in the Alpha Quadrant, at Earth?"

He smiled and squeezed her hand back. "I would really like that, Kathryn."

She smiled and nodded her head to show affirmation. Then she braced her shoulders, and Kathryn and Chakotay walked through the open door into the corridors of Voyager, to once again assume the duties of Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay.


The End
November 1999

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