[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy[/h2][/center][/b]

After the morning escapade, Paige spent the rest of the day mostly around the Marshal Service office either working on the Giancana case file or checking in with Cyber Crimes officer to see if he had come up with anything to help her get another line on the hacker that managed to escape that morning. The young man didn’t seem to mind the company, but she could sense his nervousness around her, much like CT’s friend back at the apartment. It was all very high-schoolish, she thought. As if the teacher had paired up the chess champion and pitcher from the softball team. She reminisced with a whimsical thought back at her high school days and the sports she played: mostly volleyball and softball; never really putting enough into it to go farther than being locally recognized. It wasn’t really her forte. Though she was fiercely competitive, she was mostly there for the status and social aspects. 

A text interrupted her musings as the man hammered keystrokes and clicked away on a laptop. The afternoon had been mostly quiet after he’d given up on conversation long ago. They had nothing in common. Paige glanced down at her phone reading the text from Milo. Her lips twitched and curled with thought and she glanced over at her temporary partner. “I’m going out for a minute,” She said. “You want me to bring you back anything?” She added to make it seem less conspicuous. 

“No, but thanks, go ahead,” The man replied. “I’m on his trail, but he doesn’t know it… yet.” He continued looking intently at the screen. “I’m just staying behind him a few steps at a time.”

[i]Whatever that means[/i]. Paige thought to herself. She scribbled on a piece of paper and slid it over to him. “That’s my phone number,” She said. “If you get anything, you text me. I don’t care if he’s in Mexico.”

The young man’s free hand left the keyboard only briefly and slid the slip of paper over to his side, not even looking down. He merely nodded. The fact that she had given him her phone number meant nothing. 

Paige smirked in satisfaction as she walked away. She could appreciate professionalism.

Milo’s shop wasn’t far away and she didn’t bother texting him back. She just showed up and let herself in with the key he’d given her. Even if he wasn’t near the window, he’d know it was her when he heard the striker draw back inside the door. Her sneakers tread softly through the quiet darkness of his house and her shadow was cast over his things in the faint light that he kept up for her arrival. She found him waiting with the man, sweaty and bruised from the restraints Milo used to fasten him down.  He looked at her, seeing the star and the gun holstered at her hip, almost looking relieved that law enforcement had arrived. She grinned back at him as the dim light darkened her face. “Hello Titus,” She said politely before looking over at Milo seeing the array of metal-working tools he laid out and giving him a nod. She picked up one of his rounding hammers, calmly feeling its weight and balance in her hand and watching Titus’ eyes follow her with confusion. She looked back at him, not speaking for a moment, only holding the small nordic-style hammer lightly in both hands. “Did you know my daddy was a preacher?” She asked.   

[@RoccanIronclad]