Brian turned around and found himself staring into four pairs of disbelieving eyes. He felt decidedly uncomfortable. He walked back into the room. "What?" he said to the group. "Is that important? I assume she would have told you, since you seemed to be pretty friendly with her."

It only took Frank a few moments to snap out of his shock. He was the first one to speak. "Brian," he began in a steady voice. "I had no idea you went out with Jenna! Yes, it is important, and I do care about it."

Callie tried to ignore Frank’s comment and cleared her throat quietly. Frank did hear it, though, and realized what he’d said. He went over, sat next to Callie, and put an arm around her before he continued talking. "Brian, look. The only reason I care is that we just found out that Jenna tried to … well, break up Callie and me by setting us up. It wasn’t a standard set-up, either. She paid a random stranger 5,000 dollars to do it! She not only did that, but she never even indicated to me that she knew you, and she told us a lot of confidential information in the beginning. A lot of things are not adding up here!"

Brian raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Get out of here," he said to them.

"It’s true," Joe interjected. "What do you know about this girl? She seems to be around a lot when things are … well, getting heated. I mean, why would she do it? Do you have any idea? She’s only our age!"

Brian sat down. Slowly, he spoke, still looking shocked. "Joe, I… she is? Jenna’s not THAT young- she’s twenty- three, out of college, and working in the Museum to pursue her interest in history. That’s just a summer job, though! She was a finance major and supposedly has some job lined up for the fall. She just said it was important for her to be here during the summer."

"How long did you go out with her?" Vanessa asked, curious.

"Geez- not long at all!" Brian admitted. "Maybe two months or so. Between my job and its crazy hours, and her job and outside interests, we knew it wasn’t serious. She was just- you know- really pretty and a lot of fun, cool to hang out with."

"We know," Callie said quietly, hating to even be talking about Jenna.

Frank gave her a gentle squeeze. "Brian," he queried, "Is Jenna rich? Why would she pull the things she did?"

With a sigh, Brian responded, "Frank, I have no idea. I know very little about her family- I don’t even know where she lives, if you can believe that! She’d either come over to my place or we’d meet up somewhere. I didn’t push the issue because clearly I knew it wasn’t going anywhere. I only know two things." He paused.

"What are they?" Joe asked.

"That first, I shouldn’t have said anything to her about the status of the investigation. I could get in a lot of trouble for that."

"And two?" Vanessa asked.

Brian looked around, embarrassed. "That whatever that girl wants, she has a tendency to get. Even when I was dating her, she had tons of guys after her. She once told me that she went for the more challenging type, though- those who didn’t want to be with her, or were with others. I thought that was – weird! Maybe that’s why. Maybe she wanted Frank to herself and tried to get him."

Frank shook his head, trying to ignore the rising color in his cheeks and he held close to Callie. What an idiot, he thought to himself. Callie’s been here the whole time, trusting me- and I DID betray her, if only in thoughts. He felt terrible, hoping that Callie could eventually forgive him- really and truly- for his mistake.

"Well, maybe we ought to check more into her background," Frank said at last.

He heard Callie sigh, and turned to her. "What’s the matter, Cal?" he asked her.

Callie stood up and walked to the window, quietly. She turned around after a minute and addressed everyone in the room. "Look, guys, if you want to check into Jenna’s past, go ahead. I’m mildly curious myself." She looked Frank in the eyes. "Mildly," she stressed. "Anyway, I think you’re all losing sight of the fact that we have a very strong investigation going about embezzled money and finances. I just don’t think that now is the time to get distracted. I’ll be quiet now," she concluded.

"You don’t have to be quiet," Joe answered her with a kind smile. "Actually, you make a good point. I still think we have research to do. Let’s put Jenna on the backburner for now."

Callie glanced at him, and gave him a grateful smile.

They decided to split up for the evening, with Frank and Callie doing more research on the case and trying to find out more information about the Capitol. Joe and Vanessa would look into the defendants, themselves, and see if they could get any new leads. Brian bid them all a good night, and promised to call them if he thought of any new information that might help in their case.

