I'm still very new to this, but I thought I'd give it a try. The only other thing I've written was a short missing scene, so this is a challenge, lol.

------

"Do you think the bureau would fire me if I ran his underwear up the flagpole.....with him still in it?!!" Myles huffed as he paced, clenching and unclenching his hands, wishing they were wrapped around a certain someone's neck.

Lucy laughed as she crossed from her desk to the middle of the pen. The latest encounter with their budget-happy office services manager, Randy, had left Myles in a foul mood. "I'll admit Randy is not the easiest person to deal with, but you really didn't help matters with your smurf reference," she said as a smile played on her lips remembering the look on Randy's face.

"I simply pointed out that a man of his stature really shouldn't wear so much blue in one outfit. Is it my fault he can't take constructive criticism?"

"I don't know about contructive, mate, but you did help to add colour to his life." Bobby winked with a dimpled grin as he sat perched on the side of his desk. "That bright shade of red that only you can bring out in Randy's face was a nice contrast to all the blue."

Myles shook his head and allowed a slight laugh to escape his lips. He had to admit that there was some humour to the situation.

"Good luck getting your reinbursement now Myles," Jack said eyeing the liquid in his cup suspiciously as he and Sue turned away from the coffee machine and back towards the team. "Um, Bobby, what do you call this....this stuff?"

"What? Haven't you ever seen coffee before?" Bobby threw him his best hurt look, which could send many a lady swooning, but was completely lost on Jack.

"Coffee I've seen, but this is not what anyone would call coffee."

"Sure it is, mate," Bobby stated with a boyish grin "....Aussie style!"

Sue shook her head and smiled gently as she lay down her own cup of "Aussie style coffee" and put a hand on Bobby's shoulder. "I don't think so," she said in a half-whisper, "But it's ok. I'll make a fresh pot."

Myles couldn't resist joining in on the ribbing. "Maybe we can get him a self-help book or something. Do they have Coffee for Dummies?"

"Funny." Bobby gave him a glare, sending the whole team into light-hearted laughter.

"Listen up everyone." Dimitrius strode into the pen with a file in hand and an air of determination about him. He hated to interrupt the fun that everyone seemed to be enjoying, but there was work to be done and it needed the best that the F.B.I. had to offer. "We've got a new case and this one needs the Dream Team." All eyes turned to look at him with curiosity. New cases always brought a mixed feeling of alarm and excitement. "Looks like a serial killer."

Oooooh Suspense! Drama! Can't wait for more!

(good luck too but you're doing awesome without it!)

Tracy

Just what we need a serial killer and valentine's day! Sorry, looking forward to more!

Can't wait for more....great start....


~laura michelle~

wow Drama romance what more could we wish for
more soon please Lin

great start, looking forward to more

dream team sums them up............. especially jack

cath

Great start, Cindy! I've been all the time with a silly grin on my face. Well, all the time till the serial killer part...

Can't wait for more!

Ornella

lots and lots of kissing?

kav

yep lots of kisses

Thank you for all your nice comments everyone! I really appreciate them.

Thanks to Starbuck for changing the title. I'm sorry if it caused any confusion to anyone, but I was about half-way done writing my story when I decided I didn't like it anymore and started writing a new one (and the old title didn't make sense anymore). So for all of those writers who share their stories here regularly and make it look so easy, you're my heroes.

(Note: I can't tell you how many names I had to try to find a name that wasn't already connected to a real online dating service, lol. As far as I can tell, the one I've used isn't real. It is meant to be purely fictional.)

-----


"What's up D?" Jack asked, coming around to the front of his desk.

"Local PD just passed this case over to the us," said D, handing each team member a sheet of case information and handing the rest of the file to Tara. "Last night, a young woman was discovered in an alley across town. This is the third victim discovered this way within the last month. Each victim had been strangled and police found a Valentine card next to each body. This seems to be the killer's calling card. Being that we're dealing with a serial killer, it is under our jurisdiction. Tara can you please put the victims pictures up?"

