More, Once Again, No Witty Commentary, Though...

[brokenroots]

Never a Small Favor
Word Count: 4,589
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Nico/Dani (eventually); Dani/Matt (doesn't last); Mike/Fi
Spoilers: up to 1x12 of Necessary Roughness and up to... uh, 4x01 of Burn Notice, I think.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I just break things.
Summary: Even with old friends, favors are never small and always have a price.
Author's Note: Reacting is a process, and they have a lot to react to in this chapter...



Reaction Process



"Catering for an entire 'business conference.' Chilled bottled water, no less. Nice touch," Fiona observed, looking at the card and then at the women and girls huddled around the room. They were going to need to move them, but they'd have to wait until it was safe. Judging from the way they kept looking at Micheal and Sam, these women had already been through hell. "Is there anything your friend doesn't think of?"

"Himself?" Sam said, shaking his head as he watched Dani talking to one of the women from the shipping container. "You know, it was impressive enough seeing her as Natalie Rice-didn't expect her to do that thing with the guy's hand, but this-this is real strength."

"Really?"

"At least it isn't half as scary as when she's acting like you," Sam said, shaking his head. Fiona smiled at the thought. She kind of liked it when Dani channeled her-other than the resemblance to Rice. That woman was going to pay some day, and if not for the whole getting Careles into Hayes' organization so that Micheal could get this damn burn notice thing over with, Fiona would have been fine with Hayes tracking that bitch down. Dani needed to be protected, though. They couldn't have Hayes looking for her.

"Fi, you gotta help Dani pass out this stuff. They won't take food or water from me," Micheal said, coming up to them and shaking his head. "How are the arrangements coming?"

"Well... We could turn them over to immigration, and they'd immediately be deported," Sam began, and Fiona shook her head. That was not happening. They were not sending these women back. They'd been desperate enough to trust Hayes-who knew what kind of price they'd had to pay-and they deserved better than this. Besides, they all needed... help.

"Not an option. Some of them probably have family here. We can find them."

"The longer they're with us, the more risk everyone takes," Micheal reminded her. She folded her arms over her chest. He sighed. "We'll talk to them after they've had a chance to eat and drink and realize that we are not the enemy. That means you need to distribute this stuff. Even then, Fi, if Hayes knows about their families, he will be watching them."

"Meaning they have to stay here until Hayes is no longer a problem. It might be safe after Hayes thinks the thief has been eliminated, but we can't be sure of that," Sam said. He took a deep breath. "We're going to have to keep them for a while. This is going to get dicey at best. We have too many people to protect and not enough people to watch them."

"Um, guys?" Dani began, coming over to them. She didn't look much like Rice at the moment. She pushed back some loose hair, looking tired. "I just spoke to Marta, there, and she tells me that there are three girls here, all from the same family. They have a cousin here, someone who arranged to have them brought over, but then when they got here... Marta seems to be one of few that actually speaks English. She's willing to translate, but some of these girls don't speak any language she knows, either."

"Between the three of us, we can probably fix that, and if not, we know some people. We will make sure these women get to their families."

Dani nodded. She rubbed the back of her neck. "This place has a shower, and we can get some new clothes for them, right? They shouldn't have to be stuck sitting in the same clothes they've been in for days. And being clean is going to do a lot for their mental well-being at this point."

"Sam?"

"Oh, please, you can't have Sam pick out clothes for them-"

"Someone is going to have to get the clothes, and someone has to help them with the food and showers. That kind of means you and Dani, Fi. When my mom gets back, she can help-"

"And Lindsay," Dani said, and they all looked at her. She smiled ruefully. "Yeah, my daughter's kind of a typical teenager, self-involved, and she may not seem like the type that would help out anyone else, but that's just the surface. I know that she has to have been more trouble than you think she's worth, but underneath all that is a girl with a good heart. She can help. And if you move everyone here... You only have to protect one location. Well, we'd need a second room for Matt and Ray Jay, to make the women more comfortable, but we can all stay here."

