Peter sighed in frustration and looked at his watch for the millionth time. It had been a little over an hour since he'd put out the A.P.B. and they had heard nothing. Savannah twitched and ran to the window every time she heard the slightest noise. Kat was beginning to pick up on her mother's mood and was getting cranky, despite Peter's best attempts to play with the baby to amuse both Kat and her jittery mother.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Peter got to it first. After listening to the phone for a minute, he gave his thanks and hung up. "It's okay, Savannah. He's on his way home."

Savannah buried her face into Kat's little tummy to hide her tears of anxiety and relief. "What happened?" she asked. "Did he say?"

"They didn't say," Peter said. "Officers in a black-and-white spotted him and pulled him over. Apparently, he was on his way home already. Should be here any time."

"I should...." Savannah's voice shook. "I should put Kat to bed."

"Aw, c'mon, I haven't had a chance to play with her," Wolf complained.

"You'll get plenty of chances later on, pal," Peter told him, hoping that Savannah would calm down if given something to do. "Tell you what, Savannah, I'll go see if I can salvage dinner."

"I'm going to kill him," she muttered as she carried the baby away.

True to Peter's prediction, Kermit walked in to a room of very angry people. "I'm that late, I take it," he said, walking over to kiss his wife.

She glared at him. "May I speak with you privately?"

He glanced at the clock on the wall, then at his watch. "It WAS right! Damn! I'm sorry, Scarlett. I just don't know how-"

"May I speak with you privately?"

Kermit inwardly winced. This was going to be bad. Well, he decided he might as well take his medicine. "Excuse us," he said and escorted her to the bedroom.

She lost no time. "HOW DARE YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T CALL! YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING??? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO THAT TO ME!" She began clenching and unclenching her fists. "You HAD to know what I would think! How could you scare me like that!? I thought...." she gulped down some tears, "I thought you were...." Kermit tried to take her in his arms but she was too angry for that yet. "How could you do that to me? To Kat? I don't BELIEVE you!!!"

Kermit reached out to her. "Scarlett," his voice trembled slightly at seeing her like this. "Sweetheart-"

She propelled herself into his arms, gratefully sobbing her relief. Kermit smoothed her hair and rocked her, crooning. "It's all right, I'm so sorry....Ssh! It's okay...." Once she calmed down a little, Kermit tried to make some sense of all this. "Savannah...it's okay. Look, I don't want you to have a heart attack if I'm a couple of hours late, okay?"
Savannah's head jerked up, unable to believe she was hearing this.

Kermit pressed on in desperation. "Sweetheart, I'm a COP. I might get delayed sometimes. You can't put yourself through this every single time. That's why we wait 48 hours to report someone missing. Although, I have to admit it was a unique experience to have uniform pull me over to tell me my wife is worried about me!"

Savannah wasn't amused. "YOU are not just anyone we wait 48 hours for! If Peter had waited that long, we'd be DEAD! I've done my part, Kermit. I don't check up on you and I understand this life that you have. Past and present. If I don't know where you are every minute, I can deal with that but don't tell me to expect you and then expect me not to worry when you don't show. That's just not fair. If I did that, you'd have the army out looking for me!"

"Savannah-"

"And don't give me this crap about being delayed. You don't go to the bathroom without that cellphone. I'd tried calling and you didn't answer. Explain that! And while you're at it, explain why you didn't use that nifty gadget to call me."

"Well, I...."

"You've got a wife now, buster," she said, disengaging from his embrace and jabbing at him with a finger. "AND a little girl who loves you and waits for her Daddy to come home at night, you IDIOT! You will NOT disappear for a single solitary SECOND without trying to raise heaven and hell to let me know! You can't just waltz in here-"

"You're right."

"-ANY time you damn well feel like it-"

"Scarlett, you're right. Please-?" He held his hands to her and she warily accepted his embrace again. "I'm sorry. I didn't think."

"Now that's an excuse I can buy," she laughed haltingly.

Kermit withdrew from her long enough to look into her clear green eyes and fell in love with her all over again. He stroked her cheek with one finger. "It'll never happen again. I promise."

She collapsed into his arms again and they just held each other quietly. Finally, she stirred. "So, where were you, anyway?" she asked.