Walking over the screen, D pointed to the first picture. "This is Sarah Lake, age 27, killed last night. She's our most recent victim. And these," D said pointed to the second and third pictures, "are Meghan Stone, 24, killed 2 weeks ago and Jill Thompson, 32, killed 4 weeks ago."

"What's the connection between these women?" Jack folded his arms across his chest and listened intently ready to do some deductive reasoning.

"These women lived in different neighborhoods, traveled in different circles. The one known connection between all three of them was an online dating service called "DateMagic.com". All three were members. We have gotten a subpoena for the company's records and they should be arriving this morning. With Valentine's Day coming up, the media is calling this guy the Valentine Villain."

"How clever," Myles rolled his eyes.

"Jack, you're lead agent on the case. I realize you and Sue are still wrapping up the Paton case, so delegate as you need to, but make sure you're up-to-date on what's going on. You will be the one dealing with the media on this. We want to keep this case as quiet as possible and the last thing we need is an FBI liason letting the media know too much."

Jack nodded. "What do we have to go on as far as DNA?"

"DNA doesn't match any known criminals in our data base."

Jack grabbed for his coat. "Myles, you and I will go talk to the victim's families and close friends. See what we can find out about the guys these women went out with."

"Hasn't the local PD already done that?"

"Yes, Myles, but right now we don't have a lot to go on, so we'll talk to them again. Dig deeper. Maybe someone will have remembered something more."

Myles obligingly took his coat from the hook and followed Jack, muttering under his breath as he left the bull pen, leaving his coworkers to smile knowingly. Myles Leland III made it no secret that interviewing people was not one of his favorite F.B.I. activities.

"Aw, come on, mate," Bobby called after him loudly, "at least you won't be dealing with Randy." Bobby winked at his remaining coworkers and friends.

Great job! I love this story!

Fun stuff...this case just creeps me out!

This should be interesting....


~laura michelle~

cant wait for more, this a really awesome fic

the case sounds potentially scary! Hope there's time for some Valentine's fuzzies!
kav

i'm sure jack's not too happy interviewing them with myles either

cath

I agree with you cath Im sure jack would rather be with Sue Lin

Okay, I admit... I'm interested and I'm frightened. I just hope Sue doesn't have to go undercover and become a victim herself.

Thanks for all the comments! You guys are great!


------


The girls gathered over a fresh pot of Sue's coffee. Lucy asked, "Tara, do you have any plans for Valentine's day?"

"Ha," Tara gave a half-hearted laugh. "I don't remember the last time I had plans for Valentine's day" she said with a hint of sadness in her voice, her eyes wandering over to the tall Australian sitting at his desk, finishing some paper work. Tara blushed when she saw that it had not escaped Lucy's notice, who was now sharing a knowing look with Sue. Attempting to take the attention away from herself, Tara asked, "How about you guys? Sue, are you and Jack going out for Valentine's?"

It was now Sue's turn to blush. "Why would you think that?"

"I just thought that you two might have something planned. You spend a lot of time together anyway and neither of you are dating anyone right now, so...."

"Well, Jack hasn't asked. He might have other plans. And I might have other plans if he ever does get around to asking," Sue said defiantly raising her chin, blushing slightly when she realized that she had let her emotions show more than she wanted to. The truth was she would love to spend Valentine's Day with Jack Hudson, or any other day, for that matter, but if he wasn't going to ask her, then she certainly wouldn't be the one to do the asking. "Lucy, how about you?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "What do you think? I am great at matchmaking, except when it comes to myself, remember? I'll probably end up spending Valentine's Day with Levi and a bunch of chick flicks." The girls laughed and wondered if that was actually what they would each end up doing on what was supposed to be the most romantic day of the year.

