Shadow Men – 57 – Anders and Grant

"Grant," Anders growled, "pay attention, damn it!"

Grant jumped as he tried to get his nerves back under control. It was one thing to have to face attacks while in a car, as had happened on their way to the city. It would be quite another to be on foot in a place as huge as Anders had told him Central Park was while trying to stay out of the Colonel's, and the Senator's, clutches.

"Got your attention now, I hope." Anders pointed to the map, tracing his finger along the route they'd be taking to get to the meeting spot. "It's all densely wooded, which is good for us, but in the case of someone showing up who shouldn't, also good for them."

"Not making me feel any better here, Anders," Grant muttered.

"Not trying to. I want you to understand exactly what we might be facing. It's for sure they know we're in the city by now. It's possible, in fact probable, they know about this place as well."

"Then why are we still here?"

"We won't be once we leave tonight," Steele told him.

"Back to the subject…" Anders went on to show Grant and Steele how he planned for them to arrive at the meeting place without being seen. When he'd finished and gotten Steele's approval for the plan, he moved on to the next subject on his agenda—Grant and how he'd be armed.

"Knives?" Grant wanted to back away when Anders handed him two of them in sheathes that obviously were meant to hold the weapons to his arms or calves.

"Knives, as well as your gun. I don't expect you to do more than slash and stab as best you can if it comes down to it. Knife fighting's an art and there's no time for training right now. The main point to remember is it's better to slash, it does more immediate damage. If you do stab, then twist the blade to make the wound larger. Do not try hand-to-hand fighting; they're one hundred times better at it. Shoot first if you have a target, use the knives if you can—otherwise, run like hell."

"To where?"

"Good question." Anders studied the map. "Here. It's an arch so you can't miss it."

"Yeah, sure. In the dark, with someone chasing me, bet me."

Steele clapped a hand on Grant's shoulder. "You're better than you think you are. You've proven that already. All you need to remember is that what we're doing is important not only to us but to the people who'll suffer if we don't get this information to someone who will do the right thing with it."

"I'll try." He looked between the two men and took a deep breath. "One thing, well, two actually. I'm a small cog in all this. If it comes down to it, leave me behind. I don't think I could handle knowing that you tried to save me and died in the process. And second, if that happens, take care of Nicky."

"It's not going to happen," Anders replied quietly. "We're going in together; we're coming out the same way."

"Truth," Steele said with a tight smile.

Grant prayed they were right.

Shadow Men – 56 – Anders and Grant

"Got it!" Steele said a couple of minutes later. "Female, about five-eight, blonde hair, dark roots, eyes a bit too widely spaced, narrow nose, full upper-lip. Ring any bells?"

Anders tapped a knuckle against his lips. "Yeah, but the hair color's wrong if it's who I think. It should be red. Petra, no Petya. Petya…"

"Goranov," Steele said, his voice tight with emotion. "His wife."

"Whose wife?" Grant asked, feeling totally lost.

"Goranov's. He's the one who started all this when he stole those papers."

"Why would she be there? How would she know we were going to be there?" Anders mused.

"That is a damned good question," Steele replied. "One thing for sure, she wouldn't be working for the Colonel, not after he had her husband…"

"Killed?" Grant asked, then wished he hadn't when he immediately understood why Steele's hands had fisted so tightly at his sides. Tortured and killed, he was certain.

"She's hunting for his killers," Anders stated.

"Why there?"

"Hunting for you then, Steele, if she knows you had the papers."

"Possible." Steele frowned. "Still doesn't explain…"

"It does if she knows 'Daniel', which we have to find out. She could be the loose cannon who fucks this whole thing up, and we have the meeting tomorrow… well, tonight."

"Call him," Steele spat out.

Anders' eyebrows shot up at the order but he did so anyway. After a short conversation with him Anders told the others, "He knows her, yeah, but says he didn't know she was in the area. According to him, she went deep under since the Colonel would like to get his hands on her."

"She's one of you?" Grant asked.

Anders nodded. "She and her husband were a team, a good one. It still doesn't explain why she's here at the same time we are."

"Is this Daniel the only one who knew we were coming here?"

"He was, until he set up tonight's meeting. Now that man knows, too. Hell."

"The 'man' is a woman, her, or that's what you're thinking," Grant said.

Anders gave a sharp nod.

