Disclaimer: none of the original characters from POI is owned by me. The other made up ones are just made up.

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CHAPTER 1

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"Finch I think the machine may have been wrong about this one.

"Mr. Reese, as you know full well the machine is never wrong, I assure you that Detective Carter's number is correct, we just don't know when anything will happen, it's why we wait patiently."

"So while we are waiting, why doesn't the machine give us another number?"

"Because we have to solve this one first,"

"Well how about I put Fusco on the case while I focus on other things that way we can solve it a lot quicker?"

"No, you'll just have to learn to sit still; did you do what you were supposed to?"

"We got her phone cloned, as well as we have tapped her home phone, not to mention we have camera's on her except for her bedroom and bathroom something about their privacy you said."

"Mr. Reese why don't you go shoot- hoops or clean your toys,"

"Very good idea Finch," he said walking away.

~1:50am~

The telephone rang stridently in the calm night silence of Carter's small flat. She stirred restlessly in her sleep and then with a sudden rush of flash panic, sat up in bed, groping for the receiver in the darkness.

"Hel...lo." she said in a croaking voice.

There was a brief pause as she waited for the caller to speak. The luminous numbers on her digital clock glowed at ten to, two. Who could be ringing her at this hour? It was probably a wrong number and she should have let the answering machine get it, but against her better judgment and more out of habit being a cop she'd picked up on the fourth ring...it was probably work trying to reach her after she switched of her cell hoping to have a work free weekend to herself,

"Hello! Is that you Joss…?" came the sound of her sister's voice which startled her into immediate wakefulness even more. Mercedez Smyth would not be phoning at such an unearthly hour unless there was something wrong.

"Yes! What's the matter Dez…? Are you alright…?" she asked as she felt her fingers tighten on the receiver waiting for Mercedez to speak.

The brief seconds seem to lengthen into an eternity as a host of questions flooded into Carter's mind, past experience had thought her that Dez was sadly lacking in discernment and occasionally even common-sense even now and Dez was thirty-six and her senior by four years, Jocelyn had sometimes wished her mother had been wrong and they both wouldn't have accepted that she Jocelyn was the practical one, since she is the one who manages to extricate Dez from the many scrapes in which Dez's impulsive, headstrong behaviour had sometimes led her.

Knowing this Carter asked herself, what could Dez have gotten into now? The silence weighed heavily and Joss felt the cold fingers of premonition lightly touch the nape of her neck. Finally she reached out with her free hand and clear mind to switch on the bedside lamp. A pool of light surrounded the bed reflecting on her tousled black mane. Her now wide brown eyes contained a puzzled expression, she acknowledged as she looked at her reflection in the mirror opposite her bed. She bit her lower lip with even white teeth as impatience mounted within her.

"Nez you still there…?" She asked again, no longer willing to bear the apprehensive quiet of the telephone and her patience running thin like a race horse.

"Yes…yes, of course I'm alright….." Dez replied Jocelyn immediately picking up on the tremulous uncertainty which did little to reassure her Joss or to quell the rising tide of mingled curiosity and anxiety which gripped her.

"You don't sound alright…and- and why are you ringing me at this hour, if everything isn't alright?"

"Joss… Jo I need your help, I…oh, please don't be cross with me. I thought who else I could turn to but you were the only person I could think of who would care about me….who I could turn to for help."

The mute appeal in Dez's words met a responding chord within Jocelyn. The two girls had always been bound close by their striking similarity in their looks even though their characters bore no resemblance. Their mother had been one of a twin sister and the two girls had each inherited the fairness of the maternal side of their family even though they had different fathers; the likeness between the two of them was remarkable. Both orphaned to their mother by faith choices, their shared loss had helped to bind them in a strong sisterly link. For longer than she could remember, Jocelyn despite being the youngest had felt herself responsible for her older half sister.

"Why do you need my help? What's the matter?"

"Jo I can't tell you over the phone."

Jocelyn sighed, although by now she was accustomed to Dez's illogical approach to problems it was not easy to be patient when she had been so harshly dragged from a blissful state of well earned sleep. A mutinous expression lit for a moment on her mouth above the faintly obstinate chin but she made a deliberate attempt to quell the irritation which was the effect her sister so frequently aroused in her…

"If you can't tell me over the telephone Dez, I am wondering why you called me in the dead of the morning." She said remembering to control her voice carefully to not sound like she was fed up with her, silently deciding she would have to get a drink of sherry or something a little stronger to put her back to sleep after this weird conversation.

