Xena had been seated at work for the past few hours. She had files spread out and her laptop open before her, but she wasn't doing anything besides staring blankly into the distance.

What else was there to do?

Whilst the other Agents were working hard, trying to put the last few missing pieces together to solve the case; Xena just sat there. She had solved the case already. She knew who the Assassin they were looking for was. All that was left was for her to go up to Agent Fox to tell him. That was all she had to do, Venus could be taken into police custody before the work was over for the workday was over.

Instead, Xena sat there, staring blankly ahead of her. Her laptop had since gone black from the inactivity.

"Agent Vale."

Xena didn't bother to look up as Agent Daniels flopped in the seat next to her. She didn't bother to look at him when he was now seated beside her. She remained with her vision fixed, staring up ahead.

"Well, you look busy." Agent Daniels said sarcastically.

Xena knew exactly what he meant by that. She hadn't even pretended to appear as if she was doing work. The files before her were all still shut. Her blank laptop screen didn't help things either. But Xena didn't care. Agent Daniels was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

"So that Jasmine girl, are you and her together?"

It took Xena a while to realize who Agent Daniels was talking about. When she did, her head turned around so fast that she almost got whiplash. She was looking directly at him, glaring at him more like. She took in his usual weird haircut and his tight-fitting grey suit as she swallowed uncomfortably. Xena was instantly hit with the memory of Agent Daniels seeing her and Venus together on their date over the weekend, just a few hours before everything went south.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Xena retorted. Her voice sounded strangled and far away.

Agent Daniels cocked his head to the side as he regarded her. "You don't look like you've been having much sleep."

She had not been having much sleep; she hadn't been having sleep at all. Instead, she spent her nights crying in agony, Xena swallowed once again and glared at Agent Daniels.

"Has Jasmine been keeping you up at night?"

Xena blinked at him for a few moments, shocked at how he knew. But then realization slipped in. He had been making a sexual innuendo. It took everything in Xena's might not to reach out and grab him by his tie. Instead, she clutched her hands into fists, keeping them in her lap.

"Woah, I hit a nerve." Agent Daniels said as he caught sight of Xena's hands balled into fists. "My bad, I'm sorry." But he didn't sound sorry, nor did he look it. In fact, Xena could see the spark in his eyes. He was pleased that he had gotten her riled up, that he had spiked a reaction out of her which only made Xena angrier.

She did not want to talk about Venus. Further still she did not want to talk about Venus with Agent Daniels. She hated the possessiveness that overcame her when Agent Daniels spoke about her. She hated the anger that was coursing through her. Here she was being overprotective of an Assassin, a highly dangerous Assassin at that. Xena loathed herself.

"So, where did you two meet?"

Any normal person would have gotten the hint and just left her alone. But that wasn't the case with Agent Daniels. More so, he kept on with the questions. He had seemingly taken an interest in Venus. Xena squeezed her already clenched fists even tighter, her nails digging into her palms.

Xena thought to punch him. She might have done so as well if Agent Fox had not shown up at that moment.

Both Xena and Agent Daniels looked up at Agent Fox. He looked between the both of them; the tension was clear in the air. The glare that Xena was giving Agent Daniels just a few moments ago also set the mood of the room for Agent Fox.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "The criminal sketch artist has made significant progress."

Xena immediately relaxed her hands that had been balled into fists. A new emotion had come over her.

"Agent Vale, come take a look." Agent Fox said, already heading out of the room. Then he paused. "Agent Daniels, you can come too."

Usually, Xena would have been gloating at the fact that Agent Daniels had been called as an afterthought and spent more time savoring the look of embarrassment on his face. But that wasn't the case. Her heart was beating rapidly as she followed behind Agent Fox. Her breathing came out with extreme difficulty.

"Here we are." Agent Fox announced as they entered back into his office. "I was sent a copy of it."

Xena looked at the sketch and let out a small sigh. The image was still barely recognizable. But not for long. It was only a matter of time before it was a full face. There was no doubt about it. That face would be Venus', Xena could already make out her soft features.

"We have some basic details about the suspect as well," Agent Fox began, "she's an African-American woman that appears to be in her early twenties."

Xena snuck a glance at Agent Daniels. He was studying the picture with a curious look on his face; he turned his head slightly at different angles as he continued to inspect the picture. At that moment he looked up, Xena bashfully looked away.

"The sketch artist is still trying to figure out her hairstyle."

"Her hairstyle?" Agent Daniels asked.

Xena glanced back down at the sketch. There was absolutely no hair drawn.

"Yes, the witness says it's an African-American hairstyle, but she doesn't know what it's called."

A small wave of relief crossed over Xena and she found herself being thankful that the witness was an out of tune white woman. This would buy some time.

A strange feeling crossed over Xena. She shouldn't be feeling relief for this. She was an FBI Agent, yet she was vouching for the opposite side. She took a deep breath as realization dawned on her. She needed to tell Agent Fox. She needed to let everything out. It was her duty as an Agent. She was obligated by law to do so.

"Any new discoveries Agent Vale?" Agent Fox now asked, he had put the uncompleted sketch away.

Agent Daniels had his eyes on her too, all of a sudden Xena felt a heat come over her. She grew tense but knew that this was it; she was to tell them everything she knew.

"Nothing." Xena replied instead.

Agent Fox nodded his head. "I for one hope that the witness is wrong, I hope that the suspect isn't really the Assassin we're looking for. To have killed so many people before the age of 25..." He trailed off then, and Xena tasted something bitter at the back of her throat. Agent Fox looked back up at Xena and Agent Daniels, as if just realizing they were still in the room. "That was all you can get back to work."

Agent Daniels nodded and left the room. He seemed deep in thought so didn't bother Xena, much to her relief.

Xena went back to her office and once again began staring into space. Here she was, protecting Venus, protecting an Assassin. It should have already been clear to Xena that Venus did not need protecting of any form.

Xena needed to tell Agent Fox what she knew, she had to put her personal feelings aside and tell him. This wasn't just about her, this was about the country as a whole.

Xena shook slightly as she bit down on her lip, swallowing hard. The room seemed to be spinning, and she clutched the desk in front of her, trying to steady herself.

She had to tell Agent Fox. There was no doubt about it.

Yet, no matter how many times Xena tried to get herself to do just that, she couldn't.