"It fits," Steele muttered. "She has as much or more reason than we do to want the information to get into the right hands."

"I guess we'll find out tonight. For now we'd better get some sleep."

Shadow Men – 55 – Anders and Grant

"The next meeting's set up," Anders told Steele an hour later as they waited at the taxi stand. "Tomorrow night."

"Good," was Steele's terse reply. He seemed more edgy than usual.

"Trouble?" Anders asked, sotto voce.

"Tell you when we get back."

Anders nodded as he stepped forward to commandeer the next cab in line before a well-dressed couple could. The man started to say something, took one look at Anders and Steele and backed away.

The cab ride ended at an elite hotel in midtown. They walked through the front lobby, down a long hall and out through a service entrance into an alley as if they belonged there. Somehow along the way Steele had managed to pick up two jackets and a coat. He handed the jackets to Anders and Grant. Grant's was too large but better that than too small he figured as he put it on.

"Glasses and lenses off," Anders told him.

Grant did so, wrapping the lenses in a torn slip of paper Steele handed him before putting them in his pocket. By the time he'd finished Anders looked more like his normal self although his hair, usually well combed, now looked like he'd gelled it to spike up. Grant figured it was a possibility if there was gel in it from the start.

The whole thing took less than two minutes, during which they'd also been moving down the alley. When they reached the sidewalk they walked away from the hotel. Once again Anders and Steele seemed to be hyper-aware of everything around them. Two blocks from the hotel Anders led the way down to a subway platform, which even at that hour of the night was crowded. When the train came they took it several stops down, exited and returned to street level. By now Grant was totally lost so he followed them meekly as they seemed to wind their way, with no apparent destination, through various streets until finally they reached the apartment building. Rather than go in through the front entrance, which Steele suggested might not be their wisest move, they again went down an alley. Anders took the key ring from his pocket, selected one and seconds later they were in a dim back hall.

When they got to the apartment, Grant collapsed on the sofa. "Is it always like this?" he asked.

"Not always, but often," Anders admitted.

"I think I'll pass on being a spy, or whatever you two call yourselves. I thought it was bad just getting across country, this is ten times worse."

"Try getting from England to the tip of Italy and then back to Chicago without being caught," Steele told him from where he stood by the window. His eyes unfocused momentarily and Grant got the feeling he was remembering doing just that with Rafe.

Anders dropped down on the sofa, too, once he'd shed the jacket. "So what has you jumpy, Steele?"

"I wish I knew. A feeling, something I saw that didn't quite fit but damned if I know what, a person who maybe wasn't where they belonged. I'll figure it out."

"At the opera house?"

Steele nodded, pressing his fingertips to his eyes. "In the crowd at the refreshment bar just before your contact approached you. It wasn't him but…"

When Grant started to ask something Anders shook his head and he shut up.

Shadow Men – 54 – Anders and Grant

"You neglected to tell me something," Grant muttered when he and Anders walked into the lobby. His hair was now two shades darker than it had been two hours earlier, his blue eyes were brown and he wore dark-framed glasses. Anders' normally blond hair was almost ash blond now, his eyebrows so pale as to be invisible. Grant wasn't certain how he'd done it but his teeth seemed more prominent. Not bucked just… bigger some how. Mouth piece of some kind, he figured, surprised it didn't seem to affect his speech.

"Sorry. Habit." Anders replied distractedly as he scanned the people between them and the refreshment bar. Apparently satisfied there was no one within sight to worry about, he put a hand in the small of Grant's back, propelling him forward. "Besides," he whispered, "the dress shirt and tie should have cued you in we weren't going to some dump."

"Guess not," Grant agreed when they reached the bar. People were piled three deep, trying to get their drink of choice and toss it back before intermission was over. "Lucky I happen to like opera."

Anders turned to look at him. "You're kidding."

With a cock of his head, Grant said, "Maybe." He was about to expound on it when a voice next to him said, "Hello, Harry, who's your friend?" It took him a moment to realize the man was talking to Anders.

"One of the guys who teaches with me. How you doing, Daniel? Haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm well. Does your friend have a name?"

"Yes." Anders waited a beat. "Oswald."

Grant was glad he didn't have a drink in his hand. He'd probably have spilled it at that point…on Anders.

