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out.
    Joel nodded and slid into a booth.  He carefully watched the door, he wanted to get this over and done with.
    The waitress came to his table.  “ Here you go, honey.”
    “ Thanks,” he murmured.
    He sipped the coffee and almost groaned aloud, they had great coffee.  He sipped the cup and continued to watch the door.  Then he saw the uptight, little man walk through the door, and nodded when he caught his eyes.
    “ Nother coffee?” his waitress called and he nodded.  “Be right there with a refill too.”  She laughed.
    If Joel hadn ’t been too focused on the meeting and getting out of there, he would have seen the man sitting at the counter, staring at him intently.  He sat right by the coffee maker and cups, when his waitress poured the cup for him, and turned around to get the cream, the guy had put something in the full cup.  Then sat and waited.
    “ Joel,” the man said as he slid into the booth.
    “ Hey,” Joel said and pushed his empty cup to the side while the waitress sat his full cup in front of him and then down another cup for the little guy.
    “ What’s up?” Joel said after the waitress walked away.
    He felt like he was sweating, maybe it was too hot for his jack et, but Joel wasn’t going to take it off.  He looked around and blinked a few times.  Then his gaze settled back on Mr. Grimm and he waited.
    “ It has come to our attention that you are in a bit of a fix,” Mr. Grimm said.
    “ Really?  What fix am I in?” Joel said slowly.
    “ Certainly you aren’t going to play games here.  We get all the reports, you need to come with us.  We have a few questions about some missing files,” Mr. Grimm said.
    Joel sat back and narrowed his eyes.  He looked out the door and saw the suits that could only be associated with the FBI.  Fuck, they had traced him how?   There was no way they could have found him.
    “ I think you are out of your fucking mind if you think I am going anywhere with you.  Give me a time and place I will show up.  Until then, fuck off and leave me alone,” Joel said.  He even surprised himself with what came out of his mouth.  What the hell was wrong with him?  His vision was doing weird things. 
    “ Joel, don’t make matters worse," the little man said and stood. 
    He seemed to grow right before his eyes.  What the hell was going on ?  Mr. Grimm had some mad muscles on him.  He was going to have to make a run for it.
    He looked around the diner, one way in one way out.  Joel had to make his own exit.  With what he thought was a fluid motion.  He grabbed the stool close st to him and threw it through the window and jumped out.  He could feel the cut on his leg but ignored the pain.  He felt a few more tears to his skin and took off in the opposite direction of the two suits who stood there stunned.
    He found himself on the next block, no one followed him , which puzzled him but there was no way he could actually stop.  He needed to get somewhere new.  A hotel or something.  People walked around him, staring at him.
    Joel turned and walked to the edge of the street and then stopped —his brother was standing right next to him.  What the fuck was going on. Brian was dead.
    “ Hey, bro, long time no see,” Brian said.  “Grab a cab and go to the base.”

Chapter Two
     
     
    Harper Bret walked into her office and wanted to scream, she had gone through her classes and became a profiler for the San Diego Police Department.  Of course, she still had to go through regular police training and right now, she was low person on the totem pole.  So when everyone called in sick, and the others out on calls, she had been notified she needed to be in the office to take calls.  Harper had been pissed.  Instead of being at the huge homicide scene the others were at, she—the actual profiler, was stuck here in the office.  All because of the arrogant prick LT who had a hard-on for any woman in the Homicide Division.  Said they were too