SPOILERS! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FINALE OF SEASON FOUR CALLED 'SLOW BURN' OR THIS WILL RUIN IT FOR YOU!
"You have to let me go in!" Jules shouted. "Serge! I can do this!"
"You know I can't let you do that Jules," he said. "You are going to wait in the truck. Understood?"
"But-"
"Julianna Callaghan! Truck. Now."
Frustrated and angry, Jules went to the truck. She took a seat and stared at the screen, hoping to see something, anything. She stared at the screen for what seemed like an hour, barely blinking. In actuality, it had been only ten minutes but she was already fed up. She stood up angrily, taking off the headset.
"Jules!"
She turned abruptly at the sound of a voice coming from her headset.
She grabbed it and thrust it onto her head, speaking back in a shaky voice that could only be deduced as fear, "Boss? What is it?"
"Bad news..."
3 Hours Earlier
The building was old and worn down. It had signs all over saying 'DANGER' and 'KEEP OUT' but the inside was lavishly decorated. The inside had everything they could ever need. And nobody knew about it but them.
"You know the plan then?" the man asked his partner.
The man was older, bald and wearing normal clothes. His partner, however, was much younger and was wearing a military uniform.
"All systems go sir," he nodded. "In, grab, out."
"I knew I could trust you," the older man smiled. He patted the younger boy on the back and walked out of the room, leaving the military man behind him.
"TEAM ONE, HOT CALL! I repeat, hot call," Winnie shouted from her desk.
The phone had just wrung, a person on the other end saying something about a group of men, all carrying guns, marching down the street.
She shouted out directions and the team was off. Greg Parker and Ed Lane took the first car leaving the second car for Spike and Raf and the third for Sam and Jules.
"What's up?" Spike asked into the headset as they drove through the streets. It was rush hour but they had the sirens.
"Gunned men walking around downtown," Greg said. "Witnesses say they seem to be waiting for something."
"What are we supposed to do then?" Sam asked. "Other than the guns, they've not done anything wrong yet."
"We figure out what they are waiting for," Ed said. "And we stop it."
"It could be nothing," Jules said. "Or we could be walking into a trap."
There was silence after that. Nobody said anything. It could be assumed that they were all just thinking about what Jules had said.
In one car, the two occupants had taken out their headsets, muting themselves from the others.
"A trap," Sam repeated. "Do you think?"
"Can't rule anything out," she said. "You know that."
"Stay safe, huh?" Sam asked as he turned the corner onto the crowded street that the 911 had come from.
"Always am," she smiled. "You too?"
"Count on that," he nodded.
They parked their car and got out, meeting up with Greg, Ed, Spike and Raf. They gathered at the corner, discussing the plans.
"Jules, Sam, talk to witnesses and find our informant," Greg instructed. "Spike, find security cameras. Get us some eyes. Raf, Ed, with me. We gotta find these guys."
The teams split up into their groups and headed off in different directions.
"You go that way," Jules pointed to the right. "And I'll talk to them over here?"
Sam nodded and headed East while Jules went West.
They spoke to informants and witnesses, gathering information for a quarter of an hour before they got the message from Ed.
"Boss is talking to them but they're unresponsive," he said. "Not saying much. Spike, you've got eyes. See if you can find names or something to help us identify them. Sam and Jules, meet us by the bookstore."
"Got it," Jules nodded, pressing her hand to the ear bud. "On our way."
She looked to the right to try and find Sam. Not seeing him, she walked in the direction she had sent him, looking around. But there was no sign of him. She quickened her pace, stopping to ask a few people if they had seen him.
"Ed? Serge? We may have a problem," she said shakily. "Sam's gone."
"What do you mean 'gone' Jules?" Greg asked through the headsets. "Wasn't he with you?"
"He was," Jules said. "He was but we split up to talk to people, to cover more ground. And then you called us over and I went looking for him but he's gone. And he's not responding when I call him."
"Jules," Greg said, looking at Ed. "Get over here now. We'll get him back."
She nodded even though nobody could see her, "Got it. Coming now Boss."
"This is Sergeant Parker again," Greg bellowed again into his blow horn. "Would you please talk to us?"
