Chapter 1: The number

He had been following her for a few hours now and to him she seemed just like any ordinary young woman working as a secretary in a multimillion company. Still, in his line of work things rarely turned out to be exactly how they seemed to be. The machine had given them her number and it was never wrong.

He had bluejacked her phone - both personal and office phones - and she seemed very good at her job, fielding aggrieved customers and making sure her boss was appraised of everything. She seemed well-liked by her employer and coworkers and she kept in close contact with the few friends she seemed to have.

"I don't see a reason why the threat would be personal, maybe we should focus on the professional side. There's no telling what goes on in the management of such a company." He said outloud, knowing his employer, Mr Finch, was listening as always.

"I'm inclined to agree, Mr Reese. I'll see what I can dig up on Mr Henders." Finch answered on John's earpiece and he could hear the clacking of Finch's keyboard when the older man set to work.

"I think Ms Cross is about to head out to lunch. I'll follow her and see what I can find out." John ended the call and took one last look at their number through his binoculars. Just at the same moment she looked out her office window and it seemed like she was looking straight at him. She paused in the window for a moment, then shook her head, smiled and headed out the door.

John followed the woman to a nearby cafe and sat down a couple of tables away from her. From his vantage point he could see both the front and back exit of the place and her table. She ordered lunch and and started reading a newspaper. John assessed the other patrons in the cafe and something caught his eye. Two other men were sitting in the two other places in the cafe where you could see the entrances and the woman. He also noticed a man who passed the cafe window three times in only a few minutes.

"Finch, something's about to go down. There's a team of three guys following her."

"What do you suggest we do, Mr Reese?"

"I'll follow her out and make sure they don't trouble her." John kept a steady eye on the woman while she ate, oblivious of the four men keeping watch.

After finishing lunch, the woman gathered her things and made her way out of the cafe. The two men followed a few paces behind her and John in turn followed them. As they disappeared around the corner John could hear a muffled scream and he started to run.

The men had grabbed the woman and were putting her into a van. John hit the first guy in the back of the neck and was about to grab the other one when he heard a thud and felt something hit him in the chest. The force of the hit took him down and the men managed to get into the van and sped away.

"Mr Reese, are you all right? What happened?" Finch's voice floated through the pain in John's chest and he groaned getting on his hands and knees.

"It was a professional team, they had a sniper on a nearby roof. He shot me in the chest. Lucky I was wearing my vest today." John got up and investigated the damage done to his bulletproof vest. " I think I cracked a couple of ribs but they'll heal. Can you track the van using our numbers' cellphone Finch?"

"Already on it, Mr Reese. Should you seek medical attention before going after them?" Finch sounded worried, but that's how he always was when John got shot.

"It'll keep. Give me the location and let's get this over with before they hurt her." John was determined to get to her before anything worse happened.

She had been blindfolded in the back of the van and she had no idea where she was being taken. She felt herself starting to panic and tried to take deep breaths to keep herself more calm. The van was speeding forward and the men were silent apart from a few groans from the man who had been hit by the mysterious other man in a suit.

What the hell was happening? Who were these men and what on earth might they want from her? Suddenly the van stopped and she could hear the men getting out from the front. The side door opened and she was roughly yanked to her feet. The men took her inside some sort of building and sat her down on a chair. Then she was tied up and the blindfold was removed.

Four men were in the room. It appeared to be some kind of warehouse or storage facility. There were a lot of shelves full of boxes and only the one chair and a table. The man who Sonya assumed was the boss was sitting across from her on a crate.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, trying to sound more confident than she actually was. The men shared a look and one of them spoke. "We've been looking all over for you, Ms Sophia Deveraux. Our boss can't wait to meet you."

"My name is Sonya Cross, you have the wrong person. Please let me go." She feared the only way they were going to release her was by killing her. The men just laughed and continued to watch her in silence.

The men turned as one when they heard a loud car honk coming from behind them. The door of the building exploded inwards and a truck came hurtling through it. Sonya screamed and the men dove for cover and took out their guns. Dust was flowing everywhere but she could see a shape of a man in a suit getting out of the truck and starting to shoot at the men keeping her prisoner.

One of the kidnappers came to her in the confusion and cut her ties, grabbing her roughly and started dragging her towards the back of the room. She tried to struggle free but he was too strong. She could feel a gun aimed at her back. "Stop or I'll but a bullet in you." The man said and Sonya had no choice but to cease her efforts to get free.

Suddenly a shot rang out and the man behind her collapsed, screaming. She could see the suited man coming toward her through the debris and she was about to start running when she heard the man on the ground moving. She saw he was holding something small in his hand and getting ready to throw it at the man in the suit. She had taken only a few steps away from the man so instinctively she decided to put herself between whatever he was throwing and the man who appeared to be saving her.

She could hear running behind her when something hit her in the chest and bounced to the floor. There was a loud bang and an impossibly bright light and she felt herself falling backwards. The last sensation she had was of two strong hands catching her before she hit the floor.

Reese could see one of the men throwing a grenade and the woman stepping in front of its path. No! He thought as he ran forward, intending to push the woman out of the way. He was too late, the grenade exploded before he could get to her. Fortunately it was only a flash grenade. The woman was looking straight at it as it went off which made her pass out. He managed to grab her and prevent her from hitting the floor.

"Finch, she's down. I need to get her to a doctor!" He told his friend as he carried Sonya to the car and put her in the passenger seat. "Are you sure that's wise? How will you explain her injuries to the doctor?" Finch answered, trying as always to be the voice of reason. Reese took a deep breath, hating the fact that things were always so complicated.

"I'll take the risk. Could you see what you can find out about a person called Sophia Deveraux? The men seemed to think our number was her." He put the car in gear and headed for the nearest hospital.