Warning: Rated PG for possibly strong language and violence

Brenda sat stubbornly in the passenger seat of Blue’s Jaguar convertible, her arms folded across her chest. "Excuse me?" Blue said in disbelief.

"I said," Brenda repeated patiently, "that I want to know what’s going on. First Jax scares the wits out of me, hiding from the cops, and now, he parades into the headquarters like there’s nothing going on. The last I heard, he was going to Montauk to get the evidence to clear him of the frame-ups. Now, it’s not even mentioned." She looked at Blue with narrowed eyes. "And then YOU show up out of nowhere just in time to save me from the fiancée from hell. I’m tired of being kept out of the loop and I want to know what’s going on."

Blue sighed and looked around her. "OK, well can we at least go somewhere a little more private than the middle of Charles Street and I’ll explain?" Brenda hesitated, and then nodded slowly. "Good. Put your seatbelt on and I’ll start driving."

Blue carefully made her way back into traffic. "Are we going to your place?" Brenda asked innocently.

"NO!" The force of Blue’s exclamation made Brenda jump. Then Blue rubbed her temple with her right hand for a moment. "I’m sorry. I’m just kind of self-conscious about my place. I don’t exactly have silk couch covers and designer pillows. We’ll just go to your place instead."

Brenda shook her head vehemently. "No way. That’s too far and I don’t intend to stew about this anymore. I want to know NOW!"

Blue muttered a curse but Brenda folded her arms in stubbornness. Suddenly, she whipped the car around a corner and pulled into a parking lot of a discount store that had closed its doors much earlier.

She turned off the engine and looked at Brenda. "OK, so what do you want to know?"

"Why don’t you just start at the part where Jax goes to Montauk and I’ll let you know if you leave anything out," Brenda said forcefully.

Blue nodded. "OK. Apparently he went to Taggert’s apartment first and found Garcia – the other cop that grilled you," Brenda’s eyes rolled with distaste, "there trying to convince Taggert that his memory wasn’t fading. Jax interrupted them and in the scuffle with Garcia, he lost his weapon. Jax bailed out the fire escape window and Garcia shot Taggert with his pistol. Another nice neat frame for the bad guys to pin on Jax."

Brenda shook her head. "So did he ever get to Montauk?"

Blue nodded. "He did. He had about 45 minutes there before the storm troopers moved in. He called me right after they arrived." Blue sighed. "Kavanaugh never told him where the evidence was, and Jax wasn’t able to find it." Brenda swore softly, and Blue continued. "He stuck around for a while, hiding in the bushes, and apparently Mac’s bozos haven’t had any more luck than he did. I’m sure that if they had, Mac would have been rubbing Jax’s nose in it." She looked at Brenda. "He didn’t say anything about it to Jax while you were there, did he?"

"Not a word," Brenda muttered. "Go on."

"Jax called me on V’s cell phone because he was worried about you," Blue continued. Brenda’s eyes misted over. "I had to tell him about Mac taking you into custody." She looked down at the steering wheel. "I could have tried to lie to him, sweetie, but he would have seen through me in a split second."

"So he turned himself in, without evidence to clear himself, just to save me?" Brenda asked, the tears flowing down her cheeks.

Blue reached into the back seat for a tissue. "Pretty much. Although it was probably a smart move since this takes away Mac’s power to "shoot-to-kill." Any cards we can take out of Mac’s hand are valuable at this point." She took a deep breath. "When he called me to tell me what he was planning, he gave me strict instructions to be at the station so that when you were released, I could get you back to a safe place. He figured that once those blood test results come back, Mac will be hot on your trail again."

Brenda nodded, but then gasped and shot up in her seat. "But Jax is still in danger! Mac threatened him while I was sitting there!"

"What did he say?" Blue asked.

"He told Jax he was a dead man. He said that between the jail guards who won’t like a cop killer and the sleazy cons," Brenda shuddered at the thought, "Jax wouldn’t live to get to trial."

Blue smiled. "Jax already thought of that. He had me call in one of our other operatives, the eagle. She’s there already. I saw her walk in as we were leaving."

"What can she do? Smuggle him a file in a cake?" Brenda sniffed.