He had yelled that multiple times but that was the first time he had gotten a response. One of the men, the one in the back, came over to them, seemingly willing to talk.
"What's going on?" Greg asked the man.
"There is a plan," the man answered. "I do not know the complete details. It was a need to know basis."
"Yes, well, you see, this is need to know," Ed said. "One of our men is missing and we're sure you, or your people over there, know where he is."
Jules came stumbling over, unable to walk straight, "There's a huge mob over there Serge. They're going crazy. One of them tried to trip me, another kept elbowing me. I told 'em to clear out. Some listened but majority of them are still there. I don't know what they want."
Raf, Ed and Greg turned to the man before them once more.
"What do they want?" Greg asked.
Jules looked at the man for the first time since arriving, "My name is Jules. We're SRU and right now you are in huge trouble, you're looking at four years. But helping us could help you."
"I'll help," he said. "What do you want to know?"
Jules opened her mouth to speak but Raf cut her off, glaring her down to silence. He knew what she would say.
Instead, he spoke, calm and collected, "You could start with your name?"
"Thomas White," he answered without thinking.
"Spike," Greg said.
"Yeah Boss?"
"Run the name Thomas White. Let me know what comes up."
"Got it," said Spike and he got to work, clicking buttons and searching. "Got it. Nothing really. No record, no flags. He's got family though, lives with his wife, two sons and his brother. Seems like an alright kind of guy Boss."
Greg nodded and turned to the man again, "Alright Thomas. You check out. So why are you here?"
"My brother, Jeff, he's a part of this group, it's an alcoholics group. He's been going to it for years since he returned from Iraq. He started drinking when he got home, the pressure or the memories or something I guess. He wouldn't talk to me then. We, that's me and Laura, finally got him to get help. He's been going to meetings for two years now. But the other month, he started acting strange, lying and going to meetings more than he used to."
"And?" Jules prompted.
"So I followed him one day," Thomas said. "I followed him to this broken down house. I couldn't get in but I knew for a fact that it was no ordinary meeting."
"That doesn't explain why you are here Thomas," Ed said. "You need to keep talking."
"I'm getting there," Thomas said. "Anyway, he caught me. He saw my car leaving as he came out of the building. He knew I knew something. But he kept quiet about it really, not mentioning anything. Until this morning. He told me that I had to come with him or they'd hurt me for knowing too much."
"Who's they?" Raf asked.
"I'm not totally sure," Thomas sighed. "A man, he's older and he seemed kind enough. But he had a plan. I don't know the details, like I said, need to know, but he said something about get in, grab, and get out. My brother was in on it. He came today with his old uniform on. I don't know what is going on here, I swear. But my brother is in danger out there. And I take it one of your men is too."
"Yeah, actually," Jules said. "But you're really not helping us find him, are you?"
"Jules!" Greg snapped. "You go back to the truck, got it? Help Spike."
Jules frowned and stalked off towards the truck.
Greg pressed the microphone to his mouth and said, "Spike, don't let her leave."
"Got it Boss," Spike said just as Jules stormed into the truck.
"Come on," the man said, grabbing Sam by the collar. He pulled him along a hall until they reached an empty room.
"What do you want?" Sam asked. "Why are you doing this?"
"No talking!" the man snapped.
"At least tell me your name," Sam suggested. "It's the least you can do."
"Jeff," the man said shortly. "Now, you stay here. Move and die."
Sam nodded and the man pushed him against a wall, forcing him to sit with his back pressed against it. His hands were bound and the man, Jeff, bound his legs once he was on the ground.
He didn't say another word, neither of them did. Jeff left the room, closing and locking the heavy door behind him.
Sam didn't try to move. He just looked around the dark, damp room, trying to figure out where he was. He had no headset, that had been taken from him, and he had no weapon or phone, also taken. He was alone.
The room had one door, now heavily locked and likely guarded, and one small window, very high up and very small.
Sam could think of only one person who could possibly fit through it. Jules.
"Jules, calm down," Spike said trying to calm his teammate. She was breathing heavily and staring at the screens.
"There's no sign of him Spike!" she said. "Where is he?"