The man, 'Daniel', chuckled before turning serious. "Box G-one," he murmured so low that if Grant and Anders hadn't been right beside him they wouldn't have heard him above the din people talking around them. Then, in a normal tone of voice he said, "Good to have seen you again, Harry. We should get together some time soon," and then strolled off.

"Oswald?" Grant muttered.

"Sorry, part of the patter to let him know everything's all right," Anders replied softly then, louder, he said, "Come on, let's forget drinks and get back to our seats. I don't want to miss the start of the third act."

"I agree. The opening aria is not to be missed."

Anders cocked an eyebrow. "I bet you even know what it is."

As Grant had done a fast check to see which opera it was, he did indeed know, and told Anders.

Shadow Men – 53 – Anders and Grant

"Nicky's fine, seems to be anyway, and misses me," Grant said to the unspoken question when he rejoined the men twenty minutes later.

"And Rafe?" Steele seemed hesitant to ask.

"Corrie said there's no change. I'm sorry." When Steele nodded unhappily Grant changed the subject, saying, "Something smells good."

"Supper, which is ready," Anders told him.

"You cook?"

Anders grinned. "Like a pro. One of my many talents."

"Okay, what happened to the man who would barely say two words if it didn't have to do with business?"

"Told you, Grant, when he's waiting and bored he gets antsy, just like…" Steele's face shut down and he turned away.

"Just like Rafe," Anders said quietly. "Damn it, Steele, he's going to be fine."

"You don't know that."

"And you don't know that he won't be." Anders gripped Steele's shoulder. "Look at me." When Steele reluctantly turned to face him, Anders said, "You know he's a fighter. He will be fine."

After taking a deep breath, Steele nodded. "Yeah, he will."

* * * *

With supper over and judged excellent by both Grant and Steele, Grant again felt at loose ends as he watched the others begin to strip down and clean their weapons. When Anders told him to hand his over so he could deal with it as well, Grant hesitated.

"Show him how to do it, Anders," Steele said somewhat tartly.

"It's not as if…"

"Do it… Please."

Anders pointed to the chair next to him. Grant sat then spent the next half hour beginning to learn everything Anders deemed necessary. He had the feeling they'd barely touched the surface but a phone call brought things to a halt and quickly.

When he'd hung up, Anders announced they were going to meet one of his contacts.

"Tell you what, you two go, you know what you're doing. I'll stay here and umm, guard the place."

"Sorry, Grant, but no," Anders replied in no uncertain terms, all business now.

"What about Steele? Can't he…"

"He's backup, and I mean way back up. If things go sour and any of the Colonel's people are there, his is the first face they'd recognize."

"If you're meeting someone you trust why would his people be there?"

"Name of the game, Grant. Shit happens, especially when you think everything's safe as aces," Anders told him. "So come on, let's get you dressed."

Grant shot him an offended look. "Believe it or not I'm quite able to dress myself." He heard a snort of amusement and turned to see Steele shaking his head.

"Play nice, boys. And Grant, I suspect he meant to say he'd help you choose something so you fit in where we're going, as well as work on how you look."

"How I look? Oh, well, not much you can do with this." He ran his hand through his short brown hair.

"You might be surprised."

Shadow Men – 52 – Anders and Grant

"Now we wait," Anders said the next evening.

All three men had slept the day away, rising soon after dark. Steele looked much better, the gashes not standing out in vivid relief against too pale skin. And there were many more of those than Grant had realized, visible now since all Steele wore at the moment was a large bath towel wrapped around his waist. It was the same for Anders, as if the two men were used to wandering around in front of each other barely clad. Grant definitely felt overdressed in his last clean pair of jeans.

Anders had chuckled when he first saw the look on Grant's face. "No sense dressing until we know what we're doing."

"Not like I've got all that much to wear anyway," Grant had pointed out.

"Check the closet in your room. There should be a selection there with some things that'll fit. You're fairly average sized."

Grant felt average when he looked at the other two. He was six-foot, they were both at least a couple of inches taller and much more muscular, even Steele despite the fact that he was still recuperating.

"What you lack in size you make up for in smarts," Anders told him.

Grant snorted. "As if."

Anders eyed him thoughtfully then. "You're not all that bad looking, you know."

"For a civilian."

"For a man." Anders winked then headed to the kitchen, leaving Grant standing there flabbergasted.

