"Ever hear of knocking, Michael?" Roarke suggested. "It's usually the polite thing to do." Roarke had learned to read Michael rather well during his time at CLHQ, so he knew something had him on edge.
"Could you give us a minute, please?" Michael asked Roarke. Roarke, deciding it might not be the best idea, declined. "Sorry, buddy. I don't think that's a good idea at the moment. I can't have you beating up my material."
Michael stared at him for a moment and then turned his attention to Travis. "You will stop sending her the gifts immediately." Having laid it out, he waited to see where it went. Travis looked confused, as did Roarke, although he had an idea. There was only one person that Michael was that protective and jealous over.
"Who? What gifts? I don't know what you're talking about Michael," Travis answered. "Sherry? Is that who you mean?"
Michael studied him carefully. He didn't think Travis was all that skilled at lying. He seemed genuinely bewildered. Roarke watched the exchange closely, ready to intervene should Travis need his help. "He asked you a question, Michael. We're waiting for the answer," Roarke finally said.
"Someone has been leaving anonymous gifts in Sherry's office. It started yesterday, which just happens to be when you showed up," Michael accused Travis.
"What kind of gifts?" Travis asked.
"Yesterday it was flowers. Today it was a tape of a love song. There was no note with the flowers. There was a typewritten note with the tape, but no name, initial or anything to suggest who it might be from," Michael supplied the details.
Roarke, grasping the seriousness of the situation, stood up. "I take it the office has been swept, the surveillance tapes checked?" Michael looked at Roarke as if to ask why he was wasting his time with such stupid questions. "Of course," Roarke nodded. "Anything?"
Michael shook his head. "The security tapes were wiped. Nothing found on the flowers or the cassette. The office was clean."
Travis' head was spinning. This stuff was way out of his league. He was used to simply helping patients who had emotional problems. All this talk of security, surveillance and sweeping was causing his head to spin. He decided to ask the question that concerned him the most.
"Is Sherry okay?" It was a simple question, but got to the heart of the matter.
Michael nodded. "Yes, for now. I've assigned her guards 24/7. Mentz, Dylan and Sean are her guards until this is over. All three will be with her during the day. When she goes home, they will rotate. Two of them on her door and one getting some sleep. I will stay with her when she's home unless I'm needed on a mission. Then I will have one of the ladies stay with her."
"I'll help anyway I can," Travis offered. Michael turned back to him. "I don't think that's a very good idea. No one has cleared you of this yet." Roarke stepped in again to try and avoid a confrontation.
"Michael, think about it. Travis didn't know where she was until yesterday when he got here. I haven't seen a flower shop in Section unless I've missed it. How could he have sent the flowers?" Michael knew Roarke was right, but he simply wasn't taking any chances. He nodded and frowned. "You're right. But I have to check out all possibilities."
Roarke volunteered to help. "If there's anything I can do, let me know." Michael turned to leave. "Thank you." Then he disappeared.
Travis sat back in his chair and sighed. "Is he always like that?" Roarke laughed. "Yeah, especially when it comes to Sherry." Travis shook his head. "I'm surprised she lets him get away with it. He's a bit over the top."
Roarke shook his head. "No, he's not. When you live in our world, everything is more intense. Each hour could be your last. You lose too many friends in this world, so when you find love and friendship, you guard it fiercely for as long as you have it. And Michael has been through more than most of us will ever know. There are reasons for what he does and he's usually right. So cut him some slack. He's very good at what he does."
Travis thought about it for a minute and then decided to say what he was thinking. "What if it's Michael?"
Roarke looked surprised. "What if what's Michael? What do you mean?"
"What if Michael is sending her the gifts, making her think someone is after her. Setting me up, or someone else he thinks is stepping on his territory. Maybe he's trying to eliminate the competition. From what I've heard, he's the best operative there is and he would be able to do it," Travis explained.
Roarke nodded. "He is the best, and yeah, he could do it, but I really don't think so. If he did do it and Sherry ever found out, they would be over in a second. He wouldn't risk it. He knows she's very good at what she does too."