"Look," Spike said. "You need to relax. I get that this is hard, I mean, with you guys and all."
"Us guys and all?" Jules said, a small smile appearing. "Is that what you're calling us now?"
"Not the point Jules," he said. "The point is that if you can be cool, you could get transferred. Do you want that?"
Jules looked to the ground, "No. I don't, you know I don't."
"Then try to be calm and help, okay?" Spike suggested. "It's the only way to help, being calm."
Jules nodded and sat back in her chair, calming herself until she could breathe again.
"Thanks Spike," she said. "Thanks."
"Anytime Jules," Spike smiled. "Now, they're still talking to White out there but they're getting some ideas on what's happening. Listen in, okay?"
Jules nodded and put her headset back on.
"Get in, grab, get out," Greg repeated for the third time. "That was the plan?"
"That's all Jeff told me," Thomas White nodded. "I can only assume now that the grabbing was grabbing your man."
"Our man has a name," Greg said. "He has a name, a family and a girlfriend. And we need to find him."
Jules smiled a bit at that. She was the girlfriend.
She turned to Spike again, "You didn't see them leaving anywhere?"
He shook his head, "No, I'll check again if you want but I don't think there was anything to see."
Jules shook her head, "Nah, don't worry about it. I trust you. If you didn't see anything, there was nothing to see."
"Nothing to see," Spike repeated in a whisper. "Nothing to see..."
"Yeah," Jules said. "I got that. What is it Spike?"
"Nothing to see," he said again. "No, there wasn't anything to see. But we never checked the transcripts to see if there was anything!"
Jules' breath caught in her throat, "Do it then! Please, Spike!"
"I'm going," he said, pressing and clicking on the computers. "I'm working."
Jules sat in silence watching the mastermind work.
"Say your brother took him," Ed said. "Say he did, where would he go?"
"He could take him back to that building I saw, or to his girlfriend's house...no, probably not there," Thomas said.
"What's the address of this house?" Ed asked Thomas. "Where is it?"
Thomas gave the directions as detailed as he could. Ed and Greg listened carefully before instructing Raf to go back to the trucks.
"Raf, go to the trucks, you'll ride alone. Just go check out the girlfriend's house, maybe she knows something," Greg instructed.
"Spike and Jules, go to the house," Greg said. "Don't go in. Just let us know if you see anything and we'll get there as quick as we can if something is wrong."
"On it!" Jules said as she and Spike got into the front seat of the truck and drove off towards the house.
They sped down the roads, the sirens blazing and cars moving out of the way.
"We're here," Spike said once they reached the worn-down building. "Raf?"
"Just leaving, she was positive her boyfriend was at an AA meeting," Raf answered. "She doesn't know anything. I checked the house, no sign of anyone other than her there."
"Alright," Greg said. "Raf, join the two of them. We're on our way. The men here are leaving. Team Four's here to get them into custody."
Sam sat in the silence. It had been nearly two hours, he thought, since they had grabbed him. They knocked him over the head and made him fall to the ground, almost knocking him out. He knew more or less where he was. He'd been able to follow the streets and the turns until the last half a kilometre.
He gingerly lay his head against the cold brick wall behind him. He was still bound and he couldn't move. He had faith that the team was looking for him. But how would they know where to start? Nobody even knew what was going on, last time he had checked.
He let his mind race. He thought of the people who had grabbed him, and Jeff. Jeff was a young man, he probably didn't even have much in this plan. It was very well thought out. It was hard to kidnap Sam. He had training others could only dream of.
His mind wandered around until it landed on Jules. He'd been so busy sitting here that he hadn't thought about what she was going through. It had only been a few months since they'd been cleared to stay on Team One. He knew that they wouldn't risk the team or civilians to save each other. But he also knew that things might change if it was Jules who had been kidnapped.
He couldn't be sure that she wouldn't do something to save him. He knew he would break the rules if she was stuck in this room. He trusted her, and the team, to save him. He did. He just didn't want to lose her in the process.
"You still in there?" Jeff called through the door.
"Of course I am," Sam rolled his eyes. "Where do you expect me to go? Through the one tiny window in here?"