"Grant," Steele said from where he stood at the window, "don't take that to heart. When he's on a job and at loose ends waiting, he gets like that. It's his way of letting off tension."

"Got it. Thanks for the warning."

Steele nodded.

Unsure what to do, Grant began to pace the living room. "Can I call Nicky?" he asked, suddenly aware he'd promised his son he would.

"Yes, but not on your phone."

"What phone? I left my place with my wallet, keys and the clothes on my back."

"Solves that problem. Go ask Anders for his phone, it should be secure."

"It is," Anders called out from the kitchen. "It's on my dresser."

Grant made what felt like his escape from the two men. He found Anders' cell, then realized he had no idea what number he needed. He heard a chuckle from the doorway. "Hit two". Grant spun around to see Anders leaning against the doorframe. "Figured you'd realize you didn't know it sooner than later," the man said with a smirk before he turned and left.

Shadow Men – 51 – Anders and Grant

They made it into Manhattan with no further problems, which, Anders pointed out, didn't mean they were home free by a long shot. "The Colonel's got enough people at his beck and call they'll be watching for us. They undoubtedly were from the second they knew I'd taken you from your place."

Grant frowned. "But how did they find us?"

"I'm sure they tagged us the first time because they spotted Nicky. We lost them but we were already heading south and east. That narrowed it down. So he notified his people of that. Short of bugging the truck, which they didn't, there was no way they could have found the house. But afterward… They're not stupid. Do you know how many small planes have flown over us?"

Grant shrugged. "I didn't really notice."

"I did, and there were a lot, which is normal but any one of them could have belonged to the Colonel. We stopped at that restaurant for lunch, a bad move on my part but I figured we needed to relax. Steele's easy to spot."

"Yeah," Steele agreed, touching one of the healing gashes on the side of his face.

"It's still…" Grant shook his head. "It's still a crap shoot."

"Oh yeah, but one they won for a minute, which is why the run-in with them. We got lucky and came out on top, this time."

"Oh that makes me feel so much better," Grant muttered.

Anders chuckled. "We keep our eyes open and don't do anything foolish and we'll come out on top every time."

Grant nodded while he watched the buildings pass by them. "Are we going somewhere specific?"

"Yep, to the first large parking garage I can find. We'll leave the car there. From then on it's foot or subway."

* * * *

"Where do all these people come from, and where do they store them," Grant grumbled as he dodged around yet another group of pedestrians.

"Store them?" Anders chuckled even as he watched everyone around them, just as Steele did.

"You know what I mean. I guess I'm really small-town. I feel like an ant in a hive… anthill, whatever."

"We're almost out of it." Anders turned down a side street full of what looked like apartment building. He stopped in front of one halfway down. "We're here."

Grant looked up, and up. "Tall."

Steele nodded. "Relatively, yeah. You're sure he can be trusted, Anders?"

For a second Grant thought he meant him, until Anders replied, "Ninety-nine percent," took a key from his pocket and let them into the building.

The lobby was neat but far from gaudy. A bank of elevators stood on the far wall. They crossed to them and Anders pushed the button to bring one down. When the first door opened he stepped in long enough to push the 'Stop' button, waited for the other two elevators to arrive and did the same. "Set that one loose and send it to ten," he told Grant, pointing. "Without you," he added. With a shrug, Grant did as asked while Anders sent the one he stood by to seven. Then they all got onto the third one. A couple of minutes later they stepped off on the twelfth floor.

"You okay to walk up two more flights," Anders asked Steele, obviously seeing as Grant had that the man looked too pale.

"Yeah, I can make it," Steele replied. He did, albeit slowly.

When they got there, Anders led the way down a hall that ran the length of the building to one of the cross halls. He stopped in front of a door marked 1421, dropped his pack and the duffle bag beside it, and then held up one hand as he took out his gun. Steele flattened himself against the wall on one side of the door, now holding his gun loosely in his hand. Grant figured he was supposed to do the same on the other side and did so.

Anders unlocked the door, kicked it open, moved quickly inside and swept his gun over the room. "Okay so far," he announced as he rapidly punched the security code into the alarm box.

Steele was inside an instant later, covering Anders as he checked the other rooms while Grant, unsure what he should be doing, watched from the doorway.

"We're good," Anders announced finally, holstering his gun. He went out to grab the bags, came back and locked the door.

