After the meeting, she felt recharged and went to her office and worked all afternoon, preparing scripts for the grand jury in Morty's case. The first script she prepared was for herself, painstakingly setting out each question she should be asked and the answer she'd give, so she'd be able to give a smooth presentation, devoid of emotion. It didn't mean preparing it wasn't emotional, because it required her to relive that night. AUSAs and other staff bustled up and down the halls, but she managed to tune them out and focus on the task at hand.

As the afternoon wore on, she found herself thinking about Reheema. Vicki had called her cell but there was no answer, and her voicemail picked up, so she'd left a message, asking her to call back. She'd told Reheema her voicemail code so she'd be able to retrieve her messages.

When it started to get dark and Reheema still hadn't called back, she began to feel anxious. Was Reheema in danger? Why hadn't she called? Had she found out something? How long did it take to canvass Jackson's street, anyway? Twilight turned to nighttime, and Vicki worried through the pizza the office had ordered. She'd come back to her desk and called her cell again, but voicemail had picked up. By nine o'clock at night, she understood completely why her parents acted like jerks when they were worried about her.

I want a corgi.

"Snack time!" came a voice from the door. It was Dan, grinning, with a large brown bag in his hands, and the office filled instantly with a delicious aroma.

"What's in there?" Vicki asked, and he came in and kicked the door closed with the back of his Adidas.

"Room service from Joe's Peking Duck, just for my baby. That's right, I am a great boyfriend." Dan set the bag down and raised his arms. "Reward me, woman."

"Yay!" Vicki rose and gave him a warm hug, which he returned, then found her lips with a very good kiss. "Wow. Taking a chance in the office, aren't you?"

"Just one more." Dan kissed her again, and she felt like his girlfriend again. They broke the embrace, and he started digging in the take-out bag, hauling out the white containers with funny red dragons, one after the other. "Here we have your favorite entree, chicken curry, and cold sesame noodles for an appetizer."

"Yum. Where's yours?"

"I ate with Strauss and Bale and them, at Joe's Peking Duck."

"The big boys." Vicki felt mildly hurt. "You didn't invite me?"

"Aw, babe, it was sort of a spontaneous, late-night thing." Dan winced. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Vicki let it go. She didn't want to prove his point that they couldn't have a relationship at work, even if they couldn't. "I'm just worried about Reheema."

"Reheema? Fill me in, and I promise not to get mad." Dan took a seat opposite her desk and leaned back in the chair the way he always did, while Vicki fished in her desk drawer and found a pair of disposable chopsticks, then sat down with her chicken dish and dug in.

"First, did you talk to Strauss about the hired killer and the Bethaves?"

"Yes, I did, and he said he'd talk to him after the meeting today. You saw, the commissioner himself was there." Dan smiled. "Good things are gonna happen now. You'll see."

"Great. Thanks." The chicken tasted wonderful, hot and spicy, and Vicki cheered, momentarily. "Well, Reheema and I kept our side of the bargain today, but I'm worried about her."

"Why?"

"I think she could be in danger. That maybe her being framed and her mother's murder are related, and that whoever went to kill her mother was supposed to kill her, too."

"What?" Dan's eyes went a bewildered blue. "Why would anybody want Reheema dead?"

"I don't know, but then again, I don't know why they'd want her mother dead, either, and that happened." Vicki set down her chicken curry. "She wondered if it is someone at the office, since the only people who knew she was getting released from the FDC were us."

"That's crazy. You guys are going crazy." Dan rose, and Vicki bore down.

"You promised not to get mad."

"I'm not mad, I'm frustrated. You can't believe that. That someone from here is plotting against Reheema?" Dan shook his head. "It's like I told you, people like Reheema, they have a different view of the world, coming from a different experience. I don't have to tell you that blacks and whites view the justice system differently, do I?"

"No."

"So of course she's gonna think law enforcement is plotting against her! It's as old as O.J.!"

"Look, obviously, it's no one from here, but I am worried about her."

"You know what bothers me? That there was a roomful of top brass today-every agency in the friggin' city-all sitting around a table, working to make her life better, and she doesn't think of that!" Dan was getting red under his freckles. "Cops and ATF risk their necks every day, and she doesn't think of that! Morty got killed running down a CI, and she doesn't think of that!"

Whoa. Vicki put up a hand. "She does, and so do I. Please, Dan, sit down. If she's paranoid, she's entitled to it."

"But you should know better." Dan met her gaze evenly, and Vicki didn't flinch.

"Not when she was arrested on the say-so of somebody who said she was her best friend and didn't know her at all. I'm concerned enough to make her stay at the house tonight, so she's safe."

"Stay with us?"

"On the couch."

"You're overreacting!"

"I don't want her alone, and I wouldn't sleep worrying like this." Vicki checked the window, where the gray of twilight was deepening toward an inky blue. "I have no way to reach her, short of grabbing a cab and going looking."

"Don't even think about it, Vick. Bale and Strauss are still working. You have to be here."

"What if something happens to her?"

"They're already talking about you."

"What?" Vicki's mouth went dry.

"They're questioning your commitment. Even Bale, since you won't let it go."

"My commitment?" Vicki couldn't believe her ears. "We made the bust of the century, at least partly because I put myself out there! Way out there!"

"But you did things they don't want you to do. Running around, playing cop." Dan sighed. "Just because they're with the program to the media doesn't mean there aren't doubts about you around here. They're just closing ranks."

Vicki couldn't process it fast enough. So much for her fifteen minutes of fame. She felt suddenly stupid for believing the press releases. It had all gone to her head. Is it possible to like positive reinforcement too much?

"They think you're in too deep, because of the trauma of being there, when Morty was killed. You're too emotionally involved because of Morty, and now with Reheema."

"Who thinks that?" Vicki asked, stung.

"They all do." Dan's eyes softened, and he sat back down into his chair. "They wanted to talk to me about staffing at dinner. That's why I didn't ask you to come."

Oh no. "So what did you say?"

"I went to bat for you, of course. You're a great young prosecutor, the best in your class." Dan's mouth flattened with a sort of sadness. "But I'll tell you something, because I love you-they're watching you."

"You're making me paranoid."

"You should be. Your credibility is in question. Your reputation. To me, that's worse than being fired any day."

"But you're going to be chief. You know me."

Dan leaned over. "Vicki, listen to me. You have to stop this. This running around with Reheema. This talk. It's jeopardizing your career and it's embarrassing."

"To whom?" Vicki asked, then she realized. To him.

"You have to make a choice."

"Between Reheema and you?"

"No. Between Reheema and you."

Suddenly the phone rang on Vicki's desk, and she grabbed the receiver. "Allegretti."