Codename: Kryptonite

Chapter Twenty-eight

Agent Mission Log Entry:

He's getting careless.

And, I'm gaining on him.

With her heart beating a mile a minute, Gabriella took a deep breath before carefully opening the door that led to the roof. She really didn't expect the assassin to still be on the roof. If he was any good at all, he'd be gone.

And he'd already proven how good he was.

He'd chosen a rooftop that was far enough away from his target that she'd have no hope of getting there before he could make good his escape, but she was still as careful and stealthy as if she expected him to still be there.

After a sweeping search for the assassin, Gabriella went back for a thorough examination of the area, hoping to find something...anything.

For once, luck was on her side. After having searched the area where the assassin had most likely set up, and finding the tell tale triangle pattern in the small gravel on top of the building to confirm his previously occupying the space, she started back toward the door she'd used to access the roof. Her flashlight scanning the roof as she went, until a glint of something metal made her jerk her flashlight back.

It was a bracelet made of very light metal, shining silver in the light from her flashlight. Her gut told her it belonged to him. Then she looked closer at the design etched into the top of the bracelet. It was the same as the logo that was on the time machine.

A slow smile stretched her full lips, then she slipped through the door and made her way back to Jon's penthouse.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the door slammed behind Richie, the driver hurriedly pulled away from the curb. "Home," Richie growled at the driver, as the partition was sliding upward. His worried gaze landed on Jon. "Kidd?" A low groan was his only answer. "Can you hear me?" Then he muttered, "You better be all right asshole, or I'm gonna kill you."

Slowly, Jon started to come around. He could hear Richie bitching and fussing over him like an old woman, and it felt like a horse had kicked him in the chest. Every breath sent pain radiating through his whole body. He was pulling himself upright, when the limo came to a stop in front of his building.

Richie climbed out first, then helped Jon from the vehicle. With Richie supporting most of his weight, Jon barely managed to move his feet as his friend practically dragged him into the building and over to the elevator.

"This is not good," he groaned. "We were supposed to wait in the limo until Gabbs got back."

"I'm not waiting out in the open like a couple of sitting ducks," Richie growled, shifting Jon's weight slightly so that he could get a better grip on his friend so they could get in the elevator.

Talking hurt like hell. "In the limo was hardly 'in the open'," Jon argued softly.

"Don't worry, pussy. If you're afraid of your girlfriend, I'll tell her that I dragged you injured and protesting all the way."

"Afraid?" Jon raised his head to glare at Richie. "Breathing and talking hurt like a bitch; don't make me laugh."

The elevator doors slid open, and Richie's laugh filled the hallway. When they were standing in front of Jon's door, Richie started to unlock it, but Jon stopped him.

"What if the fucker's waiting in there?" Jon asked.

"The 'fucker' probably thinks he got you. Why would he be in there?"

Steam might as well have been rolling out of her ears when she walked through the door of the penthouse. How old were they? Three? Couldn't either of them follow simple instructions? She took a deep breath and tried to cool her jets as she marched through the apartment. If she hadn't learned anything else about these two men over the past three weeks, she had learned that losing her temper and scolding them like the children they appeared to be would gain her nothing but smiles, smirks, and smart ass comments.

The scene in the living room brought her up short; the words she'd been about to say died on her lips. Naked from the waist up, Jon was sprawled on the chaise, his muscular legs stretched out in front of him, his feet almost reaching the end. He still wore the slacks from his suit, and the top of the bullet resistant suit was bunched around his waist; obviously he'd only slipped the neckline of the stretchy material down over his shoulders and pushed it down to the top of his pants. His shaggy blond head was cushioned on the back of the chair. If not for the slight wince of pain, she would've thought he was asleep.

With a face full of concern, Richie leaned over him, tenderly poking the large bruise already forming in the center of Jon's chest. "Are you sure nothing's broken?" he asked for the tenth time.

Without opening his eyes, Jon answered the same as he had the other nine times. "I don't think so. It doesn't even hurt any more when I breathe. It only hurts when you...OW ...son of bitch," he growled as Richie poked a little harder at the large bruise, "do that," he finished on a hiss.

She was still eyeing that expanse of naked chest, when Richie glanced up to see her standing in the door. He flashed a guilty little half smile at her. Jon hadn't even opened his eyes yet.

"Gabbs, he pulled me outta the car, and dragged me under protest all the way up here," Jon announced, trying to cast all the blame on Richie before she could work up any steam.

Gabriella was shocked that he knew she was there. She hadn't made a sound since stopping in the doorway, and he hadn't even opened his eyes. Her eyes went to Richie, even as she was shaking her head. There wasn't any sense in arguing or yelling at the two of them. It would get her no where. "I'm just glad the penthouse was unoccupied when the two of you got back up here." And, that was as close as she was going to come to chastising them.

Jon had no trouble throwing Richie under the bus, but he couldn't leave him there. "Rich pointed out that the guy probably thought he'd gotten me, so why would he make an appearance here."

"Why, indeed?" she said with a shake of her head and a shrug of her shoulders. That was probably the exact same thing she would've said to POTUS and Broadway in her own time. Why waste her energy trying to fight the force of nature that was the two of them?