As usual, I don't own any of these characters!
Chapter 1 – Funnel
Finch limped through the door of his favorite diner and paused, scanning the room for his "family". He spotted them in the corner booth, away from the windows. He smiled a bit and moved towards them.
Detective Lionel Fusco, Detective Joss Carter, her son Taylor and,of course, John Reese, all looked up as he approached and slid into the booth next to Fusco. "Did you order yet?" He asked, noting that they all had coffee in front of them.
"Nope," John said. "We were waiting for you. We've only been here a few minutes anyway."
The waitress, who knew them well by now, brought Finch his tea almost before he was settled in his seat. They placed their orders and she left.
"Do we have a new number?" Reese asked, getting right down to business.
"Yes, a simple one ,it seems. A Mr Angelo Morton owes his bookie a lot of money, and the bookie is getting impatient. He sent a few threatening emails."
Reese smiled. "Sounds simple enough, I should have this wrapped up by lunch."
"Actually Mr Reese, I have a better suggestion. When was the last time you had a vacation?"
John looked startled. He honestly could not remember the last time he had a true vacation. Probably not since he'd joined the CIA. He arched an eyebrow at Finch, "Why?"
"This is a simple case, the weekend is coming up, and if I recall correctly, Josselyn has the weekend off?" He paused there and threw a look in Carter's direction.
She nodded. "You want me to take this one while John takes a break?"
"No, I want you to take a vacation with John while Lionel and I take care of it."
Fusco nodded, "I know bookies, this should be right up my alley. Piece of cake."
Joss sighed. "Harold, Lionel, that's really nice of you, but what will I do with Taylor? My mom is down south visiting relatives and it's too late to ask any of his friends to take him for the weekend."
"Don't worry about Taylor, Detective. He can stay with me," Finch said.
Joss looked doubtful, but then Taylor spoke up. "Mom, it will be fine. I have a Trig test on Tuesday, so I was going to have to spend some time with Finch reviewing the chapter this weekend anyway."
Joss glanced over at John, he gave her his usual smirk and shrugged, which Joss knew meant: 'I had nothing to do with this'.
For his part, John suspected that Taylor, Finch and Fusco had already discussed it amongst themselves and arranged the whole thing. He knew a funnel when he saw one, but it was a welcome one. The idea of getting away for a couple of days alone with Joss was very appealing.
"Wellllll", Joss said, "I guess that'll be OK." She looked sternly at Taylor. "Curfew will be strictly observed, and what Harold says goes with no argument from you, young man."
Taylor nodded, "Don't worry mom, I'll behave. Besides, I just got a new video game and Finch and I've been dying to play."
Finch nodded his agreement. "I find analyzing video game algorithms very relaxing."
"OK, I guess we can leave when I get off work tonight." Joss smiled. The idea of an uninterrupted weekend alone with John appealed to her every bit as much as it did to John.
"Oh, you have today off too, Detective." Harold was almost giggling. Fusco was smiling into his coffee, and Taylor was not even bothering to hide his grin.
Yep, John thought, We've been funneled.
Joss crossed her arms and glared at Finch, Fusco and Taylor. She had pretty much reached the same conclusion as John. "Funny, I don't recall taking today off," she said, in that perfectly neutral tone of voice that they all knew meant; they had better be careful what they said next.
"Must have slipped your mind, Detective. If you check your department's time card system you will see that you asked for, and were granted, today off last month."
"You hacked my TIMECARD?" Joss hissed. John choked on his coffee. Oh, Finch, he thought, even I can't save you now!
Finch was trying to look contrite, but his eyes were dancing. "I just wanted you and John to have as much time as possible."
Joss did a face palm. John hid his smile behind his hand.
"Harold, as well planned as this operation is, I'm guessing you already made reservations for us?" John asked, trying his best not to giggle and exasperate his lover even more than she already was.