"You sure you're okay with that? This isn't exactly the Ritz here," Sam began, looking over at her. "We should be able to get some cots and blankets, maybe some curtains, but this isn't going to be anywhere close to what you're used to-"

"It'll be fine."

"Drink?"

"No, thank you. I told you-felt like I had food poisoning last night," Nico said, waving away the glass that Hayes offered him. He adjusted his position in the chair and tried to ignore the residual effects of the drug from the night before.

"Oh, yes, of course," Hayes agreed, smiling. "Still, for a sick man, you don't look that bad."

Nico looked at him. "What exactly is it that you want from me? Are you expecting me to fall over and die here? Should I be asking you if it was not food poisoning at all?"

"Would I do that?" Hayes asked, walking over to the bar again. He set down the one that he'd offered Nico and filled a different one for himself. Nico shook his head. Did the man think he was an idiot? "Please. I should be so lucky that I ran across you when you became a free agent. So far, everything I've learned of you has been impressive."

"I fail to see why," Nico admitted. He shrugged slightly and moved his coat onto his lap. He was going to have to stop wearing it if he remained in Miami much longer. Long black coats were only going to draw attention to him in a city like this. A shame, really. He liked the coat. "You and I have only had a few meetings, and the truck won't arrive at the location that you specified for some time. Nothing has been accomplished."

"You know that's not true, Careles," Hayes smiled as he turned around. "Your little cat and mouse game with my security forces has been impressive enough on its own. You shouldn't have been able to get past them, not as many times as you have. If I didn't call you for meetings, I might never see you. You're practically a ghost."

"I am flesh and blood like anyone else," Nico said. "How long are you expecting me to be your guest? I'm not much of one. Last night was a reminder of what I knew all along-never eat anything you haven't cooked yourself. Same with not drinking anything that isn't sealed."

"You're very paranoid, Careles. I like that about you. That's why I think you and I can work together for our mutual benefit."

"I have to say, I don't see what's in it for me," Nico said, rising. "You were the one who had a transportation issue. I resolved that for you. Nor do I know that any continuing benefit can be brought from my end. Even you have to admit that when the chaos that is currently dominating the Pittman Industries settles, I will not be as useful."

"You are underestimating your own value. It's not what you had access to alone. You have yourself to offer."

"If that is a come on, I'm definitely not interested," Nico told him, going to the door.

Hayes laughed. "Of course not. You have skills that are of interest to a man in my business. Pittman was a fool. Having someone like you in his organization was worth far more than he was paying you, and he should never have thrown you away like he did."

"Doesn't it make you wonder what I must have done to get fired by him?"

"Pittman is a lunatic and a fool. That's all the answer I need. Besides, I don't have a wife," Hayes said with a smile. Nico's stomach twisted again, and he had to stop and wait for that moment to pass. "Sit down. We have a lot to discuss."

The door opened, and Hayes shot a dirty look in the direction of the man who'd just entered. "Boss, we got a problem."

"I sent you across the country. What the hell are you doing here?"

"There was this woman. She had a team. Three people working with her. Hit the truck with a rocket launcher, shot the driver, took the cargo," the man said, and Hayes frowned. "They were waiting for us. She said she knew who you were. She didn't care."

"Who was this woman?"

"I don't know. She had long hair. It was kind of dark. People called her... Natalie, I think," the man said. He held up his hand. "Look what that bitch did to me!"

Nico had a hard time believing that Santino would have done that, but she was always surprising him. It wasn't something that he liked, though he supposed that it had sold the act to this man. He wished she hadn't. This was not a path that she wanted to go down.

Hayes looked at him. "How could she have gotten a hold of the route?"

"Perhaps you have a leak."

"Or maybe you're someone other than who you say you are."

"I never lied about my name," Nico assured him and then shrugged. "You could have a problem in your organization. What did the woman look like other than dark hair? Short? Tall? Eye color? Any distinguishing marks? How did she dress? What kind of a weapon does she carry?"

"She wore glasses. High boots. Had a forty-five."

"Any thoughts, Careles?"

Nico took out his tablet and ran a quick search. He held the tablet out. "Anything like her?"

"That's her. That's the bitch."