"You're cross with me…. I can tell…."

There sounded a small cry which could have been a sob Jocelyn tensed wide awake now all her attention was given to her sister…

"I'm not cross Dez, (yes she was irritated not really cross) but how can I help you if you won't tell me what's wrong?' Jocelyn demanded her cop tone sneaking in slowly as her impatience grew… she hated suspense and her sister was good at letting things reach that height.

"Listen I want you to catch the first flight and meet me out here Jo. Will you do that for me?"

There was an edge of desperation in her voice. The words sent wave after wave of shock flowing through Jocelyn...

"But where are you? You haven't even told me that…!" she could kick herself for allowing her resistance to become so weak in so few words.

"Switzerland…!"

"Switzerland…?" Jocelyn repeated amazement in her voice.

"Yes Switzerland, more like along the Swiss Italian border to a little village."

"Oh much clearer, Dez. What I am not clear about is what you're doing there? Last we talked you told me you were taking a few days holiday in Portugal with Nigel I think."

"Jo… Nigel and I broke up months now… and I know it's a long story I will tell you all about it once you get here…. Oh…! Do please come soon Jo-Jo. I need you." Dez pleaded… begged.

Jocelyn swallowed hard trying to marshal her emotions into a semblance of order. She did have vacation time and she didn't want to spend it bailing out Dez or even more importantly the wisdom of allowing Dez to believe she would drop everything after one phone call to chase about the globe on her Dez's merest whim was another matter altogether, and then there was Dez's tone, a note which Jocelyn could not put her finger on, it was the type of tone which could alert anyone's deeper instincts to help.

It was the type that exactly alerted her cop instincts to help, the type that exactly alerted her to go to Dez, despite all the shit she'd put them through, put her joss personally through even now.

"Jo-Jo…please will you come? Say you will?" the simple question dropped into silence between them, scattering Jocelyn's hurried attempts to decide what she should do.

"I suppose I could join you for a few days…" Jocelyn went on warningly,

"…But I'll have to ask Mom if she can look after Taylor, and you know mom, she is going to need details and I am going to have to tell her."

"Thank heavens- its fine tell her what you want, I know she really doesn't have much faith in me, I know I can't live up to her standards like you, buts its fine all I need is you Jo-Jo." The relief in Mercedez voice was unmistakable

"Dez, you know you mom wasn't the one that made you turn out the way you are, you made those choices on your own like I did mine and if she agrees it must only be for a few days I have a lot of work and a teenager to care for so I cannot be away for to long…. I promised my kid to take him on a vacation when I apply for vacation."

"Yes, ok just a few days Jo, that's all it will take, I swear."

"All what will take?" Jocelyn asked suspiciously.

"I've told you I'll explain when you arrive. How soon will you be able to leave New York?" Dez hurried on.

"As soon as I can get a flight Dez and where are you staying?"

"At the… 'Samos, in Kefalonia…. It's a hotel but looks like a village situated at a narrow crescent of sand at the foot of a lush rolling wooded hills."

"Okay I will call…."

"No! No! Don't I'm out a lot you won't get me, just come; don't leave any messages, just come to me Jo please… as soon as you can please. When you get here I will call for you,"

Even as Jocelyn opened her mouth to speak a bewildered frown drawing her browns together she heard the gentle click of the receiver being replaced, dial tone was all she heard next. She could not understand Mercedez secrecy or the unfamiliar note which sounded in her voice. A frightened note, Jocelyn felt a shiver of echoing fear stir within her, the same kind she'd experienced every time Dez called when she was in trouble. There had been a deliberate evasion on Dez's part when she had mentioned she would call her, but why? The question beat insistently at Carter. Dawn would soon streaked the sky with pearly light before Jocelyn fell into yet another one of those restless daze.

Her dreams were all about Dez, they were all very troubling. Jocelyn dragged herself from the troubled sleep, feeling totally not refreshed by it after her long day yesterday. Her eyes felt hot and they were stinging and she was already aware of the threatening headache looming around. For a few seconds she sought to pull herself together. She then wondered if she had dreamed about Dez's call with her desperate cry for help. As full consciousness returned, she already knew it did take place it wasn't a dream. She also knew she had to make arrangements for her impending trip to the Swiss borderline as soon as possible and for her son to stay with her mother for the duration of her absence.

