Savannah Griffin strolled into the 101st precinct, casually swinging her evening bag. The day shift was coming to a close, and detectives were organizing themselves for the nighttime mayhem to come.

"Hi, Green Man. Ready?" she chimed, dropping down on the corner of her husband's desk. Her short blue skirt rode up slightly and she made a half-hearted attempt at pulling it down as her husband watched.

Kermit looked at his watch, then back to his wife. "Sorry, Scarlett. I'm not going to be able to make it tonight." Giving her knee a quick pat, he returned to his computer screen.

Slowly, the anger began to rise into her cheeks and her feet hit the floor with a sharp slap. "Kermit Griffin! This is the THIRD time you've done this to me in the past week! Do you think you can keep doing this to me, time and time again? I have feelings, ya' know!" Standing before him, shooting arrows into his sunglasses, she glued her hands to her hips and waited.

Returning fire with a voice that reeked of exhaustion, Kermit responded, "Look, stop acting like a spoiled princess. I'm WORKING, okay?! Somebody has to."

"Don't throw that at me. It was YOUR idea for me to stay home with the baby, REMEMBER?!" Shaking off the next sharp retort, she concluded, "Fine! Whatever!" As she turned to leave, Savannah found Mary Margaret and Jody, mouths bobbing open like beached fish, staring from a point just outside Kermit's door.

"Uh...hi, there," greeted Mary Margaret. "Since you're all dressed up with no place to go-" she shot a glare at Kermit, "-why don't you go out to dinner with the two of us?"

"Yeah," joined Jody. "We're due for a girls' night out."

Throwing an unappreciative glare over her shoulder in Kermit's direction, Savannah agreed. "Sure. Better company, anyway." For a moment, her green eyes locked with green shades. The natural warmth between them lay cracked beneath a brittle load of intense emotion. Breaking the latch between them, Savannah looked back to her friends and forced a smile. "Let's go, ladies. Y'all get me as far away from this ill tempered frog as you can." The trio left for dinner amid a sea of inquiring eyes and murmured gossip.

Kermit kicked his door shut behind them, with the grumbling of his furious wife still bleeding through the door. Privacy restored, he turned back to his monitor with a grunt.

"Bad news on your doorstep, Griffin," he mumbled, switching off the informational glow and closing his eyes.

*****

Kermit sat in a booth at Delancey's downing his third Scotch and watching the door. Whatever the reason, the angry words spoken between him and his wife left him with a pain in his head that had to be killed. He wasn't accomplishing anything of substance in his office, so after two hours, the weary man in black had headed for more stimulating surroundings. The bar was alive and throbbing with music and anonymous conversation. None of the rumble included him, of course, but it did make for a distracting backdrop. Slouching back into the slick upholstery of his back-wall booth, he stroked his glass of deep amber liquid, then downed the remains with one savage gulp. He was deep in thought when a familiar voice broke his concentration.

"Need some company?"

Emma Thorn stood beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. She was just as he remembered her -- long , lean, smoldering and wearing a tight dress which left nothing to the imagination. However, Kermit Griffin didn't have to imagine. He'd seen her wares, and they were prime quality. Skin tight purple knit rubbed against his arm and nearly angelic dimples blinked an appreciative greeting.

"Aren't you afraid I'll arrest you?" His voice was dry and level.

"No charges against me, dear." Emma fashioned her lips in an exaggerated pout, glistening with deep red lipstick. Tripping her nails over Kermit's sleeve, Emma gave him a playful shove and drizzled into the booth as he slid over to accommodate her. "I do regret leaving in such a rush last time, but I did do my good deed before parting." To his heavy black gaze, she added, "But now that I'm back, I thought...maybe...." She then noticed his wedding band. "Uh oh. That could be a problem."

Summoning his frustration at the battle he and Savannah had just waged at the precinct, he answered, "Not tonight, it won't be."

Given the green light, Emma planted herself firmly onto his lips and ran her hand up his leg. He didn't encourage her, nor did he offer much in the way of resistance. Red hot invasion ignited the memory of long nights spent tangled up with this spider, nights spent trying to forget someone else. Those sorrowful days after Savannah had returned to Memphis, keeping her pregnancy a secret from him in her own retreat from his rejection, had been crazed. Emma had been a raunchy distraction that lead him into an investigation. She was exactly the same. Her spice-laden aroma fumed around his senses once again.