"Get out," Hayes said, looking over the picture. He took a sip of his drink. "Natalie Rice. I think I've heard a few things about her. How did you know about her?"

"All you really need to know is that I could probably find her."

"Do it. You have twenty-four hours, and after that, I'm going to give everyone an incentive to find her. And don't think that I have forgotten that you had that route. I'd hate to think that our fledgling partnership was going to be ruined because you have a thing for the wrong woman."

"Natalie Rice is no friend of mine."

"How are we doing?"

"With what?"

Micheal looked at Fi, and she shrugged. She wouldn't admit it, but she was tired. She had to be taking this hard. He hadn't forgotten the way she'd reacted to the threats against that football player's sister or the model that was about to be shipped overseas to become a sex slave or the way she'd reacted when she heard what Hayes wanted to transport. She took things like this personally, and all of these women-he knew that she had to be almost boiling over by now. Any of the ones she talked to would just push her further over the edge. "With the women."

"Everyone has had a chance to shower and change. Dani and I got water into all of them, food into most. Some of them are sleeping. We have names and locations for a lot of families, but we can't get to all of them. I don't know how they pulled these girls from all over the world, but very few of them speak the same language. About the only thing they have in common is what those sick bastards did to them."

"I know, Fi," Micheal said, touching her arm gently. "We can't undo what happened to them. We can't even promise them that they won't get hurt again. All we can do is keep them safe, get them back to their family, and do our best to make sure that Hayes pays for what he did."

"Oh, he is going to pay, Micheal. Make no mistake about that. He is going to pay. If Careles doesn't do it, I will. I swear I will. I should have done this before."

"Then these girls would probably have died in that cargo container, Fi. We need to know all of what he's doing. Everything he's been up to. We need to make sure that he doesn't have more women like these ones stashed somewhere else. We know he has prostitution rings. All of that has to stop when he goes down, and killing him won't get us that."

"It'll feel good," she said. She let out a breath. "I hate it when you're right, Micheal."

"Careles is in. He'll get everything we need. We just have to be patient."

"I hate being patient. Especially when I see this."

Micheal nodded. He didn't like having to wait to deal with Hayes, either. He wanted the information, and he wanted to be the one getting it. Careles was doing a good job, and the man was dedicated, but Micheal would still rather do it himself. If that was an option, he would have. "Have you heard from my mom yet?"

Fiona pointed across the room. His mother was putting blankets over some of the girls on the cots. "She and the others got here while you and Sam were building the wall. You wouldn't have heard them. We sent Virgil and the annoying one out to get more supplies while the boy helped with the cots and the girl got towel duty. She complained until she saw Marta's back. After that, she got really quiet. She's been helping ever since. I think she made friends with Marta's younger sister. They all think you're building the wall to help keep them safe."

"That thing is flimsier than a sheet of paper, and it's really just there so that the big scary men don't traumatize the women."

Fiona laughed. "I know. But it means a lot to them, all the same. Thank you, Micheal."

She wrapped her arm around him and leaned against his chest for a moment. He smiled down at her for a moment. "Any other unannounced visitors?"

"Careles hasn't stopped by, if that's what you're asking."

Micheal nodded. "We probably won't see him here. He's good enough to elude most tails, but he's not the type that would risk exposing everyone here, no matter how good he is at evading surveillance."

"He went to your mom's when he might have been compromised."

"He'll be under even higher scrutiny this time. The leak that enabled the theft puts him at risk. Until he can produce 'Rice' and prove his loyalty, he's going to be in danger. He can handle it, and he'll contact us when he's ready to set up the next part."

"I know."

"Get some rest, Fi. We're going to need to take shifts."

"Sam?"

He looked up, seeing Doctor Santino standing there, rubbing her arms. It wasn't cold in here. They'd made sure of that. After all those girls had been through in that storage container, the least they could do was control the temperature of the building they were keeping them in. They had clothes and food and water and blankets, but nothing could make up for the kinds of things those poor girls had been through.

"Something wrong?"

"I know I have to leave with one of you, and I know it's late, but I just need-as a therapist, sometimes I have to recognize that I need time and space to let go of what I heard in order to be able to help others. I am on the edge right now. I need to... I need to leave so I can break down."