"She’s a tough lawyer and an operative for the WSB. She’ll make sure Jax is treated fairly, don’t worry. She’s worked with him before. At this point, Mac is probably wishing he had never been born," Blue smiled. "Now, why don’t I take you back to your place and you can gather up some stuff and we’ll go to a safe location."

Brenda nodded silently as Blue put the car in gear. Then she got a cunning smile on her face. "And I know the perfect place, Blue. Lots of fresh air, sea breezes, and sunshine."

"Sweetie," Blue said as she cast a glance at Brenda, "this ain’t no vacation we’re talking about. We’re going to be hiding you from the cops."

"No, Blue," Brenda said while stretching, "you can go hide somewhere if you want. I’m going on a little trip. To Montauk."

Blue almost swallowed her tongue. "Brenda!! Are you nuts?!! Why would you be going there?"

"To find the evidence to clear Jax," she said matter-of-factly. She saw Blue’s astonishment, but continued. "You can either go with me or you can just drop me off at my cottage. I’m going to Montauk."

"And just how the hell do you think you’re gonna get there without a car?" Blue asked.

"I DON’T CARE IF I HAVE TO RIDE MY D*MN HORSE, I’M GOING TO MONTAUK!!"

Blue muttered under her breath, and then turned sharply when the traffic signal changed. "OK, I give up. Now I see why Jax loves you so much. You’re the stubbornnest woman I ever met – next to me, of course." She looked over at Brenda, and then back at the road. "Hand me that cell phone. I’ll call Sean and get the location of Kavanaugh’s cabin. Montauk, here we come."

*~*~*~*

The petite brunette shifted in the hard wooden chair in the interrogation room. She uncrossed her legs, and then re-crossed them again, this time with the right leg on top. Just as she was about to start hunting for the dim-witted desk sergeant again, Mac Scorpio breezed into the room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss…." He let the sentence dangle, but a business card was quickly thrust into his waiting hand.

"Sheehan, Kathleen Sheehan," she replied, carefully avoiding shaking Mac’s hand. "Sheehan, McBeal, and Kelsey, attorneys at law. I’m here to see Jasper Jacks."

"Well," Mac said condescendingly, barely glancing at the card, " he’s kind of busy right now. He’s downstairs being booked. But if you’re family, I’m sure we can arrange something later …."

{So it’s really true what Blue said. You really are thick as a brick. This will be fun.} She interrupted him. "I’m not family, Commissioner. I’ll be representing Mr. Jacks. I’m his attorney."

Mac swore softly under his breath. Just when he thought the case was wrapped up, the d*mned pretty boy had to have a lawyer show up – and a female one, at that.

"I wasn’t aware that Mr. Jacks had asked for his attorney," Mac replied coolly.

Kathleen sat back down in her chair slowly. "Ohhh, pleeeassse, Commissioner. Make my day and tell me he wasn’t read his Miranda rights. I find it hard to believe that Mr. Jacks would have waived his right to see me when I was contacted far before he ever stepped foot onto the PCPD premises."

Mac sat down and squirmed a little. "No, Miss Sheehan, I’m sure that Mr. Jacks was Mirandized. I was just leaving the room as he was being read the speech." He looked up into her eyes, pretending sincerity. "But he’s being booked, and sometimes that can take a long time. You might not want to wait."

Kathleen folded her hands primly on the table. "Commissioner, I’ve been here for almost an hour now. Unless those guys downstairs are using quills and drawing a detailed charcoal portrait instead of using a camera, I find it hard to believe that it’s taking THAT long just to book my client."

Mac fumed for a moment, but then picked up the telephone and after a brief conversation, hung up again. "He’s finished down there. I’m having him brought up to this room and you can see him for a few minutes." Mac looked down and smirked. "Although I really don’t see what we have to talk about. It’s an open and shut case."

Kathleen leaned back in her chair. "Well, how very CONSIDERATE of you, Commissioner. Not making me move to another interrogation room. I’ll make a note of that in my file." But then she leaned forward again, and her eyes were as hard as nails. "And I wouldn’t make ANY assumptions about this case, Commissioner. After all, you know what they say about assuming – it makes an @ss out of you and me? Of course, in your case, that wouldn’t be too much of a stretch."