Finch cheerfully pulled a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket and handed it over to Reese. "Pleasant Valley Inn, a charming little Bed and Breakfast, in a charming little town about three hours away. I've stayed there before myself and found it wonderfully relaxing. The town even has a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars; you have reservations there for 7 o'clock, so take nice clothes. That means a tie, Mr. Reese."
Reese raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the tip, Finch," he said, wryly.
Finch was quite delighted with how well this was going. When Finch had first approached Reese about working with the numbers, he had viewed Reese was a useful tool, and not much more. He had searched long and hard for a person with Reese's skills who still retained a touch of human empathy, and it turned out to be a long and difficult search, so he did appreciate Reese's uniqueness in that regard. But make no mistake, Reese had been chosen because he fit the mission, and for no other reason.
What Finch had not counted on was becoming friends with Reese, and coming to care about him as a person and not just as an employee. So a secondary mission sprang into existence, the mission to heal the damaged John Reese as much as he could be healed. The numbers were still of prime importance, that would never change, but Harold wanted John be whole and happy again. Harold had seen fleeting glimpses of the man John used to be before the CIA had gotten a hold of him, and Harold liked what he had seen. Reese had been a good man, and still was under the surface. Harold was determined to do what he could to bring that good man back into the light.
Detective Joss Carter and her son Taylor had become key pieces in his plan to repair John's soul. At first, Harold had been disturbed by John's obsession with Carter. John had followed her around like a big, protective dog , despite the fact that she had been determined to arrest him and to stop their vigilante activities. Carter was smart and tenacious, and Finch had been terrified that she would destroy their operation. She had come close several times, and she had nearly gotten John killed by unwittingly luring him into a CIA trap.
However, since the CIA's betrayal, Joss had done a 180 degree turn and become a trusted and valuable ally. She had saved John's life on more than one occasion, and she had become a dear friend.
The personal relationship between Joss and John eventually had bloomed into a full-fledged love affair. She challenged him at every turn, in a way that Finch never could, but she saw that same good man in John that Finch did, and trusted and loved him with all her heart. This turned out to be exactly what John needed, someone to love and be loved by, and the healing of John Reese's soul had accelerated. John had found his anchor again in Joss, and Finch was extremely grateful to her for everything she did for John. For his part, Finch did what he could to smooth the road of the relationship for them.
Trouble was, John and Joss could not have a normal relationship, John's past made that impossible for them. They barely acknowledged each other in public because they didn't ever know who might be watching. Finch looked across table at them, they were sitting next to each other, but there was a couple of inches of separation between them, there was no touching, no affectionate glances, nothing to indicate that only an hour ago they'd woken up together in Joss's bed. Anyone observing them who did not know them would never guess they loved each other deeply.
This motivated Finch to arrange the vacation for his friends; he wanted to give them some time to be normal. There would be no CIA or Elias or any other enemies in the small out-of-the-way town where they were going. They could relax and walk down the street holding hands. They could go out to dinner and snuggle in a back booth. John could kiss Joss on a street corner. They could do what they wanted, when they wanted and no one would bother them, for a couple of days at least.
Enlisting the aid of Taylor and Lionel, Harold had put his scheme into action. The numbers had been fairly quiet lately, and the bookie case looked simple, so now was a perfect time to send them out of town on a relaxing weekend getaway. Once Lionel and Taylor signed onto the plan, all it took was a quick phone call to the B&B where he had many happy memories, and a ten minute hack to the NYPD timecard system and they were all set.
Their food arrived and they ate in mostly silence. Taylor inhaled his food as usual, and gave his mom a quick hug, telling her to have a good time, before he left for school. Joss watched him wistfully.
"You've done a good job with him, Joss," Fusco assured her.
Joss sighed. "They just grow up so fast. Used to be if I was going away for a couple of days, you would have to peel him off me, now it's just like any other day."
"Isn't independence the goal of every good parent?" Finch asked but didn't give her a chance to respond before continuing. "I'll take good care of him for you Detective. Now you two had better get going." Finch handed Reese a set of keys. "I thought you would like to take the Cayenne. I'll get a ride back to the Library with Lionel."