"Time...just got away from me," he answered. He didn't want to tell her that he had no idea where he had been in the two and a half hours he was missing. "Let's go feed our guests."

******

Truong Qui was a man who took great pride in his talents. With the years of open warfare long past, the opportunity to exercise those manipulative skills came rarely. He breathed in the smell of power as he awaited the report.

The events to come would fill his lungs with the sweet rush of success once again. The truth he held above all others was that once he had broken a man, he would be ruled for all time by the will of Truong Qui. He laughed when he thought of an apt comparison. Till death do us part. Yes....

"General," came the announcement, jolting him from his introspection, "first contact had been achieved."

"And the result?"

"Success. I am certain that the schedule will remain in effect."

"Excellent," oozed the General. "Pull him in slowly but relentlessly. Follow my instructions to the letter and I will complete the process personally."

His assistant exited, leaving him to bask in his impending victory. So many joys to be embraced. Control over another's will, vanquishing an enemy, and financial reward as well. *It is truly marvelous to be me,* he gloated.

******

Dinner was a slightly strained affair due to Kermit's lateness but was lightened considerably by Wolf's accounts of the new movie he was slated to star in. Over dessert, Wolf finally got to the point. "So," he said around a mouthful of whipped cream, "whattya do as a mercenary?"

"Usually I kill people," Kermit replied flatly.

Savannah and Peter looked at each other with identical expressions of "Oh, God, here we go again." Savannah couldn't help it. She began to giggle. Kermit looked at her, insulted, and she squeezed his hand in apology, still giggling. Kermit looked heavenward and shook his head.

"Kewl!" Wolf replied. "So, how do you do it? Knife, gun, what? Oh, I know! Poison, right!?"

This time it was Kermit who issued a long-suffering sigh. "Gun," he replied shortly.

"Do you stalk them out or do you just find them and BLAM!?"

"Depends."

"You're SO helpful," Savannah informed Kermit with a twinkle in her eye.

"I try."

Wolf issued his famous wolf cry. "I get it!" he crowed. "Mysterious...keep 'em guessing. I like that!" Imitating a deep, somber tone, he mimicked, "Usually, I kill people."

"Howl like that once more, buster, and you'll wake Kat," Savannah warned Wolf. "That's when *I* kill people!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Kermit shook his head at Wolf's imitation and got up to get another beer. He had a headache and just wished for this dinner from hell to be over.

"Well," Peter said, looking at his watch, "why don't we call that enough research for tonight, Wolf? It IS late...."

"So whose fault is that??"

"Wolf!" Peter warned. Thankfully, though, both Kermit and Savannah ignored Wolf's comment. "You need a leash in the worst way," Peter joked to lighten the mood as he dragged Wolf up out of his chair and to the door. "Thanks, guys."

"Anytime, Peter," Savannah smiled.

"Kermit..."

Kermit looked up to see Peter motioning to him. Reluctantly, he put his beer down. "I guess I'll walk you out," he said.

He walked out with Peter, who called out to Wolf, "Wait for me, will you? I need to talk to Kermit. It's...um...about a case. Confidential."

"Sure, man."

They watched as Wolf sauntered to the limo and climbed in. "What?" Kermit asked, rubbing his forehead.

"I want to talk to you about Savannah," Peter began. "She was really terrified-"

"Subject closed."

"Kermit!" Peter exclaimed. "I mean it! I think you should know she was scared out of her mind! I-"

"Drop it!" Kermit warned.

"Kermit, I can't," Peter said, unable to see the dangerous glint in Kermit's eyes, thanks to the sunglasses. "Savannah was almost crying in front of us! Where the hell WERE you? Why didn't you call?"

"Butt OUT, Caine! I mean it!"

"I just don't understand how you could let that happen when you know what she's been through!"

"Well, nobody's ASKING you to understand," Kermit snapped. "And you want to know why? It's none of your business, that's why."

Peter looked at his friend in shock. He couldn't believe that Kermit was being so adversarial. Peter had thought that Savannah's safety and well-being came before Kermit's pride and desire for secrecy. "Kermit-"

"Look, do NOT presume to lecture to me because I am FED UP with the sanctimonious Shaolin crap you've been spouting lately. You're getting as bad as your father and that's saying something! You don't know shit about my life enough to sit in judgment on me - hell with that, you don't know enough about life PERIOD!"