"You never know," Jeff said. "I was only checking."
"Do you think you could tell me why I'm here? I mean, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon so there is really no harm in telling me what's going on, right?"
He could hear Jeff sigh and unlock the latches on the door. He came into the room, allowing Sam a quick glance at whatever was outside his cell.
"You want to know the plan?" Jeff asked. "If I tell you, you promise not to tell anyone?"
"Who am I going to tell Jeff? I'm the only person here," Sam said.
"Alright," said Jeff. "It was a simple plan. Dave gave instructions before we went out earlier. He had gathered up a bunch of men, all of them upset with the police for some reason. We all went out to the streets, carrying guns. Barely any were loaded though. The plan was to get revenge. Almost half the police officers are out there today. The plan was to take them. We'd get in, grab somebody, and get out. My job was to grab and guard. So I did. I did what I had to so he wouldn't hurt Alicia, that's my girlfriend, and I went in, grabbed you, and got out, bringing you here. And now I am guarding."
"That's the plan? To get revenge on police officers?" Sam asked. "Did he threaten Alicia?"
Jeff nodded, "Yes."
"What do you have against cops?"
"They stole my mother when I was a boy," Jeff said. "They took her away from us and we were left alone."
"Alone? They wouldn't leave you alone," Sam shook his head.
"They left me and my brother with our father, useless man," Jeff said. "It was really just me and Thomas, all alone."
"And that's why I'm here? Because you all have a grudge against the police?" he asked.
Jeff nodded and stood up from his crouching position, "Look, I shouldn't have said anything. I got to get back outside. Don't go anywhere."
"Like I have a choice," Sam answered.
"They're in there," Spike said. They were back in the truck again. He had just finished checking the transcripts to see if there were any hints on Sam's whereabouts.
There was. They had heard three men, not including Sam, saying something. They had given the address. This was the address.
"Boss?" Jules said. "You on your way? They are definitely in there. Sam's in there."
"Almost there," Greg answered. They were pulling onto the street that the building was located.
Raf had just joined Jules and Spike. They were looking for cameras around the building, trying to see if there was any sign of anything. But there were no cameras, none on the outside at least.
"We need to get in there," Raf said. "But how?"
"Hold on!" Spike said excitedly. "I have a blueprint. It's old, from when the building was new. But it hasn't been updated much so this should still work."
"Thank you Spike," Jules smiled. "Okay, where would they stash a cop?"
Spike scanned the blueprint quickly and pointed to three rooms, "Here, here or there."
"Serge," Raf said. "We've got three possible locations. Do you want us to check them out? Two of the three have windows and one's got a roof window. We'll be quiet and just see if we can find Sam."
"Do it," Greg said. "Be stealth and don't go in."
"Serge? Can I go?" Jules asked.
"Be stealth and don't go in," Greg repeated.
Jules smiled and headed out of the truck with Spike and Raf. They headed off towards the farthest one first, so that they could work their way back to the cars.
"Not here," Spike whispered and shook his head when they reached the back one.
They walked quietly through the yards until reaching the ladder that would get them to the second one. Raf motioned that he'd go up and the other two nodded and waiting for him to go up. He climbed up and they waited a moment before he appeared again, shaking his head.
"Go on," he mouthed. "I'll be right there."
Jules nodded and pulled Spike off towards the final window. She peered in and gasped, pulling away from the window quickly.
She nodded slowly and whispered, "Bingo."
Ed and Greg arrived moments after Raf, Spike and Jules reached the cars again. The five members of Team One quickly formulated a plan of entry.
"Raf and I will go in through the front," Ed said. "Stealth and quiet. Spike, Jules and Boss will go to the window and see if you can't get in through there."
The team nodded and headed off in their directions. They were almost at the window when Greg turned to Jules.
"Jules," he said.
She knew what was coming and cut him off before he could say it.
"You have to let me go in!" Jules shouted. "Serge! I can do this!"
"You know I can't let you do that Jules," he said. "You are going to wait in the truck. Understood?"
"But-"
"Julianna Callaghan! Truck. Now."