Grabbing her arm roughly, Kermit pulled them both more deeply into the circular booth. "So, I take this to mean you're not mad anymore, lover?" Emma molded to his side, then took a long, deep breath.

"Does that really matter to you?"

"Might even be better that way," she moaned, fitting her mouth over his.

The murmur of activity and sound began to hum to an eerie low as different individuals in the bar took note of the horrific intimate scene taking place in the corner -- and the newly arrived witnesses.

*****

Savannah and her dinner companions entered Delancey's at exactly the wrong moment. Babble about the idiot waiter they had endured at Suzie's Place came to a screeching halt at the sight of Kermit's face being sucked into the willowy brunette's mouth.

At first, Savannah stood rooted to her position at the top of the stairs, going pale, then flushing an enraged shade of crimson. Like a bullet, she hurled herself to the table. "YOU SHIT! Working late, huh? How could you do this to me? Here, in front of all these people, in front of our friends!" Her caustic screaming broke the tangle of tongues, but that was the only movement. Kermit looked up at his wife with a combative silence.

Emma didn't move, but simply sat there with her arm still entangled with her prey. Smiling, she ran a quick tongue over her smeared lipstick. "Now, honey," she gloated with a sultry purr, "no need to get all hyper about this."

"You SHUT UP! And if you want to keep that arm, you'd better get it off my husband!" Savannah made a clawing grab for the woman's arm only to have it disappear to the other side of the booth. "That's right, bitch! You'd better git!"

Jody and Mary Margaret were behind her, trying to defuse the explosive scene, which was gathering an audience. "Come on, Savannah. Let's go." Jody pulled on her arm.

"No, Jody," Kermit said, standing up to face his furious wife. "Let her finish. This has been coming for a while. Maybe now the rest of you can see the WHINING CRAP I have to put up with." His face twisted into a cruel sneer.

"Kermit, you don't have a leg to stand on here," said Skalany, taking hold of Savannah's other arm.

"The three of you," he fixed his glare on Savannah as her fists twisted into infuriated knots, "ESPECIALLY you, ever think about asking me for an explanation?"

"Let's see, hubby," Savannah taunted, her blonde head tapping back and forth in time to her words, "what do we have here? HER tongue. YOUR mouth. Pretty damn clear, if you ask me!"

*****

Peter Caine stood at the door, staring in disbelief. He had just walked into a hurricane of emotion and fought to block the assault on his senses. Anger, jealousy, betrayal, and even a touch of twisted amusement railed at his newly intensified sensitivities. Since taking the brands a few months ago, the new priest was refining his own protective barriers. Intense emotion and experience sought him out, and clung to him until he could scrape them away and examine them -- especially those cast from his friends. After regaining his balance and control, Peter slowly entered the bar and tried to take in the domestic dispute coloring the corner booth and entertaining the customers.

Savannah and Kermit, bitter sarcastic words flailing between them, were having a battle of epic proportions in plain view of everyone in Delancey's. So much had changed in the past year.

A year had passed since the Griffins had survived the hell of Savannah's debilitating gun shot wound and recovery. Certainly, he knew that much alone could put a strain on a marriage...and a friendship.

Peter and Kermit had rebuilt their friendship slowly after Blood Lao's conviction. With the exception of the past few weeks, things between them had resumed the normal rhythm of friends, close friends. Kermit had been the first to support Peter's decision to leave the force.

Most had met Peter's lifestyle change with tears and doubts, needing some explanation from the new priest and gaping with disbelief at the raw brands on Peter's forearms. Kermit Griffin had accepted the change without needing a common frame of reference, making himself at home in Peter's new home -- Caine's apartment.

Two weeks ago, the visits had stopped. Kermit's angry walls had gone up, and tales of marital spats played out in public had found their way to the young priest in his weekly dose of precinct gossip from Mary Margaret. The sight of Emma Thorn was unbelievable in itself. He walked over to the battleground, anxious to stop the disintegration of a marriage.

As Peter stepped in beside her, Savannah shifted into high-gear fury, fairly spitting fire into Kermit's face. "Well, _dear_, TWO can play this game." Grabbing Peter Caine's shirt front, the angry wife pulled him down to her level and glued her lips to his. Entangling him in a passionate embrace, the scorned woman invaded Peter Caine's mouth with a kiss that made his temperature elevate from the terror of the moment.