"What the hell does-"

"You want me to spell it out? Fine!" Kermit spat. He leaned closer to enunciate, "You're a spoiled papa's boy!!! You know shit about pain! All your life, you've had someone give a shit about you, caring about whether you live or die. So you lost a father for two years - big whoop. At least at the orphanage, they made sure you didn't have bugs for lunch or didn't sleep in a snake-infested bush for a bed. Then you got another father to look over your shoulder and hold your hand every fucking step of the way when things got tough!"

"Just a minute!" Peter snapped back, grabbing Kermit by the shirtfront. "This ISN'T about me-!"

"The hell it isn't!" Kermit shoved back, breaking free of Peter's grasp. "You know ZIP about pain and you try to dictate to ME-! Before you tell me what to do, you tell me how it feels to live in a container you can't sit down in or lie down in. Tell me how it feels to let down the one man who ever gave a crap about your opinion or your LIFE! Tell me you know how if feels that, if you died tomorrow, NO ONE WOULD MISS YOU! Tell me you know what it's like to see the ONLY woman you've ever loved in your entire sorry life nearly get killed because of you! Because of YOU, Caine! You know what that's like?! Tell me what that's like! Tell me how it feels for someone to trust you with their life and you let them down. TELL ME!!!"

Stunned into silence by the viciousness of Kermit's attack, Peter could only open and close his mouth like a fish gasping for water.

"That's what I thought," Kermit shot back, his tone like ice. "Now, if you don't mind, get the hell out of my life."

Peter watched dumbly as Kermit went inside and shut the door.

******

Kermit came storming back into his home. Fury and anger pounding in his head after his confrontation with Peter Caine. All he could feel was pressure. Something struggling for control over his will. It was winning.

He stalked back to the nursery where Savannah stood watching the baby sleep. Unaware of the eruption that had just taken place outside, his wife smiled at him and motioned him inside. Kat had just fallen to sleep and lay in her dreams, drinking an imaginary bottle. Kermit stood beside her crib, expressionless.

Savannah noticed his strange behavior. It was extremely unusual for him to resist touching the baby. She couldn't count the times that he'd accidentally woke her up because he couldn't keep his hands off her little round face. Without speaking, he turned and took his wife's hand, pulling her out of the nursery. His grip wasn't painful, only firm and deliberate.

"Oh, my!" she laughed softly when she realized they were heading for the bedroom.
He practically jerked her into his arms and invaded her mouth. The kiss was so abrupt and intense, it took her breath away. Kermit had one hand behind her head and the other pressing the small of her back. His touch was aggressive and demanding.

Savannah was surprised by his demeanor. Part of the thrill of this man was the power he kept leashed just below public view. But when he and his wife were intimate, Kermit was usually quite tentative as first. Wanting her to set the pace. Careful to be sure that she was comfortable. Things were escalating at an infinitely faster pace than usual.

Once she'd had a moment to switch gears from mother to lover, she submitted to the dizzying pleasure. She wanted to be commanded by him. His enthusiasm, for want of a better word, was contagious. She gave into the power coursing from his body into hers and returned his passionate kiss.

They stumbled onto the bed. Groping and pulling at each other's clothes. He frantically disrobed his wife. Savannah, nearly delirious with passion, tugged at his belt. Kermit's hands and tongue roamed over her body. He couldn't think. Only feel. This wasn't about love or closeness. Only flesh and lust.

The heat of her body in control, Savannah tore desperately at the buttons of his shirt. Frustration overcame reason and she ripped it open. The sound of shredding fabric was enough to shove them both over the edge of hesitation. They drove their bodies together in a panicked rhythm. She dug her nails into his back as they both moaned and writhed. Pounding their way to a thundering, shattering climax.

They collapsed side by side, gasping for breath. Bodies spent. When she could think again, Savannah rolled over to rest her head on his chest. Spilling her hair over him like a blanket. She could feel his heart threatening to burst from his chest.

Eyes closed, he lay there, trying to regain control over his body and mind. With a trembling hand, he reached to touch his wife's face. Her skin was flushed and damp. "Scarlett....I'm...I'm sorry."