"Break down? Doc-"

"Decompress. Let it out. Compose myself again. Even if you just walk me to the end of the block, then I can take a moment and let it out. I'd do it in my office if I was back home or I'd go out for drinks with Jeanette-but she's in Barcelona, and I'm here under guard, so walk me out?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam said, getting up. The last thing he wanted was to be around a woman who was planning on breaking down. No, he really didn't want to see that. He hated seeing any woman cry. "You want me to wake your friend? Donnally?"

She blinked. "I got the feeling none of you liked him."

"Truth is, we don't. Thing is, though, you need a breakdown, you should have someone to hold you. Donnally's your man, so let's wake him and make him do his job."

"It's not his job to take care of me," she said, shaking her head. "Don't wake him. Let him sleep. I don't want to cry all over anyone. I'm not going to. I just need some air."

Sam shook his head. It sure as hell should be Donnally's job to take care of her, and if it was just about her, Sam would drag his butt out of bed no matter how much she tried to protest. Thing was, though, that man probably had no idea how to handle this-no, they all knew he didn't because he'd walked into the women's section looking for Dani and spooked them all-so he wouldn't be much help. That didn't mean he shouldn't be there for her. Guy was decent enough that he'd want to be, but Sam actually liked that she didn't want him there. A part of her knew what the rest of them did, that Donnally wasn't right for her.

Sam walked her out, locking up behind them, and carefully led them down to the street level. "We'll go to Maddie's. The street's too exposed, and I know she has beer. That'll help you unwind."

Dani nodded, and Sam hurried her into the car. He had a feeling she was closer to that edge than she had let on, that she'd waited as long as she could to come to him, and she'd probably end up letting it all out in the car. Still, he made sure he didn't take a direct route and watched for a tail all the way to Maddie's. He didn't think anyone had followed them.

She got out of the car without saying anything, and Sam knew that he had to get a beer into her, quickly. Get her to a chair, let her talk it out, make sure the beers kept coming-he hoped there was enough at the house. No one had gone shopping for anything here, and the supplies had been moved over to the warehouse where they were staying.

"I'll just grab us a couple beers," he said as he let her into the house through the kitchen. "Go ahead and sit down. We'll just see what Maddie has in here-hey, look at this. A bottle of wine. She must have been planning some kind of special dinner because she doesn't usually have this kind of thing around."

Dani didn't comment. Sam took out a couple glasses and set them in front of her on the counter, next to the wine. She caught sight of the bottle and picked it up, her eyes widening. "This is my favorite. And you can only get this from this little place in Little Italy and half the time they deny they have it."

"Unless you ask them for it in Italian. Then they never deny it, but you probably won't get out of there without at least one kiss for some reason," Nico said, and Santino looked over at him with a smile. "If that never happens to you, then you'll have to buy it on your own from now on."

"It is so good to see you on your feet again."

"I told you it was temporary," Nico said, shaking his head when Sam tried to offer him a glass. "I'm surprised that you fell for Sam's charm, though, Doctor. I thought you knew better than that."

She laughed, crossing to the other room and wrapping her arms around Nico. "You know it had nothing to do with that. You wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of getting a bottle of my favorite wine and making sure it was here for me right now if you thought I was just falling for Sam."

Sam watched as Nico fought a smile. He started to take her hands off his waist, but then the floodgates opened. "Oh, Nico, I don't know how the hell they do it. I don't know how anyone can see that stuff and stay sane. It's not just the explosions and the shooting. I spent the afternoon with those girls, trying to talk to them, and the things I heard... What they've been through at the hands of these people, and what they went through before they were taken and loaded up in that cargo container... What if there wasn't someone there to blow up the engine and pull them all out? And what did I do?"

"You helped them."

She shook her head. "No. No, I don't mean that. I can listen, but I can't help. And that isn't even it. I smashed someone's hand with my foot today, and you know that isn't me-"

"Actually, I always figured that was a part of the reason you wore such impractical shoes."