----

"Mail call!" announced D bringing in the promised company records from DateMagic.com. Sue, Lucy and Bobby each took their share of information to look through while Tara took the CD that the company had sent over to look through the computer files.

---

Jack and Myles had decided to start by interviewing the friends and family of Sarah Lake, then traveling half-way across town to interview the people in Meghan Stone's life. They had finished those with few results, and were on the road once again to question those who knew Jill Thompson. This was proving to be as unhelpful as the last set of meetings. The girl they were currently talking to, a close friend of Jill's, offered little else but flirting with Jack between bouts of tears. She was just the latest of a string of females to act this way and Myles had had about all he could take for one afternoon. Signaling an uncomfortable Jack that it was time to go, he thanked the woman for her time and lead the way out of the home.

"As much as I loved spending my afternoon watching women drool over you, Jack, I can't help but feel that my presence would have been more productive, not to mention more appreciated, back at the bull pen."

Jack couldn't help but smirk as he got into the passenger's side of the car.

Sue why don't you ask him.....I know it's not the normal way of doing things but he is such a turtle....


~laura michelle~

i'd love to see sue ask him out but i can't honestly see it happening

poor myles, must be tough watching women drool

cath

Myles is offended because he isnt droolworthy.... Yes, that is my own word, just ask Lindylou, Savgraceleland or BLT!

myles is jelous that no one drowls over him
and now jack get your act together and just let the love of your
life be the one and only one to drowl over you so ask her to be
your valentine for life ask sue jack, more soon please Lin

That is so like something Myles would say Great job! Cant wait for more!

Yup....it's her own word....but I think it should be added to every dictonary....but that's just me thinking....


~laura michelle~

Girls, girls... you'll soon have plans on Valentine's day. If not... Jack and Bobby will have to answer some questions of mine. And as much as I'd like they and me in a privat office discussing love topics I'd much more prefer them spending the most romantic day of the year with some very certain colleagues. Who knows... maybe I'll have some plans on my own.

and besides it's not that unusual for a woman to ask the man nowadays.

Yeah, it is, isn't it? I can even see the cheesy grin on Jack's face as Myles said it.

Thanks for all the comments! I love feedback!

This isn't a very long post, so I will try to post again before the end of the day.

-----

It was late afternoon by the time D came to check in with the team's progress. Jack, having just returned from his interviews with Myles, called everyone back together to see what they had discovered.

"Well," said Bobby, "It looks like these girls have been busy. In the past 2 months each of them has contacted or been contacted by at least 30 potential dates."

Tara nodded. "I've cross-referenced their contacts and found three matches. Each of the victims was in contact with Hotstuff32, Camper, and Loverboy10. For simplicity's sake, let's call them Moe, Larry and Curly."

"The three stooges, good one. When was their last contact with these guys," D asked.

"It's hard to tell, mate," Bobby shook his head. "Their last email contact through the site was 3 weeks ago and longer, but these girls weren't shy about giving out their phone numbers."

"We've checked their phone records, but the calls that could potentially match to these members come from either pay phones or pre-paid cell phones which we have no way of tracing." Tara added.

"How about the interviews?" D turned to Jack and Myles.

"Well, our interviews turned up nada, zip, zilch in regards to our case. Neither family or friends have ever met any of the men that these women met through the site. Many were surprised to learn that they were even members. On the bright side, Jack did manage to gather a few phone numbers of his own. It seems nothing helps to soothe the pain of grieving friends as Jack's brown eyes. I think they referred to them as chocolate, if I'm not mistaken?"

Jack cleared his throat, notably embarrassed by the attention that Myles had brought to him.

Haha Oh Jack you must realize at some point that your drop dead gorgeous! Great job! I love this story and cant wait for the next post

why myles your more jelous than I thought
but girls you stand no chance jack belongs to sue
more soon please Lin

My thoughts too....


~laura michelle~

Pssst... Jack! Sue likes chocolate very much.