Just as Mac opened his mouth to explode at Kathleen, the door to the interrogation room opened and Jax was brought in by Garcia. He had changed his clothes into the standard jail uniform of a blue chambray shirt and dark blue trousers. Obviously the Port Charles facility had never been host to a man of Jax’s stature, since the shirt sleeves ended well above his wrists and the pants fit very tightly. His hands were still hand-cuffed behind his waist.

When Jax entered the room, both Kathleen and Mac turned to look at him, and she gasped aloud. First she turned back to glare at Mac, and then she stood slowly and walked over to her client. She stood before him, and Jax smiled weakly at her. "Hello, duchess," he said in a quiet voice. "You sure are a sight for sore eyes." He tried to smile, but that quickly was ended by the split in his lower lip.

Kathleen had seen the bruises and split lip immediately when he entered the room. As she stood before him, her right hand went up to his face to gently caress the split in his full lower lip, and then moved up to the swelling on his forehead above his right eye. There was also a small cut below his right eye. Kathleen moved her hand to take the white handkerchief out of her pocket, touched it to her lips, and then dabbed at the bleeding.

She shook her head, but he could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Seems I just can’t let you out of my sight for a minute anymore, can I, Handsome?" She spoke softly so that Mac couldn’t hear her, but then Jax saw her eyes go cold as ice and she spun around to face him. Jax almost felt sorry for Mac.

"What the hell have they been doing to my client down there?" she asked in a clipped tone. She looked back at him, and gently took him by the arm to lead him to the table where Mac still sat. Garcia held him back for a minute, but when Kathleen shot Mac a look, Mac nodded for Garcia to turn him loose.

When she and Jax stood at the table, she looked Mac in the eye again. "I want the cuffs taken off of him."

"I’m afraid I can’t do that, Miss Sheehan," Mac sneered. "He’s already escaped once, and we can’t take that chance."

She smiled at Mac, but it made his blood run cold. "The fact that Mr. Jacks escaped from your brainless, airhead personnel is not my problem, Commissioner. Now I want the cuffs off, and I will personally vouch for him as an officer of the court. If your men are too incompetent to stop him if he tries it again, I WILL."

Mac was incredulous. "You?! But you’re just a wo….." Mac stopped cold again as Kathleen drew up all of her petite frame and glared at Mac. "….a very petite person," he finished.

"Commissioner, I could break this table in two with one hand tied behind my back. I currently hold a 3^rd degree black belt, and I would be most happy to demonstrate some moves on either you or your minion here," she added, nodding towards Garcia. "Now take the cuffs off my client or I will personally have you singing soprano instead of bass before the day is over!"

Mac inhaled deeply, but finally nodded to Garcia, who unlocked Jax’s handcuffs. Jax stretched and rubbed his wrists, and then looked gratefully at Kathleen. She smiled at him, and after she was seated, Jax sat in the chair beside her. Garcia took up a position at the door.

"Now, about the charges against Mr. Jacks," Mac began, but Kathleen held up her hand.

"I think that first we need to discuss Mr. Jacks’ physical condition, Commissioner. Shall we ask him how he got the split lip and the goose egg on his forehead?"

Mac smiled. "Go right ahead. It’s his word against ours."

Kathleen smiled back, and Jax had to look down to keep from smiling and hurting his lip further. Mac really had no clue about the tornado he was dealing with. "Commissioner, I believe there was a young woman in here earlier with you and Mr. Jacks. She had been arrested for harboring Mr. Jacks, but I see that now she’s been released. Would you like me to have her brought in so she can tell us how Mr. Jacks appeared before he was taken down to be booked?"

Mac snorted. "Her? That dimwit model? She can’t tell her @ss from a hole in the ground. I wouldn’t count on her as your star witness." He laughed and Garcia joined him, but they both stopped when they saw the expression on Kathleen’s face.

Jax, meanwhile, had tensed and cringed when Mac insulted Brenda. Kathleen had to put her left hand on his thigh to keep him from catapulting across the table and smashing Mac’s face with his fists. He got her signal, and when his body relaxed, Kathleen took the lead again.