The next morning, Frank and Callie sat together at an outside picnic area on the Mall, after having taken a quick tour of the Capitol building with other tourists to the area. Callie laid down in the grass and looked at the blue sky above her, with the hint of white clouds wafting in the distance. It was really a perfect day so far; not yet hot enough to be disturbing, and serene and pretty. Frank sat next to her, and Callie shifted over, resting her head on his lap as she looked up at him, watching him smile at her. She felt herself smile back.

"Okay, babes," she said to him after a moment. "Do you have any new ideas? Because honestly, I’m at a little bit of a loss."

Frank brushed a stray strand of hair back from her face, and sighed. "Well, I think a lot of what we’re going to have to do depends on what Joe and Vanessa find out about the initial trial." He gave her a wry grin. "IF they get any work done."

"They’d better!" Callie quipped, absently looking at a blade of grass she had picked up. "That’s important. Maybe we should have taken that angle and let them wander out here for a while."

"Sometimes I think they have the right idea, though, Cal," he said softly to her, and leaned down to her, covering her lips with his own in a lingering kiss. For a few glorious minutes, everything was as it had been- before this case, Jenna, Dave, or anything else.

Finally, Callie pulled away, and sat up next to him, trying to catch her breath. She wrapped her arms around him and cuddled close, and Frank did the same.

Frank closed his eyes for a minute, just enjoying the moment and the simple pleasure of holding the girl he loved close. He leaned down and gave her another kiss, and then a gentle squeeze. "I love you, Cal," he said softly to her.

"You should- I’m a catch!" she teased him, and leaned her head against his shoulder. She felt him tense a little bit, and then smiled up at him. "I love you, too. We’ll… work this out, one way or another."

"What does that mean?" Frank asked her, concerned.

"It means that no one can control the future- all we have is right here and now, in the moment, so let’s enjoy it," she responded, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Frank hesitated, afraid of bringing anything up. Still, he had to try. "Callie?" he asked her.

"MMM?" she murmured.

"I…I know we didn’t talk about this or anything, but, you know, college is coming pretty soon and… well, I’m going to make this work with you. I’m not a fool. I mean…I hope that’s what you want, too." As soon as he finished speaking, Frank realized how incredibly nervous he was to hear her response. The thought of losing her was getting more real, and he really couldn’t take it. He had meant what he told Joe- he WOULD marry her one day- he knew it. Of course, that’s if she’ll take me, he added to himself, anxiously.

Callie looked up at him, unprepared to have this conversation. She wanted so badly to hear those words, but she knew, deep down, that the only way to tell if Frank meant them was to give it time. She had to know he loved her and wanted to be with her because his heart told him to, and not because he was feeling guilty about Jenna, or the swarms of other girls whom she knew he'd meet at college, or because he was afraid to be without her because she was, and always had been, such a steady companion to him. She had one more discussion to have with him about this, but she was holding that for later. Right now, she only knew she deeply loved him, and sometimes, the only way to see if that love was reciprocated was to set it free.

"We can talk about this later, okay?" she asked him.

Frank felt his heart beat faster. "Is it because… you don’t trust me anymore? I… I’m so sorry, Callie. I…"

Callie covered his lips with her finger. "Shhh," she coaxed him. "Baby, I do trust you. And I do love you. And that’s exactly the reason I can’t answer your question."

"I don’t understand," he said softly, leaning back.

"You will… one day," she said, and gave him a quick, soft kiss.

"What are you- going to flip a coin or something?" he asked her, trying to mask his hurt and fear with a joke.

Callie sat up straight. "What did you say?" she asked him.

"I asked if you were going to flip a coin. I was teasing," he said. "I guess it wasn’t funny."

"Frank!" she said, grabbing is arm. "Duh! That’s what we’ve been missing!"

"What is?" he asked, wrapped up in her excitement.

"The Capitol building! It’s another clue! If we’re dealing with CAPITAL, maybe it’s not just paperwork from stocks and bonds. Maybe we’re talking about embezzlement or interfering again- right from the Mints! Physical money- like coins…."

Frank was excited. "Yeah!" he agreed, catching on. "Just like last time! No one would think that ex-cons would repeat their crimes! And coins are valuable in and of themselves based on what they’re made of- bullion- or because they’re extremely rare!" He gave her an impulsive hug. "I think you’re onto something!"