"Now can we get some sleep?" Grant asked. He realized he sounded petulant and apologized.

"No need to," Anders told him. "We're all dead on our feet and grumpy. Follow me and I'll show you the bedrooms."

Grant was surprised but relieved to find out there were three of them, small but at least he didn't have to share with someone. He stripped down quickly, grabbed the toothbrush and paste from his backpack and headed to the bathroom. Too tired to even think of showering he washed his face and vital parts, brushed his teeth and fifteen minutes after entering the apartment he was flopped face-down on the bed, dead to the world.

Shadow Men – 50 – Anders and Grant

A shout of terror brought Grant instantly awake. For a second he didn't know where he was. Then he realized he was still in the car, which was parked off to the side of the road. He also realized Anders wasn't in the driver's seat and turned quickly to see if Steele was still there.

He was, as was Anders. Steele's head was thrown back, his mouth open as he screamed again, his eyes staring blindly into space. Anders' hands gripped Steele's shoulders. He seemed to be trying to keep Steele still. Grant saw it wasn't working as the larger man tore himself free. As fast as possible Grant was out of the car. He flung open the door opposite Anders and reached in to help, grabbing Steele's upper arm with both hands.

Anders did the same to Steele's other arm, all the while talking calmly to the man. "You're safe, you're here with us," he repeated over and over. Then he took one hand away to stroke Steele's hair. As if he was calming a horse, Grant thought.

Slowly Steele relaxed. Then he seemed to understand where he was because his eyes focused on Anders. "Did I hurt…?" he asked hesitantly.

"No harm, no foul," Anders replied. He picked up Steele's backpack, dug through it and took out a bottle of pills. "I think in all the excitement you forgot to take these." He dumped two of them into Steele's hand.

Steele looked blankly at them for a moment before he nodded. "I didn't want to lose my edge, just in case."

"So instead you decided to give Grant his second scare of the day."

Steele turned to look at Grant. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"As Anders said, no harm, etcetera. Do you need water for those?"

After a quick glance around where the car stood, a tiny grin quirked Steele's mouth. "Unless you're hiding some somewhere, I can dry swallow them."

"Well there is that." Grant's grin was a bit more than Steele's. He watched, wincing, as Steele swallowed the pills. It was something he'd never developed a knack for.

"Okay, I'm good," Steele announced a minute later. "How much farther?"

"A little over two hundred miles so with any luck and no more bastards trying to take us out, about seven hours," Anders told him.

"How are you holding up? You've been doing all the driving."

"I'm fine."

"I can drive," Grant put in.

Both men looked at him and as one shook their heads. "I'd be willing to bet you've never had defensive driving training," Steele explained.

"True, so I'll just poke Anders every time he looks like he might be dozing off."

Steele looked at Anders and they both broke out laughing. It took Grant a second to realize why. He turned red. "I didn't mean… I mean…" Then he laughed too.

"Not," Steele leaned toward Grant, pretending to whisper to him, "that he'd mind it if the circumstances were different."

"Shit. Seriously? I figured…" He could feel the heat rising on his face again.

Anders must have taken pity on him because he reached across Steele to pat Grant's shoulder. "It's okay. Unlike Steele, I'm a bit more reticent to let people know my sexual preferences. And that said I think we should get moving again or I will be falling asleep by the time we get into Manhattan."

Shadow Men – 49 – Anders and Grant

They'd just skirted around Hagerstown and were heading east again on 60 when Anders swore under his breath. "Look for a turnoff—the sooner, the better," he told the others. Before they had a chance to reply he turned fast to the left, barely avoiding an oncoming car.

Grant grabbed the dashboard, his eyes lighting on the speedometer for a second. They were doing eighty and speeding up. All he could see on either side of them was plowed fields. Hazarding a glance behind them he saw another car closing in fast. He also saw Steele holding a large gun as he looked through the back windshield.

Anders whipped the car to the right onto a dirt lane. Ahead of them, Grant saw the lights of a house beyond a large barn. The car veered left into a stand of trees opposite the barn and stopped so fast Grant was thrown forward against the dash. Before he righted himself Anders had doused the headlights and was out of the car. Seconds late Grant heard Steele exit as well. Slamming open the door, Grant jumped out. Steele was kneeling to one side of the car, his gun now trained back the way they'd come.