Oh girls...I'm sorry to break your heart, but Agent Sparky's heart over here is already taken by the beautiful Sue Thomas.

Thanks everyone

--------



"Online dating" Myles mused as he walked across the pen, his chest puffing out. "I myself have never felt the need to resort to finding companionship through the computer, but I guess not everyone has been blessed with my magnetic personality."

Members of the team couldn't help but laugh as others rolled their eyes.

"Myles the magnetic, kind of rolls off the tongue," laughed Bobby shaking his head.

"So does Myles the maniac," smiled Lucy innocently, as Myles gave her a dirty look.

"Has anyone here ever tried an online dating service?" Sue asked with curiosity.

"I have," Tara raised her hand meekly. "Didn't find happily ever after though," she finished shyly.

"Now why would a great looking sheila like you need to go looking for a date? The guys should be lining up for a chance with you." Bobby said, with a smile and a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

"Thanks," blushed Tara.

"I thought about trying it once," added Lucy. "Never got around to it though."

Getting back to the topic at hand, D asked, "What about the registration that these guys had to fill out? Did you get any names other than screennames?"

"People tend to lie about those things," Jack informed him.

"Yes, unless of course you believe our three stooges are really Mr. Donald Duck, Mr. John Smith, and the ever-popular, Mr. Brad Pitt?" Myles shook his head in dismay at the things people did.

"Hey, some guys are named John Smith," D countered.

"Yes, but never the people who use the name on online dating registration forms," Myles said knowingly. Everyone looked at him. Nodding his head in concession, he added, "Tara already did a search. Phony name, phony address. There .... happy now?"

"Ok, so we don't have any real names to go on. Well, since we cannot get a warrant for DNA without probable cause, it looks like we're going to need a volunteer for an undercover. One of you is going to be delving into the wonderful world of online dating," D stated with a smirk on his face as he looked around the room, gauging the reaction of the team.

"Not Sue!" Jack exclaimed with a little more force than he intended, leaving him flustered, and waking Levi who was napping by Sue's desk.

"And why's that Sparky?" asked Bobby with a grin that made his dimples deepen more than usual, thoroughly enjoying his friend's discomfort.

"Well, um, it's just that, well, you know, we might need Sue for other aspects of the case," Jack faltered, getting more embarrassed with each word. Seeing Jack's sudden outburst, and now his struggle to correct what he said, caused Sue to blush. Could it be that Agent Sparky was interested in a little more than just her friendship?

"Relax Jack," D said coming to the rescue. "As a matter of fact, we will need to keep Sue available in case we need to use her lip-reading ability. Actually," he said turning his attention to the other side of the pen, "I was going to ask Tara to be our undercover on this one." Tara's surprise showed on her face. "You're the female agent on this team and, if you're willing, we could really use you on this case. You'll have backup at all times. The decision is yours."

"Um, yeah, sure. I guess I can do it." Tara gave a little laugh.

"Ok, great. We'll need to get a profile worked up for you on the site and take it from there."

Tara nodded.

----

"You know Tara, this could be dangerous. You don't have to do this."

Tara looked up to see the look of sincere concern on the usual jovial face. "I know Bobby, but I am an F.B.I. agent and I have done undercover work before. Besides, you'll be there to protect me right?" she teased, trying to get a smile out of him.

The seriousness in his eyes and his response surprised her, but also sent her heart fluttering as her hopes of a future with him someday rose. "Always" he responded with such conviction that she had no doubt that he meant exactly what he said.

Bobby likes Tara....sorry a little juvenile I know, but still!

You certainly were right about your ability to write Myles! That was so perfect and so realistic! This story and case are going wonderfully! Can't wait for the next post

Tracy

Hope Bobby makes a move...I hate to see him lose Tara over some computer guy....


~laura michelle~

oh jacky, jacky, such an outburst will leave you wide open to teasing

bobby you had so better protect tara

cath

jack its no use acting like that you need
to tell sue why you acted that way but bobby you take care of tara
we know your made for each other more soon please Lin

Did Bobby just admit that he likes Tara?