"I’m sorry you feel that way, Commissioner," she began. "Because I was just speaking to my good friend Tiffany Hill over at WLPC today. I’m sure that if the young woman – Miss Barrett, I believe is her name? -- felt compelled to tell Miss Hill and the media about Mr. Jacks’ treatment, they would find it fascinating. And of course, models make such sympathetic witnesses."

"Get to the point, Miss Sheehan," Mac said angrily, folding his hands on the table.

Kathleen adopted a mirror pose. "I want a private cell away from the rest of the jail population for Mr. Jacks pending his arraignment. I also want private guards for Mr. Jacks, to make sure that he won’t have any more "accidents" like the ones that caused his facial bruises today."

Mac sat there with his mouth open, but realized that if she really did go public with Jax’s bruises, he would be in hot water with the taxpayers. "All right," he agreed slowly, "you’re fortunate that we’re not full up now and we can spare an extra cell for your client. And I’ll get some of the guards put on special duty just for Mr. Jacks."

Kathleen pulled a sheet out of her briefcase. "That won’t be necessary, Commissioner. I’ve already contacted a private security firm that I use frequently and the men will be here within the quarter-hour. I think you’ll find their references impeccable."

Mac briefly glanced at the sheet, and grimaced. "All right. After all, these special circumstances won’t be required for long. I’ve managed to pull some strings and Mr. Jacks will be arraigned tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM."

"What judge?" Kathleen asked hesitantly.

"Grace Van Owen," Mac replied in a sullen mood. {If I have to deal with one more female on this case, I’ll scream.}

Kathleen smiled. "Excellent. Judge Van Owen has a reputation that is beyond reproach." She looked over at Jax and then back to Mac. "And now, I’d like some time to discuss my client’s case alone with him."

"That will have to be in his cell," Mac said, rising from the table. "I can’t allow you two to be in this room alone at this point. I’ve already bent the rules enough for you."

"And you are a real prince among men for doing it," Kathleen said sarcastically. "His cell will be fine. That way I can check it out and make sure it’s acceptable to my standards." As Mac was leaving the room, Kathleen caught him by the arm. "And Commissioner – I intend to be here at 9AM tomorrow morning to meet with Mr. Jacks again." She moved in to stand so close that he could feel her breath. "I intend to check every square inch of him to make sure there are no new bruises or cuts. Shall I bring Tiffany Hill and a news crew with me, or do you get my drift?"

Mac nodded with a glare. "I GET IT!" he snapped at Kathleen. Then he looked at Garcia. "Cuff him again!" and left the room.

Jax leaned down to Kathleen’s shoulder as Garcia pulled his arms behind him again. "Every square inch, duchess? Is that a threat or a promise?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Kathleen smiled coyly. "For you, Handsome, it’s a promise." She shook her head in mock horror. "The things I do for this job." Then as they began to leave the room, she leaned back once more and whispered to him, "And if you’re lucky – I MIGHT let them take the handcuffs OFF when I do the inspection!"

*~*~*~*

By the time Brenda and Blue reached the cabin in Montauk, the sun was almost ready to come up. Blue had stopped at Brenda’s cottage so that she could freshen up a little from her ordeal and change clothes. While she did that, Blue took a cat nap on Brenda’s couch.

Blue drove to Montauk, and Brenda took the opportunity to nap in the passenger seat. She kept having the same dream about someday sharing the cottage with Jax. Just as he was smiling at her and holding a gigantic Hershey bar, Brenda felt somebody shaking her shoulders.

"Brenda, wake up, we’re here," Blue said gently. Brenda opened her eyes and stretched. She was amazed to see the beautiful trees and as she stepped out of the car, she inhaled the fresh air. As she scanned the horizon though, her eyes were immediately drawn to the cabin, which was surrounded by yellow police tape. Blue was already walking towards the cabin, and Brenda hurried to catch up.

As Blue broke the tape, Brenda looked around suspiciously. "Don’t worry, sweetie," Blue reassured her. "If there was anything worth finding here, they would never have left the place alone." She shook her head. "I still think this may turn out to be a gigantic goose chase."

Brenda harumphed and walked up the wooden stairs to the front door. "We have to try, Blue. We’re all that Jax has got now." She looked at the door. "But how will we get in?"