"Get your ass down," Anders barked. Then a gunshot rang out.

Grant instantly hit the ground on both knees. He reached behind him, struggling to get his gun free. When it was in his hands he searched the dark for any sign of who he should be shooting at, if he actually could.

Another shot, then a short shout of pain told him someone had been hit. He could see Steele a few feet in front of him, pressed against the rear fender of the car. In the silence that followed the second gunshot it seemed to Grant as if the whole world had come to a stop. Then he thought he heard a sound to his left. He swiveled toward it. He was sure he saw someone move. He was about to pull the trigger when he realized he didn't know where Anders was.

His question was answered seconds later when another shot rang out from the other side of the car. The figure beside the tree shifted slightly at the sound and Grant shot, once and then again. He knew he'd hit the man when he heard a muffled groan. The problem was he didn't have a clue if he'd hurt him or just winged him. Whoever it was fired back then, the bullet barely missing Grant to embed in the car's door panel.

Slowly, carefully, Grant aimed again when he saw a flash of movement. As he did, he felt an icy calm invade his senses. He pulled the trigger and was rewarded when the body of his opponent dropped to the ground.

"Good shooting," he heard Steele whisper before he fired at someone. Grant saw a second assailant's body hit the ground in the dim light from the raising moon.

For an interminable length of time there was silence then, far in the distance Grant heard the sound of sirens approaching.

"Time to get moving," Anders announced.

Grant was all in favor of that. He crawled back into the car, staying low as he shut the door behind him. He heard Steele's door close and then saw Anders as he slid into the driver's seat. Without turning on the headlights Anders backed their car out of the trees onto the dirt lane. A car stood there, both front doors hanging open. Anders picked up speed as he sped past it down the lane and back onto the road. He didn't turn the lights on again until they were a good mile or more away from the scene of the battle.

"You did good, Grant," Anders told him, a trace of praise in his voice.

Grant tried to reply then realized he was shaking too hard to speak. He put his head against the dashboard, trying to will himself into some sort of calm. He jumped when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder.

"He's right, you did very well for a first timer," Steele said.

God, I hope it's the last time as well. He had a feeling it wouldn't be.

Shadow Men – 48 – Anders and Grant

Grant rode shotgun, Anders was the driver, and Steele had the backseat to himself. Once they were well out of sight of the house, Anders stopped the car got out and opened the trunk. Grant, puzzled, wondered What now?

He found out moments later when Anders came back to hand him a pistol in a waistband holster. "I didn't want to give you this while Nicky was around," he explained.

Grant took it as if it was a snake about to attack. He heard Steele chuckle low and shot a glance at him. "Sorry, I'm not really used to carrying."

"Get used to it," Anders said before Steele could.

He beckoned for Grant to get out of the car, after which he showed him how to wear the holster, how to get the pistol out of it, and then proceeded to give him lessons on how to use it effectively. Grant took some practice shots at one of the larger trees by the side of the road while Steele, who had joined them, looked on and tendered some advice of his own. Grant was surprised, but happily so, or as happily as he could be considering, that it had almost no kickback. When he asked why, Anders told him that .22lr pistols rarely did.

After the lesson was over and the pistol holstered, the men returned to the car. Grant hoped he'd get used to the feeling of the gun pressing against his backbone, then immediately revised that, hoping he'd never get that used to carrying one.

* * * *

Five hours later they were on the outskirts of Huntington, WV. Anders announced they'd pick up lunch there, much to Grant's relief. He needed to get out and stretch his legs, take a piss, and generally try to unwind, at least for a few minutes. The drive had been tense, not because anyone seemed aware where they were, although all three of them kept checking for any signs of trouble, but because neither Anders nor Steele was remotely talkative. After a couple of attempts at starting some sort of conversation, Grant had finally given up.

He had expected yet another fast-food joint so he was somewhat surprised when Anders pulled into the parking lot of a small restaurant set off by itself at one side of the road.

After Anders and Steele made a visual check of the surroundings they all got out of the car.

"Jacket," Anders said sharply to Grant. It took him a second to figure out why before he realized he needed it to cover his gun.

