Part 4

Later that evening, everyone attended the Valentine's Day dinner/dance. It was the highlight of the weekend each year. Mason Steel took special care to see that this particular event was something her guests would remember long after they were back home in the real world. There was romantic music, candlelight, delicious food and plenty of atmosphere. Sherry and Roarke were, again, the last to arrive. They were seated at a table with Seamus and Jennifer Riley.

"I thought maybe you two had decided to pass on the dance and to do your celebrating alone," Seamus ribbed Roarke as he held out a chair for Sherry. "The thought did cross my mind," Roarke played along, "but what can I say? She loves to dance and I can't seem to refuse her anything." It was all Sherry could do not to laugh at that statement. Instead, she smiled up at him as he leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Michael and Nahla were sitting with Avi and Sinjin. Nahla watched Michael's eyes as they roamed the room and settled on Roarke and Sherry. Apparently the others at the table followed his eyes as well. "They are certainly quite a team," Sinjin remarked. "If I didn't know better, I'd really think they were in love." Avi rolled her eyes and shook her head. Why is it men were so dim-witted sometimes? Nahla smiled, noticing the look on Avi's face and agreeing.

Antonio and Rita were seated with Brenna and Jace. Jace was staring at Nahla like he had lost his best friend. "Uh, Jace," Rita called to him and got no response. "Jace." Finally he looked in her direction. "Perhaps you should cheer up and show a little interest in your date, or someone might get suspicious." Jace nodded. "Sorry. It's just that..." he stopped and didn't finish.

"What?" Brenna prompted him. Jace sighed and nodded his head in the direction of Michael's table. Nahla was leaning in close to catch something he was saying and then she smiled adoringly at him. "That worries me," he finally admitted. Brenna turned in the direction he was looking. "Nahla and Michael? Why?" Brenna asked.

"Oh come on. That's Michael. And we all know how irresistible he seems to be to you women. I can't compete with that," he sighed.

"Tell me about it," Antonio agreed. "I'm just glad it's not DeLeah with him. She's already got a crush on him." Rita kicked Antonio under the table. "Ouch! What was that for?" he moaned.

"You're not helping, Tony," she chided him yet again. "Listen Jace," Brenna said. "You don't have to compete with Michael. And you don't have to worry about Nahla. She adores you. I know you two have gone through some rough spots, but it's only made you stronger as a couple. Trust me, she's not gonna dump you for Michael."

Jace nodded. "Thanks. I hope you're right." Brenna gave him a huge smile. "Of course, I'm right. I'm the woman, I'm always right." That brought laughter from everyone at the table.

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Nahla scanned the room until she came to the table where Antonio, Rita, Brenna and Jace were seated. Something Brenna had said apparently was the cause of the laughter that went up from their table. But Jace's smile seemed a little forced. Making eye contact with him, she raised her eyebrows as if to ask 'what's wrong?' He shot a look towards Michael and frowned. Nahla smiled and glanced towards the Rileys to make sure their attention was elsewhere. Seeing the coast was clear, she mouthed an "I love you" towards Jace. Returning the sentiment and somewhat relieved, Jace returned his attention to those seated around him.

DeLeah and Jack were sitting with Curlly and Xavier. "Oh great," Jack complained. "Not only is Avi tied to that rascal Sinjin, but now she's sitting between him and Michael." Curlly decided to defend her fiancé. "Hey, buster, just watch what you're implying about Sinjin. He may be a rascal, but he's my rascal and I like him just the way he is."

Jack smiled. "Oh really? Like that?" he pointed in Sinjin's direction and everyone at the table turned to see. Sinjin was whispering sweet nothings in Avi's hear and placing feather light kisses on her face. Avi was leaning close to him and smiling at him very affectionately. DeLeah saw the look on Curlly's face and laughed. "Oh, if only I had a camera!"

During dinner, Roarke decided to get business out of the way. "We tested the sample. Seems it's all you said it was." Seamus smiled. "Would I steer you wrong, lad? Not a fellow compatriot. So how much would you be needin?" Roarke set down his fork and studied his dinner companions for a few seconds. "Well, you see, there's just one problem. The formula is bogus."

Seamus looked back and forth between Roarke and Sherry. "What do you mean, bogus? Surely you're mistaken." Sherry shook her head. "No, we're not. There is one component missing. The ignition key, if you will. Without it, the formula is a useless waste of paper. Now, if you have the real formula with you, I would like to see it."