Blue smiled and walked up to it and swung it open. "Like I said, they obviously don’t think there’s anything here worth saving anymore. So it’s not worth locking." They walked inside, and as Brenda was about to protest, her mouth hung open in surprise.

The cabin had been ransacked. Every cushion on the furniture had been slit open and all the stuffing pulled out. Every picture had been stripped from the wall. Some of the floor boards and wall boards had been loosened and pulled out. As they made their way gingerly through the main room of the cabin to the kitchen, Brenda put her hands over her mouth to stifle the gasp. Every cabinet in the small kitchen had been emptied, and many of the dishes lay broken on the floor. The refrigerator was still standing open, the light inside burned out long ago. There were empty milk cartons laying on their sides on the floor and the crisper drawers were both still open.

Blue walked sadly over to the refrigerator and shut the drawers, and then closed the door. Brenda looked around the room, and then at Blue. "I know," she said to the argument that she knew was coming, "it looks pretty bad." She put her hands on her hips, determination firing her spirit again. "But if Jax’s partner told him the evidence was here, it must be here somewhere. And like you said earlier, they haven’t tormented Jax about it, so it must still be here somewhere." She walked over to the counter and drilled her fingers. "We just have to find it, that’s all."

"Oh, that’s all," Blue said sarcastically. "Well, I’m glad our job is so easy. Here, I was worried we would have something TOUGH to do up here."

Brenda gave her a dirty look. "Well, we’re not going to get anything done standing here harping at each other. I’ll take the bedroom, you take the living room." Blue nodded, and Brenda turned to go down the hall.

About 30 minutes later, Brenda emerged from the bedroom with a long face. Blue saw her, and she had the same expression on her face. Brenda stopped for a moment, and then her eyes blazed again with grit. She walked over to a door that stood ajar next to the refrigerator. "What’s this?"

"I think it must go to the cellar," Blue answered. "They probably kept some food and their camping equipment down there."

Brenda went over to the door, opened it all the way, and extended her hand to Blue. "Shall we?" Blue grimaced, but made her way to the door.

"You know I hate dark, grimy places, don’t you?" Blue said, but then led the way down the narrow stairs. She paused at the bottom to pull a chain and turn on an overhead light. Brenda followed behind and heard Blue gasp.

"What is it? Bodies?" Brenda asked fearfully.

Blue put her hand to her face. "No. Apparently Kavanaugh believed in stocking up for the winter." As Brenda reached the bottom of the steps, she let out a long sigh. In one corner of the cellar were shelves were jars of food had once been stored. Now, the jars were broken all over the floor and rotting food littered the rug.

Blue picked her way through the glass. "Hmmm….pickles, jelly." She stopped and picked up the remnants of a jar. "I think this was canned tomatoes. At least I hope that’s what this was."

Brenda, though, had wandered over to another corner of the cellar. "What’s this stuff?" She looked up into the beams, and then found a small chain that lit another overhead light. Carefully organized and undisturbed were a row of fishing poles and cans and containers.

Blue made her way over. "Looks like fishing equipment." She picked up one container, put it to her nose, and pulled it away quickly. "I think this is bait."

Brenda nodded slowly. "Makes sense. Jax told me once that he and Kavanaugh used to come up here to fish." She looked around at the containers thoughtfully. "Wonder why they didn’t open these?"

Blue got the same look. "Maybe because it smelled so bad? Or maybe because they were so sure that the stuff was hidden in the food jars?" She reached to one of the largest containers and set it on the counter. She pried at the lid, but then stopped. "Come on, let’s take this upstairs where the light is better. If I’m searching something that smells THIS bad, I want to see what it is while I’m doing it."

Blue carried the large canister upstairs and Brenda followed her with a few of the smaller bait canisters. Blue set the large one on the kitchen counter, and as she pried the lid off, they both stared at soft, rich black soil. A musty smell began to permeate the kitchen.

"Dirt?" Brenda asked. She put one hand out to touch it, and immediately gave a squeal and pulled it away. "Oh, God! There’s worms in there!" She looked at Blue, who was stifling a smile. Brenda put her hands on her hips. "You knew all along, didn’t you? Well….go ahead….stick your hand in there and find out if there’s anything else sharing the accommodations in that worm hotel."