The interior of the restaurant was dimly lit and cool. A waitress met them at the door to ask "How many", which Grant found inordinately amusing as they were the only three standing there. At Anders' request she led them to a booth along the side wall, well away from the windows. Anders and Grant took one side, Steele the other. In silence they checked their menus and ordered when the waitress returned.

With no one around to overhear, Grant asked where they were going to spend the night.

"We aren't," Anders replied. "We're driving straight through."

Grant wanted to ask why but Steele spoke up then. "What route? We want to avoid toll roads."

"Yeah. Corrie mapped out the best way there." Anders took a folded printout from his pocket to show them. "We can't avoid the one as we enter Manhattan but it's only two miles long and we'll lose ourselves in the city right afterward."

Grant listened, watching Steele's face. It was stoic but he thought he saw a flash of panic as the man said, "Still means if they're watching for us, and they are, they'll know where we've ended up." It vanished seconds later.

"A chance we have to take," Anders replied.

The waitress's return with their meals effectively ended the conversation. They ate in silence, each man concentrating on their food, lost in their own thoughts. After quick trips by each of them to use the men's room, Anders asked for the bill, which he paid in cash, and then they were back on the road again.

Shadow Men – 47 – Anders and Grant

"He's going to be all right with your leaving?" Anders asked as he watched Corrie take Nicky downstairs with Steele following behind them.

"Not sure 'all right' is correct but he seems to accept it's going to happen."

Anders nodded. "Then let's get ready to go."

"So soon?"

"The sooner, the better. I've got a backpack you can use for your clothes and what have you."

Grant ran his tongue over his teeth and winced. "Wouldn't happen to have a spare toothbrush, would you?" His hair was short enough that he could tame it with some water and his hand, which he'd done when he got up this morning, but his mouth… Finger brushing just didn't cut it.

"We do. That and toothpaste." Anders headed upstairs. Grant followed and for a second found his eyes watching the tight ass in front of him before he shook his head. Down boy, neither the time, nor the place and for sure not the right man even if…

Anders went into his room while Grant waited at the door. A moment later he returned to hand Grant a plastic-wrapped toothbrush, some paste, and a well-used backpack. "I'd like us to get on the road within the hour, assuming Steele's packed and ready."

"Got it." Grant returned to his room to immediately brush his teeth. Then, feeling much more human, he began to pack. Not that it was hard. He was wearing one of the pairs of jeans Anders had bought, which left two more plus a couple of T-shirts, turtlenecks, and three pairs of socks. He'd been amused to find Anders had neglected to pick up any underwear and had wondered if that was because the man didn't wear any, and so it hadn't crossed his mind that Grant might want some. Oh well it's not going to kill me to go commando for the time being.

He'd just finished packing when he heard Nicky's footsteps on the stairs. A moment later he burst into the room then pulled to a stop when he saw the backpack. For a second it seemed he'd tear up again but whatever had brought him upstairs apparently took precedence.

"Rafe is really sick," he announced. "Corrie feeds him through a tube and he won't wake up and Steele is really, really sad and I bet they're like you and Papa, well before…"

"They are," Grant replied softly. Then to get both their minds off the past, he said, "So now you know why Corrie needs your help."

"Uh huh, and I can do it, she said. Maybe I'll be a doctor when I grow up instead of a cowboy."

Grant chuckled. "Maybe you will." He zipped the backpack, picked it up then suggested they go back downstairs.

Anders met them in the living room. He had a backpack, as battered as the one Grant now carried, slung over his shoulders. A large duffle bag sat on the sofa. Grant didn't even want to know what was in it although he thought he had a pretty good idea. Once again he wondered how the hell he'd ended up in circumstances that required taking along a full arsenal of weapons just to make a trip to Manhattan.

Corrie and Steele came upstairs fifteen minutes later. Nicky immediately gravitated to her side, which Grant knew was his son's need for the security she offered at the moment. Steele carried a backpack as well. It seemed, to Grant, heavier than one would expect so he figured it contained some weapons as well as the man's clothes.

"Ready?" Anders asked Steele.

"Ready," Steele replied, his voice low and taut.

"Then let's get moving."

Grant held up one hand then knelt. Nicky raced to him. Grant wrapped his arms around his son. "Behave and do everything Corrie tells you to."

"I will, Daddy, promise."

Grant kissed his forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too."

They hugged again, Grant stood, ruffled Nicky's hair, and then said to Anders, "I'm ready."