The room made a collective gasp. Kermit Griffin's body tensed like a coiled rattler. Shocked, Peter didn't resist for a few seconds then pulled Savannah's arms, gently but firmly, from his chest and broke the kiss. He didn't know what to say as he took a quick breath and straightened his denim shirt. What could he say? With a sickened look at Kermit, he backed away to avoid involving himself further by allowing Savannah to use him as a weapon.

"Gee...that was really great to watch, huh, sugar?" Savannah said to her husband then ran her tongue around her lips, drawing attention to her adulterous demonstration. Turning on her trembling legs, Savannah stormed off into the stunned crowd. Over her shoulder, she tossed, "Don't come home!"

Mary Margaret and Jody followed Savannah's retreat, and the crowd gradually dissipated. Kermit seemed drained and exhausted. "What are you all looking at?!" he snapped at the crowd. "Show's over." He sank back into the booth, downing the rest of his Scotch.

Peter Caine eased himself back to the ex-mercenary, carefully observing as Emma wrapped a possessive arm around Kermit's shoulders. "Kermit, why don't we go somewhere and talk?" He kept his voice calm, not wanting to inflame the barely controlled emotions firing off Kermit's psyche in waves.

"Dance card's full, Caine." Kermit signaled for another drink and directed his attention to his female companion.

As Emma batted her satisfied expression his way, Peter tried again. "This, whatever THIS is, isn't worth threatening your marriage. Not after--"

"Don't start, Caine! Don't try to counsel me. I'm not in the mood."

Bricks of frustration and anger piled up in front of Peter as he tried to read the mangled emotions of his friend. Further assaults would only drive Kermit farther away. "Fine. When you're ready to talk, you know where I am." Consciously, her fought the un-priesty urge to snatch Kermit up by his lapels and shake him. Peter faded back into the crowd; still watching, but from a safe distance.

"Looks like you're solo after all, Kermit." Emma tried not to grin at the havoc she had created.

"Looks like it. But I'm not sure I want to get close to someone who tried to poison me."

"It wouldn't have hurt you...permanently, that is. I was just trying to relax you...."

"Uh huh. Relax me to death."

Offering a conciliatory wink, she said, "I DID save your life in the end, remember? Let's just spend some time together. You can make up with wifey later."

"Maybe." He felt that warm hand creeping up his leg again as the waitress brought another round.

*****

The blue Stealth pulled into its former parking space at the precinct the next day. Peter Caine couldn't say he had slept well last night. That scene at Delancey's kept running through his mind. Kermit's Corvair was already in the parking lot. Maybe he could talk some sense into him before he trashed this marriage. If the Shaolin 'gathered sorrow', here would be a good place to start. Peter unfolded from behind the wheel and went in search of that sorrow.

Emma. Go figure, he puzzled as he entered the precinct building. The woman had tried to shoot Kermit full of spider's venom. Granted, in the end, she'd saved his life, but why would he risk everything for one evening with her? And there was Savannah...she must be devastated. And what about how Kermit felt about his daughter? It just didn't make sense. Peter mentally shook himself. If you were better at this shit, you could figure it out, Caine.

Caine. He was coming to realize that he, Peter Caine, was now the 'Caine' of Chinatown. Not Pop. Not Kwai Chang. Peter. The burden was nearly as heavy as his self doubt and inadequacies. He had committed himself to this life, this life of service, but now found himself unprepared. The sensitivities had magnified, exactly as Lo Si had said they would after he took the brands. The power was daunting. It flooded his every conscious moment. The trick was to learn what to do with it, a trick which eluded him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a edgy Southern voice behind him in the hall. "Well, good, Peter. Since you're here, you can give this to your mercenary buddy!" Savannah shoved a suitcase in his hands, then turned to leave. The words were chiseled with an anger which seemed to lack direction.

"Wait!" Peter placed a gentle hand on her arm to stop her retreat. "Savannah, why don't you go talk to him? Work things out."

"Why should I?" she tossed back at his suggestion. "I'M not the one who was sucking face with someone else in the local bar in front of all our friends. Well...not first anyway." She grinned at his discomfort as a myriad of eyes focused on them from the front desk.

Suddenly, Kermit Griffin stormed up to the pair. Before he could say a word, Savannah snatched back the suitcase and threw it at his feet. "Here's your crap, dear. And just a little FYI for you...I've changed the locks, so don't bother coming home." For just a split second, her eyes brimmed with tears, then she seemed to force them away with a toss of her hair.