Two wonderful posts to catch up on.

I love how Jack is so modest when it comes to someone, other that Sue, to compliment his looks. It's as if he only wants to hear them from her.

I like how Bobby is being protective of Tara. I sense something blooming there.

Thanks again for the comments!

------


"Ok, here we go," Tara announced sitting at her computer as Lucy and Sue hung over her shoulders. "I always hated filling these things out."

"Oh, you'll do just fine. Besides once you post your picture, no guy is going to need to actually read the profile," Lucy assured her.

Bobby slowly wandered around to the back of Tara's desk, coffee cup in hand.

"Screenname: Winnie," Bobby read as Tara looked up to him and smiled.

"Height. Do you think I will put guys off if I just call myself vertically challenged?" Tara laughed.

"Actually, this is an area where we might need to embellish just a bit. All of the victims were between 5'7" and 5'9" so let's stick to that range. It might be part of the killer's criteria," Jack added from where he was sitting at his desk. "You can always wear heels."

"Ok, appearance....." Tara bit down on her bottom lip, and quickly tried to hide her smile as she heard the word "Stunning" escape from under Bobby's breath.

"What was that Crash?" Jack couldn't help but take the opporunity to tease his friend.

"What?"

"I believe you said something, referring to Tara's appearance perhaps?" Jack openly smiled at him with a devilish grin.

Turning to Sue, Bobby looked to change the subject and get his revenge all in one blow. "Sue, did you know that Sparky here still has his childhood teddy bear hidden in his apartment. Mr. Huggles, I believe," he said watching Jack out of the corner of his eye.

The smile on Jack's face was quickly replaced by a look of embarassment and panic. "I, uh..."

He was saved, much to his relief when Sue cut in. "That's cute," she said with a shy smile.

Jack looked at his friend with a wide grin, leaving Bobby to throw his hands in the air in an "I give up" gesture. At least he had managed to change the subject, he thought shaking his head and returning to Tara's computer screen.

Within the half hour they had finished filling out a profile for Tara, covering hobbies, goals, and a number of other things, following the example of the victim's profiles where there were any similarities between them. All shared the hobbies of reading and working out and all had, in some way, mentioned wanting to visit Mexico as a future goal.

"Now for the picture. Guys I need help choosing," Tara announced.

"Yeah, Crash, why don't you help Tara make a choice there" Jack said leaning back in his chair, his hands folded behind his head. Bobby had carefully stayed quiet during the remainder of the time it took to finish the profile, only occasionally adding his agreement to what one of the girls said.

Tara caught him glaring at Jack. "Actually, Bobby, I could use a guy's opinion."

"Alright." Bobby leaned over Tara to look at the pictures she had saved on her computer.

He was so close Tara could feel his breath on her neck, sending tingles down her spine. The smell of his aftershave hung in the air between them. He still favored Tropical Delight and she had to admit, that she could not walk past the fruit section in the grocery store without her thoughts automatically turning to Bobby.

"What do you think?"

"Huh?" Tara was startled out of her daydream by Bobby's question.

"I said that the second one, with the black sweater, was my favorite, but they are all good. What do you think?"

"Um, yeah, the second one will be fine." Tara gave an embarrassed laugh, as she silently chided herself for letting her imagination get the better of her again. Bobby Manning was a fellow coworker and a friend, that was all.

Love the banter between the two men and the tension between B/T! That pair is almost as bad as J/S!

That had me laughing so hard! I love this story!

Ah, my poor 'laughing' muscles. They're going to be sore tonight... again.

bobby, you can tell a lot about a guy by the way he looks after his teddy...........

bobby is as smitten as jack

cath

cath! but the question is, are Bobby and Tara like Jack and Sue?

loved the banter between bobby and jack
its also nice jack kept his teddy,more soon please Lin