Surprised, she raised her head to grin into his face. "Well, hotshot, you don't see me askin' for a refund, do ya'?"

Gently, he rolled her over into his arms. A painful expression on his face. He pulled the blanket up to cover them both and said, "I shouldn't treat you like that. You deserve better."

She could see that he was genuinely concerned and sorry for his behavior. "Sugar, it's alright," she whispered, trying to alay his fears. "We just got a little out of hand, that's all. But the results were pretty spectacular!"

He shook his head and touched her cheek. "No. I couldn't help myself. I shouldn't have jumped on you like some animal. I shouldn't have been so...rough with you."
She pulled him into her arms. Savannah could feel him shaking. "Kermit, I'm fine. You didn't hurt me."

"I love you so much. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," she answered. She held him until he fell into a fitful sleep.

******

Kermit wasn't the only one having a restless night. Peter had asked Wolf to drop him off at a local gym. He had then proceeded to completely demolish one punching bag and was now working on the second. The gym floor manager considered asking him to go elsewhere but decided against it when he saw the condition of the punching bag and settled for just shepherding people away from that particular room.

Peter's arms and hands hurt but he kept punching. Saw Kermit's face in front of him - *spoiled papa's boy* - and kept punching.

This punching bag was beginning to give out, too. Peter paused to wipe the sweat off his forehead and to find a still-solid piece of the punching bag to target when he saw his father.

"Not now, Father," Peter said as he continued his assault on the hapless punching bag.
Caine tried not to convey his worry. Whenever Peter called him "Father", he knew something was wrong. "I sensed your distress," he said softly.

"Yeah, well, my sympathies," Peter said.

"Peter...please...."

"Pop, don't," Peter choked out. "Just get away from me. Just do what I want for once. Please!"

Caine took his son's arms and firmly held them until Peter was calm enough to sit. Caine sat with him. "You're going to regret this," Peter whispered.
Caine waited.

*Spoiled papa's boy* echoed in Peter's ears but he told anyway. When he was done, he didn't remember when he had felt worse than this.

Caine looked sympathetic and then confused. "He did not answer your questions," he stated rather than asked.

"My questions??? He ran roughshod over my questions! Like I was an annoying insect-!"

"Peter," Caine put a hand on his arm to forestall his son's anger. "He did not answer your questions."

"I heard you the first time, Pop! Look, I was doing better with the punching bag."

"Peter," Caine sighed. "You must look beyond your anger to find the solution to this."
Peter rolled his eyes; maybe Kermit had a point about sanctimonious Shaolin preaching. That did not stop Caine, however. "Kermit was...a spy, was he not?"
Peter moaned silently. When his father wanted to play Twenty Questions, there was nothing anyone could do but play along. "Sort of."

"He has been trained to withstand...interrogations?"

"...I suppose so..."

"Peter...Kermit did not want to answer. It might appear that he wished to antagonize you into leaving him alone."

That shocked Peter into silence. "B-b-but," he finally stammered, "what about the things he said...."

"He knows you well. Well enough to know what would enrage you beyond your reasoning ability."

"Well, there's another possibility," Peter snapped, his anger returning, "Maybe he MEANT every word he said! I mean, look at me! Talking it over with my FATHER! I'm proving his point-!"

"Peter!" Caine said sharply. "There is nothing wrong with confiding and seeking support with one you care deeply for. Just as Kermit has done."

Peter gaped at that. "There's no way-!"

"I strongly believe that Kermit does care for you, like a brother. It is appropriate since you both shared the same father."

At first, Peter thought Caine meant himself but then realized what Caine meant. "Paul," he whispered, feeling a wave of sorrow.

"Yes. Kermit feels his loss just as you do."

"But that doesn't excuse what he said to me and that doesn't excuse what he did to Savannah tonight!"

"You are correct." Peter blinked in surprise at Caine actually agreeing with him, but Caine continued. "Peter, he has distracted you from the most important point: where was he for two hours?"

"I don't know," Peter stated, "but I'm going to find out!"

Caine nodded. He only hoped that Peter did not confirm his hunch; that Kermit was in terrible danger.

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   

Back to serie's index      Back to Story index