Anger, not regret, displayed all over his face. Kermit growled back at her, "You think changing the locks will stop ME? I can pick those fancy locks in my sleep. Look, lady, whatever is happening with us, you are NOT keeping me from Kat. Do you understand?!"

"Oh yeah? Well let me explain something to you, Mr. I-Kill-People. You get within a mile of MY house and I'll have a restraining order on you before you can say 'cheap sunglasses'!"

Peter tried to step in. "Hey, guys! Hold it. Don't you think you're letting this get out of hand? Why don't you go somewhere and-"

"Don't you dare try to get between me and that child, Savannah!" His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. "You don't want to screw around with me!"

"Get your hands off me!" She started to wiggle, in vain, attempting to break his grip. "You're hurting me!"

Peter intervened again, pulling Kermit's hand off of her arm in one swift motion. "Let her go, Kermit!"

Savannah immediately retreated to the door as she yelled, "My lawyer will be in touch! Don't call me!"

Kermit shoved Peter away. For a moment, he looked as if his fury was about to be focused on the young priest. But, just as quickly as he'd been enraged, he relaxed and spun toward his office, leaving Peter frustrated and confused.

"Do we have a problem here?" Simms's cool voice cut through the tension. She stepped fearlessly in front of the ex-mercenary. "I'd appreciate it, Detective, if you would keep your personal affairs out of the office."

The captain cast an extra glare of frustration at Peter Caine. A wave of worry bled from her thoughts and into his mind. I'm worried, too, Karen.

All eyes were on them now.

"Excuse me? Excuse me???" Kermit turned toward his captain. "I am not the one to be lecturing, Captain." His term of respect was flooded with a sarcastic bite. "You tell CAINE to butt out of MY personal affairs!" Looking around and seeing the sea of faces all looking at him, he snapped, "That goes for the rest of you, too! Don't you people have lives?" He turned to look at Simms and lowered his voice to an unkind whisper, "My mistake. I forget you don't have lives."

Peter stepped forward again to defend Karen Simms, who was struck speechless. "Hey! You don't have to take it out on us. If you'd get your head out of your-"

Peter's sentence was cut off as Kermit grabbed him by the shirtfront. "You finish that sentence and I'll rip you a new one."

"DETECTIVE!" Simms interrupted, finding her voice again. "In my office. NOW!"

"Forget it. I don't need this bullshit. In fact, I'd be very pleased to never see ANY of you ever again." Kermit savagely ripped his badge out of his pocket and flung it at Karen's feet then railed again at Peter Caine. "That goes especially for you, Caine. Keep your nosy Shaolin crap away from me."

He grabbed his suitcase, strode to the door, and exited -- breaking glass as he slammed the door.

Kermit could hear the roaring emotions in his ears as he left the place. "This was the biggest mistake I ever made," he muttered out loud. "Blaisdell was full of it...."

Emma Thorn lounged on the railing just outside the precinct doors, just within earshot of his grumbling. Kermit grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the stairs with him, not bothering to question her presence. "Come on," was all that he said.

She went with him, trying not to smirk. "Are you sure about this, Kermit? You were a bit wary of my offer last night."

"No, I'm not sure about it or you. I don't trust you," was his response. "But I know it's a damn sight better than where I was and what I was putting up with."

*****

With the beguiling beauty of a smooth reptile, Latrodect lounged in his chrome and glass office. He dressed in black from chest to feet, striking a stark contrast to his fair-haired, blue-eyed coloring. The new hired hand was coming. He had found him at the perfect time. Kermit Griffin's life was unraveling around him. His nice, respectable life had begun fading away weeks ago, presenting an excellent opportunity to draw him into the fold. He was the perfect man for the job, the perfect man to lead the force. Now that the veneer of suburbia was being washed away, this mercenary would be of service to him.

Timing...it's all in the timing, my friend, he gloated to himself as Emma swayed through the door with Kermit Griffin following. Latrodect grinned as Kermit initially refused to turn over his weapon to the guard outside, then aquiesed by slapping the enormously Desert Eagle against the man's stomach.

Latrodect smirked at him, the very same expression Emma used. "Welcome to my humble home, Mr. Griffin, or is it still Detective?" The tall blonde man circled his desk, and extended his hand with a slippery hospitality.