Seamus smiled and nodded to Jennifer. "Sorry 'bout that folks, but we have to be sure. Can't have just anyone coming along wanting to buy this stuff. And from what we've learned, it's usually the undercover cops that don't know what they're talking about. Never can be too careful." Sherry studied the formula for a few minutes, trying to recall everything that Nahla and Jace had told her. She was to look for one of two things that was missing from the previous formula. Scanning the pda, she quickly noted that the missing component was indeed present in this one. "This is the
real thing," she told Roarke, who then smiled at his dinner companions. "Then, it looks like we have a deal." Arrangements were made for delivery of the items at a location not far from the resort the next day.

Roarke turned to Sherry and held out his hand. "Darling, I believe we've put off your dancing long enough. Shall we?" Sherry smiled at him tenderly and placed her hand in his. He led her out to the dance floor, which was the signal to the rest of the team that the deal had been made. As they passed the table where Michael, Nahla, Avi and Sinjin were seated, Roarke said, "Pay attention kiddies. Watch the masters at work." Then he whisked Sherry into his arms on the center of the dance floor. He nodded to Mason Steel who smiled and disappeared. When she came back, she was not alone. With her was Sara Evans, the country music singer.

Mason introduced Sara and the music started. Sherry couldn't believe it. It was her favorite song. "Happy Valentine's Day," Roarke whispered as he pulled her close and they began dancing to "No Place That Far." Sherry smiled at him, playing their parts to the hilt. To all outside observers, there was no one else on the planet for those two but each other. They danced, caressed, kissed, and simply enjoyed being together.

Mason walked up to Nahla and said, "Your sister is a very lucky woman to have found a man who loves her so much. I've never seen such a devoted couple." Nahla smiled and nodded. If she only knew, Nahla thought.

Sherry caressed Roarke's cheek and said "You know, you really are bad. This is Michael and my song." Roarke smiled at her mischievously. "I know. Other than the fact that it's your favorite, why else would I have picked it? A man's gotta have a little fun." Once that song ended, the other couples got up to join in the dancing. Sherry watched them all and noted with satisfaction that they were handling the assignment very well. She smiled when she saw Nahla and Michael together. He was holding her close and she was running her hands through his hair, playing with his curls. Michael must have really made her feel comfortable. She would have to thank him for that.

The last song of the evening was again performed by Sara Evans. She performed the Martina McBride hit, "My Valentine." It was a perfect song to end the Valentine Dance. As soon as the dancing was over, the couples slowly made their way back to their rooms. They would receive their final instructions via their panels as soon as Michael had finalized them. And they all needed to get some rest so they were on top of their game tomorrow. Michael contacted Section and told them to have Dylan and Davenport drive two mission vans to the location tomorrow. The two additional operatives would act as Roarke and Sherry's bodyguards, since everyone else on the team would be recognized.

The next day things moved quickly. The team was in place around the perimeter of the building. Nahla and Jace stayed in the van because they weren't cold ops. Curlly was there as well, facilitating communications between the teams. Roarke and Sherry, backed up by Dylan and Davenport, not to mention the rest of the team, completed the transaction. Once they had possession of the bioweapon, Roarke pulled his gun on Seamus and Jennifer. Dylan and Davenport quickly dispatched their guards inside the building. Michael, Jack and Sinjin took out the guards posted around the outside of the building.

"What are you doing?" Seamus demanded. Roarke smiled. "Putting you out of business. Now, if you don't mind, we'd like you to come with us." Jennifer tried to pull a gun on them, but Sherry beat her to the punch. "Not a good idea," Sherry said. "I really don't want to shoot you, but I will." Glancing around and seeing Avi, DeLeah, Rita, Antonio, Brenna and Sinjin coming into the building to back his nemesis up, Seamus threw down his weapon. "The whole thing was a set up," he finally realized.

Roarke smiled. "Yeah, don't you just hate it when the good guys win." The Rileys were quickly rounded up and placed in the van. The bioweapon and the materials on site were secured and everyone headed back to Section.

Operations and North were waiting for them at van access. "Roarke, Sherry, Michael and Nahla came through first, followed by Davenport, Dylan and the Rileys. "Good work, people," Operations smiled. "I understand things went very well." Michael nodded.

"I want you to debrief and then you are all free for the next two days," Operations announced and walked away. Sherry laughed. "Gee North, just what did you give him for Valentine's Day?"

North smiled. "I'll never tell. I just thought you'd all appreciate the chance to spend a little time with your true loves after the past few days."

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