All her instincts told her that Inez would not have phoned her in at that ungodly hour unless each minute counted. There was a lot to be done and not wasting any more time Jocelyn got up and shuffled to the shower. She took a cold bath despite wanting it to be hot she needed to wake up fully she had a lot of work to do today a couple case files to handle and she had to be at her best, a cup of coffee would not wake her fully, maybe after her fourth coffee she would wake but the cold shower had definitely halfway done the job.

Sometimes it felt like she was working two jobs one as a detective and the other as hired help, in the role of a mother, her sister's keeper, Taylor's maid, no matter how many times she told that boy to clean up after himself, he was 16 for crying out loud, he needed to take some initiative when it came to the household chores his chores and yet she couldn't punish him when he didn't give a damn.

She dressed in a navy blue pants suit this would carry her through the next couple hours, of typing reports and following up on witness interviews and then she'd make a visit to a travel agency on her lunch break to book an immediate flight, after which she would have to return to work, talk to her commander, giving him the shortest of notice, Lionel was sure to blow a fuse, then again he was too damn lazy anyways, so it would be good to let his lazy ass do some damn work for a change. All in all she was due her vacation… thirteen months of vacation to be exact because she hadn't taken any in the last couple years.

Mentally she ran through the list of arrangements though she could still feel the vague sense of apprehension gripping her. Her plans throughout the day went smoothly and she took this as a sign that she was meant to help Dez as she asked. In the twelve years she has been an officer she had only taken a couple days off from work and it wasn't even for herself, it had been to help her mother, help her son and even Dez, so she shouldn't feel guilty about applying for some of that time owed to her.

Once she had returned she sat in the commander's office and explained her situation and she was immediately given leave with a huge sigh of relief from her boss. She felt disappointed that her boss was happy to see her take time off she shouldn't feel so but…her son and her work was her life thus far that nothing else mattered. Notice she didn't even mention her own personal life.

Oh well her flight was due for the day after so maybe or anything could happen.

Within a few hours she would be on her way to join Dez and in spite of her previous doubts, Jocelyn felt the more pleasurable tremors of anticipation now beginning to replace the earlier sense of uncertainty. It would be nice to have a few days in the Swiss. There was probably no place in the whole world which would seem such a far remover from the material problems of day to day living… and the more Jocelyn reflected on that surprise call from Dez this morning the more she was inclined to consider it in the light of a prank…. A ploy to lure her… Jocelyn Carter… out to meet her sister for a few days of relaxation.

She smiled to herself ruefully. She had clearly let herself be used as a pawn by Dez and not for the first time! Meanwhile she must concentrate on packing a few garments and closing up her flat while she took a well earned break in the end, she thought. There was little time for rumination. There would be much to occupy her attention and after the near sleepless early morning she had endured, she was eager to get an early night so that she might be refreshed for her trip to her mother and her soon to be exciting journey for one never know when they could meet … with some fun.

As soon as she reached home Carter spread the Thai on the table and called Taylor to dinner, where she explained her sudden trip out of town, he also like her boss was glad to see her leave and this also made her feel like she had been stifling them with her presence, after dinner she showered and pulled on her negligee set her alarm and fell onto her pillows instantly rushed into a deep slumber. Untroubled by any more dreams.

So untroubled was her slumber that she had no idea how long the phone had been ringing when it finally disturbed her. Bemused with sleep she reached out a hand and took the receiver, she would finally give Dez a piece of her mind for this inconsideration, of continuing to disrupt her sleep, she silently resolved, still struggling to gather her senses together.

~~1:45am~~

"Hell…oo…" she said voice scratchy, and bleary with sleep. "…What do you want Dez? Why can't you ring at a more conventional hour?" she said pulling the phone under the sheet with her.

But the male voice that travelled through the wire to her ear didn't belong to Mercedez. The shock at this awoke her of all sleep that still lingered. She was in full consciences, each nerve in her body alert to this unknown caller and the reason for the call.

"Miss Carter…? Is this Jocelyn Carter…?"

The pleasant, courteous but accented voice asked

"Who wants to know?"

