Casey knocked on Clay's door an hour later.
He walked wearily up the hall to answer the door.
He looked through the peephole and saw Casey standing on the porch.
"Casey. Come in."
He said his eyes downcast and his voice low and tired.
"Agent Webb are you alright?" She asked.
"No AGENT MCDANIELS I'm not, my partner has been murdered."
Casey looked at Clay, he was fighting for control of his emotions, something that usually came so easily to him.
"Murdered?" she asked confused.
Webb picked up the video tape from the coffee table ,and shoved it into her hands.
"He strangled her, the son of a bitch knew she hadn't betrayed me. So he strangled her."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah I'm sure, he strangled her on tape for me to watch. He even told me that I never deserved her...and y' know what Case...he was right."
He ran his fingers absently through his hair and looked at her, she was wearing a trench-coat but underneath she wasn't wearing her usual business suit.
"Why are you here Casey?"
Casey looked at Clay, she hated to see him in pain and she knew that the way she had shut him out was causing him pain.
But for her own survival and his, she had to cut him out of her life.
"We found Traci, Agent Webb. Special Agent Palmer was holding her in an apartment complex south of DC. She was unconscious when the team arrived, but she's recovering in Bethesda now. She's asking for you."
Clay looked at Casey closely.
"She's alive?" The thought was overwhelming.
Casey nodded.
"And Palmer? Where is he?"
"Agent Palmer's location has yet to be ascertained." Casey said with cool efficiency.
Clay watched Casey, she was being so cold, so closed off and he wondered why.
He wondered what he had done to change her from friend to stranger so quickly.
But Traci, Traci was alive and asking for him.
Right now that was all that mattered.
With a nod, he grabbed his coat and together they walked to Casey's car.
The ride to Bethesda was made in silence.
Pulling into the parking lot Clay was out of the car before Casey had even had a chance to bring it to a full stop.
He ran most of the way up the hall to Traci's room.
Standing in the doorway he looked at her, propped up on pillows talking as best she could to 2 Agents from the Special Operations Group.
She saw him in the doorway and a beautific smile crossed her face.
"Clay!"
He crossed the room in seconds and put his arms around his partner pulling her in close to him.
"You're OK, you're really OK," he said mostly to himself.
"Yeah, Clay where's Casey?" Traci asked puzzled.
"Here I guess." he said noticing for the first time that she wasn't by his side. "How are you, he sent me a video..."
Traci touched his face, running her fingers along his stubble covered jaw-line.
"He tried to strangle me...but he couldn't. He said I reminded him too much of his wife."
Traci's voice was raspy from her throat being swollen.
Clay looked at her, she was a great friend, his partner and he had almost lost her.
"How did they find you?" he asked.
Traci looked at him incredulously.
"They didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"About the rescue! Clay, Casey was heading the team that found me."
Clay's jaw dropped, Casey hadn't said a word about it.
He thought back to when she had arrived at his place, he had noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual suit, but he realised now that he had failed to recognise the Special Operations Group field blacks.
"Casey found you?"
"She had the SOG team surrounding the area and then they burst in the fire escape door. I was still unconscious on the floor of the bedroom. The next thing I remember was Casey talking to me, telling me that I was gonna be OK that I was safe."
Traci smiled at Clay. "She didn't say anything did she?"
Clay shook his head.
"She said nothing, why wouldn't she tell me?"
"Did you give her a chance to?" Traci asked.
Clay shook his head Traci shook her head, she loved Clay but sometimes he could be so...dumb about things.
"Clay I think you and Casey need to have a long talk."