Kermit ignored the proffered hand and helped himself to a seat on the black leather sofa. "Emma says you have an offer. Get down to business."

Emma plopped down on the leather beside Kermit, but remained silent, waiting for her superior to make his move. His voice never betrayed a moment's annoyance as he spoke. "So you are coming to me this time, Griffin? Excellent. The last time it was terribly rude of us to try to force your cooperation. I do apologize for the unfortunate misunderstanding. Perhaps this time our association could be more amiable." The black arm folded over his chest and Latrodect leaned his long body back on the edge of his desk.

"Takes a huge set of balls or very little brains for you to show yourself here after your last visit. Why risk it?" Kermit gave Emma a disgusted look as she plastered herself even more tightly to his side, and she withdrew slightly.

"I have nothing to fear from the police, Griffin. Neither of the elder Shaolin have brought charges for this alleged kidnapping. And, if there were evidence of other wrong doing, surely the superior peace-keepers of this community would have me in custody by now." Latrodect eased himself over to the bar and began pouring a drink for his guest. He offered the beverage only to have it refused. "A suspicious man, quite like myself." He began to sip the amber liquid himself.

"Start talking, or I'm leaving."

"Poor baby," Emma soothed his arm with her hand and explained. "His wife threw him out and he has to find a place to stay."

"Women are a fickle lot, are they not?" Latrodect folded himself into a chair and propped his feet on the glass table between them. "But you should know that, Griffin. It would seem you're not very good at marriage. Perhaps you should stick to your talents with the gun and avoid softer entanglements."

"Thanks for the job counseling. Do you need me or not?"

"Oh, yes, of course I do." Latrodect offered his icy smile. "I've heard of your reputation, your skill."

"Terrific - you can write my resume."

"I've also heard how the business was stunned when you went legit."

"Not legit," Kermit corrected. "I was doing a favor for an old friend of mine. Repaying old debts. I do that once in a while."

"And your marriage?" Emma contributed.

"That's my personal business and not up for sale," Kermit snapped. He smiled as Emma startled at his venom.

"Nothing is personal in this camp, Kermit," Latrodect mused.

Kermit leveled a stare at him that could melt steel even when cloaked by green lenses. "It happens every time I let my guard down. So far, it's happened four times. I'm not letting my guard down again. Ever. And since nothing's private," Looking to Emma, he added, "hope you don't have any plans in that area. I'm not making that mistake again. Strictly recreational from now on."

Latrodect chuckled as he watched Emma's expression of Consternation. "Tough luck, my dear." Studying the hardened mercenary, he pursed his lips in thought, then began. "I need a man of certain 'talents' who can assemble a small force of men, skilled men, to help me with a project."

"What happened to Tage? Was he not skilled enough for you?" Kermit watched the shell of cool crack slightly over Latrodect's features, then reform. The rattle was almost silent, but not quite.

"So, you know of my dealings with Mr. Tage, do you?" The bright blue eyes hardened, his posture snapped straight as each vertebra aligned. "It would seem you know more than I thought. Enlighten me."

Kermit got to his feet, shoved his hands into his pockets and began to stroll around the room. "Hard to keep secrets like that in our circles, Latrodect. Word is that you hired Tage and he turned up dead. Some nasty business about poison." Leaning over Emma's shoulder, he whispered, "You'll never land a husband if you keep acting this way. Most men find venom a turn off, baby."

Silence permeated the heavy air of evil in the room. After a moment of concealed consideration, Latrodect spoke. "You are more informed than I thought. I like that, to a point. Yes, Mr. Tage was in my employ but he seemed to become a bit soft. Are you prone to become squeamish, Griffin?"

"Do I look squeamish?"

"As a matter of fact, some of the encounters I've heard involving you and your mercenary past could leave even me just a touch squeamish, Griffin." The blonde villain steepled his fingers in a reflective gesture. "I think you would find your service for my organization useful and profitable."

"Spell it out." Kermit continued to prowl the room, touching Latrodect's collections of valuable knick knacks at random.

"For now, you would assemble a team and have them on standby. I want commando training and mouths that will stay shut for a price." Latrodect rose and returned to his desk. "The first operation is to escort a Dr. Clark Rhodes into my hospitality."

"Let me guess. Dr. Rhodes is a spider vet." Kermit finally stopped moving and leaned back against the wall.