Frustrated and angry, Jules went to the truck. She took a seat and stared at the screen, hoping to see something, anything. She stared at the screen for what seemed like an hour, barely blinking. In actuality, it had been only ten minutes but she was already fed up. She stood up angrily, taking off the headset.
She was so worried about Sam. How could Serge not trust her to do her job? She knew what she had to do.
"Stupid rules," she muttered as she paced back and forth in the small space the inside of the truck left her.
"Jules!"
She turned abruptly at the sound of a voice coming from her headset.
She grabbed it and thrust it onto her head, speaking back in a shaky voice that could only be deduced as fear, "Boss? What is it?"
"Bad news..."
"What's wrong?" she asked anxiously. "What's bad news?"
"The window," Greg said. "It's small. We can't get in."
Jules felt her eyes light up. They couldn't get in. They needed her.
"On my way," she said, grabbing her gear and heading out the door. "Does Sam know you're there?"
"If he does, he hasn't made any sign. I don't think he can see through it clearly," Greg said.
"Got it," Jules said as she rushed towards the window.
She reached Spike and Greg and sat down on the ground, "How are we getting in?"
"We only have one option," Spike said. "It's the only way to avoid noise but we only have one try to do it. If we mess it up, we're screwed."
Jules nodded slowly, "Okay then, do it. We won't mess it up."
Spike and Greg looked at each other, exchanging a knowing look. Jules was willing to do anything. This was exactly why Greg had wanted her out of the way.
"You have to move out of the way," Spike said. "Ed and Raf are in already. But we have to go in the door as well. We'll go in, cause a quick diversion and you can use the blast to get the window out. Sam is far enough away, he'll be fine."
"I'm alone?" Jules said. "And you're going in?"
Greg nodded, "It's the only way Jules. You alright with this?"
"Of course I am," she nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Always," Spike smiled and handed her the small explosive. "We'll let you know when we're in. When we tell you to, put that on and back away."
"Okay," Jules nodded. "Good luck."
"Good luck," Spike said back as he and Greg headed off to a door on the side of the building.
Jules sat in silence for seconds, waiting for the signal. She peered in the window and saw Sam sitting with his back against the wall. He wasn't looking at the window so he couldn't see her. But just seeing him made her feel a bit more comforted.
"Go," she heard Spike say and she attached the miniature explosive to the window, backing away as soon as she was done.
She heard yelling inside and watched as Sam looked at the door confused. He looked towards the window and she knew he saw the blaster. He likely couldn't see her but he at least knew he was being saved.
BOOM.
The room shook as the glass fell out of the window. Sam watched in amazement as Jules swung through and landed on her feet like a cat. She sped over to him, taking her headset off as she did.
She kept it to her mouth long enough to whisper, "I'm in." After that, it hung loosely at her side.
"You alright?" she asked him. "Everything okay?"
"I'm fine," Sam nodded. "How are you?"
"Me?" Jules asked. "I wasn't the one taken, was I?"
"No," Sam shook his head. "That's not what I meant, you know what I meant Jules."
She sighed and looked at the ground, "I'll be okay now. We got you."
She unbound his hands and legs and helped him stand up. Putting her headset back in, she pulled him towards the door.
"The Team's inside, they'll be here in a minute."
"I know the plan," Sam said. "They all have a grudge against us cops. The plan was get in, grab one of us, and get out. They chose me. I don't know what they planned to do with me but they never did anything. One of them, the one right outside the door, his name is Jeff."
"Jeff?" Jules asked. "We talked to his brother. He was pretty sure Jeff was in on it. He's the one who told us where to go."
"No," Sam said. "Jeff is only here because they threatened his girlfriend."
"They did? We checked her out," Jules said. "She didn't know about any of this then."
"She'll be alright," Sam said. "Jeff said almost everyone involved is back here already."
They heard shouting outside and knew that the guard was down. Opening the door, the saw the rest of Team One standing there, holding about ten men in custody.
"Team Three arrived just after we got in," Ed said. "They've got more of them."
"I told you I could do this," Jules said to Greg. "I needed to do this Boss. And you weren't going to let me."
"I apologize Jules," Greg said. "I wasn't sure you'd be able to do this. But you proved yourself once again."