Callie smiled, happy. "Well, where are the Mints?! That’s be a good place to start," she said, enthusiastically.

Frank bit his lip. "What did they say on the tour again? I know there’s four. Philadelphia is one, obviously. I think there’s one in Denver."

Callie continued where Frank left off. "I think the other two were in San Francisco, if I remember correctly, and West Point."

"Okay!" Frank nodded, and gave Callie a high five. "You good, baby!" he teased her, putting on a fake Caribbean accent.

Callie rolled her eyes, but laughed anyway. "Okay," she continued, "If Joe and Van can find out information about who these four men are, then we’ll have a lead, and we can see if we’re right! "So Defendants Will Prevail." I still wonder how that fits into it," she added.

"So Defendants Will Prevail," Frank repeated, trying to concentrate. "I don’t know. Come on. Let’s go back to the hotel. We’ll see if we can figure it out."

Callie agreed, and strolled back with Frank, arms around each other’s waists, both of them taking their time, lost in thought.

Frank felt instinctively that they were onto something. He knew, though, that instinct would only get them laughed at yet again by the Chief. As usual, they need proof- or at least more than reasonable doubt. He kept repeating the catch phrase as they walked. There had been so many leads, so many clues, so many complicated trails to even get them to this point. Okay. So Defendants Will Prevail. Defendants. Trial. Mints. Coins. Cities. Four.

It hit him. "Callie!" he cried, stopping abruptly. "I’ve got it!"

She looked up at him, startled. "Okay," she answered back.

Frank released his hold on her and walked in front of her. "We ARE right! The next targets have got to be the Mints- well, one of them at least."

"Why?" Callie asked him.

"Because, Cal, think about the slogan- ‘so defendants will prevail.’ Each letter starts with the name of a Mint! San Francisco, Denver, West Point, and Philadelphia!"

"That’s awesome!" Callie said back, impressed. "We should go tell this to Joe and Van- right away. Maybe we can figure out what’s going to be hit first!"

"I know, baby," Frank said to her, excited. "But maybe we can make a quick stop first, if it’s okay with you."

Callie shrugged. "Okay, but where?! I mean, this is kind of important."

Frank finally stopped moving, and turned to her. "It certainly is," he said, more quietly. "and I can’t wait to run it by Van and Joe. BUT… I have some personal business to take care of first."

Callie raised an eyebrow, and Frank gently touched her cheek. "We spoke to Dave," he said softly to her, " and even though he’s not related to the case, it made me feel better… after everything. Now- well, I want to talk to Jenna and find out WHY. No, it’s got nothing to do with this case, but you know what?" He met her eyes. "YOU’RE more important to me than any case will ever be, no matter what. And I just FEEL like showing Jenna that she can’t come close to you- ever again."

Callie smiled and looked up at him. "Frank, that’s sort of vindictive, don’t you think?" she asked, amused.

"You don’t want me to tell her off?!" Frank asked, surprised.

Callie laughed, and leaned her head against his chest for a minute before pulling back. "Actually, I sort of like this side to you," she replied with a soft smile. "Do you want me to go back to hook up with Joe and Vanessa? I trust you." She looked away for a second, and then continued. "Frank, you don’t need to prove anything to me. Let it go. There will always be other people," she finished, softly.

Frank hugged her, incredulous that after everything, she still trusted him alone with Jenna. "Nope!" he said to her with a smile. "I want you there. And I do need to prove something- to myself. I’m sorry," he said, sincerely.

"I know."

They looked at each other for a long moment in contented silence.

Finally, Callie snapped out of the spell. "Frank, we just discovered that a U.S. Mint will be stolen from, or that embezzlement has been going on. We need to get that info out! So," she went on, "if we need to make a little stop, let’s be quick about it, okay?" She winked at him, and turned away.

"You’re something else, Cal," he said to her as they made their way to the train.

"Don’t you forget it," she teased, and they headed out to meet Jenna Barkalow before telling Joe and Van of their findings, unaware of the real trip upon which they were about to embark.

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