"Dr. Rhodes is a chemist, most recently employed by a certain unpleasant Iraqi general. Gather your men, gather Dr. Rhodes when he arrives here in two days, then we'll talk about the next assignment. We'll discuss your payment tomorrow." Latrodect reached for the phone in an obvious gesture of dismissal.

"We'll discuss it now - after a few ground rules." Kermit began to toss a delicate crystal vase back and forth between his palms.

Latrodect lounged back. "I'm listening," he said, amused.

"No poisons in ME. Ever. Or I'll blow you to hell."

"Such vehemence."

Kermit leaned closer. "I despise drugs. You may keep the rest of these sloppy thugs in line that way, but not me. So, none of your surprise syringes," he shot a quick glare toward Emma on the sofa, "or I'll take you out."

"How could you take me out if you were impaired?" Latrodect asked, oozing his amusement.

"You don't want to find out. And if I can't see to aim properly, I'll just take us both out. I have nothing to lose. That's what makes me valuable."

"As long as everyone plays nice, there should be no trouble." Latrodect smiled the rotten grin of success. Leaning forward, he said, "$300,000 should secure your team for the next six months and cover the operations I have in mind. After that, we will renegotiate."

"Half a million , I pay the team, and I'll decide when we renegotiate."

"You're quite confident in your worth, Griffin."

"If you weren't, I wouldn't be here." Kermit returned the vase to its place on the desk, a little harder than necessary. To the sound of splintering glass, he left the room, and slammed the door behind him.

Latrodect laughed long and loud. This would be a very interesting partnership.

*****

Peter had abandoned his daily herbal practicing. The clutter of clay pots and jars was still baffling. Lo Si would have miles to go before Peter Caine could be trusted to dole out medicinal aid to the community. His attempt at meditation had been futile. The only thing centered on the smooth polished floor had been the candles. Peter's mind remained cluttered with confusion and concern.

Now, he stood in the breeze running across his balcony trying to figure out his next move. The confrontation with Kermit had been a disaster. Reading the ex-mercenary on a superficial level had never been easy. When Kermit withdrew, it was completely. Peter's clumsy attempt at reaching out mentally was equally inept. The emotions were storming from Kermit, and Savannah as well. They batted his mental touch away like a troublesome gnat. Anger, deception, mistrust, confusion, excitement......all tangled together, with an odd touch of amusement.

"Detach yourself, young Caine." Lo Si drifted in as if on the wind. The elderly Shaolin smiled as Peter jumped to his left in surprise.

"Don't DO that!" Peter's harsh tone softened quickly. The old man had a vicious sense of humor and took great pride in scaring people out of their wits. "One day I'll spook you and see how you like it."

"I look forward to your mastery in the art of 'Boo!'" Lo Si looked out over the city and the pair of men shared the quiet of the afternoon. "Now, as I was saying, you must detach yourself if you are to intervene."

Peter didn't bother to ask Lo Si how he knew, or if he knew. Those were pointless questions. Lo Si had no trouble reaching beyond privacy. "I can't back off, Lo Si. Kermit and Savannah are in trouble, serious trouble. I have to get through to Kermit before he digs a hole he can't get out of. Something's wrong here and I can't figure it out. Both of them are acting strangely and--"

"Perhaps the surface obscures what is below the waters." Lo Si turned away from his student and began a disgusted tending of wilted leaves from one of Peter's struggling plants. "A quick look would tell me that this delicate plant suffering your care is dead," he snapped a twig close to its base, "but within, it is green. It lives. You would expect these tender sprigs to be without life.... but they are not."

"My gardening sucks." Peter grabbed a watering can from the floor and began to feed the embarrassingly dry soil.

"Yes, it does now. But it will improve, as will your other skills." Lo Si sat down to watch as Peter took over the care of his property. "You care for these people deeply, I know this. You do not want to see their lives destroyed by this turmoil."

"He has everything, Lo Si," Peter said, with a touch of envy. "A wife, a child.....I can't let him throw that away."

"Do you want these things?"

Did he? Peter let the words hang there behind his shoulders as he continued to work. All the time he'd spent building his life around being a cop had damped that desire. He had come close with Rebecca, so close. Jordan and Kelly hadn't crossed the line from love to commitment. There was Jennifer......that wasn't his choice to make. She'd left him twice.

Now that time had shifted for him, his new life as Shaolin had turned him back to that direction. Family. Maybe he was ready, but now there would be other problems.