"Me?" Blue replied in surprise. "Oh, no." At Brenda’s questioning look, Blue had a ready answer. "Senior agents do NOT clean stables and do NOT stick their hands in cans of disgusting creepy crawly things."

Brenda made a face, but then brightened a little. "Flip you for it?" She pulled out a quarter. "Call it."

"Heads," Blue said with a groan.

Brenda flipped the coin up, but it didn’t fly very high in the air and when it came down, she missed it and it went into the container. To Brenda’s disappointment, the last thing she saw before it sank into the goo was the smiling head of the president staring at her. "Your coin," Blue smiled, and Brenda smiled back an acid smile.

Brenda pulled up her sleeves, and taking a deep breath, she stuck her hand in the glop. She groped around for a few seconds, and then gave a grunt and a gasp. "What is it?" Blue asked. "The worm from the blue lagoon?"

Brenda began breathing very hard. "No – not quite." She pulled her hand out of the oozing mud, and worms were still curling around her fingers. But as she held the hand up, Blue saw the prize between her fingers – a small black film canister.

"Oh, my God," Blue barely breathed, and she ran to get some paper towels from the roller. As she wiped the mud from the film container, Brenda was submerging her hand in the glop again. Blue opened the container and pulled out a long roll of developed film negatives. Holding them up to the light, she began to breathe as hard as Brenda. "This is it, Brenda! This is the evidence! Here’s a picture of Mac Scorpio shaking hands with the head of the Canelli family, and taking a large envelope from him." When she looked back at Brenda, tears were running down Brenda’s face, and at that moment, she pulled her hand out with another worm-laden canister of film.

After 20 more minutes, and several more trips to the cellar, the women had found 8 more film canisters. Sitting at the kitchen table, they cleaned the mud and worms off. "But there’s still something I don’t understand," Brenda said thoughtfully. "Jax said Kavanaugh had diaries. There must be more than this." Blue nodded.

Suddenly Brenda rose from the table. "Wait a minute." She looked around and then bolted for the back door with Blue in pursuit. Brenda looked around to get her bearings, and then headed for the small boat dock they could see in the distance. Blue shook her head once, but then followed her.

When Blue got to the dock, Brenda had come back to the shore and was carefully pushing the brush aside. "What are you looking for?" Blue asked.

Brenda was still bent over. "Obviously Kavanaugh was going with a fishing theme here." She moved a little more, and then squatted down to the ground. As Blue moved to beside her, she could see that Brenda was pulling on some fishing line that was anchored in the brush with trembling hands. "My dad used to make me go with him on fishing trips when I was little. I hated him for it at the time, but right now, I could kiss him!"

Blue squatted down and helped pull on the line. "You should be an operative," Blue said respectfully. After a few more tugs, they finally pulled a large, basket type wire container out of the water. Inside the container, instead of caught fish being stored until the end of the day, was a plastic wrapped notebook. Brenda opened the wrapping and opened it with shaking hands. "What is it?" Blue asked softly after Brenda had read for a few minutes.

Brenda looked up at her with eyes glistening. "It’s a diary. There’s an entry dated the day before Kavanaugh died. He says he was blackmailing Mac and Garcia. He says Mac had been threatening him." She read a little more. "He says that he’s tired of playing both sides of the fence and that he intends to come clean with Jax." Brenda wiped at her tears with her sleeve. "Listen to this – "Mac threatened me again. He told me that if I tell Jax about the blackmail and try to bring him down, he’ll kill me.""

Both women sat down hard on the shore and Brenda dissolved into Blue’s arms in tears. "You did it, sweetie," Blue said quietly. "You found the proof." She looked around. "I suppose we should check the shoreline to make sure there aren’t more storage cages with more documents."

Brenda nodded, wiping away the tears. "But now that we’ve found the stuff, who do we take it to? Obviously we can’t go to Mac. And he’s the top cop here."

Blue smiled. "I know how to handle this now." She pulled the smallest cell phone Brenda had ever seen out of her back pocket and flipped it open. "Hello, V? Put me through to Condor on the private line. It’s an emergency."

To be continued….