She started laughing, shaking against him. Sam reached back into the fridge for a beer. He should probably walk away now, let them do this in private, but he kind of wanted to watch the show. "I think you should sit, Doctor. Sam, bring her that glass."

Sam picked it up and carried it over to them as Nico helped Dani into the darkened living room. She started talking. "I don't normally do this. I'm sorry. I didn't plan on crying on anyone. I was just going to get some air, but we can't be out on our own and that means no air, so then Sam brought me here, and if I'd had a bit of wine maybe I wouldn't have started crying on you. At least your coat can't really get soaked, right? It's a nice coat. I shouldn't ruin it. Who would you be without your coat?"

Nico gave her a look, sitting her down, and Sam passed her the glass. She drank from it for a moment, getting lost in thought. Sam looked at Nico, and he started to move away from Dani, but she grabbed a hold of his arm. "What? Where are you going?"

"I'm not leaving."

"You were."

"I need to talk to Sam, but I was not leaving," Nico corrected, and she tugged on his arm. He sighed and sat down next to her.

She set down the now empty wine glass. "You were right, Nico. I shouldn't have done this. I pulled it off, but I think it cost me more than I ever thought it would. It was for the good; I know that. Those girls needed help. They're going to need a lot of help. Years of counseling that I'm not really trained for. They need someone better than me. Especially since I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Why did I think that was a good idea? Because I was angry with you? Because I could? Because danger is supposedly sexy?"

"Hey, danger can be very sexy," Sam said, pointing to himself. "I'm dangerous, and I'm damn sexy, too."

"Sam," Nico began, a warning tone in his voice. "Please refill her glass."

Sam rolled his eyes as he picked up the glass and went back into the kitchen. He filled it back up and brought the bottle back with him this time. Nico was talking quietly to her when Sam got back, and Dani had put her head on his shoulder. "It's not about the danger. If it was just about a thrill, there were other things you could have done. You could have called up Billy Rhodes and gone out on the track again if that was what you needed."

"So... why this?" she asked, taking the glass from Sam. She drank from it and shook her head. "Being mad at you, stubborn, frustrated with being under protection and guard? Is that it?"

"Maybe you're trying too hard to understand this."

"Understanding is what I do."

Nico nodded. "I know. The thing is, though, that when you get into a situation like this-something more like... war, there is no understanding it. Analyzing happens later. Everything is clearer when the smoke and dust clears, but most of the people are dead by then. In a situation like this, you act. You do what you can. You make the best choice, and when it's over, then you get to know if you made the right one or not."

"I had a chance to back out."

Sam glanced at Nico as she emptied her glass again. Nico shook his head, so Sam sat down, not refilling it. Dani sat up and did it for herself. She took a sip and closed her eyes, putting her head back down. "I had several chances to back out, and I didn't."

"Would you have been able to accept doing nothing to help those girls? If you had backed out, how much more would you hate yourself right now? You let the darkness in to do some good, to bring the light to them. It's never any easy choice, but sometimes it's what has to be done. The truth is that you didn't feel you had a choice. None of us did. None of us could walk away knowing what was happening, and you did what you could. You will continue to do that. That is who you are."

She tipped her glass up and drank until the wine was gone. "Then why do I hate myself so much right now?"

"With the darkness usually comes guilt."

"For myself, I wish I'd listened to you, Nico. Never gotten involved. But for those girls... I have to be glad I did," she said, leaning back against him. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. I promise. Thank you for... this. For letting me get it all out."

"Even the therapist has to talk to someone."

She nodded slowly, barely moving, and Sam reached over to catch her glass before she dropped it. He set it on the table. "She held out for a long time, wore herself completely down. That's one hell of a woman there."

Nico shifted a little, moving to the side, carefully lowering her head to his lap instead, and letting her stretch out further. Sam lifted her feet up and put them on the couch. "She's strong, and in the morning, I have no doubt she'd pull herself together and go right back to those girls. This may be too much pressure for her, though. Hayes gave me twenty-four hours to find her, but I don't think that we can afford to wait that long."

"I'll call Mike. We'll get it set up. You stay right there."

Chapter Eight