Roarke stood up. "I've got to go see Rita and find out if she knows what's going on. Why don't you come with me. She's dying of curiosity to meet you." Travis smiled and agreed. They quickly made their way to Rita's office, Roarke nodding to Sean and Mentz who were guarding Sherry's office. He assumed Dylan was inside with her, which would be the standard protocol.
"That's Sherry's office," Roarke told Travis and then proceeded to introduce him to Sean and Mentz. Travis didn't catch it, but Roarke saw their close scrutiny of Travis when he was introduced. Apparently Michael had put them on notice that Travis was someone to be watched. Knowing there was nothing that could be done about it until Michael got the culprit, Roarke simply nodded and then guided Travis into Rita's office.
"Hey gorgeous," Roarke walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I would like to introduce you to the illustrious Dr. Travis McAllister."
Rita's face broke out into a smile as she got up and walked over to where he was standing and gave him a hug. "Travis, it's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."
Travis smiled. "Thank you. I hope it was all good." Rita laughed. "Of course it was. Sherry thinks the world of you." Travis nodded. "As I do of her." Rita was getting the feeling that Travis was a bit more interested than he let on. This was going to be an interesting situation. Not that it wasn't already messy enough. She felt a twinge of concern for Sherry, since she was not only dealing with the fact that Travis has just
been recruited, but also that she was going to be smack dab in the middle of whatever tension there would be between Michael and Travis. And she knew Michael well enough to know he wasn't happy about this situation at all.
Roarke motioned for Travis to sit and then pulled up another chair. "Have you heard the latest?" he asked Rita and motioned toward Sherry's office. Rita sighed. "Yes. I can't believe it. It has to be someone who knows us very well to get in and out undetected."
Roarke nodded. "Have you spoken to Michael?" Rita nodded. "Yes. He wanted me to see if I could come up with any ideas as to which it might be. He's not sure Sherry can give her full attention to this at the moment. He doesn't want to miss anything."
"I guess that's my fault," Travis sighed. "I never meant to screw up her life like this."
"You didn't," Rita offered. "None of this is your fault. Operations is the one that has screwed up her life and yours. And just because he wants ... well, never mind. Unless you sent her those gifts, none of this is your fault."
Roarke coughed. "I believe we've already covered that ground with Michael. Travis had no way of sending flowers to her before he knew her location, or after he arrived here. So let's cross him off the list already, okay? I know Michael wanted you to ask, but we've already discussed this."
"Okay. I'm just doing my job. You know how he gets when she's in danger," Rita answered. "Let me guess," Travis said. "All bets are off." Roarke laughed. "You learn fast, my man."
"Actually," Roarke continued, "Travis came up with an idea. I think he should run it by you and see what you think." Roarke already knew what she thought, but he wanted to see her reaction anyway.
"Okay. What is it?" Rita prompted.
"Well, I was just thinking out loud. But, what if Michael sent those gifts himself? What if he's trying to eliminate the competition by making her think a certain person is stalking her? He's very protective and possessive of her."
Rita eyed Travis curiously. "Is that how you see yourself? As the 'competition?'"
Travis shrugged. "Not really. I know she's in love with Michael. I treasure our friendship. If there was a chance, sure I'd go for it. But I have no indication that there's any hope for anything other than friendship. But Michael might not see it that way."
Rita studied him a few moments before answering. "Travis, first let me warn you. Don't get your hopes up. As for Michael, he's not like that. If he wants to tell you to back off, he'll do it to your face. He won't go behind your back and pull some stunt like this."
Roarke nodded in agreement. "That's what I told him. Just wanted your take on it since you know him better than I do." Rita knew there was a little dig in there, but she decided to ignore it. She looked up just to catch someone moving away from her door.
"Roarke, who was that? Someone was listening to us." Roarke got up quickly and looked out in the hall. He turned back with a sigh. "It was Sherry. Her entourage is moving rather quickly toward Section. I think she may have overheard us and is going to pay Michael a visit."
"Oh dear," Rita groaned. "I suppose I should warn him."
Roarke shook his head. "No. Let them work it out themselves. Besides, I'm not done with the fun news yet. You'll never guess where Travis is living." Roarke was having fun with this. It wasn't often that Michael's personal life was fodder for the gossip mill. This was just too much fun. "He's got the apartment on the other side of Sherry."