"I'm sorry," Jeff said to Sam. "I really am. I didn't know. You have family and friends and we almost took you away from them."
Jeff's eyes met Jules' for a moment and she knew he was talking about her when he said family. She didn't correct him. She didn't have to. The team was her family, but Sam was more than family. He was her everything.
"Shall we head back then?" Ed asked. "Everything is under control here and we got to get Sam looked at."
"I'm fine," he said. "Trust me, I'm great," his eyes rested on Jules, "perfect, even."
"Good work today team," Greg said after debrief. "You did great. Especially you Jules. I'm proud of you."
"I'm sorry I got angry Boss," Jules said. "I was just worried."
"We all were," Greg said. "I should have trusted you to do your job. I know you can do it."
Jules smiled at him and he announced the debrief over.
The team left to go and change and to go home. It had been a long day.
Sam changed quickly and headed over to Jules' change room before leaving.
"Thanks," he said. "For today. Thank you."
"My pleasure," she smiled.
"You coming over tonight?" he asked her.
"After a day like today? You bet your ass I am," she said. "I'm not letting you out of my sight for at least twenty-four hours."
Sam smiled, "I'm okay with that."
The two left the room and headed out the door. They passed the rest of the team though nobody stopped them. It was clear they needed to be alone for a bit.
They reached Sam's place in ten minutes. It wasn't too far from the station but they were walking so it had taken a bit longer.
"You know," Jules said as they settled into his couch. "I was so worried today."
"I know," Sam said. "I know you were."
"I didn't know what happened, where you were, who took you," Jules said. "I didn't know if you were okay. And it was my fault. I told you to go right. We should have stuck together."
"No," Sam said. "This was not your fault, okay? This was nobody's fault but the people who planned it."
"I guess," Jules said. "But still..."
"Jules, look at me sweetheart," he held her chin in his hand and moved her face to look at him. "I love you so much. I can't even imagine what you went through today but the whole time I was stuck there, I was thinking about you and how I would feel if the roles were switched. I can't even begin to describe the pain I felt just thinking about you being kidnapped."
"I wasn't kidnapped," Jules said. "You were. And I was so crazy worried about you. You know, I didn't know if we'd find you. Or, if we'd find you alive. I can't begin to describe how I felt either. I love you too, okay?"
Sam kissed her on the head and smiled, "I know you do. That's why we're together silly. I love you, you love me."
"It just works," Jules smiled. "Try not to get kidnapped again though, okay? I don't think I could handle another day like today. I thought I was going to die when Serge told me to wait in the truck."
"I knew you'd be the one to save me," Sam kissed her nose. "You were the only one small enough to fit through that window."
"Sam," Jules said, sitting up straight. "Do you ever think about the future?"
"All the time," Sam said. "Why?"
"I was just thinking about something Steve told me ages ago," she said and laughed as Sam made a face at the mention of Steve. "He said that he'd been thinking about the future. That I was in his but he wasn't in mine."
"What about that?" Sam asked. "You're not thinking of going back to him are you?"
"God no! I just wanted to say that, at the time, I didn't think there would be anybody in my future. I couldn't picture myself with anyone. But I want you to know that my future is much clearer now."
"Is it?" Sam teased. "And I bet it's got some young man in it, doesn't it? I bet he's very good-looking and has a completely safe job."
"Two out of the three," Jules smiled. "I can't picture myself with anyone but you Sam. That's what I wanted to say. I was thinking about it all day and I don't know what I would do if I lost you because I want to be with you forever."
"You know that the same goes for me," Sam said. "I'm not going to lose you again. I want you to stay here, in my arms forever and ever. At least, until work tomorrow."
"I love you Sam," Jules smiled.
"More than anything," Sam replied and kissed her soundly.
Author's Note: This is my first attempt at writing Flashpoint and my first attempt at writing Sam/Jules. I hope you liked it! In my mind, this is just a could-be episode from the upcoming season 5. I mean, the team knows about the relationship and they've been cleared so I thought there should be a bit of a test, a test to make sure they're okay to be on the same team. And to me, it worked: Jules kept her cool and nobody was harmed.
So please review!