"A friend of Mercedez…."

"What do you want, why are you calling me? Is something wrong with Dez…?" her cop instinct on full alert prodded her to ask.

"No…! Miss Carter I am just a friend of Dez, I believe she has phoned you?"

"Yes but why is it any of your business?" Jocelyn asked the hairs on the back of her nape move slightly, there was a sense of warning which she could not explain and her instinct was rarely ever wrong.

"She asked you to come here to Swiss Italy, is that correct…?"

"Yes, but that's so I …." In voluntarily Jocelyn clamped her lips on the words she would have spoken. She would not make the mistake of telling this unknown caller that within a couple hours she would be on her way there.

"Miss Carter, Dez wanted me to call you and tell you there is no need to come out now. She's accepted an invitation to join some friends for a while at one of the villas.'

"I see ….but…" Carter hesitated. "Why haven't she called me herself? Before you answer that what is your name?"

"Miss Carter, you do not know me Dez will not have ever mentioned me so my name won't and doesn't really matter." He said sounding bored and weary. It was as if her questions were too trivial, to bother with an answer.

"And you expect me to believe you are a friend of Dez?"

"Just don't come out here Miss Carter… You will be wasting your time.

"But I can go and stay somewhere near Dez, if you would give me the name and address of the villa, Mr. whoever you are. I cannot believe anything you say when only last night she was anxious for me to come out talking about how wonderful it would be to see me again. I can't understand why she would have changed her mind so quickly and ask a complete stranger to call me."

"Never mind where she has gone, just don't come out here looking for her." The man's voice had hardened and his accent wasn't so heavy anymore. His voice was definitely less friendly now.

"Look fool, don't be threatening me…."

"I am warning you, you stupid gurl, don't come out here it could be worse for you."

"GURRRLLL… look Mr. Asssshole," she hissed aloud before toning it down…

"I am no gurl, I'm a grown woman and don't ever call me stupid, and the only person its gonna be worse for is you if I ever find out who the fuck you are, calling me at 2 in the mother fucking morning, disturbing my fucking peace, I promise you I will find out who you are, you…" Before Carter could respond the click of the line sounded in her ear she felt both bewildered and she faced it squarely… frightened.

There was however an element she did not understand in this mysterious call threat, warning whatever from a total stranger and the most puzzling feature about this whole affair she could have sworn she heard a woman's soft voice and the sound of laughter in the background just before Mr. Mysterio hanged up on her. Why did Carter believe that the woman was Dez? Why would she play such a childish trick? Jocelyn was certain of only one thing she was more determined than ever to travel to Swiss Italy in a day and some hours to come.

~~ 2:00am~~

"So…?" the other gentleman drawled with a knowing smirk.

"Wipe that stupid smirk of your face, because things are about to get out of hand, I tried warning Miss Carter, but then she started screeching in my ears and thankfully it was over the phone and not in person, or she might have very well ripped me a new one."

"Are you admitting that a woman got you a little nervous Finch?"

"Not at all, but it just begs the question?"

"What question?"

"Nothing important that concerns you."

"So what now Harold…?"

"Well I can cancel her ticket, drop a new case in her lap, threaten her mother and son, but I don't think it will stop her from going to the Swiss,"

"Then don't stop her,"

"I certainly should let her, but then an innocent and honourable police officer will have been killed and no one will care."

"Do you care Finch?"

"It doesn't matter how I feel, I can't let my personal feelings get in the way, despite it all Miss Carter, fleeting sense of loyalty to her sister is about to get her in trouble, trouble she won't see coming, trouble I can't see in this haystack,"

"Well then I guess you're going to have to make new friends there fast if you want to save her, because I really don't have the time to babysit stubborn women who can't take a hint."

"Unfortunately it would be best I do for Miss Carter's, stubborn own good and detective Fusco's benefit as well."

"Now don't say it like that Finch, admit it, you like her a little bit, she's almost a female version of myself."

"I'll admit no such thing, further more I hope I can get someone at short notice to only shadow her from afar, because if she catches him I don't know what she'll do but I can safely assume it won't be pretty."

"And I'll need to wire the funds to an account and also have all the necessary papers ready for the cover."

"I'll call Fusco… and-finch make sure that you have a few of your people around to assist your friend whoever he is."

"Already on it-" He said grumbling further.

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