Shaking himself, Peter returned to the subject at hand. "Maybe I do. But that really doesn't have anything to do with this, does it?"

"Peter," Lo Si breathed the word with a gentle, fatherly sound, "sometimes we see what we expect to see. You know these people too well. Close your eyes to their words and open your heart to what you know to be true inside them. Trust what you touch there, not what you expect to find....but what you DO find."

Lo Si rose to his diminutive height and brushed a few more of the crumbling leaves to the floor. "You must seek out a more helpful guide for your botanical skills, young Caine."

Peter groaned at another stab at his shortcomings. "Oh, you have some new Shaolin green-thumb guide for me?"

"The Home and Garden Channel. You must get cable."

Lo Si eased his way from the patio, laughing as Peter Caine mumbled, "Smart ass," to his back.

*****

Savannah pulled into the parking lot of the Grange Motel promptly at 8 p.m. The room she was looking for was on the upper level. Carefully climbing the stairs, she couldn't help but cringe at the leer she received from a drunk draped across the landing. Lovely, she thought, tiptoeing past the man.

"Room 2-B. This must be the place." She knocked, and after there was no answer, turned the knob to enter. The room was dark and smelled of illicit trysts and stale carpet. She eased her way inside. Before she could adjust to the darkness, a firm hand grabbed her and pulled her into the room. Darkness mingled with a stale aroma of sleaze to disorient her as her body crashed into solid muscle. Arms closed tightly around her, crushing her against rough fabric.

The lights flicked on and Savannah stood face to face with Kermit Griffin.

"Well, hello there, partner," he grinned, just before planting a firm kiss directly on her mouth. Her lips parted quickly to welcome his taste.

Leaning into his body, she enthusiastically accepted the greeting. Finally, Savannah came up for air, and dizzily responded, "Mmmmm...this sneakin' around is turnin' out to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys."

Forcing a scowl to his face, Kermit said, "Remind me to punch Caine right in the mouth when this is over. You're some method actress."

She giggled and sat down on the bed, kicking off her high heels. "Oh, really? Well, I didn't exactly see you holding back when you were suckin' face with darling Emma. Why should you have all the fun?"

"So," Kermit asked curiously as he dropped down beside her, "How was it? He does have sort of a reputation."

Bursting into laughter, she reassured her husband, "Oh, sugar. You got nothin' to worry about. No comparison at all." She smiled and patted his cheek to smooth over the white lie. Some comparisons were best kept to themselves. After gracing him with another lingering kiss, her amusement continued. "Did you SEE the look on his face? Poor guy almost had a heart attack."

"Oh yeah. It was almost, and I stress ALMOST, worth it just for that." Changing the subject, he asked, "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"Are you sure YOU weren't followed?" She cocked an offended eyebrow in his direction.

"My shadow has a hard time following me," he countered as Savannah rolled her eyes. "Well?"

"Uh huh. Left my car somewhere that would really convince everyone we were split."

"Where?"

"At Peter's, parked right outside Shaolin Central in Chinatown. I went in, cut through the bottom floor, then had a rental car pick me up in back."

Now it was Kermit's turn to laugh. "Inspired, my dear. If anyone WAS watching you, they'll think you spent the night with Peter Caine."

"Yep," she answered, picturing the sickened look on Peter Caine's face when she had kissed him, one part shock and two parts horror. It wasn't exactly nice, but the humor couldn't be denied. "Actually, I was scared to death I'd run into him. If I had to spend more than five minutes with him he'd badger me into confessing or pull some of that spooky spiritual mess and--"

"Then stay away from him." The last thing Kermit wanted was to involve anyone else in these charade. The circle had encompassed too many already.

Returning to the situation at hand, she asked, "What do we do now? This is fun! Kinda scary, but fun." She meant it, too. It had been months since her doctor had given her a clean bill of health after the shooting. Working with Molly Strenlich in Victim's Services had been satisfying -- even though examining her own mental residuals was difficult. Being a volunteer there had helped her return to a normal life. Working with Kermit this way was different. She was focusing outward, taking control. It was glorious.

"Whoa! WE don't have anything to do. Your part is finished, Mata Hari. All you have to do is go home and play the jilted wife. Pack up and go to Memphis for a couple of weeks like we planned. Your flight leaves at noon tomorrow."

Savannah placed a cool hand on his cheek, stroking him softly. "Did you find out what he's working on yet?"

With a laugh, he kissed the soft fingers then held her hand. "I'm good but I'm not that good." Kermit peeled off his shades and tossed them to the edge of the bed. "He's looking for another chemist so whatever the late-chemist was working on wasn't completed. Tage wasn't able to get that information out before he was killed."

Tage working for the spooks had been a bit of a surprise to Kermit Griffin. Without the confirming data, he could only guess that Tage was offering a favor to the government to help his son, Dennis, who would be in federal custody for a long, long time.

"Karen Simms is going to have a piece of your butt for this," Savannah gave that portion of his anatomy a quick pat. Kermit returned the gesture and drew her closer.

"There are too many alphabets involved here already. She'll get over." With CIA and FBI tangled up in this, adding locals to the mix was too great a risk. They had approached him about infiltrating Latrodect's organization when the former cult leader had resurfaced in Sloanville. "With the kind of financial resources Latrodect has accessed, this must be big. We've got to find out exactly what he's up to and shut him down in a hurry."

Emma was the key. Kermit had a feeling that she would approach him. That would be the difference between him and Tage. Tage had approached Latrodect and gained access to the organization. Kermit had simply set up the scene and let them reach out to him. Less suspicious and more auspicious.

Savannah fumbled absently with his tie. "I'm glad you told me. I don't think I could have stood not knowing. If you had just gone off..without explaining..."

"I know. I wouldn't have done that to you, not again." Kermit traced the lines of her face with one finger. She smiled under his touch. If he'd learned one thing, it was that secrets wouldn't help keep his family safe. Savannah had been eager to help make their break up believable. Her role playing had made this distasteful liaison with Emma convincing. Pulling his wife into police business wasn't attractive to him, but if everyone including Latrodect's people thought they had split up, it would make her a less than likely target for retaliation, should the operation blow up in their faces. Still, he didn't want to take any more chances. "You and Kat get to Memphis and when this is over, if Simms leaves me alive, I'll join you."

"Poor Karen," Savannah mused, easing her knee in between his thighs. "No one at the precinct knows?"

"Just one, but he's on......vacation." Kermit smiled as her knee began to push a teasing pressure against his concentration. "I turned in my badge to Simms in front of the whole precinct, so I'm ready to move in with the bad guys. This will probably be the last time we can be together until this is over. I wanted to be sure you were okay and you were leaving before I went under."

The thought of leaving him alone made her stomach knot. This playacting had been exciting, almost made her feel closer to him. Kermit had worked in the 'business' with two of his wives, a part of his life she'd never shared. He'd trusted her with this part and she'd been able to pull it off. Backing away and leaving him now would be difficult. "All right. If you think that's what I should do. But...how...uh...."

"How am I going to keep from having to sleep with Emma?" He gave her a crooked grin and enjoyed the blush that crept into her cheeks. Tracing that blush with one finger he said, "She's at arm's length. Thinks I'm still pissed about her tricks the last time."

"I knew you wouldn't do that again...I mean....I just had to hear you say it." With a tender touch, she laid her hand on the side of his rough cheek. "Hate to have to open up a can of Tennessee whup-ass on her." She giggled as he eased a hand under the edge of her skirt.

"Ummmm....I might get to like this jealous side of you."

"This IS going to be easy, like you said, right? You'll be okay? I know that you know what you're doing but....." Savannah stopped her negative pondering as Kermit eased her gently onto her back. "Are you wearin' a wire?"

"Wearing a wire?" He laughed out loud at that one. "You watch too much television, sweetcakes. No, I won't be _wearin' a wire_. Too risky." Smoothing a few stray curls away from her forehead, he kissed her worried face and said, "It'll be over soon. My back up will be coming on stage soon and that will set everything on the fast track. I have to get a minimum of evidence for the government to move in and that only requires stealing some of his records." With a wide grin and one raised eyebrow, Kermit reassured her, "And I'm good at stealing things."

"Yeah, like my heart." She moaned as Kermit planted a generous kiss directly on that heart. She rolled over on top of him and filled his vision with green eyes and dimples. "I love you."

"I love you." He held her face in both hands, just to memorize the moment.

"Well, if this is it, we'd better make the most of it, huh?" Fitting her body to his with fluid grace, Savannah rained heat and desire to soak him.

Slowly Kermit began to unbutton her blouse and slide inside to caress her soft skin. "Oh, yeah. And I don't want to waste one single second."

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